“I was just wondering about the interview location and which reporter to call, so this works out nicely.”
“Excuse me? Are you serious right now?”
“Is there a reason I wouldn’t be?”
Hae-yul stared at Gyo-eon in disbelief — the man was acting as casually smug as ever, as if he’d never shown any signs of a rut at all — and shook his head in exasperation.
“So, what choice will Ju Hae-yul be making?”
“There’s only one option left. So obviously it’ll be that one.”
“I meant that I wanted to hear it directly from Ju Hae-yul’s own mouth. I suppose I was being too roundabout.”
“No, what are you——”
“Will you say it yourself? What choice you’re going to make.”
Pressed by Gyo-eon, Hae-yul shot him a glare but had no choice but to answer.
“I think it would be better for me to see you a few times.”
“Ju Hae-yul, do you really want to be treated like a kid?”
Hae-yul wore a puzzled expression, then quickly recalled that this was a continuation of the earlier kid comment — the one about age. But did he really have to phrase asking him to use his name like that? It felt distinctly unsettling, as though Gyo-eon was deliberately going the long way around just to tease him.
Just as Hae-yul was inwardly clicking his tongue, Gyo-eon said something ridiculous again.
“If that’s what Ju Hae-yul wants, I can do that. It’s not a difficult thing.”
“Okay, fine. I’ll just call you properly from now on……”
“In case you get confused again.”
Gyo-eon paused briefly, then smiled softly.
“Just let me know anytime. Because when that happens, I’ll be calling Ju Hae-yul by a nickname instead of your name.”
Knowing Gyo-eon, he’d definitely come up with some bizarre form of address. The words were unsettling enough to raise goosebumps on Hae-yul’s skin, and he had no choice but to nod without thinking.
Gyo-eon, despite Hae-yul’s persistent refusals, ended up driving him and dropping him off in the alley beside the convenience store. Even though his part-time workplace had already been found out, Hae-yul still couldn’t bring himself to reveal the location of his goshiwon, so he asked to be dropped off near the convenience store — and shameless as ever, Gyo-eon seemed genuinely disappointed.
Once Hae-yul dialed back his wariness a little, dealing with Gyo-eon became considerably easier. The wave after wave of rejection he used to feel every time they talked had lessened as well. Gyo-eon’s expressionless face still unnerved him a little, but for Hae-yul, this was a remarkable improvement.
“Thank you. I’ll be heading off now——”
Hae-yul had confirmed they were parked in the alley beside the convenience store and was reaching for the door handle when Gyo-eon lightly grabbed the sleeve of Hae-yul, who was about to climb out of the passenger seat, stopping him — then stepped out from the driver’s side.
Gyo-eon walked around the hood on his long legs and opened the passenger side door.
“You really didn’t have to go this far.”
“You’re working hard at your part-time jobs — you should save your energy wherever you can.”
“I’m not that lacking in stamina. If anything, I might even have more than… well. More than you, Gyo-eon.”
“Hmm.”
Gyo-eon made a sound low in his throat and swept his gaze over Hae-yul with a peculiar look. Embarrassed, Hae-yul furrowed his brow for no particular reason and stepped out of the passenger seat. Gyo-eon asked:
“When should we meet? Which days do you not have work? I think it would be better to meet on one of those.”
“There’s no day I don’t work at all. Weekends or Mondays are the most manageable. Oh, but not at night though — I work the convenience store shift from 11. Monday’s fine since the morning shift ends early. Does that work for you?”
Gyo-eon tilted his head and asked in return:
“Don’t you work at the convenience store until morning? When do you even rest, Ju Hae-yul?”
“I just rest here and there.”
Gyo-eon’s brow furrowed at Hae-yul’s answer. Once again, it seemed like he couldn’t understand Hae-yul. Feeling somehow like he was being scolded, Hae-yul made excuses.
“It’s hard to work part-time while school’s in session, so I’m cramming it all in before the semester starts. If I earn enough during the break, I can get through the semester more comfortably.”
“Are two part-time jobs all you have?”
“Ah, well…… When money gets a little tight or I come up short, I sometimes do loading and unloading work too.”
But the more he explained himself, Gyo-eon’s expression didn’t improve — if anything, it grew more serious. Hae-yul finally shot back in a prickly tone:
“Why does that concern you so much?”
Gyo-eon stared at Hae-yul for a moment, then said:
“Pushing yourself that hard without a proper day off can’t be good for your health.”
“I’m fine. Thankfully I haven’t had any major issues so far.”
“I’m not so sure. Maybe things have been wrong, and you just didn’t realize they were.”
“I know my own body — there’s nothing wrong with my health.”
Hae-yul shook his head and answered flatly, but Gyo-eon acted as though he hadn’t heard a word of it.
“The part-time work is your business, so I won’t pry — but if it’s going to be like this, I’ll need to work around Ju Hae-yul’s schedule.”
“You don’t have to do that. Weekday afternoons or Mondays are fine.”
“Then when do you sleep, Ju Hae-yul?”
Gyo-eon asked as if he was genuinely curious.
“I sleep in chunks. That’s more normal for me anyway.”
“Ju Hae-yul.”
“Yes?”
“Should I book a hotel for our first date?”
“……What?”
Date. And then hotel. Hae-yul’s eyes went wide. He stared at Gyo-eon with a look that demanded to know what on earth he was implying, and Gyo-eon gave a small click of his tongue.
“I didn’t think it would be right to take away even your Monday, which barely counts as a day off to begin with. That’s why I was thinking of resting at a hotel — but you always look at me like I’m some kind of scoundrel.”
“What? Aren’t you, though? You have a funny sense of where to protect your image.”
Gyo-eon made an odd expression at Hae-yul’s words, then nodded.
“Fair enough. I’ll take that as you saying you’re perfectly capable of resting on your own, and we’ll meet next Monday. We can work out the details from there.”
“I’m telling you, it’ll be fine——”
“You probably haven’t saved the contact on my business card.”
Gyo-eon neatly ignored his protest and asked. Hae-yul awkwardly dropped his gaze. That business card was still sitting sealed — no, stored — in his desk drawer.
When Hae-yul didn’t answer, Gyo-eon extended his hand with the look of someone who had already expected exactly this.
“……Why?”
“What do you mean, why. To save my number. Give me your phone.”
“I can just save the number from the business card myself.”
“That’s my work contact. I’ll give you my personal number instead.”
Hae-yul couldn’t shake the feeling that Gyo-eon was making a move precisely because he’d anticipated that Hae-yul wouldn’t bother saving the contact. But if he kept making excuses to avoid handing over his phone, Gyo-eon looked like the type who would just dig his heels in and wait him out.
In the end, Hae-yul pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it over.
Gyo-eon took it with a faint smile, saved his number, and then pressed the call button. He checked that his own phone, tucked in his pants pocket, had vibrated a couple of times before handing Hae-yul’s phone back.
“Feel free to contact me anytime, Ju Hae-yul.”
…Saying something as pointless as that.
Hae-yul took the phone back with a look of mild displeasure, then gave a small bow.
“I’ll be going ahead then. Take care.”
“Yes. Get home safely.”
Even as Hae-yul turned and walked through the convenience store alley toward the goshiwon alley, Gyo-eon didn’t move from his spot. His eyes, tracking the trace of Hae-yul’s presence, had grown faintly subdued.
“His pheromones……”
Was his body growing sensitive ahead of the rut? Ju Hae-yul’s pheromones seem a little off. Gyo-eon followed Hae-yul with an intent gaze, and once his figure had completely disappeared, he narrowed his brow and got back in the car.
It seemed like he’d need to keep an eye on Ju Hae-yul for a while.
***
Back at the goshiwon, Hae-yul took a quick shower in the communal bathroom before heading down to the dining hall. Perhaps because he’d been cooped up in the cramped space of Gyo-eon’s car with him, the scent of his pheromones seemed to keep drifting around the tip of his nose — he couldn’t stand it without washing up first.
Who knew what changes his body might go through if he breathed in an alpha’s pheromones right before a rut. He could end up with an unexpected heat cycle like last time, so he needed to be careful ahead of time.
Hae-yul filled his plate with rice and side dishes and grabbed a bowl of soup, then sat down and began eating with a blank expression on his face. Running into Gyo-eon so unexpectedly had given him a great deal to think about.
Even without this, he’d been thinking that the last heat cycle was a little strange. What with Gyo-eon suddenly appearing in his life and the scramble of course registration, he hadn’t had the chance to properly think it over until now.
Hae-yul had always had an unstable cycle, but he’d been managing it to stay relatively regular by keeping up with his medication. Lucky or not, being a dominant omega at least made regulating his pheromones easier compared to other omegas.
But the incident with Gyo-eon… had been strange. That was practically the first time his pheromones had ever been out of control like that. And it was also the first time he’d ever felt an alpha’s pheromones so intensely.
Up until then, catching the scent of an alpha’s pheromones had never been anything remarkable. It had always been no more than a vague impression — something like the faint smell of flowers drifting past a flower shop.
But whether it was because he’d been in a heat cycle, or because… Gyo-eon’s pheromones simply suited him — he wasn’t sure — that man’s had tasted distinctly sweet to him. Maybe this was the reason the original Ju Hae-yul had come to crave Gyo-eon’s love.
Hae-yul chewed absently on the rice in his mouth, lost in thought.
It was then.
