He’d been so caught off guard by the word urgent that he hadn’t even thought to ask Gangha what was wrong before hanging up. Figuring he needed to get there fast, he sprinted all the way to the subway station.
Got on the subway now
What happened?
Do you need to go to the hospital?
Are you hurt somewhere? Are you bleeding?
He sent message after message, but not a single reply came back. Is he in a situation where he can’t even text? Minjun stared at his phone, tense and restless, and the moment he got off the subway he broke into a full sprint again.
He’d run hard enough to work up a sweat in the dead of winter — which made it all the more anticlimactic when, the moment he got home, the first thing out of Gangha’s mouth was something utterly absurd.
“Please take Sowon home.”
“…Take Sowon home? That’s why you called me?”
“Yes.”
If Gangha had been sick, that would be one thing — but being summoned just to take Sowon home was genuinely baffling. When had dropping Sowon off at her place become part of his duties?
Still, the moment Sowon stepped out of the guest room, Minjun understood, at least a little, why Gangha had called him.
“Minjun hyung…. I’m sorry. I’m just not feeling very well today….”
Sowon’s cheeks were flushed pinker than usual, and a thick, sweet scent was drifting off of her. It was the pheromones of an omega on the verge of going into heat.
She clearly can’t take a taxi in that state — that’s why he called me. But I’m an alpha too.
“Gangha, I’m asking just to double-check…. You haven’t forgotten that I’m an alpha, right?”
“Yes.”
“What if Sowon goes into full heat on the way there?”
Being a recessive closer to beta, Minjun was less susceptible to pheromone influence than most — but if her heat cycle actually hit, there was no telling what might happen.
Gangha answered on behalf of the flustered Sowon.
“You’re the only person I trust enough to ask. She’s taken a suppressant, so she should be fine for two or three hours. Go.”
“I’m a little uneasy about this…. Is there really no one else?”
“No.”
“…Alright, fine.”
From the look of Gangha’s expression, refusing wasn’t going to get him anywhere. Today was supposed to be the day Sowon confessed to Gangha — how had things ended up like this?
“I’ll be back soon.”
Just to be safe, Minjun took a suppressant himself before heading out. Sowon was struggling to walk — she leaned against the elevator wall, catching her breath in short, labored gasps.
“Can’t walk? Want me to carry you on my back?”
“…Yes.”
Sowon’s eyes were glistening with unshed tears. She must be really struggling. Once they reached the parking garage, Minjun quickly got her up on his back and moved. He’d carried Gangha around on his back often as a kid, so this kind of thing came naturally.
“Rest for now. I’ll get you there as fast as I can.”
“Okay…. Thank you.”
He settled Sowon into the passenger seat and buckled her in. Knowing they needed to hurry, he punched the address into the navigation and pulled out immediately. He left the window cracked open for ventilation.
Sowon didn’t say a word until they were almost at her place. Minjun had been focused entirely on getting there as quickly as possible, and only checked on her after pulling into the parking garage.
In that instant, Minjun’s pupils flickered.
“…Sowon, you okay?”
“Yes, hic, hh….”
He realized now — she had been crying without a sound. Tears were streaming silently down her pale cheeks, dropping off her chin one after another.
“You must be in a lot of pain. Let’s get you upstairs quickly.”
“Hic…. I’m not crying because of the pain….”
“Huh?”
“…I… Gangha rejected me….”
What? Gangha rejected her? Minjun opened and closed his mouth, not sure what to say. He’d been so certain the two of them were about to get together — the disbelief hit him first.
“Gangha said… I’m just a friend to him.”
“Ah….”
“When I asked why he’d been so warm toward me, he said it was because we were friends…. Hic…. Did it look like we were just friends to you, hyung?”
“Well…. Hmm….”
Minjun had genuinely thought the two of them were about to start dating. Gangha had never been openly affectionate with Sowon, but he had been warm enough…. Or had he? Come to think of it, Gangha had never actually sought Sowon out on his own or done anything proactive. He’d just let her come and go as she pleased whenever she said she wanted to visit.
“Hic, hh….”
While Minjun fumbled for a response, Sowon’s tears fell again. He sat there helplessly, managing only a string of strangled uh’s and um’s.
Then Sowon slipped quietly into his arms.
“Hyung, can you comfort me a little…?”
“Comfort you…? Yeah, sure. Hang in there.”
He couldn’t bring himself to push away someone who was crying, so he brought one hand down and gently patted her on the back. As the omega who was inches away from going into heat settled into his arms, Minjun’s face flushed involuntarily, beyond his control.
“Thank you, hyung…. If I’d been alone right now, I don’t know how I would’ve managed, hic….”
“It’ll get easier with time. Hang in there. I’ve been dumped plenty of times — I know.”
“This is the first time I’ve ever been rejected in my life….”
“Is that so.”
Even through her tears, Sowon was quick to correct what wasn’t accurate. Right — there probably weren’t many people who would turn down an omega as wonderful as Sowon. Minjun kept patting her back while his other hand reached over to roll the window all the way down. The interior of the car was thick with omega pheromones, and it was getting harder to breathe.
“Sowon, let’s go up now. Chin up.”
“Minjun hyung….”
Suddenly Sowon looked up at him with eyes glistening with tears. Her full lips parted, as if she had something she wanted to say.
“Actually, my parents aren’t home tonight…. Could you maybe stay with me just for tonight—”
“Oh, yeah. Let’s get you inside quickly. Your parents must be worried.”
It was better not to hear the rest of that sentence. Minjun pulled himself back and flung the driver’s side door open.
A cold sweat ran down his spine. He’d been so thrown off that he’d completely forgotten Sowon had just said her parents weren’t home and just blurted out whatever came to mind. Getting out of that car, which had been saturated with omega pheromones, felt like finally being able to breathe again.
“Hyung….”
“Yeah, yeah. Rough night, huh? Let’s get you inside to rest.”
Minjun coaxed and steadied Sowon as they walked. The whole way there, she kept rubbing herself against him, and he could not have been more flustered. Knowing full well he absolutely could not go inside, he stretched out one arm, nudged her through the door, and turned around to leave without a moment’s hesitation.
After that, he could hardly recall how he’d made it back home. He walked through the front door and pressed his hand flat against his chest. He could feel his heart hammering against his ribs.
“Ha….”
What on earth was Baek Gangha thinking, making him do something like this. Minjun was an alpha too — this felt like a bit much. He was going to have to tell him not to pull something like this again if he could help it.
He was standing in the entryway, trying to get his pounding heart under control, when he suddenly became aware of a quiet, watchful gaze.
“What are you doing standing out there?”
Oh god, I nearly jumped out of my skin. Minjun startled like a man caught red-handed. Baek Gangha was leaning at the far end of the hallway, staring straight at him.
For some reason, the look Gangha was giving him was not a kind one. Minjun, who had nothing to be guilty about, squared his shoulders and walked in like he owned the place.
“Dropped Sowon off safe and sound.”
With every step he took, that relentless gaze followed. Those hazel eyes lingered slowly on Minjun’s cheek.
“Hyung.”
“…Yeah.”
“Your face is red.”
“Huh?”
Minjun pressed the back of his hand to his own cheek. Despite his best attempt to seem unbothered, the skin was noticeably warm to the touch. Gangha stepped closer and pulled Minjun’s hand toward him, bringing it up to smell.
“…Why? I didn’t do anything.”
Feeling guilty before being accused of anything, Minjun yanked his hand back from Gangha’s grip. Worried he might smell of something, he hid both hands behind his back and stepped away — and at that, the light in Gangha’s eyes went cold.
“Omega scent….”
A flicker of irritation showed plainly in the gaze fixed on Minjun. Baek Gangha — who had forced this errand on him himself — was now looking at Minjun like he’d done something wrong.
“Did you enjoy it?”
“…Enjoy what?”
Instead of answering, Gangha let his gaze trail slowly downward over Minjun’s lower half, as though tracing the outline of what lay beneath. It was as if an invisible hand were feeling its way down there.
“Why — why are you looking at me like that? Nothing happened.”
Minjun’s cheeks, already warm, burned hotter still. He’d gone red because Sowon’s pheromones had caught him off guard — it wasn’t as though he’d actually felt aroused.
But rather than saying he believed him, Baek Gangha reached out and closed his hand around a spray-bottle deodorizer.
The moment Minjun reflexively raised one arm —
“Ugh, you’re doing it again…!”
Pssst, pssshh—! Starting from the top of Minjun’s head, the pheromone deodorizing spray began to rain down.
“Wait, it got in my nose — achoo—!”
