I slowly opened my mouth. Actually, there was an aspect that kept nagging at me.
“About Seo Jeongmin’s group.”
It seemed the warning Lee Yunjae had explained with even military stories mixed in had taken effect.
Lee Yunjae had definitely said that alphas with sensitive senses of smell were suspicious of Nam Heejae’s identity. Now that I knew this fact, I couldn’t just let it go and leave it alone.
Wasn’t this what I’d resolved from the moment I possessed this body? That I wouldn’t fuck up the original owner’s life.
So I asked.
“I’m worried they’ll nitpick about my trait. Could you help me?”
“When you make requests, you need to be specific. There are all kinds of ways to help.”
Baek Sahyun offered advice as if he were a village school teacher.
“What if I misunderstand your intention, Heejae, and go beat Seo Jeongmin half to death?”
“……”
“You’re not hiring thugs, so you’re not asking for that kind of result, right?”
Of course not. As Baek Sahyun requested, I tried adding specific instructions.
“Cover me with your pheromones. You’ve been doing that anyway, right? I need to go prove that I’m an alpha.”
Though I couldn’t make their suspicions die down at this point, it should be enough to confuse the bastards who were certain. When I made a resolute expression as if showing firm determination, Baek Sahyun answered leisurely. The bastard lightly stroked his own hair.
“They probably aren’t as stupid as you.”
It was a cutting remark. Though I was a little hurt in my pride by those words, I didn’t show it.
But still, fuck, that Kim Jongsu or whatever and I looked about even. That bastard seemed incapable of doing anything besides making a drunken scene.
Swirling a water glass with lemon slices floating in it, Baek Sahyun suddenly gave permission.
“Fine. I’ll cover you.”
“Really?”
“When I’ve already agreed to give you a pheromone shower, how could I not do even this much?”
When you think about it, that made sense too. My heart floated up excitedly at the satisfaction of having secured the conditions I wanted. After taking a sip of water, Baek Sahyun conveyed through his moisture-soaked, glistening lips.
“Instead, I’m not planning to send you alone.”
“What?”
“How could I anxiously wait for someone who’s left covered in my pheromones? Do you want to see me lose my mind and drive my car there to find you?”
I felt like I’d go crazy at his domineering declaration. So that’s why he readily agreed.
“If we appear together…, how is that different from officially announcing that you’re backing me up and covering me with pheromones?”
No matter how I thought about it, there was no difference. Baek Sahyun agreed with my point.
“That’s exactly the point.”
But the bastard expounded his argument with a confident air. And it was quite tempting.
“Whether you go with me or not, you won’t gain their trust anyway. People originally tend to see the world the way they want to believe it. They’ve already concluded that Nam Heejae isn’t an alpha, so there’s no way they can flip their hands and change that.”
Even I, who had been distrustful, was gradually being persuaded. Baek Sahyun knocked on the table with the back of his hand as if to make me focus.
“Rather, push forward in the direction of flaunting what you have.”
I was able to discover another of the bastard’s strengths. His persuasive voice and overwhelming mood.
A strange atmosphere persisted throughout where it seemed like anything Baek Sahyun supported would become truth, and anything Baek Sahyun didn’t support would become lies.
In other words, an atmosphere where it seemed like even if I was helplessly led along, I wouldn’t necessarily lose out…, that kind of atmosphere.
Though I’m less perceptive than average, even I could understand this much.
“You’re saying to take you there and make those bastards shut up, right?”
Instead of answering, Baek Sahyun smiled with his eyes. There it is. The bastard’s trademark.
How could someone so harmful on the inside look so gentle and docile on the outside…, it seemed the author must have shown quite a bit of favoritism.
“Can I eat first before deciding?”
When I asked because I thought the braised cutlassfish would get cold if we delayed, Baek Sahyun even cheered me on, saying to eat as much as I wanted. Having received permission, I freely savored the cutlassfish flesh while considering Baek Sahyun’s plan in one corner of my mind.
Though I didn’t know what scheme that bastard had to come up with such an idea, regardless of the cause, it was hard to deny that the conclusion was correct.
Even if they properly sensed alpha pheromones from me, in the end, those who wouldn’t believe wouldn’t believe. After cleanly finishing off even the soft, well-cooked radish, I said while glancing at Baek Sahyun.
“…Fine. I’ll go along with your opinion. I’m counting on you.”
Then Baek Sahyun put on airs, saying “don’t mention it.” Whether his composure made my heart stable too, I was able to resolve my uneasy feelings and get ready to go out.
To meet Seo Jeongmin’s group, it seemed I needed to polish myself more than usual.
❖ ❖ ❖
“I didn’t want it to go this far….”
I was troubled being dragged around on a department store tour here and there by Baek Sahyun. In my opinion, just slicking my hair back with some wax and wearing something that felt like a suit would be fine, but Baek Sahyun clicked his tongue as if that wouldn’t do.
The bastard ended up dragging me to a department store a whole hour away from the villa and made me put on a fashion show. He seriously conversed with the clerk and made me try on all kinds of clothes—I felt like I’d collapse from exhaustion before long.
“Hey. Let’s just buy this and go. It looks neat and nice.”
When I strongly appealed that I didn’t want to go along with the doll play anymore, Baek Sahyun went “hmm” and showed signs of not liking it. The clerk also chimed in, saying the second knit was more cheerful and suited me better than the current outfit.
“Yes, yes. Then let’s go with the knit.”
Whatever it was, I just wanted to escape the department store. I wasn’t used to the characteristic fragrant smell, and I couldn’t adapt to the crazy number of zeros on the price tags.
It would be pocket change to Baek Sahyun, so I wasn’t worried about the bastard’s wallet situation, but just standing there drained my energy and I wanted to get out.
But cruelly, Baek Sahyun made me change clothes three or four more times. When I came out wearing an ivory-colored knit with a wide, deep neckline and brown slacks, the bastard nodded for the first time.
Well, I don’t have an eye for these things, but if it were the original Nam Heejae, it seemed like a style he’d never touch. It’s very fresh and, how should I put it—the person looks quite gentle.
“…Sahyun-ah. Your account balance is okay, right?”
After purchasing and changing into shoes as well, we left the department store. When I subtly asked out of courtesy, Baek Sahyun pulled my ear.
“Ah! Why, again?”
“I told you my grandfather has quite a lot of money.”
“I know, man, but not you. Only your grandfather is rich, right?”
“It’s enough to buy you a few buildings.”
This time, admiration came out audibly. I hurriedly changed the subject because it seemed like he’d really buy them if I asked.
Though I wasn’t untempted, Chairman Nam, who is Nam Heejae’s father, would also have considerable wealth, so there was no need to be a miser. I didn’t plan to throw a tantrum asking for buildings, but wouldn’t he buy them if I did throw a tantrum?
No. Wouldn’t he point fingers saying he doesn’t treat a bastard like you as his son?
While riding in the car Baek Sahyun was driving toward the location Seo Jeongmin sent in a message, I imagined various things and set up several hypotheses by myself. Then suddenly, a phone vibration sound rang out.
Since the precious Mr. Nam Heejae is suddenly gracing us with his presence, people have gathered from far and wide. You are coming to properly entertain us, right?
I had a feeling it would be like that, and it really was Seo Jeongmin. When I’d earlier sent a message at Baek Sahyun’s instruction saying “Set up a gathering after 6,” he seemed to have gotten his feelings hurt—his tone was thorny.
“Is it okay not to tell them I’m going with you?”
When I asked just in case, Baek Sahyun sneered. The bastard’s pretty lips curled up with a *sss* sound.
“If you tell them, you won’t be able to meet those guys today.”
It was quite an obnoxious statement, but I understood because the person saying it was Baek Sahyun. This bastard is the novel’s protagonist, so he must have lived receiving that kind of treatment all along.
Since I came out anyway, I wanted to definitely eliminate my concerns before going in, so I followed Baek Sahyun’s words.
You know, isn’t there a saying like that? If you listen well to your parents, rice cakes will fall even while you’re sleeping.
Since I didn’t have parents, Baek Sahyun becomes that substitute…, damn it. When did I become this dependent on this bastard?
“We’ve arrived, so get out.”
Around the time I was pretending to sleep because of my unsettled mood, Baek Sahyun said as he smoothly stopped the car. When we entered the building’s underground, a parking attendant ran over and received a tip and car keys from Baek Sahyun.
‘Rich bastards give tips in hundred-thousand-won bills.’
Was this a setting possible because it’s a novel, or do all rich people originally display such leisure? As I was making nutritionless inferences while getting on the elevator, Baek Sahyun suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me toward him.
“Wait, Heejae-ya.”
When I looked, wondering what was going on, the bastard brought his lips to my nape and said.
“Pheromones…, I haven’t covered you yet.”
I’d completely forgotten while suffering through shopping hell. Receiving pheromones.
At the warmth and sensation transmitted following Baek Sahyun’s whisper, my face gradually heated up. I had no immunity whatsoever to such ticklish skinship.
Moreover, this bastard doesn’t even think of me as just a same-sex friend of the same age.
Baek Sahyun pressed his lips firmly against my skin and then detached them. The lips that fell without making a *chu* sound now headed below my chin. When I asked if he had to cover me in this method, the bastard said in a voice from which honey seemed to drip.
“No.”
“……”
“I just want to do it like this.”
