Yong Cheonha sipped his drink at the café during a rare slow shift, chatting idly with the older part-time girls.
“That annoying regular isn’t coming in today.”
“I can do an impression of him. Ahem. Hey. You there. Over here, part-timer — can’t you even memorize a customer’s face? Never mind, just bring me my coffee.“
“Sir. Stop talking nonsense and go home.”
The bored part-timers vented their stress by imitating the difficult customer. A burst of bright, cheerful laughter spread across the counter that was usually always busy.
Yong Cheonha’s face was full of smiles too.
Things are going back and forth with my crush. He didn’t usually use emoticons much, but his replies were so diligent it made him seem unbearably cute.
The fact that he had no profile picture and no status message was also endearing and charming.
[Chae Songhwa: When does your shift end?]
Yong Cheonha fought to keep the corners of his mouth from melting into a grin as he rapidly typed out what time he got off, where the café was located, and what he’d recommend from the menu.
Before he could send the reply, another message arrived from Chae Songhwa first.
[Chae Songhwa: If you’re free later, could we meet for a bit?]
What? He’s asking if we can meet? Damn. Where should I look for a venue? Where’s the nearest wedding hall?
Yanking his mind back before it could float off somewhere again, Yong Cheonha struggled to recover his composure and forcibly settled himself down. He smothered every trace of excitement and reached a state of perfect calm.
Getting ahead of yourself is how you ruin things.
Push and pull is what matters in the early stages.
With a composed face that betrayed nothing — and fingers trembling violently beneath the surface — he sent his reply.
[I’m free]
[I’m free lol]
[The shop’s quiet today and there are a lot of the noonas here so it should be fine?]
[Small businesses are struggling as it is, feels like I should at least help cut down on labor costs lol]
[Gotta look out for each other lololol]
Yong Cheonha, who apparently had no idea what composure was, suddenly remembered belatedly whether the outfit he’d worn today was even decent.
He’d come in wearing comfortable sweats because it seemed like a waste to wear something nice to work — so where was the nearest department store from here?
[Chae Songhwa: Don’t worry about that — just tell me the time and I’ll come to you.]
He’s this proactive? Am I not going home today?
He felt a little sorry for his family, who’d been asking him to come home now that his finals were over — but that’s just how it was.
“Noonas. Is it possible for me to leave early today?”
“Huh? Today’s so easy though, why? Are you sick?”
At the word sick, the idle part-timers swarmed over in concern. He hadn’t meant to attract this much attention.
“I’m not sick — something incredibly important has come up. A once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing.”
It was possible his entire life was about to change. This could be the single greatest and final defining moment of his existence.
“Well, there are no customers anyway, and you leaving won’t even make a dent. I’ll have a word with the manager if he says anything. Go on. If there’s a problem, let us know.”
“Yes!”
Yong Cheonha rushed to change and sprinted all the way home. He felt like his adrenaline was going to explode.
Thanks to his Running Crew activities, he was able to run for a long time with a stable form. When he arrived and looked in the mirror, he saw a man with his face flushed red as if he’d just won the lottery.
I was running through the streets with this idiotic look on my face.
Reminding himself not to make this face in front of Chae Songhwa, he glared ferociously at his reflection.
“Okay.”
Keep this expression.
He dressed neatly in an effortlessly put-together way — the intellectual modern-man look — and checked himself in the mirror. If he fixed his hair too, it would be way too obvious he was trying, right?
“Good.”
Blinded by beauty, Yong Cheonha grabbed a taxi.
Running there again would make his expression hard to manage, and driving himself seemed likely to end in speeding from sheer excitement. Calling the uncles felt like too much trouble. And above all, he couldn’t show up smelling like sweat to meet someone this beautiful.
He did one final check on his appearance before stepping inside the meeting spot.
Perhaps because of all that scrambling, the other party was already sitting and waiting for him.
Good lord. Even from a distance, his aura was so distinct he could be spotted in an instant. Even with a mask on, his beauty still managed to cut right through it.
Yong Cheonha, who knew all too well what kind of face was hidden beneath that mask, took a deep breath and sat down in the chair across from him.
Chae Songhwa, who had been drooping his head like a wilting flower, looked up. His beautiful eyes, deep with worry, were swirling with confusion.
“Oh. You’re here.”
“Yes! What did you want to tell me?”
Something must have happened in the last half day. The thought that this might not be the positive conversation he’d been hoping for made him tense slightly.
“I have something rather difficult to ask of you……”
A favor.
If he’s asking with a face that pitiful, how could I refuse anything — but what could he possibly need to ask me for?
He probably doesn’t even know I’m a resident of Yongho-dong.
“What is it?”
He was less curious about what kind of favor it was, and more concerned about whether he’d been to the hospital — he looked worse than yesterday.
“Could you release a bit of your pheromones for me right now?”
It wasn’t a difficult favor at all. Of course, releasing pheromones excessively in an open public space like this was bad manners — but just a little. Whatever.
Thinking nothing of it, he released his pheromones. Was that enough? Should I release more? He watched Chae Songhwa carefully, and his complexion had improved noticeably — but his face was still heavy with worry.
Then he let out a deeply troubled sigh.
“Why? What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
Does he need money? Should I go collect some debt someone owes him? Or did he land a good project and wants to avoid contact with civilians?
“I know this will be very unpleasant for you……”
We haven’t even been together that long and you’re breaking up with me? No. Don’t. Think again. I’m actually capable of a lot more than you’d expect, and I’m a devoted person.
“I……”
I’m not going to let you go. We haven’t even had a chance to try anything. Think it over one more time.
“……I think I may have one-sidedly imprinted on you, Cheonha……”
“……I d— what?”
“I’m sorry……”
Yong Cheonha stared at Chae Songhwa — who was trembling, head bowed so low his crown was showing — and couldn’t even blink.
What did I just hear?
Imprint? Im-print?
He paused for a moment to think about whether he had the word imprint wrong.
Imprint. One of the pheromone interactions that occurs between an alpha and an omega when they are in a mutually favorable relationship and a psychological bond has formed — a phenomenon that tends to occur most actively between lovers who are sexually involved. Something romanticized in society as the most beautiful and terrible kind of binding, also called the final destination of love……
Isn’t that a good thing?
He didn’t know what principle or chain of causation had led to this result, but he welcomed it with both arms wide open.
The person I’m interested in has one-sidedly imprinted on me. No matter how he thought about it, wasn’t this a good thing?
He had no idea why Chae Songhwa was acting like someone who’d committed a crime. They said imprinting required mutual feelings!
“I didn’t think… that hyung thought of me that way……”
So he has a bold side to him that doesn’t show on the surface. An alpha this forward? I don’t mind. No — I actually like it.
“Sorry?”
“Hah……. This has never happened to me before. I’m a little flustered too — what am I supposed to do?”
It’ll be almost July soon, can we secure a venue before the semester starts? July is too hot, so wouldn’t sometime in October when the weather cools down be better? I’m the class president, so I’d have to invite at least our department classmates, right?
Considering his career, a small wedding might be better. Whatever the case — a groom in autumn. That would be a sight.
“For now, a tuxedo——”
“I’m truly sorry, but could you come to the hospital with me——”
Huh? Why would we go to the hospital?
Huh? Why is he bringing up a tuxedo?
Like a comedy skit, the two of them stared blankly at each other, blinking in silence. It was Chae Songhwa who came to his senses first.
He must have a strong sense of responsibility.
To think he’d immediately consider taking responsibility just because someone he didn’t even have feelings for had imprinted on him. It was the kind of example others could only look up to.
But it wasn’t right to shackle the ankles of a twenty-year-old with his whole future ahead of him.
Chae Songhwa explained again — that he was asking whether Yong Cheonha could accompany him to the hospital as a guardian for the imprint removal procedure.
It was a bolt from the blue for Yong Cheonha. There were limits to giving a gift and then snatching it back — how could he put a beautiful alpha who had imprinted on him onto a cold operating table?
No, how did the imprint even happen in the first place? Don’t you have feelings for me too?
“They said the procedure can’t be performed without the consent of the omega in question. It’s making daily life too difficult, so I’m asking for your help. It’s more painful than I expected, and I’m so sorry for taking up your time, but……”
“Ah……”
Still, can’t you just leave the imprint alone? It’s such a waste. I heard imprinting is harder than it sounds.
He was so disappointed.
But Yong Cheonha had at least a minimal sense of decency and conscience. Seeing a beautiful person in pain didn’t sit well with him either.
“Forget it, let’s go right now.”
No point clinging to a stroke of luck. A one-sided imprint? Even without a coincidence like that, he felt like things could work out between them with just a little effort. He was, after all, quite overflowing with charm.
When he agreed to go to the hospital together, Chae Songhwa broke into a bright, happy smile — and the last traces of disappointment dissolved like dust.
On the way to the hospital, he asked how the imprint had come about, how Chae Songhwa had found out, and how difficult it had been.
Apparently, ever since they met at the club, his body had been in poor shape — at first he’d assumed it was a hangover. He hadn’t thought much of it.
But time passed with no signs of improvement.
Chae Songhwa had been ill throughout the entire time Yong Cheonha was finishing up his semester, and yet for the sake of his livelihood, he’d dragged his aching body to work his shifts at the fried chicken place. His whole body ached the entire time he worked — but at some point he’d started feeling better, so he’d thought he’d recovered. That wasn’t the case.
It was because Yong Cheonha habitually walked around releasing his pheromones, and Chae Songhwa had been indirectly benefiting from a pheromone shower effect — which had only temporarily relieved his symptoms.
If Yong Cheonha hadn’t gone to the end-of-semester party, or if Chae Songhwa had been too sick to show up for his shift, the two of them would never have met.
Two people who didn’t know each other’s names, phone numbers, or anything — who even lived on opposite ends of the city. What were the chances they’d meet again? And yet here they were, reunited like this.
Could this person be the blessed connection the Shaman had spoken of?
Yong Cheonha had a powerful gut feeling.
This person is definitely one of two things — my fate, or my destiny.
