Going to the alumni reunion was to confirm properly once more. When he saw Chaehun sitting amid the noisy commotion and the smell of meat, he was certain it was him.
Suggesting sex to Chaehun was an impulsive decision. When he had come outside to take a call and encountered Chaehun in the alley, he thought, what if we had sex?
Perhaps he was swept up in the atmosphere. The acrid smell of cigarettes flowing in the alley where darkness had settled, and Chaehun’s attitude of being both glad yet wary, stimulated his competitive spirit.
The result of the impulsively committed sex met expectations. Even when Chaehun wasn’t in the same space, he could smell and taste. However, the duration didn’t even reach three full days.
Seunggeon didn’t agonize for long over what to do with the human-shaped cure. It wasn’t only because his attending physician offered the opinion that continuously recognizing the imaginary imprint partner was a Beta might break the self-suggestion. The ecstasy of a world where his lost senses of taste and smell had returned was something that could not be replaced by anything.
The world was fragrant and sweet.
If he hadn’t known, he would have lived as he was, lacking. But once he learned what ordinary life with all five senses was, it was impossible to just watch.
Sex was the same. Seunggeon had only met Betas all along. Alphas and Omegas were out of the question from the start because of their nauseating scents. He had never thought sex was unsatisfactory until now, but it didn’t compare to doing it with Chaehun. He didn’t know smell and taste influenced sex that much.
Seunggeon was born and raised as a chaebol’s child. He had no qualms about digging into Chaehun’s background, grasping his weakness, and making deals with money.
Among the returned memories was one of Chaehun trying to kiss his cheek while he lay in the nurse’s office, then stopping. As Chaehun said, it was something from over 10 years ago.
Still, he wanted to prevent complicated situations where emotions got entangled in advance. What Seunggeon needed was Chaehun’s existence, not his affection or devotion or anything like that.
Although it had only been 3 months, they’d gotten along well without any problems so far.
Actually, Chaehun was a subtly difficult type to handle. Being quick-witted and not clingy were great advantages. However, Chaehun had his own standards. Getting angry over something as trivial as a credit card was like that.
Seunggeon considered what Chaehun received to be little. 2 billion won was the price for saving his life, so he should have paid more. But Chaehun’s thinking seemed different.
From the first day, Chaehun, who asked if he had to cater to his moods, acted casually like he had back then in his memories. Sometimes he treated him like a close friend. But the line was clear.
Seunggeon had been accustomed to people approaching him with purposes since childhood. In Chaehun’s case, because what each wanted was clear, they gave and received what they wanted under the name of a transaction. But from the start, the person who had more was Seunggeon.
Ordinary people tried to get one more thing from Seunggeon. But Chaehun seemed to think that since they’d made a transaction with each other, there was nothing more to give and receive from each other. Refusing the card and wristwatch and getting angry was in that context.
He could understand up to that point. That was Chaehun’s own standard.
But today was different. He couldn’t read the intention of Chaehun, who smiled and said he wouldn’t refuse what he gave anymore. That wasn’t affirmation but another meaning of refusal.
At this rate, he wanted to test how much he could accept. Even while buying the wristwatch, he wondered if he could really throw this away too. If he really threw it away, next time he planned to thrust something more expensive at him.
Holding a grudge to wait and see wasn’t his style. But when Chaehun got involved, he became childish as if he’d become a little kid. The fact that he was doing actions he would have cursed at if someone else had done them wasn’t even funny.
Actually, he’d done several things unlike himself.
Going to find Chaehun who had lost consciousness during the call was because of a just-in-case worry. People died from colds too. And it was less troublesome and faster to go himself than to find someone and send them. Moving on a hunch was the right choice. Chaehun, who hadn’t even taken off his coat, had collapsed carelessly on the sofa, barely breathing.
He didn’t take him to the hospital and called Shim Jeongmin instead. After confirming that his fever dropped after getting an injection and his breathing became comfortable, he left the one-room.
He hadn’t planned to visit that place again. Later, he was going to send only Shim Jeongmin to check on Chaehun’s condition. But after returning home and closing his eyes for a moment, he recalled a memory from the past in his dream.
Not long after becoming a senior, Chaehun caught a cold. When he told Chaehun, who came to school with a flushed face as if it was a fever cold rather than a cough cold, to rest at home, the answer came back that his younger brother was sick.
His younger brother was sick so his mother was nursing him, and if he stayed home stuck with a cold too it would be chaotic, Chaehun laughed saying he’d get better quickly if he took medicine. The guy who had been listless all day got progressively worse but didn’t leave early until the end. And Chaehun, who appeared with a haggard face the next day, ran around saying he was fine.
But contrary to Chaehun’s words, he wasn’t in his condition. He was just believing himself that he’d gotten better. Chaehun didn’t know what state he was in.
Back then, Seunggeon knew almost nothing about Chaehun’s family circumstances. He only knew that he had a rough-natured older brother, that Chaehun’s parents took more care of the third son who was an Omega, that Chaehun was relatively neglected, and that Chaehun acted oblivious while knowing it.
Seunggeon, who woke from sleep even recalling Seo Jumyeong calling Chaehun a good child syndrome, felt both pity and irritation simultaneously.
He thought of Chaehun, who was hopelessly foolish both then and now. This time too, thinking just in case, he contacted Shim Jeongmin and went to find Chaehun. Sure enough, Chaehun had already finished preparing to go to work. Even with a weak face, he wasn’t even thinking that he should rest for a day.
People didn’t change easily. No, they did change too. The guy who had been affectionate and kind in his memories was actually acting cynical and stubborn.
What he needed was a cure that didn’t cause trouble. Through several experiments, he had already grasped the effects. If there was no contact, just existing in the same place restored scent and taste. Brief contact lasted a few minutes, a kiss lasted a few hours, sex didn’t exceed three days.
What Seunggeon desired wasn’t a fast-acting medicine with good effects but complete cure. He didn’t want to need him for long. But as the other party was human, variables arose.
Especially while dealing with Chaehun, he regained memories related to him one by one, and in doing so, headaches arose. Today was the same. It wasn’t severe, but the throbbing was annoying.
Buzz.
As he pressed his forehead again at the headache that wouldn’t subside, a message came from Chaehun.
[The porridge was delicious. I ate well. I’ll bring the empty bowl when we meet later. I’m wearing the watch too.]
In the message of just a few lines, he could read politeness, sincerity, and even stubbornness. Seunggeon read the text that appeared neatly on the phone screen once more and laughed.
“You said you’d accept everything.”
“Young master. What did you say?”
Shim Jeongmin reacted to Seunggeon’s muttering.
“Chaehun said he wouldn’t refuse and would accept everything I give.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m curious how far he’ll accept.”
Shim Jeongmin, who had been startled enough to ask back, closed his mouth this time. Seunggeon pretended not to know even though he knew. Once he said it out loud, he really felt like doing it.
Chaehun didn’t know what could be done when his money and power were combined. He thought about gifting a bracelet studded with jewels. He wanted to see both Chaehun’s face scrunching up reluctantly as he received the bracelet, and the bracelet sparkling on his wrist. The preference he’d newly learned this time stimulated his imagination.
“What would be good?”
“You must give gifts carefully. Something the person would like.”
“It’s not a gift, so I’ll do what I want to do.”
When Seunggeon said he’d do as he pleased, Shim Jeongmin answered a beat late.
“You’ll end up fighting.”
Shim Jeongmin, a faithful and wise secretary, gave very realistic advice. However, Seunggeon, faithful to his own desires, didn’t care about fighting either. He wanted to see not only Chaehun flustered but also angry.
Even amid the unpleasant headache, Seunggeon, who wrote up a long list all at once, laughed quietly.
To be continued in Cross Mark Volume 2
