The area under Lorenz’s eyes twitched briefly. The pale knuckles gripping the lounge chair’s armrest bulged.
He didn’t want to associate any images while listening to music. He only wanted to immerse himself in following the order in which the notes on the sheet music were faithfully executed as perfect sounds.
But Elian Bellotti’s face was interfering with that appreciation.
Yes, because he happened to be listening to this piece at that time.
At that moment when he first discovered him, of all pieces, this one.
Lorenz stopped following the score with his eyes and became absorbed in thought in earnest.
While greeting Lorenz after work, Margaret once again suggested that he invite Elian Bellotti to dinner. She was telling him to make peace.
“He’s doing his best for Lucas. I don’t think even you can refute that Mr. Bellotti is an excellent counselor, Lord Lorenz.”
Several days had passed since the first meeting, but during that time, Lorenz hadn’t run into Elian Bellotti at all. Even though they were staying in the same house, they weren’t family. He had no obligation to see Lorenz off or greet him every time he went to or came home from work.
“Then tell him to come down to the dining room by 8 o’clock.”
Lorenz spoke as if he had no choice and was about to return to his room. However, Margaret’s voice caught his ankle.
“That won’t do.”
“Why now.”
“You need to extend the dinner invitation yourself. Surely you haven’t been asking people on dates like that until now, have you?”
“This isn’t a date… is it.”
Lorenz’s answer, which had been full of confidence, somehow gradually lost its certainty. His eyes narrowed. As if doubting himself.
It’s not a date, is it.
Of course it’s not a date.
“It’s not a date, but it’s a meeting to make peace. So Lord Lorenz needs to invite him directly. Otherwise, the meaning fades. If he hears through someone else the message to come down to the dining room by 8 o’clock, anyone would take it as an order.”
Lorenz, who had been standing and lost in thought for a moment, soon stroked his chin with his large palm and shrugged his shoulders.
“Well. I don’t want to disappoint Margaret, but even if I invite him to dinner, we’ll definitely argue again.”
That was an hour ago when he’d said that curtly and avoided the situation.
Not an employment relationship but a cooperative relationship.
Not a subcontractor but a partner company.
While mulling over Margaret’s words in his head, his mind became increasingly scattered.
Unable to even concentrate on music—it was nothing short of hell within hell.
Damn it.
Eventually, Lorenz stopped the music without fully appreciating a single piece. It was an extremely rare occurrence.
He stood up abruptly and left the room with rough, hurried steps like an angry person.
The bedroom prepared for Elian by the Lockharts was very comfortable. It was at least three times larger than Elian’s room in Brooklyn, with a luxurious private bathroom attached. Of course, the furniture and bedding were also top-quality. Sitting at the desk in front of the window, one could look down on the beautiful courtyard. Elian would write reports about Lucas there.
The sound of water pouring into the bathtub was rather loud. Elian, who had walked out of the bathroom in a robe, went to the window and picked up his phone. While relieving the day’s tension with a bath, he planned to watch videos related to child psychology counseling. It was very useful as he could access various lectures by famous counselors on video-sharing platforms.
However, a completely different video from his original purpose caught Elian’s attention.
<Pheromone Dependence Syndrome: It Was Both Fortune and Happiness for Them>
It was a title that someone with Pheromone Dependence Syndrome could never pass by. The thumbnail featured a couple affectionately facing each other and smiling brightly.
Elian, who had played the video, sat down on the edge of the bed while groping his way with his gaze fixed on the screen.
The video began with a journey to a small-to-medium city in Colorado.
[Emma, who was diagnosed with Pheromone Dependence Syndrome, got married as soon as she turned eighteen. It was right after finishing high school. Ryan, her childhood friend and boyfriend since she was fifteen, had proposed to her after learning about her condition.]
An interview with the man introduced as Ryan followed.
He was a healthy-looking young man with rosy, glowing cheeks. He revealed their story with a shy smile.
[As soon as I heard about Emma’s condition, I couldn’t think of anything else. Everyone opposed it, saying we were getting married too early, but Emma and I were certain. Rather, we realized because of that condition. Going to college, dating for a few more years… we realized such time-wasting was unnecessary for us. I had a gut feeling that I would eventually marry Emma. Whether in 5 years, 10 years, or right now, I was going to marry Emma eventually, so there was no need to postpone it.]
The video showed the two’s ordinary daily life.
Holding hands and taking walks, shopping together, stopping by a flower shop to smell fresh roses, cooking happily in a cozy kitchen—their appearance was no different from any other couple.
Ryan’s interview continued again.
[If you just periodically exchange pheromones with your partner, it’s a condition with no problems at all, right? You don’t need to keep taking expensive stabilizers, and you don’t have to suffer from side effects. There was no reason to hesitate about marriage. Emma is healthier than anyone now. Even more than me.]
This time the screen changed to show Ryan and Emma sitting side by side. Emma’s face was full of vitality, as if proving her health.
[Just as Ryan said. I’ve never taken stabilizers even once until now, and there are no problems or inconveniences in my life. Pheromone Dependence Syndrome isn’t such a dangerous condition as people think. As long as you’re with someone you love.]
Emma looked back at Ryan with a warm gaze, and Ryan gently wrapped Emma’s hand.
[Emma and I say that the condition is both our fortune and happiness. Because it made us realize early that we are each other’s destiny, without needing to go the long way around.]
Pheromone Dependence Syndrome.
A rare disease that occurs in Alphas and Omegas.
If one isn’t periodically exposed to pheromones of the opposite sex, the autonomic nervous system becomes unstable, causing anxiety, hyperventilation, and seizure symptoms in succession. Without any warning signs, heat can occur in Omegas and rut in Alphas. If symptoms worsen, one can lose consciousness, and in this case, one may suffer fatal brain damage.
However, as long as one regularly receives pheromones from the opposite sex, one can live as a perfectly normal person. Like Emma.
Elian was diagnosed with this condition about three years ago and had been taking stabilizers ever since.
Taking stabilizers can prevent the symptoms of the condition, but as a side effect, one’s sense of smell gradually weakens. They say the sense of smell returns if one stops the medication and proceeds with pheromone exposure, but for Elian’s current situation, he couldn’t stop taking stabilizers. Unless he dated an Alpha boyfriend or girlfriend, taking stabilizers was essential.
To be able to control the condition by marrying someone you truly love and exchanging each other’s pheromones. Emma and Ryan in the video were an extremely lucky case. However, not everyone’s life unfolded that way.
Among Pheromone Dependence Syndrome patients, many rushed into marriage at an early age, conscious of the condition. And the majority of those marriages met unhappy endings. Since they rushed into marriage for reasons other than love, it might be a natural result.
Elian, who had stopped playing the video, got up from his seat with a heavy sigh. It seemed it would be better to listen to music during his bath after all.
He rummaged through several of the records he’d selected and brought from his Brooklyn home.
Debussy’s Rêverie.
It was a piece his mother also loved, so she would often play it as a lullaby since childhood. Perhaps because of that, whenever he heard this piece, he felt comfortable as if returning to his youth.
A peaceful smile lingered briefly on Elian’s face as he stroked the surface of the old record cover. Objects bearing his mother’s touch were precious memories in themselves.
He carefully placed the record on the turntable and lowered the needle to match the groove. With faint static, a familiar and affectionate sound spread out.
Elian opened a wine bottle purchased from a retail store and filled a glass. It was an Argentinian Malbec he used to drink often with his mother. After swirling the wine glass several times to let the aroma open up sufficiently, he tilted the glass and brought his nose close. However, he couldn’t feel the red wine’s flavor at all. Only the harsh spirit unique to alcohol faintly brushed past.
