“Feeling better?”
“Yes. I’m alright now.”
Jiwon smiled awkwardly. Perhaps because moisture still lingered at the corners of his eyes, his gentle eye-corners appeared slightly drooped. Ganghyeon couldn’t recall having seen an adult man cry before. It was an unfamiliar sight, but it didn’t bother him. If he was the emotionally expressive type, he could understand that.
The lukewarm air in the car gradually cooled to something pleasant. They had met during the day, gotten fitted for their wedding attire, and then shared a meal at a restaurant Jiwon had recommended. The old establishment didn’t look particularly clean, but the food it put out was quite appetizing. Ganghyeon, who had little interest in food and wasn’t picky, worked through his portion well enough. Jiwon, who seemed to enjoy spicy food but couldn’t handle it well, had been reaching for a probiotic drink again and again — and then proposed their next plan.
“What do you say we eat and then catch a movie?”
“A movie?”
“Yes. I think it’d be nice to have some time to get to know each other before the wedding. It doesn’t have to be, like, a date or anything — but we should at least know each other’s tastes and preferences, shouldn’t we….”
“I suppose.”
“I think it’d be good to be a little closer than we are now before we get married. If we’re going to pretend to be an amicable couple as the contract says.”
He had wondered whether this kind of effort was even necessary, but thinking about it, it wasn’t wrong either. Ganghyeon had agreed with Jiwon’s suggestion, and they were now on their way out after watching the film. They had gone through the most typical of date itineraries — meeting, eating, and watching a movie together. Now that it was getting late, he supposed it was time to take Jiwon home. Ganghyeon asked Jiwon for his impressions of their not-quite-a-date.
“So? Now that we’ve met, had a meal, and watched a movie together — do you feel like we’re a fair bit closer now?”
“Oh, um. A little.”
Just a little. Incredibly slightly. By the width of an ant’s backside. Jiwon smiled awkwardly and gave a brief impression of the time they’d spent together today. There was no way it could feel this close already. Ganghyeon still gave off a sense of distance that made it hard to speak to him casually.
“Honestly I’m not so sure it did much. Wouldn’t a different method be more efficient?”
“What kind of method?”
Ganghyeon rested a hand on the steering wheel, kept his eyes on the cars passing ahead, and pushed his hair back. In the dim parking garage lights and through the car’s dark-tinted windows, the shadowed profile of Ganghyeon’s face showed off a clean, striking line. His brow bones were well-defined, his nose straight and prominent, and below the smooth line of his lips, his jaw looked firm.
“We have something special that beta people don’t. Pheromones, for instance.”
“And?”
“The most efficient way for us to get to know each other — is to mix pheromones.”
Mix pheromones? Right now, out of nowhere? A flustered Jiwon fell silent. He tried not to let it show, but the tips of his ears and his cheeks flushed red in an instant.
“What are you thinking about that’s got your face this red?”
“No, it’s just — you suddenly said mix pheromones, so….”
The voice asking as if teasing drew close to a whisper. When it came to confirming compatibility between an alpha and an omega, the most direct and physical method was, in truth, the most effective. It wasn’t uncommon for alpha and omega couples to end up in bed on the very first day they met, driven by animal magnetism, imprinting through physical union. Ganghyeon preferred efficient, rational methods.
“There are various ways to mix pheromones, but—”
Long, firm fingertips swept the hair that had scattered near his ear back into place. Jiwon’s body went rigid with a pointless surge of tension. He couldn’t tell whether it was because of Ganghyeon’s unfamiliar touch, or because of the deep gaze fixed on him. Ganghyeon’s thumb brushed along Jiwon’s cheek, grazed his chin as it traveled down, and lightly rubbed across his full lips.
“Shall we try the simplest one.”
His gaze followed where the fingers had moved and came to rest on those lips. It had been a remark tossed out on an impulse, but looking at those full lips with their flush of color, he found himself under the odd illusion that they were luring him in. Without hesitation, Ganghyeon leaned forward and tilted his head. In the passenger seat, Jiwon reflexively squeezed his eyes shut.
Their heads angled and their lips met. Ganghyeon parted his mouth and took Jiwon’s lower lip between his. Those full lips were soft and yielding.
Eyes closed, Ganghyeon gently drew in Jiwon’s lower lip, then softly took his upper lip. Foreheads almost touching, their gazes tangled densely in the space between. Ganghyeon held Jiwon’s eyes — reddened still from tears — and then dropped his gaze to Jiwon’s lips. The pheromone drawn in with each breath was delicate and lovely. He found himself drawn in to the point of a sudden, fleeting dark impulse.
By his original calculations, this was where the first kiss should have ended — but the pull of the moment and the impulse resisted letting this brief contact go. With Jiwon’s taste lingering on his lips, Ganghyeon tilted his head again. He pressed his lips to Jiwon’s slightly parted upper lip, then dragged his tongue slowly upward along the seam.
Jiwon, who had been watching his face through half-open eyes, blinked slowly. Ganghyeon’s hand cupping his cheek was warm. As though the warmth were contagious, his body felt like it was heating up. The pheromone Ganghyeon had been releasing curled around Jiwon, enveloping him. Every time he was exposed to Ganghyeon’s pheromone, his mind went blank. Whether it was because it was so potent, or because he was that remarkable dominant alpha — Jiwon couldn’t tell.
The tongue that had been lingering at the seam of his lips pressed through and slid in softly. A wet, yielding warmth explored carefully, touching the tender inner lining of his mouth and brushing along his teeth.
“Hah—”
At the long breath Jiwon exhaled, breath running short, the grip of Ganghyeon’s hand tightened. With a wet, slick sound, their tongues began to twist together. The tongue that had been moving gently inside retreated — and then a sudden forceful suction pulled Jiwon’s tongue across into Ganghyeon.
It wound around softly, then in the next instant drew in with a strength that made him flinch. Jiwon grabbed Ganghyeon’s solid shoulders as if clinging to them. Lips pressed urgently deep together, their saliva mingled thickly, and with every breath, Ganghyeon’s pheromone washed through Jiwon’s mouth in waves.
The lips that had briefly parted as if to give Jiwon time to breathe plunged deep again. Ganghyeon’s tongue, neck turned to reveal the clean line of his jaw, filled his mouth with a rich, swelling warmth. Each time their faces angled and met again, Jiwon’s unsteady breathing scattered through the car.
Ganghyeon drew back, having pressed his lips several more times in shallow, reluctant touches against those full lips as though loath to pull away. The hand that had been cupping his cheek was the last thing to fall away.
“You must have had a lot of people follow you just from your pheromone.”
“……”
“Because the feeling is good.”
Ganghyeon opened the window to air out the close interior of the car, where both their pheromones had grown thick and humid. Each time he raised his arm, a watch with a blue dial peeked out from beneath the sleeve of his dark grey suit. It suited the distinctly masculine hand with its clearly raised tendons. Ganghyeon was a dominant alpha, and he used his pheromone effectively when he wanted to make that known.
Jiwon, who had intended to build intimacy through the ordinary means of sharing a meal and spending time together, felt in one moment as though he’d been completely overtaken. Ganghyeon, who had said something like wouldn’t one kiss be more effective than a method like that and then come at him without a moment’s hesitation, had kissed Jiwon and let his pheromone flow dense and deep. Every time he was exposed to Ganghyeon’s intense pheromone, Jiwon felt his heart rate surge.
Determined not to let his quickened breathing escape, Jiwon pressed his lips shut and gently fanned his heated cheeks with his hand. Ah. Why do I keep being like this. He wasn’t some kid experiencing their first crush — getting nervous over just one kiss. He tried to pass it off with a composed cough, but his laughably thin romantic experience showed through no matter what he did.
“I think I’ll remember Jiwon’s pheromone clearly now.”
With not even a single breath’s difference from before the kiss, Ganghyeon offered his brief impression. In fact, it felt as though he had only now truly registered Jiwon’s presence. The hazy image had sharpened, pheromone and all.
Ganghyeon wanted to maintain as smooth a relationship with Jiwon as possible during their married life. He didn’t know all of Jiwon’s inner feelings, but this wasn’t a relationship that began by making him cry, nor were they enemies bound to despise each other. There was no particular reason to be unpleasant toward each other. The suggestion of getting to know each other better wasn’t a bad one either. He had agreed with Jiwon’s words. He would give in where it was clearly worth it, and where it wasn’t, he would make him understand.
“I understand what you mean, Jiwon. Being a married couple who know nothing about each other wouldn’t be great, I agree. Let’s plan to meet up and have a meal every now and then.”
Feeling as though his intentions had been properly received, Jiwon answered with a smile. And since they were on the topic, he added something else he’d been turning over in his mind.
“Thank you for saying that. And about our wedding preparations—”
“Go ahead.”
“I hope it won’t be too grand. By your family’s standards it might be ordinary, but from our side it can feel like a quiet pressure in its own way.”
“I see. You don’t need to worry too much about it, but if anything beyond what’s currently being arranged comes up, I’ll consult with you first.”
Ganghyeon had been half-listening when his grandmother and mother had gone on about the endless list of things to be done in preparation for the wedding. When he had asked what could possibly be so complicated, they’d said this is just how it’s done — and he had assumed Jiwon’s family would naturally be happy enough with all of it. Grand, drawn-out procedures were something Ganghyeon himself had no appetite for in the first place. Jiwon saying this made it seem like he could cut out a significant amount of tedious work, and that was honestly a relief.
“Shall we head out now?”
Ganghyeon started the car and began pulling out of the underground parking garage beneath the cinema. Kissing in a car while people walked around them in a parking garage. Something he’d never done once in his entire life. Not that he’d had anyone worth showing that level of affection to — but even if he had, it would have been out of character for him.
