Well, wherever it was, there’d be no reason to refuse a Leroy graduate. There weren’t many Korean international students, but Leroy was a world-renowned prestigious school.
That aside, how did he handle military service? Until recently, I too was in a position where I’d have to return to Korea before thirty to complete military service. But since I’d fully manifested and would have heats, I now had grounds for exemption.
Alphas and Omegas who gained heat and rut cycles through full manifestation were exempt from military service. It was judged to be wasteful to form a separate military to manage the heats and ruts of these extremely small numbers and spend excessive taxes on it. Of course, instead they had to serve alternative service such as working at national research institutes or receiving training, but that allowed for fairly flexible timing adjustments.
As far as I knew, Kwon Jukyung was a Beta. If he, a Beta, was employed immediately, that would mean exemption, so I became curious about the reason. At least outwardly he seemed fine, but was there somewhere he was sick? But it might be a sensitive issue to ask about. Above all, if he asked me the same question, I had no suitable words to deflect. I disliked lying, but I disliked confessing I was an Omega even more, so I decided to just bury my curiosity.
Driving down the night road in silence for a bit, my eyelids gradually grew heavy. Just as I was about to doze off without realizing it, the window my head was touching suddenly went down. As hot, stuffy night wind rushed in, the pleasant air conditioning coolness disappeared in an instant. I looked at Jukyung in disbelief. Not only the passenger seat window where I sat, but the driver’s side window was also open. Was he deliberately being mean to keep me from sleeping?
I glared at Jukyung in annoyance, but he seemed to have no intention of meeting my gaze.
What a childish guy.
I decided to just keep my mouth shut since starting a quarrel for no reason wouldn’t benefit me. Anyway, we were still driving and the air conditioning was still running, so it was twice as good as just being outside.
After driving a bit more in a completely awake state, I suddenly realized why Jukyung had opened the windows. I’d gotten used to it so I didn’t realize quickly, but being in a sealed narrow space, a smell had started to seep from my body.
Ahhh…
Even for me, this was embarrassing. My face heated up slightly. I scratched my head a bit and stuck as close to the door as possible. It was a narrow space anyway, so doing that wouldn’t improve things much.
Fortunately, Jukyung’s place wasn’t very far. Entering the underground parking lot of a brilliantly lit residential-commercial complex building located along the Han River, Jukyung made me get out and parked to one side, then opened the car doors wide. Then he sprayed a bunch of deodorizer and wiped the passenger seat where I’d sat with a tissue soaked in what looked like some special cleaning solution.
I’d already been embarrassed enough on the way, so there was nothing left to be more ashamed of, and I just stood there blankly watching. Since it had gotten dirty because of me, it would be right to say I’d do it, but I didn’t think Jukyung would be particularly pleased about that, so I just quietly kept my mouth shut and waited. Fortunately, though Jukyung was frowning, he didn’t curse and finished cleaning, then locked the car door and started walking ahead.
There was no word or gesture to follow, but I silently followed behind. Taking the elevator, I stood in a corner with my maximum consideration. Naturally Jukyung went to stand at the diagonally opposite side, so his back naturally came into my view.
Between his hair, slightly disheveled from cleaning the car, I could see his well-shaped ear flushed red. I didn’t know if it was red from the heat or from getting heated while cleaning. Or maybe neither, and it was red from being angry at me. For putting a dirty homeless person in his beloved new car.
But that was strangely pleasant. Anyway, today I wouldn’t go hungry and could sleep in a clean, safe place. I could naturally wash in hot water too. That itself felt good, but somehow even Kwon Jukyung being angry because of me felt good. Should I say it felt refreshing?
Perhaps laughter leaked out without me knowing, because Jukyung looked back with fierce eyes.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Just. Because I’m happy.”
“……”
“……”
Suddenly Jukyung cleared his throat.
“What are you happy about?”
“Um… because I get to sleep in a proper place for the first time in a while?”
“……”
Jukyung’s eyes narrowed searchingly again. Did he think there was some other intention in my words? I smiled as innocently as possible. It would be troublesome if the benefactor suddenly changed his mind thinking I was an annoying bastard.
But it seemed to have the opposite effect. Jukyung frowned and turned his head away abruptly. His eyes fixed on the ascending floor numbers. His red ears became even redder. I clicked my tongue inwardly. He was really a difficult guy to please.
***
“Close the door, come in, and stand there for a moment.”
It was when I was entering inside Jukyung’s apartment entrance. Jukyung, who had entered first, stretched out his arm as if to stop me, blocking my way. I closed the door as told, and since the homeowner told me to stand, I obediently stood still and watched what he was doing. Jukyung rummaged through the console drawer in the entrance and pulled out a large bag, opened the bag’s opening and placed it to one side, then stood a little distance away. Then he commanded me.
“Take off all your clothes.”
“…What?”
“Take off all your clothes. Underwear, socks, shoes—take everything off and put it in the bag.”
“……”
I understood the intention. I was too dirty, so he didn’t even want to let me inside the house. If I put myself in his shoes, I’d probably dislike it too. But even so, I wouldn’t go this far. To strip naked at the entrance. Isn’t he crazy?
“Can’t I just go into the bathroom and take them off?”
“No. Those germ-infested scraps of cloth can only come in up to here. If it were up to me, I’d make you strip in the hallway, but since I can’t, I’m compromising as much as possible.”
Jukyung cut in with a stiff voice. Even for me, this was a bit absurd. I closed my mouth and briefly thought about whether to just turn around and leave.
“……”
But turn around and go where? Hot bath water, a warm meal, and a clean bed were right before my eyes. I repeatedly calculated inside. Though I didn’t want to, the mental strength trained by Father also added power.
Wasn’t saying to strip meaning he’d lend me other new clothes? In the end, I had nothing to lose. I was an Omega, but that guy didn’t know that fact, and even if he knew, to Jukyung who was a Beta, I was just the same male bastard as him. Even if he saw the dirty body of a fellow guy, he’d only ruin his own eyes.
“Okay.”
After finishing my thoughts, I took off my clothes without hesitation. I took off my shoes and socks first and threw them into the bag, and as soon as I took off my pants and shirt, I balled them up and put them in. As my bare skin was exposed, I felt a chill even though it was indoors and got slight goosebumps. With only one piece of underwear left, I hooked my fingers on the waistband but hesitated a bit. Even between men, wasn’t it ridiculous for only me to do a striptease in front of someone who was fully clothed?
Glancing over, my eyes met Jukyung’s. I felt a bit offended by his blatantly staring gaze. Does he think I’m some zoo monkey?
“Are you monitoring me now? I’m properly taking them off and throwing them away. What, do you need to confirm I’m taking off my underwear too?”
When I pointedly spoke sarcastically, he seemed flustered for once.
“Huh? No. When you’re done taking everything off, go over there. It’s the bathroom.”
Jukyung extended his finger to show the bathroom’s location, then rubbed his face and turned his body. This time not only his ears but his face and nape were red. I guess he thought he went too far. So he’s not completely without conscience. I clicked my tongue inwardly.
After Jukyung disappeared somewhere inside the house, I quickly took off my underwear, stuffed it inside the bag so it wouldn’t be visible, and walked quickly into the bathroom and closed the door. The bathroom made of blue and white was spacious and clean. There wasn’t a single miscellaneous item, not a single strand of hair fallen.
What just happened was like that too, but I even thought this guy might have germophobia. Or no one had ever used this bathroom.
Looking up, there was a large mirror right there. The mirror occupying the entire wall was spotlessly clean and reflected my naked body as it was. Though it had only been a week since I last saw myself at the jjimjilbang, I’d lost quite a bit of weight. Compared to a month ago, it went without saying. Hair grown every which way was messy, and my pale skin was rough. My eyes were haggard and every bone stood out prominently.
I sighed automatically. Though it was self-inflicted, it was regrettable. The face that had appealed quite well to girls was all ruined. It was a body that had received compliments for being well-proportioned in a model line, but in the mirror stood only a guy who was gaunt and looked bad-tempered.
“Tsk.”
I clicked my tongue loudly and entered the shower booth. I turned on the hot water and stood for a while waiting for my stiff body to loosen up. As the shower booth filled with hazy steam, I actually felt coolness. I felt like I could live. My spirits, which had sunk a bit, lightened again.
I washed my hair with shampoo and washed my body with natural soap that smelled of herbs. After washing once with my hands, I briefly debated whether to use the shower ball, but decided to just use it. Somehow I felt like he’d get angry saying it was dirty if I said I only washed with my hands. If he thought the shower ball was contaminated, he’d just throw it away and use a new one. After scrubbing and washing three times each with shampoo and soap, I felt refreshed.
Coming out of the shower booth, I opened the storage cabinet. I took out a new toothbrush and squeezed on plenty of toothpaste to brush my teeth. I brushed every time, but still, doing it in a proper place felt new. After wiping my body with a white, soft towel, I looked around the bathroom briefly before going out. Though I’d rinsed with water, I could clearly picture Kwon Jukyung making a fuss later about disinfecting separately. Kwon Jukyung crouching down cleaning the bathroom. It somehow didn’t suit him and was funny.
Opening the bathroom door and going out, new clothes were placed in the small space with a mirror, cosmetics, hair dryer, and such. Loose pants and a t-shirt. And new underwear that hadn’t been unwrapped. New slippers were also placed. They must be for me to wear.
