– …
Kwon Jukyung shut his mouth again.
A long sigh flowed out. I heard rustling sounds of him touching something.
“Kwon Jukyung? Ya, are you listening?”
– I’m listening. I didn’t see the note. It must have fallen somewhere.
Jukyung was silent for a moment as if thinking about something, then opened his mouth again in a somewhat tired voice.
– So you’re not… angry at me or anything, right? You didn’t leave, did you?
No, so what would I be angry about? And leaving—how could I leave when it’s not even my house? And if we’re being precise, weren’t you the one who left?
“I don’t think that’s what we should be talking about right now. About what happened yesterday. Kwon Jukyung, don’t you have something to say to me?”
– …
Jukyung shut his mouth. Well, the situation was too complicated to briefly explain over the phone. And… Hmm. Did he think I’d be angry because of what he did last night? Well, if it was that, ten mouths wouldn’t be enough to explain. Even if he used the rut as an excuse, yesterday was too much… I swallowed a sigh inwardly. But if he’d just manifested, would he have the presence of mind to worry about that? That wasn’t what was important right now.
“Well, I actually have something to say too…”
First of all, Jukyung must have realized I was an Omega. Yesterday I was too out of it to properly control my pheromones. If Jukyung was an Alpha, he couldn’t have failed to notice. Naturally, he must have realized I’d been hiding that I was an Omega all along. Unless he was still in such a panic that he couldn’t think logically about this and that.
“I’m planning to stay here for a few days, going back and forth between the academy and the hospital. That’s why I packed some things when I left. You shouldn’t stay somewhere else leaving your house empty—stay comfortably at home.”
As I talked, I couldn’t quite remember why Jukyung had left home or what we’d fought about. We’d definitely had a big argument and Jukyung had stormed out… I guess I was that shocked by yesterday’s events.
“I’ll just stay for about a week and then come back, so let’s meet face-to-face and talk then. I have a lot to say too, and I need some time during that period to organize my thoughts…”
– Let’s meet now.
“What?”
– Let’s meet and talk now. I’ll be there in 10 minutes, so wait.
“What? Ya, Kwon Jukyung. It’s late right now…”
The phone cut off while I was talking. I stared down at the disconnected phone screen, dumbfounded for a moment. No, I’m saying I need time apart to think? And it’s almost 11 PM, late at night. No, more than that… how does he know my house to come here? What’s with the 10 minutes? Where is he now to be coming in 10 minutes?
I just stared at my phone in a somewhat absurd state, then suddenly saw the numbers showing 10:47 and got up from the bed abruptly. Anyway, I had to get ready to go out first. When I went to the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror, my hair was a disaster from sleeping while it was wet. My hair was sticking out in all directions like alien antennae.
I’d washed before going to bed, but I washed my face and brushed my teeth again, and barely managed to flatten my hair by wetting it. I was rummaging through the closet looking for clothes to wear when I thought, what am I doing right now, and just found clean sweatpants and a hoodie to put on. When I finished, 8 minutes had passed. I quietly slipped out of my room and went down to the entrance.
The people working at the house had all retired to the annex, so the main house was quiet to the point of being silent. I quietly opened the front door, came out, and ran across the garden. It was a cloudy night, so the moonlight was faint. I could hear dogs barking somewhere.
I closed the large gate that made a creaking sound and stopped for a moment. Although the streetlights were on, the road in front of the house, which had little foot traffic, was shrouded in hazy darkness. A white mid-sized sedan passed quickly before my eyes. Of course, it wasn’t Jukyung’s car.
The air coming out of my mouth rose up as white breath. Only then did I realize the weather was too cold to believe it was March. I should have put on something else, but it was already too late. The time was just passing 11 minutes. I still didn’t feel any sign of a car coming from down the road, but I was impatient. I didn’t want to go back into the house and come out again only to have Jukyung arrive first and wait.
I was excited that Jukyung was coming to find me this late at night, and anxious not knowing what he’d say. We said we’d talk, but where would this conversation lead? Would I be crying or smiling in a couple of hours?
I kicked at the ground with my feet, killing time. I wanted to see him quickly, but I also wished time would stop so the moment of meeting Jukyung would be delayed. Until I was completely ready in my heart.
It was a strange feeling. That I, as a person, could be this emotional. That I could be swept up in emotions I’d never experienced even during puberty.
Finally, Jukyung’s car appeared.
“Why are you dressed like that?”
As soon as I opened the car door and our faces met, Jukyung frowned. The excited, trembling emotions shattered with a crash. So much for being emotional.
And why are you talking like that?
I almost blurted out a sulky remark but held it back. I thought I’d control my temper today and not fight. No, honestly, looking at the two of us, I could confidently say I was usually the one holding back my temper. So why do fights still happen when one side is being patient? Isn’t it because Kwon Jukyung has a bad personality after all? I don’t understand myself for liking a guy like this. A guy who’s only polished on the outside.
As I got into the passenger seat with my lips pouting and closed the car door, Jukyung turned up the heater a bit more. Warm heat also rose from under the seat. And at the same time, Jukyung’s cologne hit me. No, his pheromone scent.
At the scent that brought back memories of last night, while grumbling inwardly, I felt heat rush to my face. It might be thicker than usual since it was right after his rut, but still, to think I thought this was cologne—what kind of dense person was I?
No, honestly, it wasn’t just me. That bastard Kwon Jukyung didn’t know even though it was his own thing. Of course, that’s assuming he manifested yesterday.
…
Well, thinking about it, I thought the slight fever right before my manifestation was because I wasn’t feeling well or had drunk alcohol. Utterly clueless. What a blockhead. Kwon Jukyung sometimes scolds me for being stupid, and now I can’t even argue with that anymore.
“Give me your hand.”
“Huh?”
While I was lost in other thoughts and hesitated for a moment, Jukyung reached out first and took my hand.
“You should’ve kept them in your pockets at least. They’re frozen solid.”
My eyes widened as I watched. Jukyung grumbled as he slipped that hand inside his sweater.
“Ugh, it’s cold.”
Jukyung’s shoulders trembled slightly. I swallowed unconsciously. Since Jukyung was only wearing a thin T-shirt under his sweater, with just one layer of fabric between us, his warm body heat transferred directly to me. It was a position that might have been uncomfortable for me, but Jukyung leaned his body considerably toward me, so I only needed to twist my body slightly.
It was strange. Wasn’t this too ticklish an action for Kwon Jukyung to do? My heart rate started to quicken—not because of the pheromone scent, but because of that action. I felt happy and sad at the same time.
I wish Kwon Jukyung liked me.
I wish this action was something he was doing because he liked me.
Not Seo Jehyun, but me, Kang Doyun, because he liked me.
I blinked rapidly in case moisture welled up.
Ah, how annoying. Since when did I have such fragile sensibilities?
“Hey, don’t seduce me. Unless you’re planning to do it in the car.”
Jukyung suddenly pressed down on my hand and glared at me. My eyes narrowed at that line, which swept away my surging emotions on its own.
“What nonsense are you talking about? What did I do?”
Aren’t you the one doing something anyone would misunderstand in this situation, Kwon Jukyung?
“You were just about to grope my stomach. There’s nothing to grab since it’s all muscle though.”
Come to think of it, my fingers had tensed up and curled from my surge of emotion. Since my palm was pressed against Jukyung’s stomach, my fingertips had almost scratched his skin.
“Ah, I just… my hands were cold so I was trying to make a fist, okay?”
Even as I answered without backing down, the soles of my feet itched from the childishness of it. My face flushed on its own.
“Really? I was secretly hoping otherwise.”
I frowned again. Why is this bastard acting so languid when it’s not like him?
“Crazy bastard.”
I cursed and tried to pull my hand out. But I couldn’t. Jukyung held on tight with force and wouldn’t let go.
“I thought you were angry.”
Jukyung’s voice suddenly dropped. Without even looking at me, just staring at the dark window outside.
“You weren’t answering and you weren’t home. My mind went blank.”
“……”
Honestly, I was the one who wanted to get angry now.
Why was he doing these things to me and saying these things? I don’t know why he thought I was angry, but saying his mind went blank because I wasn’t answering and wasn’t home—isn’t that exactly the kind of thing that’s easy to misunderstand? Should I record this? If you say this kind of shit and then say you don’t like me….
I wanted to say something but somehow my throat felt choked up so I couldn’t say anything.
A brief silence fell.
Eventually, I cleared my throat. I decided to speak first.
“Yesterday, did you manifest?”
“Huh?”
“Did you manifest as an Alpha? Was that your first rut yesterday?”
“Uh… well….”
