If only there hadn’t been that commotion at the hospital on the day Han Yeoul manifested as an omega, we might have been irreplaceable brothers to each other like before. Well, even now we’re not on bad terms, but we’re not exactly close either.
“Don’t leave Yeoul alone, watch him until I come back.”
“Is Han Yeoul the only patient here?”
“Still, is Yeoul a stranger?”
Second brother closed the chart with a thud and looked at me. His face looking at me was quite emotionless. A face where I couldn’t read any change in emotion. How long will he treat me with that face? Even though I did wrong…
“Yoo Seonjae.”
Second brother sighed while taking off his glasses.
“You can’t have everything your way in the world. You should be old enough to know that by now, right?”
“What am I doing my way—”
“Me working at the hospital isn’t ‘for you.’ Right?”
At this point, anger welled up in me too. I mean, I just asked you to stay by Han Yeoul’s side for a bit while I’m away, does that warrant such a reaction?
“You’d think, ‘why is he making such a big deal out of something like this,’ but—”
“……”
“Yeoul is pretty. I don’t dislike Yeoul. But I haven’t forgiven you yet for what you did because of Yeoul.”
“Hyung!”
“Don’t force that too.”
Until Han Yeoul finished his IV and we went home, I treated him no differently than usual. Second brother’s words circled in my head, but I couldn’t show that to Han Yeoul.
If we go home like this, another day no different from usual will end.
We arrived home and had a delicious dinner no different from usual, and slept in our respective rooms. Actually, I wanted to hold Han Yeoul all night because I got tired from releasing so many pheromones during the day, but he’s sick today. I’m not so senseless as to push myself on a sick person.
Moreover…
Tomorrow, Han Yeoul is absurdly going to an ‘interview.’
I thought that at least to avoid being resented for ruining the interview because of me, it would be better not to touch him tonight. I could see Han Yeoul’s shadow going back and forth through the door crack, but not knowing whether it was because he wanted to sleep with me or because of anxiety about tomorrow’s interview, I just decided to lie down and pretend not to know until Han Yeoul knocked on my door.
Regrettably, Han Yeoul never knocked on the door.
I wished the day wouldn’t break.
Damn it. The sunlight is too dazzling. On a day like today, I wished it would pour rain. Clothes getting wet, hair getting wet, shoes and bag all getting wet, and the interviewer saying ‘Coming to an interview in such attire, are you in your right mind!’ and rejecting him—that would feel really good.
Of course, even soaked in water, Han Yeoul would be pretty.
“Hello, honey.”
When I barely managed to get up from my stiff body and went out to the living room, Han Yeoul greeted me with a refreshed face as if in a good mood.
So wandering in front of my room last night wasn’t because he wanted to sleep with me, but because he was anxious about the interview. I don’t like it.
“Seonjae-ya, what’s wrong with your face, honey?”
Han Yeoul asked with a worried face. What do you mean what’s wrong? I couldn’t sleep at all.
How could I fall asleep when Han Yeoul is going to an interview? Honestly, calling it an interview, this is practically confirmed employment. Got the patent attorney license in one try, pretty, good family, excellent school grades—it would be strange not to be hired.
“It’s nothing.”
Han Yeoul, who couldn’t possibly know my feelings, put his hand on my forehead and took my temperature as if truly worried.
At times like this, Han Yeoul is endlessly pretty but also frustrating. How can someone not know themselves to this extent? If he goes outside, people wanting to hire him will line up, and to be so defenseless…
Ah, I’m really so anxious. Can’t you just not go outside, Yeoul-ah?
I pulled Han Yeoul into my arms. Without realizing it, I wrapped him with my pheromones. If I could, I wanted to release my pheromones thickly right here and now to make Han Yeoul lie down on the floor panting. But if I did that, I probably wouldn’t be able to see his face for the rest of my life.
“Seo, Seonjae-ya, why.”
“Just a moment… Let’s stay like this just for a moment, Yeoul-ah.”
So please allow me just a little. That way I can feel at ease.
I pulled Han Yeoul into my arms and deeply breathed in his scent. My heart became a little more at ease. And then, as much as I became at ease, I became anxious.
Han Yeoul’s pheromones rippled faintly.
He wouldn’t know. How much murderous self-control I’m exercising every morning. If I wanted to, I could hold him and roll around all day. No, I wanted to do that. The only reason I don’t do that is one thing.
Because I don’t want to be hated by Han Yeoul.
“Do you really have to go to the interview?”
“Why, again—”
Even his voice is cute. I’m anxious. Because you’re pretty to other people’s eyes too, even if you have no awareness of it, I’m anxious when you go outside alone.
“What if there are weird guys at the company?”
I can’t go around beating them all up one by one.
“There are more good people in the world, Seonjae-ya.”
Laughter was mixed in Han Yeoul’s voice. An innocent laugh that doesn’t know the world. Well, he doesn’t know how many shitflies I’ve swatted away from clinging to him, so he can laugh like that.
There are more good people in the world? No? There are only two types of humans in the world.
Humans who can’t approach while looking at Han Yeoul, and humans who are desperate to do something to Han Yeoul.
A sigh burst out. How are you going to live in the world being this naive, Han Yeoul?
“Just, why don’t you open an office right away? I’ll pay for it.”
“Who’s going to entrust work to a patent attorney with no experience? And I haven’t gotten hired yet, Seonjae-ya. I’m going to an interview.”
No, that’s the problem.
You have a free pass to interviews, Yeoul-ah. Your looks are like that and your specs are excellent too. It would be strange if they didn’t hire you after seeing you.
“Our honey is so sharp and pretty, it’s obvious you’ll pass the interview right away.”
Han Yeoul laughed as if it was ridiculous.
“That’s only in your eyes, Seonjae-ya?”
Releasing his arms from the embrace, Han Yeoul looked into my eyes with a rather serious expression and said,
“Up until now, has there been any alpha besides you who followed me around saying they liked me?”
Uh. There were countless. I literally threw a fit to prevent anyone from coming near you. I blocked them using every method I could, so you just didn’t know.
“Or has there been an alpha who even once said out loud that I’m pretty?”
Are you deaf?
If I look carefully, Han Yeoul seems to have bad hearing. Even when we’re together, the sounds that are always heard are things like ‘Who’s that omega?’, ‘Wow, he’s really pretty,’ but somehow those sounds don’t enter Han Yeoul’s ears.
“See, there’s never been even once.”
Taking my speechlessness from disbelief as affirmation, Han Yeoul smiled brightly and said.
Right.
I’m truly dumbfounded. Must be nice to be so comfortable, you.
How can someone lack self-objectification to this extent? It’s not like he suffered emotional abuse as a child, or had someone constantly crushing his self-esteem around him, yet Han Yeoul always underestimated himself.
But it’s not like his self-esteem is low either, so how is he like that?
The basis for Han Yeoul evaluating himself so lowly is… is it that after all?
The fact that he’s ‘recessive’?
…Pitiful.
Trapped by just those two characters ‘recessive,’ not even seeing his true self and endlessly putting himself down. To me, Han Yeoul is cooler and prettier than any dominant omega.
“Please stop worrying. I’m not popular, I tell you?”
See that. How can I not worry when he’s like that? Well. Since he thinks like that, there is one advantage—he can’t pick up on signals no matter how much people around him send them. Of course, that’s also because I coat Han Yeoul with my pheromones.
“And where is there someone who passes an interview on the first try? Instead of worrying about such things, get ready for school.”
While saying something that doesn’t even make sense, Han Yeoul puts on a suit. Seeing a pretty person dress up even prettier while saying such things makes my heart jump even more wildly, but I can’t do anything right now. I can only devise a plan while watching Han Yeoul’s back as he leaves the house with a smile.
As expected, Han Yeoul passed the interview in one go.
“Wow… I got it, Seonjae-ya.”
