I buried the handkerchief against my face and took a deep breath.
“Yeoul’s pheromones are on it.”
“Ah—”
“You wouldn’t know since you’re a beta, Uncle, but this is really precious.”
“Is that so?”
“My Yeoul’s pheromones are faint, so they disappear quickly…”
Yeah. That’s why it’s a bit upsetting. I don’t know how long this scent will last.
“Seonjae, then you shouldn’t be waving that around like that. What will you do if the scent all disappears?”
“But Uncle, isn’t it amazing?”
“Hm? What is?”
“Even though the pheromones are so faint—”
I buried my face in the handkerchief once more and took a deep breath.
“I can feel the scent so well.”
Uncle Irang looked at me with an expression that said he didn’t understand. There was also pity mixed in that expression. It seemed like a look of worry that I might have lost my mind while searching for Yeoul.
“Haha. Don’t worry. I haven’t gone crazy, Uncle. It’s not that—I imprinted, you know. On Yeoul.”
“Ah.”
“Maybe that’s why I can feel the scent so well.”
“That’s fascinating. Trait carriers definitely have something like that. I have no idea. Even when people talk about pheromones and whatnot, betas like me can’t sense any of it.”
“Yeah.”
I folded the handkerchief neatly, inhaled the scent once more, and put it in my pocket.
“That’s why I feel even more that we’re destined. I’ll never give up, Yeoul.”
The owner of the truck was a bakery.
Hyohyo Bakery.
It was an unfamiliar name, but the moment I confirmed the business owner’s name, I was momentarily flustered. A familiar name popped up.
Kim Yeonghyo.
Why is this name popping up here?
The little brat that Yeoul used to look after in high school had bulked up a bit and was lurking around, so I got rid of him—why is this name popping up here now?
Unpleasant.
My mouth went completely dry from the constant ominous premonition of the kind I didn’t want to imagine. It couldn’t be, but the absurd thought that Yeoul might have left me and gone to this guy kept wriggling and burrowing into my head. Like a bug gradually eating away at my mind, that thought tormented and followed me all day.
“Yoo Seonjae. Why can’t you concentrate?”
I snapped to attention at Father’s words, but half a dozen agenda items had already passed. Father told me to clearly separate public and private matters, and I had firmly promised to manage my private life to the extent that it wouldn’t interfere with work, but I was gradually falling apart in a way that made that promise meaningless. Both work and private life.
It was impossible to be okay from the start. Han Yeoul was my entire life.
Neither work nor private life functioned properly without Han Yeoul. Everything was for Han Yeoul, because I wanted to be with Han Yeoul, because I wanted to be a husband Han Yeoul could be proud of, because I wanted my Yeoul to… keep smiling always—that’s why I started all these things.
My entire life is Han Yeoul, so isn’t it natural that I can’t live properly when Yeoul isn’t here?
As soon as the meeting ended, I headed to the bakery. It wasn’t easy to find it with just the simple information on the portal site, but it didn’t matter. Even if it was hidden in some remote mountain village, I had to go find it.
Though it was called a bakery, it wasn’t a store but rather a factory-like place. It was a place where they baked bread here and delivered it to various places, and the representative of this place was Kim Yeonghyo.
The little brat who used to tremble while being a bread shuttle opened a bread factory. How absurd.
“How can I help you?”
“I came to see Kim Yeonghyo.”
“Ah. Oppa hasn’t come in yet.”
“Oppa?”
An employee in sanitary clothing said with a bright smile.
“Yes. He’s my older brother. My oppa and I run this place together. Would you like to come in for now? I’ll give you a cup of tea or something.”
“That’s fine.”
“Please come in. It’ll take some time for oppa to arrive.”
Despite my refusal, Kim Yeonghyo’s younger sister led me to a sofa placed in one corner of the factory. This seemed to be what they called the “office.”
“All we have is instant coffee mix.”
“Okay.”
I received the paper cup but didn’t drink it, placing it on the table. I didn’t particularly feel like eating or drinking anything. As soon as I entered the factory, the smell of butter stung my nose, but it was just nauseating.
“Are you an alpha?”
“Pardon?”
“You.”
“Ah, yes.”
“My oppa is also an alpha.”
Kim Yeonghyo’s younger sister said with a flushed face. So what if he’s an alpha? From what I could see, Kim Yeonghyo’s younger sister seemed to be a beta. Was it some kind of admiration for trait carriers?
“May I ask what your relationship is with oppa?”
“…We’re alumni.”
“I knew it!”
“Pardon?”
“No, I just had a feeling. Oppa graduated from a really good school. I guess you give off that school vibe—”
“I see.”
He has quite a chatty younger sister. My head throbbed. I don’t have time to leisurely chat like this right now—when is Kim Yeonghyo coming?
“The alumnus who came recently was also a trait carrier. They were incredibly pretty. They helped us with a lot of things—”
“Who came?”
“Pardon?”
“The alumnus.”
“Ah, yes. They said they were a close alumnus. They stopped by saying they’d help with various things for oppa’s business.”
Business? Help with a bread factory… Could it be Yeoul? Right. There aren’t just one or two alumni. Even though Kim Yeonghyo was a bread shuttle in school, he probably had one or two close friends.
“We only know how to make bread and deliver it, but that friend taught us a lot of interesting things.”
Kim Yeonghyo’s younger sister showed me a bread-shaped bookmark. It was similar to what Kim Yeonghyo had once brought and asked me to pass along to Han Yeoul. I think I just threw it away, but here I am seeing that thing again.
“This was just made for promotional purposes, but that friend taught us how to register products and various other things. What was it? Design? Copyright? Something like that?”
What?
“Wait a moment.”
“Yes?”
“That friend’s name is—”
“Ah, oppa!”
Kim Yeonghyo’s younger sister got up from her seat and ran over. Kim Yeonghyo was just opening the factory door and walking in with heavy steps.
“Yoo Seonjae?”
“Long time no see, Kim Yeonghyo.”
I didn’t expect him to be happy to see me, but Kim Yeonghyo’s expression when looking at me wasn’t particularly bright, which made my mood strange. When we met at school before, although he was hesitant, he seemed glad to see me, but now he seemed openly wary, which made me a bit unpleasant.
“How did you get here?”
“I have something to ask you.”
Kim Yeonghyo sat across from me on the sofa. A strange current flowed between us. Kim Yeonghyo’s younger sister gauged our reactions, then asked Kim Yeonghyo, ‘Should I get you coffee?’ and Kim Yeonghyo smiled at his sister, saying it was fine.
After hesitating for a moment, Kim Yeonghyo’s younger sister left the area, telling us to talk comfortably. Though I didn’t particularly want to drink it, my throat was so parched that I took a sip of the instant coffee in front of me. The moment the sickeningly sweet cheap coffee went down my throat, I regretted drinking it.
“What are you curious about?”
Kim Yeonghyo asked directly. I straightened my back and stared intently at Kim Yeonghyo. The weakness, hesitation, and servility I’d seen in him until recently were nowhere to be seen.
What is it? What made Kim Yeonghyo change?
I suddenly became curious. What does a person need to change in such a short time? Who changed Kim Yeonghyo, who couldn’t even look me in the eye, like this? Could it be the person I’m thinking of?
“Business seems to be going well?”
At my question, Kim Yeonghyo grinned and scanned the factory here and there as he spoke.
“I suppose. I just made bread modestly and delivered it here and there, but I changed direction a bit following advice from a precious person. Then the sales scale changed. Thanks to that, I’ve been walking around with my shoulders back lately.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. But I don’t think that’s why you came.”
“…Do you personally deliver even to places like islands?”
“Well, there’s nowhere we don’t go.”
“Personally… yourself?”
“If it’s a necessary place.”
A necessary place…
“Selling a lot is good, but I also like sharing. You know. That I was a bread shuttle. Maybe that’s why. I like sharing bread. Now I’m not just some kid anymore, so the scale has just gotten bigger.”
“Is that the kind of bread shuttle you mean?”
“Well, anyway.”
