“I bought watermelon juice, for your hangover.”
As soon as I got in the passenger seat, Won Dogyeong grinned and pointed to the drink stuck in the center console. He looked quite proud of himself.
“I didn’t even drink, what hangover?”
“Ddaeng-mo-ban, ddaeng-mo-ban~.”
Whether I let out an empty laugh or not, he seemed to be in a good mood as he hummed while turning the steering wheel. When I pulled out the juice and looked at him with an expression that said ‘is this right?’, he gestured with his eyes as if telling me to hurry up and try it. Unable to resist his nagging, I took a sip and it was definitely perfect for the stuffy weather.
“Oh, it’s good.”
“Right?”
Won Dogyeong laughed with a “hee-” like a troublemaker. Why does he seem so happy today?
As I looked around the car, I discovered three jelly packets folded into the shape of notes.
Don’t tell me he just ate all of these?
“When did you eat these?”
“Hm? Before coming, while I was waiting in the car.”
Sugar high…?
What a sight I’m witnessing. Seeing his excited profile, laughter burst out naturally and I doubled over giggling.
Won Dogyeong glanced at me but didn’t scold me for laughing, just kept humming “ddaeng-mo-ban~ ddaeng-mo-ban~.” Rather, since I was laughing my head off, he seemed to feel some kind of accomplishment as he chuckled along too.
After laughing like that for a while, I leaned back against the seat and caught my breath.
He turned to look at me, still with a smile hanging on his lips, and asked.
“Was the company dinner okay?”
“Yeah. I ran into people from other teams by chance and we ate together… Everyone was a bit different today.”
At the mention of other teams, Won Dogyeong’s expression turned sour in an instant. It was obvious who he was thinking of without even looking. Still, he seemed to be making a deliberate effort not to say it out loud.
Just ask.
Then again, he’d already made such a big deal about Deputy Manager Han that it might be embarrassing to ask now.
“Deputy Manager Han was there too, and he figured out I’m pregnant.”
“How?”
Forgetting he’d been about to sulk alone, his eyes immediately widened as he glanced at me sideways. Today especially, all his expressions are being stubbornly childlike.
“He said it’s similar to when his older sister was pregnant, so he knew.”
“He’s a ghost.”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
“What did he say after finding out?”
“Just that… wouldn’t it be better to tell the Section Chief… since I keep getting called to company dinners.”
Better not mention the confession-like thing I received.
“Why does he seem like a good person? It’s annoying.”
He grumbled with his lips jutting out. Fortunately, he didn’t seem particularly upset. Is this also thanks to the sugar high?
“By the way, do I normally emit pheromones?”
Remembering what Deputy Manager Han had carefully told me, I asked Won Dogyeong. He nodded with an unconcerned expression.
“Yeah.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Huh…? Was I supposed to?”
He blinked in confusion.
“Of course you should have.”
“When? Every time? …How am I supposed to tell you every time?”
“No, Deputy Manager Han told me that lately my pheromones seem to be leaking sometimes. Shouldn’t I at least know about something like that?”
“Sometimes…? At the office?”
Won Dogyeong tilted his head. I felt like our conversation wasn’t meshing properly.
“When you’re at home, they’re always coming out though?”
“Huh?”
“Not a lot, really just a tiny bit…? Enough to be unsure? I don’t think anything’s changed since Yongyong came along.”
“…Me?”
“You don’t really do it when other people are around. At home or… in the car? Did you do it outside lately too…?”
Won Dogyeong furrowed his brow as if thinking back over the past days, then soon shook his head.
“Sorry, I don’t know.”
Really?
I tried to think back, but there was no way I’d remember something that flowed out unconsciously.
But thinking it over carefully, I quickly understood—it was because Won Dogyeong had been doing that at home. Literally really just a tiny bit, but he hadn’t always kept his pheromones completely locked away either. I’d just forgotten because it was too familiar.
I must have been in that state too when I was comfortable. My whole family are betas, so no one knew.
I knew there were people like that, but I didn’t know I was one of them.
I felt like smacking my forehead.
“When you’re pregnant, pheromone control doesn’t work well normally.”
Won Dogyeong, who had been watching me repeatedly go from question marks to exclamation marks by myself, suddenly said as if it just occurred to him.
“That’s what they say.”
I let out a small sigh.
“I thought you were the only one going around leaking pheromones….”
“Do you know how much Won Doa bitched at me about that? Telling me to properly keep it in because it’s annoying.”
He scrunched up his face. While adding an awkward mumble that she doesn’t do it herself.
Like how Doa keeps hers well contained, not all trait-holders were the same. Pheromones were so tied to tendencies and personality….
I’d thought Won Dogyeong was sloppy and that’s why he leaked them everywhere, but turns out I was the same kind of guy.
Damn it. Another fact I didn’t want to know that I’ve learned.
*
“You’re wearing that?”
“Yeah. Is it weird?”
“Won’t it be hot?”
Won Dogyeong, who had come out wearing a long-sleeved shirt made of fabric that was definitely not for summer, searched the weather at my words, then nodded in agreement and went back into the room. The rainy season that had finally begun meant it would rain all day, but the temperature was hovering around 30 degrees Celsius.
Just looking at those long sleeves makes me hot, yet he managed to pick that.
The air conditioner had been running for several weeks now because of me—I hated hot and humid conditions. Won Dogyeong, who only went back and forth between home and the gym by car, still didn’t seem to know what it was like outside.
“You feel like wearing long sleeves?”
An empty laugh came out seeing him come out wearing a white linen shirt. It didn’t matter what he wore as long as he was comfortable, but it was a mystery that he went to change after I said it was hot, yet still came out in long sleeves.
“It’s not long sleeves, it’s 5-bu sleeves.”
He rolled up both sleeves to his elbows.
“Sure, whatever.”
Won Dogyeong, who had looked me up and down—wearing shorts and a short-sleeved tee in contrast—crossed his arms.
“Take an outer layer.”
“I was going to.”
I grumbled as I went into the room and brought out a zip-up hoodie. I was going to bring it anyway, but getting nagged at made me feel unfairly wronged.
As we passed 11 weeks since Yongyong came along, the morning sickness disappeared like magic.
With no warning signs, I returned to normal surprisingly overnight. Smelling food, eating meals—none of it was a problem anymore. For the first two or three days I nervously monitored my condition, but seeing that I was fine for over a week, it seemed like it really was over.
These days, I was eating so well that it was the first time in my life I’d eaten this diligently. Needless to say, it became somewhat easier to move around both at the office and outside.
And so, today was the day I’d made plans with my high school friends, which I’d kept postponing with all sorts of excuses.
Won Dogyeong, who had been waiting at the entrance with car keys in hand, watched me shuffle over with the zip-up hoodie draped over my arm, then burst into a snicker.
“Why do you look so much like a high schooler today?”
It wasn’t wrong—I was wearing gray sweatpants shorts with an oversized black short-sleeved tee. Plus the zip-up hoodie draped over my arm. Add a backpack and I’d be the perfect high schooler heading to the reading room on a weekend.
On top of that, with Won Dogyeong next to me wearing light beige pants, a white linen shirt, and even sporting sunglasses, I was basically just a neighborhood kid.
But since I had absolutely zero intention of dressing up just to meet high school friends, whether Won Dogyeong laughed or not didn’t faze me one bit. This is what happens when you spend five days a week dressing while caring about other people’s eyes. Do you know how draining it is to go to work as a neat office worker every day?
“Am I a bit cute?”
“Yeah, a bit cute.”
As I put on my sneakers and asked dryly, he giggled and grabbed my hand.
Pheromone therapy wasn’t essential anymore, but we held hands as we had been doing. Thinking that we were just holding hands without any particular meaning made my chest tickle a little. It felt strangely new that intertwining fingers had become natural when we were together.
As I glanced sideways while waiting for the elevator, his profile with lightly styled hair looked neat. When he was busy I’d often see him fully styled, but since he hasn’t been going out for work lately, it’s been a while since I’ve seen him dressed up even this much. Passing over his groomed eyebrows that gave him a somewhat fierce impression, I traced down his smooth nose bridge where his sunglasses rested with my eyes, and casually let out:
“You look handsome today.”
Won Dogyeong seemed flustered by the sudden compliment, looking at me quietly for a moment before grinning and asking.
“Are you hitting on me?”
“What for? I’ve already got you.”
His eyes widened, then he took off his sunglasses and tucked them into his shirt while muttering in disbelief.
“You’ve gotten really shameless.”
“It’s a virtue of working adults.”
“Wow.”
Won Dogyeong kept exclaiming “wow” repeatedly in amazement until we reached the underground parking lot. Looking at his dumbfounded face, he seemed like he wanted to complain to someone about being at a loss for words.
“You need to try harder. I do this much without even trying to hit on you….”
Finding his expression funny, I deliberately avoided eye contact and spoke in a somewhat pitying tone, making him cover his forehead and sigh again.
“Woww….”
“Learn from me, Dogyeong.”
I grinned and swung our clasped hands back and forth.
“Wow…. Are you… determined today or something?”
Not hiding my emerging laughter, I shrugged my shoulders and climbed into the passenger seat.
Won Dogyeong bumped his head on the door frame while getting in the car and rubbed it going “ow.” He started the engine in a daze, then suddenly got flustered.
“I’m only taking it slow because you said to take it slow, I can do it too, you know?”
