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“Won Junjae is amazing. Is he that strong?”
“…Not as strong as breaking a bed, right?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You laughed when Park Jihoon broke Edward’s bed, but when hyung lifted me… that was really surprising.”
Whoa… Juhwan crossed his arms and slowly looked Jeonggwan up and down. The story he heard while having a beer, after waiting for Jeonggwan to finish work at the cafe, was more intense than he expected. Won Junjae had this side to him? Unbelievable. Even though Won Junjae was once supposed to be his fiancé, Juhwan felt no jealousy or envy. In fact, the reason Juhwan had initially agreed to marry Junjae was…
“But Junjae hyung, just looking at his face, isn’t he a skinny guy like me? Where does that strength come from? How hard does he work out?”
Perhaps it was because he thought he might see that face one more time. Park Jihoon, who used to tease and bully him wherever he was. His crying face was so pretty when hurt, teasing Jihoon was always the default when they met. But suddenly, he went to study abroad in France, saying he was going to run a bakery he had no experience with. Juhwan was probably very angry at that time. So he relieved that stress by meeting alphas, which led to the creation of his YouTube channel called “Aldakko.”
…He had been living like that, forgetting about it, but when he investigated the pig he met at the gym and found out he was Park Jihoon’s best friend, how surprised he was. And then he realized: I still want to bully Park Jihoon. But strangely, he didn’t want to be genuinely hated by him, so he ended it with an agreement of 30 pages of written apology. But he wondered if the pig sticking to Jihoon’s side like a leech was really his friend, or if they had potential feelings for each other. How much did he have to persuade Jihoon for the apology incident to be swept under the rug due to pressure from Won Jae, and with that, the chance to see Jihoon again disappeared.
In the end, after holding back for so long, he unexpectedly encountered Won Junjae in front of the cafe he went to visit. Because marriage talks were going on between their families, he thought that if he married this man, he might be able to see Jihoon more often than before, so he blocked his path. However, due to an unexpected finger attack from the pig, he fell ungracefully in front of the cafe. While grinding his teeth and thinking about how to get back at that pig, he realized at the matchmaking meeting that Won Junjae genuinely liked that pig. He thought Junjae was pretending to like the weird pig because he didn’t want to get married, but it turned out they were really in a mutual relationship. From then on, his mouth corners couldn’t help but rise…
Moreover, that pig, no, Jeonggwan, was a benefactor to him. Not only was he an omega, but he even seduced Won Junjae after watching his channel. What an honor for Aldakko. If Kim Jeonggwan were to marry Won Junjae later, or even if they broke up, he could definitely attract enormous attention by featuring him on YouTube with the topic “Interviewing the x-boyfriend of the future CEO of Won Group!” And as he got closer to Jeonggwan, naturally…
“And I’m glad you have experience.”
“Right. If we were both first-timers, we might have just gotten excited and then cooled off wondering what to do.”
This treasure came along. Thin arms reaching for French fries with giggles, and thin fingers. There was certainly no aura of an alpha exuding gravitas. However, the sensitive eyes and the small mole next to them were the face he had been longing to see. Park Jihoon, a beta who had been catching his attention since childhood until now.
“…No, I mean, he’s really good at it.”
“How do you know if he’s good or not when it’s your first time?”
“I’ve seen and heard a lot.”
“Bullshit. You learned from that weird channel he made…”
Snicker. Juhwan burst into laughter at Jihoon’s side glance. Ever since he said earlier that they should meet often, Jihoon had been intentionally avoiding looking in his direction. He’s probably thinking I’m up to something. Being both oblivious and timid, but making a lot of strange and unnecessary guesses, he’s likely thinking I’m plotting some kind of scheme right now. That wariness was quite solid, so Juhwan thought he shouldn’t push further here and should first try to ease his guard by meeting often as a trio. With that in mind, Juhwan took a big gulp of the beer in front of him.
“How dare you disparage our hyung’s channel?”
“‘Our hyung’? Your hyungs are Kim Jeonghyun, Kim Jeongwon, and Kim Jeongwoon.”
“What are you talking about? My brothers are just first hyung, second hyung, and third hyung.”
“Then if he’s your hyung, what’s Junjae hyung to you? Just hyung?”
Jihoon’s mouth twisted upward. It slightly irked him that Jeonggwan never called him hyung, but consistently used “our hyung” and “Juhwan hyung” when talking to Kyung Juhwan. Although he was the one who first suggested being friends, he felt a bit sulky, as if his best friend had been stolen.
“Junjae hyung isn’t a hyung. He’s our dar-“
“Then what is he, uncle? Since there’s a 9-year age gap?”
“-ling…”
“…”
“…I’ll make sure to tell him exactly what you said.”
Jeonggwan looked at Jihoon with a face that said, “Are you truly insane?” while crossing his arms, and Jihoon stared blankly at Jeonggwan, frozen like a ghost had possessed him. And Juhwan couldn’t help but burst into laughter at the sight of the two.
Jeonggwan usually doesn’t get drunk easily because he has a high alcohol tolerance. But this time, maybe because there were many funny stories and some adult talk, the three of them got completely wasted. That’s why Junjae finally called first when Jeonggwan hadn’t asked to be picked up even by midnight, and he came to get Jeonggwan, who couldn’t even speak or walk properly. However, the scene he rushed to was even more disastrous than expected.
“Ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-“
“You can’t do it! Look at me! Ga-gya-geo-gyeo-go-gu…”
“Go-gu… Sweet potato? Sweet potato?!”
It was a scene of collective monologues. Jihoon was robotically saying “ga-ga-” with unfocused eyes, Juhwan seemed to be talking to Jihoon but was actually talking to the wall behind him, and Jeonggwan was rummaging through his bag looking for some sweet potato. Junjae couldn’t help but sigh at the sight. As Junjae was assessing how to handle this situation, “Oh…! Darling! It’s darling!”
Jeonggwan, who spotted Junjae, threw his bag behind him and ran straight towards him. Then he hugged Junjae’s neck with both arms and clung to him. Even in this situation, Junjae smiled and hugged him back, happy that Jeonggwan was welcoming him. Although Junjae usually disliked drunk people, it seemed that wasn’t the case this time.
“Darling… I missed you…”
Moreover, Jeonggwan, who doesn’t usually call him “darling,” was being incredibly cute, perhaps due to being drunk. Forgetting his initial bewilderment, Junjae lightly kissed the side of Jeonggwan’s head while supporting him as he kept trying to sit down, and then took out his phone. He was about to contact Secretary Oh.
“Oh…! It’s Won Junjae! Take us home too!”
“Junjae hyung…! Can you do the gan-nang-gong-nang-nang too…?!”
However, Juhwan and Jihoon, who spotted Junjae and Jeonggwan, came running towards Junjae like zombies. Fearing they might pounce on Jeonggwan from behind, Junjae quickly put his phone back in his pocket and turned his body to block them with his back.
“…Ah.”
The smell of alcohol and the characteristic slurring of drunk people poured out from behind Junjae’s back. Junjae really disliked drunk people. Now it seemed Jeonggwan was the only exception. He walked forward, blocking the two from reaching Jeonggwan with one arm while supporting Jeonggwan with the other. He thought he should either put them in a taxi and send them home or leave them on the street.
* * *
Jeonggwan frowned at the dizziness that made his head feel like it was about to split, but somehow his eyes wouldn’t open. It had been a very long time since he had drunk like this, probably since he was twenty years old. He had promised himself then that if he ever drank like this again, he wouldn’t be human. It seemed he was indeed a pig.
“Ugh…”
“Are you awake?”
“…Huh?”
Jeonggwan’s eyes, which had been hard to open due to dizziness, suddenly flew open. It was because he heard Junjae’s voice. However, what he saw when he opened his eyes wasn’t Junjae, but the luxurious chandelier he had been seeing for the past three days. He was in Junjae’s room. Jeonggwan held his head and slightly raised it, rolling his eyes to look for Junjae.
“Let’s take some medicine and go back to sleep.”
The gentle voice came from behind. Jeonggwan quickly turned his body. Junjae was standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window reflecting the bluish dawn, putting medicine and water on the bedside table. When did he come to pick me up? Jeonggwan quietly looked up at Junjae.
“Did you bring me here, hyung?”
“…You were calling me ‘darling’ earlier. Seems like you’ve sobered up now.”
Junjae sat on the bed with a smile. Jeonggwan smiled back and lay down on the pillow again, wriggling closer to Junjae while lying down.
“…Was I a nuisance yesterday?”
Although people had said he didn’t have any particular drunk habits, Jeonggwan was still worried that he might have some hidden ones. However, Junjae just shook his head as if to say no.
“Doesn’t your head hurt?”
“It does. My stomach feels bad too…”
“Let’s take the medicine.”
Jeonggwan looked at the medicine on the table, which seemed to be from a pharmacy rather than the usual convenience store kind. Did he go to a pharmacy at this hour to buy it? Moreover, he smelled Junjae’s shampoo and body wash instead of alcohol. Did he even wash me? Why…? Jeonggwan suddenly felt anxious.
“…Hyung, did I throw up by any chance?”
“…Yes.”
“Oh no. I was a total nuisance!”
Jeonggwan suddenly sat up with a start.
