There was no time to be lost in his own thoughts.
“What’s the point of putting on clothes if you’re not going to wear them properly…? The wind will get in like this.”
Evan, who had just been talking with Yechan, was suddenly in front of Siwoo. He nagged at Siwoo, who had come out with his padding jacket thrown on carelessly, and zipped it up himself.
“Fish cake soup…”
Several words circled around in Siwoo’s head. Onions, cheongyang peppers, fish cake soup. All of them were a ridiculous combination connected to food.
“What? Fish cake soup? You want fish cake soup? Then I’ll make it for you next time.”
Evan, who had zipped up the jacket and even pulled the hood attached to the padding over Siwoo’s head, playfully tapped the fluffy hood and said.
“Hurry up. Chan’s kimchi stew is always reliable and delicious. If you’re late, they’ll eat it all.”
At Sangjun’s urging, Siwoo soon found his place in front of the generously prepared food.
Siwoo, who found it difficult when emotions would rush in like this even when he was fine, quickly picked up his spoon. Without hesitation, he started with the kimchi stew. They were filming. There was no time to space out.
“Mmm… It’s really delicious. Chan-i hyung, I love you!”
Siwoo made a fuss, deliberately drawing a heart above his head.
“The meat, the meat is delicious too.”
Yechan continued Siwoo’s words, blowing breath toward the air because it was hot.
“Now, the sleeping members have been decided.”
At the PD’s words heard at the timing when they were just starting to eat, everyone looked at him. They hadn’t done anything; they had just eaten the prepared meal.
“Sangjun, Siwoo, and Yechan, who ate the kimchi stew first, will stay in the lodging. Evan and Chan, who ate the meat first, will sleep in the tent.”
Deciding with such a simple method? Well, the members who didn’t particularly care where they slept focused on the PD for only a moment before starting to eat again.
“How does that make sense?”
Except for one person, Evan…
After the meal and cleanup were finished and they were given personal time, Siwoo silently headed to a bench away from the lodging and tent. Perhaps it was intended for stargazing—when he raised his head from the bench, the clear night sky came into view. Although clouds were floating here and there, it wasn’t difficult to see the stars and moon.
Thanks to the crescent moon, the stars seemed to shine even brighter.
At first he sat comfortably, but as the night deepened and the temperature dropped, Siwoo pulled both legs up onto the bench and wrapped his arms around them. Was it because that thought had occurred to him once? Even now, Siwoo was circling around some point in the past.
Whenever a lullaby humming flowed from Siwoo’s mouth, white breath puffed out.
The sound of the members talking and laughing noisily could be heard from far away.
Unlike that endlessly depressing time, a faint smile lay across Siwoo’s face as he sang the lullaby.
“Why do you like being alone so much? I looked for you for a while.”
At the familiar voice, Siwoo’s smile deepened. But he didn’t particularly turn around or move. Following a rustling sound, he felt a presence right next to him. Then a steaming mug was held out in front of him.
“It’s nice because it’s quiet.”
Adding that it was perfect timing since his hands were cold, Siwoo extended his hands that had been tucked inside his sleeves and grasped the mug.
“Oh. This is the first time I’ve seen this many stars in Korea.”
“Right? I didn’t know you could see this many stars in our country either. Mmm, this is delicious. What is it?”
After drinking the warm beverage with a sweet scent, Siwoo finally looked at the face of the person sitting next to him instead of the night sky. But he was looking at the night sky, not at Siwoo.
“Vin chaud. It’s good to drink in winter. People drink it a lot for cold prevention too.”
“Did this come from England again? Please stop asking them to send things. I’m so grateful that I feel like I should send something next time.”
“They sent it along with the medicine.”
The conversation that had been flowing languidly stopped. The sound of Siwoo blowing on the hot vin chaud and then slurping it and Evan’s humming blended strangely together. The official filming for today had ended with the meal. So neither of them was wearing a microphone. And the staff and other members didn’t particularly look for the two of them either.
“Sangjun hyung said we should watch a movie in the tent later.”
It was Siwoo who broke the long silence.
“Okay, let’s watch together.”
Evan’s arm, which had been sitting side by side, wrapped around Siwoo’s shoulder. His body tilted slightly toward Evan, but Siwoo remained still. Honestly, he liked the warmth transmitted from him and his scent that grew stronger the closer they got. It’s cold. It’s because I’m cold. But Siwoo dragged out the most ordinary situation.
“Evanie.”
When had they last talked quietly together like this? It felt like if not now, it would never happen. Evan’s name flowed from Siwoo’s mouth more slowly than usual.
“What if… I were an omega.”
It was one of the things he had thought about countless times. One of the things he searched for on nights when sleep wouldn’t come.
Pair.
The exact explanation said it was the term for the imprinting between a Golden Alpha and a Hidden Omega.
However, since there were only a few Golden Alphas in the world and Hidden Omegas were even rarer, the word “pair” had been corrupted into a term commonly used for imprinted relationships.
Alpha and Omega—one of the names they called their imprinted partners.
It was mostly used as a word to tie themselves together more dramatically.
He could feel Evan’s body, which had been relaxed and at ease, stiffen slightly, but Siwoo took a short breath and continued speaking.
“Would it still be okay?”
That was the end of all his thoughts. Would it be okay if I were an omega? In the past and now, Evan was known as an alpha who didn’t like omegas. It was frequently caught on camera that he would move away whenever an omega approached him during broadcast appearances.
An alpha who dislikes omegas. And Siwoo himself was a beta. But he could feel Evan’s pheromones. Sometimes he could even read his emotions.
Following “pair,” one of the things he searched for most was late manifestation.
Generally, traits are determined at birth, but occasionally late manifestation appears around puberty. Since late manifesters appeared quite often, it wasn’t such an unusual phenomenon. But Siwoo was twenty years old. It was a late age for late manifestation. They say there are cases of manifesting at this late age, but that was a rare case.
He tried to understand even late manifestation. It was an unavoidable biological reaction after all—manifestation doesn’t happen just because you want it to, and you can’t prevent it just because you don’t want it. But if late manifestation were to happen to him now, the problems resulting from it would be more than just one or two.
“What are you worried about?”
At Evan’s question, Siwoo couldn’t readily answer. What am I most worried about?
He wasn’t afraid of living as a late-manifested omega. If he were to late manifest, would he be able to remain in the team called Ocean?
A mixed group of alphas and omegas. It was a combination that had never existed anywhere before. He didn’t know if he could remain as close with Evan, Chan, and Yechan as he was now. Even if he took medicine every morning like they did, they couldn’t help but be affected by each other’s pheromones.
The media wouldn’t stay quiet either. No, that wasn’t the problem.
What Siwoo was most worried about right now was his relationship with Evan. Would Evan, who dislikes omegas, look at him the way he does now?
“The media, the group’s survival, issues, people’s gazes.”
Siwoo hid what he most fundamentally wanted to say and spouted out words intermittently.
“It doesn’t matter. Those things don’t matter at all.”
Evan’s hand moved, and Siwoo’s gaze, which had been looking down at the ground while mumbling, gradually turned upward. Relying on his fingertips, Siwoo moved his head as he wanted, and Evan’s face filled his vision.
Rather than embarrassment or surprise, a comfortable smile filled his face.
“You’re already my pair and my person. Whether you’re an omega, alpha, or beta, those traits don’t matter at all. What matters is that you’re by my side and I’m by yours. Yes, in the not-too-distant future, late manifestation might happen to you.”
Evan’s tone was as if he were soothing a frightened Siwoo.
“Don’t worry about anything. I’ll take care of it. I’ll do everything… So don’t cry.”
As Evan’s face gradually drew closer, Siwoo slowly closed his eyes. His voice, his words seemed to burn away all the worries that had been tormenting him until now. It’s okay. Just as he said, everything was okay, and there seemed to be no problem at all.
The fragrant peppermint scent rushed toward Siwoo. Their soft lips touching, their breaths mingling—it was all natural.
“Haah…”
Evan’s hand, which had been supporting his chin, caressed Siwoo’s cheek. Evan swallowed the end of Siwoo’s long sigh that trembled. Evan’s tongue dove into Siwoo’s mouth, which was full of the scent of vin chaud. At the tip of Evan’s tongue that penetrated while touching his teeth, Siwoo’s warm and soft tongue touched.
The gentle kiss that had begun to comfort the tears that flowed at the end of Siwoo’s confession—unburdening the heavy worries that were difficult to handle alone, that he had carefully cherished in solitude—gradually changed.
Evan’s breath deepened as he skillfully led the still shy Siwoo who hadn’t yet found his bearings.
The fluffy and warm pheromones gradually grew thicker.
A warm flame rose inside Siwoo’s body, which had been cold just moments ago. The small heat that bloomed from the deepest part of his body conquered Siwoo’s body all too easily. The mug containing vin chaud that Siwoo had been holding tightly with both hands fell with a thud, but neither of them noticed it.
“Ah. They always make me do it. Last time too, they told me to wake Siwoo hyung, and then I got hit by Evan hyung when I did…”
Yechan, who had received orders to find Evan and Siwoo who had disappeared to watch a movie together, scratched his head and looked around. Yeah, that’s what couples do when they have time. The problem isn’t how to find them in this wide camping ground…
Yechan’s gaze reached a somewhat distant spot. And a long sigh flowed from his mouth.
“Hey, hyungs. I’m a minor, you know? In front of a minor…”
Rather than approaching them closely, Yechan leaned against a nearby tree and took out his cell phone. How much would he get scolded if he interrupted them again? He’d better just wait here. If someone seems like they’re going to come close, he’ll tell them to go somewhere else.
“Ah, shit. I died again.”
Grumbling continued from Yechan’s mouth as he played a game on his cell phone.
Ah. My hands are freezing to death. Hyungs, can’t you just finish up on your own and come back?
Yechan’s cries that couldn’t come out of his mouth continued.
