Drenched in deodorizer, Siwoo glared at Evan standing before him. Unless he’d truly gone mad, there was no way he could do this to him. What did I even do wrong? He couldn’t understand Evan’s unilateral actions without any explanation, nor did he want to understand them.
And this didn’t happen just anywhere—it happened during a music awards ceremony. Moreover, it was a live broadcast with so many eyes watching. When he thought about how many cameras were there and the fancams that must have been filming them, his vision spun.
Siwoo, who had been glaring at Evan as he slowly inhaled and exhaled with one hand covering his forehead and eyes, turned his gaze elsewhere. Then he started by taking off his soaking wet jacket.
“The shirt too.”
At someone’s words as they took the removed jacket, Siwoo clenched his molars tight and loosened his necktie. Then he unfastened the buttons starting from the one at his neck, one by one.
Evan caused the incident, so why do I have to go through this?
If he opened his mouth now, it seemed like harsh words would come out. One, two, three… As Siwoo diligently unfastened the buttons, he quickly shook off the hand that grabbed his wrist.
“Don’t touch me. Noona, what should I wear?”
From Siwoo’s clenched teeth came mumbling words with unclear pronunciation.
“I think a knit with a coat would be good. Are the slacks okay?”
“Yes.”
Siwoo, who had been about to unfasten one more button, twisted his body and snatched the knit that Hyunsuk was holding, then went behind the partition in one corner of the waiting room. He didn’t want to have a pointless battle of wills with Evan. He took off his shirt and roughly tossed it onto a chair beside him, then put on the knit.
“You… why I’m doing this.”
“Don’t talk. It’s not just the two of us here, so let’s talk later.”
Siwoo, who had pulled down the knit and was about to leave the partition, spoke without even looking at Evan blocking his way. He pushed past his body, which wasn’t easily moving aside, with his shoulder and came out to sit on a chair, a long sigh flowing from Siwoo’s mouth. Siwoo closed his eyes just like that.
My head hurts.
His brow furrowed naturally at the unpleasant throbbing sensation that felt like something was lightly tapping while also pounding.
When the hot dryer’s wind touched his scalp, heat rushed to his head. At the rising irritation and frustration, Siwoo just repeatedly clenched his fist tightly and released it for no reason. He heard the sound of the door opening and closing, but didn’t open his closed eyes.
Although many staff members were in the waiting room, no sound could be heard except for the hair dryer.
“I’m sorry.”
Siwoo, who had released the fist he’d been clenching so hard that his nails left marks on his palm, relaxed the strength in his stiffly hardened jaw and opened his mouth.
“Evan was excessive, but it’s not like it can’t be understood…”
At Hyunsuk’s voice trailing off, Siwoo opened his eyes that had been closed. Only then did he see the canister lying alone on the floor. Deodorizer. Pheromone deodorizer. Siwoo, who confirmed with his eyes the brand written on the canister, raised his hand to touch his forehead.
The deodorizer canister rolling on the floor, Hwanhee whom he met in the bathroom. Louis’s large eyes looking surprised at seeing him. Phantom hastily covering their nose and mouth along with him. The fragmented pieces created a single picture.
Something he’d seen in the Alpha and Omega materials he’d searched through countless times with a hopeful heart.
Evan, who had covered him with pheromones in the previous timeline. Alphas who played pranks with pheromones. And Betas who didn’t know any of it at all.
Omega, late manifestation. What a ridiculous story.
Regression? You can’t count how many times you’ve regressed? None of that matters.
If it was Hwanhee who spewed dirty words, he must have smeared disgusting pheromones on him. And Evan, who noticed it, must have been angry.
“Should I apologize?”
Siwoo, who had been chewing on his lower lip, finally released his lip and spoke.
“The one who should apologize isn’t you, but the Alpha who did that to you.”
While he was blankly lost in thought, Siwoo’s hair had been neatly arranged. And tint was applied over the lips he’d been biting until now.
“I’m sorry for causing a disturbance.”
Siwoo, who offered words of apology to the staff on behalf of Evan who had left the waiting room without a word, exited the waiting room. Regardless of how he felt inside or what his mood was, he wore a gentle smile on his face that had been filled with darkness until now.
“…I’m sorry.”
Siwoo, who had been heading to the artist seating, briefly stopped at the words he heard from the side.
“Later…”
Siwoo, who whispered so quietly that only he could hear, stepped forward again. Siwoo, who avoided Evan’s touch as he approached his side, looked up at him with an unreadable expression. He couldn’t read the emotions that usually, whether wanted or not, were so easily readable.
None of the emotions that had clearly been stabilizing him at the awards ceremony just moments ago were reaching him now.
When he returned to the artist seating with his body hunched over, he immediately felt people’s gazes touching him. When he approached the members, Sangjun subtly moved his body to create space between Chan and himself. Siwoo sat in that spot without hesitation.
Perhaps because of the complicated emotions of being momentarily flustered and surprised, angry and also sorry, the headache that came once didn’t easily fade. He thought it was because he’d been doused in too much deodorizer and coughed. If he’d known it would continue like this, he would have taken headache medicine.
Siwoo, who raised his hand to press firmly on his brow before releasing it, quickly put strength into the corners of his mouth that were trying to droop down.
“That bastard, right?”
The strength left Siwoo’s hand as he was picking up the water bottle beside him, thinking that if he drank some water, his frustrated insides might feel better and the heat coming down from his head might subside. At the same time, the water bottle he’d lifted halfway rolled on the floor.
“…”
Though he paused for a moment, Siwoo grabbed the water bottle that hadn’t rolled far and straightened his body while not looking at Chan.
“Was it bad?”
Hiding his trembling and pretending to be calm, Siwoo opened the water bottle.
“Enough that I wouldn’t care if there was a murder right now.”
Chan also answered indifferently, so to others’ eyes it would look like they were just having a simple conversation. Siwoo, who moistened his parched mouth by holding a little water in it, smiled exaggeratedly. As if he’d heard a very interesting story.
Trying not to give his gaze to Hwanhee in the artist seating across from him, Siwoo put the water bottle back down. The music awards that had been enjoyable and happy until just now approached like a nightmare. Everything’s become a tangled mess. That’s just how my life is. A Rookie Award for someone like me.
It was strange that everything had been going so smoothly until now. The headache worsened, his mouth dried up, and he could feel his body becoming heavy as is. His condition, which had been fine until just now, deteriorated rapidly.
Siwoo, who instead put strength into his drooping body to straighten his back and sit up, placed his gaze on the artist moving across the stage. And he nodded his head lightly. Like someone enjoying that music.
But soon Siwoo’s eyes searched for Evan. Evan’s face, sitting in an arrogant pose with his back against the chair rest, legs crossed, was stiffly hardened. Not only were his legs crossed, but his arms were folded as well, and he was looking at one place with his chin slightly raised. Siwoo, who had unconsciously followed his gaze, hastily turned his head.
Where Evan was looking now, Hwanhee was there. There’s no way he could know. Because I didn’t say anything. Moreover, Sangjun hyung didn’t even know that Hwanhee had come to the bathroom.
Did he see by chance because he was sitting across from them? Suddenly his heart started pounding. The stuffiness didn’t easily fade, so Siwoo, who lightly moved his arms as if riding the rhythm and tapped his chest a few times, picked up the water bottle again.
He didn’t remember at all how the remaining music awards flowed, who received the popularity award, or who received the artist of the year award. The worsening headache and the heat that started in his head melted into his entire body.
It felt like he’d caught a terrible heat cold. But Siwoo didn’t let down his guard. He still smiled brightly and showed everyone that he was enjoying this situation more than anyone else with his back straight.
The last winner was announced and as soon as the group Hwanhee belonged to finished their acceptance speech, all the artists stood up from their seats. Siwoo also had to stand up from his seat and clap, and bowed to greet the surrounding artists and seniors.
Just endure a little more. Once the people surrounding him decreased, once the cameras filming everything disappeared, he would be given time to rest. When he recalled the remaining schedule, he felt dizzy. The after-party and the live…
First, he should go to the waiting room and take some cold medicine from the emergency supplies. Somehow he had to endure until the schedule ended.
“Are you hot?”
“Yes?”
“Your cheeks look a bit red.”
At Sangjun’s words, Siwoo raised both hands to cover his cheeks. There’s definitely a feeling of heat.
“It’s because of this coat. It’s thicker than the jacket so it’s hot.”
The moment he spoke while deliberately flapping the coat, Siwoo instinctively looked at Evan at the cool minty scent that rushed toward him. Since returning from the waiting room to the artist seating earlier, he had made tremendous efforts to catch his gaze that kept heading toward him.
However, unable to do anything about the gaze that kept chasing him, the effort of turning his body completely toward Sangjun on the opposite side and resolutely looking only at the stage became futile in an instant. Along with that, the boiling heat seemed to fade a little.
When Siwoo saw Evan, who had been distant until now, approaching him, he subtly moved his body to approach behind Yechan. But on the wide stage where people were freely moving around and greeting each other, it was impossible to perfectly avoid him.
“Just endure a little more.”
He was definitely smiling. He hadn’t shown any sign of difficulty at all, but Siwoo slowly closed his eyes and opened them at Evan’s whispered words as he approached his side and loosely draped his arm over his shoulder.
He hadn’t felt his emotions at all since a moment ago, so how did he know he was uncomfortable? He had talked with him about emotional sharing once. The problem was that it wasn’t in this current timeline. But right now, Evan was acting as if he knew all of his emotions, his situation.
It was chaotic among the countless people. He continuously greeted and waved his hands, and before he knew it, Siwoo had arrived at the waiting room with the members.
“Everyone must be tired, so let’s do the live simply here and now and then move.”
As soon as they arrived at the waiting room, Siwoo, who had been about to take off the coat that seemed to weigh down his body, looked at Myunghun. Wasn’t the original schedule to do it at the hotel?
“Here, right now?”
“Yeah. Keep it short, around 5 to 10 minutes.”
Honestly, it was more bothersome to go back to the hotel, gather again, and do the live. So at Myunghun’s words, everyone naturally gathered on the sofa in one corner of the waiting room without much to say.
Since cameras had been following them to film them, the filming preparation was quickly finished, and with Chan’s shout of “Nemo!” the live began.
