Aengdu was a cute character with twin ponytails. Whether looking at her personality or speech, she had nothing in common with Baek Sahyun. At most, the black hair? Well, the eyes with inner double eyelids also looked somewhat similar at a glance.
He was sending such expectant gazes that I reluctantly answered.
“The hair color and…, the eyes seem a bit similar. I’m not sure about the rest.”
“What about the eyes is similar?”
“Let’s see. If I do this…”
I reached out and slightly lifted the corners of Baek Sahyun’s eyes upward. When I raised the eye shape sharply like this, it seemed to look more like Aengdu. Even so, the fact that the differences between the two felt greater didn’t change.
As if satisfied with my answer, Baek Sahyun said gently.
“You’re similar too, Woohyun. To Eggman.”
“…Is that an insult or a compliment?”
“Is there a reason to distinguish? I’m literally saying you’re similar.”
Saying that, Baek Sahyun searched for Eggman images and directly compared them to my face. Since there were only grinning or dopey expressions, it was clear he was doing this shit to mock me.
When I got irritated asking where exactly we were similar, the guy appealed the similarities by examining everything from eyes, nose, and mouth to behavior. After persistent bickering, I ended up admitting it first.
“Ugh. Fine, fine. We’re similar, we’re similar. Happy now?”
Then Baek Sahyun even drummed the steering wheel while laughing out loud.
“Hahaha!”
Right, as long as one person is happy. I leaned back in my seat while tilting my head back.
Before I knew it, the ending credits of the movie were rolling.
“…It’s a cartoon I’ve loved since childhood. I secretly watched it when I had nothing to do alone.”
Suddenly, Baek Sahyun, who had leaned his body against his seat following me, whispered. Watched it alone as a child. Hearing it that way, I thought that Eggman’s existence might be special to Baek Sahyun.
Could it be that identifying himself with Aengdu was also about his own feelings of craving others’ affection but not being rewarded for over ten years?
…Thinking that way, my heart softened considerably. I straightened my posture and asked him.
“Is there a place to do claw machines around here?”
“Why claw machines?”
“You said today is our first date. Then I should give you a gift too.”
“……”
“Hurry up and guide me. Hyung will show you a mature side.”
❖ ❖ ❖
After that, Baek Sahyun immediately guided me to an unmanned claw machine shop in an alley. Since the ‘Eggman’ theatrical release was at the height of its popularity, there were plenty of dolls of that character and other main characters.
“Hey. Watch me closely.”
After doing warm-up exercises by swinging my arms widely, I found the most vulnerable-looking machine and took position. As I rolled up my sleeves and positioned myself, I felt Baek Sahyun looking at me with curious eyes.
“I’ll get Aengdu for you. She’s prettier. Eggman honestly looks a bit ugly. Right?”
I declared triumphantly and started the game. In fact, I had chosen Aengdu because of the easy-to-aim empty space, but I didn’t want to embarrassingly reveal that.
“Heave-ho.”
Fully demonstrating my skills that once dominated arcade fronts, I was able to get the doll in just two attempts. As expected, an expert’s skills don’t rust.
“Here. Make sure to enshrine it at home. Talk to it when you’re lonely and stuff. Got it?”
When I cleared my throat and held out Aengdu, Baek Sahyun carefully accepted it. Then he turned his head to slowly examine the doll’s appearance.
‘He does like it, right? Don’t tell me he wanted Eggman?’
Worry suddenly assaulted me. Since it was a cartoon he enjoyed watching as a child, I thought he’d naturally like it, but he might find it childish.
Did I get too excited and overdo it? As I was fiddling with my ear in embarrassment, Baek Sahyun suddenly hugged the doll tightly. Then he showered Aengdu with kisses as if stamping seals.
“Thank you, Woohyun-ah. We can name our baby’s nickname Aengdu too.”
Hearing the embarrassing joke, I couldn’t help but shudder. I was about to get angry telling him not to pour cold water on the warm atmosphere, when suddenly the Aengdu doll blocked my mouth.
“Daddy needs to give fair kisses too. Here.”
“Hey, fu—! Don’t!”
“Quickly, daddy. Smooch.”
I wanted to refuse, but was semi-forced to kiss because he persistently thrust the doll at me.
“Happy now?”
Only after Aengdu’s mouth became damp did Baek Sahyun finally separate Aengdu from me. Then he thanked me again.
Watching him clutching the doll, I ended up thinking of Haesu for no reason. That kid, who couldn’t afford kindergarten and wandered between playrooms, would also sit hugging a doll I’d won from a claw machine for a long time as if happy.
“…Hey. Sahyun-ah.”
“Yeah, Woohyun-ah.”
“If there’s giving, there should be receiving too. Why don’t you try doing something?”
Worried the atmosphere might become awkward from the continued silence, I hurriedly tried teasing Baek Sahyun. However, belatedly realizing it could sound like I was requesting skinship, I had no choice but to withdraw. Naturally, it was already after Baek Sahyun had firmly grabbed my shirt collar.
“That’s right. Transactions should be clear.”
Baek Sahyun, who brought his lips near my temple area, muttered brazenly. When I turned my head because the touch grazing my skin tickled, he buried his head in my shoulder as if whining.
Damn. Riding the atmosphere like this happened in an instant.
‘Push him away or not? Still, we’re dating so can I push him away? What if Baek Sahyun goes crazy again?’
Powered by my inner conflict, my hands were faithfully pulling Baek Sahyun’s face. Once his soft yet firm face was caught in both hands, my resistance quickly dispersed.
I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed his lips down with mine. After pressing lips as if chewing, when I pulled my head away, Baek Sahyun asked in a calm tone.
“Are you okay with kissing me?”
“…I feel fucking great doing it with you though?”
It was a question not worth answering. The answer had already been decided from the moment I threw a tantrum saying I absolutely hated guys with the same thing, then surrendered after a few kisses. Hadn’t I been kissing Baek Sahyun for dozens of minutes at the festival too?
Maybe because Nam Heejae’s body was gay, unlike the rational desire to seek women, the body peculiarly liked kissing Baek Sahyun.
Baek Sahyun, who had been silent for a moment, suddenly wrapped one arm around my waist. He approached while tilting his head at an angle with a mischievous smile.
“Woohyun, you seem too horny sometimes.”
“None of your business.”
As soon as I retorted, our lips met. The distance narrowed by another span and our breaths mixed. I pulled the back of Baek Sahyun’s neck to overlap our lips more deeply.
Baek Sahyun let out a faint laugh through his breath. Pervert. I heard a whispering voice between our briefly separated lips.
Well, since we said it was a date, wasn’t this level of skinship justifiable? Burying my worries for the moment, I just entrusted my body to the immediate pleasure. Without even thinking about the side effects that would come from the aftermath.
❖ ❖ ❖
“It’s been a while. Heejae-gun.”
It was a day exactly 2 weeks after the movie theater date. Starting with a text that began “Regarding an unofficial meal request,” I came to have a private meeting with Chairwoman Baek.
The location was a famous Japanese restaurant that only takes one customer per day. When I held out the pure white bouquet I’d prepared out of courtesy, Chairwoman Baek gratefully accepted it. Then she smiled brightly while putting a piece of rockfish sashimi on my plate.
“Go ahead and eat.”
“Yes? Yes.”
I answered first and waited until Chairwoman Baek picked up a piece of sashimi. However, she was immovable.
“Mm, I already ate so go ahead first. No need to be so considerate.”
“Ah, then…, excuse me for eating first.”
I quickly put a piece in my mouth and chewed it around. Whether it was rockfish sashimi or whatever, since I had no mental capacity to savor it with my tongue, I didn’t even taste it. Just watching Chairwoman Baek’s mood, I could only enjoy the chewy texture while the soft flesh quality flew away.
“Looks delicious?”
Chairwoman Baek folded the corners of her eyes gently while resting her chin. After hurriedly chewing and swallowing the flesh, I nodded my head urgently. At this rate, damn, I felt like I’d get indigestion soon.
“There’s no need to be so formal between us.”
“Ah…”
“We’re in a very special relationship. Right?”
Chairwoman Baek dipped a piece of salmon sashimi in soy sauce before putting it on my plate again. Holding a smile on her entire face, she seemed to be in particularly high spirits today. However, given this family’s characteristics, the fact that she was extremely pleased meant the probability that she’d made the other party a rat in a poison jar was…
“Sahyun’s atmosphere has been a bit different lately.”
“Yes?”
“His pheromones have become gentler. To an unprecedented level.”
When I was half-chewing, half-not-chewing the salmon sashimi while reading the atmosphere, Chairwoman Baek finally brought up the main point. His pheromones became gentler? I couldn’t readily understand the meaning.
When I just closed my mouth stupidly, Chairwoman Baek, who took a sip of tea, explained.
“Originally it was uncomfortable. He’s my blood relative, but honestly it was hard to endure.”
“……”
“It wasn’t violent but how should I say, it was gloomy and heavy. Sometimes to the point where I could feel killing intent.”
I heard that no matter how much practice she gave him to manage it, his pheromones leaked out and at one time omegas even had fits and ran away. I nodded my head slowly. In fact, having ruined the kid’s childhood like that, shouldn’t she consider it fortunate that it only ended with pheromone emission?
“But now it’s different. Honestly, looking at just the pheromones, it’s like he’s a completely different person.”
“Th-that’s very fortunate.”
“That’s all? His manner of speaking has softened, and the gloominess has disappeared. When I tried taking him to an event just in case, he was very gentlemanly toward the omegas. Thanks to that, I was able to hear good words about raising my child for the first time in a long while. That my son finally repented. The situation completely flipped.”
Chairwoman Baek exhaled deeply as if feeling moved. She, who had been collecting her emotions while fiddling with the silver ring on her ring finger, soon clasped her hands together and narrowed the distance.
“I see that credit entirely belongs to Heejae-gun…, what do you think?”
Chairwoman Baek was shining her eyes brightly as if she’d definitely intuited something.
