“You have a younger sibling too? How old?”
“Nineteen. A senior in high school. Born a year apart. Below them are seventeen-year-old twins. There’s a limit to how close siblings can be. My mom and dad are intense too. My mouth hurts just talking about it. Is your younger sibling in elementary school or something? Yeah. If there’s a big age gap, you can get along. If that’s the case, I’ll accept it.”
Minwook rambled on at length about himself without giving Woojae a chance to speak. In Minwook’s common sense, that was correct. He found his young cousins (ages 2-5) adorable too. But Woojae’s answer was shocking.
“My younger sibling is also seventeen. Just started high school this year.”
“No way.”
Minwook thought of his twin younger sisters, who were no different from demons. If his sibling born a year apart was Lucifer, the twins were the two-horse chariot that carried him.
– These are oppa’s underwear.
– Unnie, let’s rip these. How dare he think of putting them in the same laundry basket. Disgusting.
– I brought scissors. Let’s use these scissors and throw them away.
When he entered puberty and his traits manifested, his siblings’ disgust also deepened. Minju, now a high school senior, was an alpha, and the twins Minhui and Minjeong were omegas. Since alphas inevitably dislike the scent of other alphas, Minju, being an alpha, started gagging at his own scent, calling it a disgusting male smell. Moreover, since his omega siblings were still blood relatives, it was genetically impossible for them to find their family’s scent attractive, so they agreed with Minju’s opinion.
“Every family is different.”
Is it because they’re both betas? No. That can’t be. Minwook just found it strange that siblings got along well. And he recalled something his father had said in passing.
– He’s a young head of household living with his younger sibling without parents. How admirable.
Is that why?
“Is your younger sister a beta too?”
“Of course.”
What’s so obvious about that? Because Woojae gave him a look as if to say ‘why are you asking such an obvious thing,’ Minwook felt embarrassed instead. To dispel his embarrassment, he stuck close to Woojae and asked.
“What did you do over the weekend while I was gone, Woojae?”
“Don’t stick to me. I’ll puke.”
“Oh, you want to puke on me too? No way. No way. This is brand new.”
A teasing joke came out without him realizing it, but
“Do you want to die?”
“No, not at all…”
A cold response came back. Flustered by the fist that came right up to his nose, Minwook quietly stepped back. He had no interest in getting hit. Not even a little. Because he wasn’t a pervert.
“I think Gye Sajun was at the dorm this weekend too, did you see him?”
“How do you know that?”
It was a question he threw out to change the subject, but he thought it wasn’t a very appropriate question. Because Woojae hated Gye Sajun. But unexpectedly, Woojae expressed curiosity without swearing.
“I saw from outside that the lights were on in the room next to ours.”
“It could’ve been his roommate.”
“Mm, well… Ah, but didn’t Gye Sajun say anything?”
At the end of the trivial conversation, Minwook asked what he was most curious about. If by any chance his lie was discovered, it seemed like it wouldn’t be easily overlooked. He belatedly felt uneasy about just lying outright without coordinating stories with the person involved in the incident. Moreover, Woojae’s expression changed subtly. Something definitely happened.
“Is it okay? Is he saying it’s nothing?”
“…I bought him a meal and ended it.”
“You bought him a meal?”
At the unexpected story, Minwook’s eyes naturally widened.
“How? When? Why?”
“What are you going to do with that information!”
“It’s interesting to know…”
Hearing that Go Woojae had bought Gye Sajun a meal was shocking.
“Stop talking nonsense. I just shared a boxed lunch left over from my part-time job.”
“Awesome, you shared it. Are you two into each other?”
“Fuck, what kind of ridiculous bullshit is that.”
Woojae glared and snapped. It was the most animated expression Minwook had seen from him. But he felt oddly hurt. He thought he was the only one who could be friends with single-minded Go Woojae, but to hear they shared a meal together while he was gone made him feel like a kid whose best friend was stolen.
“But why didn’t you give me any?”
“Hey, that was expired food. What are you being sorry about not being able to eat? Just buy something new.”
“Really, you like the guy in the next room better than your roommate.”
Minwook said teasingly to Woojae, who was waving his hand as if annoyed. Then Woojae grimaced with disgust.
“Ugh, I’m not gay, you know? There are other things to pair me with. Crazy bastard.”
“Really? So Woojae doesn’t consider men as romantic interests. Well, you are a beta.”
“What?”
He was dumbfounded by an unfamiliar statement he’d never heard in his life. Because he had never imagined being in that kind of situation with a man. Alphas and omegas weren’t bound by gender and rather avoided dating those with the same traits—he felt firsthand just how different the world they lived in was from his.
“I don’t have the luxury to date anyone right now, and I have my own life plan, so don’t start anything.”
“Then what about a group blind date?”
He couldn’t understand where in his words Minwook found any connection to a group blind date, but at this point, Woojae gave up on understanding Minwook.
“I said I don’t have the luxury.”
“Hey, Woojae. We’re university freshmen, aren’t we? Don’t regret it later and listen to me. This is all part of memories, you know?”
“You do it yourself.”
Campus romance. Yeah, nice words. For people who have the luxury. Woojae swallowed a sigh internally. To let Nari experience those nice things, he didn’t have the luxury to slack off. The problem was that Minwook was more persistent than expected.
“I’m obviously going, but I’m trying to give our Woojae an opportunity too. You should at least make a girlfriend before the cherry blossoms bloom, right?”
“I said I’m going to be busy with part-time jobs and studying on weekdays and weekends, so no. That kind of thing, I’ll start seriously through arranged marriage meetings after getting a job.”
“Wow, you’re going to keep your virginity until at least age twenty-six? Is the next messiah going to be born from your body?”
Whether joking or serious, Minwook was shocked. Of course, Woojae would sell well in the marriage market. But he wanted to go on a group blind date with his roommate this spring of his twentieth year and make memories.
“Every time you open your mouth, it’s nonsense. Get lost.”
“Hey, if you have too little dating experience, you won’t sell either. How much are you going to fumble in front of that ‘arranged marriage partner’ later?”
Minwook bent the index and middle fingers of both hands to emphasize with air quotes.
“Think of it as a rehearsal. Or just think of it as making friends and come out. It’s good to make friends in other departments too. Enjoy your school life for your younger sibling’s sake at least. If she knows oppa only studies and works all the time, how sorry would she feel?”
Minwook persuaded Woojae by bringing up Nari, whom he’d never even met. Woojae also hesitated at Minwook’s coaxing, which was strangely hard to refute. Minwook, who had never seen his younger sibling, was saying something similar to what Nari had once said.
– Oppa, live your own life well. I’ll take care of my own rice bowl.
How hurt and proud he felt at that moment. Noticing Woojae’s subtle change in expression, Minwook delivered the finishing blow by reciting the time and place.
“Friday evening at 8 PM, 4-on-4 group blind date at the beer hall. Hyung will arrange it.”
The beer hall again? Woojae felt queasy as he recalled memories from the opening ceremony, but for now, he nodded. Although he had no intention of dating right away, it didn’t seem bad if he thought of it as going to make friends.
“Let’s meet at the dorm and go together. Hyung will lend you some awesome clothes. That dress shirt and field jacket are a bit… yeah.”
What’s wrong with my clothes? Woojae silently questioned with his eyes, but Minwook had already turned his head away.
“Your face is fair and handsome, I don’t know why you only wear such drab clothes.”
At Minwook’s muttering quietly like talking to himself, Woojae answered irritably.
“Clothes just need to cover your body roughly. Dressing up isn’t my job.”
“Hey! For males to win favor from their partners, they must refine and decorate themselves like peacocks!”
Is that so…? Comparing it to nature made it strangely convincing. Perhaps Bang Minwook’s talent wasn’t in art but in sales.
“Oppa should find a partner and get married quickly so his younger sibling can be comfortable. An old oppa who can’t even get married is a burden.”
Woojae paused. Did this bastard secretly meet my younger sibling or what? He felt the same sense of déjà vu as before. Because Nari had said something similar once.
– Oppa, can you even get a girlfriend being like that?
Those round eyes looking at him as if he was pathetic pierced Woojae’s heart. Even thinking about it again made him feel sad.
“…Do whatever you want.”
In the end, Woojae somewhat impulsively accepted Minwook’s proposal. Campus romance, was it? It was a luxury he could enjoy at least once in his life.
***
Before he knew it, it was the second week of the semester. Time sure flows slowly. The weather was still chilly, but during the day, the sunlight warmed up the sunny spots. Woojae felt the bench warmed by the sunlight with his hand. Nice weather.
The sandwiches sold at the student cafeteria had good cost-effectiveness. He was a big eater, so it was an amount that didn’t even register with his liver, but it appeased his immediate hunger. Woojae took a big bite of the sandwich filled with ham, cheese, and such, and let out a low sigh. The wind is cold but the sunlight is hot. Woojae threw the wrapper of the sandwich he’d already finished into the trash can.
“Is that a meal?”
“Hah…”
The voice heard from behind his back was, naturally, Gye Sajun’s. He didn’t even have the capacity to be surprised. It wasn’t like he was a stalker, yet the guy who appeared in front of him whenever he was about to forget him was annoying. Woojae glared at Gye Sajun standing behind him with a scrunched-up expression.
“Why do you talk to me and act up every time you see me? Are we close?”
“You’re the one who doesn’t answer when asked once. I asked if that was lunch.”
