When he finished showering in a hurry and came out, the room was quiet. Thanks to the heating he’d turned on out of concern for rain-soaked Woojae, the air was warm. In the dark room, only the sound of breathing echoed. Gye Sajun walked close to his bed and carefully sat down at the edge. The white, clean face buried deep in the blanket was close enough to touch. His reddened eyes clearly showed traces of crying.
“I thought you’d run away, but you’re more obedient than I expected.”
“Mmm…”
Rustle—his bangs fell forward, revealing his smooth forehead. The eyes that always glared fiercely with a lot of white showing were hidden behind his eyelids. His swollen lips were red and plump, perhaps from biting them to hold back tears. The tears that had crossed his white cheeks were different from rainwater, so he couldn’t take his eyes off them.
Even to him, who wasn’t comfortable being among people, Go Woojae’s situation here looked quite bad. He too had received people’s gazes here, but it was on a different level from what Go Woojae received. While leaving the dormitory to recuperate at home, he’d secretly searched internet news, avoiding his hyung’s eyes. They said he was a boy head of household without both parents. Protection from someone must be unfamiliar to him. His hyung’s words that he shouldn’t get involved with betas kept coming to mind, but was Go Woojae really a beta?
He was curious about him, who held his head high and pursued something with fierce eyes, backed into a corner. He was a little envious. What makes you so angry? What makes you so resentful? Why do you hate me?
He lightly pressed Woojae’s furrowed brow, as if he was having a bad dream.
Was discovering Go Woojae crying in the rain divine fortune, or the beginning of misfortune?
“Don’t cry because of another guy. It pisses me off.”
The voice that whispered quietly lest he wake from sleep sounded gloomy even to his own ears.
I’m in heat for Go Woojae. It’s not something I can control.
Once he became aware of it, the lust surged endlessly, trying to blind his eyes. When his carelessly extended fingers touched the fine hair that had sprouted on his cheek, his mind snapped awake. Gye Sajun pulled back his hand, clenching his fist tight. Go Woojae, who had just turned twenty, seemed young despite being no different in age from him. Those eyes held venom and regret that didn’t suit his age, but not his face.
“I’d like to see you cry because of me a little… But you won’t, right?”
Gye Sajun muttered as he stroked Woojae’s reddened eyes. Even though he knew he shouldn’t, the situation of getting close to him at some point felt like a lie. He’s like a poisonous plant that his hand keeps reaching for even though he shouldn’t touch it.
“Fuuuck, noisy…”
“…Talking in your sleep.”
Was it the muttering in his ear that bothered him more than touching his face? Woojae frowned deeply and raised his hand to hit Gye Sajun’s face. Between the slightly rolled-up sleeves, a scar on his wrist was visible.
A long scar as if torn. How did it happen? Seeing that it was on top of the wrist, not the inside, it didn’t seem to be self-harm. When he lightly touched that scar with his fingertips, sleeping Woojae brushed the hand away and burrowed into the blanket. The urge to dig through the blanket surged. I’ve never been like this before.
Gye Sajun felt himself strange, showing unprecedented behavior whenever he stood in front of Go Woojae. This is why I tried not to get close, but Go Woojae shows himself suffering because of another person without knowing how I feel.
He suffered from fever for two full days. Even though medicine was injected directly through an IV, the heat showed no signs of subsiding. Watching him like that, his hyung, who had visited the main house after a long time, asked like an interrogation—that memory came to mind.
—Why isn’t the medicine working on you?
—…I don’t know.
—You’re not seeing someone, are you?
—Haah… Get out.
He imagined violating Go Woojae in his mind over and over while exposing his sweat-soaked body to cold wind. In his imagination, Go Woojae gave off a rich fragrance and let out heated moans in his arms. It was a terrible thing. Go Woojae not only hated him but wasn’t even an omega.
The abnormal desire felt like it was eating away at his brain. It was on a different level from past ruts that had passed smoothly just by taking medicine. Sleep wouldn’t come. Even after taking sleeping pills, his body was like a fireball. Trapped in his room, he had to stroke himself down there over and over. To the point where his mind evaporated, with nothing left to pour out.
—Haah, hah…
As if intoxicated by his own pheromones that he couldn’t even smell, a scent similar to alcohol leaked from his mouth. His lower half was hot after spewing out enough semen to soak the sheets completely. I want to push it into a tight gap and come. It would be even better if it were a gap in Go Woojae’s flesh. Despite having such fantasies, he let Go Woojae into his room again. Shameless was a word suitable for describing himself right now.
“Whatever that bastard did, you cried because of him.”
“…Mmm.”
“Got it.”
Seeing him smack his lips as if tasting something, it was clearly sleep talk, but Gye Sajun took it as affirmation. Even amid the scent of his shampoo, Woojae who didn’t lose his natural body scent was cruel. In the end, that night, Gye Sajun couldn’t stay in his room. Because he’d moved to the lounge early for a short, simple phone call. The reason he couldn’t enter the room again after that was simple. He’d left without his key.
***
Perhaps thanks to the rain pouring down once, the spring flowers began to bloom prettily after drinking water. Was it spring rain? What kind of spring rain is so fierce and tumultuous? Woojae fiddled with the soft pistil of an unknown flower beaded with water drops with his fingertips, recalling last night.
And he also recalled Gye Sajun’s clothes he’d put in the laundry basket. If I wash them today, will they dry by tomorrow? Can I use the dryer? Should I iron them too? It’s not like I have to hand-wash them, right? I’m fucked if they get ruined…
After paying for the key right away, his wallet situation was such that he couldn’t carelessly spend even a hundred won. Don’t I have to send this to dry cleaning or something? Ah, headache. He’d done a lot of laundry, but this was the first time washing expensive clothes, so it was just difficult.
“What are you thinking about so seriously?”
“Ah shit, you scared me.”
Woojae swallowed an empty breath at the small, sharp face that suddenly appeared. The protagonist who appeared wearing a pitch-black leather jacket was none other than Jang Yeonju.
“Worrying about love? Under a flowering tree? Jackpot… Are you filming a movie?”
“No!”
Far from worrying about love, Woojae was worrying about laundry. Just that the owner of those clothes was special, so his face turned red. Jang Yeonju seemed more captivated by something other than Woojae’s face turning bright red.
“Where do you get off glaring triangular eyes and popping veins in front of your noona!? But did you eat ramen yesterday? Why are your eyes so swollen?”
Pushing away Jang Yeonju who was kneading his face like rice cake, Woojae made a voice tinged with resistance.
“Why are you my noona?”
He could let everything else slide, but he couldn’t just overlook the word ‘noona.’ He let the pointing out of his puffy face pass. Because what mattered wasn’t his face but that form of address. But Jang Yeonju smiled leisurely.
“When’s your birthday?”
“Mine’s in April, you know?”
Woojae’s birthday was relatively early. Because of that, his voice had strength. What are you going to do about it?
“Yeah, mine’s January 19th.”
Jang Yeonju answered while spreading her fingers to make a V. Damn it… Woojae squeezed his eyes shut and let out a low sigh. He’d lost.
“…Why were you born so early?”
He argued in a slightly sullen voice, but—
“Is it my fault my parents got excited three months earlier than your family?”
“You must be crazy. There’s nothing you won’t say!”
An unexpected answer came back. What kind of person is this? Woojae opened his mouth wide with a shocked expression.
“Yeah. Nothing. It’s a family tradition not to hold back what you want to say.”
Jang Yeonju was smiling with full composure while sucking on the takeout coffee in her hand. To bring up her parents’ sex life to win an argument… She must be insane. At this point, it was almost admirable.
“Our Woojae, should noona buy you coffee?”
At the sudden weight of an arm draped over his shoulder, Woojae’s face stiffened. It was the appearance of a noona that wasn’t in his fate. Of course, he’d never call Jang Yeonju noona, though.
“Ah, great. I really love being with you because there’s nothing to worry about.”
“Get your arm down!”
“I don’t have to worry uselessly about releasing pheromones, it’s so great. What should I do? Woojae, will you marry this noona?”
“Stop talking nonsense.”
Jang Yeonju consistently made jokes in an indifferent tone. It was absurd how she spoke lightly of romance when not even a hint of excitement-like emotion was reflected anywhere in her eyes. Jang Yeonju, who forcibly pulled Woojae from under the tree, moved her steps and began traveling to an unknown destination. Woojae, who ended up walking because of that arm, couldn’t say anything and just frowned with eyes whose swelling hadn’t fully gone down yet. She said she’s an alpha—her arm strength is no joke. Jang Yeonju was dragging an average-weight man along as if it were nothing.
“You’re going to the MT, right?”
He flinched at the word that gave him a sense of déjà vu. He knew that now it wasn’t that word, but just a little while ago, he’d made a stupid mistake and created an embarrassing incident.
“I’m asking if you’re going to the department MT. It’s 2 nights 3 days starting April 16th, are you checking in as going?”
“…How much is it?”
What was most important to Woojae right now was money. Since she wasn’t the type to listen if he said he wasn’t going, he first asked about the participation fee.
“Ah, like 1.5 million won? It hasn’t been finalized.”
“What? 1.5 million? Where are we going?”
“We’re taking a cruise? 1.5 million is fucking cheap. The alumni association is providing subsidies, so we only pay that much.”
What kind of university MT costs that much? Woojae was aghast. If he had that money right away, he wouldn’t have worried about keys or laundry. Since the intention not to participate clearly appeared on Woojae’s face, Jang Yeonju immediately caught it.
