—I’m going to work again tomorrow.
As soon as Soohyun pressed the send button, a call came from Chaeho. Though he knew Chaeho’s voice calling his name was full of dissatisfaction, he deliberately pretended not to notice.
[Hyung, are you really going to keep doing it?]
“Yeah, I’m going to write a formal contract too.”
[…Hyung, nothing really happened, right?]
“No, really.”
After ‘that incident’ five years ago, Chaeho looked after Soohyun’s wellbeing even more carefully. Though Soohyun didn’t show emotions on his face well, Chaeho, who had known him for 10 years, miraculously noticed his feelings well.
[Then I’ll take you tomorrow when you go to work. You leave at 9, right?]
“Chaeho-ya, it’s really fine…”
[Hyung, I want to do it. They say it might rain too. Hm? Please, hyung.]
“…Okay.”
When Chaeho, with his mountain-like build, said ‘please hyung~’ in a voice mixed with aegyo, Soohyun had no choice but to give in to him. After finishing the call with Chaeho, Soohyun neatly folded the clothes and apron he wore when working and put them in a shopping bag, then began tidying the house.
Having lived alone for quite a long time without being able to leave the house, he was very familiar with trivial housework like cleaning or preparing meals. At one time, he didn’t do things like cleaning or laundry at all and lived messily with garbage piled up, but not now.
Though small, it was a cozy house with two rooms and one kitchen-living room combo that could be circled in about ten steps, but Soohyun always kept his house shiny and clean. There wasn’t a single mold in the bathroom, and there wasn’t a drop of water or old grime in the kitchen sink. Because keeping at least his house clean made him feel like his chaotic mind was being organized, Soohyun carefully tidied up every single day without fail.
“I shouldn’t keep doing this to Chaeho…”
Soohyun knew Chaeho’s heart. Even knowing that Chaeho approached him more actively after manifesting as an alpha, he couldn’t accept him, who was like a real younger brother, and shouldn’t accept him either.
“My stomach…”
At the sudden sharp pain, Soohyun hurriedly rummaged through the drawer. He put painkillers in his mouth without water and chewed them, then emptied about half a bottle of bottled water before wiping the moisture from his lips. Since he had to work at Seojun’s house again starting tomorrow, it seemed better to get everything done and rest early.
Soohyun opened the refrigerator to check if there were ingredients and pondered lunch box side dishes. While working at Seojun’s house, Soohyun sometimes brought a packed lunch. He didn’t want to touch the employer’s food, nor did he want to go out and buy food, so he’d started doing this.
“This much should be enough.”
To empty his complicated mind, moving his hands and body was best. Soohyun’s hands busied themselves preparing food.
* * *
“Let’s take a break!”
The heat of the CF filming site cooled for a moment. Having thought it would end quickly since it was a beverage advertisement, Seojun buried his body in the sofa placed in one corner of the filming site with a very tired face as the shoot went on longer than expected.
“Are you tired, Seojun-ah?”
Seojun could only barely nod his head without answering. The problem was that the advertiser’s demands increased and the content kept changing moment by moment. Repeating drinking and spitting out a strange-tasting beverage that didn’t suit his palate, he was thoroughly on edge. After asking Jinwoo to buy him an iced Americano to cleanse his palate, while Jinwoo went to the cafe, Seojun recalled what had happened the other day.
The pale face that had been disheveled on the bed flickered before his eyes. The image of him furrowing his beautiful brow and only biting his lips while feeling too much and arbitrarily tightening his inner walls wouldn’t disappear.
‘What… keeps bothering me…?’
No matter how much he thought about it, it was strange. They’d just impulsively mixed bodies exactly once. Though he was a beauty, compared to the pretty omegas around Seojun, why did he keep thinking of his plain face, his body?
“Seojun hyung, are you okay?”
The actor filming the CF with him today was a pretty-faced omega model who usually acted friendly toward Seojun. Seeing Seojun resting, he approached Seojun with his characteristic coquettish smile and subtly linked arms.
At that moment, Seojun realized why ‘Lee Soohyun’ kept bothering him.
He had no scent.
“Hyung, what are you doing after today’s over? If you have time…”
Looking at the model kid who was blushing, blinking his eyes prettily, and twirling his fingers with an absurd face, Seojun subtly detached him and stood up.
“Today’s shoot is quite tough. I’m going to exercise and rest. You’re working hard today too.”
Seojun approached Jinwoo, who was coming in carrying coffee he’d bought, took the coffee from his hand, and drank it down in one gulp. He needed the scent of bitter coffee to erase the terrible sweet smell the omega was giving off.
“Even taking suppressants, still like that…”
Seojun, whose sense of smell was especially sensitive, terribly hated the characteristic sweet smell of omega pheromones that brought up unpleasant memories. He didn’t even particularly like the scent of his own alpha pheromones. Because of that, not only did he take suppressants himself, but he even hired only betas around him.
Seojun recalled Soohyun while drinking the remaining coffee. Seeing how wet he got in back, he was definitely an omega, but there was absolutely no pheromone scent from him. Could it be that he ate too many suppressants excessively to work at his house?
Thinking that something might happen where he took medication excessively for work and then shifted responsibility to him, Seojun called Jinwoo.
“Hyung, can I add one more special clause to Lee Soohyun-ssi’s contract?”
“Suddenly? What?”
“Well…”
Seojun tried to express in a roundabout way that he didn’t need to take too many pheromone suppressants, but when it didn’t go well, he only scratched his head.
“Ah. You’re doing that because you’re concerned about pheromones? You don’t need to worry about that.”
“What… do you mean?”
“I don’t know the exact circumstances, but Lee Soohyun-ssi doesn’t have omega pheromone scent.”
Hearing Jinwoo’s story, Seojun’s eyes widened. Seeing his wide eyes suddenly grow larger and firmly grab his forearm, Jinwoo screamed “Eek.”
“How do you know that, hyung?”
“Well… because the center told me?”
For a moment, Seojun suspected whether Jinwoo and Soohyun had some kind of relationship. Only after hearing his answer did he realize how foolish a thought he’d had, and Seojun awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
“We’re starting filming again!”
Seojun entered the studio with a much more refreshed feeling. Now that he knew why Soohyun kept catching his eye, it seemed he could concentrate on filming.
* * *
“Don’t overdo it too much, hyung!”
“Okay. Thanks.”
“I can’t come pick you up today. So be careful…”
“Chaeho-ya, hyung isn’t a child. Don’t worry and go.”
“…Okay. I’ll call you later.”
Chaeho, who had dropped Soohyun off in front of the officetel where Seojun lived, waved his hand with a regretful face. Until now, Soohyun had been working from 9 to 3, but at Jinwoo’s request, the starting time had changed slightly.
The time Soohyun entered Seojun’s house was a little before 9:30. Soohyun’s pants hem, wet from the drizzle-like rain, was damp.
Soohyun entered the room used as a study, changed clothes, and took out the lunch box he’d prepared in advance and placed it on the kitchen sink.
“I didn’t do it for one day and the house is a mess.”
The clothes and underwear Seojun had roughly taken off were sprawled on the living room sofa, and in the kitchen sink, used dishes were piled high. Though he was said to be a busy person, when did he prepare and eat meals at home like this? Thinking this, Soohyun gathered the laundry, put it in the washing machine, and started washing dishes.
The places Soohyun’s touch passed became sparkling as if magic had been cast. As the messy space was neatly organized and even a refreshing scent was felt, a faint smile bloomed on Soohyun’s lips.
Seeing it had just turned 1 o’clock, Soohyun sat at the dining table with the lunch box he’d brought to eat lunch.
“I’ll eat well.”
Though he’d made it himself, Soohyun held his chopsticks neatly, gave thanks for the meal, then brought his chopsticks to the lunch box. Though he didn’t eat much and wasn’t very interested in delicious food, the meal after doing physical work tasted quite good.
After finishing the meal, Soohyun sat at the table and caught his breath. Though the only work Soohyun could do was mere housework, he still didn’t dislike the Omega Home Care Center work that let him earn quite a bit of money while doing what he did best. Though people might point fingers at him, even this was something Soohyun was grateful for.
—Lee Soohyun-ssi, this is Kim Jinwoo. I’m going to your house now for a bit to write the contract.
Soohyun confirmed the message that arrived from Jinwoo just then and sent a reply. Though there was still rest time remaining, he hastened his movements. He planned to at least roughly tidy up the places he hadn’t organized yet before Jinwoo came.
“The bedroom and bathroom are left.”
Soohyun paused for a moment seeing Seojun’s disheveled bed. Though it had been sex after a very long time, his face heated up recalling how he’d gotten soaking wet and heated up at Seojun’s touch. Then recalling his cold voice that had spoken mockingly asking if he was originally skilled, he shook his head. It was something he didn’t need to keep in mind. It was just work.
