Suhyeok: Heard you’re going on a blind date? Good call.
Just as his imagination was starting to get out of hand, a message came in from Suhyeok. Doyun’s face scrunched as he secretly read the message under his desk. Thinking to himself that Na Minjun was the kind of guy whose mouth would keep floating even if the rest of him drowned, he typed out a reply.
Doyun: blocking you traitor bye
As soon as Doyun sent it, Suhyeok replied immediately.
Suhyeok: I was going to tell you once things got a little more certain ㅠㅠ
Suhyeok had even attached a crying emoticon, which was completely unlike him — but the hurt that had already built up didn’t fade so easily. Doyun flipped his phone face down. A few more messages seemed to come in after that, but Doyun deliberately ignored them.
***
Once he actually focused on the lecture, the hour or so passed by quickly. He drew a big circle around the pages the professor had specifically emphasized would be on the midterm, then shoved his textbook into his bag. After class ended, the doorway was crowded with students filing out. Doyun slung his bag over his shoulder and joined the stream, checking his phone as he went.
The footsteps of people leaving through the back door of the lecture hall began to slow down one by one. Some who had been heading forward openly decided to turn their heads back. Catching the words “alpha” and “superior” being murmured among the clusters of people around him, Doyun registered Eunho’s presence.
Eunho was leaning against the wall in a trench coat — the kind he only occasionally wore in spring or fall. Mornings and evenings had been slightly chilly, but in the middle of the day it was still hot enough to wear a short-sleeved shirt. Doyun was struck speechless by Eunho’s perfectly autumn-ready outfit.
“You’re going to die of heatstroke — are you obsessed with looking good or what.”
“I just stopped by my car and threw it on.”
“Are you sick? Who wears a trench coat in this weather. Sometimes I genuinely think you’re strange.”
Doyun looked him up and down from head to toe. His neatly swept-back hair and the trench coat paired well with the clean-cut trousers and shoes.
Eunho stopped Doyun for a moment and slowly began undoing the buttons of his trench coat. Whether it wasn’t only Doyun who was curious about what Eunho was doing, he could feel the gazes of people passing by landing on them. Eunho gripped both lapels of his coat like he was about to fling it open and asked Doyun:
“I wore the coat on purpose to surprise you. Guess what I’m wearing underneath.”
“No idea. You didn’t buy that shirt I said looked good on me last time before I could, did you? Because I’ll tear it.”
Eunho shook his head with a laugh at Doyun’s answer, glanced briefly around at the people nearby, then flung the trench coat wide open — and immediately closed it again.
“Ta-da.”
Doyun’s eyes went wide — followed immediately by a bright burst of laughter.
“You actually wore that here? You know it doesn’t suit you at all, right?”
What Eunho had on beneath the classic trench coat was the elephant t-shirt. The t-shirt — still covered in brilliant, intact gold foil — glittered magnificently. Eunho, who had thrown open his coat with the gravest expression imaginable, cupped Doyun’s cheeks in both hands and squeezed as Doyun doubled over laughing.
“Come on, let’s hurry to your place.”
He shifted the large shopping bag he’d been holding in one hand to the other, then slung his arm around Doyun’s shoulder.
“That’s heavy, get your arm off me. I’m trying to grow.”
“Does this spot work better? I also bought the Valentine’s whiskey you picked from 1 to 3, and a housewarming gift.”
At Doyun’s words, Eunho slid his arm down from his shoulder and wrapped it around his waist instead. He even swept it up and down along his side. The touch through the thin t-shirt was ticklish, but Doyun figured it was fine between friends and gave a small nod.
“What did you buy so much of? Please tell me it’s not laundry detergent. I don’t have a washing machine so I do my laundry at my parents’ place.”
“Tissues and…. a few other things.”
As he said it, Eunho lifted the shopping bag and showed it to Doyun. Sure enough, a box of tissues was sticking out from the top.
Seeing the housewarming gifts packed into the shopping bag, Doyun felt a sudden impulse to be a proper, attentive host. He glanced at Eunho’s hand still firmly hooked around his side, then turned his head to look up at Eunho.
“What should I get for snacks? I’ve got nothing to eat at my place — want to order something?”
At Doyun’s question, Eunho looked down at him.
“I did bring cheese and some fruit, but if we’re still hungry we can order more.”
“Oh, Sa Eunho even brought snacks to go with the whiskey?”
“Exactly, so let’s get going.”
***
When Eunho arrived at Doyun’s studio apartment, he couldn’t hide his surprise. Giving a tour of every corner of the one-room apartment — which offered very little to look at — took less than three minutes. When the tour was over, Eunho’s face read clearly: Is this really all there is? He hunted around for any hidden space, then made a valiant effort to conceal his shock with the words: “It’s cozy and nice for living alone.”
The housewarming gifts Eunho had brought were varied. Out poured the whiskey he’d mentioned, along with cheese and an assortment of fruits. There was also a diffuser and a scented candle from a luxury brand, and even a small mood lamp to place at the head of the bed — every gift showed a personal, thoughtful touch.
Doyun roughly chopped up the cheese and fruit with a small knife and brought them out, only then realizing there was just one fork. When he said they had a problem, Eunho responded with “just eat,” as if there was nothing complicated about it at all.
When Doyun teased him in a childish way — “but we’ll be sharing spit — what’s your blood type?” — Eunho’s eyes curved into a smile and he laughed softly. At that smile, Doyun suddenly felt a rush of warmth flood through him, along with the faintest trace of a pleasant scent — but it vanished just as quickly as it came, like smoke. They poured the whiskey Eunho had brought into paper cups, filling each halfway, and took turns spearing the snacks with the single fork.
After drinking together for a good while, a comfortable, pleasant buzz set in. The two of them — now both wearing the same-design elephant t-shirts in different colors — had been sitting and drinking when they moved to lie down on the mattress that served as Doyun’s bed. Lying facing each other, Eunho naturally reached his arm out, and Doyun just as naturally settled his head onto it.
“Don’t you have something to tell me?”
Doyun slowly blinked his eyes open and shut, returning the exact same question Eunho had once asked him. At that, Eunho narrowed his eyes and asked back:
“…Something to tell you? Like what.”
“You really don’t have anything to say?”
Maybe it was all the drinking — his throat was dry. Too lazy to get up and get water, Doyun licked his lower lip with his tongue, doing his best to push through the thirst.
“Doyun, are you angry with me about something?”
The hand stroking Doyun’s hair came to a stop. Eunho gently pulled back the Doyun who had been practically burrowing into his chest, whose voice had been coming out as a low mumble. Feeling like his throat was on fire, Doyun licked his lips again and looked at Eunho.
“……”
“Hm? Did I do something wrong?”
He’d always thought Sa Eunho was remarkably good-looking, but moments like this — when sunlight crept in through the gaps in the window and cast shadows across his face — gave Doyun a surreal, almost cinematic feeling, like he was watching a film.
“Well — if I really think about it, you didn’t do anything wrong.”
“……”
Putting Minjun and Suhyeok’s situationships in the same conversation as Eunho’s rut was comparing apples and oranges to begin with. Eunho was an alpha — he had no obligation to explain to a non-presenting person like Doyun who he’d been with or what he’d done during his rut period, or to ask for his understanding. If anything it was something to feel a little hurt about, not something Eunho had done wrong. That was how he reasoned through it — and yet the only thing that actually came out of Doyun’s mouth was a stubborn declaration that he was going on a blind date.
“…I decided to go on a blind date.”
“…A blind date?”
When Eunho’s face crumpled badly, Doyun felt a small, satisfying flicker of triumph.
“Yeah. Minjun’s girlfriend said she could set me up, so I asked her to. Next week. Not from the same department — different department.”
“…Doyun.”
Eunho, who had been silently looking at Doyun, cut him off with a voice edged with a quiet sigh.
The arm resting just below Doyun’s ear felt unusually, almost uncomfortably hot. Wondering if he really might have a fever after all, Doyun reached up and pressed his hand to Eunho’s forehead — and Eunho knocked it away with a sharp smack. Then he looked straight at Doyun and continued.
“You never cared about dating or anything like that before. Why you’d suddenly want to go on a blind date…. I honestly don’t get it.”
The words came out of Eunho’s mouth slowly, as though they’d been carefully suppressed. Speaking with weight on every single syllable, Eunho didn’t look angry — but he looked uneasy.
