The fingertips that touched his lips felt hot as if they’d been burned. His lips, which always formed a smooth smile, felt incredibly soft against his skin. Wooyeon felt as if he might faint any moment and quickly turned away from Dohyun.
“….”
He couldn’t bring himself to look at Dohyun. Although he managed to suppress the pheromones from bursting out, he couldn’t stop the nervous gulp. His face flushed red, feeling a heat unlike anything he had experienced before.
“Um, it’s time to go in….”
Wooyeon moved forward without even knowing the direction. If he didn’t move like this, it felt like the excited pheromones would burst out uncontrollably. It wasn’t just being stubborn. Why on earth did he reach out to Dohyun?
“Wooyeon.”
When Wooyeon had taken three steps, Dohyun called out to him. Wooyeon was still suppressing his pheromones while swallowing nervously. When Wooyeon slowly turned around, Dohyun gestured with a faint smile, indicating the opposite direction.
“We need to go that way.”
Saying so, Dohyun started walking first. Wooyeon followed him quickly, trying to calm his pounding heart. His throat kept drying up.
***
As Dohyun suggested, the screening room was smaller than Wooyeon’s house. Since it was a popular movie, the seats were full, and the two of them sat somewhere in the middle of the back row. They managed to get decent seats by booking early in the morning, despite the ambiguous screening time.
As soon as Wooyeon sat down, he checked the armrest on his right. There were often scenes in movies or dramas where the people raised the armrest and leaned on each other. Dohyun, who happened to be on Wooyeon’s right, lowered his voice and whispered.
“What, you want to put this up?”
Wooyeon widened his eyes and nodded his head. Then, in a similarly low voice, he whispered back.
“Does this really go up?”
“It does.”
Dohyun moved aside his drink and readily lifted the armrest. Fascinated by the sight of it rising up to the level of the chair’s backrest, Wooyeon followed suit exactly as Dohyun did. After lifting and lowering it a few times, Wooyeon asked quietly.
“Can I leave it up?”
“Do as you like. Put your drink on the other side.”
Wooyeon received the drink from him and put it on the other side, then lowered the armrest. It did feel different after lowering it, but it seemed a bit impractical to lean on the person next to you like in movies or dramas. It might strain the spine if you leaned on someone for the entire two hours.
‘I don’t need to lean on him….’
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
With a heart full of emotions, Wooyeon put away the armrest, but fortunately, Dohyun didn’t seem to notice. He probably thought that Wooyeon, who had come to the cinema for the first time, just wanted to try everything. Wooyeon, with a fluttering heart, hugged the popcorn bag to his chest.
Before the movie started, various advertisements appeared on the screen, ranging from movies currently showing to those coming out next month. Even simple ads like refrigerators or food were shown, but as soon as ads for major companies appeared, the couple sitting next to each other started chatting.
“Oh, they’re building apartments over there now.”
“I heard they’re even planning to build a childcare center soon. Maybe they’ll even build a country.”
The sound of giggles, filled with excitement, pierced Wooyeon’s ears. It wasn’t a particularly loud voice, but Wooyeon could distinctly hear someone saying, ‘They’re from a really wealthy family’ followed by laughter. Wooyeon tried to distract himself by scratching the popcorn bag with his fingernails, hoping to divert attention away from that direction.
“Wooyeon.”
Just then, Dohyun leaned his head towards Wooyeon. Wooyeon could feel the soothing Alpha pheromones emanating from him as he approached. Wooyeon moved closer to Dohyun and slightly tilted his ear.
“You said you’re good with horror movies, right?”
The whispering sound felt strange like a breath. It wasn’t anything special, but his stomach tensed. While Wooyeon straightened his back, Dohyun spoke in an even softer voice.
“If you get scared, let me know. We can leave in the middle.”
Instead of replying, Wooyeon nodded slightly. The couple’s conversation had already ended, and the advertisement from the company had switched to something else. The movie began shortly afterward, but Wooyeon’s mind was filled only with Dohyun’s voice.
Ultimately, the movie wasn’t bad. Compared to the previous ones in the series, it wasn’t as good, but individually, it could be rated quite high. Wooyeon barely remembered what happened in the other movies, but he could guess that the revelation of the culprit at the end was a twist that spanned the entire series.
“You’re really good at watching scary things.”
Dohyun looked somewhat surprised, watching Wooyeon without blinking. Understandably so, Wooyeon was more dazed than anyone else in the cinema. Dohyun was also watching quite well, but whenever there were occasional gruesome scenes, he would furrow his brow.
“I’m not scared of anything fake.”
The only time Wooyeon reacted was when an unexpected sex scene appeared. It wasn’t really necessary, and it wasn’t that kind of movie, but the sexual relationship between the Alpha and Omega was depicted like in a pornographic film. Wooyeon glanced at Dohyun every time a moan came from the speaker.
Then, their eyes met precisely in the dark. Without a chance to look away, their gazes were locked, not breaking until the strange moaning stopped. Dohyun, who had been bored, suddenly looked at Wooyeon.
“What do you want to eat for dinner?”
“….Ah.”
Wooyeon, who had been lost in thought, suddenly snapped out of it. The image of Dohyun he had conjured up disappeared, and the real Dohyun appeared before him. Wooyeon shook his head and blinked his eyes.
“I’m fine with anything for dinner.”
Dohyun raised the corner of his mouth as if amused. ‘Anything….’ Muttering like that, he squinted his left eye at Wooyeon.
“Anything except chicken and cheap food?”
“…I’ll go with the cheap option.”
Wooyeon whispered with a touch of playfulness in his voice. He had been caught by the observant Dohyun revealing his food preferences, but still, admitting it with his own mouth felt different. Dohyun nonchalantly narrowed his eyes and pondered.
“What should we go eat….”
Wooyeon also thought of various foods. However, most of the restaurants required reservations, and the only places Wooyeon could think of were ones where his mother could be contacted if he visited. There was one suitable place, but he wasn’t sure how to suggest it.
“….If it’s okay with you.”
Wooyeon rolled his eyes with a hesitant gaze and spoke up. He couldn’t come up with a good excuse even after deep thought, but it was unlikely that Dohyun would misunderstand. And even if he did, it wouldn’t matter much.
“Would you like to come to my place?”
***
They say life is a comedy from afar and a tragedy up close. Similarly, the night sky’s embroidered scenery seemed to erase the tragedy contained within the closer one looked. Wooyeon looked outside, recalling Garam’s words about “nightscapes being the woes of office workers.”
“It’s beautiful at night.”
Dohyun made a monotonous comment while looking at the landscape spread out from under the terrace. The city seen from the high penthouse had a different charm than what they had seen during their study session last time. Although Wooyeon didn’t feel any excitement because he saw it every day, Garam and Seongyu would have liked it quite a bit.
“Since you showed me the movie, let me treat you to dinner.”
Without expressing any particular surprise at the suggestion to go to Wooyeon’s house, Dohyun simply lowered his eyes for a moment as if considering, then asked in a mild voice.
“Is that okay?”
Instead of asking what that meant, Wooyeon nodded his head. Since they had already been there once, there was no hesitation in inviting him again. Dohyun seemed to have more to say, but when he saw Wooyeon’s sullen face, he just nodded his head.
And so, dinner was prepared on the widest part of Wooyeon’s terrace. Thanks to Wooyeon’s prior contact with the housekeeper, when they arrived, the finalized dishes were ready. Dohyun chuckled at the spread, which rivaled that of most restaurants.
“It’s too much for showing you just one movie.”
“…I said I was bringing a friend, so she got a little excited.”
In truth, Wooyeon was also a bit taken aback by the dinner set up on the terrace. Not only was the cooking skill beyond compare but there was also champagne placed in the center of the table, creating a pleasant atmosphere. For Wooyeon, who usually skipped meals, she was clearly prepared for the occasion, going all out.
“For now… let’s enjoy the meal. Please convey my gratitude to the one who prepared the food.”
Dohyun spoke affectionately as he effortlessly lifted the utensils. He didn’t hesitate about where to start or seem flustered at all. He simply chose an appetizer from the array of dishes and began eating with proper etiquette.
Occasionally, Wooyeon thought that Dohyun’s behavior was overly polished. He didn’t cross his legs, lean on his chin, or have a disheveled posture when sitting or walking, unlike others. Just like Wooyeon, his perfectly educated demeanor hinted at the environment he grew up in.
“…Would you like some champagne?”
Feeling a bit melancholy for no reason, Wooyeon picked up the champagne that was placed in the middle. He hesitated about how to open the cork, but Dohyun chuckled and rose from his seat. He took the champagne from Wooyeon’s hand and spoke in a soft voice.
“I won’t be able to drive if I drink this.”
It dawned on Wooyeon belatedly that Dohyun had brought his car. Unable to drive after drinking, but unable to call a driver either, and not sane enough to ask him to sleep over—it was an obvious slip of the tongue. So, Wooyeon tried to put the champagne back, but Dohyun gently raised the corner of his mouth.
“Are you sure it’s okay?”
“…What do you mean?”
Somehow, an uneasy feeling crept in. Despite Dohyun’s affectionate smile, it felt like something less affectionate would come out of his mouth. His tender and kind voice brought a sense of crisis.
“Nothing.”
Dohyun responded nonchalantly as he looked at the champagne label. “This has a high alcohol content.” As he said that, Wooyeon felt Dohyun’s dry pheromones. With the pheromones wafting through the spring breeze, Wooyeon unwittingly straightened his back and waited to hear what he would say next.
“Don’t you remember, Wooyeon?”
TL/N so sorry for the late update QAQ
I forgot that I didn’t schedule the chapters…
huge thanks to Hirose Yuuka and ryenbelle for informing meee<33333
Welcomee babee❤️❤️ omgg i’m so happyyy, and Dohyunnn He’s such a flirt
AGHHHH pls remember WOOYEON