“No, we’re still students. Marriage seems like too early of an issue…”
“It seems like you don’t remember spending time with me…”
He had an even more disappointed expression on his face. Do-hwa felt a surge of anger and disbelief at the same time.
They weren’t even close to being ready for marriage! Why is he doing this for real?
It was gross how he was acting like this, knowing full well that Do-hwa still remembered. Do-hwa’s mind was racing as he was feeling torn. Should he reject his proposal? Maybe he should try to get back the money he gave to Koo Jong-pil out of spite.
Being by Cha Min-jun’s side gave him goosebumps, but the thought of giving in to Koo Jong-pil was even more horrifying. If a third party saw, that might be it. But if he looked closely, Min-jun seemed just a tiny bit—just a tad better off. In the end, Do-hwa resolved to marry and figure out this bastard’s intentions.
“No, it’s okay. I’m fine. Thanks to you, I’ve received a lot of help. I’m still lacking a lot, though… If you want, I’ll do it.”
Do-hwa awkwardly lifted the corners of his mouth. He knew he was a master of bad acting, but he tried to appear as natural as possible, desperately trying to mask his true feelings. At that, Min-jun pursed his lips as if in feigned innocence.
“I’m not forcing you.”
He said this, but somehow he had already tightly grasped Do-hwa’s hand. It felt more like coercion.
“If getting married right away is difficult for you, can I help with something else?”
Another request? That seemed just as hard as getting married, but maybe a little better. Do-hwa hid his unease and nodded his head robotically.
“Before you lost your memory, you were planning to take a leave of absence from school.”
“I know.”
“You know?”
“Taking a leave of absence has been talked about since last year, so it stuck in my memory.”
It was true. That’s why he had a lot of worries and hesitated before finally making a decision.
“I feel too lonely in college without you, seonbae. So, I hope you don’t take a leave of absence.”
“But I don’t have tuition.”
The money he earned from part-time jobs had been used for living expenses or lent to Jio and depleted.
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.
“Do you think I’m asking for this favor for no reason?”
“Qbk, sbe’gf fnfc kliilcu ab mbnfg aelalbc? Rb, la’r bxjs. Efjiis.”
Qts bc fjgat kjr tf boofglcu ab mbnfg aelalbc bc abq bo jigfjvs qjslcu boo j teuf vfya? Gb-tkj mbeivc’a ecvfgrajcv la. Po tf ijmxfv mbcrmlfcmf bg rtjwf, tf wluta tjnf uijvis jmmfqafv, yea tlr mtjgjmafg kbeivc’a jiibk la.
“Even though it’s my sincere request?”
He gave him a pitiful look. Do-hwa felt awkward. He didn’t know requests like this existed. In reality, even if it didn’t harm him, and even if it did, given the circumstances, he would probably accept it, but he wasn’t comfortable with it.
“Okay. Is there any other request?”
It was surprisingly weak compared to what he expected, so he anticipated a strong blow coming.
“That’s all.”
“What?”
“I want seonbae to be ‘always’ by my side.”
It seemed like nullifying the leave of absence was essentially what he meant. But Do-hwa wasn’t sure why he wanted to be together. It felt unbalanced and unsettling.
It didn’t seem easy to read this bastard’s thoughts in the future. He let out a sigh internally, swallowed it back, and looked at Min-jun. Why was it? There was something subtle in his gaze as he stared back. Moreover, his cheeks seemed to have turned bright red, just like Do-hwa had witnessed between the drum cans earlier. Do-hwa blinked, thinking he might be mistaken, but they were definitely flushed. Why is he making that face…? It’s scary…
“Let’s go home now.”
Min-jun let go of Do-hwa’s hand and started the engine.
“Should I… drive?”
He didn’t have a car, but he did have a driver’s license, and considering all he received from Min-jun, being a chauffeur was definitely doable.
“It’s okay. Seonbae worked hard, so you should relax.”
Min-jun eventually took the wheel, and they left the factory complex. Do-hwa watched Min-jun with a worried look as the car picked up speed.
Do-hwa sneakily glanced at Min-jun’s profile. His Western nose felt more three-dimensional today. Despite his sculpted appearance and gentle behavior, Do-hwa couldn’t figure out what was going on inside his head. He decided he needed to stay sharp when dealing with that crazy guy in the future.
Outside, now fully nighttime, rows of shops filled with neon signs were lined up. He could see the movie theater they had gone to with Min-jun yesterday. Thinking briefly about the movie they watched together, ‘A Million Kisses’, he recalled meeting Jio there. Along with that memory came the realization of his mistake.
Since meeting Min-jun, Do-hwa has been behaving as if he had complete amnesia. Of course, Jio and his parents had known about it before then, but news of Jio’s pregnancy and marriage had only come out around the summer. He had even mentioned it at club meetings.
When he met Jio at the movie theater, he originally shouldn’t have known about Jio’s pregnancy and marriage. It was a mistake not to properly recognize his situation due to the conflict over the leave of absence issue.
Moreover…
Even in the doctor’s office where he went with Min-jun, it was said that his pheromones were the same as Min-jun’s. If he had lost his memory, there was no way he would know Min-jun’s pheromones. There were expected to be various other awkward holes like this.
Do-hwa’s face started to turn bright red. He hit his forehead against the car window without realizing it. There was a dull thud.
“Seonbae, what’s wrong?”
“Uh… It’s nothing…”
Do-hwa quickly shook his head. He had promised himself to stay alert, yet here he was making such a mistake… But what did it matter at this point? Min-jun knew everything but pretended not to. Do-hwa touched his tingling cheek and looked out the window.
Bright fireworks exploded in the dim night sky.
“Wow… They’re really beautiful.”
Do-hwa unknowingly let out a sigh of admiration. Min-jun’s head naturally turned to follow Do-hwa’s gaze.
He changed lanes and headed towards where the fireworks were.
Not far away, a wide riverside unfolded. There were large trees and couples closely gathered there.
“It looks like there’s a fireworks festival tonight because it’s Christmas Eve.”
“Oh, right, I heard about that.”
He had watched a documentary about Christmas during the day, but he had completely forgotten about it while dealing with Koo Jong-pil.
“Shall we stop by for a moment?”
“What? Now?”
Going straight from dealing with loan sharks to fireworks seemed like going from one extreme to another. He wondered what kind of development this was, but before he knew it, the car was parked in the parking lot.
Min-jun unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the driver’s seat. Do-hwa also reached for his seatbelt to get out, but strangely, it didn’t come off easily. While struggling with it, the passenger seat door opened, and Min-jun bent down to help him unbuckle it. As he did, their faces drew close, and their eyes met.
The deep, blue gaze felt like an unfathomable abyss.
At that moment, Do-hwa’s heart strangely raced. He turned his head to look out the window, as he was feeling like he might suffocate. He saw people watching the fireworks. After seeing that scene, Do-hwa thought about his own situation.
“But if there are other Alphas over there, wouldn’t that be dangerous for me?”
Earlier, among the loan sharks, including Koo Jong-pil, Do-hwa’s pheromones hadn’t been an issue. Most of them seemed to be Betas, and Koo Jong-pil didn’t seem to be in good health. It was fortunate in the midst of misfortune, but there was no guarantee that luck would continue to favor him.
“Then let’s mark each other.”
“What? Again?”
Of course, thanks to Min-jun marking him before going to the movies, there hadn’t been any major issues, but the act itself was burdensome. They weren’t really lovers, after all. Do-hwa was about to suggest giving up on watching the fireworks when Min-jun approached and bit down hard on Do-hwa’s neck.
“Ah… Ugh…”
A strange sensation enveloped his whole body. Do-hwa unconsciously hugged Min-jun and grabbed onto his back. The sensation of Min-jun’s pheromones enveloping his body vividly registered. Min-jun slowly backed away, having left enough bite marks on Do-hwa’s neck.
Then Do-hwa felt dizzy. It was a more intense sensation than before going to the movies earlier.
“Are you okay?”
“No, it’s not that…”
It wasn’t difficult to walk, so it didn’t really matter. But Do-hwa couldn’t help but feel it was strange to go to such lengths just to see the fireworks. At that moment, Min-jun’s hand reached out towards Do-hwa.
“Hold onto me and come down.”
“Ah…”
It was a pale, long hand. It seemed too refined to have been responsible for making Koo Jong-pil like that and for dealing out blows. It felt strange to be shown his duality so perfectly, and Do-hwa hesitated whether he should take his hand or not. But before he could decide, Min-jun took Do-hwa’s hand first, gently pulling him towards the riverside.
Amidst the fireworks bursting, Do-hwa plunged into the crowd with Min-jun. Why was it? Despite being midwinter, it didn’t feel cold. Then he noticed Min-jun, who was holding his hand tightly. Maybe it wasn’t because of the weather, but perhaps because of Min-jun’s high body temperature, he didn’t feel cold. For some reason, he felt a tingling sensation in a corner of his heart.
“This seems like a good spot.”
Min-jun found a suitable place to sit. The person in front wasn’t too tall, so there wasn’t much of a hindrance to enjoying the fireworks. Fireworks rose one after another into the dark sky, displaying dazzling shapes. They resembled peacock tails and dandelion seeds.
“Wow, they’re even prettier up close. Wow!”
Do-hwa is sincerely admired. His gaze was fixed on the sky, as if glued there. In contrast, Min-jun’s pupils were fixed on Do-hwa. They were filled with eagerness and a sense of restraint, like the confinement of a monster hiding sharp fangs.
Thank you for the chapter! (人´∀｀)｡ﾟ+
Maybe his rut is coming?