[Isn’t that even weirder to say?]
“It’s just a candid photo. Don’t overthink it.”
For a moment, Jihoon fell silent, which made Do-hwa even more uneasy. He could feel sweat trickling down his back. Yet, amidst this unfortunate situation, he found solace in the fact that the moment they kissed wasn’t captured on camera.
[I honestly don’t like you hanging out with Cha Min-jun.]
“Huh?”
[I don’t like it, so stop.]
“What? Why all of a sudden…”
Jihoon and Do-hwa had different ways of playing around, but somehow their personalities clicked, making them somewhat close friends. But now, Jihoon’s voice sounded different from what Do-hwa was used to.
Then.
“Who are you talking to, seonbae?”
“Ahh!”
Do-hwa turned around as he was startled by the sudden voice. Min-jun stood there with a puzzled expression.
When did he come in…? Do-hwa thought, his heart pounding as Jihoon’s voice echoed sharply through his phone.
[What is it? Are you with Cha Min-jun right now?]
Of course, being in speaker mode meant anyone could tell it was Jihoon. After remembering how Min-jun had been giving hints earlier when Jihoon called, Do-hwa hastily turned off speaker mode and held the phone to his ear.
“Uh, yeah…”
[Don’t hang out with him! He’s a weirdo.]
Do-hwa didn’t need Jihoon to say it for him to know that Cha Min-jun was a complete jerk. He was more aware of it than anyone else. Plus, even though he hadn’t set the call volume particularly loud, Jihoon’s voice was so loud that Min-jun could hear everything. Do-hwa quickly ended the call, feeling like he was putting out a fire.
Meanwhile, Min-jun took a seat beside Do-hwa. Do-hwa cautiously watched Min-jun’s reaction, but there wasn’t a hint of suspicion on his face.
“Who was it?”
“Ji… Jihoon.”
Since it was pointless to hide it because of the voice, Do-hwa answered honestly. Min-jun stared intently into Do-hwa’s eyes.
“Did you tell him that seonbae lost his memory?”
Do-hwa wondered why Min-jun was asking when he clearly knew Do-hwa was lying. But without showing any signs of hesitation, Do-hwa found a suitable answer to match Min-jun’s behavior.
“No, most of the guys remember, so I didn’t want to worry him for no reason…”
There was also a part of him that didn’t want to keep lying.
“You did well. Since it’s just partial memory loss and seonbae memory could come back soon, there’s no need to bring it up at school.”
Min-jun flashed a bright smile. It felt like he was filled with satisfaction, as if something had worked out well.
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.
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“Let’s use these from now on. They’re a couple phones.”
“Oh…”
Upon closer inspection, Do-hwa realized it was the latest phone that Kim Soo-yeon’s friend had mentioned wanting to get for indoor pool part-time work at their club meeting not too long ago. Considering Do-hwa’s current situation, it was an expensive item he wouldn’t even dare to dream of. He looked at it with wonder, his eyes widening.
“But if we’re keeping our relationship a secret, wouldn’t people find it odd if we carried these around together?”
Though they were in different grades, they were in the same department and had quite a few overlapping classes. Moreover, they were at the same club.
“Sometimes friends share plans because of plan issues. Anyway, we’re just outwardly close seonbae-hubae friends.”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
“No one will suspect a thing.”
Min-jun leaned in as he was whispering slyly, and their faces were so close that their noses almost touched. Do-hwa felt his face heat up as he was startled by the sudden handsome attack and instinctively lowered his head.
“Seonbae, your eyes are really beautiful.”
“What?”
Do-hwa lifted his head again as he was taken aback by Min-jun’s unexpected compliment.
“I’ve always felt they were beautiful, but up close, they’re like topaz.”
“Oh… um… topaz?”
Is this guy seriously crazy?! Why is he so smooth?! Do-hwa felt completely overwhelmed.
Then, Min-jun’s lips deeply touched Do-hwa’s before parting. A soft sound filled the air. Thanks to that, Do-hwa turned as red as a tomato, from his face down to his neck.
“Why did you suddenly kiss me…?”
“Why not? We’re dating now.”
Min-jun chuckled softly as he pulled Do-hwa closer by the waist. Thanks to that, Do-hwa’s slender body found itself embraced by Min-jun’s arms. Then, as if waiting for it, Min-jun kissed Do-hwa’s lips again.
Do-hwa’s thoughts—they’re in disarray. Why is he doing this…? This guy…? He even felt his breath getting caught.
“Haha.”
Min-jun laughed as if he had hit a jackpot of amusement. Do-hwa didn’t find any of it funny. This time, his large hand patted Do-hwa’s buttocks. There was tenderness in his touch.
“Now let’s set up the phones.”
ꕥꕥꕥ
Do-hwa’s phone was replaced with a new one. Min-jun took care of everything, from transferring contacts to copying the messages. He even handled the activation process. Do-hwa felt strange after facing the new phone. On top of living together, now they had couple phones… It felt like a weird misconception, considering they weren’t really lovers.
Then, a message arrived from Jihoon.
<Hey Do-hwa, let’s meet up for a bit today.>
Since Jihoon had been talking about Min-jun on the phone earlier, Do-hwa couldn’t help but notice Min-jun’s reaction. Moreover, Do-hwa couldn’t go out alone because of the situation with his pheromones, and Jihoon, being a dominant Alpha, would probably notice Do-hwa’s pheromones even if Do-hwa tried to hide them.
The idea of going out felt like an unattainable fantasy. So, Do-hwa sent a refusal message. Soon after, the ‘1’ disappeared, and Jihoon’s reply followed.
<Actually, the club decided to have a drink tonight to celebrate Christmas. It would be great if you could join too.>
“Oh…”
They decided to meet up together… There were days when Do-hwa found such gatherings annoying and tiring, but today, for some reason, he wanted to go. He wanted to let them know that his leave of absence had fallen through, and he also thought that going out in the nice weather might improve his downcast mood a bit.
“Why? What’s wrong, seonbae?”
Min-jun looked at Do-hwa with concern, who seemed to be agitated.
“What’s wrong?”
“Uh, there’s a 3rd-year club gathering today. Yeah… But I can’t go… There is nothing I can do.”
Do-hwa tried not to show his disappointment. Come to think of it, the news about his leave of absence could simply be shared through the group chat… But the more he tried to suppress it, the stronger his desire to go became. He eventually even found himself tapping his thigh with his hand.
“Just go and come back.”
“But Jihoon is a dominant Alpha. He’ll smell my pheromones.”
“You can use a pheromone suppressant.”
“What? What’s that?”
In response to Do-hwa’s question, Min-jun went into the utility room and came back with something in hand. A small bottle with a spray cap was placed on the table. It looked like an air freshener.
“If you spray this, your pheromone scent will disappear for a day. So even Alphas won’t be able to sense it.”
“Even for dominant?”
“Yes. It needs to be at least extremely dominant to detect it.”
Min-jun sprayed the suppressant towards Do-hwa’s chest. Along with the sound of a light spray, Do-hwa felt a moist liquid. It didn’t have any scent; it almost felt like water. However, Do-hwa could still smell his own pheromones clearly. He waited for a few minutes, hoping for the effect to kick in, but felt no change.
“Is this supposed to work? I can still smell the scent.”
“Really? It’s not supposed to, but it’s very faint for me.”
Min-jun tilted his head and spoke with a slight look of surprise.
“I’ve heard that a tiny minority of Alphas or Omegas have a sensitivity to their own pheromones. It seems like you’re one of those seonbae. But ‘other’ people won’t sense your pheromones.”
Min-jun’s expression seemed to twist slightly. Even though he was just explaining about the suppressant, there was something unsettling about it. Do-hwa was feeling uneasy as he cautiously sniffed his own palm. A sweet scent wafted out. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t believe that others wouldn’t detect his scent.
“So, if I spray this and go out, it’ll be fine, right?”
“Of course.”
“Hmm.”
While Do-hwa had a skeptical look on his face, a text arrived from Jihoon.
<Let’s meet at the café in front of Daehangno.>
The location was set. However…
“Can I really go out? You’ve told me not to go out alone before because it’s dangerous at times.”
“Back then, your pheromones were really strong, so it seemed like the suppressant wouldn’t work. But now that we’ve seen it has an effect, it should be fine. So don’t worry and just come out to have fun. I’ll take you there.”
As Do-hwa pondered, Min-jun stood up from the sofa first. Do-hwa awkwardly followed. It felt strange that Min-jun was taking the lead, seemingly hoping for Do-hwa to go out.
ꕥꕥꕥ
“I’m here, Do-hwa.”
After entering the café, Do-hwa spotted Jihoon waving his hand. Do-hwa was feeling glad, but he momentarily felt nervous as he walked over and shook Jihoon’s hand. Despite meticulously spraying the suppressant, he was still afraid someone might detect his pheromones.
A man who looked like an Alpha approached from across the room. Do-hwa was nervous as he shrunk his shoulders. The man fortunately passed by without incident and left.
Is the suppressant really effective…? Do-hwa sniffed his palm. His uncontrollable pheromones seemed to float in the air.
Maybe that man was actually a Beta, or Do-hwa didn’t sense it at the moment. He would surely find out if he sat next to Jihoon. Do-hwa took a seat in front of him, feeling like he was on a trial stand.
“It’s been a while since the year-end gathering.”
Jihoon welcomed Do-hwa very warmly.
“Yeah, it has.”
“Are you okay?”
Jihoon’s question made it seem like he was treating Do-hwa as if he had just returned from a jungle full of wild animals.
“Why are you asking like that? Of course, I’m fine.”
Do-hwa replied with a smirk. But Jihoon was persistently observing Do-hwa. His complexion was changing gradually, making Do-hwa even more nervous. Could he have noticed the pheromones?
this spray is probably min-jun’s pheromones or somthing like that 😗
“I don’t like it” Does Jihoon like Do-hwa? 🤔