“Hey, can I call someone over?”
“…Who?”
When Yigyeom heard the mention of calling someone known, he became cautious. He felt a surge of unease, wondering if it might be Kang Jihoon’s friend who had that piercing back then.
“Oh, it’s Yoo Jaemin.”
“Ah… Jaemin hyung.”
Fortunately, it was not that friend but Yoo Jaemin, who had worked together frequently in the past. Since both Kang Jihoon and Yoo Jaemin were beta, there wasn’t much to worry about. They spent time together without feeling awkward due to their frequent interactions in the past.
“He’ll join us after work. Seems he’s nearby. Let’s go ahead.”
“Sure…”
As Yigyeom and Kang Jihoon entered a nearby chicken joint near the station, Yigyeom watched Kang Jihoon order chicken at a large table. Kang Jihoon ordered two chickens and five glasses of draft beer. He immediately offered one to Yigyeom. Yigyeom lightly toasted and took a sip. It was refreshing, but he didn’t find it pleasant due to the bitterness.
“Oh, yeah. Hey, remember that person who drove that damn expensive car? I looked it up, and that car was imported to our country, and apparently, it was bought by Kwon Taejung.”
“…Ah…”
Trying not to think about Kwon Taejung, hearing about him from everywhere made Yigyeom unsure how to react or what to do. While continuously passing the glass back without even noticing the bitterness of the beer.
“Man, I wish we took a picture back then.”
“….”
“If I drove a car like that, I’d feel damn amazing. He probably has a ton of cars other than that, right?”
Yigyeom recalled the cars he had seen Kwon Taejung drive. Kwon Taejung’s house even had a shelf entirely dedicated to car keys. Thinking about more than ten keys lined up there, Yigyeom felt his heart sink.
“Living like that must be so great. Loads of money, good looks, and being an Alpha. Sure, his personality might be a bit off, but who would care about that?”
“…Not really… His personality is good…”
“What? Didn’t hear you.”
“Huh? Ah… It’s nothing. Just…”
Unintentionally leaning toward Kwon Taejung’s side, Yigyeom hastily drank the remaining half-empty beer. When he recalled that Kwon Taejung wasn’t that kind of person and was actually very affectionate and warm, his face flushed in embarrassment.
“Hey, are you okay today? Seems a bit off.”
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.
“Ah…”
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“Drink, drink. What’s the problem? Everyone has days like this. Don’t they say drinking on tough days makes it better? Want to try soju? Mixing is really tasty.”
“No, thank you. I haven’t really drunk alcohol before.”
“That’s why you should taste it at times like this. One soju, please! Original.”
Watching Kang Jihoon happily, Yigyeom awkwardly smiled. He thought he should have just gone straight home. That thought came belatedly to his mind.
His eyes or his body shaking, or perhaps the world was shaking, he couldn’t tell. Yigyeom nodded, looking at Kang Jihoon saying something to him.
“Hey, can’t you hear me? Yeon Yigyeom, hey, wake up.”
“Awake…”
“Yes, awake. Geez, do three beers affect you? Why are you laughing?”
Looking at Yigyeom giggling without knowing why, Kang Jihoon gestured to Yoo Jaemin as if asking for support.
“Hey, get him.”
“Ah, I told you to stop drinking earlier.”
“Should’ve known. Ah, quickly, get him.”
Yoo Jaemin, with a cold tongue, grabbed Yigyeom’s left arm and helped him up. Though not heavy, it was challenging to stop Yigyeom from constantly sinking, as his body didn’t seem to hold the strength well.
“Hey, do you know where his place is?”
“Oh, it’s near my friend’s house.”
“Idiot, you really know? You’re clueless.”
“Am I supposed to have an address book? Should I naturally know that?”
“If you don’t know, you should’ve had less to drink. Ah, what are we going to do?”
Frustrated, Kang Jihoon, with his disheveled head, leaned towards Yigyeom, clutching onto him as if trying to take him away.
“This won’t work. We’ll have to let him stay at our place tonight. Hey, call a taxi…”
Pointing at the road to flag down a taxi, Kang Jihoon’s eyes widened as he noticed someone approaching them. It was Kwon Taejung.
“Come here.”
“Me?”
“I need Yigyeom.”
“Ah…”
Staring blankly as Kwon Taejung spoke, Kang Jihoon, leaning on him, blinked repeatedly, watching Kwon Taejung take Yigyeom away almost as if snatching him from him.
Unsure if it was a mistaken sight due to intoxication, he blinked and squinted, but it was definitely the same Kwon Taejung he’d seen before. Glancing aside, he saw Yoo Jaemin also looking at Kwon Taejung with a somewhat dazed expression.
“Hey! Are you close to Yigyeom? You can’t just take a drunk person like that!”
Firmly supporting Yigyeom’s waist, hugging him naturally, Kwon Taejung glanced at Kang Jihoon as if annoyed.
“Don’t know who I am?”
“…Ah, I do.”
“If Yigyeom doesn’t contact you tomorrow, you can report me. That should work, right?”
Ignoring the two blank stares directed at me, Kwon Taejung swept Yigyeom’s hair and, ensuring he didn’t fall, led him to the car. After carefully seating him in the front passenger seat, fastening the seatbelt and slightly reclining the seat, Kwon Taejung closed the car door.
Despite feeling lingering gazes from behind, he glanced briefly and saw the two people standing there, looking at him with foolish expressions. He wished he could kick those who got Yigyeom drunk until he’s like this, but he didn’t want Yigyeom to resent him, so he just got into the driver’s seat.
“Chief…”
The sound of being called both warmed and surprised me. Kwon Taejung, now seated in the front, leaned over to look at me as I faced him from the passenger seat.
“Yeah, Yigyeom. Are you okay? Is there anything uncomfortable?”
“Why… are you… here now…”
Though his speech was slow due to intoxication and his pronunciation slightly slurred, there was no difficulty in understanding what was being said. Kwon Taejung was left momentarily speechless, finally facing Yigyeom’s voice he had longed to hear.
“…Waited…”
With heavy eyelids, Yigyeom’s head slightly tilted. Kwon Taejung lightly brushed Yigyeom’s cheek with his fingertips. While he had followed Yigyeom around for a few days, checking where he worked, who he met, and if there were any troubles with the Alphas, talking and making eye contact like this hadn’t happened in a long time.
“Did you wait for me?”
Even though he thought it might be a casual remark due to alcohol, he still yearned for Yigyeom’s words. He wanted to believe Yigyeom felt the same, wanted to see and be close as much as he did.
“……”
Gently caressing Yigyeom’s cheek a bit more, Kwon Taejung finally turned away and looked ahead while gripping the steering wheel. He had to keep driving gently; otherwise, Yigyeom might fall entirely onto the passenger seat. Taking a deep breath, Kwon Taejung composed himself and began driving smoothly, careful not to wake Yigyeom.
Thinking of letting Yigyeom rest comfortably at his place, Kwon Taejung decided to head to Dalamb-dong, where Yigyeom lived. He felt that Yigyeom might feel uncomfortable if he woke up, so he avoided making any sudden moves.
Carrying the half-asleep Yigyeom into the house, Kwon Taejung felt content. He could stay close to Yigyeom and finally cross a threshold he had imagined for a long time.
When he opened the door, he saw the bedding on the floor. After tidying up and spreading out the mattress and neatly arranged pillow and blanket, he noticed…
“……”
Beside Yigyeom’s pillow lay my clothes. Not knowing when he might return, he left some clothes here earlier as a precaution.
Staring at the clothes placed in an unusual spot, Kwon Taejung removed the blanket, laid Yigyeom down, and hesitated. He wished he could change Yigyeom into more comfortable clothing, but he didn’t feel qualified to do so at that moment. Therefore, he only removed the thin vest and socks on the outside and covered him with the blanket.
“Mm…”
Yigyeom, making a small groaning sound, moved his hand. Seeing this, Kwon Taejung leaned down to hear the sound better.
“Are you uncomfortable? Do you want some water?”
Getting up from the spot and opening the small fridge, Kwon Taejung sighed softly at the almost empty interior. There were only a few bottles of juice, a chocolate box, and two bottles of water inside.
Feeling the need to fill it up somehow, Kwon Taejung twisted open the bottle of water and poured some into a cup. Then, turning his body halfway, he said:
“Yigyeom, have some water…”
The sight that met Kwon Taejung’s eyes as he raised his head was Yigyeom, cuddling my clothes and sleeping. The clothes that were placed beside the pillow a while ago had now found their way into Yigyeom’s arms.
Understanding that what he previously felt with his hands wasn’t a gesture for something else but rather searching for his clothes, Kwon Taejung’s heart clenched. He gently took the bottles and cup in his hands and looked at the sleeping Yigyeom, embracing his clothes.
“……”
Even in this pathetic situation, it was comforting to know that Yigyeom missed him. He realized that the words about waiting for him hadn’t slipped out in drunkenness but were genuine. Kwon Taejung quickly moved to sit beside Yigyeom.
“I missed you too.”
He felt that Yigyeom should no longer be denied the time to think alone. He had refrained from appearing for a few days to provide that space, but now he felt he shouldn’t do that anymore. Knowing that if he had understood that Yigyeom longed for him and had stayed with his clothes, it wouldn’t have made him feel lonely, Kwon Taejung felt a deep regret.
“I should’ve just called. Said I’d come here again, go to the cafe, and made some excuses to take you.”
The consideration he had shown seemed wasted, and it felt like his heart would burst with the few days’ missed opportunities. Kwon Taejung managed to take a deep breath and gently removed the clothes Yigyeom was holding onto.
Those clothes had been here for quite some time, and by now, the pheromone scent was almost gone. Kwon Taejung hugged the clothes and released the pheromones.
🥺🥺❤️