By Zephyria 
Min-jeong lооked troublеd, as if she hаd just rеаlizеd sоmеthing. “If he’s a dоminаnt…” shе muttered, аsking with a look thаt suggestеd she hоpеd he wаsn’t.
“Аn Оmega?”
“Yеs.”
“Ah…”
Wоo-yeоn blankly pullеd down the shirt draрed оvеr his head. Do-hyun’s phеromones wеrе vеrу rеfreshing, but it felt stifling with thе fabriс blоcking his vision. Dо-hуun wrapped thе shirt arоund Wоo-yеоn’s shоuldеrs аgain аnd сalmlу met his eyes.
“Your phеromonеs are lеaking.”
“…Pherоmonеs?”
Woo-уеon fidgetеd, clutching Dо-hyun’s shirt. Соme tо think оf it, he hаd fоrgottеn tо suрpress his рhеromоnеs аt sоme point. As he frowned and pulled them back, Ga-ram let out a breath, her expression relaxing slightly.
“Hey… but is Woo-yeon drunk right now? He looks totally fine?”
“He looked fine on the outside last time, too.”
“I’m not drunk.”
“You are.”
Do-hyun spoke firmly and brought over a water bottle. Woo-yeon was rubbing his eyes, frustrated by his blurred vision.
“Don’t rub your eyes; drink this.”
A cold glass of water was pressed into his hand. Deciding it wasn’t enough, Do-hyun even went as far as to feed him the water himself. Wow, he’s so kind. Admiring him inwardly, Woo-yeon gulped down the water.
“You’re the only Alphas here, right?”
Min-jeong stood up, clutching her phone. After grabbing her bag, she approached them.
“I’ll take responsibility and get him home. Sorry, Woo-yeon. I’m a Beta, so I didn’t realize your pheromones were leaking.”
“I’m okay.”
It wasn’t something Min-jeong needed to apologize for. Woo-yeon was the one who drank, and Min-jeong had simply mixed the somaek exactly as he had asked. As Woo-yeon shook his head, Do-hyun leaned down in front of him.
“How many do you think these are?”
Woo-yeon slowly lifted his gaze. Through his blurred vision, he saw Do-hyun holding up two fingers. Without answering, Woo-yeon grabbed the index and middle fingers, one in each hand.
“…”
Do-hyun’s straight brow furrowed deeply. Do-hyun tried to pull his fingers away, but Woo-yeon protested with a tearful face.
“Why are you taking them away?”
“The kid is really drunk.”
Ga-ram could be heard clicking her tongue. Not stopping there, Woo-yeon even buried his forehead against the back of Do-hyun’s hand. The body temperature was cool and the pheromones were refreshing, making him feel incredibly giddy.
“Woo-yeon, your pheromones.”
“…Ah.”
Letting out a small exclamation, Woo-yeon struggled to suppress his pheromones. It hadn’t been like this during the Membership Training, but strangely, they kept leaking. Thinking about it, his heat cycle might have been close. He had forgotten because he’d been so busy with various things.
“Woo-yeon, Noona will take you home. Let’s go.”
“Will Unni be okay?”
“I’m fine. Compared to Park Seong-jae, he’s tiny.”
“I’m not tiny.”
“No matter how small you are, Woo-yeon, you’re bigger than Unni…”
“I told you I’m not tiny.”
“…Fine, you’re not tiny.”
Do-hyun answered softly and finally managed to pull his hand away. Having lost him in an instant, Woo-yeon’s eyes drooped. Seeing his sorrowful expression, as if he were about to cry, Ga-ram spoke coldly.
“Just give him your hand. What if the kid cries?”
“Make some sense.”
Do-hyun ruffled his hair and looked around. Seeing that he was given neither his hand nor his attention, Woo-yeon couldn’t contain his frustration and reached out. This time, it was precisely Do-hyun’s right arm.
“…”
Having his arm snatched again, Do-hyun awkwardly leaned down. As if he wouldn’t let go this time, Woo-yeon hugged the arm tightly. Do-hyun asked in a gentle, soft voice.
“Do you know whose arm this is?”
“I know.”
“I don’t think you do.”
It was a conversation that felt like déjà vu. Tilting his head to one side, Woo-yeon rubbed his cheek against Do-hyun’s forearm. Because Do-hyun had given him his shirt, he could feel the cool body temperature directly. Woo-yeon simply looked up at Do-hyun.
“Can’t Seonbae take me home?”
As he lowered his eyebrows pleadingly, Do-hyun fell silent. Min-jeong approached to persuade Woo-yeon, but Woo-yeon closed his eyes and buried his face again.
“If not, I’m not going.”
If it wasn’t the Teacher, he didn’t really want to follow. It wasn’t that he disliked Min-jeong, but she wasn’t as good as Do-hyun. While he fidgeted, clutching the forearm, a careful hand landed on top of his head.
“I get it, so let go. You have to let go to go home.”
Woo-yeon hesitantly released Do-hyun’s arm. If it were a lie, he intended to grab it again. However, Do-hyun checked if his phone and wallet were there and slung Woo-yeon’s bag over his own shoulder.
“I’ll head out first, so please let Seong-jae Hyung know.”
“…Will you be okay? Looking at Ga-ram, it seems his pheromones are no joke.”
Min-jeong frowned and gestured toward Ga-ram. Ga-ram had remained at a distance, unable to even approach Woo-yeon. Do-hyun stepped closer to Woo-yeon and tied the sleeves of the shirt he was wearing.
“I’m fine. My rut is far off. Woo-yeon, look at me. Can you stand?”
Woo-yeon grabbed the hand Do-hyun offered and stood up staggeringly. He tilted precariously, but Do-hyun caught him immediately. With his head spinning, he was in no condition to walk.
“I can’t walk.”
“Want a piggyback ride?”
“Can’t you just carry me?”
At Woo-yeon’s words, Do-hyun shut his mouth tight. Thinking it was a refusal, Woo-yeon looked down gloomily. A piggyback was okay, but being carried wasn’t? It was completely incomprehensible.
“I’ll call a taxi, so help him down first.”
Min-jeong set her things down and headed out of the bar first. She likely intended to call the taxi and come back. Meanwhile, looking at Woo-yeon leaning on Do-hyun, Ga-ram spoke sharply.
“He’s twenty.”
Her voice was low. The atmosphere sank along with it. Do-hyun didn’t answer, but Ga-ram spoke more firmly.
“I trust you won’t touch him.”
“…”
Woo-yeon blinked and looked up. With his alcohol-fogged brain, he couldn’t understand what they were talking about. Do-hyun gently stroked Woo-yeon’s hair and answered in a calm voice.
“I can’t touch him.”
* * *
Woo-yeon only opened his eyes after being laid down on a plush bed. He didn’t know when he had fallen asleep, but when he opened his eyes, he was in an unfamiliar space. As he slowly moved his eyelids, a familiar face appeared before him.
“Are you awake?”
It was Do-hyun. The Teacher with gentle eyes and a double eyelid on only one eye. His kindly curved eyes carefully examined Woo-yeon.
“I guess you haven’t sobered up yet.”
“Where am I?”
“You really… shouldn’t drink.”
Speaking as if lamenting, Do-hyun sat on the edge of the bed. He carefully brushed back Woo-yeon’s bangs and gently caressed his round forehead.
“Who would believe it? That someone looking this fine could be drunk.”
“I’m not drunk.”
“You look it.”
Perhaps because the surroundings were dark, Do-hyun’s voice was exceptionally low. Woo-yeon grabbed the hand on his forehead and pressed it against his own cheek. The cool temperature cleared his mind slightly.
“It’s more of a problem if you’re like this without being drunk… do you know that?”
“I know.”
“Now that I see it, answering like that is a drinking habit too.”
Instead of pulling his hand away, Do-hyun quietly met his eyes. Beyond his blurred vision, he saw Do-hyun’s pupils. Woo-yeon thought that gaze held a slight heat.
“…I’m hot.”
“You’re hot?”
Fidgeting, Woo-yeon lay on his side and pushed himself up using the bed. Looking around, everything was an unfamiliar sight. The bed was unfamiliar, the ceiling was unfamiliar, the wardrobe was unfamiliar, and even Do-hyun felt unfamiliar.
“This isn’t my house…”
“That’s right, it’s my house.”
Do-hyun answered and tried to lay Woo-yeon down again. However, Woo-yeon let go of Do-hyun’s hand and crawled toward the headboard. As he leaned back and sat up, Do-hyun withdrew his hand.
“I went to your house, but you wouldn’t tell me the passcode, so we came to my place.”
“Should I tell you the passcode?”
“No, it’s fine now.”
Shaking his head, Do-hyun added with a serious expression that he should never tell the passcode to anyone, no matter who asked. Woo-yeon nodded obediently and tugged at his collar.
“But I’m really hot.”
He had been feeling it for a while, but the temperature in the room was excessively hot. No, perhaps it was Woo-yeon’s body that was hot. The heat that had begun to spread accumulated with every breath he took. Do-hyun tilted his head in curiosity.
“Is he hot because he drank?”
“No…”
Whether it was because of the alcohol or something else, the fact that he was hot was all that mattered. Pouting his lips, Woo-yeon grabbed the hem of his clothes.
“I want to take this off.”
It wasn’t that he had forgotten Do-hyun was in front of him. The surging pheromones had an undeniable presence. It was just that he couldn’t engage in the rational thought that he shouldn’t undress in front of him.
“You want to take it off?”
“I’m hot, so I have to…”
Woo-yeon lowered his head and fidgeted with his hands. At first, he tried to take off the hoodie, but he gave up because lifting his arms was too tedious. Instead, he spread his thighs and put his hand on the buckle of his pants.
But before he could do anything, his wrist was suddenly grabbed.
“…Woo-yeon.”
Do-hyun gripped both of Woo-yeon’s wrists and pressed him against the headboard. From Do-hyun, who had approached closely, he could feel heavily suppressed pheromones. He looked him straight in the eye and warned him in a sunken voice.
“Get a grip.”
The words were clearly directed at Woo-yeon, but the target felt ambiguous. It sounded almost like advice he was giving to himself. Woo-yeon tried to pull his captured arms away and whined with a tearful face.
“It hurts.”
“…”
“It hurts… let go.”
It was obvious exaggeration, but Do-hyun willingly played along. As soon as he released his arms, Woo-yeon put his hand back to his waistband. However, due to the alcohol, his movements were clumsy.
“Why won’t it work…”
Woo-yeon even frowned, struggling to undo the buckle of his pants. He gripped the button and pushed with the other hand, but it still wouldn’t come off. Left with no choice, he decided to ask Do-hyun for help.
“Please help me with this.”
The corners of his eyes drooped sadly. Looking truly distressed, Woo-yeon grabbed Do-hyun’s hand and brought it to his waistband.
“You just… have to undo the button.”