By Zephyria 
By thе timе Woo-уeon stерреd оut оf the restrооm, mоre time hаd passed thаn he hаd eхpеctеd. Lасking the cоuragе to facе Do-hyun, Woо-yeon сouldn’t bring himsеlf tо go back to the сlub room and hеаdеd оutsidе instead. Аlthough hе hаdn’t even соntacted Do-hуun, the mаn sеemed tо hаvе аntiсipаtеd that Wоo-yeon would leаve first, as hе was alrеady outsidе cаrrying a bох.
After finishing thе booth sеtup, thеу toоk turns сhanging thеir сlothеs. Тhе headbаnds wеre first-соmе, first-sеrved, but Woo-yeon couldn’t win against the majority opinion and ended up as a rabbit. Since Do-hyun had simply handed over the clothes and disappeared somewhere, there was no one to stop the other club members.
“Whoa, Kwon Seon-gyu has a talent for this!”
Seon-kyu, who arrived late, showed an unexpected knack for making cotton candy. The way he skillfully shaped them into round spheres was completely different from what the Seonbaes had made in the club room. He beamed, his eyes sparkling as he held up a piece of cotton candy that was almost a perfect circle.
“If I can’t get a job, maybe I’ll make money doing this.”
“A freshman speaking such hopeful words.”
Ga-ram clicked her tongue, crushing Seon-gyu’s resolve. Ga-ram had cat ears on her head, while Seon-kyu wore a bright red ribbon. It looked decent on Ga-ram, but on Seon-kyu, it felt somewhat out of place.
“Woo-yeon, do you want to try some?”
Woo-yeon, who had been spacing out until then, snapped back to reality at Seon-kyu’s words. Do-hyun still hadn’t returned, and because of that, Woo-yeon had been preoccupied, chewing over what had happened between them. If Seon-kyu hadn’t spoken to him, he likely would have stood there like a stone statue until Do-hyun arrived.
“Here, you have this.”
Even after receiving the cotton candy, Woo-yeon remained dazed for a while. It was the cotton candy he had been longing for, yet his heart felt so uneasy that he had no appetite. He was filled with regret, wondering why he had shown such a pathetic side of himself.
He could say with certainty that he was never the type to have strong desires. As a child, he had a greed for sweets, but even that was merely a way to release stress caused by pressure. Naturally, his sexual desire was far lower than that of the average Omega.
As a clear example, he rarely masturbated unless it was time for his heat cycle. No, since he managed his heat cycles with suppressants, it was more accurate to say that masturbation itself was rare.
Therefore, having a wet dream about Do-hyun, or becoming aroused by a small amount of skinship, were things that should have been absolutely impossible for him.
“Sigh…”
“You’re going to dig a hole in the ground.”
A familiar voice settled beside his ear. Woo-yeon stiffened his back and turned his head with a creak. Do-hyun, wearing the light pink t-shirt they had all matched, had approached him—though Woo-yeon hadn’t noticed when he’d changed.
“Uh… when did you get here?”
“Just now.”
Do-hyun answered nonchalantly and took the cotton candy from Woo-yeon’s hand. That same tender gaze slowly scanned Woo-yeon from head to toe. Every time that gaze touched him, Woo-yeon flinched his shoulders and lowered his head.
“A rabbit.”
His tone was ambiguous. He sounded like he was in a good mood, but also somehow like he was angry. He had said it was cute back in the club room, but now he didn’t seem to like it that much.
“The Seonbaes told me to use the rabbit…”
Is he angry? Thinking this, Woo-yeon subtly increased the distance between them. Even if he had been in that state, he had run away in the middle of a kiss, so it wouldn’t be strange if Do-hyun’s feelings were hurt. He wanted to make some kind of excuse, but he couldn’t because of the sheer embarrassment.
“…Is it strange?”
“No, it’s not strange.”
Fortunately, Do-hyun quickly relaxed his expression and gave a soft smile. Seeing those gentle eyes curve into an arc, Woo-yeon unconsciously let his mouth hang open.
He felt it every time, but Do-hyun’s smile was dazzlingly bright. Although this particular smile had something somewhat sinister about it.
“Did Seon-gyu make this?”
“Yes, Seon-kyu is really good at it.”
“I see. He could actually sell cotton candy.”
Woo-yeon fidgeted with his earlobe, stealing glances at Do-hyun. He felt shy and embarrassed, but it was bearable since Do-hyun was pretending not to notice. The mature Teacher seemed to have a broad enough heart to generously overlook a lover who got an erection like a pervert.
“You haven’t tried the cotton candy yet, have you?”
“No.”
Nodding, Woo-yeon looked back and forth between Do-hyun and the cotton candy. He had ignored the idea of carrying cotton candy around, wondering how it could possibly serve as promotion, but seeing Do-hyun changed his mind. The Teacher, in a light pink t-shirt holding light pink cotton candy, looked incredibly handsome even in Woo-yeon’s eyes.
How could he pull off pastel colors so perfectly? He had always worn achromatic colors, so Woo-yeon hadn’t known, but now that he saw it, the bright colors suited him well. Moreover, the thought that they would look like a couple if they stood side-by-side made his heart flutter foolishly.
“I originally wanted to make one for you…”
Do-hyun trailed off and tore a piece of the cotton candy with his right hand. The cloud-like, fluffy cotton candy broke off into a bite-sized piece. Holding it up to Woo-yeon’s lips, he signaled him to open his mouth.
“Here, say ‘ah’.”
He could feel the glances of the other club members. With his cheeks flushing red, Woo-yeon’s lips trembled. In his heart, he wanted to accept it, but the surrounding eyes were too embarrassing. Just as he was about to shake his head, Do-hyun curled his lips into a gentle smile.
“Shall we finish the conversation we were having earlier?”
“….”
Woo-yeon immediately opened his mouth. Do-hyun placed the cotton candy into the mouth opened like a baby bird’s and wore a satisfied smile. As soon as the cotton candy touched his tongue, Woo-yeon’s eyes widened and he looked up at Do-hyun.
“It’s delicious, right?”
The cotton candy melting on the tip of his tongue was a kind he had never experienced before. He thought only the shape was like a cloud, but the texture was no different. It was so sweet, soft, and fluffy that he felt it was almost unfair that he had never eaten this before.
“…It’s delicious.”
“Want more?”
As if he had never been embarrassed, Woo-yeon nodded vigorously.
Do-hyun, feeding him cotton candy again, smiled with a pleased expression. He looked as if he had known this would happen.
“I thought you’d like it.”
“How is it this sweet? It’s amazing.”
“It’s made of sugar, so it has to be sweet. More?”
As he asked, Do-hyun was already tearing off another piece. Woo-yeon waited for the next piece with a face full of anticipation.
He wondered if he should buy a cotton candy machine for his house, or if he would gain weight since it was sugar. While he was lost in these thoughts, Do-hyun made a gentle suggestion.
“Do you want to try making some too?”
To put it simply, Woo-yeon had absolutely no talent for making it. Do-hyun managed to create a decent shape (though not as good as Seon-kyu’s) on his first attempt, but in the end, all the club members gave up on Woo-yeon.
All he had to do was roll it with the wooden chopsticks, but the whitish tangle of threads stuck to his hands instead of the chopsticks.
“…Is the machine broken?”
Woo-yeon appealed unfairly, but no one agreed with him. Only Do-hyun turned his head away, stifling a laugh.
Ga-ram shook her head and snatched the chopsticks from Woo-yeon’s hand.
“Woo-yeon… Noona doesn’t usually say things like this, but you should just buy yours.”
It was a statement he couldn’t possibly refute. Woo-yeon erased his resolve to buy a cotton candy machine and glared at his sticky hands. Do-hyun, who had found some wet wipes from somewhere, let out a small chuckle.
“Give me your hand, I’ll wipe it for you.”
Even as he meticulously wiped his fingers, Do-hyun burst into laughter occasionally. He even muttered that the haphazardly woven cotton candy was a talent in its own right.
Woo-yeon had been quietly offering his hand, but after Do-hyun laughed for the third time, he spoke up sullenly.
“Why aren’t you wearing a headband, Seonbae?”
It was just a pointless provocation. He also felt a bit disappointed now that Do-hyun was the only one not wearing anything.
Do-hyun threw the wet wipe into the trash and interlaced his fingers with Woo-yeon’s.
“Should I?”
His long fingers traced the back of Woo-yeon’s hand slowly. The way his thumb tickled the palm was so erotic that it made Woo-yeon’s lower back tense up. He reflexively tried to pull his hand away, but Do-hyun held on even more tenaciously, as if refusing to let go.
“Where do you keep trying to run off to, Yeon-ah?”
He could feel the interlaced fingers vividly. Even though they were just holding hands, it felt strange, almost like they were kissing. Pheromones flowed out in waves, spreading through the skin along their touching hands.
“If you run away dressed like that, it makes me feel strange.”
Woo-yeon’s fingertips twitched, and he tightened his lower abdomen. He felt that if he let his guard down for even a second, his pheromones would come pouring out. He wished he could control them like Do-hyun, but he had never possessed such composure.
“I won’t run away…”
Only after Woo-yeon said that did Do-hyun let go of his hand. Woo-yeon was already as bright red as the ribbon Seon-kyu was wearing. He tried to touch his ear out of habit, but he couldn’t because Do-hyun’s pheromones were smeared on his palm.
“Seonbae! Please help me with this!”
Do-hyun was quickly called away by another club member. He seemed to have a momentarily regretful expression, but it was so brief that Woo-yeon couldn’t see it clearly.
He gently stroked the back of Woo-yeon’s head, told him to keep eating the cotton candy, and went to the club member.
“Hey, that’s too much. We’re working, but he tells Woo-yeon to just eat cotton candy.”
“Isn’t the preparation all finished now anyway?”
“Yeah, that’s true. Woo-yeon, eat this too. This guy can even make heart shapes now.”
Woo-yeon accepted the cotton candy Ga-ram offered and tried to calm his pounding heart. His heart was racing so fast that he felt short of breath, as if he had run a 100-meter dash. Through his hazy vision, he saw Do-hyun talking with a club member.
“This sign goes over there…”
The difference in the scale of their affection revealed itself in these small details. While he was so anxious he could barely function, Do-hyun maintained his composure effortlessly. The one who lost their cool and felt impatient, from beginning to end, was only him.
‘Still, it’s okay.’
Well, regardless of that, it didn’t matter much. Once Woo-yeon fell for something, he didn’t look at anything else, and he had already prepared himself for this difference in emotion.
When he heard Do-hyun say he liked him, and when they decided to date. He had vowed to himself that he would be satisfied with this level of relationship.
‘I shouldn’t ask for more.’
Do-hyun showed him sweet words and actions, but that was as far as it went. He had no certainty as to why Do-hyun liked him, or how much.
In his relationship with the Teacher, Woo-yeon could never be on equal footing.