By Zephyria 
“Pick whatever you want.”
“You say that as if you’re going to buy me anything I want.”
Is it because the room is small?
Even so, how would you know what I’d fill it with?
Haon took the catalog as if to prove a point.
Then, without hesitation, he flipped open the first page. He had thought about joking around, saying he’d buy this and that indiscriminately, thinking it would be easy to tease.
“Let’s see what you’re going to pick… Whoa.”
Haon jerked his head up.
“Why is everything so expensive?”
I’m going to collapse backward before Cha Jeong-won does.
Haon belatedly looked at the catalog cover.
It was a high-end furniture brand.
As he tried to close the catalog with trembling hands, something suddenly flickered in his mind.
‘Why does this feel familiar?’
Haon hurriedly stepped out into the hallway.
“There it is.”
The display cabinet he had seen in the catalog was prominently placed against one wall.
If he had bought that at the base price listed in the catalog…
Haon shoved the catalog back at Cha Jeong-won.
There was nothing more to see or buy here.
“I’m fine using this room as it is. Ah, I’ll go get my suitcase.”
All he needed was a bed; other furniture was optional.
But Cha Jeong-won grabbed Haon’s wrist as he tried to go get his suitcase and pulled him into an embrace.
“Huh?”
A flustered Haon looked up at Cha Jeong-won.
“Now? Suddenly?”
The timing was unexpected. Though startled, he didn’t feel like pulling away.
When he tempts me like this, it’s hard to push him away…
Cha Jeong-won tilted his head. It was the perfect angle for a kiss.
On top of that, he even leaned his body toward me. There was no doubt what would happen next.
Haon tightly shut his eyes.
How many kisses a day are best?
The answer is: the more, the better.
‘Then my luck will improve that much too! It’s definitely not because of personal feelings…’
Just as he couldn’t wait any longer and was about to wrap his arms around his neck…
“There’s a way where you don’t have to endure discomfort or spend money.”
He could feel his breath drawing near, but he didn’t feel the soft touch of lips. Haon peeked open one eye.
Amidst the surge of emotion at Cha Jeong-won’s clearly amused gaze, he caught a faint scent of alcohol, shampoo, and Alpha pheromones.
To be satisfied just by being close like this, what should I do?
“Sunbae, that…”
Haon hastily opened his mouth but couldn’t continue, his lips twitching. Whether his throat was dry or not, his voice came out a bit higher than usual.
“That… What method is it?”
Does he mean I should just use the room as is, or…
Haon’s eyes widened.
“Are you suggesting we spend the night in one room like last time?”
Only after saying that did he truly realize how dangerous this situation was.
“If we were going to do this, we would have done it all in the sweet room.”
Once again, a complaint-tinged remark slipped out. Half was a joke, half was sincere.
Throughout the day, the two had already crossed the line multiple times. So Haon himself was confused whether it meant they shouldn’t do it anymore or they wanted to do it more.
For a moment, Cha Jeong-won’s eyes wavered ever so slightly before settling again.
“I can’t tell if you’re drunk or sober. Anyway, no. I’m not letting you into my room.”
Somehow, his voice seemed even lower.
“Then? Huh?”
Cha Jeong-won pulled Haon along, still holding him, further into the room. Haon had to step backward to match his pace. All he could see before him was Cha Jeong-won’s broad chest.
Soon, the back of his knees hit the mattress. Haon had no time to brace himself.
Cha Jeong-won laid Haon down on the bed just like that.
The mattress seemed quite springy, as it bounced softly. Haon tightly shut his eyes once more, then opened them.
His heart felt like it was beating right next to his ear.
‘I’m being too noisy all by myself.’
Haon took a deep breath. Cha Jeong-won looking down from above felt larger than usual, making his heart flutter.
His broad shoulders blocked the ceiling light.
But Cha Jeong-won pulled away from Haon. Instead, he stood up immediately, as if asking when he had been laid down.
“I’ll tell you tomorrow, so sleep for now.”
After leaving just that one remark, he left the room. Haon blankly stared at Cha Jeong-won’s retreating back.
“Sunbae…”
He called out to Cha Jeong-won before the door closed.
“I won’t lock this door. Come anytime if you have a nightmare.”
Without answering, Cha Jeong-won glanced at Haon and left the room. The door closed softly.
Left alone, Haon lay sprawled on the bed and kicked at the air.
I’m really going crazy. I almost fell for that guy again!
“…Ha.”
He covered his face with the back of his hand.
His heart was still beating like crazy.
‘Really, I’m not the only one this flustered, right?’
The events from a moment ago replayed like a panorama in Haon’s mind. The more he thought about it, the hotter he felt.
“He definitely did that on purpose. He knew I wouldn’t refuse and did that.”
Haon buried his face in the blanket. Instead of the Alpha scent, it smelled of clean laundry detergent.
Still, somewhere, a subtle trace of Cha Jeong-won’s presence seemed to remain.
“Can I really hold out well?”
The time ahead feels too tense, like it’ll drive me crazy?
Meanwhile, Cha Jeong-won, who had closed the door and stepped out, leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. Though he had pretended to be fine, all strength had drained from his legs.
The scent that had felt like it was piercing his entire body still lingered vividly.
It felt like the very air in this house had changed since Yoon Haon entered.
Cha Jeong-won looked at the beer can Haon had set down.
The image of Haon being pushed back onto the bed by him flashed before his eyes.
“…One week.”
He muttered as if talking to himself.
“Can you hold out, Cha Jeong-won?”
No answer came back.
＊ ＊ ＊
When he opened his eyes, the first thing that came to mind was the door.
Since the last thing he said to Cha Jeong-won yesterday was that he wouldn’t lock the door, he wondered if there might be any sign that someone had come and gone in the meantime.
Haon, his face buried in the pillow, turned it slightly to glance at the ceiling once. Then he slowly just rolled his eyes.
His body wasn’t ready to get out of bed yet, but his thoughts were already walking down the hallway.
‘…He didn’t come.’
He hadn’t heard the door open yesterday. He hadn’t heard it in his dreams either.
Just in case, he had pricked up his ears as he fell asleep, but Cha Jeong-won never came in.
“Your lover is sleeping just beyond a door, and you don’t care?”
On top of that, he even gave him the pretext to come if he had a nightmare.
Though he felt disappointed that he didn’t come…
“He’s an Alpha who keeps his promises well.”
He also thought Cha Jeong-won seemed like a pretty decent guy.
Unaware that this was a precursor to being love-struck, Haon curled up once under the blanket, then stretched out, doing a full-body stretch. The sound of his joints cracking was unusually clear.
That’s when an unexpected scent hit him.
It wasn’t the fabric softener scent from the blanket or the Alpha’s pheromones. It was the smell of warm broth simmering and the savory scent of oil.
“Could it be that Sunbae is cooking?”
The moment that thought occurred, his eyelids felt lighter.
Haon threw off the blanket and got up from his spot. He easily stepped over his own suitcase, sitting alone near the door with nothing else around.
He carefully opened the door. Bright light was leaking from the end of the hallway.
Haon roughly ran a hand through his hair and shuffled out in his slippers. He deliberately made his footsteps a bit louder. He didn’t want to sneak up on Cha Jeong-won from the morning and startle him.
The moment he turned into the living room and the kitchen came into view, the scene he had pictured in his mind unfolded exactly.
Cha Jeong-won was standing in front of the sink. His movements as he made scrambled eggs looked quite convincing. He was dressed in a white top and comfortable training pants, but judging by his serious expression alone, he looked like someone concentrating on a very important task.
Bowls were already placed on the dining table. Only after setting out the steaming soup bowl, side dishes, and finally the scrambled eggs he had just made did Cha Jeong-won turn his head toward Haon.
“I was going to wake you, but you got up first.”
“It’s correct to say Sunbae woke me. I smelled it.”
Cha Jeong-won poured water last and set it down.
“Sit.”
Haon was about to hurry over when he suddenly remembered his own state.
“I’ll go wash up and come back.”
“Didn’t you already wash up?”
“Do I look that clean?”
“It could be the opposite.”
Meaning he couldn’t tell whether he had washed up or not…
Haon shot Cha Jeong-won a glare. Cha Jeong-won wore an expression as if he hadn’t taken any hit at all.
If it were Kim Hyun-gyu, he wouldn’t have even thought about washing up in the first place, but the other person was Cha Jeong-won.
My Alpha, my lover!