NOT 104

Haon sat in the chair Cha Jeong-won had pulled out for him, gauging the reactions of his group members.

He paid particular attention to Kim Pilsu’s expression.

Had this guy heard the rumor that he and Cha Jeong-won were dating?

Sure enough, Kim Pilsu, noticing Haon’s gaze, narrowed his eyes.

“Now I get why you were so desperate to keep the seat next to him.”

A wave of unfairness surged up instantly.

Haon understood what Kim Pilsu meant. He probably thought that after their previous group meeting at this cafe, when they went to the pub, the reason Haon had been clinging particularly close to Cha Jeong-won was because they were dating.

But that wasn’t it back then. He just didn’t like seeing Cha Jeong-won being taken care of while he himself was ignored.

“It’s not like that, so don’t misunderstand.”

“Really? But everyone knows you two are always together.”

Even if he denied it, it didn’t seem like he’d be believed.

Haon looked at Cha Jeong-won pleadingly.

He wished he would say something, anything, in support.

Then, Cha Jeong-won stood up again.

“I didn’t tell you to get up…”

“I’ll order coffee.”

“Ah, right. We should order.”

He had forgotten about that.

So, he couldn’t stop Cha Jeong-won from leaving his seat.

“So, since when have you been dating?”

“That… Well, it definitely wasn’t during our first group meeting.”

Haon muttered while watching [unauthorized copy]unauthorized copy -->Cha Jeong-won’s retreating back. Seeing this, Kim Pilsu clicked his tongue.

“Anyway, spread the word that you have a boyfriend. That way, we can come to the cafe comfortably.”

Haon, who had been watching Cha Jeong-won, belatedly looked at Kim Pilsu.

“What do you mean by that?”

“This cafe. It was always crowded, but with you working here and Seo-jun over there working too, there’s hardly ever an empty seat.”

Kim Pilsu made a ‘tsk’ sound, smacking his lips.

The reactions of the other group members weren’t much different.

Feeling bewildered, Haon’s lips parted slightly. Then, he pointed at himself with his index finger.

“You mean this place is doing well partly because of me?”

At that, Kim Pilsu’s expression turned serious.

“What, are you acting like that on purpose even though you know how you look?”

“Uh… No, I…”

He didn’t think he was ugly. He had even been confessed to before. But it was hard to take Kim Pilsu’s words at face value.

“It’s not to that extent.”

Not enough to increase the number of customers.

Perhaps dissatisfied with that reaction, Kim Pilsu clicked his tongue again.

“There were so many people who liked you, what do you mean it’s not? Some gave up thinking you were dating Kim Hyun-gyu since you hung out with him so much, and others because you were so obsessed with your grades…”

Seizing the moment, Kim Pilsu rambled on and on.

No one tried to stop him, as if it were true.

“To end up with Jeong-won sunbae after not dating anyone, you really have high standards.”

“High standards… Yeah, I guess. Anyway, the increase in customers must be because of Seo-jun. And it’s not so much that I deliberately didn’t date anyone…”

Thud.

The sound of a tray being set down coincided with Haon’s mouth snapping shut.

“So, you were often misunderstood as dating Kim Hyun-gyu.”

Cha Jeong-won sat down, not hiding the fact that he had overheard.

Haon forced an awkward smile and picked up both drinks from the tray. Then, he placed them down one by one in front of Cha Jeong-won and himself.

In that moment, he realized Cha Jeong-won had ordered the same drink.

Not an Americano.

It was an almond cream latte. Why had he ordered two of these, not just one?

And the cake and financiers too. Why were there two pieces of each?

He looked around, but no matter how many times he checked, it was the same.

Working at this cafe, he knew these weren’t menu items that came in pairs.

After seeing couples buying matching keychains on the way here, was he trying to make their drinks and desserts look like a couple set too?

“So, our Haon…”

Cha Jeong-won nonchalantly played the ‘boyfriend’ card.

“I’m the first person you’ve dated since coming to university.”

“No, that’s not true.”

Haon denied it immediately.

As Cha Jeong-won fell silent, the quiet stretched on naturally.

And Haon, noticing Cha Jeong-won’s expression gradually growing colder, unconsciously corrected his previous statement.

“You’re the first person I’ve ever dated in my life.”

Saying it out loud felt incredibly relieving.

In fact, he wondered why he had to hide it so much.

‘What’s going to change even if I reveal it?’

Just that Cha Jeong-won was the first person he had ever dated in his life?

He might be his Alpha now, but later, when his destined mate appeared, he would have to step aside. So, he had tried to keep things as light as possible, but it didn’t seem to be working out so far.

…After being semi-forced by Cha Jeong-won to reveal his lifelong single status, unnecessary thoughts kept coming.

“Anyway.”

Haon cleared his throat.

“We need to decide on a concept for the cafe remodeling project. I was thinking we could use this Tomato Cafe as a reference. Ah, sunbae already knows about it.”

He hurriedly addressed the group members.

He tried his best to steer the conversation seriously toward the project. But his eyes kept darting toward the cup. He himself liked it, but why did this person order the same thing?

He wondered if he would complain about it being too sweet again.

He could feel Cha Jeong-won’s gaze.

Pretending to sip his drink, he stole a glance and saw Cha Jeong-won quietly smiling, just the corners of his lips lifted. It was an expression that seemed like a smile but also not quite.

“This place doesn’t seem like a bad choice.”

As Kim Pilsu was the first to nod in agreement, the other group members also perked up their ears.

Haon, who had been drinking his cream latte, hurriedly took his mouth off the cup and nodded vigorously. Then, he ate a piece of cake with the fork Cha Jeong-won handed him.

They had work to do, but perhaps because of Cha Jeong-won’s actions, his mind kept wandering.

＊ ＊ ＊

Omega Amulet.

It was a term Cha Jeong-won couldn’t shake off, no matter how hard he tried.

For Cha Jeong-won, Omegas were generally subjects of caution.

Whether their scent was pleasant or unsettling, whether their approach was gentle or not, he had grown accustomed to suspecting them first.

He would immediately calculate whether they had spoken with his mother or if they were an Omega sent by his maternal grandmother. Naturally, this led him to distrust people easily.

But lately, things felt strange.

Even when Haon mentioned the Omega Amulet, he didn’t feel displeased.

The way Haon would watch his reaction, cautiously close his lips, take a breath, and then speak… he found himself not disliking it at all.

He even felt like asking why Haon was being so careful.

The suspicions that usually arose with the term “Omega Amulet” seemed to vanish when Haon said it.

It was the same with tarot. He was utterly sick of divination. So, when Haon showed interest in tarot, Cha Jeong-won felt a wave of weariness rise from a corner of his heart.

He didn’t have to engage. He didn’t have to play along. But he did because Haon wanted to.

However, the conversation took an unexpected turn.

Couple items. Couple rings. The meaning of matching items together.

Cha Jeong-won found it more absurd that he hadn’t thought of such things himself sooner.

His perspective changed.

Tarot, divination. He used to despise them. He was the type to dismiss such superstitions as annoying, but they turned out to be more useful than expected.

Utility value.

He didn’t need to dive deep into tarot. Just use it.

Buying things that resemble each other—buying couple items as people in a relationship wasn’t such an awkward thing after all.

It was a perfectly good method.

That way, he could proudly collect couple items. Very proudly.

The feeling that he could take the lead in this situation was satisfying.

“Sunbae, is that okay? Can you eat all that? It’s pretty sweet.”

Haon spoke to him.

Even though he had bought the almond cream latte Haon liked, Haon kept glancing at Cha Jeong-won’s cup while eating his cake.

“Should I order something else? You don’t have to force yourself to eat it…”

Sincerity lingered on his face as he worried about him.

Cha Jeong-won leaned closer to Haon and whispered.

“Then, should I order two of the same thing again?”

“I can drink three cups… Yes, order as much as you want. No, I’ll order. Do they sell ramen at this cafe…?”

Haon muttered to himself as he got up from his seat.

His Omega lover, thinking about drinking both almond cream lattes by himself, was quite adorable.

And as he looked at Haon, who had offered to become his Omega Amulet, he realized something.

Not a way of using a person as a talisman, but a way of letting a person be a person.

Cha Jeong-won smiled quietly.

If he stayed with Haon like this, the misfortune clinging to him would gradually fall away. And then, he could spend his whole life with Yoon Haon…