By Zephyria 
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Just as he had seen when searching for the place, the gnocchi was truly chewy and fluffy. Moreover, the cream sauce was so rich and smooth that throughout the meal, he could think of nothing but how delicious it was.
Not only that, but the pasta made with fresh noodles was wonderful, and the pizza topped with plenty of fresh figs became a blissful experience in his mouth after dipping it in honey. Every time Eun-won tasted something and found it delicious, he looked at Cha Se-jin. Seeing Eun-won’s eyes widen with delight, Cha Se-jin smiled, gazed at Eun-won’s plump cheeks, and only then picked up his fork.
To him, of course, the food was still delicious, but it wasn’t something that moved him the way it did Eun-won. It wasn’t just here; everything in the world was like that. Nothing felt new; his impressions were always just that it was okay, or that it was familiar.
Perhaps that was why watching Eun-won marvel at how delicious the food was felt fresh and pleasant. He felt that he wanted to keep feeding Eun-won all the delicious things he knew and continue to see that reaction.
“I heard about the marriage from my mom yesterday too. Since it’s already next month, I wondered if it was too rushed, but honestly, there’s no point in procrastinating with things like this. Once the mutual benefits are settled, it’s better to just get it over with.”
Hearing Cha Se-jin use the word ‘benefits’ made the reality of this being an arranged marriage sink in anew. For some reason, Eun-won’s mood dipped slightly. It wasn’t that he hadn’t known it was an arranged marriage, nor was he unaware that Cha Se-jin’s words weren’t wrong, but the word ‘benefits’ felt far too cold.
“Ah, my mom says she wants to see you. She told me to bring you home; when do you want to come?”
“…Uh…. If you tell me which day works for her, I’ll adjust my schedule to go.”
“Then come tomorrow.”
“…Tomorrow?”
“Yeah. It’s Saturday. We decided to have dinner all together tomorrow. This works out well. You can just greet her then. It’s better to see her face beforehand than to meet for the first time at the formal family meeting.”
No matter when he went, he would be nervous, but Eun-won’s heart raced wildly as he hadn’t expected to go tomorrow. He hadn’t prepared himself at all, yet he had to go to Cha Se-jin’s house tomorrow… He thought about asking to push it back by a week, but then he felt he would be nervous just like this for the entire week. If it was a big task that had to be done… doing it right away was the better choice.
“Is it too fast? Do you want to come next week?”
“…No. I’ll go tomorrow. Tomorrow… is fine.”
“Darling, I love that side of you. You’re shaking like crazy, but you don’t back down. I’ll pick you up at your place tomorrow.”
“Okay….”
“Darling, look at your hands.”
At Cha Se-jin’s words, Eun-won looked down and was surprised to see his hands holding the fork and knife trembling. He quickly put the cutlery down and hid his shaking hands under the table.
“There’s nothing to be afraid of with a kind person.”
“……If there’s anything I absolutely need to know… please tell me. I shouldn’t make any mistakes.”
“Hmm…. Well… she just dislikes people who lack manners. But you’re fine. Even if I get scolded every day.”
Speaking nonchalantly with a smirk, Cha Se-jin popped a fluffy piece of gnocchi into his mouth. Perhaps because he had watched Eun-won enjoy the meal so much, it tasted especially delicious today. Even the Gorgonzola dipped in honey—which he usually would never eat because he dislikes sweets—tasted quite good.
“Ah, and I have an older brother and a younger sibling. My brother is four years older than me, and my sibling is six years younger. Oh, and my sister-in-law too. She’s also four years older than me.”
Eun-won recalled the information that Cha Se-jin got along quite well with his siblings. He was relieved that they were all on good terms. If he had seen information saying they were all enemies, he would have felt many times more overwhelmed than he did now.
“Are you worried?”
“…A little….”
“Why worry? I’m here.”
Strangely, his wildly wavering heart calmed down at those words, which were spoken so casually, as if without a second thought.
Since his mother passed away, whenever he felt this nervous or worried, he had to stand tall and alone, maintaining his balance until the anxiety subsided. Because if he shook too violently and fell, he would be badly hurt.
While meeting the father and the Madam, he had briefly… very briefly thought that he was no longer alone, but he was back to where he started. Although the kind Madam and father were still there, Eun-won had nowhere to lean.
It was the same now. Eun-won’s worries were entirely his own. He had to think alone, decide alone, take responsibility for his decisions, and move forward little by little, just as he always had. Now that he was twenty and an adult, he had to manage even more on his own.
“Just trust me and come. I’ll take care of everything.”
Cha Se-jin was standing before him, telling him that it was okay to lose his balance. He bluntly asked why he was worried when he was standing right here. Despite the light tone, Cha Se-jin felt incredibly solid to Eun-won. He felt as if he wouldn’t fall even if he leaned. It felt… good to have someone say such things.
Watching Cha Se-jin quickly change the subject, Eun-won smiled faintly and nodded. His heart felt a bit dizzy.
After finishing their meal leisurely, they went to the hotel they had visited yesterday. This time, Cha Se-jin went to the lounge on the first floor and was guided into a VIP room.
The room, with open glass walls that seemed to capture the sky, gave the feeling of being outdoors. Eun-won looked up at the pouring black sky and the bright, beautiful lights scattered across the glass ceiling like stars.
Meanwhile, the dessert Cha Se-jin had ordered was placed before them. It was a shaved ice topped with plenty of fresh mango and a cake.
“Ah, I didn’t ask if you like mango.”
“I do. That’s why whenever the convenience store owner gives me a drink, I always ask for mango juice.”
“That’s good. Eat up.”
Eun-won scooped a bit of the milk ice and mango into a small side bowl and took a bite, then quickly looked at Cha Se-jin. It was a combination that couldn’t possibly taste bad, but it was truly more delicious than he had imagined. The mango was sweet, tart, and fragrant, to the point where he wanted to explain exactly how delicious it was.
“You’re not eating this because it’s sweet too?”
“I eat fruit occasionally. I just dislike artificial sweetness.”
“Then… let’s eat it together, Director. Even without the mango syrup, the mango is sweet and delicious. The ice is milk ice, so it’s not sweet at all.”
Eun-won pushed the shaved ice tray, which had been placed in front of him as if it were exclusively his, toward the center and looked up at Cha Se-jin, who was standing up.
He wondered why he had suddenly stood up. He expected either for Cha Se-jin to eat with him or to not eat at all, but Cha Se-jin suddenly stood up and came to sit right next to him. Since it was a long horizontal seat, like a resort chair or bench, there was plenty of room for two, but with Cha Se-jin moving from across the table to right beside him, Eun-won felt flustered.
“If I come here, I can eat it from the front.”
Cha Se-jin pulled the shaved ice tray back toward them and took a spoonful of ice and mango together. He didn’t particularly feel like eating it, but he took a bite because he felt Eun-won would be walking on eggshells if he didn’t.
“It’s good. Eat a lot.”
“Yes….”
As Eun-won focused on eating the shaved ice again, Cha Se-jin stared openly at his profile and reached out to playfully touch his fine hair. Since there was no particular reaction, suggesting that touching his hair was okay, Cha Se-jin moved his hand down to lightly brush his ear, causing Eun-won’s shoulders to hunch up sharply. Cha Se-jin didn’t pull his hand away and moved his fingertips with more intensity.
He could see Eun-won’s hands gripping the table tightly. He noticed how Eun-won’s thighs and knees were pressed tightly together under the table. As if he knew nothing, Cha Se-jin pressed the soft earlobe with his fingertip, then gently trapped it between his thumb and index finger and rolled it. Almost as if he were touching a nipple hardened by arousal.
“How can you smell like this?”
Every time he rolled his finger, Eun-won’s pheromones wafted out, smelling excessively erotic. It was a sweet scent that he shouldn’t have liked, yet strangely, every time it mixed with his breath, he felt like he wanted to stay buried in bed all day just smelling this scent.
Whether it was due to panic or nervousness, Eun-won’s pheromones were not being controlled properly. Cha Se-jin let out a shallow laugh and moved his hand from the earlobe to lightly tap Eun-won’s neck with his fingertips.
“What are we going to do if you can’t control it like this? It’s not great to be leaking it everywhere.”
Feeling the fingertips lightly rubbing the spot that had been tapped, Eun-won flinched and struggled to control the leaking pheromones. This had never happened before. He took his suppressants diligently every day, and having encountered many strange people, he had always been extra careful to tuck away his pheromones in front of Alphas.