By Zephyria 
“It’s been a while, Sunbae Shin Jeong-min.”
Ah, Jeong-min turned around at the sound of his name and frowned. At that sight, the owner of the voice shrugged.
“You’re still the same. Making that face the moment you see someone.”
“What face did I make?”
“The face of someone who just chewed on trash?”
So he does know.
“I’ve never chewed on trash, so I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You’ve become quite relaxed.”
As Kim Ju-hwan took a step closer, Jeong-min took two steps back.
“Why are you here?”
Kim Ju-hwan’s face stiffened slightly at Jeong-min’s question, and he soon sighed.
“It’s already been over half a year since I entered this school, and over half a year since I joined this club.”
“Ah, right.”
I didn’t know because I wasn’t interested. Anyway, to think this guy was at the same university—what kind of ill fate is this?
Jeong-min turned around and continued what he was doing. Having come to the club after a long time, everyone was suddenly making a fuss about going on an autumn MT. They used the excuse that some Sunbaes were graduating soon, so they should spend their final moments together. However, since there was no one to take charge of the preparations, it was all just talk. Jeong-min, wanting to clear his head and do something different, volunteered to take on the hard work.
“Want some help?”
Ju-hwan asked as he watched Jeong-min check the supplies for the MT that had arrived by courier, but Jeong-min didn’t answer.
As if he had expected it, Ju-hwan sat on a chair in the club room and looked at Jeong-min. He had certainly changed a lot since then.
The baby fat was gone, and the line leading from his sharp yet soft bridge of the nose to his lips was fluid yet distinct. Moreover, his shoulders had broadened and his body line had become firm, maintaining the perfect physique of an Alpha.
He had the kind of appearance that made people look twice wherever he went, but he himself didn’t seem to be aware of it.
“By the way, Sunbae, I think this is the first time I’ve seen you in the club room. From what I’ve heard, you’ve been busy dating.”
“Could you be quiet? You’re in the way.”
Why were there only two people in this spacious club room? He wished someone would walk in, but at times like this, no one ever did. He couldn’t exactly storm out, though. Jeong-min clicked his tongue and tried to immerse himself more in his work.
Then, he suddenly felt a strange scent in the air, and his body tensed. A pheromone that felt familiar yet repulsive. Irritated, Jeong-min glared at Kim Ju-hwan.
“Put your pheromones away.”
“Ah, sorry.”
With an expressionless face, as if it were truly nothing, he casually brushed himself off.
“I rolled around with an Omega in heat yesterday, and it seems the excitement hasn’t worn off yet.”
Just as he thought he didn’t need that kind of information, Jeong-min felt a sense of déjà vu. A familiar pheromone within Kim Ju-hwan’s disgusting pheromones.
It was the pheromone of the Omega he had broken up with not long ago.
“Ah, I guess you noticed.”
Kim Ju-hwan smiled and stood up. Then, with heavy, thumping footsteps, he approached Jeong-min.
“Sunbae, you did break up, right?”
“…….”
“Right?”
Ju-hwan asked once more as if confirming. But why did that guy’s eyes feel so cold?
“That’s right.”
As soon as he heard Jeong-min’s answer, the pheromones filling the club room were instantly retracted. This bastard, if he can retract them this well, why was he leaking them?
“That’s a relief. Otherwise, you and I would have become ‘hole brothers,’ Sunbae.”
Why does this guy’s mouth get filthier by the day? Despite his looks.
“But they weren’t as tasty as I thought. How were you eating them, Sunbae? Do you have bad taste?”
If someone walked into the club room now and heard this conversation, they would simply think they were talking about food. But for Jeong-min, who knew the context, it felt unpleasant.
To begin with, talking about an ex-lover he had broken up with on good terms—and someone he felt a bit of guilt toward—in this manner didn’t feel good.
“Anyway, you should improve your eye for people. It’s a waste since you were born an Alpha. You should pick something tasty to eat. That tasteless thing clung to me so much while dating you.”
Did that mean the Omega had already shown interest in Kim Ju-hwan while dating him? He felt slightly unpleasant, but he thought it couldn’t be helped. It was true that he had left that many openings.
“So? What do you want to hear from me? In the end, you slept with them too. Didn’t you not know I’d broken up with them?”
“Hardly. I knew. I was just confirming once more.”
“Haa.”
Jeong-min let out a deep sigh. He felt it was a waste of time. Moreover, he felt that if he stayed like this, this bastard would keep rambling things he didn’t want to hear, so Jeong-min handed over the power strip he was holding as if throwing it to Kim Ju-hwan.
“Stop talking nonsense and help.”
Kim Ju-hwan’s eyes curved slightly. He seemed pleased. He even began humming as he helped organize the supplies without a word of complaint. He should have done this from the start.
✽✽✽
The day of the MT. Everyone gathered in front of the school from 7 AM to move luggage and prepare for departure. In the distance, slightly apart from the group, he saw his ex-lover.
The moment their eyes met, the other person looked away, and Jeong-min, thinking it was inevitable, focused on his own work. The Sunbaes marveled at the well-organized supplies and praised Jeong-min.
“Jeong-min.”
Shin-woo approached with a slightly bittersweet smile.
“Hyung.”
He was still avoiding him. Of course, he avoided him less than when he first manifested as an Alpha. When Jeong-min was dating the Omega, Shin-woo would come over to greet him and even buy him meals. But after the breakup, the awkwardness returned. Did he know? That Jeong-min still hadn’t forgotten him. Pushing aside his aching heart, Jeong-min smiled at Shin-woo.
“You worked hard on the preparations.”
“No. I wanted to clear my head, so it worked out well.”
At Jeong-min’s words, Shin-woo paused for a moment and then reached out to stroke Jeong-min’s hair.
Since their heights were now almost the same, it must have been uncomfortable, but Jeong-min quietly let him. He liked it when Shin-woo treated him like a child in this way.
“Are you okay?”
He knew what that meant. He wanted to say he was fine bravely, but because he loved the attention Shin-woo showed him, Jeong-min nodded with a slightly listless expression.
“You’ll meet someone better. There will definitely be a good match. There are many good Omegas in the world.”
How foolish. He should have just said he was fine, bravely. If he had, he wouldn’t have had to hear this. Regret followed, but it was too late.
Jeong-min stared for a long time at the back of Shin-woo as he boarded the bus, saying they’d see each other later. Shin-woo hoped that Jeong-min would no longer like him, and he must have felt relieved the moment Jeong-min started dating an Omega. But that thought had failed.
Jeong-min still liked Shin-woo, and his heart ached just by looking at him. He felt as if he wanted to grab onto him right now and beg him to please look at him. But if he did, Shin-woo would run away. He would push him away again, so he was merely enduring. Not now… I need a little more time. When Shin-woo stops avoiding me… I’ll approach him once more. With that resolve, Jeong-min boarded a different bus.
“Shin Jeong-min!”
“Huh?”
What? Why is someone who shouldn’t be in this car here?
“What the, why are you here?”
“Look at the way he talks to his younger brother.”
Young-min smiled broadly and linked arms with the Alpha next to him. My god. It was the club president. When did the two of them become like that? They didn’t even have any points of contact. Young-min wasn’t even part of the film club.
No wonder the president had been busy lately, hard to reach, and seemed distracted whenever they met.
“Haa…”
Jeong-min sighed, thinking he had a rough idea of what was going on. Adding one more person wouldn’t cause any major problems, and since people brought acquaintances occasionally, it wasn’t a big deal, but the situation had become somewhat absurd.
An ex-lover, an ex-fiancé, an Alpha pining for the same Alpha… and that Alpha’s ex-lover and a leftover Alpha to boot. If anyone heard about this, they’d ask if he was watching some kind of trashy soap opera; the small space felt utterly chaotic.
“Just stay quiet while you’re here.”
Jeong-min gave Young-min a quiet warning. Even if the situation was like a time bomb that could explode at any moment, as long as Young-min stayed still, at least the detonation wouldn’t be rushed.
Leaving the grumbling Young-min behind, Jeong-min sat in the very front seat. Soon, the bus started smoothly, heading toward an unfamiliar destination.