By Zephyria Ryu Jeong took a deep breath. He definitely knew the meaning of the word, but he felt dazed as if he had heard an unknown language. Ryu Jeong, who had been blinking his eyes as if he had lost his mind for a moment, pulled his head back.
“Why…?”
Lee Do-hyeon’s eyebrows narrowed slightly. At the same time, Ryu Jeong flinched.
“Why what?”
“…You shouldn’t do this…”
He could understand the kind lie that saved him from embarrassment a hundred times over, but this was not it. Did he think he didn’t know anything? He could tolerate being treated like an idiot any number of times, but his petty pride would not allow him to play with his feelings like this.
It was pathetic for him to say something he already knew. Ryu Jeong tried to keep his eyes wide open and not blink. Otherwise, he felt like he would burst into tears at any moment.
“You even had a meeting… You shouldn’t do this.”
Ryu Jeong slowly opened his mouth, barely calming his aching heart.
“Meeting?”
“……”
“Why the meeting all of a sudden…”
Lee Do-hyeon frowned and tilted his head.
Wasn’t the meeting his problem?
He remembered the person who had been trying to seduce Ryu Jeong, saying that if it looked pretty to him, it would look pretty to others, and asking if he would like to be introduced to someone. He didn’t care that he was embarrassed, and his voice was so loud that he unintentionally heard everything. Thanks to that, his mood, which was already bad, had been thrown into the gutter.
But that was something that didn’t happen, and couldn’t happen. Lee Do-hyeon, who couldn’t understand why he was suddenly bringing up that story, suddenly thought about that ‘meeting’ and burst into a hollow laugh.
“Are you perhaps talking about the hotel thing today?”
Ryu Jeong pressed his lips tightly and didn’t move. Lee Do-hyeon, who was convinced that the silence was a positive answer, touched his forehead with a dumbfounded expression. He rubbed his temples and forehead with his dry fingertips.
“I didn’t think you’d misunderstand that.”
“……”
“That meeting, that’s not the meeting you’re thinking of.”
So he heard that. Now that he knew why Ryu Jeong was reacting so sensitively, he felt the difference in age… no. Should he call it a generational difference? Anyway, he felt an invisible difference. When he was Ryu Jeong’s age, a meeting meant more of a social gathering than a business meeting.
Thinking this far, he could guess how bad he must look in Ryu Jeong’s eyes. He might be seeing him as a piece of waste that couldn’t even be recycled. Lee Do-hyeon chuckled hollowly and muttered.
“If you saw the people I met today, you wouldn’t say that.”
“……”
“I met them for work. Because of the Wolhyeon-dong redevelopment project. The people who came out today are… well, they’re probably twenty years older than me.”
“……”
“Shall I call Chief Yoon to confirm?”
Lee Do-hyeon was about to make a call to confirm. Ryu Jeong, who didn’t understand what he was saying, rolled his eyes, and then realized that he had only thought about it in fragments, and lowered his head. His flushed face was burning.
Ah, you idiot… Ryu Jeong poured out as much criticism as he could on himself. In a situation where he had clearly revealed his ignorance, Ryu Jeong had nothing to say and bit his lip, not knowing what to do.
“Why are you hanging your head so low?”
“…I’m sorry. I had a strange misunderstanding…”
“It could happen. It’s just a cute mistake that you can laugh off, right? Stop hiding and show me your face, Jeong-ssi.”
Lee Do-hyeon put his hand under his face and stroked his cheek. He only urged him with words and didn’t force him to lift his head. Ryu Jeong, who was feeling his gentle touch, reluctantly raised his head.
If it had been a little brighter, he would have been able to see his red face. Too bad. Lee Do-hyeon smiled, thinking about something completely different.
“Is the misunderstanding completely resolved?”
“Yes…”
It was difficult to concentrate on the event knowing that Lee Do-hyeon was having a meeting, but he didn’t expect the misunderstanding to be resolved so easily. But apart from that, there was one more important issue left.
“President…”
Ryu Jeong clasped his hands together, not knowing where to put them, and rolled his round eyes. He couldn’t dare to make eye contact with Lee Do-hyeon.
A lover… isn’t that what you call two people who like each other…?
“About… that… lover thing.”
“Yes.”
“Do you… perhaps…”
Ryu Jeong couldn’t finish the sentence. His voice wouldn’t come out because his confidence was at rock bottom.
“Do you… like me?”
Lee Do-hyeon, who had been waiting patiently, albeit slowly, answered as if he had been waiting for Ryu Jeong to finish speaking.
“Yes.”
“……”
Ryu Jeong gasped. He fixed his eyes, which had been looking elsewhere, on Lee Do-hyeon. Surprise, disbelief, confusion, and joy. Various complex emotions flickered in his clear eyes.
“Why? Do you think it’s a joke that I like Jeong-ssi?”
“Ah…”
“You can be honest. I won’t get angry.”
“…Yes.”
Ryu Jeong answered in a choked voice. Lee Do-hyeon smiled bitterly, feeling sorry for his trembling voice. He didn’t know why he was making a sorry face when he was answering because he was told to. He was too kind. It was pretty that he listened well, but he didn’t feel good that he was saying those words with those pretty lips.
“Jeong-ssi.”
Lee Do-hyeon, who smiled awkwardly, carefully took Ryu Jeong’s hand. Ryu Jeong flinched at the touch, which was soft but firm.
“I’m greedy for Jeong-ssi.”
Lee Do-hyeon, who had been wondering what to say first, opened his mouth quietly as if he was making a confession. His eyes, which met his, shook from side to side. Did he not know what it meant to be greedy for someone? Lee Do-hyeon quietly stroked the back of Ryu Jeong’s hand, meeting his gaze that was asking for an explanation. Then, he turned his hand over and looked at the reddish and mottled palm where the skin was peeling off.
“Ah…”
Ryu Jeong was embarrassed and avoided his gaze at the touch that cherished the yellow and hard knuckles with calluses. He tried to pull it away, but it was useless.
He had had eczema several times, but it recurred so much that the treatment was useless, so he had neglected it for several years. That’s why he hated showing his hands and it had become a habit to clasp his hands together, but he was embarrassed to have his hands caressed and looked at like that.
Why did he keep looking at them? He didn’t know what to do with his hands held, but he felt humid air on his palm, and then something soft touched it. As soon as he was surprised and raised his head, his eyes met at once. That was inevitable, because Lee Do-hyeon had buried his lips in Ryu Jeong’s palm and was looking up at him as if asking him to look at him quickly.
If he bent his fingers, he would only be groping Lee Do-hyeon’s face. He didn’t have the strength to shake him off by force, and his heart felt like it was going to explode because of the lips that were so clearly felt.
“I think I wanted to look like a moral person until the end. And looking at the way I’m still beating around the bush.”
“What…”
“I wish Jeong-ssi would just stay in my house and do nothing. Doing nothing… just receiving the love I give.”
“……”
“Don’t you know what I mean? I want to kidnap Jeong-ssi and lock him up.”
Ryu Jeong’s hand trembled as Lee Do-hyeon spoke with his lips on his palm. Lee Do-hyeon quietly raised the corners of his lips and smiled. He stopped at ‘love’, but if Ryu Jeong knew that he had even more thoughts, he would definitely shake off his hand and run away. Lee Do-hyeon didn’t bother to say it out loud because he knew that it was an abnormal desire.
“Isn’t this what it means to like someone? It might be a little different from what Jeong-ssi thinks it means to like someone, but this is what it means to me. Surprisingly.”
“……”
“I can’t take it out and show it to you, it’s embarrassing. Right.”
“……”
“Hmm… should I do it like this?”
Lee Do-hyeon, who muttered to himself, pulled Ryu Jeong’s hand hard. Ryu Jeong, who had taken a step or two without even having time to resist, went straight into Lee Do-hyeon’s arms. The pheromone scent that had soaked into his clothes was the first, the warm body temperature was the second, and the firm and solid feeling was the third.
Ryu Jeong, realizing that he was putting his face against Lee Do-hyeon’s chest, was surprised and tried to back away, but Lee Do-hyeon pressed Ryu Jeong’s head down.
“Listen.”
Listen to what… At the same time as being horrified and embarrassed, Ryu Jeong stopped moving at the sound that rang in his ears. Thump, thump, thump. It was the sound of his heart.
The steady heartbeat was gradually getting faster. Ryu Jeong couldn’t even think of pushing him away and just listened. He often had times like this. When he was with Lee Do-hyeon, and when he thought of Lee Do-hyeon. And even now. Ryu Jeong, who was starting to get confused as to whether the heartbeat he was hearing was Lee Do-hyeon’s or his own, quickly raised his hand and pushed his chest hard. Lee Do-hyeon backed away obediently.
“If I was just feeling sorry for you, my heart wouldn’t be beating this fast.”
“…Why, why…”
Lee Do-hyeon chuckled, looking down at his eyes that looked like they were about to burst into tears.
“At first, I was worried about Jeong-ssi, and as I worried about him, I wanted to see him when I wasn’t seeing him. So when I came to see him, I was happy just seeing him, I was happy that he ate well, and I was happy when he smiled at me sometimes. And…”
Lee Do-hyeon, who had been pouring out words that were embarrassing just to listen to, trailed off and closed his mouth. When he looked at him questioningly, he suddenly swept his bangs up nervously. Lee Do-hyeon, who couldn’t bear to look at Ryu Jeong, sighed deeply and gnashed his teeth.
“…I want to do it.”
“Do what… you want to do…?”
Ryu Jeong asked hesitantly. To be honest, he had a feeling that he shouldn’t ask, but he couldn’t help but be curious.
It was also because the reasons Lee Do-hyeon had listed at length were not unfamiliar. Looking back, he was worried that Lee Do-hyeon might not come to the convenience store, and he wanted to see the always kind him. He was happy to see him smile kindly when their eyes met, and from the day he did something embarrassing, he was filled with guilt, but he kept thinking of that day and his heart ached.
But he thought he shouldn’t. Lee Do-hyeon was a person who lived in a different world from him. He was someone he couldn’t be greedy for.
“What… do you want to do?”
But he didn’t know why his mouth kept moving on its own.
Even though he had taken his ear away from Lee Do-hyeon’s heart, he could still hear the thumping sound. The moment he realized that the sound was none other than his own heartbeat, Lee Do-hyeon made eye contact with him. Perhaps it was because of the different color in his unwavering eyes, but his feet, which were standing on the floor, curled inward.
“I want to have sex.”
“……”
“With Jeong-ssi.”
Ryu Jeong took a deep breath. He involuntarily tensed the inside of his thighs. He couldn’t bear to make eye contact, so he lowered his head and mumbled, rolling his lips. He wanted to grab something and rely on it, so he grabbed the bottom of his coat, which came down to his thighs.
He had only heard one word. Perhaps it was because that one short word contained a blatant desire, but his lips were parched just from hearing it. The series of processes indicated by one word that was embarrassing to say, the things he had experienced directly during his heat cycle, came to his mind. Where he had touched him, where he had kissed him. And…
Ryu Jeong shook his head as if he didn’t want to think anymore. His body felt strange. No, it was already strange. His toes were curling inward, his thighs were tensing, and his lower abdomen was pulling. An ambiguous sensation that was both ticklish and stinging went down. He wondered if another heat cycle had started, but the back, which had been wet even when he was still, had no reaction.
“……!”
Ryu Jeong, who bit his lower lip tightly at the strange sensation that covered his whole body, rolled his eyes and stopped at one place. His crotch was unnaturally swollen. Ryu Jeong, who had been staring blankly as if possessed, lowered his head with a flushed face.
“It’s not because Jeong-ssi is an Omega that I’m doing this. Of course… I like the pheromone scent, but I didn’t smell anything just now, but it’s like this.”
But Lee Do-hyeon didn’t seem to care. When he knew where Ryu Jeong’s gaze was directed, he became even more erect, absurdly.
He was completely out of his mind. Lee Do-hyeon, who gave himself a self-deprecating smile, didn’t even think of covering his swollen crotch and instead took a step towards Ryu Jeong. The nape of his neck, which was revealed because he was hanging his head, was gradually turning red and was clearly visible in the dim moonlight.
“Shall I be more honest?”
Lee Do-hyeon took a step forward. Ryu Jeong, who had pushed him away with force just a moment ago, didn’t back away even when Lee Do-hyeon got closer. He just swallowed hard in nervousness. His breathing was getting faster along with his rapidly beating heart, and Ryu Jeong blinked his eyes rapidly in embarrassment.
Another step before he knew it. When the distance was narrowed to the point where their breaths touched each other before their hands, Lee Do-hyeon whispered lowly.
“I want to kiss you.”
“President…”
“Just once.”
Did he think he might be rejected? Ryu Jeong raised his eyes at his earnest voice. Lee Do-hyeon’s black eyes went down and then up again. Ryu Jeong, who instinctively felt that his gaze was on his lips, lowered his eyes again. He couldn’t avoid the approaching lips.