What? He wants me to leave the door open? And take separate showers? Is he even serious right now? What do my brothers and sisters think I am!
Even thinking about it again was absurd. Perhaps I should be grateful that I was so busy fuming that I couldn’t be aware of Seo Baek-han, who said he would go shower.
I couldn’t just sit still, thinking about Seo Baek-han trying to hold back his laughter to be considerate of me. Joo Tae-hyun, who had been pacing near the bathroom, only began to recognize the situation when the sound of water inside gradually subsided.
Wait a minute. So, right now, hyung is showering in my personal bathroom, wearing the loungewear I prepared, and even staying overnight here? And to top it off, thanks to the fuss I made, I have to spend some time alone with hyung?
…Isn’t this a pretty big deal?
“You seem to like the violin?”
“…Ah, that.”
Joo Tae-hyun, who had been momentarily stunned by his family’s nonsense and this strangely stimulating situation, could only answer Seo Baek-han’s question after clearing his throat several times.
“I, um, learned it when I was young. I only touched it briefly, so I don’t even remember it now.”
“For someone who barely touched it, the equipment seems quite professional?”
Seo Baek-han, on the other hand, seemed very interested in the instrument. He carefully examined the two violins and various tools in the display case, asking about spruce and ebony, things whose purpose Joo Tae-hyun couldn’t even recall, which made him a little embarrassed.
Having missed the timing to leave the bathroom, Joo Tae-hyun ended up introducing his personal space to Seo Baek-han, who had come out after showering. Except for the bedroom and dressing room connected to the bathroom, he showed him places like his current room, which was more like a storage for odds and ends.
“You seem to have been maintaining it steadily.”
Seo Baek-han leaned slightly forward to match his eye level with the instruments in the display case, causing his wet hair to keep falling forward. Seo Baek-han casually brushed back the falling hair with his hand, and Joo Tae-hyun felt strangely disturbed by the water droplets scattering everywhere.
This… I never consciously thought of Seo Baek-han in a bad way, but I’ve definitely become strange since taking that drug.
“So, what’s this room for?”
“It’s just a room where I keep various things… like a storage room. Ah, if you go out that way, you’ll immediately see the study. Would you like to see it?”
Without much reaction, Seo Baek-han moved in the direction Joo Tae-hyun indicated. However, he left the door connected to the study wide open until it hit the stopper, making Joo Tae-hyun want to bury his face in the dishwater again.
It would be nice if he teased me, but now Seo Baek-han doesn’t even smile. He’s just opening every door he sees, as if he’s completing a task.
“Both that room and the study… your space is generally cute. Will this be okay for your marital home? It doesn’t seem like your style.”
“Ah, I don’t really care about the interior as long as I have the things I use often. This is just… a space I’ve been using since I was young.”
Perhaps because all the doors from the bathroom to the study were left wide open, a gentle breeze seemed to blow through the room.
And within it was a peach scent. Rather than feeling as intense as usual, it felt like it was cautiously stretching.
Pheromones are affected by heart rate, but it’s not like you can freely emit them according to your mood, so what is it?
Joo Tae-hyun, who was briefly troubled by this new phenomenon, realized that it might be because this place was filled with his pheromones.
Joo Tae-hyun had never really been conscious of his pheromone scent. It might be due to a severe illness he had as a child, but Joo Tae-hyun was not naturally someone with a strong scent. If he had to classify it, it was like the smell of grass mixed in the breeze… so faint that it was almost impossible to identify, and even Joo Tae-hyun had forgotten about it.
Bringing Seo Baek-han into his intimate space filled with his pheromones, he became conscious of the pheromones colliding with each other as if he could see it.
It is said that Alphas don’t feel much attraction even when they sense each other’s pheromones. In fact, they often feel repulsed, but I don’t know why my heart is racing like this.
Just because an Alpha and an Alpha are together. It’s just a phenomenon of pheromone particles mixing, but why am I getting embarrassed as if I’m physically touching Seo Baek-han?
Joo Tae-hyun blamed the Dirty Switch he had taken a long time ago once again and averted his eyes to a distant place.
However, it seemed that Joo Tae-hyun wasn’t the only one conscious of their pheromones.
“My scent tends to get a bit stronger depending on my mood.”
Seo Baek-han sat on the window seat and slightly opened the window. If it was an action taken because he was bothered by another Alpha’s pheromones, it was not a good choice. Riding the cool breeze, the pheromones of the two men began to mix even more fiercely than before.
“Well, they say your scent gets stronger when your heart rate increases, and I’m like that. Even if I’m smiling on my face when I’m feeling good or bad, it shows in my scent. I think the scent itself is also strong…”
Peach scent, Seo Baek-han narrowed his eyes. It was an ambiguous face that was hard to tell whether he liked it or disliked it, but one thing was certain. Seo Baek-han, with his wet face, wearing loungewear, and lingering languidly in my study, was extremely harmful to Joo Tae-hyun’s heart health. He was just sitting and relaxing, but he felt excessively sensual.
“So, there were times when I was envious of you, because it seemed comfortable. Maybe my obsession with things like managing my expression or my image in front of people… maybe it’s because of my scent. Because I didn’t choose the type or concentration of my scent.”
“…”
“But coming into your space… well, it’s definitely different.”
“Different, how…”
“You’re an Alpha after all, so you probably weren’t as free from pheromone issues as I had guessed.”
Again, I couldn’t tell if this was a good thing or a bad thing. Seo Baek-han closed his eyes deeply and then slowly opened them. As if savoring all the pheromones of life that Joo Tae-hyun had accumulated in the study since he was very young.
It’s just one night.
Before the wedding, Seo Baek-han only came to greet my family out of courtesy, but Joo Tae-hyun had a feeling that something inside him would change again starting today. Just like the season changes drastically in one night.
The only thing that’s certain is that from now on, whenever I think of Seo Baek-han, I’ll have to sing the national anthem in my head or imagine sad things. I can’t blame the Dirty Switch anymore.
I like Seo Baek-han, and now I not only like him but also desire him. Very much. Uncontrollably, deeply.
“Ah, Tae-hyun.”
“Y-yes?”
“Someone I know asked me to introduce you.”
“Introduce me?”
Joo Tae-hyun, who had been lost in somewhat unhealthy thoughts, was startled and straightened his posture. It was probably the first time Seo Baek-han had offered to introduce him to an acquaintance separately. After all, he had already met the people they each had to know. Since they had been showing their faces at the same events since they started their public activities, and they even had the common ground of the Guardian Lion.
Since they were planning to replace the wedding ceremony with a meal with their immediate families, they had no plans to send out wedding invitations to acquaintances. So, he naturally hadn’t even thought about being introduced to people he knew separately…
Joo Tae-hyun pressed down on the heart that was trying to get excited without him realizing it. If he had a tail, he would have been wagging it vigorously.
If he’s introducing me to someone he knows, it probably means he acknowledges me as his partner. Could it be because Father mentioned sharing a bed earlier? If that’s the case, it’s a bit embarrassing, but I didn’t want to reject the luck I suddenly had in my hands. He knew he looked young and immature, but he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get closer to the person he had a crush on.
“Well… I have no reason to dislike it. What kind of person is it?”
“Ah, they’re not an Alpha, but they’re positive about Switches. However, they don’t like Dirty Switches.”
“Is that… so?”
Ah… wait a minute.
“If your sex preference is that kind of thing, like being bottom as you put it, I don’t think it necessarily has to be an Alpha. Rather, being a Beta and disliking Dirty Switches seems safe.”
So, Seo Baek-han is now.
“Maybe you should try meeting someone like that.”
He was telling me that he would introduce me to a sex partner.