By Zephyria 
I could feel the firm tendons beneath his arm. As I drew closer, the scent of pheromones grew stronger.
Wait, we just ate the same thing, so why does he smell so good?
“Do you have a hobby of drinking perfume?”
Haon mumbled the thought that came to mind, and the stiffness on Cha Jeong-won’s face began to crack before completely shattering.
“If you lean in, you won’t even get to eat the candy.”
Cha Jeong-won’s voice was still low and cold. But the arm supporting Haon exerted a bit more force.
It was something Haon could have avoided by simply moving his arm away, but it seemed like Cha Jeong-won was holding him up, perhaps worried he might fall.
For someone whose words were so cold. Haon was confused about what Cha Jeong-won was thinking.
“Right, right.”
Haon hastily pulled his hand away. His cheek stung from the heat.
His heart felt like it might leap out any second. As if trying to shove it back into his chest, Haon took a long, deep breath in and out.
While he was pulling himself together, Cha Jeong-won threw the fourth dart.
This time, too, the dart hit the balloon perfectly.
With a whoosh sound of air escaping, the note dropped to the floor with a thud.
“Oh, we finally got a prize this time.”
The staff member’s voice brightened by a tone.
“Fifth place, a beverage exchange coupon.”
The staff member unfolded the note as if to show it off.
On the white note, a cute cup-shaped icon was printed. Below it, the name of the hotel’s café and the types of menus available were written in tiny letters.
“See? It worked.”
Haon was the first to clap. A sigh of relief also escaped within his heart.
He had intentionally made Cha Jeong-won pay and throw the darts. He wondered if, by some chance, even one hit, it might add a bit of moisture to his dry, tough life that seemed perpetually unlucky.
But when nothing came up until the third try, he wondered how to console him. Thanks to this beverage coupon, he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
“Congratulations.”
Clap, clap, clap! Haon’s applause was so enthusiastic that Cha Jeong-won, who had been looking at the note, shook his head.
Secretly, he seemed amazed too. But Haon’s exaggerated excitement was even stronger, so he tried to tone it down.
“Anyone watching would think it’s first place.”
“I’m perfectly happy with fifth place. I was just craving coffee anyway.”
Then, Cha Jeong-won rolled his eyes back and forth as if calculating something. Haon, reading that thought perfectly, grabbed both his hands as if to say, “Don’t worry.”
“I’m not eyeing the beverage coupon you won. You can just exchange your drink for free, and I’ll diligently empty my thin wallet to buy mine.”
“Why not just ask for it?”
“Thank you.”
Haon didn’t decline. He took the coupon, tilted it this way and that to look at it, then started congratulating Cha Jeong-won again.
Opportunities like this are rare, so I should give him lots of praise. Lots and lots.
“Congratulations once again, sunbae. It’s the taste of your first victory in life.”
“It’s not the first.”
His voice was utterly indifferent, but the hand holding the dart moved much faster than before.
Then he looked back at Haon.
“But why are you so good at flattery?”
“It’s not flattery; it’s congratulations.”
“Trying to make me feel good isn’t congratulations; it’s flattery.”
Was there really a need to split hairs in this situation?
But since Cha Jeong-won seemed secretly pleased, Haon didn’t deny it to the end.
“This time will go well too. Should I pat your shoulder for luck?”
Haon clenched his fist as if he really would do it.
“If you touch me like that, the dart will go off course.”
If only Cha Jeong-won hadn’t refused.
‘How could he possibly know it would work just because of my cheering…’
As Haon grumbled inwardly, memories of things that had happened with Cha Jeong-won began surfacing one by one.
Their lips bumped by accident in the elevator. Then Cha Jeong-won’s phone rang, and he got a call saying he’d won the sweet room. And now, when Haon stumbled and touched him, fifth place came up.
Two instances weren’t enough to be sure, but it was too unsettling to dismiss entirely.
Every time he touched Cha Jeong-won, unexpected luck seemed to follow.
‘Cha Jeong-won said the sweet room wasn’t luck…’
Just a customer attraction tactic.
But by that logic, isn’t this the same now?
It’s a hotel, after all.
“One last dart left.”
At the staff member’s clear voice, Haon snapped back to attention.
One dart remained.
The balloons still glowed in their respective colors.
For others, it might just be a fifth chance, but to Haon now, it felt like an entirely different weight.
Haon very slowly took one more step closer to Cha Jeong-won’s side.
A distance where their hands might brush… A distance where their breaths might soon meet.
“Okay, the last one.”
Haon’s lips moved naturally. Unknowingly, excitement and tension tinged the end of his words.
“This time…, do it properly.”
“Do what.”
Cha Jeong-won turned his head. Their eyes met from a much closer distance than expected.
His own face was reflected small within those black pupils.
Even without words, it felt like something was being conveyed through that gaze alone, making his breath catch in his throat.
The moment he met those eyes, the calculations in Haon’s mind stopped.
How crazy this was, the thought that he might get hit and die for no reason—each flashed through his mind and then faded away.
Still, he wanted to try it one more time.
‘Life only happens once anyway.’
It was a flimsy excuse, but it was the perfect opportunity to test it now.
As if knowing what he was about to do, pheromones seeped out.
The more his heart raced, heat rose through his blood vessels, and along with that heat, a sweet fragrance bloomed. As his scent permeated the air, the surrounding noise faded, and only the sound of his heartbeat rang clearly.
It was the first time in his life he’d done something this impulsive to someone. Even Haon was bewildered by the change happening to him, yet he didn’t stop.
One corner of his mind was in an uproar—’Are you really going to do it? Really?’—but he had already made up his mind.
As if entranced, he put strength into his toes.
And toward him, who was about to throw the dart, he rose on tiptoe…
Peck.
He kissed his cheek. The sound of skin touching and then parting rang clearly in his ears.
Though the moment of contact was brief, the sensation stretched long. The warmth of his own hot lips mingled with the lukewarm temperature of his skin. He could even sense the body scent hidden beneath his pheromones.
“……”
Cha Jeong-won’s shoulders stiffened rigidly. Frozen as if time had stopped, Haon froze along with him.
Thump, it felt like his heart dropped and then leaped back up.
“Throw it…”
His voice trembled on its own.
Still, Haon pretended to be as nonchalant as possible.
“Throw it now.”
Without a word, Cha Jeong-won tightly gripped the fifth dart, the tendons on the back of his hand slightly protruding.
And the dart flew.
Just like before, or perhaps even more accurately.
Thwack.
The balloon vibrated lightly with a single sound, then immediately burst.
Pieces showered down.
The staff member, who had been secretly giggling since Haon’s surprise kiss, dashed toward the burst balloon as if leaping.
Sweeping his hand through the pieces, he found and pulled out the folded note inside.
In that brief moment, the surrounding sounds seemed to fade away again.
The fluttering placards in the wind seemed to have only movement left, their sound gone, and the dart stuck in the balloon seemed to tremble faintly.
“Alright, the final result is here.”
The staff member unfolded the paper.
His eyes widened round.
“Uh… Wow, this.”
After steadying his breath about twice, he immediately shouted in a tone pitched higher.
“First place! Congratulations! It’s a premium spa day pass for a five-star hotel and a dinner voucher for two!”
Luck… worked.
The murmuring voices beside them grew louder.
The spectators burst out in exclamations, and some even clapped, seemingly genuinely envious.
But the ones who actually drew first place, Haon and Cha Jeong-won, couldn’t rejoice. Cha Jeong-won seemed shocked by Haon’s impulsive action, and Haon was lost in his own thoughts.
Though it was a moment too brief to even call a proper kiss, the sensation of how soft his cheek felt against his lips was still vivid. Moreover, that moment kept replaying in his mind.
‘I really kissed Cha Jeong-won’s cheek.’
And then he stuck the dart into the balloon containing the best prize. Luck had turned its gaze toward them.
Even amid the wave of regret that washed over him after coming to his senses, first place remained an unchangeable fact.