By Zephyria 
The sensation of the kiss lingering on his cheek and the moment their hands overlapped in the prop shop all mixed together, creating a feeling that too many things had piled up in a short span of time.
It was Cha Jeong-won who spoke in a cold voice.
“Don’t express it.”
That was the first thing he said after dragging him all the way here.
Acting first and thinking later was typical of Cha Jeong-won.
“…Huh?”
Haon reflexively asked back, but Cha Jeong-won didn’t even avoid his gaze. He simply continued his words as if it were obvious.
“Stop it.”
For a moment, Haon almost laughed it off.
But he couldn’t grasp at all what he was supposed to stop. What shouldn’t he express, and what should he stop?
“Whatever you’re going to say, I won’t listen, so just drop it now.”
He cut it off sharply, as if slicing with a knife.
“I have no intention of accepting your feelings anyway.”
The person who was usually frustratingly brief with his words was now speaking at length. Perhaps that’s why each of his words felt like they were hitting the mark.
‘Ah, so this is what real rejection feels like.’
It shouldn’t feel new now. But hearing it directly felt different.
“You just live as you have been until now and graduate. That’s enough.”
At those words, Haon felt a slight weakness in his legs.
‘It ends with graduation.’
It was a short sentence, like a formula. It was also the resolution he had made when he realized who Cha Jeong-won was.
It felt as if his own unspoken thoughts had been read. That they shouldn’t get entangled anymore, that they had no place in each other’s futures.
‘I was planning to do that too.’
Since deciding on art as his career path in middle school, part-time jobs had become as natural as breathing to Haon, and saving money was his creed. It seemed he had to be tenacious to live holding a brush for a lifetime.
He couldn’t abandon that dream just because he met Cha Jeong-won.
Yet, contrary to his mind, his heart was racing busily.
“And who is that for?”
Haon defied Cha Jeong-won.
“Me.”
Cha Jeong-won showed no hesitation.
“Nothing good comes from being involved with me. Did I say earlier we’d run into each other often? Figure out how to avoid that too.”
At the end of his words, Cha Jeong-won’s pheromones wavered once more.
His words and his scent seemed to point in opposite directions.
“If you’re not planning to struggle by my side, then turn back.”
Cha Jeong-won truly believed that was the answer. That this would become easier later, that not crossing this line was for the best for both of them.
“Senior.”
For the first time, Cha Jeong-won avoided Haon’s gaze.
“You clearly said it. That you have no feelings for me.”
And yet, he went ahead and kissed him.
“Let’s cut it off cleanly here so I won’t doubt you anymore.”
He seemed less embarrassed and more like someone desperately pushing him away.
He was trying by any means to draw a line with Haon.
His voice was cold, but his pheromones were not. The harsher his words became, the paler his expression grew.
Cha Jeong-won neither avoided his gaze nor held onto him. He just stood firmly in place, like someone rooted. That attitude felt even more distant.
Haon unconsciously took a breath in and then exhaled. He felt his mouth go dry instantly. It seemed like he could hear the ticking of a clock second hand from somewhere, and the sound of cars passing outside the window settled heavily.
Cha Jeong-won’s complexion had grown even paler. It wasn’t that he lacked emotion, but rather that he had tightly bound and blocked it, letting nothing leak out.
Haon felt sorry for that man.
He wanted to share warmth with the man who was only hurling words that attacked himself.
He wanted to give him another surprise kiss.
No, continuously pressing his lips forward would be a crime.
If he’s going to do it, it has to be legally. Legally.
“Will you go out with me?”
With that one sentence, the heavy atmosphere changed in an instant.
It was a reversal, like a bowling ball plummeting terrifyingly towards the floor turning out to be a super ball and bouncing right back up.
Cha Jeong-won frowned.
“Where did everything I just said go?”
“I heard it with my ears.”
At Haon’s refreshing answer, Cha Jeong-won just silently looked at him. It was a situation where one might usually let out a hollow laugh, but Cha Jeong-won didn’t.
“Let’s just date for one week.”
It wasn’t a deeply considered conclusion, but it wasn’t a thoughtless joke either.
“…What?”
Cha Jeong-won’s eyebrows rose very slightly and then settled.
“You’ll find out whether I’ll struggle by your side or not by watching me for a week.”
Haon smiled. He barely managed to suppress the trembling of his lips.
“Just accept me for that period. Once it’s over, don’t accept me anymore.”
It wasn’t solely the desire to give Cha Jeong-won warmth.
Haon also had something he wanted.
Whether it was luck, pheromones, or something encompassing both that truly entangled him only with this person. Haon wanted to verify it under the name of ‘lover’.
There was one more thing.
How many times would a surprise attack work on a Cha Jeong-won who wasn’t his lover!
Haon took a step closer towards Cha Jeong-won. He also released his own pheromones without restraint.
With no one around, it was quiet enough that even a single breath seemed distinct.
Haon put strength in his feet, prepared to follow if Cha Jeong-won ran away.
“You doubted me during that time too, Senior. It felt really unfair then, but I can understand why you did that.”
Haon deliberately shook his head. He acted as if he had already forgotten that Cha Jeong-won had erased his doubts and come looking for him.
“So you watch me too, Senior. Judge for yourself what I’m really like if I’m determined to pursue you.”
While proposing to Cha Jeong-won, Haon did not avoid his eyes.
Instead, he raised his head a little higher.
“I’m giving both myself and you a chance right now.”
Haon spoke clearly and firmly.
The breath passing between his lips felt strangely vivid.
“Use this chance to judge.”
The end of Haon’s sentence trembled slightly.
Unlike the cold night air, the space between the two of them was oddly warm.
The hotel sign light blinked in the distance.
Cha Jeong-won opened his mouth and then closed it.
As the distance between them narrowed, the scent became clearer. The Alpha’s characteristically bold, thick scent seemed to intensify, as if shaken by Haon’s proposal.
A broad hand overlapped on top of Haon’s hand. It wasn’t gripping tightly to pull him, nor was it loosely resting.
That ambiguous touch instead made Haon’s heart pound even more. It seemed like he could shake it off if he wanted, but somehow he also felt he could never pull away.
“Don’t say it was unfair later.”
“If the me you observe is an Omega with ulterior motives, then I’ll have to admit it then.”
“Keep your promise.”
Cha Jeong-won accepted Haon’s proposal.
One week. A time that could be considered long, yet also too short.
But the excitement Haon felt was immense, enough to rival any lover’s.
“So, what should we do first?”
As Haon spoke with a shy smile, Cha Jeong-won answered immediately, as if he had something in mind.
“Hotel.”
“…Huh?”
For a moment, Haon wondered if he had misheard.
“Dinner.”
Cha Jeong-won’s words ended in a single word. Then he pulled Haon’s hand.
“Ah…”
Haon belatedly caught the meaning of his words.
The premium dinner voucher.
Just moments ago, it was just a piece of paper; now it had become their first date schedule.
“Now? It hasn’t been long since we ate tteokbokki.”
“I got hungry.”
His tone was still indifferent. But the strength in his hand felt anything but indifferent. It seemed like there was never any room for escape from the start.
They left the alley and stepped onto the street. The street glittered with all sorts of lights from signs, streetlamps, and car headlights.
The two walked, pushing through the crowd, never letting go of each other’s hands until the end. The distance was close enough for their shoulders to almost brush. The overlapping hands kept drawing their consciousness.
The entire walk, Haon felt people’s gazes.
Once or twice he thought it was just his imagination, but somehow, as they kept encountering them, his heart fluttered.
‘Do we… look like a couple?’
The pheromones of Haon, who had been perpetually single, surged.
‘Ah, pheromones.’
Haon belatedly became concerned about his own pheromones.
He had intentionally released his pheromones while asking Cha Jeong-won to date. And though he meant to rein them in, he didn’t know they would still be flowing out.
Was that all?
Today, they were unusually sweet. In the sweetness that seemed mixed with excitement and anticipation, Haon glanced at Cha Jeong-won. What if he disliked his pheromones for being too sweet?
But Cha Jeong-won said nothing.