By Zephyria 
Even though it was a quiet statement, it was clear enough for the nearby people to hear.
“That’s true.”
“Haon, you can’t just grab your senior’s hand like that.”
Someone responded playfully, while someone else lowered their head and drank.
Only Haon felt his blood pressure shoot to the top of his head as he took a breath.
What do you mean, it’s not polite…
Just then, Cha Jeong-won picked up the ladle placed next to the earthenware pot the owner had brought.
Even in the midst of that, he didn’t let go of the hand. One hand held the ladle, the other still rested on the back of Haon’s hand.
He lifted the ladle and carefully scooped some broth. A thin film of oil shimmered on the surface. The hand transferring it to the empty bowl in front of Haon was more familiar than expected.
“It’s okay. I can eat by myself.”
“Stay still.”
His tone was as calm as usual, but strangely, it sounded like an order.
Haon unconsciously closed his mouth.
“Wow, I’m jealous, Haon.”
Observing glances swept over the two of them alternately.
Cha Jeong-won made no particular effort to shake off those gazes. If anything, he seemed to be enjoying it a little.
He picked up his chopsticks and grabbed one of the fish cakes skewered on a stick. He shook it slightly above the broth.
Then, bringing it right in front of Haon’s mouth, he spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“I’ll feed you.”
Haon couldn’t open his mouth, only blinking his eyes.
When we were dating, I did ask him to feed me. But back then, the person who said he’d never do it again, why now?
Why now, when we’re not dating?
“…Can’t I just pick it up and eat it myself?”
“Oh? You ate it just fine last time.”
A brief retort came back.
Every time Cha Jeong-won acted like this, Haon felt a confusing thought: Are we still dating?
Haon looked around.
The team members were staring intently. Even while holding their glasses and continuing conversations, their gazes kept drifting this way.
“That was because I didn’t have my right hand then. And it’s really weird. Why are you being so…”
…Desperate to feed me.
“Do you really hate it?”
“It’s not that…”
If I don’t eat this, the atmosphere will just get weirder.
Haon carefully bent his waist a little. The fish cake dangling from the chopsticks swayed, almost touching his lips.
The hot steam tickled the tip of his nose. Hesitating once more, he took a bite of the fish cake.
It was quite savory. The fish cake was soft yet chewy, and it tasted good. He thought he wouldn’t be able to taste it properly out of embarrassment from being fed, but it was actually quite delicious.
Haon quickly chewed and swallowed the fish cake. Only after barely swallowing it did he take a proper breath.
In that breath, the smell of alcohol, broth, and pheromones mixed together and entered.
“Senior.”
Haon called out softly.
He was more surprised himself only after hearing how much his own voice trembled.
“We… Let’s talk for a moment.”
“We can do it here.”
The reply came back as if he’d been waiting for it. It was a voice too calm to be called firm.
“Rather than here, let’s just step outside for a bit…”
Before he could even finish his sentence, Cha Jeong-won’s eyes narrowed slightly. It wasn’t a friendly smile from any angle.
But he didn’t seem angry either. It was an expression that somehow made it impossible to run away.
“Are you sure? I’m more curious about what conversation we’d have if we went outside…”
Even though he asked quietly, it clearly reached the ears of the team members sitting nearby.
“Maybe it’s better if we don’t go out.”
The conversation naturally cut off, and for a moment, only the sound of glasses being passed around was heard.
“You’re completely sharp as a knife.”
“That’s why everyone finds the senior intimidating.”
The team members laughed and chattered. Kim Pilsu also added a joke.
“That just means everyone wants to get close to you, Senior. And a lot of people like you, Senior.”
“Right. So there’s even a rumor that no matter how much anyone shows they like the senior, they all get ignored.”
“When have I ever ignored anyone?”
Cha Jeong-won’s voice was dry, but the corners of his eyes shook briefly.
“I just didn’t accept it.”
“That’s what we call ignoring, Senior.”
“I didn’t accept it. Tell them I said exactly that.”
His clipped, curt tone made the team members laugh even louder.
Haon should have laughed along, but the corners of his mouth felt terribly unnatural.
“Still, among people from the same department…”
Cha Jeong-won, who had been quiet, started to speak and then paused briefly.
Haon instinctively turned his head. That brief hesitation of Cha Jeong-won’s strangely stuck in his ears.
“…I talk to Haon the most.”
He’s doing it again. First, he said we were close, and now he says he talks to me the most.
But there was no chance to interrupt him. Haon felt as if he were mesmerized by Cha Jeong-won’s deep voice.
This isn’t right…
It was always Haon clinging to Cha Jeong-won one-sidedly. He just wanted to subtly make physical contact and figure out what was going on. That was all.
Even though he had made his own plans, reality flowed in the opposite direction.
With just a few words from Cha Jeong-won, the atmosphere flipped. Haon was just being dragged along blindly.
This is really troublesome. Since he’s acting all innocent, it’s hard to flat-out refuse like before.
If only I didn’t have a guilty conscience…
Haon tightly gripped his glass.
“Hey, hey, drink slowly.”
He heard someone’s warning, but it was already too late.
The alcohol streamed relentlessly down Haon’s throat.
His stomach quickly grew warm, and his head simultaneously felt fuzzy.
＊ ＊ ＊
The wind was biting.
Haon’s consciousness rose and fell repeatedly with the effects of the alcohol.
“Mmm…”
Haon let out a low groan. He felt the hard texture of a wooden bench against his buttocks.
He didn’t know when they had left the pub, or how they had walked all the way here. He couldn’t remember.
He grabbed the coat draped over his shoulders. He could feel the body warmth and pheromones embedded in the fabric.
“You really have no sense of restraint.”
A low voice came from above his head. Haon didn’t need to look to know who it was.
“If you drink with restraint, how can you truly taste the alcohol?”
A snarky remark jumped out of his mouth first. His tongue was slightly tangled.
“Then how am I supposed to find someone to carry you around?”
Cha Jeong-won’s tone was no different from usual, but strangely, today it seemed to embed itself more sharply in his ears.
Carry me around? Even when drunk, I can walk on my own two feet.
Haon bristled but couldn’t retort.
“Who asked to be carried…”
Instead, he mumbled toward Cha Jeong-won, who had lent him his broad back.
“What should we do about this habit of drinking until you’re drunk?”
Haon stared down at his own hands resting on his knees for a long moment, then slowly raised his head.
They were at the edge of a park, far from any lights. The streetlight in front of the bench only reached halfway, casting their long, stretched-out shadows.
Cha Jeong-won let out a very small sigh. Then, he pulled the hem of the coat up once more, properly covering Haon’s shoulders.
The back of his hand brushed past Haon’s nape. Even though it was a brief contact, his skin tingled.
Instead of Haon’s eyes, the streetlight flickered.
“I’ll let it slide for today.”
“…Why?”
Haon muttered.
It was a remark that popped out even though he himself didn’t quite know what he meant.
“Because I have something to ask you.”
“…What on earth.”
Before he could ask more, the end of his words blurred again.
His eyelids were heavy. His vision tilted slightly and then righted itself.
After a brief silence, Cha Jeong-won opened his mouth.
“Haon.”
The sound of his name being called was strangely clear.
Haon slowly looked up.
Is it because I’m drunk that the Alpha’s characteristically sharp eyes look less keen than before?
Instead, his face looked as if he had resolved something.
“You.”
He was choosing his words carefully.
It wasn’t his usual blunt tone. It felt like he was chewing over the words internally several times to form a sentence.
“How do you want me to see you?”
Haon looked up at Cha Jeong-won, whose face was deeply shadowed under the streetlight.
Perhaps because he was drunk, his voice sounded like something from a dream.
“Do you want me to see you as an Omega, or just as you, yourself?”
The words seemed to float strangely, leaving a feeling of lingering in the air even after a gust of wind passed by.
You already know both.
Haon lightly bit the inside of his lip.
Memories surfaced of days past when they shared breaths and kissed. Of being unable to control his own pheromones, drawn in by his.
“Me or an Omega? Does that even make sense?”
So, Haon decided to pick a fight instead.
“You could at least divide it into before and after getting drunk, or how I am at school versus outside.”
If it could be divided to that extent, it wouldn’t be hard to answer.
As Haon shrugged and looked at him, Cha Jeong-won shook his head.
“Your drunken antics are nasty.”
His voice was low, but his tone was cautious, as if touching something fragile.
“But if I still want to hear an answer?”
He looked directly at Haon.
65 – NOT 65