Dominic stared at the man with an expressionless face. Unlike him, the smiling man spoke in a soft tone.
“I didn’t expect to run into you in a place like this at this hour. What brings you… Ah.”
Juliet, who belatedly discovered the gauze covering one side of Dominic’s forehead, momentarily looked flustered. But now it was too late to pretend he didn’t know and run away. Juliet, who seemed to hesitate for a moment, smiled as before without taking too much time.
“Are you heading home? If you were trying to catch a taxi, would you like me to give you a ride instead?”
Dominic stared at him without saying a word. Usually, in cases like this, people can’t hide their curiosity and ask obvious questions, such as what happened or how badly he was hurt. But this man chose to ignore it. Seeing that he didn’t do anything to ruin the slight relationship he had built up with unnecessary curiosity, it seemed his head wasn’t just for show.
“Even though I look like this, I’m a perfect driver who’s never had an accident. It’ll be much faster and safer than a taxi.”
He confidently added, as if trying to inspire confidence. His offer wasn’t bad. It would be much faster and easier to use the man in front of him to get home than to contact the Secretary and order him to come out. Dominic slowly put his cell phone back into his jacket pocket.
“The car?”
At the quiet voice, Juliet immediately moved.
“I parked it right over there. I’ll get it right away.”
He smiled and then disappeared in one direction. His slender body seemed to sway back and forth in the cool night air, and then he was gone. Dominic stood there for a while, looking in the direction where Juliet had disappeared.
The road was still empty. As he had confidently stated, Juliet’s driving skills weren’t bad. The car he was driving was also tolerable. Although it didn’t perfectly block out noise and vibrations like Dominic’s car did.
“Why were you at the hospital?”
After driving for a while, Dominic suddenly opened his mouth. Juliet seemed startled by the sudden breaking of the silence, but then answered nonchalantly.
“To meet a client.”
“At this hour?”
Dominic chuckled and said, and he added, “Yes.”
“A small fry like me sometimes has to go and find clients myself. People who have been in traffic accidents and come to the emergency room are potential clients.”
As he had initially expected, his performance didn’t seem to be very good. The fact that he had been given such a big task might mean that he had been forced to take on a job that everyone else was avoiding.
Maybe this man was struggling alone, trying to produce results that no one expected.
“So, the result?”
At the indifferent question, Juliet laughed lightly.
“It was a great success. I met you, didn’t I?”
He boldly joked to Dominic. Dominic didn’t laugh. He simply stared at Juliet with an expressionless face. Soon, Juliet seemed embarrassed and cleared his throat. Silence returned. Just then, the light changed and Juliet stopped the car. There wasn’t a single car coming or going, but he was diligently following traffic laws.
“You’re the first person I’ve seen who follows these things so meticulously.”
Juliet replied to the cynical remark.
“I didn’t think you’d want to be in a car accident twice in one day.”
He seemed to be making a joke, but Dominic didn’t like the remark.
“How did you know?”
Dominic’s quiet voice settled into the silence. Juliet seemed to realize his mistake for a moment, but it was already too late. He let out a deflated sigh, and then confessed honestly.
“There aren’t many reasons to be at the hospital at that hour… Besides, I could see a wound that looked like you had just been treated.”
He seemed to have figured it out pretty quickly in a short amount of time. Well, he was the man who had gone to the hospital targeting such people in the first place. Instead of pretending he didn’t know and laughing at him, Dominic made a different choice.
“You guessed right.”
He answered briefly and then closed his mouth. The reason he stopped talking instead of embarrassing the other person as usual was simple. Overwhelmed by a sudden wave of fatigue, Dominic ended up closing his eyes.
When he opened his eyes again, the car was still driving on the road. After blinking a few times to focus, Dominic soon recognized the familiar street.
“Are you awake?”
Juliet asked with good timing. He glanced at him, but he was still looking straight ahead as he asked.
“I was worried that you might have lost consciousness. Are you okay?”
He had completely forgotten about the wound on his forehead, but it seemed to be bothering him. Dominic replied in an indifferent voice.
“I’m fine. I’m just getting close to rut.”
Juliet glanced at him and then opened his mouth.
“It seems like your Pheromone had built up.”
He was speaking as if he knew what he was talking about, but of course, that was nonsense. He didn’t even know what Pheromone was, let alone rut.
“What kind of party do you think I went to?”
Dominic asked with a sneer. Juliet seemed to hesitate for a moment, then reluctantly replied.
“…A Pheromone Party?”
“You know it well.”
He was as indifferent as before, but this time he was clearly sarcastic. Juliet was silent for a while, looking embarrassed, and finally confessed.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know anything about that kind of thing.”
That’s right. It would be irrelevant to this man.
For life.
Suddenly, Dominic was tired of the meaningless conversation. Were they still far from arriving? As he checked the watch on his wrist, Juliet suddenly muttered.
“It must be hard.”
Dominic, who had been looking at his watch, stopped moving. It was after a brief pause that he turned to Juliet.
“…What?”
Dominic asked in a low voice. It wasn’t an interested or amused voice, but Juliet didn’t seem to realize it and continued to speak, looking straight ahead.
“To have to regularly remove Pheromone to that extent, it must be very hard…”
He stopped speaking as if he realized his mistake, but it was too late. A tension that had never been there before settled into the car along with the silence. Juliet looked visibly flustered, but soon gave up and let out a deep sigh.
“I’m sorry, I was rude.”
Dominic stared silently at his profile at the polite apology in simple words. Juliet kept his mouth shut, waiting for him to speak first.
“You are.”
Dominic opened his mouth after a long time. He quietly asked Juliet, who seemed to be straining his ears.
“You are a Gamma, aren’t you?”
“…Yes.”
As he reconfirmed the fact that he already knew, Juliet glanced at him as if trying to figure out his intentions. Unexpectedly, Dominic chuckled. Dominic opened his mouth, looking at Juliet, who was blinking in surprise at the unexpected reaction.
“You can’t even imagine how someone like me lives.”
A life with everything is the same as having nothing. Because he could have and achieve anything, he wasn’t desperate for anything. Just a boring life.
“I don’t know.”
Dominic, looking listlessly out the window, heard Juliet’s voice.
“You can’t even imagine how someone like me lives, can you?”
Dominic frowned and looked at his profile. Juliet was still smiling, even though he must have been aware of Dominic’s bewildered gaze.
“Mr. Miller, aren’t you interested in having a new experience?”
“If you mean experiencing your pathetic life, no.”
Dominic lightly rejected Juliet’s suggestion.
“Not at all.”
“Oh, what a shame.”
What was a shame? For some reason, he felt like it held multiple meanings, but Juliet didn’t say anything more. Not until they reached the condo where Dominic lived.
As Juliet slowed down to park in front of the entrance, having finally arrived at their destination, Dominic suddenly spoke.
“Isn’t Gamma more vulnerable when exposed to Pheromone?”
Of course, only in the case of ‘excessive’ exposure. Knowing that fact, he deliberately omitted the word, but a clear answer came back without any hesitation.
“Yes, that’s why I’m about to leave.”
Juliet smiled and turned to look at him, as if to say goodbye. Dominic returned the smile, though it certainly wasn’t a genuine one.
“No.”
Juliet was bewildered by the calm voice. Dominic spoke again to him, who was blinking as if asking what he meant.
“Don’t go.”
Juliet looked flustered and tried to say something, but Dominic simply cut him off.
“Didn’t you say you’d do anything?”
As expected, he was quick on the uptake. Dominic was dumbfounded, but unable to refute, he wordlessly gestured to Juliet, leading him towards the residents-only parking lot.
As soon as they entered the foyer, the lights came on brightly. Dominic walked across the living room as usual, followed by hesitant, slow footsteps.
“Um.”
Juliet finally spoke to him as he climbed the stairs without ever looking back. Only then did Dominic stop and look down, Juliet craning his neck from below the stairs as he opened his mouth.
“What am I supposed to do now?”
The answer that came back to the question he had barely managed to ask after holding it in was simple.
“Wait.”
He gave the order as simply as if he were talking to a dog, and then went back up the stairs. Dominic went straight into the bedroom and didn’t come out until late morning.
Perhaps thanks to a rather extravagant night, his head wasn’t clear even after waking up. Dominic groaned softly and sat up for a moment. It wasn’t difficult to recall the memories of last night.
He glanced at the clock and soon got out of bed, throwing a gown over his naked body. As he came down the stairs and crossed the hall, he didn’t feel any sign of anyone.
Did he run away?
Dominic chuckled to himself. He thought, I knew he was nothing special. Barefoot, he walked towards the bar and familiarly took out a glass from the cupboard. It was when he brought the freshly poured liquor to his mouth.
“You’re drinking from the morning.”
He paused for a moment at the sudden voice. Unusually startled, he frowned and looked in one direction, catching sight of the man he thought had already left standing a few steps away. As always, with a polite smile.