By Zephyria Arriving near the villa in a white compact car, the two spotted the luxury vehicle parked in front of the old row houses and quickly parked their car under the nearby wall.
“That car, it seems like…”
“Yes, I’ve been in that car a few times.”
An imported car, a rare sight in the small city on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province, was flashing its hazard lights. Seo Jeong-won thought he would be found, but he didn’t expect him to come all the way here so soon. Seo Jeong-won sighed deeply.
“What if he took it?”
“…Then we’ll have to take something else worth money.”
“Why did he come to the house?”
“He probably came to check if I might have stopped by here. Seeing the hazard lights, it looks like he hasn’t been here long… Oh, isn’t that Chief Jung over there?”
Song Hae-seop lowered his voice as he asked. Seo Jeong-won also cautiously peeked his head up to look ahead. Chief Jung came out first, followed by Kwon Tae-hee slowly appearing. They were far enough away that it was impossible to tell exactly what kind of expression he was making, but he seemed angry.
“We almost got into big trouble if he had gone up to the house.”
“I’m glad we found the car first.”
“He looks really pissed.”
“It’s probably because of the baby. He said I could leave after giving birth, but I did it my way…”
Seo Jeong-won trailed off. Song Hae-seop told him not to say such things and patted his shoulder. But then he saw Kwon Tae-hee turn his head, and he quickly pressed down on Seo Jeong-won’s shoulder to lower him even further.
“My heart is going to explode. What if he saw us? Do you think he saw us?”
“I-I don’t know.”
The pounding of his heart echoed loudly in his ears. His stomach was pressed down because he had been crouching for so long. Moreover, the baby seemed to sense his anxiety and was kicking and fussing inside his belly.
“Hyung, my stomach is being pressed down too much…”
“Just a moment, I’ll take a look first.”
Song Hae-seop took a long, deep breath. He was so nervous that the Pheromone, which he was already emitting strongly, gushed out. The scent, which he had barely managed to cover with deodorant, instantly filled the car. Seo Jeong-won gagged involuntarily, and Song Hae-seop’s face turned pale.
“Sorry, sorry. I can’t control it very well.”
“It’s… It’s okay.”
Seo Jeong-won, who was gasping for breath, covered his mouth and nodded roughly. He wanted to open the window right away, but he couldn’t move his hand easily because he didn’t know what the situation was outside.
Song Hae-seop suppressed his Pheromone as much as possible and moved only his head slightly. Fortunately, the area in front of the row houses was empty.
“…Oh? He’s gone.”
“Huh?”
“He’s gone, Seo Jeong-won. I was so surprised, I thought we were caught.”
“…Th-Then, the door… Ugh!”
Seo Jeong-won, who had been covering his mouth so hard that red marks in the shape of his fingers were left on his face, shot out like a spring. He took a deep breath of the cold air and soothed his churning stomach. He was trembling with nausea, but he was trying to breathe evenly, which made him look pitiful beyond sympathy.
“Wouldn’t it be better to just throw up? I’m sorry, Jeong-won.”
“N-No… I just need to get some air…”
Only his eyes were red on his pale face. Song Hae-seop knew that there was nothing he could do, so he took a few steps away.
“Are you okay?”
“…Yes. I’m okay.”
At that moment, Seo Jeong-won desperately wanted Kwon Tae-hee’s cardigan that he had left at Song Hae-seop’s house. His churning stomach wouldn’t calm down. He thumped his chest a few times and finally squatted down in front of the drain and threw up.
Song Hae-seop couldn’t even approach him and just fidgeted. He opened the car door to take out the water he had brought, but he thought that Seo Jeong-won would only suffer more from the remaining Pheromone.
“Ha… I’m sorry, Hyung.”
“No, no. I’m the one who’s sorry. I’ll be really careful. I really… I should have taken the suppressants, but I forgot because I was in such a hurry. I’m sorry, really.”
Song Hae-seop knew very well that a pregnant Omega would react negatively to all Pheromones except those of their Alpha. Moreover, he was aware that he had to be more careful because he was clumsy in handling Pheromones, but he had made a mistake in that moment. So it was right that he should be sorry, not Seo Jeong-won.
“I can’t even pat your back because I think it’ll be harder if I get closer…”
Seo Jeong-won staggered at the voice filled with deep regret and barely managed to get up. He thought it would be better to go inside quickly because he had water to drink at home and could easily wash his face and brush his teeth.
“Let’s go now.”
“…”
“I’m okay, really.”
Seo Jeong-won smiled slightly at Song Hae-seop. He thought it was a very embarrassing situation. He couldn’t stand the Pheromone of the person who was helping him and even threw up. This was really… a rude thing to do. Seo Jeong-won wiped his mouth and bowed his head once again in apology before moving first.
“Do you want to go inside first? I think I need to open the window to get rid of the Pheromone… Should I buy you some water?”
“There’s water at home. I can go and drink it quickly.”
“…Aren’t you cold? Your face is very pale.”
“It’s cool. Are you cold, Hyung? The temperature is a little lower here than in Seoul.”
Song Hae-seop couldn’t hide his apologetic feelings as he watched Seo Jeong-won worrying about him instead. He waited until Seo Jeong-won was far away before opening the car windows. Then, hoping that the ventilation would be quick, he followed behind him. He briefly thought about whether he should just let him go in alone without following him, but he quickly shook his head. It would be a disaster if he collapsed.
“By the way, Tae-hee.”
Seo Jeong-won, who had entered the entrance of the row houses with Song Hae-seop, stopped as he took a long breath at Kwon Tae-hee’s Pheromone, which remained faintly on the stairs. The churning in his stomach instantly subsided at the scent that spread deep into his lungs. He was so focused on inhaling the Pheromone that he didn’t hear Song Hae-seop’s voice properly.
“…?”
“…Huh?”
“Did he come all the way here to find you because you weren’t at the flower shop?”
“Ah, wouldn’t that be the case?”
As Seo Jeong-won moved his feet, which had stopped without him realizing it, Song Hae-seop followed behind him and muttered.
“Tae-hee’s Pheromone is still here. But it’s not sharp, is it?”
“…I don’t know much about that yet.”
As he stood in front of the front door, Kwon Tae-hee’s Pheromone felt even stronger. It was as if Kwon Tae-hee was waiting for him, as if he knew that Seo Jeong-won would come here. When he unlocked the door and opened it, it was clear that it was an empty house with no one inside, but he had the illusion that Kwon Tae-hee was waiting for him.
“Isn’t this the same as Tae-hee being here?”
“…”
“Did he know Jeong-won would come? Did he release the Pheromone because he knew you would need it?”
Kwon Tae-hee seems kind, but he is a cold person. If he released it knowing I would come, it must be for the baby, not for me.
“…It’s probably not for me.”
As soon as he took off his shoes and stepped inside, Seo Jeong-won turned on the light and went into the bathroom to rinse his mouth. Feeling his stomach stabilize with the Pheromone, he brushed his teeth and washed his face again. He roughly wiped the water off with a towel and came out, telling Song Hae-seop, who was awkwardly looking around the house, that he could sit comfortably.
“Would you like some water?”
“I can just take it out of the refrigerator, right?”
Song Hae-seop shook his head and hands at the same time, saying that he could do it himself. He moved in the opposite direction from Seo Jeong-won. The refrigerator looked older than him. It was amazing that it was still working. Wow, he exclaimed and took another step.
“Oh? Jeong-won.”
“Yes?”
“There’s money here? How much is this?”
Seo Jeong-won, who had taken Kwon Tae-hee’s belongings out of the inner room, approached Song Hae-seop, who had a bewildered expression on his face. He moved his lips as he looked at the bills neatly placed on the table.
“I think he really knew you were coming? Didn’t he leave this here on purpose?”
“Should I… have come here?”
“I really don’t know. I don’t know that.”
This was also a first for Song Hae-seop. He had gone to the houses of Omegas who had run away from loan sharks or Alphas on their behalf to help them, but he had always witnessed them being completely ransacked, or he had only seen cases where tenants had moved in and disposed of all the things they used to live with. He thought that this place would be turned upside down as well, but there was Pheromone and even money. Everything was unexpected.
“He’s a really unpredictable person. But I think he left this for you to take, so wouldn’t it be better to take it?”
“…Would that be okay?”
“Well, if you take it, Tae-hee will know that Jeong-won came here. But he won’t be able to track you because it’s not a check. Honestly, this isn’t the time for Jeong-won to worry about this and that. Are those all of Tae-hee’s things?”
Song Hae-seop pulled Seo Jeong-won closer to the table and took the shopping bag in his hand. He took out the cases inside one by one and checked them, then laughed, saying that they would be quite expensive.
“If you sell this, you’ll have enough to use until you give birth. You might be able to get a studio apartment, if not an officetel?”
“…”
“No matter how I think about it… it’s a bit of a waste of the watch. This is really expensive, how could he leave something like this here? Tae-hee is so careless.”
Seo Jeong-won sank into a gloomy mood. He couldn’t figure out Kwon Tae-hee’s intentions, whether he was telling him to run away, or to wander around appropriately and then come back.