There, too… perhaps because crying had finally released some of the tension, the faintly sweet scent of Eunwon's pheromones was quietly spreading through the air.
Watching tears roll down Eunwon's cheeks, Sejin slowly dragged his tongue across the inside of his mouth.
Maybe it was the pheromones, but he found himself thinking that if he licked away those tears and ran his tongue over that pale nape, it would taste sweet.
Unable to resist the impulse, Sejin lifted a hand and brushed his fingertips across the back of Eunwon's snowy-white neck.
His skin was warm from crying.
Startled by the sudden touch, Eunwon sniffled and looked at him.
Whether the surprise had interrupted his sobbing or he'd simply cried himself out, he looked calmer than he had a few moments ago.
"Done crying? You can keep going if you want."
After crying until his face was completely swollen, embarrassment finally caught up with him.
He pressed a tissue firmly against his eyes, dabbing them dry.
He hadn't checked the time, so he had no idea how long he'd been crying, but he felt as though an hour had passed.
All the strength had drained out of him.
"You were beautiful when you cried... but you're fucking gorgeous afterward too, sweetheart."
Throughout his breakdown, Sejin hadn't scolded him even once.
He'd simply helped him steady his breathing whenever he struggled and quietly waited until he'd cried himself empty.
Now he spoke with exaggerated seriousness.
Still clutching the tissue that had gone damp with tears, Eunwon pressed it gently against the corners of his eyes again before looking over at Sejin.
He was so close.
Wasn't he sitting across from me just a little while ago...?
Somehow, he'd moved to the seat beside him without Eunwon even noticing.
"Please stop teasing me..."
There you are. You're finally starting to look like the Eunwon I met at the convenience store.
Grinning, Sejin picked up the white-chocolate frappe that had melted to the perfect consistency and stirred it.
Then he pressed the thick straw firmly against Eunwon's closed lips.
"Hurry."
Prompted by the flat, humorless command, Eunwon sniffled and parted his lips.
The straw slipped into his mouth.
He wrapped his lips around it and took a tentative sip.
The softened drink flowed smoothly up through the straw.
It was cold.
Sweet.
Creamy.
His throat was parched from crying, and his body had been left completely drained.
The sweetness felt almost comforting.
He swallowed several more mouthfuls.
"Does everyone at home know you came to see me today?"
"No... I haven't told them yet."
"So you came to see me before telling them?"
Sejin smirked.
"You wanted to propose to me that badly?"
"Propose...?"
"You asked me to marry you earlier."
That was technically true.
Still...
Something about the way he said it sounded strangely wrong.
Yet it was true enough that Eunwon couldn't think of any way to deny or explain it.
"...I'll tell them properly when I get home today."
"Good."
He nodded.
"And think about everything I mentioned earlier too."
"Where you want to live after we're married."
"Where you want to go on our honeymoon."
"We'll do whatever you want."
"...Really?"
"But... can I decide something that important?"
"If you don't decide, who will?"
"...I thought it would be better if I just went along with whatever you decided...."
Just how badly had they crushed him...?
Sejin had already seen enough—and learned enough—to imagine what Eunwon had gone through.
Even so...
He had the feeling reality was even worse than he had guessed.
"So you'll do whatever I tell you?"
"...Yes."
"As long as it's... not anything too strange...."
"You think I'd make you do something weird?"
He laughed.
"Sweetheart, what kind of man do you think I am?"
"It's not that...."
Eunwon hesitated.
"I just... thought maybe...."
"You did something like that with the candy at the convenience store...."
At the mention of that day, Sejin chuckled.
He lazily wound one long finger through Eunwon's hair before letting it slip free again.
"Was that really so strange?"
"...A little."
"The truth is..."
He smiled.
"I wanted to suck on your tongue back then."
"...What?"
It was by far the biggest reaction Sejin had seen from him.
Eunwon jerked his whole body toward him, eyes flying wide open as though trying to determine whether he'd actually heard correctly.
"You smelled so damn good."
"And when I rubbed that lollipop over your tongue, you didn't even get mad."
"You just stood there and let me."
"How the hell was I supposed not to get turned on?"
"Seriously... what the fuck was that scent?"
"So fucking sweet."
As he spoke, Sejin leaned even closer.
He buried his face in the hollow where Eunwon's shoulder met his neck.
When Eunwon instinctively tried to pull away, Sejin gently caught the back of his neck and held him in place.
Eunwon's shoulders immediately tensed.
Sejin inhaled deeply, greedily drinking in the faintly sweet scent of warm milk and sugar drifting from Eunwon.
Perhaps because he was flustered, Eunwon couldn't control his pheromones.
The fragrance poured out even more thickly than before.
It was intoxicating enough to make Sejin's head spin.
I already made him cry once.
No reason I couldn't do it again.
For one reckless moment, he wanted to bury his face even deeper against him.
If even the back of his neck smells like this...
Then what does the rest of him smell like? The places where his natural scent is even stronger...
The thought alone was almost enough to make him hard.
"Um... w-wait..."
His reason slipped for an instant.
His lips parted.
The moment they brushed against the delicate, soft skin of Eunwon's neck—
Eunwon's panicked voice broke through beside his ear.
Only then did Sejin's focus snap back.
Remembering where they were, he relaxed the hand that had unconsciously tightened around Eunwon's neck and let him go.
"So this counts as something weird too?"
"...Yes...."
Watching the blush spread across Eunwon's face, ears, and neck, Sejin quietly released a trace of his pheromones.
Partly because he was curious how Eunwon would react.
Partly because, just as he'd become acutely aware of Eunwon's scent, he wanted Eunwon to become conscious of his.
"......"
At first there was almost no reaction.
For a moment, Sejin wondered whether Eunwon hadn't noticed.
Then subtle changes gradually appeared.
Perhaps he felt hot.
Without realizing it, he began fanning himself with one hand.
After taking another sip of his drink, he wrapped his chilled fingers around the glass and pressed them against his flushed cheeks.
And as he reacted to Sejin's pheromones, the faintly sweet scent of his own poured from him unchecked.
"Hot?"
"...A little."
"I wasn't before, but all of a sudden...."
"Why do you keep looking at me like that?"
As an omega, reacting to an Alpha's pheromones was only natural.
But Eunwon's reaction wasn't like any other omega Sejin had known.
The others practically threw themselves at him, looking ready to strip their clothes off on the spot.
Eunwon was different.
He kept stealing little glances at Sejin's face.
He looked flustered, almost annoyed at himself for doing it, as though he didn't want to keep looking—
yet couldn't stop.
Of course, if someone with that face had thrown himself at him, Sejin would've found that exciting too.
But somehow...
Watching Eunwon sit there fidgeting with his hands, clearly incapable of doing anything so bold, while secretly peeking at him every few seconds...
That was what really drove him out of his mind.
"I swear..."
"You make me do the craziest things."
Holding himself back from dragging Eunwon into bed.
Even forcing himself to suppress his own pheromones because he was the one getting too worked up.
As soon as he gathered his pheromones back under control, Eunwon's breathing gradually evened out.
The flush faded from his face little by little.
Watching him quietly, Sejin tilted his head.
"It's a little early..."
"Wanna have dinner together?"
"Or do you want to go home today?"
"Hmm..."
"I think I'd better go home today."
"I have to tell them about... the marriage."
"And Madam Seo hasn't been feeling well...."
"What's wrong with her?"
Sejin's voice turned dry.
"Or is she just lying in bed putting on another performance?"
"She hasn't really been eating..."
"And I don't think she's been sleeping much either...."
"Why?"
"...Because of me."
"I should've made my decision sooner."
"I couldn't...."
Seeing the guilt written all over Eunwon's face, Sejin rose from his chair and spoke sharply.
"Did you actually see it?"
"Did you see her not eating?"
"Did you see her unable to sleep?"
"If you didn't see it yourself, don't believe it so easily."
"Even the things you've seen with your own eyes haven't all been real."
"So why are you believing things you never even witnessed and blaming yourself for them?"
"...The situation..."
Eunwon murmured quietly.
"It really is the kind of situation where that could happen...."
"Based on what?"
"What makes you think your situation and hers are the same?"
He shook his head.
"No."
"Let's take this one step at a time."
"Once you tell them you're getting married, won't this so-called situation be resolved anyway?"
As Eunwon stood, Sejin's gaze drifted to the crown of his head.
It was ridiculous.
Even his hair was beautiful.
Even the top of his head was beautiful.
"I'll drive you home."
"Don't you have to go back to the office?"
"Nah."
"I don't need to."
"Come on."
Eunwon had been about to insist that it was fine—that he didn't need to be driven home.
Instead, he decided to simply follow Sejin.
Barring some unexpected disaster...
This was the man he was going to marry.
It would probably be better if they spent a little more time together.
Talked.
Learned at least one more thing about each other.
It was an arranged marriage.
But even so...
Surely it was better to go into that marriage knowing something about the person beside him than to marry a complete stranger.
He still couldn't truly grasp what marriage would mean.
Or what life afterward would look like.
Everything ahead remained frighteningly uncertain.
But for now...
He wanted to do the things he could do, one at a time.
There were countless unknowns waiting for him.
Yet among all those uncertainties...
Cha Sejin was no longer quite as unknown as the rest.