"That was so ridiculous he nearly burst out laughing on the spot, but he quickly bit his lip instead.
Realizing he'd been spotted as well, Eun Hyeonchae hurriedly fled.
"...Nam Seonwoo."
"Yeah. Iwon."
At Iwon's calmer voice, Seonwoo gently placed his hands on his shoulders and turned him to face him.
"Feeling better?"
"I overreacted. Lately, because of Choi Iri... she's definitely planning something, but I can't figure it out. Just sitting back and letting her get away with it makes me feel pathetic and frustrated. I ended up taking it out on you."
"It wasn't taking it out on me. It's fine."
"Let's go back inside. Heejun's upstairs. I came to find you."
"You go ahead. I'm gonna smoke first."
Just as Iwon turned to leave, he stopped and looked back.
"...Don't go back to Ha Seungbin."
With a cigarette already between his lips, Seonwoo nodded as if telling him not to worry.
After Iwon left, Seonwoo remained alone.
The lingering scent of Iwon's pheromones was still vivid enough to make him shiver slightly.
Regardless of how he felt about Iwon personally, Seonwoo was still an Alpha, while Iwon was a dominant Alpha.
His pheromones naturally triggered instinctive resistance and a sense of pressure.
As if trying to erase the lingering scent with cigarette smoke, Seonwoo slowly exhaled before remembering Hyeonchae crouching awkwardly behind the tree, trying to hide his large frame.
He couldn't help laughing to himself.
"Haa... Seriously, he's so weird."
After hesitating for a moment, he picked up his phone.
[Leaving without even saying goodbye to your senior?]
Not long after sending the message, he saw a familiar figure running toward him as fast as possible.
The corner of Seonwoo's mouth curled upward around the cigarette.
* * *
"Let's end here for today. There won't be class next week because of the Chuseok holiday. The make-up schedule will be announced later."
The projector shut off, and the students immediately began gathering their things.
As Seonwoo packed up after the final lecture, he tilted his head toward Hyeonchae.
"I'll buy you coffee. Come on."
"Yes."
The two of them headed to the campus café beside the Central Library.
Even after getting his drink, Hyeonchae didn't go home.
He followed Seonwoo all the way to the smoking area.
"Classes are over. Go home."
"I can leave after I finish my drink."
Except it wasn't coffee.
It was milk tea.
He'd already finished more than half of it, with only the occasional ice cube still visible, yet he kept gently shaking the cup as though there was plenty left.
It was strangely adorable.
Exhaling smoke, Seonwoo muttered,
"You don't even smoke. Why do you keep following me all the way here?"
"...Do you like smoking?"
"What? You thinking of starting too?"
He'd only meant it as a joke.
Instead, Hyeonchae seriously asked,
"Should I? If you tell me to smoke, I will."
"Pfft."
Hearing that obedient reply, Seonwoo turned toward him with an incredulous expression.
Seriously...
How on earth did they raise this kid?
He was actually starting to become curious about Simjin.
Everything Iwon ever said about Simjin made it sound terrifying.
Yet looking at Eun Hyeonchae...
None of it matched.
Maybe things had been exaggerated simply because they were Myeonghyeon's perspective.
Then again...
Business might be completely different.
Waving a hand dismissively, Seonwoo joked,
"No chance. Your sister's scary. If you learn to smoke because of me, I feel like she'll kill me."
"Eun Uyeon isn't that scary. She'd never treat you like that."
"That's just family bias. I'm the same way. When I go home, Nam Junwoo just looks like an idiot to me."
"Ah..."
Without any further explanation, Hyeonchae immediately seemed to understand.
Flicking ash from his cigarette, Seonwoo asked,
"How much digging did you do on me?"
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"I already know you did it, so just answer. I'm curious."
Prompted so gently, Hyeonchae stared at Seonwoo's face.
"I'm not really sure...
I just looked at everything that came up."
Seonwoo had prepared himself before asking.
Yet somehow, the answer was even more terrifying than the worst possibility he'd imagined.
Looking at Hyeonchae's innocent face, he pushed a hand through his hair.
"So by everything, you mean... ah, never mind.
Don't tell me.
I think I'm better off not knowing."
"...Okay."
Hyeonchae answered almost immediately, sounding oddly cheerful.
Seonwoo lightly nudged his foot.
"Guess I won't be seeing you for a while."
"Why?"
"It's Chuseok. All classes are canceled. I'm going back to my family's house."
Hyeonchae looked genuinely flustered, as though he'd expected Seonwoo to remain at the university forever.
"What are you doing during the holiday?"
"I've got plenty of free time."
"I don't. I have to visit my family."
"Okay...
But why did you ask?"
"No reason. I was just wondering whether your family does the usual holiday stuff too. Making pancakes, eating braised short ribs, things like that."
What he was actually curious about was Simjin.
After thinking for a moment, Hyeonchae quietly asked,
"...What about you, senior?"
"Me? Same as everyone else.
...Ah, I have to go."
Iwon had gotten tired of waiting and called him first.
Hyeonchae simply watched Seonwoo's back as he walked away.
* * *
Lying on his bed with earphones in, Seonwoo deliberately ignored the voice calling him from downstairs.
He turned the volume up and closed his eyes.
Eventually, heavy footsteps thundered up the stairs before the bedroom door was thrown open.
"Nam Seonwoo! Are you ready yet? Damn it—hey! Your pheromones!"
"...I'm ready. There's still time."
"You filthy bastard. How hard were you screwing around last night?"
Watching Junwoo throw open the window and frantically air out the room, Seonwoo lazily cracked one eye open.
"I came straight from the hotel.
Didn't even have time to zip up."
"Yeah, right. Your pheromones are a complete mess. Go wash before you come downstairs."
Maybe it was because he'd grown up beside Iwon, a dominant Alpha, ever since childhood.
Compared to Seonwoo, who was unusually insensitive, Junwoo was extremely sensitive to pheromones.
He could still smell pheromones that had been left behind days earlier.
He wouldn't even leave the house without both a mask and deodorizing spray.
That said...
Seonwoo felt slightly wronged.
Ever since gaining a clingy shadow recently, he'd actually been living quite a restrained life.
Last night?
He hadn't done anything for nearly a month.
"You're just overly sensitive."
"You little... Ugh, forget it. Come downstairs and help carry the presents."
Leaving those words behind, Junwoo walked away.
Without complaining, Seonwoo got up, sprayed himself with deodorizer, and headed downstairs.
Several expensive gift boxes were stacked neatly by the front door.
They were all presents to bring to Iwon's family.
Since Nam Junwoo had joined Myeonghyeon this year, there were noticeably more gifts than usual.
From inside, their mother peeked her head out while choosing clothes.
"Seonwoo, heading out?"
"I'm taking some of the luggage down first."
"Okay. The one with the blue ribbon is fragile, so be careful."
"Got it."
Carrying the boxes outside, Seonwoo stood waiting for the elevator, absentmindedly watching the floor numbers change.
At this rate... The source of this chapter is g.com.
He'd probably have to make three trips.
Ever since they were children, they had always spent Chuseok at Chairman Choi Jeongcheol's residence in Hannam-dong.
Even after Chairman Choi had suddenly decided over ten years ago that he wanted to spend every Chuseok alone in his villa in Switzerland, the only thing that changed was the location.
Instead of the Chairman's residence, they gathered at Iwon's family home.
Only much later had Seonwoo realized that spending holidays somewhere other than with your living grandparents wasn't actually normal.
By then...
It had already become normal for him.
"Nam Seonwoo! Get in! Let's go!"
"...Yeah."
It was something he'd grown completely accustomed to.
Yet for some reason...
This year, more than ever before, he didn't want to go.
Had he changed?
Or...
Was it because everything else was changing while he alone stayed the same?
* * *
After arriving at the house and greeting the elders, Seonwoo immediately escaped upstairs to Iwon's room.
The room was spotless.
There wasn't the slightest trace that anyone actually lived there.
Dropping onto the sofa, Seonwoo had barely settled in before his phone rang.
It was Iwon.
"Yeah, Iwon."
"You already got there? That was fast."
"I ran straight to your room the moment I arrived. When are you getting here?"
"About an hour. I'm bringing Heejun with me. We'll be there before dinner."
"Drive safely."
At some point he'd fallen asleep.
He slowly opened his eyes as someone gently shook his shoulder.
Iwon was looking down at him.
"Nam Seonwoo. Wake up."
"...When'd you get here?"
"Just now. Heejun's here too. He's downstairs greeting everyone. We should go down."
"I'll be there in a minute. You go first."
Even after being told to go ahead, Iwon remained standing there until Seonwoo had finished straightening his clothes.
When they finally went downstairs, nearly twenty people had already gathered.
At the center stood Heejun, smiling naturally.
This was the first time Iwon had ever brought his partner to a private family gathering.
Everyone here probably understood exactly what that meant.
Third-year university student.
Dominant Omega.
Third son of Wonder BR Pharmaceuticals.
Put those three things together...
And it meant Choi Iwon's marriage.
Seonwoo absently rubbed his lips with his fingertips.
Soon it was time for dinner.
"If anything makes you uncomfortable, don't keep it to yourself. I hope you'll feel completely at home here."
"Thank you very much. Everyone's already made me feel so welcome. Mr. Iwon is here, and senior Seonwoo is here too. It already feels like home."
As soon as Heejun said that, the adults' attention shifted toward Seonwoo.
Quietly setting down his utensils, Seonwoo listened as Curator Seo, Iwon's mother, smiled.
"That's right, Heejun. I heard you joined Schuphur too. Iwon and Seonwoo will take good care of you. So? Are you enjoying it?"
"Yes! It's really fun."
"Hahaha, you've barely done anything yet, and you're already having fun? Just wait until winter. It'll be even better."
"Yes. I've already made time to participate in the ski camp, so I'm really looking forward to it."
"It may only be a university club, but you'll gain a lot of valuable experience. Thanks to Chairman Choi, there are plenty of alumni involved too, so it'll help you later on."
Seeing Heejun barely able to eat under the constant attention, Iwon deliberately redirected the conversation.
"Grandfather also helped us a lot with the venue this year."
"Haha, when your grandfather heard you'd become Schuphur's president, he was absolutely delighted. Of course he'd help with anything. It was Inun, wasn't it?"
"Yes."
"Wouldn't Mighty Town be the better choice these days? Myeonghyeon owns shares there, and the resort's president is especially close to Chairman Choi."
The question came from one of the guests invited by President Choi for the first time.
Iwon smiled awkwardly.
Before he could answer, however, the person who finally spoke was Nam Junwoo, who had been quietly eating until now.