Go Igyeol gave a small wave. He watched Na Seonwoo turn back toward the law office, and when he stopped at the crosswalk to wait for the light, someone suddenly grabbed his arm.
The force nearly made him stumble. Na Seonwoo caught him with both hands before he could fall, then leaned close enough for his lips to brush near Go Igyeol’s ear.
“If you ever need pheromones, tell me.”
“…What?”
“I heard alpha pheromones are essential during pregnancy. But you said you’re hiding it until you reach the stable stage. If that’s the case, I can help.”
“…What are you talking about?”
The light changed. Na Seonwoo pulled Go Igyeol farther onto the sidewalk to avoid the people crossing around them.
The stopped cars and busy pedestrians had already disappeared from his attention. From the very beginning, Na Seonwoo’s eyes had only been on Go Igyeol.
“It’s best to receive your spouse’s pheromones, obviously, but if that’s not possible… I heard some people temporarily use another alpha’s instead. Maybe I’m wrong, but right now you—”
“Na Seonwoo. Thanks for worrying about me, but I’m going to tell him soon.”
Go Igyeol kept his composure as he spoke to Na Seonwoo, who looked as though he already knew exactly what he was hiding.
“It’s not what you think. Seo Dohyeon and I both wanted this baby. I only haven’t said anything yet because if something goes wrong, I know he’ll be upset. There’s no other reason.”
“……”
“We’ll handle our own problems ourselves.”
He deliberately chose the clearest possible line to draw.
He hadn’t trembled. He’d hidden the uneasiness in his eyes. At this point, Na Seonwoo had nothing except suspicion, and that alone shouldn’t be enough for him to interfere further.
“How many weeks?”
“…What?”
“And when do they consider it stable?”
“If I don’t want to answer, do I have to?”
“If you don’t want to tell me, then I don’t really want to keep my promise either. You asked how I’d know whether you told him or not, right? Na Seunghee and your spouse seem to know each other pretty well. Does that answer your question?”
Go Igyeol understood that Na Seonwoo was acting like this because he was worried about him.
At least logically, he understood.
But still… it felt unpleasant. Uncomfortable.
“Nine weeks. They say once you pass twelve weeks, the miscarriage risk drops, so that’s considered the stable stage. I’ll tell him after that.”
His tone turned stiff, like he genuinely couldn’t understand why the two of them were even having this conversation.
“Get home safely. See you around.”
“……”
“See you again, Go Igyeol.”
The light changed.
Na Seonwoo’s grip slowly loosened from Go Igyeol’s arm.
While crossing the street, taking a taxi, and returning to the parking lot, Go Igyeol stared blankly out the window the entire time.
How had things ended up like this?
I shouldn’t have gone to eat with him.
But the udon had been so good.
Good enough that he wanted it again for dinner.
Despite how serious everything was, his thoughts kept drifting in completely ridiculous directions.
“Ha…”
“Sir? Should I pull over up ahead?”
“Oh— yes. Thank you. Please let me out by the entrance.”
After paying the taxi driver in cash and bowing politely while taking his change, Go Igyeol stepped out and headed into the parking lot. Quietly murmuring, “Thank you,” he checked the time.
“Already…?”
It didn’t feel like that much time had passed, but it was already well past three.
Lately, it felt as if someone kept stealing chunks of his time whole.
The moment he climbed into the parked car, he turned the heater up and sat still for a while.
“What am I supposed to do…”
Leaning against the steering wheel, Go Igyeol thought silently.
His mind changed dozens of times a day.
Should he tell Seo Dohyeon and leave everything to him?
Should he ask Seo Dohyeon’s grandfather for help?
No. If that happened and the contract they’d signed came to light, that would only make things worse.
Or maybe even now… should he just look for a hospital where he could terminate it?
His hand drifted down to his still-flat lower stomach.
He carefully covered it with his palm and let out a faint sigh.
There were only reasons not to have this child.
And yet because it was Seo Dohyeon’s baby, he wanted to keep it.
“How did you end up with me…?”
His gloomy voice quietly filled the still car.
No matter how many times he thought about it, there was no answer.
No matter how desperately he searched for a way for the two of them to survive this safely together, he couldn’t find one.
Only suffocating helplessness remained.
***
That evening, Seo Dohyeon came home earlier than expected.
Fresh out of the shower, Go Igyeol had been drying his wet hair when he froze in surprise at the sight of him. Seo Dohyeon merely greeted him with a glance and walked past.
Then, suddenly, he grabbed Go Igyeol’s arm and turned him around.
“You said you were meeting a friend.”
“…What? Ah, Na Seonwoo. The one I mentioned before from school… but why are you suddenly asking about that…?”
“Oh. The one who’s Na Seunghee’s cousin.”
“Yes. Seonwoo. Na Seonwoo.”
Seo Dohyeon abruptly lowered his head.
Go Igyeol had just showered, and the soft clean scent still lingered on him. Seo Dohyeon pressed close to the nape of his neck and inhaled slowly.
“That friend an alpha?”
“I-I didn’t… know his trait before, but today, today I found out.”
“Seems like his pheromones rubbed off on you. You didn’t notice?”
“…On me? Whose pheromones? But I just showered…”
Go Igyeol tugged the collar of his changed T-shirt upward and sniffed at it, then checked his wrists and shoulders to see whether any strange scent lingered there.
It didn’t smell like anything to him.
Seo Dohyeon watched his innocent confusion for a moment before letting out a long sigh.
“If you review our contract, there’s a clause stating that neither of us is permitted to engage in improper conduct. I assume you remember that too, Go Igyeol.”
“……”
“Meeting a friend is fine. But if it’s anything beyond that—”
“It’s not like that. Really. I don’t know why his pheromones got on me, but it’s really not like that.”
His small reddened hands fluttered helplessly through the air as he hurried to explain himself.
Neither his lips, nor his expression, nor his eyes looked like they were lying.
Still openly suspicious, Seo Dohyeon stared at him in silence.
“Well. There are stupid alphas who can’t control their pheromones properly.”
“……”
“Next time, let’s all meet together with Seunghee.”
“Na Seonwoo?”
His voice jumped louder than usual from surprise.
Seo Dohyeon lifted his head from Go Igyeol’s neck and looked directly at the panic spreading across his face.
“Why are you so shocked?”
“No, it’s just…”
“Is it really that strange for me to want dinner with Na Seunghee’s cousin, who also happens to be your college friend?”
“Ah… no, it’s not that…”
Go Igyeol immediately felt guilty.
Na Seonwoo was currently the only other person who knew about the pregnancy. That alone made the situation unbearable.
What if Na Seonwoo accidentally let something slip while they were all together?
“Y-you’re busy already, so you really don’t have to make time for something like that. I’m fine, really, I’m fine…”
“We’ll all have dinner together soon. I’m curious what kind of friend Go Igyeol makes time to see.”
The low voice sent a faint chill across his skin.
Unable to refuse any further, Go Igyeol nodded.
Seo Dohyeon finally stepped away from him completely.
“Dry your hair properly.”
Only after Seo Dohyeon tossed the words over his shoulder and walked away did Go Igyeol manage a weak acknowledgment.
Leaving the dressing room, Go Igyeol exhaled shakily and stepped into the bedroom. He checked the clock on the wall.
There should have been plenty of time left before Seo Dohyeon came home.
Just like the past few days, he’d been planning to skip dinner because of his stomach, but now things were ruined.
After tossing the towel he’d used on his hair into the laundry basket, Go Igyeol headed straight for the dining room.
Was there anything to eat?
He hadn’t even opened the refrigerator earlier, so he had no idea.
Standing in front of it with a deep frown, he tapped the screen and searched through the organized memo listing what ingredients were inside.
As he wandered the kitchen, he caught the sound of movement and stretched his head out slightly.
Seo Dohyeon.
The moment he saw Go Igyeol hurrying toward him, Seo Dohyeon frowned.
“I thought I told you to dry your hair properly.”
“Ah… but did you eat yet?”
“I haven’t.”
“…Are you going to eat… with me?”
For someone who looked nothing like an airhead, Go Igyeol occasionally asked such absentminded questions that Seo Dohyeon’s face immediately turned cold.
He let out a long sigh, looking genuinely unable to understand why Go Igyeol would ask something so stupid.
“What. Should we eat separately?”
“What? If it’s inconvenient for you, that’s okay too—”
“What?”
The irritated voice made Go Igyeol flinch hard.
Apparently that hadn’t been the right answer.
It sounded like Seo Dohyeon wanted to eat together, so after struggling to force out a tiny voice asking him to wait a moment, Go Igyeol hurried off.
“I’ll make something quickly.”
“Don’t start making extra things. Just eat what’s already here.”
“Yes. Understood.”
Remembering the disaster Go Igyeol had once created in the kitchen early in their marriage while insisting he wanted to cook something, Seo Dohyeon shook his head and left the dining room.
From that moment on, Go Igyeol moved busily around the kitchen.
He placed the soup pot directly onto the induction stove and arranged side dishes neatly into serving bowls.
Even then, anything with too strong a smell was shoved right back into the refrigerator unopened.
He felt nervous while stir-frying the marinated beef that had supposedly been prepared earlier that afternoon, but fortunately the smell didn’t make him nauseous, which eased him slightly.
“Ah, hot—”
While cooking the meat, some sauce splattered onto the back of his hand.
Startled, he jerked backward, sending several pieces of meat flying off the induction stove.
Without realizing it, Go Igyeol had already retreated a step. He looked around and let out a quiet groan.
All he’d done was take out existing dishes and reheat them, yet somehow the entire kitchen already looked like a mess.
He regretted not cleaning as he went.
And in the middle of that regret, Seo Dohyeon walked in.