“If you were just going to come back anyway, why did you even run away in the first place?”
Gi-hyeon had expected that exact mocking question. He didn’t bother answering. Whatever Jo Yeon-oh chose to believe didn’t matter anymore.
He obviously couldn’t admit the pathetic truth: that he’d run away purely so he could finally get some sleep without Jo Yeon-oh beside him. The Alpha would immediately ask why his presence kept him awake, and the conversation would spiral into something exhausting. Still, Gi-hyeon had managed to sleep like the dead until Jo Yeon-oh returned.
Whether Manager Yoo had brought them or the hotel had provided them, a fresh set of pajamas was waiting in the room. Gi-hyeon had intended to shower quickly and go straight to bed, but Manager Yoo texted to inform him that his spa appointment was starting soon and that he should head down to the third floor.
If he skipped it out of laziness, the one who would suffer for it wouldn’t be him, but Manager Yoo. Knowing that perfectly well, Gi-hyeon dragged himself downstairs.
From the cautious way the therapist handled his injured ankle, it was obvious they’d been given detailed instructions beforehand. Gi-hyeon wanted to tell them they didn’t need to treat him so carefully, but instead he simply closed his eyes.
The funny part was that he fell asleep almost immediately.
The masseuse had him unconscious within five minutes. When someone gently tapped his shoulder, he woke to find the session already over. Embarrassed, Gi-hyeon thanked them quickly and returned to his room.
He took another shower to wash off the heavy massage oil before collapsing into bed again. Since Jo Yeon-oh hadn’t called or texted even once, he slept deeply and without interruption.
“You’re back? Let’s go home.”
“You really are something, Gi-hyeon.”
When Jo Yeon-oh finally returned around seven in the evening, Gi-hyeon casually announced that he was ready to head back to his apartment.
The Alpha looked momentarily dumbfounded by the sudden change of heart, but he seemed eager enough to leave himself, silently telling Manager Yoo to handle the checkout. For someone like Jo Yeon-oh, who had probably never spent a night in anything below a suite, even this upgraded room likely felt cramped. From the look of him, he preferred Gi-hyeon’s apartment anyway.
A sudden thought crossed Gi-hyeon’s mind.
Why is he so fixated on sleeping next to me? Do I somehow help him sleep better?
But Gi-hyeon had no way of knowing. Jo Yeon-oh was the only person who had ever stayed over at his apartment, so there was nothing to compare it to.
Either way, the two of them returned home.
After ending his brief attempt at running away, stepping back into his own apartment felt strangely comforting. While Jo Yeon-oh moved around the kitchen insisting on making a late dinner, Gi-hyeon showered and lingered nearby. The moment he tried to open a beer, Yeon-oh took it away from him without hesitation. Gi-hyeon stared mournfully at the confiscated can and clicked his tongue.
“Let’s just eat something simple.”
“If I make something simple, you won’t eat it.”
Jo Yeon-oh shook his head as though the matter was completely hopeless.
Because Gi-hyeon lost interest in food quickly and was absurdly picky, he’d unintentionally become difficult to feed. Since he ate so little to begin with, the food had to be good enough to keep his attention until he finished eating.
At least he usually had lunch at the hospital cafeteria with his coworkers during the week, which meant he managed one decent meal a day. Jo Yeon-oh knew that well enough. Recently, he’d become increasingly interested in expensive ingredients and complicated recipes, all in an effort to get Gi-hyeon to eat more.
At this point, Gi-hyeon suspected cooking itself had simply become Jo Yeon-oh’s newest hobby, and he was just using Gi-hyeon as an excuse.
The audacity of it was irritating.
“So what are you making?”
“Pad Thai.”
“That’s basically drinking food.”
Catching the rich aroma rising from the pan, Gi-hyeon muttered the words without much interest.
The food was ready surprisingly quickly. Gi-hyeon assumed they would eat straight from the pan and was about to grab a trivet, but Yeon-oh was already plating everything neatly onto a large serving dish. Gi-hyeon watched in mild disbelief. Eating out of the pan would have been much simpler.
Since Yeon-oh cooked, Gi-hyeon always ended up washing the dishes afterward. Seeing the number of dishes multiply for no reason was mildly annoying, but he couldn’t exactly complain to someone who had just cooked for him. Instead, he quietly thanked him for the meal and immediately opened the beer that had previously been confiscated.
The Pad Thai topped with soft scrambled eggs was genuinely good. The tangy sauce mixed perfectly with the savory scent of crushed peanuts. Gi-hyeon gave a slow nod.
“This is good.”
“Really? Then I’ll save the recipe and make it again sometime.”
Jo Yeon-oh answered in the same flat tone Gi-hyeon had used.
Since the Alpha had apparently only learned how to make it recently, Gi-hyeon had no doubt he would start collecting similar recipes next. He continued eating silently, washing down the noodles with cold beer.
It wasn’t a bad Saturday.
The massage had loosened the tension in his body, and the long nap had restored some of his energy. On top of that, the food paired well with the beer.
As he absentmindedly ate, Gi-hyeon wondered whether Jo Yeon-oh knew how to make Nasi Goreng too. Picking up his phone, he searched for it and held the screen out toward him.
“Can you make something like this too?”
“That’s Indonesian food.”
“Ah. Is it?”
The two of them leaned over the table, looking at the screen together. Gi-hyeon must have brushed the display by accident, because a bright pop-up ad suddenly appeared.
Gi-hyeon froze.
「This advertisement is based on your recent search history: A unique, thrilling pleasure essential for every couple. Omega-scented perfume exclusively designed for Betas!」
“…Fuck.”
Because he’d leaned so far across the table to show the screen, there was no chance Jo Yeon-oh had missed it. Gi-hyeon instantly flipped the phone face-down and leaned back sharply in his chair.
“So, Gi-hyeon, did you—”
“Don’t say a word. Shut up.”
Lately, it genuinely felt as though he’d been cursed.
He couldn’t understand why humiliating things kept happening to him one after another. Sitting there in silence, he suddenly heard a muffled snort.
Gi-hyeon slowly raised his eyes and glared at Jo Yeon-oh.
The Alpha was clearly trying to keep a straight face while continuing to eat. Gi-hyeon let out a long sigh and stared at the chopsticks trembling in Yeon-oh’s hand.
“If you want to laugh, then laugh. Sitting there holding it in is more annoying.”
“Hah—!”
That was enough to break him completely.
Jo Yeon-oh burst into laughter, dropping his chopsticks as he bent over the table clutching his stomach. He laughed so hard he could barely breathe. Unfortunately, he looked unfairly good when he laughed, which only irritated Gi-hyeon more. Covering his face with one hand, he finished the rest of his beer in one swallow and crushed the empty can.
“Omega perfume?”
Still laughing, Jo Yeon-oh’s shoulders shook helplessly. There were tears gathering in the corners of his eyes now, which somehow made it even more irritating.
Gi-hyeon waited patiently for him to calm down before getting up to grab another beer from the fridge. Since the bastard was clearly enjoying himself so much, Gi-hyeon figured he might as well let him laugh.
In the end, though, there was no one to blame but himself. He was the idiot who had searched for it, and the even bigger idiot who had shoved the screen directly into Jo Yeon-oh’s face.
Resigned, he sat back down with a blank expression and waited for the laughter to die out.
“Fuck, I thought I was going to die.”
Hearing that from someone very much alive only irritated Gi-hyeon further.
Resting his chin on one hand, he stared at Jo Yeon-oh while the Alpha struggled to regain control of himself.
Finally, Yeon-oh spoke.
“Why were you even searching for that? Were you curious about what Omegas smell like, or were you seriously wondering whether that perfume works?”
“Neither. I was searching for something else and clicked it by accident.”
Gi-hyeon answered smoothly.
Technically, it wasn’t even a lie.
Since Gi-hyeon was the type to stay silent rather than make excuses when embarrassed, Yeon-oh looked genuinely surprised.
“Then what were you actually searching for?”
“…”
That was something he absolutely couldn’t answer.
The moment Gi-hyeon fell silent, Jo Yeon-oh narrowed his eyes. A teasing smile slowly curled at the corners of his lips, making it obvious he had no intention of letting the subject go.
“Are you curious about Omegas?”
“…No.”
That part, at least, was true.
Gi-hyeon had always had an unusually low sex drive. Honestly, that was probably the only reason he’d managed to survive seven years beside the man he loved without losing his mind. Beyond that, his interest in other people in general was minimal.
He had never cared enough to seriously think about the differences between Betas, Alphas, and Omegas. The only thing he’d been curious about was the difference between the “Beta relationship” Jo Yeon-oh mocked so openly and the Alpha-Omega relationships he seemed to consider natural.
But there was no way he could ever say that aloud.
Watching his silent expression, Jo Yeon-oh gave a low smile.
“I wonder what you were so curious about. You could’ve just asked me. Isn’t that what lovers are for?”
What would even be the point of asking someone who only played the role of a lover?
And even if he asked, all he would uncover was the painful truth of how different they really were. There was no reason to dig that up deliberately when he already knew.
“Forget it. Stop looking at me like a teenager who got caught watching porn. If you’re done eating, I’m cleaning up.”
“I’m not done. Eat more too. I’ll stop teasing you.”
You’re still smiling.
Swallowing the retort he wanted to make, Gi-hyeon simply covered his mouth with one hand.
When was this exhaustion finally going to end?
For a brief moment, he wondered whether the “Alpha and Omega romance” Jo Yeon-oh talked about so often was less tiring than this.
Without warning, the image of the Omega he’d seen earlier that afternoon surfaced in his mind again. The slim waist. The person who had seemed to fit naturally beside Jo Yeon-oh.
For a moment, Gi-hyeon found himself wondering who they were.
But he didn’t ask.
It wasn’t something he had any right to know.
Jo Yeon-oh had sworn loyalty to So Gi-hyeon. That much, at least, Gi-hyeon trusted completely. Jo Yeon-oh wasn’t someone who made promises lightly.
The problem was that Jo Yeon-oh had promised loyalty.
He had never promised love.
The difference between the two settled heavily in Gi-hyeon’s chest.
Slowly, he pressed the cold rim of the beer can against his lips.