Chapter 10

The coffee Chaeheon took was a shame, but Lee Jun quickly gave up on it. It was better to just endure than to try to talk him into giving it back. But seeing the professor open the PowerPoint Presentation Material, a new worry struck him.

‘132 slides.’

With a PowerPoint Presentation Material, the text should be appropriately enlarged for readability, but the letters were incredibly dense, and the page count was insane.

‘Can I endure this?’

He needed coffee. Lee Jun looked at his Americano with a hint of regret. Just then, a disposable plastic cup was pushed in front of him. It was an Iced Americano. Lee Jun stared down at it silently, then turned his head to look at his own Americano, which Chaeheon was holding.

“Let’s switch.”

Chaeheon muttered, “I ordered a cold one but couldn’t be bothered to switch, so I just came,” and tilted the cup to drink his Americano. Then he held out the cup he had been drinking from to Lee Jun.

“Want it back?”

Lee Jun looked at the cup that was originally his. If he took it and drank from it, they would be sharing a coffee…

“No.”

“You used to drink from it just fine back then…”

“Not now, at least.”

Lee Jun reached for the cup containing the Iced Americano.

However, he only took it but didn’t drink, and a faint impatience flickered in Chaeheon’s eyes. Was merely swapping coffee not enough? Just as he wondered if he should have been a bit more forceful about him drinking the coffee, Lee Jun lifted the cup.

His Adam’s apple bobbed significantly as Lee Jun swallowed the Iced Americano, and his expression softened. Chaeheon’s mood became indescribably good at Lee Jun’s satisfied look.

‘Haein.’

Suddenly, Lee Jun’s words from his earlier phone call came to mind. He said “younger sister,” so ‘taking time’ meant…

“Come here.”

Since Lee Jun had to go straight home, Chaeheon grabbed his arm instead of suggesting dinner. Caught without warning, Lee Jun alternated his gaze between his arm and Chaeheon. He wasn’t short himself, but Chaeheon was nearly a hand’s span taller. His broad shoulders, straight back, and narrow waist moved gracefully, a model-like physique.

“I’ll take you.”

He thought they were just going outside the building, but Chaeheon headed towards the parking lot. Standing in front of the car they used to frequent, Lee Jun was swept up in a strange emotion. It felt like he should say, ‘It’s good to see you again.’ As he looked at the car with that feeling, Chaeheon opened the passenger door and gestured for him to get in.

“Get in.”

Lee Jun straightened his back even more instead of bowing his head. He couldn’t understand Chaeheon’s attitude at all. Lee Jun spoke, his eyes fixed on Chaeheon opening the passenger door.

“Why are you taking me home?”

“Don’t you want to get there quickly?”

Chaeheon asked back. He casually mumbled that taking his car would get them there faster than taking the subway.

“So why are you going this far?”

Lee Jun pointed out Chaeheon’s actions so far. Just seeing him threaten someone like that had changed their relationship so much, and it always bothered him in a corner of his mind.

Why is he doing this?

He had made a deal with Chaeheon. He didn’t have any leverage over him, so he couldn’t understand why he was acting this way. Ah, was it because he still had feelings for him? But he couldn’t believe Chaeheon’s unbelievable pure devotion; he wasn’t like the Chaeheon he had dated before.

“What do you want with me?”

“What do you think I want?”

Chaeheon’s voice deepened, displeased with Lee Jun’s resistance. Even seeing the slight tilt of Chaeheon’s mouth, Lee Jun couldn’t bring himself to speak. He had asked what he wanted, but the detailed words caught in his throat and went back down. As if reading Lee Jun’s thoughts, Chaeheon spoke indifferently.

“Does it feel like we’re dating?”

“Don’t joke around.”

For Lee Jun, who believed a romantic relationship was something mutually felt, their current relationship was absolutely not something that could be called one.

“It’s not?”

“It’s not.”

Moreover, Lee Jun had no desire to date Chaeheon.

“Chaeheon.”

Chaeheon sighed deeply. “Haa.”

“Senior, how did you get into this university with that brain?”

His tone suggested, ‘Do you only study and have no common sense?’ Lee Jun bristled and was about to speak, but Chaeheon was a step faster.

“Feeding and taking care of a grown Senior like you, it’s all for an ulterior motive, isn’t it?”

Chaeheon would consider it strange if Lee Jun didn’t understand his words.

“Before, I always accommodated you, Senior. You said you didn’t want it, so I never told anyone you were my boyfriend. But what was left for me?”

Chaeheon’s expression was serious.

“Nothing more than dating in secret and breaking up, right?”

He was right. Since no one knew about their past, others were surprised by Chaeheon’s every action now. Even Lee Jun was nervous about how Chaeheon would act, so how much more so for others?

“So this time, I’m doing it my way. The more satisfied I am, the more uncomfortable you’ll be, Senior.”

In Chaeheon’s gaze, which seemed to ask if he needed to say more, Lee Jun silently got into the passenger seat.

“Good thinking.”

Chaeheon’s long eyes narrowed into a smile. Lee Jun’s chest tightened at that smile, and he didn’t look at Chaeheon. It was an absurd stubbornness… and he found himself most pathetic for not being able to ignore it.

Lee Jun, who had turned his head towards the window, was sleeping motionless. If not for his faint but steady breathing, one might have thought he was dead. His long eyelashes blocked the sunlight, casting a long shadow beneath his eyes, yet he didn’t wake up.

“Your habits haven’t changed.”

Chaeheon laughed in exasperation. Whenever Lee Jun got into this car, he would fall asleep soon after, perhaps due to the vibrations. Seeing him fall asleep so easily this time, just like back then, made him suddenly feel like he had gone back in time.

“But you shouldn’t sleep so defenselessly.”

It was only a feeling of going back, not truly the past. Strictly speaking, they had broken up.

Chaeheon gazed at Lee Jun’s sleeping face.

“Is he pretty?”

He had a soft look, but not particularly feminine. For a man, he had a bright and neat face.

“He’s pretty.”

Lee Jun’s brow twitched at Chaeheon’s self-deprecating mumble. Chaeheon only let out a silent laugh. He had acted as if he wouldn’t let his guard down, but he fell asleep midway. To Lee Jun’s steady breathing, Chaeheon gently stroked his hair and whispered,

“You have to go home.”

“At this rate, he’ll sleep all day,” Chaeheon mumbled, and as if he couldn’t help it, he merely turned up the volume of the lullaby. It was entirely his own desire not to wake Lee Jun, but to let him sleep more deeply. He knew Lee Jun would ask why he didn’t wake him when he opened his eyes, but he could just ignore it as usual.

“And I get to watch to my heart’s content.”

Chaeheon moved closer, as if to get a better look.

He was someone whose eyes were drawn to him from the first time he saw him. For someone who didn’t usually pay attention to people, it was a fresh shock and not an unpleasant feeling. And by chance, when he also found out Lee Jun was an Omega, he confessed to him, and they became lovers. It was a natural, flowing relationship, and a sudden breakup was an outcome he had never expected.

“Even so, not a single call.”

He didn’t expect Lee Jun to call him first, but Lee Jun had ignored all his calls. If he had answered just once, Chaeheon would have told him he wasn’t going to study abroad. Later, his pride was hurt, and he resolved to forget him out of spite. But meeting Lee Jun again, he only truly realized that Lee Jun was still someone who made him thirsty.

“Lee Jun.”

Chaeheon called his name.

“Why do you keep setting me on fire?”

As if to say, ‘How do you expect me to react after burning so intensely?’ Chaeheon blamed all his wavering feelings on Lee Jun.

“Do you know what I mean by ‘doing it my way’?”

His goal wasn’t just to satisfy himself and make Lee Jun uncomfortable.

“This time, I’m going to properly reel you in.”

So that he wouldn’t have to experience such a bewildering moment again, he would take his time and proceed step by step.

“What am I saying to a sleeping person…”

Chaeheon, who was looking at Lee Jun, suddenly wrinkled his nose. Once he registered it, he wondered why he hadn’t noticed earlier; Lee Jun’s pheromone filled the car.

Chaeheon closed his eyes and inhaled the scent, then slowly lowered his head. The scent, which intensified as he got closer to Lee Jun, gradually consumed his sense of smell. Lee Jun’s scent.

Chaeheon could precisely identify Lee Jun’s pheromones and body scent, which others wouldn’t know. But lately, Lee Jun had been emitting not just the pheromone-infused fabric softener, but another smell. A smell he had never encountered before. Chaeheon posed an unanswered question to the sleeping Lee Jun.

“Are you raising a baby?”

He was puzzled to smell the same scent he had noticed a few times when he met his nephew, coming from Lee Jun. Chaeheon, who had asked an unanswered question to the sleeping Lee Jun, closed his eyes and concentrated on the smell. The common scent of fabric softener, baby smell, and Lee Jun’s pheromone seemed layered, creating a unique fragrance that lingered at his nose.

“What happened all this time? I keep…”

‘I’m curious,’ Chaeheon thought. As he opened his eyes to finish the words he couldn’t complete, his eyes met Lee Jun’s, who had woken up at some unknown moment.