Woosung Alpha’s Sour Grapes

Chapter 6

They both enrolled in the Business Administration department. Outside the school gate, there was nothing but dense vegetation. However, the campus was equipped with all necessary facilities.

While most students lived in dormitories, Tae-geon and Hyeon-woo chose to live off-campus. Considering the distance to the busy area with large supermarkets, they rented a detached house 20 minutes’ walk from the school. Hyeon-woo’s bedroom was the end room on the second floor, overlooking the East Sea coast.

When Tae-geon first proposed living together, Hyeon-woo felt both elated and worried. He was anxious about his Omega status being discovered, but his desire to share Tae-geon’s private life overcame all fears.

Thus began their life of cohabitation.

Contrary to his worries, Tae-geon didn’t suspect a thing. Although Hyeon-woo had been told by doctors that no one could detect his pheromones, he sometimes felt strange that even Tae-geon, who lived with him, couldn’t notice he was an Omega.

It was understandable. Besides his poor pheromones, there was no physical evidence to suspect him as an Omega, even if one searched the entire house, including suppressants. Still, he felt uneasy. Was it guilt from deceiving Tae-geon, or tension from potentially being discovered? He always felt a heaviness in his chest.

Apart from that, living with Tae-geon wasn’t bad. In fact, it was quite satisfactory. They each had separate bedrooms under one roof, which preserved their privacy. Surprisingly, Tae-geon was good at housework and cooking, contrary to his appearance. This was truly unexpected. Tae-geon, who seemed like he’d never cooked a meal in his life, turned out to be a domestic expert.

The house was always clean, and clothes and bedding smelled of freshly washed fabric softener. It was fun to wait for Tae-geon’s meals. If Hyeon-woo casually mentioned while watching TV that something looked delicious or that he wanted to eat something, Tae-geon would remember and prepare that dish within a few days.

It felt like living with a fairy housewife. Had Tae-geon taken bride lessons during his disappearance? How else could he always prepare meals that perfectly suited Hyeon-woo’s taste?

Tonight’s dinner was grilled mackerel. Lost in the savory smell of cooking fish, Hyeon-woo found himself at the dining table. Tae-geon served Hyeon-woo’s portion of mackerel, neatly deboned with white flesh exposed.

“If I get fat, it’s all your fault.”

“You can afford to gain more weight.”

“No way. My pants are getting tight around the waist lately.”

Tae-geon smiled faintly at Hyeon-woo, who was grumbling while finishing two bowls of rice and even diligently eating the apple served as dessert. Hyeon-woo’s heart sank at that charming smile.

Hyeon-woo quickly got up from the table and moved to the sofa. His heart was pounding. It was an expression Tae-geon showed only to him. A face of Tae-geon that only he knew. This fact kept Hyeon-woo excited.

After cleaning up, Tae-geon sat next to Hyeon-woo. Hyeon-woo seemed absorbed in browsing movies with the remote control.

“Oh?! This thriller that was released last month is already up?”

Hyeon-woo’s voice was excited after finding a movie he liked.

“I really wanted to watch this! Shall we watch it?”

As Hyeon-woo was manipulating the remote to check movie reviews, he suddenly felt hot breath on his nape. Feeling his body hair stand on end and goosebumps rise, Hyeon-woo quickly leaned back. This caused Tae-geon to freeze in the position of trying to bury his face in Hyeon-woo’s nape.

“……”

“……”

The house was suddenly enveloped in silence.

Among all the satisfactory aspects of living with Tae-geon, there was one thing that occasionally troubled Hyeon-woo: Tae-geon’s skinship like this.

Although he knew rationally that his poor pheromones wouldn’t be detected, every time Tae-geon suddenly brought his nose close like this, Hyeon-woo felt his heart shrinking to nothing.

It was different now that he had realized his feelings for Tae-geon. Moreover, his dormant sexual sensitivity had awakened from mixing with Alphas, and he often indulged in unspeakable fantasies about Tae-geon with that body. It was hard for skinship with Tae-geon, the object of his desire, to feel as innocuous as before.

Hyeon-woo, his face bright red, looked at Tae-geon with a guarded expression. It was better to strike while the iron was hot. He needed to make things clear now.

“I’ve been meaning to tell you something anyway.”

“……”

Tae-geon, looking quite upset, stared at Hyeon-woo with a disgruntled expression as if to say, “Go on, tell me.”

“Stop doing this now.”

“Stop what?”

To Tae-geon, who was pretending not to know, Hyeon-woo said firmly:

“Keep smelling my neck like this!”

“Why suddenly? I’ve always done this.”

While Hyeon-woo was frowning at this strange logic, Tae-geon quickly pushed him down and once again buried his face in Hyeon-woo’s neck. Unable to bear the chilling sensation on his sensitive area, Hyeon-woo finally let out what was bound to come out.

“Ahh!”

Tae-geon was more surprised than Hyeon-woo at the sudden, suggestive moan. Bewilderment spread across Tae-geon’s face as he hastily got up.

Hyeon-woo quickly covered his mouth with his hand, but it was too late. Tae-geon’s expression rapidly turned cold as he looked down at the blushing Hyeon-woo.

“…Here.”

Tae-geon’s cold finger touched under Hyeon-woo’s chin. Hyeon-woo stiffened at the chilling sensation of the finger trailing down his neck. Hyeon-woo’s chin trembled as he clenched his lips, swallowing a moan.

“You’ve become sensitive, unnecessarily.”

Hyeon-woo felt heat rise at Tae-geon’s quiet muttering, which sounded displeased. He felt wronged. Whose fault was this?

“Don’t do it! That’s why I told you not to!”

Hyeon-woo shouted, his face as red as a tomato.

“We’re both adults now, it’s weird for friends to do this! This is something you do with a lover.”

“…Lover…?”

To the dazed Tae-geon, Hyeon-woo delivered the final blow.

“And I’m an Alpha too…”

“……”

“It hurts my pride when you do this. So don’t do it anymore.”

Hyeon-woo got up and headed to the second floor, leaving the living room. Tae-geon, sitting motionless on the sofa, looked somewhat dumbfounded.

*

The midterm exams were over.

The weekend morning after sleeping in felt refreshing. When he drew the curtains, the sun-drenched sea was sparkling blue in the distance. The air was filled with the crisp energy unique to early summer.

Looking at the wide-open horizon meeting the cloudless blue sky, Hyeon-woo could somewhat understand why Tae-geon wanted to stay in this remote place.

Just a little bit, a mouse dropping’s worth.

Although Hyeon-woo had complained a lot about why they had to be in such a place with nothing, as time passed, he grew fond of the quiet, peaceful life here. Unlike the noisy, bustling city, the night sky here sparkled with the Milky Way, and there were no jostling crowds or suffering from loud noises.

Opening the window and taking in the gently undulating sea, the cool breeze, pouring sunlight, and the sound of insects with all his senses, he often felt as if he were vacationing at a luxury villa.

After stretching refreshingly, Hyeon-woo entered the bathroom to wash up and was jolted awake by his reflection in the mirror. A red hickey was prominently marked on the left side of his neck.

He had stayed out the night before due to his heat cycle and only returned at dawn. Tae-geon hadn’t shown much interest in his staying out. He had only asked Hyeon-woo to let him know in advance if he was going to be late because he was worried.

It was unexpected. Hyeon-woo felt foolish for having worried that Tae-geon might ask who he was meeting or when he’d be back.

What he couldn’t understand was his own feelings towards Tae-geon. While feeling relieved, he simultaneously felt a strange disappointment. Tae-geon must know what these periodic outings meant, as Hyeon-woo always came back smelling of Alpha pheromones after rolling around with an Omega.

Yet he felt upset that Tae-geon didn’t even show interest. If he did show interest, wouldn’t that be the real problem? Knowing this, Hyeon-woo found it strange that he was still caught up in these feelings.

Although he knew Tae-geon had no interest in his bedroom affairs, he didn’t want to face him like this. He didn’t want Tae-geon to visually confirm traces of his intimacy with others.

Moreover, hadn’t he angrily told Tae-geon to stop smelling his neck? Since that day, Tae-geon never carelessly buried his nose in Hyeon-woo’s neck again, but now Hyeon-woo had left an even more obvious mark there, which made him feel embarrassed and awkward.

Cursing last night’s partner who had left such an obvious mark despite being told not to leave any, Hyeon-woo rummaged through the drawer. After covering the bruise with a band-aid he found, he carefully checked his body for any other marks.

When he finally went to the living room, Tae-geon was preparing breakfast.

A bubbling soft tofu stew in an earthenware pot was placed on the table.

“This looks really delicious!”

Tae-geon’s eyes narrowed as he watched Hyeon-woo salivating over the neatly prepared breakfast. There was a band-aid on Hyeon-woo’s white neck that wasn’t there yesterday. Come to think of it, Hyeon-woo had only returned home at dawn today.

At that moment, sharp pheromones containing aggression surged from Tae-geon. Quickly regaining his senses, Tae-geon hastily withdrew his pheromones and checked Hyeon-woo’s complexion, but Hyeon-woo looked fine for an Alpha who had just been hit directly with his pheromones.

Tae-geon bent down and brought his head close to Hyeon-woo’s shoulder. Startled by the sudden approach, Hyeon-woo stiffened.

“G-goodness. W-what’s wrong?”

“Hyeon-woo, has it been over half a year since you manifested as an Alpha?”

“I-I guess so. It seems about that long. Why?”

“You should go to the hospital.”

“Hospital? Which hospital? Why?”

“……”

The silent Tae-geon unleashed threatening pheromones typically used to subdue other Alphas on Hyeon-woo. Yet Hyeon-woo just stared at him blankly with an unaffected face, which Tae-geon couldn’t understand at all. A proper Alpha couldn’t sit so calmly like this. They should be falling backwards and wetting themselves.

Doubts about Hyeon-woo’s manifestation grew.

The Alpha pheromones from Hyeon-woo had a different scent every time. It wasn’t just a matter of scent. Tae-geon could usually read the other’s general condition from their pheromones, but Hyeon-woo’s Alpha pheromones had lost their original properties and were like remnants of evaporated scent particles, making it difficult to get a proper read.

Sometimes they seemed like those of an immature youngster, other times like those of a mature adult Alpha. It was hard to distinguish what part of these constantly changing, mutated particles were actually pheromones.

Did pheromones usually take this long to stabilize?

Although Tae-geon, being an Alpha from birth, was ignorant about manifestation, he was certain that Hyeon-woo’s pheromones were not normal. Even thinking of the recessive Alphas around him, he had never seen a case where the scent changed like this.

Rather…

“You’re still meeting that Omega, aren’t you?”

The faint Omega pheromones floating amidst the Alpha pheromones were actually more consistent.