HWAMB — Chapter 78

14. How to Win Against My Bias

“Got tired of it recently?”

“Hm? Tired of what?”

“Your bias.”

At Hyun-woo’s words, spoken as he sipped warm cocoa, my eyes shot wide open. I turned my gaze back to the tablet. On the screen, big bold letters read, “Top 10 Places to Spend Christmas Eve with Your Lover.”

“What are you talking about, I’m not tired of them at all!”

Grumbling at the nonsense, I reached my hand out to Hyun-woo. Without taking his eyes off his laptop, he handed me the cocoa he’d been drinking.

It looked like he was helping out with some work of his father’s, but from the screen alone I couldn’t tell what it was.

“That Pink-something you like. Looks like there’s some kind of event on Christmas Eve.”

“Ah… the concert.”

“Yeah, that. Did you get tickets?”

“No.”

At that, Hyun-woo’s typing fingers froze. He turned his head toward me with wide eyes. A faint scent came off of him. The good thing about pheromones was that you could more or less guess a person’s mood from them.

Pheromones came out when someone was excited, and being excited usually meant they were in a good mood.

“How did you even know about that…”

“Because you like them… I looked it up.”

I scratched my cheek in embarrassment, and Hyun-woo, looking equally awkward, muttered.

“Then why didn’t you book it? Normally you’d have found a way no matter what…”

“Well… it’s our first Christmas Eve since we started dating… It didn’t feel right. It’s supposed to be a special day to spend with your lover…”

Hyun-woo looked at me with an expression as if deeply moved, like he was staring at someone who had made great strides in life.

Slowly crawling over the bed, Hyun-woo suddenly pulled me into his arms.

“Hey! What the—out of nowhere!”

Startled by the sudden sensation, I thrashed in protest. But as his hand softly patted my back, my frantic kicks gradually slowed. Wrinkles crumpled the pure white sheets beneath us.

Sitting on the bed, Hyun-woo hugged me close and buried his nose into the nape of my neck. Then he flopped back, pulling me down with him.

“Eun-jae…”

“…What.”

“I feel so good.”

“What’s so good.”

“Just… everything.”

Something warm pressed against my neck. Probably Hyun-woo’s cheek. The direct contact of his body heat made me feel strange. Restless, itchy, I curled my body and rubbed my feet against each other.

“…I like it too…”

“Hm? What was that?”

“I said I like it too…”

Even though he’d clearly heard me, Hyun-woo pretended not to and asked again. Instead of getting mad, I just answered slyly. He rolled me over and over until suddenly I was lying face-to-face with him.

He tried to hold a smirk, but it quickly melted away. With messy hair and a lazy smile, he looked like a mischievous kid.

“I won.”

“Beat who?”

“Seri.”

‘Childish.’

Apparently it was enough of a rivalry to him, since he remembered my bias’s name so clearly—even though he never remembered the group’s name. The whole situation was ridiculous, and before I knew it, my hand reached out on its own.

“You idiot, of course you win… Ow!”

Hyun-woo bit my shoulder at my words. I shrieked in surprise, though it didn’t actually hurt. Still, the spot tingled and even brought tears to my eyes. I whipped my head around to glare at him, only to find him grinning like a fool.

“Why are you saying such sweet things today? Is it some special day?”

“It’s not any day.”

“Then let’s make one.”

“Make it what kind of day?”

“Mm… the day Eun-jae matured?”

“No thanks.”

I shot that down instantly. This time, Hyun-woo pressed his lips to my cheek. Like a bird pecking at food, he planted quick, short kisses, then nipped at the skin as if biting down gently.

He’d always teased with skinship like this, but somehow this time it felt different. Maybe it was the atmosphere. I pounded my fists against his chest. As always, he didn’t even flinch, and just laughed.

“How about we make it the Day of Kisses.”

“It’s not even our first kiss today, though—ugh!”

Hyun-woo softly bit my ear. What was he, a dog? Why did he keep biting so much? The fact that I was actually getting excited by this made me feel insane.

“Hngh… ahh…”

He let go of my ear. Then a warm, pliant tongue replaced the spot. Maybe because it was right by my ear, the sound was vivid, like I was wearing headphones.

“Uhh…”

“…Eun-jae, your face is so red.”

His whisper gave me chills all over. It was a nice voice. At some point, the whole room had filled with Hyun-woo’s pheromones. Seeing his flushed face told me mine must be the same.

‘Smells so good…’

Desire swelled inside me. At the same time, I held my breath carefully, afraid my lower half would react.

“Eun-jae…”

His coaxing tone, those sparkling eyes. Lately I’d been realizing how easily I gave in whenever he looked at me like that.

This was bad. I was going to get hard.

With effort, I rolled my body over to the other side. Hyun-woo only stared at my back quietly, not making a move.

“Are you embarrassed?”

His ragged breathing came from behind. I thought it’d be fine if I couldn’t see him, but no, it wasn’t.

‘Yeah… it’s probably because of the pheromones…’

Just a little while ago everything had been peaceful, and now here we were panting like animals in heat, crushed under some unseen weight. My head felt messed up. The answer was obvious if I thought for even a moment. Every time I smelled Hyun-woo’s scent, I felt like an idiot.

Especially lately, it was happening more and more easily.

“Ha…”

Hyun-woo pulled me back into his arms with his strong arms. Contrary to the overwhelming surge of his pheromones, his actions were calm and steady.

Then something hard nudged against me. That was… Hyun-woo’s… yeah, that. The thing that should have been tucked away quietly in his underwear was swelling at an alarming rate.

I couldn’t help but flinch at how fast it was. The mood shattered instantly. I rolled back over to face him.

“Hey, hey! Are you out of your mind?!”

“What.”

“Don’t ‘what’ me! Put it back in right now!”

“……”

Flustered by my frantic movements, Hyun-woo still wore an expression full of heat. His unsatisfied eyes, restless with unfulfilled desire, made him look like he wasn’t in his right mind. I shoved him away with all my strength.

Just now, I thought I felt our hardened things brush against each other.

“T-that’s still too early! We’re still minors!”

“But you were hard too—mmph.”

“No, I wasn’t!”

I denied it with all I had and slapped my hands over Hyun-woo’s mouth. As if expecting this, Hyun-woo furrowed his brows slightly, then let out a short groan, “Hmm…” like he was struggling. He looked like he was desperately suppressing his inner urges with patience.

“Then when will we do it?”

“Well… when we’re adults…”

“After graduation?”

“…It has to be after my birthday too.”

“……”

“And after we both pass our entrance exams—mmph!”

While I rambled on, Hyun-woo’s tongue slipped into my mouth. Warm and damp, it wound around mine and pulled me in. He was even better at it than before. Was he practicing kissing all day or something?

Hyun-woo gazed into my dazed eyes as he slowly pulled back. He toyed with my flushed cheeks that looked like they would melt at any second, and murmured.

“Okay, I’ll wait… I’m good at waiting, Eun-jae.”

“……”

“Until we graduate, after your birthday, and until we both pass our exams.”

He spoke as though engraving a vow to himself. Like reciting a magic spell, he hugged me tightly.

“Promise me. Don’t back out when the time comes.”

His gaze burned fiercely, his low voice rough. I refused to back down and retorted.

“…You better not get scared and run away yourself.”

Of course, I knew Hyun-woo would never run, but pride made me say it anyway. A little anxious, yes, but in the end, this was a problem for the far-off future me, not the present me.

Meanwhile, Hyun-woo’s still-hard length brushed against my stomach. If this kept up, mine would harden too.

“I don’t think I’m in heat, right…?”

“Yeah.”

“Then are you in rut?”

“No.”

I already knew the answer, but I asked just in case. He was right—it wasn’t rut or heat. But the pheromones pulling us together were too overwhelming.

Should we separate? The thought crossed my mind, but I didn’t want to be apart right now either.

Humans really were creatures dragged along helplessly by instinct.

“You took your meds, right…?”

“Yeah…”

“Then hurry and calm it down.”

“I’ll try.”

That was the best he could do.

Sometimes, even with suppressants, it didn’t work. Right now, Hyun-woo was squeezing his eyes shut, groaning as if he were doing his best to endure.

Hyun-woo had never done anything I hated. Not when we were kids, not now.

I wasn’t in much position to judge, but seeing him like that, I felt strangely touched. I reached out and patted his head. At that, Hyun-woo trembled hard, body shuddering instinctively. Reflexively, my eyes flicked downward—then quickly back up again.

It felt like I’d seen something I shouldn’t have.

“…Are you doing that on purpose?”

“No, I just…”

My face burned red as I stammered. My palm still felt the soft strands of Hyun-woo’s hair. His half-lidded eyes gazed at me, and his lips curved faintly with effort.

“…It’s backfiring.”