ETP Ch 9

To Sungyeon, it had been an explanation filled with 14 years of fandom, but to anyone else, his furrowed brows and words directed at Yoohyun would have looked like Bokseung picking a fight with him.

Especially a tiny, 14-month fan of a rival team, sitting in table seats provided by the Hoseon owner’s family, essentially returning kindness with animosity.

Sungyeon felt wronged, but he had no choice but to endure it. He quietly apologized. He would’ve been offended too if he were in Hwang Yoohyun’s shoes.

“Um, I apologize. I’ll refrain from cheering for the other team.”

“It’s fine. It’s okay. What can you do, you’ve been a fan for 14 whole months. And they’re losing by 5 points, so it’s understandable you’re upset. Yeah, it’s natural for curses to slip out.”

Yoohyun’s lips curved upwards.

Even though Yoohyun said it was fine, Sungyeon felt his blood boil. But there was nothing he could say, so he just clenched his fists. It was all the RJ Triples’ fault for always choking during rivalry matches.

Meanwhile, Yoohyun let out a genuinely amused laugh at the sight of Bokseung fuming, unable to retort.

During the first semester, Bokseung had just blinked at whatever he said, but now, in the second semester, he was showing unexpected reactions every time they met.

So, it’s not that strange that I’m talking to him, Yoohyun rationalized, then prodded Bokseung again.

“So, do you think the Triples will win this time? What do you think, 14-month fan?”

…asked the (family member of the) owner of last year’s winning team.

He knew it was a deliberate taunt, but Sungyeon couldn’t help but feel irritated. Perhaps the most frustrating thing was not being able to say anything back to a kid 10 years younger than him who was teasing him.

Sungyeon forced himself to change the subject.

“Oh, right! That cat I saw a few days ago was really pretty. Haha.”

His efforts to steer the conversation away from baseball were admirable. So, Yoohyun decided to overlook the fact that he hadn’t answered his question.

“She’s cute.”

“Yes! What’s the cat’s name?”

“Yuja.”

Yu, Yuja? He hadn’t expected such a cute, dainty name to come out of the mouth of Yoohyun, the cool city guy. Bokseung bit his lower lip. If he burst out laughing here, his efforts to change the subject would be wasted.

“Pret, ty, name. Heh!”

“Are you laughing?”

“Nooo!”

He snorted, trying to suppress his laughter.

Whether he was annoyed that Bokseung was laughing at Yuja’s name or at his evasive answer, Yoohyun’s eyebrows twitched.

Sungyeon quickly waved his hands. He felt like he would be kicked out of the stadium if he annoyed him any further.

“It’s just that the cat is really pretty, can I visit her sometime?”

At Bokseung’s question, Yoohyun stared intently at his white face. And then, with utmost seriousness, he asked,

“When?”

“Huh?”

“When are you coming to see Yuja?”

Sungyeon was taken aback by Yoohyun’s matter-of-fact response.

Of course, he liked cats. But when he asked if he could visit the cat, he didn’t actually mean it. It was just a polite remark, like when people say, “Let’s grab a meal sometime!”

He had expected Yoohyun to ignore him or say no, as he usually did. So he was speechless when he was asked point-blank when he would come.

“Um, well, I have a part-time job.”

“Part-time job? Every day?”

“No, five days a week.”

“Then you can come on your days off.”

Yoohyun, having reached a conclusion on his own, held out his phone.

“……?”

Bokseung’s brown eyes stared at the black screen. He seemed clueless about what to do.

“Save the earliest date on your days off in my calendar. 7 PM. Just in case, save your number too.”

“Now?”

Yoohyun nodded. And with his eyes, he said, Hurry up and set a date.

This was the first time he’d experienced such a one-sided and unsettling arrangement. Sungyeon deliberately dawdled, subtly expressing his discomfort, but it didn’t work.

In the end, he had to meticulously enter the appointment time and emergency contact information into Yoohyun’s scheduling app.

Only then did Hwang Yoohyun’s stiff expression soften.

Although it looked like he was smirking with one side of his lips raised, Sungyeon couldn’t help but stare blankly at his handsome face.

And seeing Bokseung’s blank, dumbstruck expression, Yoohyun started laughing out loud.

It was a refreshingly unexpected laugh. The pheromones carried on the wind along with his laughter conveyed his current mood.

A cool, vibrant floral scent tickled Bokseung’s nose.

When he was Lee Sungyeon, a Beta, he had to rely solely on facial expressions and tone of voice to gauge others’ moods. But now, he could easily understand the feelings of other secondary genders through their pheromones alone.

Just now, by smelling the pheromones Hwang Yoohyun emitted, he could tell how happy he was.

The corners of his mouth turned upwards without him realizing it.

Thanks to the scent Yoohyun was emitting, just being next to him felt like walking through a flower garden.

So this is why people say secondary genders are attracted to pheromones as well as appearances, he thought.

Of course, it had nothing to do with Sungyeon. He just felt good because of Hwang Yoohyun’s scent. Sungyeon only wanted to meet and marry a beautiful Beta woman.

His goal was to make a mark in the world of Omega academia.

Bokseung was still 20, so he had plenty of opportunities. Sungyeon reaffirmed his resolve. Of course, that goal was destined to disappear if Bokseung’s soul returned before he achieved it.

Thinking about Bokseung always weighed heavily on his mind. Sungyeon was afraid to fall asleep every night, and it had become a habit to look around as soon as he woke up every morning.

The pleasant feeling he’d just experienced, intoxicated by Hwang Yoohyun’s pheromones, instantly sank at the thought of Bokseung.

“Sigh.”

A heavy sigh escaped Bokseung’s lips. Yoohyun, who had been listening to his sighs from beside him, twitched his eyebrows.

Is he that averse to coming to my house? He was laughing along just now, and now he’s suddenly sighing. What’s with him?

Wait a minute. Did I invite Kim Bokseung? How did that happen…?

Yoohyun, who had invited someone to his house for the first time in his life, amused by the prospect of teasing Kim Bokseung, was dumbfounded when he realized what he had done.

Reflecting on his actions, Yoohyun thought that Kim Bokseung was also partly to blame.

He had been the one to give him the coffee coupon, compliment his scent, sit close to him at the clinic, and boldly ask to see his cat.

It was unfair to act coy and sigh now.

Yoohyun was annoyed by Bokseung’s attitude and regretted his foolish actions, but he didn’t want to cancel the appointment.

Because he wanted to show off Yuja’s cuteness to someone.

It was definitely not because he wanted to eat delicious food with Bokseung at his house, watch a movie, or anything like that.

“Keep your promise.”

Since things had come to this, Yoohyun firmly imprinted their appointment in Bokseung’s mind. He completely ignored his disgruntled expression.

🍑‧₊ ⋆˙

They lost. The final score was 9 to 3. It was a gap too large to overcome even with a grand slam.

With this, the Hoseon Polar Bears advanced directly to the Korean Series, and the RJ Triples had to settle for a direct entry into the postseason. He tried to console himself that it was better than the wild card game, but honestly, he felt indignant about ending up in second place in the regular season by such a narrow margin.

The Hoseon Polar Bears’ cheer song filled the stadium, and confetti rained down on the home team’s stands.

The expressions of the people at the surrounding tables were the same as those in the rest of the home team’s spectator seats. Except for one person, Kim Bokseung.

Bokseung’s groupmates laughed loudly and called Yoohyun and Bokseung over, wanting to take a commemorative photo for their report.

Bokseung, barely managing his expression, went over to where his groupmates were.

“Okay, look here! I’ll take it on the count of three! One, two, three! I’ll take a burst, so strike a pose! Got it?” one of his groupmates said cheerfully. But Bokseung, who had no interest in taking pictures, only held up a peace sign with his right hand throughout the clicking sounds.

A moment later, the groupmates called Yoohyun and Bokseung over to look at the pictures together. The claim about taking a burst of photos wasn’t a lie; at least thirty photos were saved in the gallery.

Amidst the pictures of his groupmates showing off funny poses and expressions, only Yoohyun and Bokseung stood like mannequins, maintaining the same pose throughout all thirty shots.

While they chuckled, comparing their own good and bad shots, the groupmates tried their best to pretend they didn’t see Yoohyun and Bokseung. Feeling like he had become invisible, Bokseung grew even more dejected.

However, they didn’t completely treat him as if he didn’t exist. The photos shared by his groupmates were neatly saved on Bokseung’s phone.

The game was over, the commemorative photos were taken, and Bokseung was about to say goodbye to his groupmates and leave. Just then, a stadium official came rushing over and spoke to Yoohyun, who was about to leave.

“Sir, since you’re here, would you like to meet the players?”

“No, I’m going straight home,” Yoohyun replied without a moment’s hesitation.

“Coach Kim Dae-hoon is also waiting for you, sir. Wouldn’t it be good to at least show your face?” the staff member continued.

Bokseung, who had been listening to their conversation, looked at Hwang Yoohyun with surprised eyes. Kim Dae-hoon, the famous coach who had been leading the Hoseon Polar Bears for over five years, was waiting for Hwang Yoohyun.

If it were him, Bokseung would have run over immediately, but Yoohyun just looked indifferent, letting the official’s words go in one ear and out the other.

“The coach talks too much. It’s bothersome,” Yoohyun even dared to utter such disrespectful words. Good heavens! Bokseung had felt it before, but this Hwang Yoohyun was a man who didn’t deserve to be born in the Land of the Morning Calm.

Bokseung clicked his tongue at Yoohyun’s impertinent behavior. Inwardly, of course.

“Still, on a day like today, it would be nice to have a celebratory dinner together,” the official persisted.

“I’m fine. Just have the team dinner somewhere nice. I’ll contact my uncle,” Yoohyun replied.

“Oh, really?!” The official’s face brightened at Yoohyun’s words. He turned around immediately after hearing Yoohyun’s reply, as if that’s all he had come for.

As if he’d anticipated this reaction, Hwang Yoohyun walked away, making a phone call. Once again, there were no goodbyes or any acknowledgement of his groupmates.

“Goodbye,” Bokseung’s small, disheartened voice echoed in the empty seating area.