PIA 19

“During this time, I thought Ji-an-ssi was an overly one-dimensional, obsessively attached, and possibly foolish person. But surprisingly, you seem to have become more smart, to the extent that I wonder who gave you advice. It’s quite impressive.”

This was truly impressive. Seo Ji-hyuk was supposed to be a gentle and kind character in the drama. What a turnaround, considering the title was “Well-raised Omega Son.”

However… At this point, when the venomous remarks coming out of his mouth, it felt like his older brother had returned… Ji-an shuddered and rubbed his arms.

“Han-joo must be devastated right now since he went to your family home in Pyeongchang-dong to look for Ji-an-ssi”

“He went to my house? Han-joo hyung?”

“Just so you know, I have no intention of having my lover taken away by an immature person like Ji-an-ssi. So, you should stick to your words.”

“Ugh.”

Seo Ji-hyuk immediately closed the distance and grabbed Ji-an by the collar. Ji-an was so scared of the madness in his eyes that he unconsciously held his breath.

“If you want to disappear, whether to a foreign country or anywhere else, you better disappear right now. If anything like this happens around us again, I won’t stay silent next time.”

“… Don’t worry. What Hyu-… I mean, what Seo Ji-hyuk-ssi is worried about will not happen.

“…”

“…”

The two stared at each other for a while. Seo Ji-hyuk’s restless pupils scrutinized Ji-an for a long time.

After a tense moment, Seo Ji-hyuk unexpectedly brought up the strange topic of pheromones.

“Ji-an-ssi, did you receive some kind of pheromone treatment or something?”

“Where in the world would there be such a treatment?”

Ji-an felt the hand on his collar gradually loosen, so he moved away from Seo Ji-hyuk and answered awkwardly.

He would want such a treatment if it existed. The Alphas who had shown no interest in him for years were suddenly paying attention. Even the Omega standing opposite to him right now seemed interested. It was maddening.

Seo Ji-hyuk coughed after a moment of stiffness, clearly flustered by Ji-an’s question.

“Anyway… Ahem, my business ends here.”

An awkward silence hung in the air. Ji-an rolled his eyes and silently observed the protagonist of this world, ‘Seo Ji-hyuk,’ who looked exactly like his older brother. Despite feeling worse every time he saw his face, Ji-an acknowledged that ‘Seo Ji-hyuk’ had suffered a lot before he entered this body.

“I’ve made a lot of mistakes during this time. I apologize. Hyung.”

“…”

Seo Ji-hyuk stared at Ji-an with a truly bewildered expression. Until now, Ji-an had shown nothing but a shameless attitude in front of Seo Ji-hyuk. He openly flirted with his lover, Jeong Han-joo, and treated Seo Ji-hyuk like a rolling stone.

“Don’t comfortably apologize as if everything is okay. I don’t want to accept it lightly.”

Seo Ji-hyuk said his last words with a cold expression and left Ji-an’s house. As he left, he raised the door stopper and forcefully closed the door with a loud noise.

Even though Ji-an flinched and was surprised, he was able to recognize that Seo Ji-hyuk was a completely different person from the older brother he knew. He was surprised that he had talked with Seo Ji-hyuk for so long without being hit once.

∞

When Ji-an returned to Woo-seok’s house, the sun had already set.

Woo-seok was running a startup that developed financial security software. As a small-scale company with only a few employees, they occupied three studios in a building—one for the office, one for the employee, and one for Woo-seok’s personal space.

When the taxi arrived at the building, Ji-an sent a text and received a reply to come up to the 12th floor after a short delay. Waiting in the corridor for a while, the door opened, revealing Woo-seok in a bathrobe, half revealing his upper body.

“Come in.”

“Uh? Um…”

“I put the bedding in the empty room inside. There are no beds. Please understand.”

Naturally, Ji-an, who had expected to be given a corner of the employee lodging, entered Woo-seok’s space with a little anxious expression. The Woo-seok he knew used to mock him, saying, ‘An erection is impossible with Seo Ji-an’s pheromones,’ …but given how his pheromones had mysteriously changed in this world, there was no way he could feel fully at ease.

“Don’t worry. I won’t eat you.”

“What.”

“I won’t do anything without consent. Alphas aren’t just beasts.”

And he thought he might add, “And you, don’t like it,” but held back. Whether it was an attempt to ease Ji-an’s unease or not, Woo-seok silently headed into the inner room while drying his wet hair with a towel. It seemed like he had received a message while showering and came out.

A new electric heating mat was laid out in the empty room that had not been used for a long time and was working.  On top of it was a bedding set, neatly arranged. Next to the bedding set was a shopping bag containing several sets of casual clothing that Woo-seok seemed to have picked up randomly.

Ji-an put down the luggage he had neatly packed from his officetel next to it and leaned against the unopened bedding set. As his legs stretched out on the warm mat, he let out a groan.

The tension that had been swirling around his body all day like a storm flowed away and his body instantly relaxed. Ji-an closed his eyes as his body relaxed with the sensation of sinking deeply into the floor.

“Hey. Are you going to sleep without even showering? You dirty bastard.”

Ji-an heard Woo-seok grumbling in his half-sleep. However, even if he was scolded, Ji-an felt he couldn’t muster the strength to get up.

Tsk. The sound of a tongue click reached his ears. Woo-seok closed the door, went out for a moment, and then opened it again.

Following that, Ji-an felt a gentle touch, straightening him out. A light and warm blanket covered him, and his head was placed on a pillow. Bastard, you can get married now. Ji-an muttered some nonsense.

Even after Woo-seok had left, his anxious mind prevented him from sleeping deeply and continued to induce nightmares.

Ji-an continued to be chased by someone in his light sleep. The pursuer, who was initially his grandmother, transformed into Jeong Han-joo, then into Seo Ji-hyuk, constantly changing appearances. All four were equally terrifying, but the grandmother was at least slow… When the shadow of the pursuer turned into Seo Ji-hyuk, it was so fast that Ji-an almost peed himself.

Towards the end of the dream, Ji-an became aware that it was a dream, but he couldn’t escape. Ji-an groaned and tried to struggle, but his pressed body wouldn’t budge. The temperature of the electric heating mat was too high, causing his overheated body to sweat profusely while his face turned pale.

“Heuk!”

Ji-an woke up when he was finally able to move his fingertips. Gasping for breath like a person crawling out of water, he struggled to breathe, and the dim room came into view.

“…”

An unfamiliar place. Ji-an could barely remember being at Woo-seok’s home after blinking his eyes for a moment. As he exhaled a sigh of relief, the casually thrown phone lit its screen, calling Ji-an.

The number of missed phone calls was frighteningly high. Ji-an had no idea that the “Do Not Disturb” mode he had set up since arriving at Woo-seok’s house would cause such chaos with the calls. 

Not only calls but dozens of messages had piled up. When Ji-an opened one to read, the fear of receiving a call from the sender made him reluctant to open any more. The last message’s preview on the screen gave him a glimpse of the entire content. It didn’t help Ji-an feel more inclined to answer.

His mom’s last message was classically dramatic, saying, “Do you want to see your mom die like this?” and Jeong Han-joo’s last message was, “Let’s meet. Let’s talk.”

Why is this guy acting like a drama protagonist alone?

Ji-an looked at his phone in the darkness and let out a humorless laugh. He had a strange feeling. It felt like something he’d cherished for so many years had become worn out in an instant.

Is this why they say playing hard to get is important in a relationship?

No. Ji-an shook his head.

So much had happened in a single day. Among them, the enemy encounter with Seo Ji-hyuk at the end was the decisive blow for Ji-an. Now, he couldn’t understand why Jeong Han-joo, who had such a desperate love for Seo Ji-hyuk, was still trying to contact him.

While he was lost in thought, another message came in. As soon as he confirmed the sender, Ji-an jumped up from where he was lying down.

[Even my brother broke into your house and made a mess.]

It was Jeong Hee-seo.

Ji-an brushed away the sweaty hair from his forehead and checked his watch. It was 1 a.m.

“…”

While he was debating whether to answer or not, another message arrived.

[So this is how you’re going to take responsibility like that.]

Ji-an was genuinely annoyed. Whose fault was all this?