PUCKD Ch 17

The dinner party concluded in a perfect K-company dinner style.

Hearing the rumors, coaches from other restaurants also joined in. Whether it was thanks to the Korean food they hadn’t tasted in a long time or because it was their first time drinking with Coach Peter, they all drank until they were dead drunk.

The players who were still sober walked back to the lodgings, and a few Ubers had to be called for those who were completely wasted. Yook Doomin was among the latter.

It was up to Ji Minchul and Shin Hojae to support the waterlogged-cotton-heavy Yook Doomin on both sides and carry him to his room.

“Whoa, damn. Why is this tiny bastard so heavy.”

Shin Hojae quietly agreed. Even with both of them supporting him, they were sweating profusely.

“Want some water?”

“Yeah. Thanks.”

While Ji Minchul took off the sneakers and socks of Doomin, who was sprawled out on the bed, Shin Hojae grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and tossed it to him. Two 500mL bottles of water were emptied in an instant. Crushing the empty bottle, Hojae spoke to Minchul.

“That’s enough, you should go back to your room and rest too.”

“He looks uncomfortable. Just a little more.”

Ji Minchul was grunting and struggling to take off not only Yook Doomin’s sneakers and socks but also the windbreaker he was wearing.

Shin Hojae watched Ji Minchul as he took off his own windbreaker. It was something he often thought, but that guy was truly devoted to Yook Doomin.

The landline phone in the room rang just as Ji Minchul had finished organizing the removed windbreaker and clothes and had even come back with a wet towel.

“Is the phone ringing in our room right now?”

Shrugging at Minchul’s question, Shin Hojae picked up the receiver. He answered it since it was ringing, but he couldn’t think of any reason for a call to a hotel room in the middle of the night.

“Hello?”

—This is Kwon Junghyun. You didn’t reply to my message, so I called the room.

“……”

At the voice coming from the receiver, Shin Hojae instinctively glanced at Ji Minchul in the room.

It seemed Kwon Junghyun had contacted him while they were on their way to the room. He hadn’t even felt the vibration of the incoming message because he was busy supporting Yook Doomin, and he hadn’t thought to check it afterward either.

Hojae needlessly switched the receiver to his other ear. The one farther from Minchul.

“…What can I do for you?”

When he used Korean, he could feel Minchul’s gaze on him.

—You didn’t seem drunk earlier. I was hoping you could keep me company for a drink if you have time.

“……”

Ji Minchul mouthed, ‘Who is it?’ Conscious of Minchul, Hojae chose his words carefully.

“Right now?”

—If my memory serves me right, including last week’s portion, I think we have 4 hours left on our contract.

As he said, the training camp schedule was awkwardly timed, so two weeks of contract fulfillment days remained.

After hearing the location Kwon Junghyun mentioned, Shin Hojae quietly hung up the phone. Seeing Shin Hojae put his windbreaker back on, Ji Minchul asked with a surprised look.

“What? Are you going out now?”

“Yeah. I’m taking the key card, so just close the door when you leave.”

“Who is it? Yongsoo-hyung?”

“Just… you know.”

Shin Hojae mumbled his reply and left the room. Thankfully, Ji Minchul didn’t press for more details.

The place Kwon Junghyun had mentioned was a lounge bar connected to the hotel lobby floor.

It was a place where any of the players or coaching staff staying at the hotel could come. He glanced around to see if there were any familiar faces, but it seemed no one else had sought out the bar after the late-night dinner party.

His tense shoulders finally relaxed. Come to think of it, if they were to have a second round, they would probably do it in their own rooms rather than at an expensive bar where you even had to pay a tip.

He found Kwon Junghyun easily. He was sitting alone at an outdoor table overlooking the pool.

On the table sat a single glass of amber-colored liquor and a pack of cigarettes, but he wasn’t touching either of them, his vacant gaze fixed straight ahead.

What he was looking at was the surface of the water, illuminated by a soft yellow light, and an elderly couple sitting in front of it.

The man and woman, dressed in comfortable yet neat clothes, were chatting softly while drinking wine. To Hojae’s eyes, it was just an ordinary scene.

“……”

Shin Hojae paused for a moment and looked at Junghyun.

Was it because of the atmosphere of the night? The man’s expression seemed somewhat lonely.

Lonely? Hojae scoffed at the word he had just thought of.

Even the great Yook Doomin would look lonely if he were sitting alone in a bar.

“You’re here?”

Shin Hojae simply gave a slight nod, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

“Care for a drink?”

“No.”

Kwon Junghyun let out a small laugh as if he had expected that answer, which came before the words were even fully out.

“Alright. Then I’ll be the only one drinking.”

He drank his alcohol slowly.

He’d felt a cool breeze from somewhere, and it turned out the ceiling over the pool area was completely open.

He had only heard the rookies chattering about the hotel having a pool; this was the first time he was seeing it himself. The water’s surface was calm, likely because swimming was prohibited in the evening.

It was a scene that could be considered quite romantic. If only the person sitting in front of him wasn’t Kwon Junghyun.

To Shin Hojae, it was just an uncomfortable situation. Not drinking, not talking, a single minute felt like an eternity. At this rate, he had no idea when the 4 hours would pass.

Shin Hojae glanced at Kwon Junghyun, who was drinking. A shirt without a tie, and a few strands of his bangs were down. Compared to the perfect suit he always wore, his attire seemed much more relaxed.

Perhaps because of that, he gave off a more unguarded impression than when he’d seen him at the dinner party earlier.

Uncomfortable and bored, his gaze just wandered around. Then, his eyes stopped on Kwon Junghyun’s hands. He noticed him fiddling with the corner of the cigarette pack with his long fingers.

“You can smoke if you want to.”

“No, it’s fine. You don’t smoke, Shin Hojae-nim.”

“……”

“You didn’t drink earlier either. It seems not all athletes abstain like you do.”

“I just feel more at ease doing so during training or the season.”

“Is it something like a jinx?”

“Not to that extent, it’s just a habit.”

“Then it seems you’re not a bad drinker.”

“……I can probably drink quite well? At least I’ve never been so drunk I passed out.”

Something about that remark must have been funny, as Kwon Junghyun let out a small laugh. It was just a slight curve of his lips as he let out a puff of air, but Hojae immediately regretted his previous statement.

Did I sound too defensive? Did I seem childish?

As Shin Hojae was thinking that, he suddenly wrinkled his nose. A scent, like dried leaves crushed by hand, had abruptly seeped into his nostrils.

For a moment, the thought that someone might be spreading their pheromones crossed his mind.

“Don’t you smell something?”

“Pardon?”

“A scent like dry leaves…”

“Ah, the perfume I sprayed before the flight must still be lingering.”

As if to check his own perfume, Junghyun raised his wrist to his nose. Hojae’s tense nerves relaxed again.

So it was perfume. Thinking of it that way, it did smell like perfume. Why did I think it was like a pheromone?

“Why? Is it a scent you dislike?”

“It’s not that, I just thought it was a pheromone for a second.”

“A pheromone?”

Haha, Junghyun laughed out loud. As if he wasn’t displeased.

“Is there pheromone mixed in this perfume? I can’t remember. I’ll check it out next time.”

“…You even wear things like pheromone perfumes?”

“Well, I did when I was younger.”

“……”

“Because I wanted to be an alpha.”

Hojae shut his mouth and turned his gaze toward the pool.

Ever since their argument in the hotel room last time, he didn’t know how to react to this topic.

He had momentarily forgotten about it since they hadn’t had this kind of personal conversation in their meetings since then.

“Hojae-ssi, what does your pheromone smell like?”

At the question Junghyun tossed out in a light tone, Hojae looked back at him.

The pheromones of Traits were a very private matter. This was because they were directly related to ‘reproduction.’

To explain it simply for betas, it was similar to asking about the size or shape of one’s genitals. Naturally, he was reluctant to answer.

“Ah, did I perhaps ask an inappropriate question? Then you don’t have to answer.”

“……”

“I was just curious. As a beta, I never get to smell them. And the ones sold under the name ‘pheromone perfume,’ I can’t tell the difference between them and regular perfume when I smell them.”

“…Why did you lie earlier?”

“Lie?”

“About Yeonjae’s story, or the gym facilities… The things you said in front of the players. You, of all people, should know best that I never said such things.”

Junghyun stared at him with wide eyes.

“Did I? In my memory, those were your words, so that’s all I said.”

“……”

A lie.

If he had answered his question honestly, he might have been willing to tell him about his pheromone scent. But he was lying to the very end.

It’s a useless thought. What does it matter if Kwon Junghyun lies, and what’s the big deal if he misremembers? Shin Hojae shook his head slightly to clear his thoughts.

It was then that he heard a soft laugh. He turned his head to the side and saw Junghyun’s face with a slightly relaxed smile.

When he looked at him with a ‘what are you laughing at’ expression, Junghyun opened his mouth.

“No, I was just thinking that at this rate, it will take a long time for us to get close.”

“……”

“We’ve even rubbed lips and exchanged saliva, you know. Don’t you agree?”

Hojae looked around in a flustered state.

Talking about lips and saliva in a hotel where players and coaches were staying. Even if no one was in sight right now, there could be listening ears.

“There’s no one here. Don’t you remember Pete getting all excited and making somaek earlier? Everyone was carried out. Except for you, Hojae-ssi, who didn’t even touch a drop of alcohol.”

At those words, he suddenly remembered the conversation Junghyun and Peter were having.

“You were the one who brought Coach Peter to the Korean restaurant, weren’t you?”

Kwon Junghyun blinked slowly, then let out an “ah” of realization as if he had just remembered.

“I keep forgetting you speak English since we only speak Korean. I should be more careful with my words.”

“You seem to be quite close with Coach Peter.”

“Well, yes. We’ve known each other for a long time.”

“…Was it because of Peter that you dismissed Coach Park?”

Junghyun raised his eyebrows and looked at Shin Hojae as if he found it amusing. At that reaction, he thought ‘oops’ and shut his mouth.

“I just thought it would be a good opportunity. For the Blue Wolves, and for Pete.”

“……”

It was an answer with no particular flaw, yet one side of his chest felt strangely tight. A feeling of something unresolved, perhaps.

In truth, it wasn’t this question he wanted to ask, but about Coach Peter’s behavior he had seen earlier. It was strangely sticky for a friendship.

If they’ve known each other for a long time, what exactly is their relationship? Since Peter is also an alpha, did he ask to taste the trace amounts of pheromones in his saliva, just as he had demanded of him?