YHP 2

A cool freshness characteristic of fresh materials permeated the new building. Trying to avoid bumping into people, Jeong-in walked as close to the wall as possible while checking the schedule on his phone.

Financial Management, TH Building Room 307.

He checked the name of the building several times as he entered and saw his uncle’s name on the construction memorial plague, which meant that he had helped build this building.

However, no matter how hard he looked, there seemed to be no Room 307 on the third floor. He returned to the stairway several times to examine it carefully, and he discovered that for some reason, after Room 304, there was Room 310 only.

What kind of building is this? As he was about to turn back while grumbling, his phone suddenly rang.

“Hello?”

–Where are you, idiot?

It was Hyo-jun. 

Jeong-in answered gruffly, “That’s none of your business.”

–I just want to see you.

“Stop saying creepy things. We just saw each other yesterday.”

It hadn’t even been 12 hours since, so calling it yesterday felt awkward too.

They had played games together past midnight, and when Hyo-jun suddenly said he was going to meet his girlfriend, they parted ways. Later, he found a pile of tangerine peels in the corner of his room.

“Hey, you dumped tangerine peels in my room and took off yesterday.”

As the memory he had briefly forgotten resurfaced, a sudden wave of heat rushed through him.

“I told you not to bring that kind of stuff. Does one person just and eat and someone else cleans it up?”

A surge of anger rose within Jeong-in, making him snap. Hyo-jun chuckled on the other end of the phone. Jeong-in thought his annoying voice felt oddly close.

“Hey, I’m sorry.”

When Jeong-in turned his head to the hand casually placed on his shoulder, he saw Hyo-jun standing there grinning.

“How did you know I was…”

Hyo-jun interrupted him as if he knew exactly what Jeong-in was about to say.

“I’m the one who made your schedule. Did you think I wouldn’t know you were panicking on the third floor?”

Hyo-jun had tricked Jeong-in, who didn’t even know what course registration was, into letting him make his schedule. Hyo-jun even bragged about it everywhere, managing to wrangle a luxury clutch bag from his aunt. Jeong-in bit his lip in frustration and glared at Hyo-jun’s shameless face. However, Hyo-jun seemed to be completely unfazed–he stepped back and looked at Jeong-in from head to toe.

“This kid still doesn’t get it. If you really don’t want to be noticed by others, you can’t walk around with this, this, and this.”

Hyo-jun pointed at Jeong-in’s shoes, clothes, and wrist. Then he examined his wrist, closely inspecting the watch wrapped around it.

“This isn’t really your dad’s style… Is this a gift from the chairman?”

“…”

“No matter how subtle it is, kids who like watches will recognize it right away. Once you reach this level, whether it’s genuine or fake, people will start talking, so starting tomorrow, you should probably wear something else.”

Jeong-in glanced at Hyo-jun’s wrist.

“What about you?”

Hyo-jun’s wrist was adorned with a diamond watch that could be spotted from a hundred meters away, perfectly complementing his designer coat, shoes, and bag. 

When Jeong-in pointed this out, Hyo-jun replied matter-of-factly: “It doesn’t matter for me since my face is already well-known, but it’s different for you, isn’t it?

“Sigh…”

Truthfully, Jeong-in hadn’t expected anything else. Unlike Jeong-in, who wanted to live quietly without attracting anyone’s attention, Hyo-jun, whose motto in life was “good things are good,” was used to being in the spotlight since he was a child. He didn’t even bother to hide the fact that he was the eldest son of Seyoung Financial Group, but rather used it to his advantage to mingle with the kinds of beautiful people he liked.

Jeong-in briefly considered various scenarios based on Hyo-jun’s comment and then shook his head.

“Then I won’t hang out with you anymore from now on. Good luck.”

“Oh, don’t be like that. The adults told me to take good care of you.”

Hyo-jun grabbed Jeong-in as he was about to pass by and started to playfully insist.

“I don’t care if you go alone or with a group in the future, but let’s take a picture together first.”

Hyo-jun wrapped his arm around Jeong-in with octopus-like arm suction cups, making him uncomfortable. Jeong-in tried to pry him off with all his strength, but of course, there was no way he could overpower someone who practically lived in the fitness center whenever he had the chance. In the end, Jeong-in ended up taking a picture with their faces pressed together.

“Oh, come on.”

Jeong-in shuddered as he roughly wiped his cheek.

“Jeong-in.”

Hyo-jun immediately sent the photo to someone, then glanced up. His arm was still draped over Jeong-in’s shoulder.

He looked like he wanted something.

Jeong-in looked at him with disgusted eyes.

“The watch. If you can’t wear it anyway, doesn’t it make sense to just give it to me?”

“What?”

“I’ll talk to the chairman, so let’s trade. I’ll give you this one.”

There was a glint in Hyo-jun’s eyes. He immediately took off the sparkling diamond watch and held it out.

“What nonsense are you talking about? I’m not giving this up!”

“Ah, that one’s hard to find. Don’t just stash it away, give it to me. I’ll put it to good use, okay?”

As Jeong-in was barely poking his head out with Hyo-jun’s arm wrapped around him, someone called out to Hyo-jun from behind.

“Oh? Hyo-jun oppa!”

Almost at the same time, Hyo-jun quickly changed his stance, turning Jeong-in around to hide him behind his back.

As the pressure around his throat eased, Jeong-in took gasped for air. Meanwhile, a group of people approached Hyo-jun.

“What are you doing? Who is that?”

“A middle school classmate. By the way, Hye-na, have you lost weight?”

Hyo-jun quickly changed the subject. Those who had been glancing over his shoulder shifted their attention back to him.

“Don’t even mention it. Which bastard said pilates was doable? I’ve been really struggling lately, fuck…”

“Oh, are we going to see Park Hye-na hit 500 on the bench press this semester?” Hyo-jun asked as he gently nudged Jeong-in.

That was a sign for him to escape. Jeong-in turned around and left without any hesitation. 

Walking away from the loud chatter, he only glanced back after he had distanced himself. He could still see Hyo-jun surrounded by his friends.

At first glance, it seemed that he was comfortably engaged in conversation, but judging by the subtle tension in his expression, Hyo-jun didn’t seem to be particularly fond of that group.

Jeong-in had grown up observing that face since he first learned to walk, he couldn’t help but know him too well. Hyo-jun’s small talk with the people he didn’t particularly like was probably to block the attention that would have been directed at Jeong-in if left alone. And…

Jeong-in quietly scanned the people talking with Hyo-jun.

“There’s an Alpha among them.”

The fact that he could faintly sense the pheromones from that distance, and even though he’d only just taken his medication, suggested that there was a pretty strong Alpha among them. Naturally, he did not want to get involved. Jeong-in shuddered as he turned away and quickened his pace when a message suddenly popped up. It was from Hyo-jun.

[Room 307 is on the second floor, you idiot.”

Jeong-in chuckled.

“What? There’s no such thing,” he muttered while typing his reply.

[Thanks.]

And I’m sorry. He swallowed the last part, keeping it to himself.

***

Jeong-in’s message soon reached Hyo-jun as well. He secretly checked his phone and then turned his attention back to the people in front of him. Now that he had successfully whisked Jeong-in away, he wished he could leave too, but the people didn’t seem to have any intention of letting Hyo-jun go yet.

“Oh, right, let me introduce you. This is…”

While Hye-na was talking about the connection between pilates and life, pulled someone’s arm from the back and pushed him in front of Hyo-jun.

A tall young man, at least thirty centimeters taller than her, smiled awkwardly. Of course, Hyo-jun recognized him too. To be precise, anyone in South Korea with a TV at home would recognize him.

“Of course, how could I not know Hyo-jun?”

He was the one who constantly broke records at every chance he got.

But for Hyo-jun, celebrities and famous people were all the same. So while he spoke with a cheerful voice pretending to be amazed out of courtesy, in reality, he was neither particularly surprised nor thrilled. Choi Jeong-in might have actually given him the watch if he persuaded him a bit more, but more importantly, this guy was the reason why he had to let Choi Jeong-in go early.

“Hello, I’m Cho Hyo-jun from the Economics department.”

The man in front of him was an Alpha, just like him, and a currently active athlete at that. The moment Hyo-jun sensed the tightly compressed energy suppressed by the medication, Hyo-jun was certain that Jeong-in wouldn’t be able to handle this person.

For those whose job and goal was to maximize their physical abilities, expecting them to handle their restraint was like trying to teach physics to a goldfish. As an athlete, he naturally would have to constantly manage his sensitivity, but if this man set his mind to it, manipulating Choi Jeong-in with his hormones would be easy, whether Jeong-in wanted it or not.

Therefore, it was better to not expose him in the first place.

“Yes, hello.”

The man smiled brightly and shook Hyo-jun’s outstretched hand.

His long, gentle eyes were neat. Compared to his muscular body, his handsome face exuded an air of innocence. Hyo-jun was slightly taken aback by the impression that Ho-jin looked so good compared to what he had seen in the media, but he didn’t show it and lightly shook hands. He could feel the hard calluses embedded at the base of each finger he touched.

Before long, Hye-na chimed in again. 

“By the way, oppa, are you free tonight?”

“Why?”

“Why? I just want to eat with you since it’s been a while. Ye-ji unnie and Yu-jeong said they can make it, and Min-jun too. Oh, and Ho-jin, what about you? Are you free? You probably don’t know many people since you didn’t attend school much last year. I hope we can get closer together while chatting about this and that.”

Hyo-jun almost laughed. Princess Park Hye-na, the eldest daughter of Hyesung Shipping, wanted to fry this giant swimmer sooner or later. While she seemed to be asking Hyo-jun at first, what she really wanted to know was Yoo Ho-jin’s schedule.

And once again, Yoo Ho-jin looked at her with a bright smile.

“Thanks, Hye-na.”

Hyo-jun observed him with an interested gaze. It was somewhat amusing to see how this icon of honesty and diligence, who acted like a prim and proper gentleman when the cameras were rolling, fell so easily for such blatant attention in private.

Well, according to the rumors floating around, he seemed to be nearing the end of his athletic career. Perhaps playing the role of Hye-na’s accessory temporarily would be such a bad deal after all. That was the thought that crossed his mind.

“But I don’t think I can make it today,” Ho-jin said, still smiling brightly. “It’s a bit difficult to cancel my training… I feel bad since you went out of your way to invite me.”

Though he apologized smoothly, he refused in the end. However, the strong-willed Hye-na really had a soft spot for Yoo Ho-jin.

“Come on, it won’t take long. You can just stay for a little while.”

“I’m really sorry. If you invite me again next time, I’ll make sure to find time.”

Hyo-jun almost clapped without even realizing it. As far as he knew, there hadn’t been anyone Hye-na set her mind on that she couldn’t get to play along. Yet, even after brushing off the princess who could swallow Hyesung Shipping whole twice, Ho-jin’s handsome face remained calm and serene.

It was the same unchanging expression he had worn on the day he unfurled the Korean flag at the highest spot on the podium with a gold medal around his neck, and on the day he was left alone at the starting line while everyone else pushed forward through the water.