AP CH 18 (Mighty Town)

“Seon-woo, why haven’t you been answering your phone? We were worried.”

“…..Please come inside first.”

Seon-woo swung the door open wide.

As expected, Nam Jun-woo immediately began looking around as soon as he stepped inside. His gaze landed on a closed door, and he reached for the handle.

Clack.

“Why won’t this open?”

“That’s my roommate’s room. Don’t go in there.”

“You have a roommate? Is he a ski instructor too? Hah, don’t tell me he’s inside right now.”

“No. He’s out for a lesson.”

“Ugh, but seriously, do you guys even clean? The pheromones in here are really……Your roommate must be quite something too.”

“You’re just overly sensitive.”

Carrying some drinks to the sofa, Seon-woo caught sight of an open can—one Eun Hyeon-chae had been drinking earlier but hadn’t had the chance to put away. He flinched and quickly hid it behind his back.

“Seon-woo, sit down.”

“Okay.”

Seated on the sofa, Seon-woo listened quietly as his family spoke. A lot had happened while he had been busy shutting his eyes and ears, running away from everything.

“That Hwang Dong-jin—he’s unbelievably stubborn. When you told him to just go ahead and fire you, he actually had the nerve to act like a real boss…..”

Feeling guilty for Dong-jin, who kept getting dragged into this mess simply for being Jun-woo’s old classmate, Seon-woo sighed inwardly and turned to look at his family.

“I’m not going back. The ski camp will run just fine without me, and I’ve already talked things over with Choi Lee-won.”

“You think this is some childish game? You had a small argument with a friend, and this is how you handle it? Lee-won collapsed, and now I can’t even look the chairman in the eye. Chairman Choi even asked me personally if something was wrong with you.”

“This isn’t just about the two of you anymore. Lee-won is sick—are you really going to be this heartless?”

Listening to his parents’ attempts at persuasion with a troubled expression, Nam Seon-woo let out a quiet sigh inwardly. He had never been this at odds with Choi Lee-won before, but he never imagined his father would come all the way here because of it. If things continued like this, he would be hounded about it all winter. Rubbing his throbbing temple, he finally opened his mouth.

“Lee-won didn’t say much about why he collapsed, did he?”

“Why? Did something happen?”

“…..I think it might be because of me.”

As the three of them turned to him with startled expressions, Seon-woo schooled his features and continued speaking.

“We had some drinks together the other night and fell asleep. But then, all of a sudden, he couldn’t control his pheromones. At first, I thought it was just the alcohol, but….. he got overly worked up, just like before…..”

“Seon-woo, are you saying….. Lee-won’s condition has relapsed?”

At his mother’s trembling voice, he nodded. Nam Jun-woo frowned, looking confused.

“But I thought Lee-won was completely cured?”

“It only seemed that way for a while. It’s an incurable condition—there was always a chance of a relapse.”

“Then why are you saying this is because of you?”

How should he put this? That Choi Lee-won had found out he had feelings for him? Or that Lee-won himself…..

Pausing at Jun-woo’s questioning gaze, Seon-woo ran his tongue over his dry lips before smoothly weaving a lie.

“He’s always been sensitive to Alphas. Choi Lee-won insists it’s not the case, but the problem only ever happens when he’s around me—how can I just ignore that? …..That’s why I’ve been avoiding him. If this gets out, it won’t be good for either of us.”

“That’s true. You need to be careful about this.”

“Yeah, and it’s not even certain that it’s Seon-woo’s fault. What if strange rumors start spreading…..? Still, Seon-woo, you should have told us in advance.”

“I didn’t tell you because Nam Jun-woo has a big mouth.”

“Hey, what did you just say?”

“Jun-woo, if you go blabbing about this anywhere, you’ll be in serious trouble.”

“Why the hell would I do that?! Wow, this is so unfair!”

“…..So what do you plan to do now?”

Seon-woo glanced at his family, who had all but accepted his words, and curved his lips into a smile.

“…..I figured having a bonded Omega might help. I’m planning to meet them after the engagement ceremony.”








That should be enough to stop them from getting entangled with Lee-won again and showing up like this.

After seeing his parents and Jun-woo off with a composed expression, he quickly hurried back to the lodge. He knocked on the closed bedroom door, and after a moment, he heard the quiet click of the lock before the door slowly opened.

Standing there was Eun Hyeon-chae, his cheeks and the tips of his ears completely flushed red.

“Why is your face so red? Was it too hot?”

Startled by the unusually flushed complexion, Seon-woo reached out, only for Hyeon-chae to tilt his head and rub his cheek against Seon-woo’s hand.

The smooth skin beneath his fingertips was burning hot.

“That’s not it….. It’s just that….. sunbae’s pheromones are really….. strong.”

“…..Ah.”

Only then did Seon-woo realize his mistake.
Since he lived alone, he never bothered to restrain his pheromones at home—especially after just waking up from a nap. The bedroom must have been saturated with his scent. And yet, he’d brought another Alpha in there.

“That must’ve been rough. You should’ve at least opened a window or something instead of pushing through it.”

“…..It wasn’t unpleasant.”

“If it wasn’t unpleasant, then—you didn’t, like, jerk yourself off with my pheromones or anything, did you?”

It was a light-hearted tease, spurred on by the way Eun Hyeon-chae spoke with his blush spreading all the way to his neck. But there was no answer.

Seon-woo, who had been laughing playfully, lifted a brow.

“…..You didn’t, right?”

“…..Yes.”

“Wait—is that ‘yes’ you didn’t….. or ‘yes’ you did?”

Hyeon-chae hesitated, lips parting slightly before he turned his gaze away and slipped out into the living room, avoiding Seon-woo altogether.

The glimpse of his expression showed a faint smile. Seon-woo, left alone at the threshold, pressed a hand to his forehead, unable to follow him into the room.


*****

Putting on a dramatic expression, Hanna tightened her eyes and wiggled her short brows while shaking the hot chocolate in her hand with flair.

“Hey, handsome mister. How about we share some hot chocolate love?”

“…..Where did you even learn to talk like that?”

“It’s trending these days! How to become a dominant Alpha, volume one.”

“Step one: Approach the person you’re interested in. Step two: Establish dominance over the same Alpha to win the upper hand. And then…..”

Just what were kids these days into? Seon-woo chuckled, half in disbelief at this bizarre little subculture.

He reached out and gave Hanna’s helmet a playful flick—it had floppy silicone cat ears attached.

“Doing all that won’t change your designation, you know.”

“We know it’s not real!”

“Yeah, but we’re gonna be dominant Alphas even without all that stuff anyway!”

“Oh yeah? That so? That’s impressive.”

“It’s true! Dr. Hwang said so last time. Our dad’s a dominant Alpha, so we have a high chance of being the same. We’re identical twins, so our genetic traits are exactly alike.”

“Ina and I don’t have any Omega traits at all.”

Aside from the fact that their father was working in Busan, Seon-woo didn’t know much else—he’d never seen the man even once. So that was where the dominant Alpha blood came from. No wonder Hanna and Ina were so athletic.

He was absentmindedly fiddling with the silicone cat ears on Hanna’s helmet when his phone buzzed in his pocket.

Seeing Choi Lee-won’s name on the screen, Seon-woo hesitated for a brief moment. Then he stood up and spoke to the twins in a gentle tone.

“…..I’ll be right back. I need to take this call, just for a moment. Sit tight, okay?”

He gestured to Seo-rin, asking her to keep an eye on the girls, and stepped behind the building to answer.

—So you’re using me as your excuse?

The sharp voice that greeted him the moment he picked up made Seon-woo smile soundlessly. It had barely been a day since his parents left. If word had already reached Lee-won by now, there was no doubt—it was Nam Jun-woo’s doing.

“…..Well, maybe you shouldn’t have kept provoking me like that. You left me with nothing to say.”

A tense silence settled between them, broken only by the faint sound of Lee-won’s uneven breathing, as if he were trying to suppress his anger. Seon-woo sighed quietly and opened his mouth to end the call, but Lee-won beat him to it.

—I’ll take responsibility for that night. Call it my mistake.

“……….”

—You and I….. we’re not something that falls apart over one misstep. So just come back. Let’s go back to how we were.

Did he even realize what “how we were” meant to Seon-woo?

That empty promise felt like a parallel line that would never meet him, and a bitter smile tugged at Seon-woo’s lips as he held it in.


*****

“Aaaah!!”

The call ended abruptly on the other end, and Lee-won let out a furious growl as he threw his phone across the room.

He’d suspected something wasn’t right for a while now, but there was no doubt left anymore—Nam Seon-woo had changed. And at the center of it all was that bastard. Eun Hyeon-chae.

“Fuck….. that little shit…..”

He didn’t know exactly what Eun Hyeon-chae had done to shake Nam Seon-woo, but he was sure—if he went to him in person, Seon-woo would come back.

There was no doubt in his mind. Seon-woo couldn’t possibly be this cold when faced with him directly. It wasn’t just a gut feeling; it was a certainty forged over a lifetime.

But Schuphur held him by the ankles. He couldn’t make any careless moves.

He couldn’t throw away four years of work just because of this. And Nam Seon-woo, who knew that better than anyone else, had gone and run away to Mighty—a place close enough to taunt him, but in truth the farthest reach possible.

He knew there was nothing he could do right now, but sitting still wasn’t an option either. With a violent tug, he ripped out the IV drip and stood from the bed. The secretary who had just walked in hurried over in alarm.

“Young master, are you feeling unwell? I’ll call the nurse.”

“I’m going to have myself discharged. Get the papers ready.”

“…..Excuse me?”

“Are your ears clogged? I said I’m getting the fuck out of this goddamn place!!”

Lee-won tore off his hospital gown and shouted. The secretary, maintaining a composed expression, bowed his head and quickly left the room.

A little while later, the secretary returned carrying Lee-won’s clothes and belongings. As he handed over a paper bag, he leaned in and spoke in a hushed voice.

“There was just a call from Executive Director Choi Lee-ri’s office.”

“Lee-ri?”

“Yes, sir. She said to give her a call when you have time.”

“…..What now.”

At the unwelcome name, Lee-won’s brow twisted with irritation. But since this wasn’t something she usually did, he couldn’t ignore it and immediately dialed Lee-ri’s number.

“What’s so important you’re personally reaching out?”

—That club of yours. Didn’t they request accommodations at Mighty Town and get turned down?

“…..So? You called just to rub it in? Must be nice to have time on your hands.”

He didn’t bother hiding the annoyance in his voice. Lee-ri gave a thoughtful hum on the other end.

—Not quite. My friend’s in charge over there, you know. You met her last time—Woo-yeon, remember?

“Get to the point.”

—It’s not open to the public yet, so she asked if your team would still use it. I was going to say no, but you know how much Grandfather cherishes that club. I couldn’t shake it off, so I thought I’d check in.

What a laughable excuse.

Lee-won knew all too well how Choi Lee-ri had always harbored an inferiority complex over the club she could never be a part of. And yet, she lied without even flinching.

As he tried to puzzle out the true intention behind her offer—an offer that reeked of ulterior motive—her voice came again, lightly teasing.

—If you don’t need it, just say so.

Under normal circumstances, he would’ve hung up without another word. But this wasn’t a time Lee-won could afford to turn down the offer.

If he could just bring Schuphur to Mighty…..

Goddamn it, Nam Seon-woo.

His face dark with frustration, Lee-won clenched his fist tight, humiliated but resolute, and practically ground the words out between his teeth.

“…..Send me the contact info.”