PUCKD Ch 50

He slipped on his indoor slippers and moved his heavy legs toward the kitchen. He took out a glass cup and pressed the cold water button on the water dispenser. Shin Hojae was still staring at Junghyun from where he stood.

Drip, drip.

The sound of the water falling was refreshing. Junghyun drank the water, then pressed the button again and asked.

“From where did you hear?”

His claim that he heard nothing had to be a lie. They weren’t actually in a meeting, and there was no way he would have been wearing earphones.

“…From when the loud noise started.”

Loud noise? When was that? His mother had been making a loud noise since she was waiting outside the front door.

Well, that wasn’t what was important.

“Thank you for telling my mom you didn’t hear anything. And for lying. Do you want some water?”

Shin Hojae shook his head slightly. Junghyun finished the second glass of water as well and placed the used cup in the sink.

Based on the pattern so far, Shin Hojae would surely harden his face and question him about what was just discussed.

The matter of pheromone collection, which he had clearly refused, would be the first thing on the chopping block. From Shin Hojae’s perspective, it would be upsetting to know that a stranger thinks he’s providing pheromones.

The verbal spars with Shin Hojae that happened almost every time something similar occurred were never pleasant. Especially on a tired day like today.

“Just now-.”

“Your mother….”

Just as Junghyun opened his mouth, Shin Hojae also spoke. And they both closed their mouths at the same time.

Hadn’t something like this happened before? Feeling a sense of déjá vu, Junghyun gestured for him to speak first. Shin Hojae stared at Junghyun and slowly opened his mouth.

“Is your mother… always like that to you, Director.”

“……”

Always like that? What did he mean?

Always that hysterical? Or always dividing people by class and crudely calling them wenches?

Or was it that she was anxious he might get a woman pregnant, completely unaware that her son was seeing a man?

Belatedly, the shame of having shown such an unsightly side of himself hit him, lapping at his ankles. But Junghyun smiled. It was a deep smile, enough to feel the dimples form below his lips.

“It seems my mother had a bit of a bad day outside. I’ve shown you a rather unpleasant side.”

“Having a bad day outside doesn’t give her the right to take it out on her child. Your mother is now-.”

“Can’t you just pretend you didn’t see it and let it go?”

Junghyun cut him off mid-sentence.

He didn’t need to hear such righteous words from him; Junghyun himself knew it best.

But the relationship between him and his mother was not something others could carelessly judge. No one could be in their shoes, after all.

Hojae closed his mouth for a moment, then began to speak again.

“…The person whose expectations you wanted to meet must be your mother, Director.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Suddenly, he felt extremely tired. He wanted to be alone. He wished Shin Hojae would just leave.

It was just as he was thinking that and raising his head. Junghyun’s eyes widened slightly. It was because he had strode right up to him in the meantime.

“Do you have medicine?”

“…What?”

A dumbfounded voice came out of his mouth. Instead of answering, Shin Hojae reached out his hand. His index finger touched his left cheek. Tap.

The finger was gone in an instant, but as if a button had been pushed, heat spread from that spot. He belatedly felt a sting from the forgotten wound. Junghyun managed to maintain a smiling face.

“This much will heal on its own.”

“……”

But Shin Hojae just stared down at Junghyun with an unreadable expression.

His eyes were so direct, it felt as if they were looking deep into his soul.

His cheeks flushed. It couldn’t be true, but he felt as if his pathetic pride and trivial sense of superiority had all been laid bare.

Suddenly, Shin Hojae turned on his heel and left the spot. The sound of a zipper opening and closing came from the living room, and when he returned, Shin Hojae had something in his hand. It was a small bandage.

“……”

With his large hands, Shin Hojae unwrapped the bandage from its packaging, one by one. He wanted to ask what he was doing, but his throat felt strangely clogged.

The rough hand holding the bandage came up to his face. The bandage settled right over the small wound. He couldn’t bring himself to look at him directly, so his gaze dropped.

He saw the wrinkled sleeve of Shin Hojae’s T-shirt. It was because it had been lying crumpled next to the bed for several hours. Come to think of it, what time was it? The two hours must have passed a long time ago.

Then, Shin Hojae’s hand moved away from his cheek. The remaining two or three bandages, folded together, were placed neatly on the island counter.

“I’ll leave a few. If it gets wet, put on a new one.”

“…Don’t you have to get going? It’s been way past two hours.”

Junghyun barely managed to get his voice out.

“I’ve received a lot of help from you today in one way or another. A lot of time has passed, so let’s count it as using next week’s time in advance. You don’t have to come here next week.”

“…It’s not like that much time has passed.”

“No. It’s because I’ll feel bad if we just let it slide.”

“……”

“You didn’t leave anything behind, right? Get home safe.”

“Then next week, I’ll do that collection thing.”

“What?”

“The pheromone collection.”

Shin Hojae said again, standing there blankly. His tone was as casual as if he were talking about the dinner menu.

“…If it’s because you’re bothered by what my mother said, you don’t have to.”

“I want to do it now.”

Junghyun was at a loss for words and stared at him.

Did I look pitiful? Me, who gets pheromones while even lying to my mother.

But it was too tempting an offer to refuse for the sake of pride. In truth, there was a limit to how long he could deceive his mother, and dominant pheromones were not easy to come by.

“…Alright. I’ll let the center know.”

“Okay.”

Shin Hojae nodded. Then, he slung his bag over his shoulder and started walking toward the front door.

Junghyun followed him slowly. He could see his broad back. He put on his sneakers, one by one, and grabbed the doorknob.

Before opening the door, he casually looked back, and their eyes met. Junghyun suddenly felt a strong impulse.

Won’t you stay the night here today?

He almost said it. Then, he immediately returned to reality. It was ridiculous how a brief moment of kindness from him could lead to such vain thoughts. The kindness Shin Hojae had shown was probably just pity.

“Get home safe.”

“……”

Shin Hojae looked at me for a moment with unreadable eyes, then nodded and opened the front door.

As always, Junghyun stood at the entrance and watched silently as Shin Hojae left the small garden. The main gate opened, and closed. He could no longer see him, but he could hear the sound of his footsteps slowly descending the hill along the road.

Junghyun stood in the same spot for a long time, then had a cigarette before slowly coming back inside. He washed his hands in the bathroom and looked up at the mirror.

A plain, flesh-colored bandage was stuck across his left cheek, near his cheekbone. He looked ridiculous.

I should take it off, he thought, but his hand showed no sign of moving. Instead, Junghyun stared blankly at his own face in the mirror.

It was a face similar to his usual one, but somehow strangely flushed. An unwelcome sense of déjá vu slowly wiped the expression from his face.

It was because the face in the mirror looked just like his face four years ago, right after he had run into Shin Hojae in Binghamton.

“……”

Feeling somehow overwhelmed, Junghyun grabbed the sink with both hands and lowered his head.

“Pheromone center?”

“Yes, Vice President.”

Kwon Gihyuk, sitting in the vice president’s office, opened the report his secretary had handed him.

Attached were photos of his half-brother, Kwon Junghyun, entering a building with a blank expression, and the testimony of an omega woman who was a staff member at the center.

“He’s getting alpha pheromones?”

“Yes, that’s what they say.”

The corners of Kwon Gihyuk’s mouth lifted into a sneer. A undisguised scorn hung between them.

“Looks like our little brother is getting pretty desperate. To be involved in such bullshit.”

Pheromone injections. It must have been instigated by his stepmother, who was always a little crazy.

Kwon Gihyuk tossed the report on his desk, then propped his legs up and crossed them. The polished heel of his shoe crumpled the report paper.

Taking a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, Gihyuk put a cigarette to his lips and asked.

“Is this stuff really effective?”

“It’s not entirely ineffective, sir. Of course, that’s only for adolescents in their growth phase.”

Click. Gihyuk chuckled as he lit the cigarette with a lighter.

“Interesting. You may go.”

The secretary bowed and turned to leave. Kwon Gihyuk blew a puff of white smoke into the air and then called out to the secretary again, “Wait a minute.” The secretary stopped and stood near Gihyuk.

“I just had a more interesting idea.”

“Yes, Vice President.”

“The alpha pheromones our little brother is getting….”

Kwon Gihyuk took a drag from the filter and picked up the crumpled report again.

In the photo was the face of a man who looked both like and unlike him. The very face that always made Gihyuk feel a little twisted inside.

Gihyuk narrowed his snake-like eyes and smiled.

“What would happen if we changed that to omega pheromones?”