PO 15

“Wow, spring will come soon.”

“It’s this cold?”

“When you think winter has passed, summer comes right away.”

Lee Doyoung looked at Han Jaegang with eyes half-closed from the alcohol. Even though the night air was cool, Han Jaegang was only in a knit and he was talking with Yoon Hyunjun.

“Ya. Don’t we have more alcohol?”

“Here.”

Sa Hunmin, who had emptied a bottle, searched for more. Han Jaegang opened the cap of a whiskey bottle that was nearby and he generously filled the glass, and he lifted the bottle toward Lee Doyoung as well.

“Do you want more?”

“Of course.”

“Wow. Doyoung-ssi, you must be holding alcohol well today.”

Sa Hunmin cheered in a playful tone. Lee Doyoung usually drank past his limit to match the mood, but Han Jaegang only poured alcohol without any reaction. The only moment he showed interest in Lee Doyoung was when he filled his glass.

“……”

Woojeong looked at Lee Doyoung with worry. They drank together, but somehow only his hyung kept getting more intoxicated.

“Hyung.”

Woojeong didn’t know how much alcohol Lee Doyoung could take, but if he drank at the same pace as the big-built alphas, it didn’t seem like he could endure it. Woojeong edged closer and grabbed Lee Doyoung’s arm.

“Hyung, are you okay? You look really drunk.”

“No? I’m fine. And when you drink in a place like this, you don’t get drunk. Isn’t that right, Hunmin-ssi?”

“Of course.”

Lee Doyoung said he was fine, but his words were already slurred. If it continued like this, something would happen. Han Jaegang came near Woojeong, who was restless, and he spoke quietly.

“What are you so worried about?”

“I think hyung drank too much.”

Han Jaegang leaned his chin on his hand with his arm on the table, and he asked in a low voice.

“Do you and your brother get along well?”

“……”

“Lucky guy. To have such a kind and pretty younger brother worrying for him.”

At those words, Woojeong hurriedly glanced at Lee Doyoung in surprise. Fortunately, he didn’t hear and he was laughing loudly. Han Jaegang stared at Woojeong as if he had forgotten Lee Doyoung was right next to him. Woojeong couldn’t stand that persistent gaze, and he turned his head.

“Ah, my head……”

Lee Doyoung set down his glass and held his head. He swayed in his seat and leaned his head on Han Jaegang’s shoulder. Yoon Hyunjun, who had emptied his glass, laughed at the sight.

“Doyoung-ssi looks really drunk. He needs to rest. Go take him and come back.”

“Yeah, hurry.”

Han Jaegang turned his head toward Lee Doyoung, who held his arm and leaned his head on his shoulder.

“Do you want to go rest?”

Han Jaegang’s voice sounded gentle as he asked. Lee Doyoung closed his eyes and nodded, and he gripped Han Jaegang’s arm tightly.

“I’ll take him and come back.”

There were two annexes at the villa besides the main house, and they stood a little apart at some distance. Woojeong and Lee Doyoung’s belongings had been placed there. When Woojeong tried to follow, Han Jaegang shook his head and stopped him.

“They’ll bring out tasty late-night food soon. Woojeong-ssi, you should stay and enjoy more.”

“Yeah. Leave hyung to Jaegang, and Woojeong-ssi, you stay and have fun more.”

Han Jaegang lifted up Lee Doyoung, who staggered, with ease and supported him. Left behind, Woojeong fixed his eyes on the backs of the two as they headed toward the annex.

Even while being supported, Lee Doyoung kept lurching. Then at one point, he wrapped his arms around Han Jaegang and clung to him. Han Jaegang paused and looked down at him for a moment, and then he supported Lee Doyoung more securely and started to walk again.

“……”

To Woojeong, Han Jaegang was still a difficult person. After he came to know about the relationship with his hyung, he had no choice but to be even more careful. He would inevitably see the two together more often from now on.

It was a night when the moonlight was bright. Woojeong, who watched the two walk side by side, pressed the area of his chest with his palm. For no reason, one part of his chest stung with an ache. Even when he deliberately turned his eyes elsewhere and let out a long breath, that sore pain didn’t go away.

•••

Han Jaegang, who had gone to take Lee Doyoung, returned a moment later. Yoon Hyunjun, who was eating hot rice noodles, raised his hand to greet him.

“Ya. Come quick and have a bowl too.”

“I’ll pass.”

“What about Lee Doyoung-ssi?”

“He’ll be resting.”

“What’s with that indifferent answer? And then why’s your hair wet?”

Han Jaegang laughed and leaned back against the chair, he shook his still-damp hair. After the two had disappeared, the gathering grew much quieter and more relaxed. He spotted Woojeong sitting close by the bonfire, and he pulled one corner of his lips into a smile.

The reason Lee Doyoung suddenly got drunk was because of Han Jaegang. He had chosen only high-proof drinks to offer, and he had filled the empty glasses quickly without giving Lee Doyoung any chance to catch his breath. Every time he suggested a toast, Lee Doyoung emptied his glass earnestly, so it was natural that he ended up unable to hold himself steady.

On the way to the annex, it had taken some effort to peel off Lee Doyoung, who had persistently held him, but after washing his traces away with a shower, Han Jaegang felt rather refreshed now.

“Lee Woojeong-ssi is an omega too, right?”

Yoon Hyunjun asked as he stirred the noodles. When Han Jaegang answered with a careless nod, he looked at the two near the bonfire and continued.

“The kid’s really quiet. He doesn’t resemble Lee Doyoung-ssi much. Since they’re step-brothers, I guess that explains it, but the atmosphere is totally different.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Seeing Yoon Ijun stick close to him like that, the kid must be kind. Maybe they have some connection. Ugh, it’s cold.”

As the temperature dropped, Yoon Hyunjun pulled a blanket that was set nearby over himself. In contrast, Han Jaegang sat back relaxed with his nape completely exposed. It wasn’t that he didn’t feel cold, but because pheromones had piled up inside some part of his body, his senses were already in a disordered state.

“By the way, how’s your body these days?”

“There’s nothing to say about it.”

“Weren’t you seeing Lee Doyoung-ssi because he matched you well?”

From Han Jaegang’s silence, Yoon Hyunjun picked up a negative meaning, and he let out a regretful sigh.

The traits of a dominant alpha, envied by many, sometimes gave the person who had them terrible suffering. Han Jaegang’s case was like that. The disease called ‘pheromone circulation disorder,’ often referred to as pheromone stagnation, occurred especially often in dominant alphas.

A dominant alpha was born with traits manifested, unlike ordinary alphas. But the body of a newborn baby was too small and frail to endure strong pheromones. While he grew up, pheromones left countless wounds on his young body, and the scars that accumulated in that way finally revealed themselves at some point in the form of a serious illness.

“Ah. But you should at least try. You said his pheromones aren’t uncomfortable for you.”

Yoon Hyunjun spoke with a serious face. But a pheromone disorder wasn’t a problem that could be solved by effort. No matter how good the medicine was, there was a limit to relieving it, and nobody could predict when or where a pheromone shock would come.

“That was only a mistake.”

“What did you say?”

Lee Doyoung’s scent that Han Jaegang had sensed when they met for the arranged date hadn’t been his. Only after he struggled to track down Lee Woojeong and met him again did Han Jaegang realize why he had no choice but to mistake the pheromone scents of the two.

At first, he thought that since they were brothers, they could be similar. But when he visited Lee Doyoung’s house and checked both of their rooms himself, he could easily guess the reason.

The two who became brothers through the remarriage of their parents weren’t in an equal relationship, unlike appearances suggested. There seemed to be a clear reason why Lee Woojeong was more naive than his age and was ignorant of the ways of the world.

“The real owner was separate.”

Lee Doyoung was originally an omega with no pheromone scent. He realized his situation early, and he must have quickly noticed that his younger brother who manifested later had a scent that was alluring enough for anyone to covet.

He made cunning use of Lee Woojeong’s pheromone scent. He covered himself with his younger brother’s scent as if he was spraying perfume and dressed it up as if it were his own. Even if it was a scent that disappeared quickly, it was more than enough to leave a good first impression.

“What are you even talking about?”

Yoon Hyunjun’s eyes widened and he asked, but Han Jaegang stopped speaking at that point. He leaned back against the camping chair and fixed his gaze on the backs of the two same-aged people sitting by the bonfire.

“Why do you keep asking? ……It’s nice to see the two getting along well.”

Lee Woojeong, who didn’t even know that he lived with his pheromone scent stolen, looked much more relaxed when his brother wasn’t present. The timid air disappeared, and he often spoke to Yoon Ijun and sometimes smiled brightly.

The reason Han Jaegang kept dragging out the relationship with Lee Doyoung, which he was about to settle soon, was because of Lee Woojeong. If he wanted to pull him out at the time he wanted and to the place he wanted, even though he was still young and under his parents’ control, he needed the right tool.

Lee Doyoung was in many ways perfect for that role. After leaving him aside for a while, neglected, when he contacted him, he brought Lee Woojeong to the villa just as Han Jaegang proposed.

“Shall we go in now?”

The time spent at the villa, which had a completely different atmosphere from the rigid the Snow Reflection Residence, made people feel relaxed. And the night easily made people sentimental. Alcohol had been drunk in good measure, and Lee Doyoung had been cleared away, so there was nothing to interfere with shaking Lee Woojeong.

It wasn’t difficult to forcefully place Lee Woojeong at his side. He already had the strength, the means, and the justification. But if he tied him by force, he would one day dream of escaping. That wasn’t the best.

Han Jaegang planned to make Lee Woojeong step toward him with his own feet and want to stay by his side. Slowly, but certainly. So that he could never retreat or turn back.