NUTMEG 31

“Then hyung, you date her.”

“Ah, no way. Do you kiss your family members?”

Geon shuddered his torso for no reason. It was no wonder he was chilly, since he was wearing a tank top with armholes cut down to his waist.

Wonoh lowered his gaze again, concentrating on the KakaoTalk window. Cheon Minje must have had his KakaoTalk open too, because the ‘1’ disappeared right away. It was so like Cheon Minje to then deliberate for a long time before replying that a laugh escaped him without him realizing it.

In the meantime, notifications kept popping up saying that Jeong Danbi was sending flashy emoticons. Annoyed, Wonoh turned off the notifications for Jeong Danbi’s chat window. It finally got a little quiet.

While Cheon Minje mulled over his reply, Wonoh took another drag from his cigarette.

“That’s not Danbi, is it? Who is it that you keep texting like that.”

“I told you to mind your own business.”

“Who is it. Your girlfriend?”

Girlfriend, my ass. The idea of mistaking Cheon Minje, who was much bigger than Kim Geon, for a girlfriend was so ridiculous that a laugh sneaked out again. Geon was scowling at him like he was a complete lunatic, which Wonoh didn’t like, so he hardened his expression and twitched his eyebrow. Only then did Geon turn his gaze away, grumbling.

These days, Choi Wonoh was living quite a fulfilling and satisfying life.

Lee Jingi, who had been an eyesore hovering in front of him, was gone, and the movie filming that had kept him up at night with pressure was almost at its end. The preparations for his third album were also going smoothly, and because things were going well with writer Son, he was about to sign a contract for his next project.

Had he ever been in such a consistently good mood since his debut? He thought probably not.

Thinking a reply might have come, he picked up his phone again and saw that Cheon Minje’s messages, which had arrived a few minutes ago, had piled up. It’s annoying that I can’t see them right away since I set it to silent. Should I switch it to vibrate.

[Won Entertainment Cheon Minje:
Looking forward to the 3rd album] 2:41 AM

[The song you played for me before was really good] 2:43 AM

[It must be tough being in the recording studio until dawn
(emoticon)] 2:45 AM

At the end of the messages, which had come in at two-minute intervals, he had sent some kind of sullen white puppy emoticon. He even uses emoticons that are just like him.

[Me:
I’m not tired, Shotgun who’s been up for 4 nights must be tired] 2:46 AM

[Won Entertainment Cheon Minje:
LOL] 2:46 AM

[ㅠㅠ Ah he must be tired but I laughed] 2:47 AM

“Ah, Choi Wonoh’s smirking is so damn annoying. Ah—I want to be in a relationship too.”

“A relationship, my ass.”

Wonoh imagined Cheon Minje lying on his stomach on his bed, typing diligently on KakaoTalk. Then, the scene from a while ago of him fucking him from behind on the trailer sofa, wearing only socks and sneakers, naturally came to mind.

“……”

Feeling a surge of thirst, Wonoh took a deep drag from the filter.

His recently satisfying days also included a safe and enjoyable sex life with Cheon Minje.

He’s comfortable and fun to be with, and on top of that, he could have sex with him? It was the icing on the cake. And what about their sexual chemistry? Seeing him, who was normally so mild-mannered, become a complete vixen only during sex and tighten around his cock, never got boring.

If I’d known doing it with a guy was this good, I would have tried it sooner.

After thinking that far, Wonoh stubbed out the cigarette butt. Then he held out his hand to Geon to light a second cigarette. Geon, who was still tapping on his phone, took a lighter out of his pocket and handed it to him. Through the deeply cut tank top, his moderately tanned, muscular side was visible. Wonoh imagined putting his hand in there and immediately frowned.

‘Ugh. As expected, other men are nauseating.’

Apparently, there were perverts in the world who chased after only men, even just male Omegas, but that was a story far removed from Choi Wonoh. He was fundamentally heterosexual, and this was also the first time he had ever had a specific partner.

In the few relationships Choi Wonoh had had until now, he had always been the type to passively observe his partner. The heroic tales of boys his age who easily lost their reason in front of sex felt like something from another world to him. Someone had once said that was because he hadn’t slept with an Omega. That sleeping with an Omega was a truly different level of experience. They were unpleasant words to hear.

He didn’t want to know, nor did he want to imagine, just how great it was. The pheromones of Alphas and Omegas that people so often talked about. And the chemical reaction they brought about. The mental illness called imprinting that eternally binds them to each other. Stories that ordinary people could never know. Choi Wonoh was determined to never, ever experience them.

The repulsive and filthy acts that his parents had committed. To Wonoh, the bond between an Alpha and an Omega was that kind of thing.

The reason he could continue his relationship with Cheon Minje was, of course, because he was a Beta.

The feelings of disgust and guilt about his sub-gender that he had carried his whole life could all become non-existent in front of the Beta Cheon Minje. Choi Wonoh, who had always policed and controlled every part of himself because he couldn’t stand being an Alpha, vanished in front of him. In front of Cheon Minje, I was completely comfortable and free.

Choi Wonoh released his pheromones when he had sex with him. It was because he knew he wouldn’t feel anything. It was the only time his pheromones, which he hadn’t even known were being suppressed, were liberated. There was no way sex like that could feel bad.

Sex with Cheon Minje aroused Choi Wonoh with dangerous speed and made him ‘almost’ lose his reason. It was an elation that soared endlessly close to him. That was Choi Wonoh. The hatred for sub-genders, rooted deep in the foundation of his unconscious, had made him that way. Nevertheless, every time he was with him, the temptation to completely let go of the reins of reason and gallop away made his mouth go dry.

It was easy to predict that meeting a sex partner he liked this much would not be an easy feat. A safe, enjoyable, and emotionally clean sex life. So naturally, as long as the situation allowed, Choi Wonoh wanted to maintain this relationship for as long as possible.

‘That hyung is only a year older, so why is he so skilled at sleeping with men.’

Having sex frequently, it was impossible not to know. Cheon Minje was used to sex, no, to sex with men.

Even though he said with his own mouth that he wasn’t gay, and that his type was an innocent woman. Was that really true? No matter how much he imagined it, it was easier to picture Cheon Minje having sex with a man than with a woman.

‘How much of a slut is that ass of his.’

The name ‘Soohyuk-ie hyung’ would inadvertently come to mind whenever Cheon Minje acted lewdly beneath him. That man was the only one whose name Cheon Minje had ever called, before or since. He couldn’t help but think that he was either an ex-boyfriend or in a similar relationship.

Well, it was none of his business who Cheon Minje slept with.

While lost in these various thoughts, Geon was on the phone with someone. From the sound of the conversation, it seemed to be Jin Jungjoon from the same group. Wonoh, having finished his second cigarette, had just tapped Geon’s elbow a couple of times with his fingertips.

The emergency exit door opened and figures peeking their heads in caused a small commotion.

“Gasp. It’s really UNCON. Hello, sunbae-nim!”

“Hello, sunbae-nim.”

The sound of their resounding greetings didn’t match the early morning air. When he turned his head, he saw unfamiliar faces standing there with flushed expressions. They seemed to be a rookie group that used the same recording studio. Wonoh received their greeting with just a slight nod of his head.

The boy who looked like a red anchovy, who had greeted him first, seemed unable to contain his excitement and made a fuss, saying, “Wow. I heard you use the same recording studio, but I never thought I’d actually meet you. This is really amazing. You’re really UNCON sunbae-nims, right?” Not wanting to deal with him, Wonoh frowned and looked at Geon for help. Kim Geon, finally grasping the situation, ended his call and smiled brightly at the two of them.

“Oh, yeah. You guys are… Sparkle! Right?”

“W-Wow! Shotgun sunbae-nim, it’s an honor that you remember us. Your Sparkle lights! I’m Junjun of Sparkle!”

“Hello. I am Soohyuk of Sparkle.”

Soohyuk.

Wonoh turned his eyes toward the tall man standing behind Junjun. Unlike the vaguely handsome red-haired boy who introduced himself as Junjun, he wasn’t bad-looking. His long, monolid eyes had small pupils, giving him a rather cold impression, but overall, his face was quite striking.

‘Soohyuk-ie hyung.’

Surely Cheon Minje’s ‘Soohyuk-ie hyung’ wouldn’t just conveniently appear like this.

While Junjun and Kim Geon were exchanging words, Wonoh slowly looked Soohyuk up and down. Is he a Beta, or an Alpha? He looks a little shorter than me. These days, there are so many Alpha-like Betas that it was hard to be sure.

Soohyuk stood behind Junjun, put a cigarette in his mouth, and took out a silver Zippo lighter. Click. With the sound, a flame rose and created a red glow on the cigarette. Perhaps because he had been staring for too long, Soohyuk, after taking a drag from the cigarette, spoke to Wonoh. Contrary to his cold impression, the way he smiled with his eyes crinkling made him look quite slick.

“I’m also a huge fan of UNCON sunbae-nims. Especially Choi Wonoh sunbae-nim, you’re my idol.”

“Ah, yes.”

He was the type he disliked, spouting such obvious lies without being asked.

Next to him, the guy named Junjun seemed to have succeeded in completely charming Kim Geon. The way he was acting cute and praising Geon’s self-composed songs, it looked like they were about to exchange numbers.

It felt foolish to keep standing there. Wonoh pulled on the steel door leading to the recording studio, intending to go in first.

A gaze landed on the back of his head.

“By any chance.”

Wonoh stopped his foot that was about to descend into the basement and asked the owner of the gaze.

“Do you know someone named Cheon Minje?”

“…It’s the first time I’ve heard that name. Is it someone I should know?”

“No. I guess it’s just a coincidence.”

Wonoh let out a smirk and went down the stairs again.

Soohyuk remained where he was, watching the retreating back with a strange expression.

It was late, so he had planned to sleep at his place in Seoul, but for some reason, he desperately wanted to shove his own thing into Cheon Minje’s tight, wet place, and his mouth went dry. Wonoh had no idea where this sudden impulse was coming from.

The ringing tone on the way to the parking garage stopped. Wonoh spoke quickly into the phone.

“Hyung. Are you going to sleep?”

—Uh… I was about to. Why?

From the other side of the receiver, Cheon Minje answered in a husky voice thick with sleepiness. That voice created an unfamiliar sensation of heat in his lower abdomen. What’s wrong with me. It’s not even my rut.

“Don’t sleep, wait for me. I’m on my way.”

—Huh…? Okay. Get here safely.

“Yeah.”

Ending the call, Wonoh got into the large Mercedes-Benz.

🍊

“Younghoon-ie hyung. Yeah, my usual pill case. You just need to bring that. Thanks.”

Wonoh took a moment during filming preparations to explain what he needed to his manager and then hung up.

The other day, he had come all the way to Paju in his own Mercedes, so he had left behind the medicine he always carried with him. No, under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t have needed it so urgently. Being a dominant sub-gender meant having a stable reproductive cycle, so Wonoh’s rut cycle had always been regular.

But now, preliminary symptoms had started to appear a whole month early. He had gotten some suppressants from Im Kihwan for the time being, but he wasn’t a dominant, so he didn’t know how effective the medicine would be for him.

‘Why on earth did it come back so early?’

It was the first time this had happened since his presentation. Thinking he should go see his doctor once his busy schedule wrapped up, Wonoh keenly observed the faint feelings of heat that were starting to rise. For him, who always endured his ruts with suppressants, it was a very unsettling sensation. It was probably better to take a break from filming today. Once his manager brought the suppressants, he could take them and rest for a day. Wonoh’s ruts had always passed like that.

Just as he turned to leave, unfamiliar staff members with familiar faces smiled brightly at Wonoh.

“Hey, Wonoh. Thanks for the drink!”

“Thanks to Wonoh, I get to drink coffee from the nation’s first love~!”

The staff members all greeted him, holding up cup holders with Wonoh’s face printed on them. Earlier that day, Jeong Danbi had sent a coffee truck to the set as a surprise.