RACA 74

The car was silent enough that even their breaths sounded loud. Eunsol looked at Jaebeom, and Jaebeom looked at Eunsol.

“Hm.”

It was Jaebeom who broke the silence first with a hum. He frowned then he lifted Eunsol and seated him beside him. He handed over the clothes scattered on the floor.

Eunsol received his shirt. When he pulled it over his head, the pants came next. During that time, Jaebeom somehow managed to put on his own clothes as well.

“What? Does something look weird?”

Eunsol looked back at Jaebeom, who still frowned. He praised how skillful Jaebeom was, returning to his original composed self in such a small space in such a short time, just as expected from an actor.

“No. That’s not it. Honestly, I thought this would be enough.”

“Enough for what?”

“If we confirmed each other’s feelings, we would be able to go back. I thought that’s how it’d go.”

“Ah.”

He must have meant that since they confessed their feelings and decided to date, they had fulfilled the conditions that his grandmother wanted.

“I don’t think that’s enough.”

Eunsol spoke while he rubbed his abdomen slowly. If everything ended with them realizing their feelings and changing their relationship, then his traits wouldn’t have changed, and he wouldn’t have gotten pregnant.

He still had to think more about whether he would tell this to Jaebeom.

“Well, if it was that easy, this situation wouldn’t have happened.”

Jaebeom brushed Eunsol’s messy hair, then he opened the door and stepped outside. Left alone, Eunsol stared at his back as it grew distant, then he suddenly placed his palm on the spot Jaebeom had touched.

“What is this?”

Why is my heart here? The strange pulsing traveled straight into his palm. He covered his mouth, then he noticed Jaebeom standing in front of the car by the hood and quickly got out.

The moment he stepped outside, he felt the fresh air. He realized only then that the air inside the car had been thick with the pheromones the two of them released.

Embarrassed, Eunsol rubbed his cheeks. He moved his gaze and stared at the vines blooming on the wall.

At that moment, he remembered Jaebeom’s words that he had first seen him here.

‘So he already knew me back then.’

Eunsol had thought Jaebeom would never know him. He and Jaebeom were like the sun and an asteroid orbiting around it. He had been nothing but a tiny particle that appeared and scattered away, leaving no trace, without even a fixed orbit.

But that wasn’t true. Jaebeom said he remembered him. Eunsol’s heartbeat grew louder and faster. He panicked and put his hand over his chest.

“What are you doing? Get in, let’s go back.”

Jaebeom, sitting in the driver’s seat, rolled the window down and called to him.

“Yes.”

Eunsol answered blankly. The flowers swaying in front of his eyes looked as if they were celebrating him.

The crimson petals seemed especially vivid and bright. Feeling heat rise to his ears, Eunsol covered them with his palms and got in the passenger seat. Jaebeom glanced at him with a questioning look.

“I’m embarrassed.”

“About what?”

“The pheromones.”

In truth, it was his endlessly spreading feelings that troubled him. But he couldn’t say that, so he said something else instead.

“It lingered too strong inside.”

When he saw Jaebeom’s confused face, he started to regret bringing it up.

As he saw the smile forming at Jaebeom’s lips, he thought again that he should’ve stayed quiet.

“Mm!”

By the time he realized Jaebeom’s long arm was reaching out, it was already too late. His head was pulled toward the driver’s seat, and his lips were caught.

Yes, this wasn’t a kiss, it was nearly Jaebeom devouring him. The way Jaebeom sucked on his tongue and rubbed their lips together was as fierce as what had made his body burn just earlier.

“Mm, mmph, mm.”

Even now, Eunsol couldn’t push him away, and he only clenched his fists and let out trembling sounds.

Pheromones leaked out again automatically, so all the air they had tried to refresh was wasted.

“Ha, wait, why again?”

He protested weakly between breaths, but what came back was a charming smile and a gentle touch. Jaebeom wiped Eunsol’s damp lips, then straightened his posture.

He started the car, and his composure made it impossible to believe he had just shared such a heated kiss. If not for the gloss left around his lips, even Eunsol might have thought the kiss had been a dream.

“Actor, you should warn me before you do things like that. It’s shocking.”

Eunsol grumbled as they moved toward the exit. It really wasn’t good for his heart. Of course, announcing every single kiss would be strange, but at least he should give a sign before coming close.

If Jaebeom kept kissing him out of nowhere like this, Eunsol’s heart would beat so wildly that it might wear out completely.

“We should organize what we call each other first.”

Jaebeom spoke casually as he pulled a card from the parking payment machine.

“What?”

“We’re dating now, right?”

“Ye, yeah?”

It was true that things had escalated fast, that they had slept together and even conceived twins before officially confessing. But hearing Jaebeom say it himself made the heat rise again from Eunsol’s ears to his neck.

Dating.

‘No way, me, of all people.’

He had become lovers with top actor Pyo Jaebeom. The toes hidden inside his shoes wiggled.

His fingers twitched too, so he quietly clenched his fists. But there was nothing he could do about the smile on his face.

“Do you like it that much?”

“Well, I mean.”

Eunsol got caught by Jaebeom, who had just turned right at the intersection. When Jaebeom asked in a teasing voice, Eunsol stammered and looked at him.

“Don’t you feel the same, actor?”

“I do. But that title doesn’t sound good.”

“What?”

“You’re not my manager, Lee Eunsol-ssi.”

That was true. It was logical, so Eunsol lost his words for a moment. He had always called Jaebeom ‘actor,’ but when he tried to think of another way to address him, nothing came to mind.

“Say my name.”

“Um, if I, little by little.”

“At least say it with my surname. Don’t use ‘actor’ or ‘CEO’ or things like that. If you don’t, I’ll call you my omega.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Like boss, like subordinate. The memory of when he had argued with Bulgom about how to address each other came to mind, and Eunsol’s face twisted.

And ‘my omega,’ seriously.

‘What kind of embarrassing title is that.’

That cringe title made Eunsol’s face burn red. Watching that, Jaebeom slowed the car. He wanted to stay alone with Eunsol a little longer.

“Py, Py, Pyo, Jae, Jae, Jaebeom-ssi.”

The last “Jaebeom-ssi” came out so small it was barely audible.

“Haha, hahaha.”

Jaebeom, who had been waiting for Eunsol to call his name, laughed.

“What? Why are you laughing?”

“Why are you so awkward about it?”

“Of course it’s awkward.”

He had never called him that before. That was obvious. While Jaebeom watched Eunsol repeatedly brush his neck, his gaze moved to the red ears.

The road was quiet, and nothing serious would happen if he got distracted for a moment. Jaebeom slowed down and reached out to the small round ear, rubbing it gently.

“Ah, what, what are you doing?”

Eunsol’s shoulders trembled, exactly as Jaebeom expected, and another smile appeared on his face.

“Eunsol-ssi.”

“Yes?”

Why did he suddenly drop the surname? That soft call tickled like swallowing down cotton, and Eunsol’s voice broke at the end.

Every reaction that came from him amused Jaebeom.

“If it’s too hard, think of it as acting. You’re good at that, aren’t you?”

“This isn’t a film set.”

What difference did that make? Life was full of scenes where you had to act. For Jaebeom, acting was daily life, so it wasn’t difficult. That was why he could take on roles naturally even from the start of his career.

“If you keep acting like that, I’ll kiss you every time you make a mistake.”

“What?”

What did he just say? Even his tone sounded different. Eunsol’s eyes widened again, and Jaebeom chuckled before giving a warning.

“Either you call me by my name or you call me yours. If you don’t, I’ll kiss you every time. So decide properly. I’ll start talking comfortably from now on.”

“What, what is that even?”

Eunsol stuttered, unable to react properly to the sudden change in attitude, and Jaebeom found that cute. He ended up planting another kiss on those small lips.

Eunsol hit his shoulder with his fists in protest, but that was pain worth enduring.