* * *

“Uh, hold on.”

Go Cheolmin, who seemed a bit more composed, started scrolling through his phone again.

“What about this one? An Alpha with a good personality. They treat their partner really well.”

“Um…”

“Looks stubborn.”

Go Cheolmin showed a picture of a long-haired girl with sharp eyes and distinct facial features.

Looking at the photo on the screen, I thought about it, and then Taeshin spoke up from beside me.

Considering the positive comments about her good looks and caring nature, I was leaning towards a yes, but her seemingly stubborn personality made me reconsider.

Does she really look that way?

“Anyone else?”

“If it’s someone else… this one?”

He scrolled through some more and showed another person. This time, it was a boy with a hearty laugh.

Go Cheolmin seemed like an insider, active in club activities and busy. Watching him quickly show different people, I found it impressive and checked the photo on the screen.

“He’s short.”

“He’s 180 cm.”

“That’s short.”

Lee Taeshin, who was nearly 190 cm tall, cruelly judged. He tapped Taeshin and told Go Cheolmin that the guy was fine, then asked if there was anyone else.

Go Cheolmin showed photos of other Alphas he knew, with Taeshin silently commenting beside him.
“He looks like he has a strong personality,” “He looks too timid,” and so on.

At first, they seemed okay, but the more Taeshin commented, the more uncertain he became.

Slap!

“Stay still! I can’t think with you interrupting!”

In the end, he smacked Taeshin’s back in frustration. Taeshin frowned slightly from the pain, so he gently rubbed the spot he had hit.

Why does he keep making things difficult?

He blamed Taeshin inwardly while giving Go Cheolmin a peculiar look.

“Do you know any Omegas? Let’s set him up on a blind date too.”

“I’m fine.”

“Someone kind. Someone patient enough to handle him.”

Ignoring Taeshin’s refusal, he asked Go Cheolmin to find a blind date for Taeshin.

Go Cheolmin, who had been looking between Taeshin and him, hesitated before scrolling through the photo album on his phone.

He looked at Taeshin, then at him, and then at Taeshin again. This time, Jung Noeul whispered something to Park Jonghoon, who shrugged while looking out of the ice cream shop window.

“…Taeshin, what’s your ideal type?”

Go Cheolmin, who had been thinking for a moment, asked Taeshin, but there was no answer. Taeshin’s expression wasn’t great. He looked completely uninterested and a bit sulky. He was definitely pouting.

“Are you mad?”

Taeshin didn’t even make eye contact, let alone answer. He was definitely pouting. So petty…! You’re the one who keeps making things difficult! He wanted to say something, but instead, he just tapped Taeshin’s hand with his fingers.

“Are you mad, Taeshin?”

He leaned closer and asked again. Taeshin’s hand, which was holding a transparent cup, tightened, and his eyes, which had been stubbornly looking elsewhere, turned to him.

Seeing Taeshin’s pouting eyes, he grabbed his arm and shook it. Taeshin, I’m sorry, so please cheer up. Without saying it aloud, he conveyed it with his eyes.

Taeshin’s sweet pheromones became more prominent, making his chest feel tight.

“Sigh.”

Ah, he’s cheered up. Taeshin, who had been staring at him, let out a short breath. This meant Taeshin was no longer pouting.

Taeshin couldn’t stay sulky for long. He tapped Taeshin’s arm, urging him to say his ideal type, and Taeshin, who had been staring at him, finally gave a delayed answer to Go Cheolmin.

“Someone who likes games but isn’t good at them.”

Secretly rubbing his chest, he turned to the unexpected answer.

“You don’t like games.”

I know you’re always trying to get rid of my precious gaming console.

“Moon Sunwoo, you liked games, right?”

“Huh? Yeah. But I’m not bad at them. I’m good.”

Seeing Jung Noeul look between him and Taeshin, he waved his hand. He knew what Jung Noeul was thinking.

High school kids used to do this, and now in college too…!

The reason he couldn’t date was partly because of the comparison with Taeshin but also because everyone kept pairing them together.

He couldn’t let that happen in college.

“I’m really good at games.”

“Hmm.”

He confidently stated how good he was at games. If Taeshin’s ideal type was someone bad at games, it definitely wasn’t him. He was sure of that.

But Jung Noeul didn’t seem to understand. Nodding to himself as if he’d figured something out, Jung Noeul spoke seriously.

“Sunwoo, I have a feeling.”

“What?”

“I feel like you should give up on blind dates.”

Jung Noeul made a grim prediction.

Telling him not to say things that sounded like bad luck to a high school senior preparing for exams, he insisted he could bet his precious Komi on it.

When he asked what Komi was and why he was saying such things, Jung Noeul showed him a picture of a puppy. It was so cute that he decided to let it slide.

While heading home with Taeshin, he looked at the picture of Komi again. The pure white Maltese with big black eyes was adorable. He thought he should visit Jung Noeul’s house sometime.

“Good night, Sunwoo.”

“Yeah, you too.”

As he got out of the taxi, Taeshin followed. It seemed like Taeshin wanted to see him go inside the gate. He asked Taeshin, who hadn’t gotten back in the car,

“Taeshin, is your ideal type really someone who’s bad at games?”

“Specifically, someone who likes games but isn’t good at them.”

“Why? So you can impress them with your gaming skills?”

“Yeah.”

“Will that even work?”

“It works better than you’d think…”

He always told Taeshin that he didn’t like games but was good at them, so Taeshin knew he was good at games.

It was a strength, but his intention to impress someone by excelling where they lacked was transparent and made him laugh.

“Instead, focus on your visuals first. With your looks, you can easily pass.”

“He had built a resistance to my appearance. It doesn’t work anymore.”

“Resistance? Is there anyone who’s unaffected by your looks?”

He was astonished at the thought of someone being indifferent to Taeshin’s stunning face.

Taeshin, who could turn heads twice, nodded with a sullen smile.

Who could have such an iron heart and eyes to be unaffected by Taeshin’s looks?

He tilted his head, looking at Taeshin’s downcast face.

“You’re handsome.”

He mumbled, jokingly suggesting Taeshin could be designated a national treasure for his looks.

Wait, really? It doesn’t work?

“Do you perhaps like someone,”

“Am I handsome?”

“Someone, uh, yeah. You’re the most handsome person I’ve ever seen.”

He apologized in his heart to his eldest brother, who had once held the top spot in his heart for handsomeness.

But still, his eldest brother was the coolest person to him.

“But, do you like someone,”

“Then, can you look at me for a moment?”

“How?”

He looked at Taeshin, who was standing a step away, feeling their gazes connect. Taeshin’s pheromones became stronger.

Taeshin didn’t say a word. He just quietly looked at me. I looked up at him without knowing what to do. But for some reason, it felt more difficult to meet his gaze, so I subtly shifted my eyes.

I looked at his forehead, his temples, his nose, his lips, and his cheeks.

As I traced his jaw and lips with my eyes and met his gaze again, he also started looking at my face, one feature at a time, then looked into my eyes once more.

“Like… this?”

“Yeah.”

My cheeks tingled. Although it was still cold, the air was much milder compared to the dead of winter, carrying soft and sweet pheromones.

Within the space of just one step, Taeshin’s pheromones reached me and made me feel disoriented.

As if they had a shape, the pheromones mixed with the faint movements of the air, tickling my cheeks and the corners of my lips as they passed.

The breath I inhaled matched the subtle warmth given by the softness and sweetness, swirling inside my chest.

“Oh…”

Even though it was still chilly, I felt warmth spreading to the tips of my fingers and toes. It became increasingly difficult to look at Taeshin’s face, and heat rose at the back of my neck.

My back and earlobes felt like they were burning, so I fidgeted with my fingers and toes and quickly turned my head away.

“I-I’ll go inside!”

“Yeah, go inside, Sunwoo.”

At my words, Taeshin smiled warmly, like the spring.

Holding my breath to resist the soft and very sweet pheromones that tickled my skin like fine hair, I quickly went inside the house.

Without greeting my aunt, I rushed to my room and dived onto the bed.

“Wow!”

I wriggled on the bed, unable to stay still from the overwhelming sensations, and raised my head abruptly.

What was that? What on earth was that, Taeshin?

I grabbed my burning cheeks with both hands.

Then I pressed hard on my chest.

Thump thump.

My heart was pounding wildly.

Something was definitely wrong.

I was surely sick.

* * *