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“No way!”

“Let me live my life!”

I shouted, shaking my head at a bewildered Taeshin before dashing into the business building.

I stumbled on the stairs again, glanced back at Taeshin as if to warn him, and headed to the classroom.

For the first time since the semester started, I sat away from Taeshin.

I took a seat near the front, anxiously watching him follow me in.

Noticing that I wasn’t in my usual spot, he walked past me and sat where he usually did.

The relief of distancing myself from Taeshin was short-lived.

As the lecture began, his pheromones grew stronger, despite the physical distance.

The large classroom and the several rows between us didn’t seem to matter; his pheromones felt dense and overwhelming, like he was right in front of me.

He was definitely staring at me again.

What are you doing, Taeshin?

I couldn’t concentrate.

All my senses were attuned to his pheromones, which seemed to envelop me from all directions.

My mind was awash with thoughts of Taeshin, his pheromones, and their sweetness, leaving me unable to focus on anything else.

Stop looking at me, Taeshin.

I clenched my eyes shut and pressed my lips together.

My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it might burst out of my chest.

To me, it felt like his pheromones filled the entire classroom, yet no one else, including the professor, seemed to notice.

It was as if I alone had fallen into a flood while everyone else was safe on Noah’s Ark.

The lecture ended early, without a break, and the professor left the room. The students quickly gathered their things and exited, but I remained frozen in my seat.

My whole body felt warm, like I’d been sunbathing in spring, and my face was burning as if under direct sunlight.

The overwhelming pheromones made my nose tingle, my mind was a mess, and I could barely contain the saliva pooling in my mouth, swallowing sweetly.

My heart was beating so fast it felt like it might explode.

It wasn’t unreasonable for me to suspect intentionality on his part.

Unless he was doing it on purpose, it couldn’t be this intense.

Though I hadn’t mentioned it to Taeshin, and I doubted he knew, it seemed impossible that it wasn’t deliberate.

I stood up abruptly and walked towards him.

“Taeshin.”

He was waiting for me, perched on the edge of his desk with an innocent look that didn’t match his actions at all.

“Yes?”

“Your pheromones… you need to do something about them, you idiot! They’re driving me crazy!”

Taeshin, Taeshin, I was going insane because of Taeshin. I had been since yesterday, no, even before that, because of his pheromones.

His calm face as he looked at me was infuriating, and my words spilled out in a rush.

My accusations were met with more sweet, dizzying pheromones. He smiled at my struggle.

“Are they driving you crazy?”

“Yes! They’re making me insane! I get it, your pheromones are potent, but do something about them! Take medicine or use a deodorant, anything!”

“What are my pheromones like?”

His clueless question made me bury my face in my hands. I was on the brink of madness, and he was asking me this?

“They’re sweet! Too sweet and strong! You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you? You must be, otherwise, it wouldn’t be this intense! I can’t concentrate because of you. Last night, I couldn’t even sleep because of all the strange thoughts about you!”

His pheromones were soft yet overwhelmingly sweet, making me feel nauseous.

My racing heart and blurry vision seemed to push me towards collapse.

Yelling in frustration, I slowly stopped speaking as I noticed Taeshin’s gaze and expression.

“How sweet? Sweet enough to make your tongue tingle?”

His eyes sparkled deeply, a cold intensity mixed with joy and anticipation. He pressed for an answer with a smile that bordered on interrogation.

“I can’t even eat candy.”

His pheromones were so sweet that I couldn’t even tolerate candy anymore.

Taeshin’s smile deepened at my response.

“It won’t do if it’s just candy. You should be unable to stomach any sweets.”

He spoke as if it wasn’t enough and lifted his hand to grasp my chin.

The sensation of his thumb pressing and rubbing my lips made me shiver.

My heart raced, and my legs felt weak.

“And? What were you thinking about last night?”

With his hand still on my chin, he leaned forward, our eyes meeting.

His gaze seemed to penetrate my thoughts, making my heart tremble. Involuntarily, I blurted out what had been on my mind all night.

“A kiss… we kissed.”

At that moment, his eyes glimmered.

The look in his eyes made my lips tingle. I bit down on his fingers, which had slipped between my lips.

As his fingers slid out, he leaned in.

Just like last night, Taeshin’s lips met mine softly.

As his soft, ticklish weight pressed on my lips, I parted them, and his tongue slipped in.

What is this?

Startled, I opened my eyes wide as his tongue gently probed.

It felt like candy had entered my mouth, but it was just Taeshin’s sweet tongue.

“Ugh.”

Taeshin was kissing me.

His tongue slowly explored inside my mouth.

I couldn’t help but let out a moan.

Even as I tried to turn my head, his large hand blocked me.

I grabbed his arm to push him away, but he didn’t budge.

The kiss was short. The soft, wet kiss ended as he pulled away, leaving me clinging to his coat, trembling.

I couldn’t understand what had just happened.

Did we really kiss? Really?

Though we had done it several times in moments of confusion, it always felt surreal.

But now, this was real. Taeshin had kissed me, our lips touched, and his tongue was inside… inside my mouth…!

No, I didn’t kiss him; I was kissed!

Taeshin covered my hand, which was clutching the hem of his coat, with his own and leaned towards me, placing his lips just below my earlobe.

“Sunwoo, even if you don’t feel exactly like I do, with the taste of your pheromones making everything else unbearable, can you at least feel something similar?”

His breath hot against the nape of my neck made me shiver.

Biting my lip to stave off the strange tightness in my stomach, I watched as Taeshin straightened up and let go of my hand.

“Now, Sunwoo, give me an answer. Why am I always on your mind?”

Taeshin’s intense gaze held mine, void of any humor, before he gathered his things and left the lecture hall without waiting for a reply.

As he left, I slumped into the chair.

“What the heck, seriously, what is going on?”

My chest felt like it was going to burst.

The pounding was so intense I could no longer feel my heart beating. I collapsed onto the floor of the lecture hall like a broken doll, swallowing hard.

My mouth was filled with Taeshin’s pheromones.

***

A female character on the wide screen pouted, while the male protagonist appeared flustered, and a list of responses to choose from appeared.

After skimming through the options, I picked number three. The female character got even angrier and stormed off mid-date.

“Welcome back.”

“It’s my house.”

The sound of beeps as the password was entered preceded the door opening and the homeowner stepping in.

I greeted him while continuing my game, and Yoon Yijun, as expected, announced his presence.

“When did you get here? You said you hated these nerdy games, so why are you playing one?”

“Be quiet. This is really hard.”

The affection points of the female character I was pursuing in this dating simulation game had plummeted.

I picked another option from the three available, and this time it seemed correct, restoring the affection points and ending the date on a positive note.

“She’s the easiest character to win over. If you fail with her, you might as well give up on dating.”

“Failing with a fictional character doesn’t mean I should give up on real dating.”

“The creators based this on real-life possibilities, so it’s not entirely off.”

I had always thought of dating simulation games as deceptive, filled with lies and fantasies. But hearing Yoon Yijun say they reflected reality made me ponder.

“Have you ever dated anyone?”

“No.”

This guy. Yoon Yijun’s words about reality held no weight.

“Whatever. This is frustrating.”

My frustration mounted as the affection points dropped again.

I threw the game controller onto the sofa, and Yoon Yijun picked it up to continue playing.

Taeshin was making my head spin. His question about why he was always on my mind plagued me all day.

Why do I keep thinking about you, Taeshin?

It’s because you keep doing weird things.

That was my first conclusion.

Taeshin was acting weird.

Suddenly exuding pheromones, staring at me intently, and kissing me – who wouldn’t think about those things?

Then someone responded to my question online, long after I had forgotten about it.

[ChocoMoka: Do you like him? Did you enjoy it? Did you hate it?]

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