* * *

I used the excuse of a cold to decline the offer and immediately regretted it.

Telling them through a text message was tricky.

It would be even harder to explain in person, but there was no better option than sending a message.

Hastily, I corrected myself.

[Not this time.]

[Let’s talk later, haha.]

[I’m having a headache right now ㅠ]

[I’ve got a runny nose and I’m coughing. I feel like I’m dying.]

Feigning as much as possible that I was on the brink of death due to a cold, I anxiously waited for Taeshin’s reaction on the other end of the phone.

Just as I was debating whether I needed to emphasize my sickness more, Taeshin’s reply arrived.

[Taeshin♥> Got it. Take your meds and rest well.]

As soon as Taeshin’s message popped up in the chat, which had been silent for a moment, I let out a sigh of relief.

Taking his advice to rest, I immediately closed the chat without saying another word.

Alone, I collapsed on my bed like seaweed, burying my face in the blanket, exhausted from the tension.

It had been a long time since I had such an awkward conversation with Taeshin. Though the memory had faded considerably, it wasn’t even this awkward when I first met Taeshin after my first heat cycle.

When I meet up with Taeshin during puberty, back when I was hypersensitive to other people’s pheromones due to my heat cycle. Taeshin didn’t seem like the friend I had known for years.

After taking a few days off due to the heat cycle, I saw Taeshin, who had already gone through his rut cycle.

I thought the person in front of me wasn’t Taeshin. Though he looked like my friend Lee Taeshin, his aura and pheromones were completely different.

Taeshin, who had always been quiet, gentle, and kind, had subtle and mild pheromones. But after my heat cycle, everything about Taeshin felt different.

Though still quiet and gentle, he was intimidating. The moment our eyes met, I felt paralyzed.

Just facing him was overwhelming.

Taeshin, who hadn’t yet fully controlled his newly developed pheromones, exuded the unmistakably strong scent of an extreme Alpha.

His uncontrolled pheromones were potent and vivid, beyond imagination.

Classmates who had experienced their cycles before Taeshin had said that he was scary and that they felt overwhelmed around him.

I understood what they meant when I faced the extreme Alpha pheromones that my older peers had often warned me about.

Lee Taeshin is an extreme dominant Alpha. The realization hit me hard when I finally acknowledged it.

I stood frozen at the classroom door, watching Taeshin approach with a soft smile.

The closer Taeshin got, the more I felt his pheromones, causing my heart to race. I felt my face heat up and turn red.

Although my heat cycle was supposed to be over, it felt like it was still happening, as sweat poured out of me.

‘Sunwoo?’

‘I’m…’

‘Sunwoo!’

‘I think I’m sick. I think I’m dying.’

As Taeshin approached, my legs gave out. My heart pounded as if it would burst, and my vision blurred.

Taeshin rushed over and supported me when I said I felt dizzy.

He told me to hold on a little longer and ran to the infirmary without pausing to breathe.

I was dizzy from Taeshin’s strong pheromones as I leaned against his straight neck, and I eventually ended up in an ambulance on my way to the hospital.

At the hospital, after describing my symptoms, the doctor, with a peculiar smile, said it didn’t seem like an illness.

After a simple checkup, I went home.

Nevertheless, having Taeshin stay by my side and accompany me home felt a bit awkward at first. It was inevitable.

An Omega had collapsed because of an Alpha’s pheromones—how could it not be awkward?

But it didn’t last long.

Even though my heart was pounding, and my face was burning as if it was on fire, Taeshin kept laughing as if he thought I was faking it, so we quickly reverted to our usual relationship.

Thankfully, from the next heat cycle onwards, I seemed to have no lingering effects, and I became less sensitive to other people’s pheromones.

Taeshin no longer felt unfamiliar and remained a comfortable and good friend.

The memory, like a brief monsoon season, was now faint.

Was it really that awkward?

I tried to recall Taeshin’s pheromones from back then but ended up whining and pulling the blanket over my head.

The moment our eyes met, my body froze.

His pheromones were overwhelming, and my body’s reactions intensified.

Last night’s Taeshin dominated my thoughts again.

Having spent almost half my life as friends with Taeshin, my life would be empty without him.

But I slept with such an irreplaceable friend. I must have lost my mind.

Why couldn’t I control myself…

* * *

How was I going to face Lee Taeshin from now on?

I didn’t have the courage to see him right now.

Making excuses to avoid him had its limits, so I had to figure out what to do when Taeshin suggested meeting again.

But nothing came to mind.

When Taeshin checked in the next day to see if I was feeling better, I instinctively said I was still sick.

Using my unprepared heart as an excuse, I began avoiding Taeshin, and my courage to face him dwindled further.

So I kept making ridiculous excuses, like having plans at a PC bang, having personal matters, or being busy.

Even if Taeshin was oblivious, he would realize I was deliberately avoiding him at this point. I had to resolve this somehow.

Still, I made up my mind during that time. I decided to leave cutting ties as a last resort, and if I met Taeshin, I would…

Just as I resolved to either talk to him via text or face-to-face if Taeshin contacted me today, my phone rang. Thinking it might be Taeshin, I checked the screen and saw the name ‘Crazy Brother’ saved on my phone.

Wondering why Moon Jinwooo, who rarely contacts me even by text at this hour, was calling, I answered the phone.

“Hello?”

– Moon Sunwoo, where are you?

“Me? I’m at home. Why?”

– Stay right there.

Moon Jinwooo’s stern voice spoke and then hung up.

From the sound of the engine in the background, he seemed to be driving while making the call.

Driving at this hour… and telling me to stay put?

A chill ran down my spine.

Stay put meant he was coming here.

If Moon Jinwooo had called to check my location, there was only one recent reason why.

“Argh! Crap, I think I’ve been caught!”

Wine! They must have figured out it was me who stole the wine.

With a sense of urgency that seemed unerring, I grabbed my phone and dashed into the dressing room to grab some clothes.

I threw on a thick padded jacket, clutching my phone, when it rang again.

I wondered if Moon Jinwooo had already arrived and, trembling, checked the caller ID—it was Lee Taeshin.

“Hello?”

“Sunwoo, right now…”

“Hey! We’re doomed! Moon Jinwooo seems to know!”

“I’m in front of your house… What?”

“I think Moon Jinwooo figured out we stole the wine. He called just now and told me not to leave the house! Are you home? Stay put. Moon Jinwooo sounds really pissed…”

“It seems it’s too late.”

Taeshin’s slow mumble made me freeze as I opened the front door.

Over the phone, I heard Moon Jinwooo’s voice.

“Well, I’ve found an accomplice.”

“Hello, Jinwoo hyung.”

“Long time no see, Lee Taeshin. Is that Moon Sunwoo?”

The call ended. From beyond the gate, I could hear bits of conversation between Taeshin and Jinwoo hyung.

I snapped out of my daze, shoved my phone into my pocket, and ran toward the gate, exhaling in the cold air.

Leaving Taeshin and Moon Jinwooo alone could lead to trouble.

Taeshin, with his lack of tact, might spill everything about stealing the wine and what happened after we drank it.

“Argh!”

I had to prevent that. I hurried down the stone steps and flung the gate open.

“How can you not realize when you’re stuck right next to my dumb brother…”

“Lee Taeshin! Taeshin, ahh!”

“Sunwoo!”

“Moon Sunwoo!”

I rushed out through the gate without slowing down and tripped over the step.

Taeshin quickly caught me as I nearly faceplanted.

“Are you okay?”

“Wow, I almost died.”

Still cradled in Taeshin’s arms, I patted my chest, my heart pounding.

He helped me stand, steadying me with his hands as I gaped at the close call that nearly smashed my nose.

“Moon Sunwoo! Didn’t I tell you to watch where you’re going!?”

“I, I was watching! I still tripped!”

“If you were watching, how did you trip? Does that make sense?”

“Don’t scold Sunwoo too much, Jinwoo hyung. He’s shocked too.”

Taeshin tried to calm Jinwoo, who was glaring at me incredulously.

Instead, Jinwoo looked even more taken aback, as if he was about to explode.

“Ha, what a…”

Just try swearing. I’ll tell our eldest brother.

“I was scared too. You don’t scold someone who’s scared, you know?”

I meekly asserted myself, seeing Jinwoo restrain his temper.

Taeshin also asked him not to say anything, and I emphasized my shock, making Jinwoo glare at me with fierce eyes.

“You two really get along, don’t you? Step away right now.”

“What, why! I’m still shaken!”

“No way…!”

“So Jinwoo hyung, why are you here at this hour? Shouldn’t you be at the office?”

Taeshin redirected the conversation as Jinwoo took a step closer to separate us.

I quickly moved behind Taeshin, gripping his coat and peering at Jinwoo, fearing he might smack me on the head.

Oh! Nice one, Taeshin! Well done… Wait a minute.

“Ha, right. Why would an office worker take a precious half-day off and be here?”

Jinwoo twisted his lips into a smile, glaring at Taeshin and me hiding behind him.

His gaze felt like a laser, sending shivers down my spine.

I clenched Taeshin’s coat tighter and tried not to flinch, staring back at Jinwoo.

“Moon Sunwoo, I’ll give you 10 seconds to confess. 10, 9, 8…”

“Wait! Ten seconds is too short! At least tell me what I’m confessing to first!”

“5, 4…”

I tried the first rule of deflection but failed. Jinwoo continued his countdown without blinking.

The rapidly decreasing numbers tempted me to come clean.

“2, 1. I guess you don’t need a chance for redemption? Moon Sunwoo, you’re in trouble.”

“What? What are you doing?”

Jinwoo, having finished the countdown, took out his phone.

Watching him dial, I peeked out further from behind Taeshin’s back.

“Calling.”

“Who?”

“Moon Jungwoo.”

“Eldest brother? Why him?”

I stared at Jinwoo, baffled as he mentioned calling our eldest brother in America.

Then he dropped a bombshell.

“Because if he hears his pampered youngest brother went into a hotel room with Lee Taeshin, he’ll think you’ve grown up a lot.”

* * *