The shop run by Moon Domin, Moon Dowon’s brother, was cozy.
It was located in a busy district and had a sign stating that Alphas and Omegas were not admitted.
Now that the discriminatory social gaze had lessened, cafes that only accepted Betas were increasing, but in Moon Domin’s case, it seemed intended to prevent conflicts caused by pheromones.
“Welcome. Is this the Seo Siho I’ve heard so much about?”
Moon Do-bin, who had the exact same face as Moon Dowon, welcomed us warmly.
While Moon Dowon gave off a strong impression with a body honed by muscle, Moon Domin had a plumper build and gave off a cute, teddy-bear-like impression.
His image was so kind and gentle that I wondered if this was what a blunt Moon Dowon would look like if he smiled.
“Hello.”
I offered a polite greeting before the other two could even speak.
They might be strangers, but thinking of him as Moon Dowon’s blood relative made me nervous.
“I’ve heard a lot about you. I’m Moon Domin.”
Moon Domin smiled warmly and accepted my greeting, then leaned in to whisper in Moon Dowon’s ear, clearly checking if I was indeed a Beta.
“I can hear everything, Moon Domin.”
Yoo Joohwan crossed his arms comfortably and laughed playfully.
Moon Domin chuckled awkwardly and pulled away from Moon Dowon.
“Sorry. Don’t misunderstand. It’s just that he’s as pretty as an Omega.”
Moon Dowon rubbed the ear where Moon Domin had whispered, looking displeased.
He clearly didn’t like the word “pretty.”
“So what if he’s pretty?”
“Are you jealous?”
“Shut up and just give us a seat.”
“Anyone would think we were strangers.”
He said that, but I could feel the affection he had for his younger brother.
Same face, different personality.
I couldn’t take my eyes off the fascination of it until Moon Dowon blocked my view with an annoyed expression.
As I peeked around his shoulder, my vision blocked as if a blackout curtain had been drawn, Yoo Joohwan pulled my arm and wrapped his hand around my shoulder.
“I don’t want to have to hurt a friend’s family, but what do you think, Seo Siho?”
“…Why would you say something so horrible?”
“Exactly. Why make me have such horrible thoughts?”
Yoo Joohwan curled his lips into a smile laced with a chilling madness.
Smiling like that, he looked exactly like a villain from a movie.
I had only looked because I was curious….
Seeing the two of them acting like an iron wall, refusing to allow even that, made me grumpy.
I didn’t understand why they brought me here if they were going to be like this, but I offered a quiet apology since I didn’t want to cause trouble.
“Sorry.”
“If you understand, then watch where you look from now on. You know I’m a jealous guy.”
Yoo Joohwan warned me to keep it in mind and then messed up my hair.
I smoothed down my hair, which I knew was a mess without even looking, and listened quietly to the conversation between Moon Dowon and Moon Domin.
It was brief, the kind of typical conversation brothers have.
“Why did you bring him here if you won’t even let me see his face properly?”
“He said he wanted ice cream.”
“Well, the ice cream at our shop is delicious.”
Moon Domin led us to the best seat with a kind smile.
I could feel people around us stealing glances.
I realized they brought me here because it was a place where I wouldn’t be subjected to the pheromonal advances of others.
It was a place where I could feel at ease without worry.
The seat Moon Domin led us to was in a space with a small, round table, and two yellow tulips were in a vase.
As I sat on a simple mint-colored chair, Yoo Joohwan sat beside me and Moon Dowon sat opposite.
It had seemed like a spacious area, but sitting with the two of them made it feel cramped.
Moon Domin smiled briefly at the sight and left, saying he’d bring the most popular menu items.
I had heard they were born just a minute apart.
Looking at Moon Domin, who had the same face as Moon Dowon but a different trait, felt strange.
If Moon Dowon hadn’t manifested as a dominant Alpha, I wondered if he would have lived a normal life like that.
As I couldn’t take my eyes off Moon Domin’s movements, Yoo Joohwan, sitting next to me, covered my eyes with both hands.
“No inducing jealousy allowed.”
“…I was just checking the atmosphere of the shop.”
“Do I look like a pushover? You think I can’t tell the difference?”
As expected, lying didn’t work. I let out a sigh of resignation and removed his hands from my eyes.
Turning to look at Yoo Joohwan, I saw a chilling look in his eyes.
His jealousy was lethal.
If it had been a stranger passing by, he looked ready to leap up and do something terrible immediately.
“Stop staring. Can’t you see Moon Dowon? He looks like he’s about to pounce on Moon Domin any second.”
At those words, I turned to look at Moon Dowon.
Maybe it was just my imagination, but his eyes seemed to be smoldering like fire.
“I thought you said you weren’t interested in men.”
“I was only looking because he’s your brother.”
“I don’t want to be the kind of pathetic guy who’s jealous of his own family.”
“…Then should I just keep my eyes on the floor?”
“No. Don’t look at anyone else at all, whether it’s my brother or some other bastard.”
“How am I supposed to not look at people when I’m outside? That’s impossible….”
This was unreasonable.
When I spoke up out of a sense of unfairness, Moon Dowon’s eyebrow arched up. He looked completely dissatisfied.
“Focus on us. Looking at another guy for more than three seconds—that’s cheating.”
Cheating?
I wanted to argue how on earth that could be considered cheating.
But Yoo Joohwan’s gaze was just as serious as Moon Dowon’s.
Though they didn’t say it out loud, I could tell their minds were full of thoughts about locking me up at home so I could never leave.
I didn’t have the ability to read minds….
But spending time with them made it clear what they were thinking.
It was so absurd I let out a huff of disbelief and frowned slightly.
“Then you guys shouldn’t look at anyone for more than three seconds either. Since that’s cheating.”
“You and I are different.”
“How are we different? We’re in a relationship together.”
“There was affection in your eyes. Honey was practically dripping from your eyes while you were looking at Moon Domin.”
The conversation felt suffocating because the answers were already decided.
I wanted to argue that looking at someone out of pure curiosity couldn’t possibly be considered affection.
But I decided to just ignore it, thinking it would only lead to a long argument.
Since I was leaving anyway, I decided not to get worked up over nothing and just fidgeted with a napkin on the table.
Thinking I was avoiding answering, Moon Dowon tapped the table.
“Why aren’t you answering?”
“I just want to eat my ice cream.”
Since that was the reason I came, I wanted to eat and go home early to pack.
Perhaps thinking I was sulking, Yoo Joohwan grabbed my arm, turned me around, and met my eyes.
“It’s because the people here are Betas, so we’re feeling sensitive. You’d be the same. Imagine if I were with an Omega. You couldn’t help but be bothered.”
“But telling me not to even lock eyes with anyone for more than three seconds is too much. I only looked at him because he’s Moon Dowon’s brother. If someone is in a relationship with you guys…, no. It means they can’t even look at their partner’s family.”
“Yes, I hate it. I want your vision to be filled only with us.”
At this point, I felt like I just had to accept it.
I already knew their jealousy was stronger than most.
As I gave a vague answer of agreement, Yoo Joohwan narrowed his eyes.
He still seemed displeased, but I turned away and folded the napkin I’d been fidgeting with into a rabbit.
Feeling uncomfortable in the heavy atmosphere, I held out the napkin rabbit to Moon Dowon.
“It looks like you.”
At that one sentence, Yoo Joohwan looked horrified, asking where on earth it looked like Moon Dowon.
It was the typical reaction of a close friend.
“It’s cute…. I think Dowon is cute.”
At my sudden words, Moon Dowon’s face turned bright red.
I’d felt it at the park, too, but despite how he acted, Moon Dowon was quite shy.
Seeing Moon Dowon react so instantly to such a small thing made me smile.
“Look. Isn’t he cute?”
When I spoke to Yoo Joohwan, Moon Dowon’s face burned even redder.
He was so lovely I wanted to tease him even more.
“I don’t know about cute, but he sure is naive.”
Yoo Joohwan, not really denying it, rested his chin on his hand.
Since it was a rare sight, he was smiling broadly as if he found it entertaining.
“Is this how you guys play when you’re together? Like a couple of kids.”
He omitted the subject, but I knew he was referring to Moon Dowon.
Watching Yoo Joohwan tease and provoke him, Moon Dowon managed to pull himself together and carefully picked up the napkin rabbit.
“Think whatever you want.”
