* * *

That evening, Jiho returned home, ate, and got ready to take Coco for a walk as part of his exercise.

According to the internet, frequent walks were good for relieving a dog’s stress.

He tried to do it twice a day, which wasn’t hard since he used to walk a lot even when he lived alone.

As Jiho brought out the harness, Coco got excited and wagged his tail wildly.

“Woof!”

“Coco, stay still.”

Jiho calmed Coco, who was scratching eagerly with his front paws, and put the harness on his back.

As he meticulously packed the waste bags and got ready to stand up, he heard the door lock beep and saw the door open.

“Are you going for a walk now?”

As soon as Yejun entered, he saw Jiho putting the harness on Coco and asked.

“Yeah.”

“Hmm… wait a minute.”

When Jiho nodded, Yejun seemed to think for a moment before taking off his shoes and going into his room.

‘What’s he doing?’ Jiho wondered, watching Yejun come out with a white windbreaker.

It was the one Yejun often wore during spring and fall.

“You should at least wear a windbreaker. It’s quite chilly out.”

“…”

Yejun approached Jiho and draped the windbreaker over his shoulders, even helping Jiho put his arms through the sleeves.

As Jiho slipped his arms into the windbreaker, he glanced up at Yejun. Yejun was focused on making sure the jacket fit properly, his eyes lowered.

‘I’m not a toddler who needs to be dressed; I would have put it on myself if you had just told me.’

Ahn Yejun always goes overboard with his kindness. While he didn’t resist his touch, he got lost in thought until he pulls the zipper up for him, making him look up.

The sound of the zipper stops, and their eyes meet from up close. Beneath his dense eyelashes, his serious eyes shine. Seeing his eyes up close, they appear to be a light brown. Jiho knew they were beautiful, but seeing them like this is something else.

“Woof!”

Coco barks irritably, breaking our eye contact.

Jiho looks down at Coco first. Despite acting like he wanted to go for a walk, Coco is now biting Jiho’s pants, acting as if to ask what they are doing.

Yejun also looks down at Coco and lets out a small laugh. Then, he turns back to Jiho and speaks.

“Let’s go together.”

“What? You just got back.”

“I think I ate too much dinner. I need to digest. Let’s go.”

Yejun replies with a bright smile. His eyes curve like a crescent moon, and his lips form a graceful line.

He wanted to walk alone because he felt uncomfortable, but seeing his smiling face, he couldn’t bring himself to say no.

He could have told him to take Coco for a walk by himself, but he was planning to get some fresh air anyway. Jiho reluctantly decided to walk with Yejun.

Stepping out of the apartment building, Jiho took a deep breath of the open air and looked up at the dark sky.

Just as Yejun said, it was cooler than during the day. It felt almost like summer in the daytime, but the evening temperature was different.

‘I’m glad I wore a windbreaker.’

With Coco, they left the apartment complex and reached the Han River.

As Jiho, Yejun, and Coco walked along the riverbank, Jiho noticed couples gathering in groups around them.

It was similar to what he saw on the bus today.

‘…Did Yejun also come here with someone today?’

Jiho never gave much significance to the seasons in his life. Spring was just a warm time when new life sprouted.

But for some reason, today it bothered him. It was just a change of season, so why did it feel so exaggerated?

Passing couples made him see illusions of Yejun and that omega from the dance department together.

A deep crease formed between Jiho’s eyebrows, and Yejun tapped Jiho’s shoulder.

“Jiho.”

“…Huh?”

Jiho turned his head in the direction of the tapping, and suddenly, Yejun poked his cheek.

He realized that Yejun had been tapping his shoulder while extending his index finger.

Such a boring prank. Jiho squinted his eyes and muttered a curse under his breath.

“Do you want to die? What are you doing?”

“Why are you so absent-minded? Cute.”

“Cute? Please, stop talking nonsense.”

“What are you thinking about so deeply? Is something wrong?”

Despite Jiho’s harsh words, Yejun didn’t flinch. Instead of asking why Jiho was swearing, Yejun was worried about him.

What a considerate guy…

Looking at Yejun, Jiho couldn’t help but think, ‘Isn’t it natural that I think about him a lot?’

Even now, they were together.

Spending a lot of time together and having a deep relationship naturally leads to thinking about the other person a lot.

‘It’s not that I’m unusually concerned about his love life; it’s just natural as close friends.’

Jiho tried to accept his feelings lightly and spoke up.

“Hey, you…”

“Yeah?”

Yejun looked at him with a smile, wondering why he called.

Initially, Jiho intended to casually bring up the topic of Yejun dating that omega and ask how they met and about the blind date. Friends often share such stories.

But when it came to actually speaking, something got stuck in his throat, and no words came out.

‘It’s not like I can’t ask, so why is this happening?’

Jiho, still looking into Yejun’s eyes, just opened and closed his mouth, then finally gave up and lowered his head.

“…Never mind.”

“What? What’s that? Now I’m curious.”

Yejun furrowed one eyebrow, urging Jiho to continue. One way to annoy someone is to start speaking and then stop.

Since Jiho had already started, it seemed unlikely Yejun would let it go. Jiho chewed on his lip, trying to make it sound trivial, and finally spoke up.

“Well, it’s not a big deal… When I went to school earlier, people were talking about you.”

“About me? What were they saying?”

“You know that omega Taeyun introduced to you when we were drinking? People said they saw you together and thought you were dating.”

“…Really?”

Yejun’s expression stiffened, as if he heard something unexpected. His smile faded away.

Why is he like that?

Was he planning on keeping it a secret?

Even though they are students from different departments, it could be sensitive since it’s still within the same university.

Keeping it secret might be cautious.

Thinking about them breaking up isn’t good, but campus couples have issues after breaking up.

Everyone knows, and it’s easy to run into each other on campus…

That’s why those who’ve dated within the campus strongly advise against it.

But keeping it a secret between us feels a bit sad. Just as Jiho was about to feel disappointed, Yejun smiled faintly and spoke up.

“I’m not dating her. It’s a bit confusing…”

“Not dating? Then why were you with her?”

Hearing an unexpected answer, Jiho couldn’t help but question further.

‘I thought for sure they were dating.’

The university’s anonymous community was buzzing about it, and Taeyun said the girl even offered to buy him a meal because she liked him so much.

“She said she had something important to tell me, so I met her.”

“….”

“We didn’t do anything special, so why are there such rumors…”

Yejun seemed genuinely puzzled why a simple meeting had led to rumors of them dating.

Thinking back, the anonymous community’s stories were just about them being together and looking good.

It’s common for attractive alpha and omega pairs to draw attention, so maybe their good match led to exaggerated rumors.

Once all the misunderstandings were cleared up, Jiho felt a sudden sense of relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

He let out a refreshing sigh and spoke to him in a tone of disbelief.

“Ha… I almost misunderstood. I mean, Taeyun said the girl responded well and that it looked like you were dating, so I thought it was true.”

“Ah, she said she likes me. She called me out today to tell me that.”

“…”

What’s this?

Was it not that they weren’t dating, but rather that they weren’t dating ‘yet’?

Despite Yejun not lying, Jiho felt somehow deceived. If that was the case, why didn’t he start by saying he was confessed to, instead of saying he wasn’t dating?

His mood plummeted sharply, but after thinking about it all day, Jiho realized there was no reason for him to be upset about whether or not Yejun dated an omega.

In fact, it was good news.

Jiho tried to lift the corners of his mouth, hoping Yejun wouldn’t misunderstand his odd feelings.

“You got confessed to? Wow… congratulations.”

Even as he spoke, Jiho felt a sense of dismay at his own terrible acting.

He feared it would be obvious from just one word that he wasn’t truly happy about Yejun’s romance.

As Jiho shifted his gaze to Koko to avoid detection, Yejun quietly watched him with an unreadable expression. Then, seriously, he spoke.

“What do you think I should do?”

“Huh?”

“Should I date her?”

* * *