A couple for show chapter 22

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“Great work. Yoochan, I was worried since you didn’t seem in the best condition, but thankfully, nothing major happened over the last three days.”

“Yes, thank you for your hard work.”

Yoochan smiled brightly as he responded to the staff member.

Despite not being in the best shape, the shoot went well, thanks entirely to Cha Joobin.

Over the past three days, Joobin had gone out of his way to distract Yoochan and take him outside when he was feeling unwell.

Even while the staff were packing up the cameras, Joobin kept holding Yoochan tightly.

Because of this, Yoochan was wrapped up in a blanket like a sushi roll.

He felt so suffocated that he wanted to throw the blanket off immediately, but Joobin’s firm grip from behind stopped him.

When Yoochan glanced back, wondering why Joobin was acting this way, he saw him glaring sharply at the staff.

“Hey…”

Yoochan, feeling awkward, lightly nudged Joobin’s shoulder.

“What?” Joobin replied nonchalantly, tightening his hold even more.

Yoochan swallowed nervously, feeling Joobin’s breath against his back, all thanks to the faint scent of his pheromones.

The early signs of heat that were starting to flare up were being completely subdued by Joobin’s pheromones.

He had told him not to take suppressants, and whenever Yoochan felt even the slightest bit unwell, Joobin somehow noticed and slowly released his pheromones, allowing them to get through the last three days without incident.

Feeling a sudden wave of gratitude, Yoochan whispered in a soft, almost inaudible voice.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“…For your pheromones.”

“Ah.”

Joobin smiled.

The soft sigh that escaped his lips clung stickily to the back of Yoochan’s neck, and when it fell away, Yoochan shivered slightly.

“Are you still feeling bad?”

“No, I’m fine now. So, can you let me go?”

“You’re practically naked. Don’t you see the staff?”

Joobin didn’t seem to care that the staff removing the cameras could hear him, but his protective actions made Yoochan feel embarrassed all on his own.

He dipped his head slightly and murmured a quick “sorry,” to which the staff waved it off, saying it was fine.

“You seem pretty jealous, Joobin.”

At those words, only Yoochan’s face turned bright red.

It was the first time someone had said something about their relationship that embarrassed him this much.

Just as he let out a laugh, Joobin pressed his chin heavily on Yoochan’s shoulder.

When Yoochan glanced at him, Joobin was looking at him disapprovingly with sharp eyes.

“What’s so funny?”

“Well, you are pretty jealous, Joobin.”

Yoochan repeated what the staff had said, and Joobin’s eyes widened in surprise.

“So what? Can’t I be jealous?”

“Wow, you’re something else…”

Yoochan swallowed his words, fully leaning into Joobin.

How long they stayed like that, he didn’t know.

Eventually, the staff finished packing up and gathered their belongings to leave.

“See you at the next shoot.”

The staff left the set, their steps light as they joked about grabbing a beer on the way home, clearly happy to clock out.

Only then did Joobin finally release Yoochan from his embrace.

Yoochan immediately threw off the blanket, taking a deep breath in relief.

He quickly packed his clothes from his suitcase, even grabbing an outer layer in case it got cold on the way back, and zipped up his luggage.

When he turned around, Joobin was already dressed and standing there, ready to go.

“Good job today. I’ll see you at home later.”

It was time to return to being ex-lovers.

Yoochan gave Joobin’s strong shoulder a few taps as he said his goodbyes in a low voice.

But suddenly, Joobin tilted his head slightly, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

“Why at home?”

What did he mean, “why”?

“You’re not coming home?”

Since their breakup, Joobin hadn’t been home much.

It was disappointing to think he wouldn’t be there again after they had just been so close.

That slight sadness leaked into Yoochan’s voice without him even realizing it.

When he turned to glare at Joobin, confused and slightly pouty, Joobin furrowed his brows as if he didn’t understand.

Then, he shook his head.

“I’m not saying I’m not going home. I mean, let’s go home together today. My manager already left.”

Joobin pulled out his phone to show Yoochan a message from his manager, who had left early due to a family matter, along with Joobin’s reply, saying he’d head back to Seoul with Yoochan.

It wasn’t unusual for them to travel together occasionally, so there was no reason to refuse.

Besides, with a family matter involved, what choice did he have?

Yoochan nodded, “Ah, okay.”

The two handed their luggage to the manager who had just arrived, and walked slowly, matching his pace as they followed him to the car waiting in front of the lobby.

Since the trip from Taean to Seoul would take a while, Yoochan figured he’d sleep on the way to recover his energy and get through his heat without issue.

After all, Joobin would be at home, right before his heat fully hit.

Hopefully, resting would help him avoid any trouble.

As they reached the lobby, the two got into the car.

Yoochan placed the americano the manager had given him into the cup holder and covered himself with the blanket in the back seat.

Then, he pulled down the vertical shades to block out the sunlight streaming through the window.

Joobin, as if reading his mind, reclined the seat for him.

It was such a familiar action that Yoochan unconsciously relaxed into the seat.

“Here’s your sleep mask.”

Yoochan handed Joobin the sleep mask from the back of the driver’s seat pocket.

He knew Joobin couldn’t sleep in unfamiliar places without one, so he’d thought to give it to him. Joobin’s expression softened.

“Thanks,” Joobin said, pulling on the mask. “Goodnight,” he added lightly.

“Yeah,” Yoochan responded.

After that, no more words were exchanged between them.

---

Back at home, while unpacking, Yoochan couldn’t stop thinking about Joobin’s hand gently stroking the spot where he’d told him not to take the suppressants.

Even though it had happened in front of the cameras and the mood was nostalgic, it left him feeling conflicted.

If Joobin hadn’t mentioned the suppressants, he wouldn’t have been so caught up in deciding where to stay.

“Haah…”

Yoochan rubbed his face in frustration.

But thinking about it alone wouldn’t solve anything.

It would be better to have a conversation with Joobin.

With that resolve, Yoochan grabbed the envelope containing the suppressants and headed out of his room.

Just then, Joobin, who had finished unpacking as well, walked into the living room.

Seeing Yoochan, he flinched as if he had something to say.

He nervously scratched the back of his neck and hesitantly opened his mouth.

Then, he spotted the suppressant in Gong Yoochan’s hand and his face twisted into a grimace.

Despite it being something essential for people like him, who had manifested as a ‘traitor,’ it seemed to bother him immensely.

Gong Yoochan fiddled with it before speaking up first.

“You… You probably felt it too, but I’m about to go into heat. Since you hate me taking suppressants so much, I was thinking of just leaving for a few days. What do you think?”

“If I tell you not to go, will you stay?”

His tone had softened somewhat from before, but the sharpness was still there.

Gong Yoochan nodded in agreement. “Sure, but if I stay here, I’ll have to take the suppressant.”

“Why would you need to do that?”

Why?

The question was so absurd that he found himself momentarily speechless.

He just stared blankly at him. Cha Joobin’s face contorted again, as if things weren’t going his way.

“I’m here, so why do you need to take the suppressant?”

“…Do you even realize what you’re saying right now?”

“Do you think I’m an idiot?”

Cha Joobin shot back, his voice thick with irritation.

His brow furrowed tightly and showed no sign of easing.

What, does he actually want us to have sex?

Whenever he went into heat, his mind couldn’t function properly, and he knew that if Yoochan pushed like this, he wouldn’t be able to refuse.

They’d already broken up, and they should be keeping boundaries. But it was obvious that those boundaries would crumble.

Yoochan, on the other hand, stared back at him firmly.

“If you catch the heat pheromones here, it might mess with your next schedule. Didn’t you say you had to reschedule stuff because of the ‘Everyday Romance’ shoot? Do you really want to deal with that again?”

“And?”

“What?”

“What about the schedule? You’re going into heat. What do you expect me to do?”

What do you mean, what to do…?

He was completely dumbfounded and blinked at him in disbelief.

“Just think of us as cycle partners. Since we have to put on a public show anyway, if you leave now, all it’ll cause is rumors. This wouldn’t be a bad deal, right?”

Sure, there’s nothing wrong with that.

They’d already been physical plenty of times before, and they knew each other’s habits better than anyone else.

He knew it was just an offer to help each other out.

But for some reason, the way it was phrased rubbed him the wrong way.

The soft, nostalgic feelings he’d had while thinking about their first relationship during the shoot were quickly doused in cold water.

Yoochan scratched his eyebrow lightly.

He knew more than anyone that he shouldn’t play into this.

“Fine, let’s do it. What’s so hard about being fuck buddies?”

Maybe he was just too young. He had to be stubborn about it.

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