Chapter 15

“Senior! Did you know that sweet potatoes turn yellow when washed, and chestnut sweet potatoes have a purplish tint?”

“Sol.”

“Yes?”

“Aren’t you tired?”

Jisoo naturally led Dansol, who had just finished washing up, to his bed.

Despite expecting Dansol to quickly fall asleep from exhaustion, he kept chatting away, explaining the differences between sweet potatoes and chestnut sweet potatoes, and the distinctions between Cheongyang chili peppers and regular chili peppers.

“…Oh. I’m sorry, Senior. I must have been too noisy. You must be tired…”

“I’m fine. I’m just worried you might be tired. Did you enjoy today’s date that much?”

“Yes! Minhyuk hyung…”

“hyung?”

Jisoo’s eyes narrowed at the word, finding Dansol’s chattering cute but the term ‘hyung’ was not welcome.

“Ah… Minhyuk hyung… he told me to call him that.”

“I’m Senior to you, and Jaegal Minhyuk is hyung?”

The fact that Dansol addressed another alpha casually while always using honorifics with his was unsettling for Jisoo.

“You must have gotten quite close in just one day. But Sol, we share a bed.”

“Ah… yes, that’s true.”

“Then, aren’t you closer to me than Jaegal Minhyuk?”

“That… that’s…”

Dansol couldn’t bring himself to answer affirmatively.

Although it was true that he got closer to Jisoo first, his life changed significantly after sharing a room with him.

However, Jisoo didn’t feel as comfortable as Minhyuk did, even when sharing the same bed.

“Isn’t that right?”

“Yes… you’re right.”

Especially when Jisoo stared intently at him, wanting a specific answer, the pressure made Dansol feel like he couldn’t refuse.

It was hard to believe Jisoo was also an omega. Dansol, almost hypnotized, answered as instructed.

“Call me hyung.”

“…hyung.”

“Use my name too.”

“…Jisoo hyung.”

“Good job.”

Jisoo, who had been looking at Dansol as if he would devour him, lay back down, smiling as if satisfied with the answer. In the silence that followed, only Dansol’s soft breathing could be heard.

Seemingly tired, Dansol quickly fell asleep. Jisoo, watching him, tidied the hair falling over his forehead and stared at his peaceful, sleeping face for a long time before leaving the room.

**

“Jesus, Buddha, ancestors, no, every god in the world, I beg you. Please…”

“What the… damn it! You scared me!”

Jisoo was frustrated with having Dansol next to his but being unable to do anything, so he stepped outside to smoke. he was startled to find Taeoh stacking stones and mumbling under a large pine tree in the front yard.

“Sun… Senior!”

In the dark, Taeoh was performing a strange ritual alone.

“Geez… what are you doing out here at this hour?”

Jisoo, calming his startled heart, lit a cigarette.

“Want a smoke?”

“Ah… no. I’m an idol, so I can’t smoke.”

Jisoo glanced at a camera attached to the tree.

“That damn camera…”

Not planning to complete the program, Jisoo was getting increasingly annoyed by the cameras everywhere.

He grabbed a smooth, solid rock and accurately threw it at the high-resolution camera attached to the tree. The lens cracked with a quiet noise in the eerie yard.

Jisoo then casually offered Taeoh a cigarette.

“Better now?”

“Sen… Senior…!”

“There’s only one here, but if you’re still uneasy, I can break another one.”

“N… no! This is enough. Thank you.”

As Taeoh accepted a cigarette, their fingers brushed lightly.

Zap—

The static shock made Taeoh drop the cigarette.

“Damn static.”

Jisoo muttered, handing the cigarette back to Taeoh. The sight of his white, long fingers and lips cursing stuck in Taeoh’s mind. His previously dazed eyes brightened.

Taeoh’s heart raced. Meeting such a commanding omega might be a once-in-a-lifetime chance.

“Hey, aren’t you going to take it?”

“Ah! Thank you, Senior…”

“So, what are you doing out here? Trying to scare someone at night…”

“I saw the full moon, so I was making a wish…”

At that moment, Taeoh, who had previously wished to eliminate Yoon Yeomin, made a new wish.

“Please let me be with Senior Jisoo.”

“Crazy… fine, finish your wish and come inside. Don’t make too much noise, the kid’s tired. You’ll wake his up.”

“The kid?”

“Dansol.”

“Ah… yes…”

Taeoh then worried about causing harm between Dansol and Jisoo due to his sudden change of heart. He made a new wish.

“Please don’t let my actions harm the relationship between Senior Jisoo and Dansol.”

Feeling guilty, Taeoh spent the rest of the night making and canceling wishes until the full moon disappeared.

**

“Good morning, everyone! Did you sleep well?”

It was late morning, almost noon. Jisoo, Yeomin, Dansol, Minhyuk, and Taeoh, exhausted from various activities, had tired faces.

“Did any of you lose sleep over love?”

“Actually, last night, one of our cameras was damaged. Though the culprit was caught on camera, we decided not to pursue it.”

“The Alpha and Omega, Omega and Alpha. There seemed to be too many cameras at Chunmong Pavilion for them to meet secretly.”

At those words, Taeoh’s swollen face turned red. Jisoo tried to avoid the sharp gaze of Mijin, the main PD.

“Instead, we have prepared a special space after the meeting.”

As soon as those words ended, the door to the spacious front yard opened, revealing a trailer. It came to a stop on a flat surface with heavily tinted windows.

“We thought there was no place where the participants could interact freely, so we prepared this. Inside that trailer, there are no cameras or audio devices controlling you. However, the usage time is limited to 30 minutes a day.”

“Thirty minutes seems a bit short…”

Jisoo muttered quietly to Choi PD’s further explanation. Daesoo’s expression turned sour as if he had bitten into something spoiled. Seeing this, Jisoo shrugged.

“Does that mean anything can happen in there?”

Daesoo asked, his tone so intense it sounded like he was ready to bury someone. Choi PD cautiously added,

“Illegal activities are not allowed, Mr. Jung Daesoo.”

“I have no intention of doing that.”

“Alright, if everyone has checked out the trailer, let’s move to the swimming pool. We’ve prepared a special time to increase your intimacy, which might still feel awkward.”

**

Without even changing clothes, the participants arrived at the swimming pool in their sleepwear, where two instructors in yoga outfits awaited them.

“Hello, everyone! We are Jane and Anna, here to teach you couple yoga today.”

They handed each participant a capsule, reminiscent of the ones used for picking pairs in dodgeball.

“Inside the capsules we handed out, there are colored papers. Alpha and Omega, those who pick the same color should get on the matching floating yoga mats in the pool.”

Jisoo frowned at the idea of exercising in the morning while still half-asleep. Daesoo’s muttering caught his attention.

“What’s with that guy’s expression? Where is he looking?”

At the end of Daesoo’s gaze was Taeoh, who kept looking over with a peculiar smile. Jisoo quickly stood in front of Dansol to block his view.

“Seriously… they all know who’s pretty.”

Jisoo muttered as he opened his capsule. As an Omega publicly, he couldn’t pair with Dansol for yoga, so it didn’t matter who he got.

“Red…”

“Senior! Me! I got red too!”

Ma Taeoh, who seemed interested in Dansol, saw Jisoo’s red paper and came running like an excited puppy. Feeling uneasy, Jisoo turned to Dansol.

“Sola, do you want to switch with me?”

“Oh? Sure…”

But Daesoo grabbed Dansol’s wrist, who was about to hand over his light blue paper.

“That won’t work.”

Daesoo smirked, waving his light blue paper. Pulled by Daesoo’s rough strength, Dansol disappeared from sight.

Jisoo had experienced such situations countless times. his instincts told his what Taeoh’s gaze meant. Crumpling the red paper in his hand, he ruffled his hair.

“Ah, damn it… this is annoying.”

****

Daesoo and Dansol were on the light blue mat, Taeoh and Jisoo on the red mat, and Yiyeon and Yeomin, along with Minhyuk, were on the white mat.

Yiyeon felt relieved not to be paired with Doohyun, whom he was uncomfortable with. But seeing Daesoo suddenly lift Dansol into the pool irked his just the same.

The floating mats, made for two, supported them more solidly than expected. But being on the water, any wrong move could send them plunging into the pool.

In his previous life, Dansol had been paired with Lee Yiyeon, and he remembered the time fondly.

Following poses requiring intimate contact had indeed made his heart flutter.

While staring blankly at the geometric patterns of the pool tiles, Jisoo and Taeoh’s red mat bumped into Dansol’s light blue one, causing his to nearly fall into the water. Daesoo’s strong body caught him.

“Careful.”

“Ah, thank you…”

Jisoo yelled upon seeing this.

“Jung Daesoo! Aren’t you too close? Get away from our Sol!”

“Mind your own business. Just don’t crash into us.”

When Taeoh tried to step forward like a bodyguard, Daesoo’s imposing presence made him retreat quickly.

“Why, do you have something to say?”

“N… no?”

Fortunately, Jane and Anna reappeared at that moment.

“Alright! Now that everyone seems settled, let’s start with warm-up exercises! Place your hands on your partner’s shoulders and spread your feet shoulder-width apart. Make sure your shoulders don’t rise too much and stay level—”

“Uh-oh…”

Trying to place his hands on Daesoo’s shoulders, Dansol hesitated. With over 20 cm of height difference, he had to raise his arms like a punishment.

Noticing his hesitation, Daesoo spread his legs wide to lower his height.

“Better?”

“Yes…”

Daesoo’s face, which he had always looked up at, was now at his eye level.

Although he was used to seeing him, making eye contact at the same level made his sharp features more prominent.

He thought he had adjusted to being around such handsome people, but this was different.

‘They must see me as an ugly duckling compared to them…’

With unnecessary worries, Dansol blushed and lowered his head.