Pink Flavor Omega

#5

When he clicked “Open,” a folder containing work files appeared on the screen. Eunhong’s gaze, which had been scanning the images lined up in the rectangular window, lingered on one particular image.

It was a drawing Eunhong had been working on personally lately. For the illustration contest held by Han Jung Group, he needed to focus on finishing his company work today to make time to invest in that. Eunhong interlaced his fingers, cracking them a few times, then gripped the tablet pen with a determined look.

He was drawing lines, unaware that it was almost dinner time, when the phone on his desk rang. It was a call from An Woohyun, the friend he lived with. Eunhong often guessed it was mealtime when Woohyun called.

– Where are you? Still at the company?

A lazily drawn-out voice flowed from the phone. Loud game sound effects mixed in, making Eunhong slightly pull the phone away from his ear.

“Yeah, I still have some work to do. I need to submit this by Monday.”

– It’s Saturday, aren’t you going home? When are you coming?

“Why? Are you hungry?”

Eunhong heard Woohyun laugh at his words. He muttered that Eunhong was a mind reader.

– Bring chicken when you come. Honey.

***

With the Christmas season approaching, the cafe’s playlist was filled with the sexy voices of jazz vocals. Han Sejin entered the store, impressed by his own music selection skills. The spacious hall was full of customers, all couples exchanging sweet glances.

Han Sejin put on an apron and stepped behind the counter. The busy part-time workers recognized Sejin and greeted him. Just then, someone slapped Sejin’s back.

“Ah, Mom! How can you hit your son who’s helping for free on weekends like this!”

Sejin whined, wriggling his body.

“Showing up after lunch time is over, where do you get off! And your CEO is on the terrace. Go greet him first.”

Sejin’s shoulders immediately slumped. Behind him was his mother, the boss at home, and in front was Lee Jaeha, his workplace boss. He was caught between a rock and a hard place. Somehow, he didn’t want to come out today. Grumbling, he threw off his apron and headed to the terrace.

As soon as he opened the door and stepped onto the terrace, he smelled Jaeha’s cigarette. As a beta, Han Sejin couldn’t smell pheromones, but he could confidently identify 2-star trait holders by the scent of the cigarettes they smoked like meals, which he had smelled endlessly.

It was fortunate that the cigarette, which erased other trait holders’ pheromone scents to lower sensitivity and alleviate headaches, didn’t contain components harmful to betas… If it did, no matter how good of a boss Jaeha was, Sejin would have considered resigning. He couldn’t accept lung cancer as a gift instead of a fat paycheck.

Jaeha turned his head happily to look at the opened door, but suddenly frowned.

“What? It was Team Leader Han?”

“Hello, CEO. I heard you were here at the store, so I came to greet you.”

“I told you before not to be so mindful of me outside the company. Do you see me as some old fogy?”

It was a bad sign that he frowned as soon as he saw Sejin without context. Sejin forcibly pulled up the corners of his mouth. No matter what you say, what employee in the world can ignore meeting their CEO outside the company? He wanted to ask why Jaeha kept coming here to eat, but he held it in.

He was a good person. Jaeha had saved Sejin’s mother when she was about to close her business and be driven out to another neighborhood due to rent issues. He willingly offered the largest and best ground floor space in his building and even waived several months of rent considering interior costs. Instead, Sejin felt like he had become a slave with a collar, but…

“Shall I clear the table for you?”

“No, I’m leaving. Clear it after I go.”

It sounded like he wanted to be left alone. As Sejin was about to escape quickly, bowing his head deeply, Jaeha called him again.

“Team Leader Han.”

“Yes?”

“NC Curz, what’s their total market cap?”

Han Sejin unconsciously sighed before answering. He couldn’t show it. He just guessed, Ah, Eunhong must have gone to work today.

“Find out what percentage of shares the CEO there owns.”

“Eliminating that company won’t make Eunhong free. He’ll probably be busier looking for a new job…”

“Ha…”

Should I just start a game company myself? Jaeha sighed, pressing his eyes hard.

Since it wasn’t the first time Jaeha had made sincere nonsense remarks about his friend Eunhong, Sejin quietly turned and slipped out of the terrace. He didn’t forget to bow slightly in greeting. It was best to leave him alone at times like this.

The seemingly perfect Jaeha had one fatal flaw, which was his palm-sized narrow circle of relationships. Despite having a face and body that could make all the omegas in the world fall for him with just a glance, Jaeha didn’t date as if he had obsessive-compulsive disorder. On top of that, he had only one friend, Ban Eunhong.

Sejin shuddered, recalling Jaeha’s strange obsession with his friend. At first glance, he seemed like a psychopath who would eliminate his friend’s company because he had no one to play with… but if Eunhong weren’t a beta, Jaeha’s behavior would be closer to that of an obsessive lover.

“No, maybe closer to a dog.”

Sejin thought that Jaeha, who showed symptoms close to separation anxiety when it came to Eunhong, was similar to the dog he kept at home. His seemingly normal, kind, and smart dog turned into a monster whenever his older sister left the house.

They had been friends since kindergarten, right? Except for the three years Jaeha spent studying abroad and the two years Eunhong spent in the military, they had stuck together like glue.

If so, Eunhong had essentially raised Jaeha for nearly 20 years, taming him. That Lee Jaeha.

“Feeding and clothing aren’t the only hardships in raising, you know.”

Muttering nonsense, Sejin put on his apron again and stepped behind the counter. Perhaps because it was part-time shift change time, there was a mountain of things to organize.

***

Eunhong entered the messy house and gaped in disbelief. As he kicked aside the clothes strewn from the entrance and went inside, he saw the open bathroom door. The toilet inside hadn’t been flushed, its contents clearly visible.

“You’re back?”

“Hey, you crazy bastard! What’s with the state of this house!”

“Did you bring chicken?”

Woohyun, who was playing games at Eunhong’s desk in the back of the studio apartment, spoke without even turning his head. Eunhong picked up Woohyun’s clothes with a stony face and put them in the laundry basket. He placed the chicken bag on the dining table and threw his scarf onto his bed. Though he didn’t want to go in, he had to head to the bathroom to wash his hands.

As he came out after washing his hands, he saw Woohyun holding Jaeha’s scarf. He was holding a chicken leg in one hand. Woohyun buried his face in the scarf, disregarding his greasy lips, and deeply inhaled the scent.

“Wow, fuck, this is hot. Look at these pheromones. Crazy. Extremely dominant alphas are really different.”

“Don’t touch it and put it down. It’s not mine.”

Even though the angry Eunhong spoke in a low voice, Woohyun wasn’t intimidated at all. Instead, he approached Eunhong, narrowing his light brown eyes suggestively.

“You know, on days when you meet Lee Jaeha, you come back smelling really arousing too?”

“That’s right, really.”

“It’s your fault for coming home covered in Lee Jaeha’s pheromones when your friend is an omega. He’s a psycho too for marking you when you don’t know anything.”

Eunhong roughly pushed away Woohyun’s shoulder as he tried to touch him. Woohyun, regardless of Eunhong’s anger, sat at the dining table with a grin and pulled out a second chicken leg. Seeing his unmoving face, Eunhong gritted his teeth.

“An Woohyun, you crazy bastard. Give me your lover’s number, I’ll tell them everything.”

“My alpha isn’t that interested in me anyway.”

Contact them if you want. Woohyun unlocked his phone and held it out.

Eunhong roughly snatched Jaeha’s scarf that Woohyun had been holding. He was concerned because it was obvious that Jaeha would be disgusted if he saw it with Woohyun’s pheromones on it, let alone the grease. Jaeha already disliked the fact that Eunhong lived with Woohyun.

As Eunhong was fiercely frowning and examining only the scarf, Woohyun clicked his tongue and asked.

“Lee Jaeha isn’t your lover, so why are you having such a fit?”

“What about you? You have a lover, but why do you go crazy whenever you see Jaeha’s things? Are you in heat?”

Woohyun glanced at Eunhong while sucking his greasy finger.

“My lover doesn’t smell as good as your friend. Would it kill you to introduce me once?”

“……”

“If you just set up the meeting, I’ll take care of the rest, okay?”

Woohyun had been asking to be introduced to Jaeha before. As Woohyun said, it wouldn’t be difficult to just ask. But Eunhong… He cut it off at his level and didn’t even bring it up to Jaeha. He didn’t want to ask. No, he was afraid that Jaeha might accept if he asked.

“Jaeha doesn’t date omegas.”

“What alpha in the world doesn’t date omegas? Aren’t you just being possessive when you’re just a beta? If you’ve been friends since you were kids, you’re practically family, does he know you’re obsessing over him in such a lewd way? Are you sure you’re seeing him as just a friend?”