Pink Flavor Omega

#7

“Hello? Could you spare a moment to put on just one sticker before you go?”

It was a supporter from a children’s charity organization wearing a green vest. As Eunhong was about to politely decline by stepping back, a giant brown bear wearing a red Santa hat blocked Jaeha’s way. The white embroidered letters “Free Hug” on the bear’s chest shone brightly.

“Please give our child-protecting bear friend a hug and sign once for us!”

Jaeha frowned sharply at the sight of the furry costume head that looked like it hadn’t been washed in a month. He was already dizzy from the fishy smell and nauseated by the various residual pheromones flowing through the busy street. Seeing Jaeha’s sour expression, Eunhong tensed up.

“Jaeha, come here for a second…”

As Eunhong was pulling on Jaeha’s arm,

“Move. You stink.”

The words flowed out before Eunhong could stop them. Eunhong’s eyes met the supporter’s. Eunhong’s gaze trembled.

“……”

“……”

If he had to make excuses, the fur did look quite dirty. And Jaeha’s suit was too expensive to hug it. Though he had taken such a person to eat grilled fish… Anyway, he had to clear up the misunderstanding!

Moreover, someone might recognize Jaeha. News articles like “Ill-mannered chaebol heir” could appear as soon as tomorrow. Eunhong stood frozen for a moment, not knowing what to do, then stepped forward to try to smooth things over.

“I’ll, I’ll hug instead! I’ll do it.”

“What?”

Eunhong pushed aside Jaeha, who was looking back at him with a frown, and stepped forward. As Eunhong hesitantly approached the bear, the frozen supporter quickly transformed into a friendly face and smiled brightly.

“Thank you!”

Jaeha’s expression somehow looked angry. Eunhong deliberately ignored it and gave the bear a warm hug. Unlike Jaeha’s reaction, the bear didn’t have any particular smell.

After the hug, Eunhong received a round sparkly sticker, carefully stuck it on the whiteboard, and diligently signed his name. Jaeha watched Eunhong do this, standing crookedly with a displeased expression. When Eunhong turned around, Jaeha immediately spoke in an angry voice.

“Do you hug everyone who asks? Whether it’s a person or an animal?”

“Animal? What are you talking about?”

“Hug me too. Free hug, with me.”

As Eunhong was about to open his mouth to ask what nonsense Jaeha was spouting, he was blocked by Jaeha’s shoulder. Jaeha had forcefully pulled Eunhong’s head into his embrace. The hand that stroked Eunhong’s back pulled his waist in tightly. Eunhong’s nose was buried in Jaeha’s shoulder, which held the cool air. The lingering scent of Jaeha’s favorite perfume wafted in.

“Hey.”

Eunhong was visibly flustered by the sudden occurrence.

“Hey, wait a second, Jaeha…”

Jaeha tilted his head and buried his nose in Eunhong’s nape. Eunhong stiffened his shoulders, startled as he felt Jaeha’s breath distinctly. Jaeha’s thin voice dropped low.

“You don’t know how hard I’m trying to hold back.”

“What, what are you holding back?”

When Eunhong tried to gently push him away, Jaeha pulled him in tightly as if throwing a tantrum.

“…Pheromones, that bear is covered in pheromones.”

“Ah…, really?”

Only then could Eunhong understand Jaeha’s behavior. It was perhaps natural that the bear costume, which countless people had passed by, would be covered in pheromones. Thinking that the life of a 2-star trait holder must be very tiring, a wave of sympathy washed over him.

Eunhong, still tightly held by Jaeha, hesitantly raised his hand and patted Jaeha’s back. As if some tension had been released, the strength in Jaeha’s arms lessened. Eunhong gently pushed away Jaeha’s arms that were caging him in, and raised both arms to hug Jaeha’s neck tightly.

“……”

Feeling Jaeha stiffen, Eunhong gently stroked the back of his head as if comforting him.

“I don’t have pheromones, so…”

Jaeha remained frozen like a statue, just letting himself be hugged.

“……”

“……”

They stayed like that for a while, embracing in the middle of the bustling street overflowing with people. The young supporter and the Santa bear seemed to slowly back away, and before long, they had disappeared far away.

“Are you feeling better now? Have you calmed down?”

Eunhong pulled away and asked softly.

With his arms still around Eunhong’s waist, Jaeha lowered his eyelashes. His slightly darker lips parted, and a low, husky voice flowed out.

“No, not yet.”

“Huh?”

“I’m not calm yet, so hug me a little longer.”

***

Monday morning dawned.

Regardless of life goals or bank account balance, it’s that moment when you just want to quietly disappear. Eunhong barely managed to raise his body that just wanted to cling to the bed.

“I should have gone to bed early yesterday.”

Muttering a line he had probably said about three thousand times since birth, Eunhong prepared for work. He splashed water on his body, which had melted softly inside the blanket, to wake himself up and put on clothes with half-closed eyes. Today’s concept was a diligent employee who resists the urge to jump out immediately and goes to work.

To maintain a warm nest, one must earn money. As he was barely opening the front door in a daze, Woohyun burst in at the same time. A strong smell of alcohol wafted from Woohyun as he pushed past Eunhong and ran into the house. Eunhong, already lacking strength, slumped down in the entrance.

“That crazy bastard…”

It was about 15 minutes later when Eunhong, who had been dozing off in that sitting position, got up again. Woohyun, freshly washed and changed, woke Eunhong up as he was putting on his shoes. If not for his bloodshot eyes, Woohyun’s condition would have looked better.

Even while walking to the subway station, hanging onto the hellish Line 2 subway, and walking on the street towards the company, Woohyun didn’t say a word. He only gave short answers like “yeah,” “no,” “uh,” “it’s fine” to Eunhong’s questions about how he spent the weekend and why he didn’t come home for two nights.

Eunhong only knew brief details about the alpha Woohyun was seeing, so he didn’t know the exact situation. But having seen how Woohyun had been meeting people, he was worried. Eunhong was very concerned about Woohyun’s face and the smell of alcohol that seemed to permeate his body. It was in Eunhong’s nature to worry excessively about unnecessary things.

Unable to put aside his growing concerns, Eunhong finally stopped Woohyun. With the company just ahead, he felt he needed to hear something before going in to feel at ease. He dragged Woohyun into a convenience store, bought some hangover drinks and snacks, and handed them to him.

“Woohyun, An Woohyun. Everything’s really okay, right?”

Like asking a patient if they could see his finger, Eunhong waved a sausage in front of Woohyun’s eyes. Woohyun frowned deeply.

“Ah, come on. Why are you being so annoying?”

“Your face looks terrible. Are you sure nothing happened over the weekend?”

“Do I still look like a depression patient to you? Why are you making such a fuss?”

Eunhong felt restless when Woohyun’s mood hit rock bottom. They had been living together for over two years. During that time, Eunhong had become habituated to taking care of Woohyun. With Woohyun’s childhood image deeply imprinted in his mind, Eunhong volunteered to be Woohyun’s emotional trash can without even realizing it.

“Woohyun.”

“Get out of my way. You’re annoying me.”

Eunhong dropped the sausage when Woohyun irritably swung his hand. Eunhong, who had let out a small “Ah,” stared silently at Woohyun. Under that gaze, Woohyun’s face twisted angrily and he shouted instead.

“What are you looking at! It’s your fault for keep bothering me when I’m in a bad mood.”

When Eunhong picked up the sausage and came out after throwing it in the trash, Woohyun had already gone ahead. The crosswalk signal had long since changed. Woohyun, already halfway across, didn’t even look back when Eunhong called out, “An Woohyun!”

“Hey, you ungrateful bastard, let’s go together!”

Ah, shit! Eunhong clutched his bag and started running. The green numbers were rapidly decreasing. As he ran, panting heavily, Woohyun glanced back. Only when Eunhong finally narrowed the distance did Woohyun match his pace.

Only after crossing did Eunhong regret it. Hah, shit… I should have just waited for the next signal. He felt like dying on a Monday morning.

As he was catching his breath with his hands on his knees, he started to see some company people. Someone patted Eunhong’s back. As he was about to stand up and greet them, Woohyun beat him to it, smiling brightly.

“Good morning, Deputy Manager Kim!”

“Woohyun, you’re so energetic even though it’s Monday.”

“I’m always the same!”

Seeing Woohyun smiling cheerfully when he had looked like death just moments ago, Eunhong felt something crumbling inside. Monday was indeed too hard.

***

– Bunhong, why aren’t you eating while working on making other people’s money?

“Work piled up a bit. I’m eating a sandwich.”

– If you keep skipping meals, your cheeks will hollow out. Can I bring you something?

“Even our deputy manager’s wife doesn’t do that.”

– Take this opportunity to learn from me.

“You crazy bastard, are you my wife?”

– No. I’d rather be your husband if I have to choose.

Eunhong’s chair swayed gently. The tablet pen twirled between his fingertips. He had substituted lunch with a sandwich to work on his personal project, but he was about to spend all his time on the phone call. A smile kept leaking through his teeth.

– Live more carelessly, Bunhong. Why are you so diligent with company work? Focus that much on playing with me.

“You should live more diligently. Think of the employees who work for the company believing in you. There’s a limit to using your grandfather’s influence, you know?”

– I’ll consider it if you stop making me lonely. From now on, our employees’ livelihoods depend on you.

“Why are you dragging me into this.”

As Eunhong was drawing while looking at the monitor with Jaeha’s voice as background music, he suddenly felt a gaze and quickly minimized the program. Trying to hide his expression and act nonchalant, he raised his head to find Woohyun leaning on the partition, looking down at him. Eunhong calmed his startled heart.