Jihon was slightly puzzled, but replied calmly, "Maybe..."

Just two days ago, he replaced the chip to increase the dosage of the drug. After having it inserted and removed twice in the past month and a half, the incision widened slightly. So he put on a hydrocall [1]. This place was on the inside of the forearm, and even with short sleeves, it was usually hidden. However, when he raised his hand earlier, the shirt shifted, exposing the skin.

"I put it in two days ago, so it hasn't healed yet

Jihon tried to escape carefully, but Noah held him back. And for a while he looked at the wound curiously, and then reached out and touched the top of the bandage.

"Hey

Jaekyung quickly grabbed Noah's wrist.

"What the hell are you doing?"

His voice was stern, he forcefully pushed the curious guy away, grabbing the hand that had been freed a second ago, and pulled it towards him. Only then did Noah realize the situation.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I've never seen such wounds before

And immediately he put his palms together.

"I'm sorry, Honey. I am so sorry

"It's okay

Jihon smiled and straightened his clothes. Seeing Jihon in this form, Noah belatedly voiced his conclusion: "So, Honey, are you an Omega?"

"Noa...," Jaekyung snarled softly. "This is sexual harassment, in Korea it is not customary to raise such topics."

—... Wh-what?

It took him a couple of minutes before he came to his senses and nonchalantly replied, "But I'm Australian!"

"It seems that for them, such direct questions are within the norm. That's why Jaekyung was so frank," Jihong thought, and then confidently confirmed, "Yes, I'm an omega."

"Wow," Noah exclaimed, raising his eyebrows, and abruptly approached Jihon.

"And I'm an alpha!" Do you feel anything?

"No, not at all," Jihon added, laughing. "Moreover, alphas do not even release pheromones."

"It's not about them. Alpha and omega instinctively reach out to each other, by the will of fate. This is the natural logic that follows the course of the universe.

True to his Australian alpha nature, Noah spewed out a lot of grandiose statements, even the Universe for some reason. Then he tilted his face even closer and insistently demanded, "Look at me. Isn't your heart burning?"

Out of politeness, Jihon pretended to look at him for a moment, "I'm sorry, but no."

"Oh, come on

Stunned by shock, he lowered his shoulders, and this time he pointed at Jaekyung.

"What about him?"

"Nope."

Jihon interrupted him again, giving the same result. Noah just grinned, as if he thought it was funny.

«.......»

Jihong felt Jaekyung's gaze on him. Unable to ignore, he turned his head and asked, "Do you need anything?" as Jaekyung stared at him.

"Damn Australian alpha," Jihon cursed to himself and took a sip. And, as if the damn Australian alpha suddenly remembered something, suddenly changed the subject: "By the way, Jaekyung, are you going to shave before you go to the pool tonight, or should I go to your room tomorrow?"

Most swimmers shave just before a competition. It was about depilation of the whole body: on the arms, legs, armpits, chest and lower abdomen. The goal was to minimize water resistance at least a little. According to an interview that Noah gave, he and Jaekyung were so-called "shaving buddies". In essence, this meant that they were helping each other. However, calling them this way is a bit unfair to Jaekyung. After all, Noah has much more hair on the skin. A long time ago, Jihong had noticed a small dark mark under Jaekyung's navel, but he hadn't seen it since. With Noah, everything is completely different. Such people often grew hair even on their backs. In this case, instead of mutual support, it was more like Noah was unilaterally exploiting free labor. Needless to say, Jaekyung thought the same way.

He mumbled while eating cakes with a spoon: "Don't. I can handle it myself."

"What's why?"

"Because I can handle it on my own

When Jaekyung mentioned that Noah's hair was so curly and growing everywhere that it would be a waste of energy to shave it, Noah banged on the table and exclaimed, "That's too much, traitor!"

He even theatrically demonstrated wiping away tears with a napkin, and then raised his head as if obsessed with some idea.

"Hey, Honey, maybe you then?"

"What am I?"

"Yes, you also went swimming...

"Of course...

— Ага, я знал!

Noah grinned, admiring his own genius, and then leaned forward and coquettishly whispered in Jihon's ear, "Do you want to come to my room tonight?"

"To your room?"

— Yes. I have a single room

"Is he trying to seduce me or what?" when this thought crossed his mind, Jaekyung interjected.

"You crazy bastard, stop

The sudden curses surprised Jihon greatly, as he had never heard anything like it from him. Of course, Noah looked extremely unfazed, as if he was used to it.

"No, but what! The bathroom is quite spacious, it can accommodate two.

"Noah, enough

Jaekyung's voice was menacingly quiet, and Jihong quickly intervened in the atmosphere, which had become more tense.

"No, I'll just do it right here and now

With that, Jihong took up his steak knife. Noah made a sound that sounded like laughter or screaming.

"What are you......?"

"Anything. Just Say

Jihong laughed and put the knife back on the table and whispered to Jaekyung in Korean, "Don't let your emotions get the better of you. He did it on purpose."

Such provocations are commonplace. Moreover, the closer to the final, the fiercer the war of nerves between the athletes became and the more likely it was that they would affect even a foreign nationality. Some athletes, bumping into each other in the canteen, often insulted each other. Since Jaekyung was the best-performing swimmer, he must have been the target of ridicule. Fortunately, his next best ability was not interacting with other people as if they didn't exist. He didn't even care what was going on around him. Therefore, Jihong was not particularly worried about falling for such an obvious provocation...

"But why did Noah do that?" Well, to be precise, he wasn't the real problem. The disaster was in Jihon himself, which inadvertently gave him the perfect opportunity.

What the hell did Noah know that caught Jaekyung's attention? So far, his behavior has been somewhat unusual, but there is no conclusive evidence that can be used against him.

Or is it because Jihon is an omega?