After making sure that Jaekyung was asleep, Jihong left, but immediately stopped dead in his tracks, noticing a suspicious man loitering nearby. Obviously, the man in the sunglasses, mask, and damn hat is Cha Sung-hyun. Although it was difficult to determine the identity from these standard accessories, the bizarre thing on his head clearly gave him away. He wore it when Jihong first met him in Gangnam.

"Jaekyung just fell asleep.

In response, Sunghyun lowered his mask and grumbled, "Huh? Really? He should have told me not to come if he was going to sleep. Am I a trained poodle for him, or what?"

It seemed that they were written off earlier. Jaekyung probably asked him to come because of his insomnia.

"It's good that I talked Jaekyong into taking a nap," Jihong mentally praised himself, and turned to the guy across from him again, "Anyway, he's resting now, so don't wake him up. You can meet after the competition."

"Well... Ok.

For some reason, Cha Sung-hyun decided to do the right thing, probably because a friend had an important event coming up. But that's only today, he's usually insane.

"Then it's time for me to go," Jihon said goodbye, bowing his head.

"What? Are you just sending your guest away?" the man objected in confusion. To which Jihon replied with the same puzzled look: "But you are not a guest."

"Ah, hyonnim, you're mean. At least with us.

In this ridiculous remark one could read a certain resentment.

Taken aback by the absurdity of what was happening, Jihong dared to clarify, "What do you mean by 'us'?"

"What?" For real?

Cha Sunghyun's round eyes, visible through the darkened glass, resembled rabbits: "Wow... Can I really say that here?"

Although they didn't actually have any relationship, Jihong was still looking forward to the moment to finally sort out the invisible conflict.

"Please, let's go."

And he dragged Cha Sung-hyun to the smoking room, which was just empty.

"Oh, dear.

Cha Sung-hyun commented, taking off his sunglasses. And putting them in his pocket, he sat down right in front of the ashtray. Jihon sat on the bench opposite. And, pulling out a pack of cigarettes, he asked: "Why then did you throw vague hints that you are in a relationship with Jaekyung?" Although I thought that this guy would pretend to be a fool and begin to deny it.

But to his surprise, Cha Sung-hyun quickly replied, "For no particular reason. For fun?"

"What a son of a bitch," Jihong cursed inwardly, clicking his tongue.

"Like a childish

Jihong put the cigarette in his mouth. Taking a deep puff, he added: "Well, if this amuses you, then there is nothing you can do about it."

"Whoa, take it easy on the turns, hyunnym," Cha Sunghyun smirked and hissed angrily as he waved his arms, "To be honest, I don't mind acting childish, okay? He asked me not to spread it, because his hyung is so precious! He did his best not to make a mistake with someone who looked like me! And what now, I have no right to a grain of fun? And? Is this a sin?"

Jihong ignored almost everything the guy spewed, but only latched on to one single word: "Mistake? What mistake?"

"I heard him ask you if you were beta in front of everyone.

"Oh, that's what you mean," Jihon muttered briefly.

Jaekyung looked very decisive at that moment, which gave the impression that the guy did not quite understand how tactless such questions were and not accepted in society. But it turns out that the bulldozer was actually worried.

"Then your pheromones are out of control. If you think a little bit and imagine that he would have informed one of the employees, would this be considered sexual harassment? It's a difficult question. But, since you are a person he knows, I offered to inform him directly, because it is not known whether you want your colleagues to find out.

«…….»

"What the hell is wrong with Kwon Jaekyung? Why the hell is he so awkward? And where does this consistent sincerity come from only with me? He just makes me feel sorry and sad," Jihon was mentally indignant.

"Jaekyung probably doesn't have any friends to ask for advice, and since I know the whole story, we ended up talking a little bit about these topics.

To summarize, they are just friends. But judging by Jaekyung's actions, it seems that he didn't seek help from Cha Sung-hyun. Because there was no cunning or common sense in some of his actions.

"I see...," Jihong muttered under his breath, then shook the ashes of his cigarette into the ashtray, pretending to be joking, "Then if Jaekyung comes to you again for help, can you tell him to give up?"

"Hey, I'm not a carrier pigeon, let you manage it yourself somehow

Cha Sung-hyun immediately protested. Being a creator who is ready to take pleasure only from observing comical situations, he, of course, does not intend to fit into them.

"But why do you reject it so categorically?"

"Why such a strange question?"

"Mmm... ?

"Can't I refuse?"

"Not really," Cha Sung-hyun interjected, and then added, "But you don't hate Jaekyung."

— But is this a reason for a relationship?

"And you're surprisingly shrewd and sharp.

— What do you mean?

"I thought you were the kind of person who would usually settle for anything, even if you don't want to.

"On what basis do you make such an assumption?"

"Hmm... Because of the face?

Jihong smiled and muttered without holding back, "Haa, damn."

"Huh?" Why are you suddenly swearing?

Cha Sung-hyun asked, looking like someone had just stepped on his foot while he was sleeping.

"Because of your strange delusions?"

Cha Sung-hyun's assessment had no scientific basis. However, when he cited himself as an example, it somehow began to sound convincing: "Because of our damn resemblance, I guess?"

Jihong sighed heavily as he exhaled a puff of smoke at the same time, "And I don't like to take responsibility for anything."

Cha Sunghyun smiled as if sneering, "Really?"

— No, seriously.

After taking another puff, he approached the ashtray, "Actually, you're right. I was like that in college."

"Wow, I've hit the nail on the head," Cha Sung-hyun proudly declared.

"For a long time, I was focused exclusively on swimming. But as soon as I quit the sport, I had no reason to say no. So if someone asked me out, I agreed.

Jihon suddenly plunged into his past, and his hand involuntarily reached for his trouser pocket.

— ... But my relationship didn't last long. Unable to seize the initiative, I waited for the other person to leave me. And by that postponed moment, there were practically no feelings left.

Jihong pulled out another cigarette and, biting into it, smoked anxiously: "... I don't seem to be able to take anything seriously. This applies not only to love, but also to work, and in general, everything. That's such a bad character."

"Why did you suddenly mention this?" asked Cha Sunghyun, not hiding his curiosity.

"Jaekyung shouldn't date a person like me, because the external beauty does not correspond to the internal, there is a complete mess somewhere very deep. He is completely innocent.

Jihon jokingly uttered the last phrase, but in fact, there was sincerity hidden in it. Despite his violent temper, Jaekyung behaved consistently and responsibly with those close to him. So, being his complete opposite, Jihong knew that he was no match for him.

"It's funny that you admit it, hyung-nim, especially as far as your appearance is concerned.

Jihong silently continued to smoke. However, he no longer tasted tobacco on his tongue. He was familiar with these symptoms. He has seen something similar before: a typical side effect of using suppressants. But this is not as catastrophic as the loss of smell or taste. It's just that the emotional background has fallen to zero. Of course, if left untreated for a long time, more significant problems can develop. Since hormones are forcibly suppressed, a failure in the structures of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems can occur, which will further lead to autonomic dysfunction. Yes, this phenomenon is extremely rare, but there is a risk. The side effects that Jihong experienced were mild, such as headache, abdominal pain or nausea. They usually appeared 10-15 days after starting to take the drugs. However, there are also early signs: mood swings, for example. And apathy, agitation or anxiety alternately replace each other. Jihong noticed that he had become more capricious, but he did not associate it with medicines. Attributing everything to the approaching autumn spleen, he actually forgot about his uncharacteristic sentimentality. And now the signs of physical ailment surfaced one after another. But it is still possible to endure the pain, but it is still difficult to control your actions because of mood swings. That was probably why Lee Yujeong had asked him why he was so drooping. But the brightest jumps in emotions were observed when communicating with Jaekyung: sometimes he is cute as hell, then terribly infuriating.

"In any case, pheromones are a real pain in the ass. They don't help at all in real life. Even cigarettes can relieve stress a little, although they are the embodiment of harmful shit," Jihon complained in his thoughts. And, not having received any pleasure, he angrily crushed the cigarette butt in the ashtray.

— Have you ever been exposed to omega pheromones?

— Of course.

"How is that?"

Cha Sung-hyun narrowed his eyes and hummed, still with a cigarette in his mouth, "The truth shocks a naïve hyunnym."

"Am I naïve?"

"Hyeongnim, you haven't been in heat, have you?"

"yes.

"Well, that's why I'm naïve.

Jihong waited until he took one last puff before continuing, "How did you feel when you encountered someone emitting pheromones?"

"Hmmm... That is?

- Well, sympathy there... Or did you probably think the person was cute?

Cha Sung-hyun burst out laughing as if he had heard something terribly amusing, and then turned his gaze to Jihon.

"Hahahaha, you're really naïve. God, love? As soon as estrus or rut occurs due to other people's pheromones, the ability to think immediately disappears. You don't understand who your partner is, where his eyes, ears, nose are. There is no love there either. All you focus on is either a hole that you want to insert into, or a penis that you need to sit on as soon as possible.

Suddenly, obvious words burst out, and Jihong looked around puzzled. Fortunately, there was no one near them.

Cha Sunghyun smiled as he watched him and then casually put on his sunglasses.

"Try it sometime." Then you will understand.