Episode 6

– And then everyone misunderstood.

Tae-seo, who was clicking the mouse, looked at the face of Kang Se-heon displayed on the screen and recalled what had happened during the day. After exchanging contact information, Kang Se-heon had casually mentioned that he had concealed his pheromones.

Since he hadn’t been aware of pheromones, it felt like a stab. According to Kang Se-heon,  if he was an omega, he had never thought about harnessing pheromones or anything like that.

So, while Tae-seo was still bewildered and unable to say anything, Kang Se-heon got up from his seat. When he was sitting down, it was somewhat manageable because their eye levels were lower, but when he stood up, an undeniable sense of intimidation was felt. Tae-seo stared at Kang Se-heon.

With his characteristic authoritative gaze, Kang Se-heon looked down at Tae-seo and soon tapped his cheek with his index finger as  if he found him cute.

“You seem to still want to live like a beta, but you can’t hide everything.”

Tae-seo seemed to think that he deliberately concealed his pheromones. He was about to say that it wasn’t the case when he pursed his lips. Somehow, it felt like his words would sound like excuses because of the tone that seemed to belittle him.

“Well, it’s your choice, I won’t meddle.”

Saying so, Kang Se-heon patted his head encouragingly and left. It seemed like his hand left behind the scent of cologne on Tae-seo’s head. That was what happened as soon as Tae-seo parted ways with Kang Se-heon.

As soon as he got home, he searched for Kang Se-heon. He wanted to find out who he was. And he wanted to confirm whether Kang In-hyuk was really his cousin.

As quite a lot of information appeared, Tae-seo calmly browsed through it and suddenly grabbed his own hair.

“That’s why it didn’t come up.”

It wasn’t that he didn’t appear on the search engine. What Tae-seo meant was from the novel. Only after he knew in detail who Kang Se-heon was did he recall that he briefly appeared in the original work. There was no other way. In the original novel, the main character had to be the coolest and most noticeable. However, it was mentioned once in the story. Kang In-hyuk’s cousin who was mentioned when he asked for help in finding Seo Da-rae who had run away. Initially skeptical of Kang In-hyuk’s sudden request for help, he eventually agreed to help.  If it weren’t for him, Kang In-hyuk wouldn’t have been able to catch Seo Da-rae at the airport.

“How could I not have suspected such an outstanding person from head to toe.”

Tae-seo pulled at his collar in frustration and tilted his head, as  if trying to relieve some tension, although it didn’t seem to dispel the feeling of drowsiness.

“Should I leave this country?”

Was that really the only solution?

—

As the door opened, Tae-seo absentmindedly rolled his eyes and spotted a familiar face. Kang In-hyuk and Park Han-soo were entering. Tae-seo didn’t feel the need to turn his head and continued to watch them. Unlike the casually dressed students around, the wine-colored sweater accentuated his neat appearance. He definitely stood out.

Surely, there wouldn’t be anyone in the university who didn’t know Kang In-hyuk. Well, even so, Kang In-hyuk was just Kang In-hyuk. He would eventually end up with Seo Da-rae and love only her. That was Tae-seo’s observation. There was no sudden fluttering of the heart or any feeling that he could become his fiancé after seeing him.

Though his body might be Yoon Tae-seo, the essence of him was completely different. Plus, knowing the content of the novel, he wasn’t attracted to Kang In-hyuk at all. Tae-seo watched him like one would watch a rolling stone.

Then, their eyes met as Kang In-hyuk searched for an empty seat. There was a momentary flicker of discomfort in Kang In-hyuk’s expression before it quickly returned to normal. It was a fleeting reaction, but it couldn’t hide the fact that he didn’t like locking eyes with him.

Yeah, you probably dislike me.

Tae-seo casually averted his gaze. After the party, they had only crossed paths once. After that, they hadn’t met again, so he probably wouldn’t even notice that Tae-seo had changed.

“Let’s sit here.”

Kang In-hyuk seemed to be heading elsewhere, but a voice stopped him.

“That oblivious Park Han-soo.”

Tae-seo clicked his tongue as Park Han-soo dragged Kang In-hyuk over. It was obvious to anyone that he would come close to him. Moreover, Tae-seo really disliked Kang In-hyuk, but he couldn’t openly show it.

“Let’s sit here. Yoon Tae-seo, you’re early today?”

Park Han-soo greeted Tae-seo while indicating the spot where his bag was placed with his eyes. However, instead of responding to Park Han-soo’s greeting, Tae-seo raised his index finger, pointing elsewhere.

“There’s plenty of space. Go somewhere else.”

“Why? It’s nice to sit together and listen to the lecture.”

“Yeah, I don’t like it. It’s uncomfortable sitting shoulder to shoulder with giants.”

Tae-seo’s eyes sequentially landed on Park Han-soo and Kang In-hyuk.

“That’s why we sit together for fun.”

However, Park Han-soo was unfazed by Tae-seo’s indifferent attitude. He moved Tae-seo’s bag aside and squeezed into the space beside him. Then, he gestured to Kang In-hyuk to sit next to him by tapping the desk.

“Ugh, frustrating.”

It was unclear whether it was frustrating to sit so close to the big guys or frustrating because Park Han-soo didn’t understand his words. Tae-seo just turned his head away as  if ignoring Park Han-soo.

“Did your parents return safely yesterday?”

As Park Han-soo put down his bag, he nudged Tae-seo’s arm with his elbow. When Tae-seo looked at him as  if questioning why he was asking, Park Han-soo gently shook his phone. Yesterday, he had mentioned that he was on his way to the hotel because his parents had arrived and wanted to meet him. So, Park Han-soo was asking about that.

“They were busy, so I only saw them briefly.”

“Yeah? Why did they call you?”

Park Han-soo knew where Tae-seo’s family lived. Moreover, he was the only person who knew everything about Tae-seo’s family background, age, personality, and even his traits. It all stemmed from a sense of courtesy, but nonetheless, he was someone Tae-seo didn’t need to share his story with. Except for one thing, he didn’t know about the engagement talk between Tae-seo and Kang In-hyuk.

“Just wanted to catch up since it’s been a while.”

“Not for any other reason?”

“What other reason?”

When Tae-seo asked out of curiosity, Park Han-soo put down his phone and slung his arm around him.

“Maybe they want to set you up for your future or something like that.”

“… Set me up? What do you mean, set me up?”

“Adults often introduce potential partners with marriage in mind. So, setting up would be appropriate.”

“It’s not like that.”

Anyway, the conversation with Park Han-soo was half useless. Tae-seo suddenly felt a gaze from Kang In-hyuk that had somehow reached him.

Kang In-hyuk was staring at him strangely. Was it because his name might be mentioned?

Tae-seo inwardly scoffed and turned away from Kang In-hyuk, then spoke to Park Han-soo without changing his gaze.

“It’s like this. I’m never going to marry the person my family chooses for me.”

“Huh? Why?  If it’s your parents, they would probably pick a pretty decent match.”

Park Han-soo asked with a puzzled expression.

“I’m not considering conditions anymore. I’ll marry the person I like. Now, what’s the point of being from the same family or knowing each other since childhood? It’s useless. What’s the use  if we’re not attracted to each other?”

 If that’s why he clung to Kang In-hyuk and ended up risking his life, then it’s definitely a no. He doesn’t even like him now, and once this body, no, once this soul recovers from the accident, he’ll live a completely different life.

“Well, you don’t really need to consider the other party’s family background. In that sense, should I set you up for a blind date? There are a few people who seem to like you. Take a look here, she’s in her third year of dance and is a beta. Since you’re a beta, another beta might be better for you, right?”

As  if waiting, Park Han-soo raised his phone and showed a picture of someone. Tae-seo pretended to look at the photo while ignoring Kang In-hyuk’s gaze.

While Tae-seo took Park Han-soo’s phone and looked closely, Kang In-hyuk’s gaze swept over Tae-seo’s profile. It was the usual Yoon Tae-seo. He had a handsome face with well-defined features, but today, he seemed somewhat different.

As he examined what had changed, something caught his eye. Were his lips always this red? As Kang In-hyuk looked at Tae-seo’s face, he suddenly felt an indescribable thirst.

 TN:  If seen error please use the comment section to correct me sometimes I might mislooked her/she. Thank you