#53
***
As Han Jinheon opened the main gate and walked up the steps, his hands were full of more than just the briefcase he usually carried.
There was the sushi he had ordered for his arrival time and every type of bungeoppang he had bought out from a street stall Secretary Song had found. He wasn't the father of a family with a foxy Omega and kids like rabbits, yet here he was, buying an armful of snacks for a kid on his way home from work.
No sooner had he entered the mansion than he heard the sound of trotting footsteps. The person who appeared in the hallway connected to the entryway was Han Sol.
“Hyung, you’re here? Oh, oh! Bungeoppang…!”
Han Jinheon handed the bag full of bungeoppang to him, whose gaze had immediately fixated on the pastry not even a second after greeting him.
“Whoa! Why are there so many? It looks like more than twenty?”
“I told them to give me everything they had. Secretary Song said he asked them to pack them in sets of five because the flavors were diverse. I guess there are all sorts of flavors these days?”
“Hyung, people are going to call you old-fashioned if you go around saying that! These days there’s red bean, choux cream, pizza, sweet potato… Even bungeoppang have their own type, you know.”
It was funny how he puffed himself up with pride over such knowledge. But his chattering voice wasn’t unpleasant, so he didn’t cut him off.
Han Jinheon also handed the sushi over to Han Sol. When he told him to set things up while he went to change, Han Sol nodded his head vigorously and then disappeared into the dining room.
You could tell he was excited just by the way he walked. Han Jinheon watched his retreating figure for a short while before looking away and entering the dressing room to change into loungewear.
Normally, this Alpha’s routine was to shower and then change, but that had changed at some point. As if he were so impatient and anxious, he would just change his clothes, come out, and eat with Han Sol. Only after that would he shower or finish up any remaining work.
After stopping by the bathroom to wash his hands, Han Jinheon’s steps slowed to a halt as he came downstairs. He didn’t want to disturb Han Sol, who was sitting with both legs up on a chair, nibbling on the tail of a bungeoppang. What was he thinking about as he ate? He was just staring blankly into space.
…Cute.
Han Sol used to be picky, even with his food. He had spent money lavishly on food as if vowing to no longer eat the things he had eaten in his life before being entered into the HANQ family register.
He had thought Han Sol wouldn’t eat street food like bungeoppang, but it seemed he did want to eat it after all. And he was eating it. This was much better to see than him being fussy, refusing to eat anything that wasn't bought with a lot of money.
Han Jinheon leaned against the wall. Han Sol was more clueless than he looked. Even though Han Jinheon was standing there, he didn't notice his presence and was calmly taking out another bungeoppang and biting into its tail again.
'That oblivious side of him will soon disappear.' Once he becomes an Omega, he’ll be able to tell by the pheromones.
It’s not that he was waiting for Han Sol to find out first, but at this rate, he would just keep standing here without knowing the right time to emerge. At that thought, he moved his feet and approached Han Sol. Han Sol, who was about to take out another bungeoppang, stopped his hand as soon as he saw Han Jinheon. He even dusted off the hand that was holding the pastry and spoke with a bright smile.
'I’m just looking at him, Why is he smiling so happily?'
“I thought you were showering since you weren’t coming down.”
“I have to shower after eating. How can you eat bungeoppang before we’ve even had our meal? We should eat first.”
“It’s fine, I have a separate stomach for sushi and a separate one for bungeoppang.”
Han Jinheon furrowed his brows, displeased by the nonsensical words, but that was all. Instead, he picked up his chopsticks, saying they should eat quickly.
He looked around to see what to eat first, then shifted his gaze to Han Sol’s face. Among his features, he saw the rosy lips glistening with oil from the bungeoppang.
His upper teeth would bite his lower lip, then both lips would hold the chopsticks, and then the pursed lips would disappear into his mouth entirely. His lips, which moved so much in such a short time, were still glistening. It might have looked that way because of the lighting.
Or, it could be because he had coveted those lips before.
The thought of kissing made the Adam’s apple in the center of his smooth neck move on its own, even though he hadn’t swallowed anything. He suddenly wanted to press his lips against those beautifully wriggling lips. He wanted to kiss him.
He wasn’t even an Omega yet, but his lips were already delicious. He couldn’t even produce a scent, but his saliva was already sweet. He must have easily given his lips to any Alpha he met, yet the way he tried so hard because he couldn’t kiss was also adorable.
He claimed he was good at it, but it didn’t matter if he wasn’t. Making him good at it would be a thrill that only he could experience for now. All he had to do was make him good at it and then hand him over to another Alpha.
'Hand him over to another Alpha.' That was the goal, but it felt a bit... unpleasant.
***
After we finished the sushi, I took my medicine right in front of Han Jinheon.
I was planning not to eat the bungeoppang since my stomach was full of water, but I changed my mind. Once I started, I could eat them one by one, and a useless sense of duty spurred my mouth on, telling me I should eat them quickly while they were at their most delicious.
Han Jinheon said it was nice to see me eating well but stopped me, telling me not to overdo it. He said I shouldn't eat them from the start if I was just going to end up in the bathroom, but that was something he said because he hadn't tried them.
“Just try one. It’s so delicious…”
I nudged his lips with the head of a bungeoppang, telling him to try one. He said he would just eat one, and when he did, my heart thumped. 'Is this being moved? Or is it because he was so cute?'
As soon as he finished the bungeoppang, Han Jinheon wiped his mouth and his arm came to rest on my shoulder. He pulled me toward him and whispered into my ear in a mischievous voice.
“Want to sit on hyung’s lap again today?”
“No… Don’t touch me, I’m eating.”
“I mean after you’re done eating.”
“No thanks.”
I did think about sitting on his lap again today, but it felt a bit weird. If it had been a one-person recliner like before, I might have forced the reason that there was no other place to sit and done it. But to sit on Han Jinheon’s lap in the middle of this vast sofa was a bit much.
As if he had read my mind, he whispered in my ear once more. I’m the only one who can hear him even if he speaks normally, so why does he keep whispering? It’s tickling my ear. Making my heart pound.
“Hyung isn’t the first man whose lap you’ve sat on, right? How many has it been?”
I looked at Han Jinheon with a bite of bungeoppang in my mouth. His expression was ambiguous. Serious, yet playful.
“Why do you think that?”
“It was the same back then, but the fact that you sat down when I didn't think you would. And seeing how you had no hesitation makes me wonder if you have experience.”
As I said before, I’ve acted cute (aegyo), but sitting on a lap is a first for me. Isn’t this a bit much for others to see?
The original Han Sol was so promiscuous, he might have sat on someone else’s lap. But, since it’s a first for me, I should speak based on my own standards. Han Jinheon wouldn't be able to confirm the facts anyway.
“It’s my first time. Sitting on a lap…”
“Your first time?”
“Yeah. It might have looked like I had no hesitation in your eyes, but believe it or not, I thought I was going to die of embarrassment…”
Han Jinheon’s eyebrows curved. Did he not even imagine that my answer would be that it was my first time? For my own sake, I wish he would abandon the idea that this body had experienced all kinds of skinship and was proficient in them.
Hoping he would believe me, I decided to change the subject.
“I have something to tell you.”
I finished off the rest of the bungeoppang and began to speak.
“I went to the hospital today. After getting the injection, I met Dr. Kim.”
I quickly recalled the conversation I had with Kim Yujin. I had been meaning to tell Han Jinheon about this anyway and was wondering how to time it, and now was the perfect opportunity.
“Dr. Kim smelled your pheromones on me…”
“Why, did she tell you not to?”
Han Jinheon cut to the chase without hearing the rest of my words, and I readily nodded. Han Jinheon let out a short sigh and pulled a tissue from the living room table. The tissue was rubbed over my lips.
“What was her reason.”
“Ah, so you didn’t know either.”
The spot where the tissue had gone was itchy, so I scrubbed it again with the back of my hand as I spoke.
“I decided to manifest anyway, and it doesn’t matter if your pheromones get on me as daily marking… but it seems it becomes a problem if it gets a bit too severe.”
“A problem?”
“Yeah. She said you have to be careful with pheromones between family… and that it’s dangerous if the pheromones are excessive, like a pheromone shower…”
I really don’t think I’m saying anything I shouldn’t. But as I saw Han Jinheon’s gaze gradually grow colder, I couldn’t say anything more and my words trailed off.
'Still, I have to take care of my own body first. Like the doctor said, I have to be healthy.'
“I tried searching for the reason, but I couldn’t understand it with my head… but she said it could be really dangerous between family. I think we need to amend our contract.”
'And I think I need to look for an Alpha to give me pheromones.'
It was a pity that I couldn’t receive pheromones from him since it was dangerous between family, but I had more or less come to terms with it. I proposed a solution like that, but looking at his indifferently hardened face, I had a bad feeling. It felt like my words wouldn’t get through to him at all.
“It’s not like I’m giving you a pheromone shower. I believe I’m giving you a moderate amount of pheromones, and that’s a problem?”
“Yeah. Because we’re brothers.”
“The case Dr. Kim mentioned would be if we were full-blooded brothers who shared the same mother. A half-blood relation isn’t a big problem. Especially if the mothers are different.”
“Is that so? But…”
“Do you think your hyung doesn’t know anything? Do you think I’m going to hurt you by being stubborn about an ignorant topic?”
“No. Don’t say that…”
“Han Sol.”
A blunt voice that held back emotion called my name. I inadvertently dropped my gaze, then raised it to look at him. His dark eyes, where anger had briefly flared and subsided, were calm without a ripple.
“You can distrust everyone else, but trust your hyung. I will never do anything to harm you.”
Comments Box