#60
With a face as cold as the weather outside, Han Jinheon looked back and forth between me and the open window. Then, twisting one eyebrow fiercely, he approached me. He bent his legs to sit, bringing his eye level close to mine.
I wish he would sit next to me instead. It's scary when he stares so coldly, but my heart flutters because I can see his face so well.
"Looks like you suddenly felt like catching a cold."
The low tone that covered my ears was unfortunately followed by a sarcastic voice.
"Is it because the house is warm and your stomach is full? Or maybe because your hyung has been helping you c*m lately, you're feeling all energetic and confident?"
"Saying I'm 'energetic' makes me sound older than you... It's not what you think, I opened it for ventilation."
"Ventilation? There's a system for that, you don't have to open the window."
Han Jinheon's finger pointed upward. Following his hand, my gaze went up to the air circulation system on the ceiling. I knew it was there. I also knew it had excellent performance.
"I usually use the system too. Ah, it's on now, isn't it? But today, since this morning... some smell has been bothering me..."
Even while ventilating, the scent wasn't disappearing. Even though the brisk, cold wind was blowing inside, freely running through the mansion that had been kept warm all day.
Han Jinheon held the edge of the blanket and stared at me intently. His fingers, which he glanced at indifferently, had an attractive tattoo. I slowly raised my gaze from there to meet his eyes. I could see his black pupils quietly wavering. Unless I saw wrong, they definitely trembled.
"The smell is bothering you?"
I nodded at him as he narrowed his eyes and asked.
"Yeah. I'll just leave it open for a little bit then close it, so don't worry and go to work. You'll be late."
"I still have time. What kind of smell is it?"
"I don't know. Is it a smell from the house? The smell of breakfast from earlier? It doesn't seem like a diffuser... It's frustrating because I'm not sure what it is. Can't you smell it?"
"I'm trying to see if I'm smelling it too, so explain more. Don't try to identify what it is, just what the smell feels like. Simply put, what kind of scent is it?"
"Why focus on that? It's just a smell..."
As Han Jinheon's gaze felt stern, my voice gradually trailed off. The Han Jinheon I knew would have told me it was cold and closed the window by now. But even though I was shivering under the blanket, he was just holding the edge of it tightly, preventing me from moving.
What is there to explain, anyway? A smell is a smell, what kind of scent...
"It seems a little sweet... It's also like the smell of the fruit I ate this morning, but now it feels fainter because it's mixed with the air."
"And."
"And? Maybe because I opened the window, I can't smell it as well as before... It mostly smells like the air. Is it going to rain today? It smells a bit damp..."
The scent seemed to have been diluted by the air coming from outside, as I couldn't smell it as clearly as before. It was now hard to even catch a whiff of it, and my poor descriptive skills made it difficult to explain.
In any case, I mumbled something like that and let my words trail off completely. Han Jinheon, who had been concentrating on my poor explanation to a burdensome degree, lowered his gaze with a thoughtful expression.
Is this a new way of scolding me?
I tried to get up to close the window now, but I failed. The alpha's grip on the blanket was too strong to escape. Hiding my bewilderment, I observed Han Jinheon.
Han Jinheon looked at me again. The moment I met his neat features and straight gaze, the admiration I had been holding back almost burst out. Han Jinheon was handsome, right down to his gaze. Though sometimes it was scary.
"Has Secretary Song not arrived yet? Aren't you late for work?"
Han Jinheon didn't just look up at me. He used his whole body to crash down on my lips. Ah, seeing how he's kissing me until my body sinks into the sofa, Secretary Song must not have arrived yet. He doesn't do this to me when Secretary Song is around.
"Is it this scent?"
The question he asked as he pulled his lips away was random. There was no way the smell I caught with my nose could be felt from a kiss with this alpha. However, before I could speak, I licked my lower lip and was startled.
"......!"
A strange taste was felt on the tip of my tongue. It was more of a scent than a taste. Sweet, but with a damp finish. The scent that perfectly matched the smell I had crudely explained to Han Jinheon swirled in my mouth, giving me goosebumps on my back.
What is this? Why do I taste the scent that I smelled?
It was fascinating, but I couldn't understand why, so my eyes went wide. Han Jinheon lightly patted my cheek and smirked. He captured my attention with a sneer that suited him and then snatched my sanity with words that made my heart drop.
"Looks like your manifestation is getting closer."
"......"
"I think your pheromone glands have opened. Seeing as you're smelling hyung's pheromones that are on you."
"...Pheromones?"
Hyung's pheromones?
"We'll have to run a test to be sure, but it seems I'm leading you well."
Han Jinheon concluded with self-praise and stood up. Then, while I was out of it, he closed all the windows and turned the heating system to its maximum setting.
I stared blankly at his retreating back as he headed towards the entrance, saying that Secretary Song seemed to have arrived. I should greet Secretary Song. I should see my brother off. My body had no intention of moving, only my heart was pounding. I felt dizzy.
Manifestation. Pheromones. The things I'd been waiting for are closer than I thought.
***
I stopped by the hospital and got my shot. For the first and second times, I turned my head away each time, but after the third and now the fourth time, I can look at it and feel nothing.
Yeah, right. Just seeing the sharp needle going in and out made me make a face like I was dying.
Today, I had an appointment with Kim Yujin. Before going to see her, I stopped by the café inside the hospital and ordered eight iced Americanos. One was for Secretary Jeong who came with me, and the remaining seven were for the doctors and nurses in the traits department.
This was a small scheme. To improve my image, even just a little... Surely they wouldn't think I poisoned them.
"Could you deliver these, Secretary Jeong?"
"Yes. I will."
If I gave it to them, they would definitely think I poisoned it. At the very least, they would be wary. They might not even drink it, wasting the beverage, so I thought it better to borrow the hands of Secretary Jeong, who at least made a good first impression on people.
Carrying only Kim Yujin's coffee, I entered the consultation room. She, who had been staring at the monitor with an indifferent face, turned her gaze to me and asked.
"You're here?"
I waved at her as she welcomed me, approached, and gave her the coffee.
"Here's some coffee. I thought it might be a bit hot and stuffy because of the heater, so I bought iced."
"Oh my, how sweet of you."
A touched Kim Yujin immediately put the straw to her lips and took a sip. She even gave me a thumbs-up, saying she was just craving something to drink.
"Are you not busy today?"
Kim Yujin was always busy.
When I came with Han Jinheon, she left the consultation room as soon as our business was done, and every time I visited after that, she left right after we were finished. Seeing this, I had suspected that the consultation room was just a formality and that she was out playing somewhere. To make matters worse, she happened to be off on the days I visited, which only fueled my useless suspicion.
Of course, that wasn't it. Kim Yujin was busy with her main job—doing rounds, attending academic societies, and conferences—and on top of that, she was a devoted daughter who made time for her family, so even two bodies wouldn't be enough for her. At first, when she said family, I thought, ah, she must be married and taking care of her household, but it turned out she was supporting her old, sick parents. Specifically, her elderly mother who had dementia. I remember becoming solemn and unable to say anything when I learned of her situation.
Anyway, that aside.
"It's already the 21st today. Back then, you said we should do a mid-term check-up on the 22nd or the 29th..."
"I was planning to schedule it when you came anyway. When would be good for you?"
"If possible, the 29th? I think it would be better to do everything until December and have it at the end of the month, but hyung wants to do it tomorrow. What about you, noona?"
I intended to prioritize the opinion of my attending physician, Kim Yujin, over mine or Han Jinheon's. It was a way of passing on the decision-making power because I didn't want to take responsibility.
Kim Yujin answered without much thought.
"Let's do the 29th. I think the 29th is fine too."
"Then the 29th it is... I'll let hyung know."
"Okay, how are you feeling today?"
"I'm fine. Except for feeling a bit chilly from the cold wind this morning..."
"Are you crazy? Why were you out in the cold wind when it's this cold?"
"I opened all the windows to get some ventilation. Maybe that's why, I don't have a fever, but I feel a bit lethargic."
Kim Yujin pulled out a thermometer from somewhere and measured my temperature. It was 37.0 degrees Celsius, a slight fever. That's strange. When they checked it before my shot earlier, it was 36.8 degrees, but it had gone up by 0.2 degrees in that short time. It was probably due to the hospital environment where the heater was blasting.
"You sensitive punk who catches a cold when it's hot in the summer and cold in the winter, and you're not being careful."
"Sorry."
"You don't have to be sorry to me. You should be sorry to your own body. When you get home, find a fever reducer and take one."
She said that even if it's 37 degrees, it's best to take a fever reducer and nip it in the bud. I nodded in understanding, and like the doctor she was, who had to suspect all situations and symptoms, she didn't miss the chance to ask why.
"Why were you ventilating?"
"Ah, there was a strange smell."
"A smell? Is there any reason for a smell in the morning?"
"Well... about that, Jinheon-hyung said something strange."
"What did he say?"
"That the smell was his pheromone..."
"What?"
"The scent was sweet and damp. Hyung listened to me and said it was probably his pheromones on me, and that my manifestation seems to be getting closer."
"Hey! You should have told me this first!"
She chided me, saying it was something I should have mentioned as soon as I came in, and urged me to explain in more detail. There wasn't much more to explain in detail.
I just ventilated because a smell was bothering me. I couldn't tell her the real reason Han Jinheon thought I was smelling his pheromones, so I just vaguely said that I mentioned it was sweet, and he seemed to have thought that.
I'm not clueless. How could I possibly say that I kissed my brother? How could I say that the taste from that kiss was the same as the smell I caught with my nose...
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