IBS - Chapter 62

“Should we leave the room? Haha, let’s go…!”

I had to distract him. Acting as nonchalant as possible, I tried to push Han Jinheon, who was standing beside me, but he was like a rock.

“Ah, come on! Don’t be like that, let’s just go…”

I grabbed his arm and tried to get him to leave, but he was motionless, as if my strength had no effect on him at all. It’s always surprising when I’m reminded of how different our strengths are.

In my haste, I tried to throw my body onto the desk. I wanted to hug the monitor so he couldn't see it. However, the situation didn’t go as planned. Before I could even throw myself, Han Jinheon wrapped his left arm around my waist and pulled me roughly towards him.

“Ugh…!”

I was helplessly pulled into his embrace. If I couldn’t throw my body, I tried to at least cover his eyes, but that failed as well. Han Jinheon had already seen the monitor and was frowning.

“‘Good places for lovers to go on Christmas’?”

“Ah, no! Why, why is this page up? I, I was looking at something else!”

Han Jinheon’s gaze turned to me as I rambled on, saying I was looking for places to go with family. The chilly temperature in his eyes made my flailing body freeze on its own.

“Lovers.”

I swallowed hard at the blunt word he uttered. Of all things, he had to pick that one.

“No. I was looking for places to go with family, but this, this is strange… I was only looking for places to go with family or friends, so why, why did this pop up…? It’s really strange. Did I get a virus…”

Han Jinheon pushed me back into the chair as if throwing me. Ugh. A sound escaped my lips, startled by the stronger-than-expected force.

“Are you planning to go with the bastard you like?”

He rested his arm on the armrest and leaned his body towards me, asking in a low voice. My lips clamped shut at his voice, which was by no means gentle or affectionate.

The bastard I like. He was right, but he was misunderstanding it as some other guy who didn’t even exist. I should have said no, but my eyes fell under his fierce and piercing gaze.

I felt a little wronged. Was it something to get this angry about just because I looked it up?

“There’s a hotel lounge here. Are you planning on taking the guy you like to a hotel?”

“No. It’s just on the recommendation list. I wasn’t thinking anything…”

“To say it’s just a recommendation list, it’s all hotels. What are you planning to do at a hotel? Does your body get restless now that hyung touches you these days? Do you want to spread your ass?”

“I said no! Look. The theme may be hotels, but if you look, there’s a lounge, a restaurant, a cafe, and… there’s an ice rink in front of this hotel! There are so many innocent things to enjoy, but to have such suspicions…”

The hotel was just a broad theme that encompassed the things I listed. Other than that, it had no special meaning. So it was a problem for Han Jinheon to approach it with the meaning of a hotel that Han Sol was thinking of. It wasn’t like I was planning to have a relationship with someone at a hotel for Christmas.

'I’m not having those kinds of lewd fantasies about you, Han Jinheon!'

“So pure. I thought you were going to be quiet and not cause any trouble until the end of the year, but you were preparing to pull some tricks behind my back.”

“Haa, I told you it’s not like that.”

“Tell me. Are you in contact with another guy? Is there still a guy who contacts you? Is he the one you like?”

“Should I show you my phone? The only person I’m in contact with is you, Hyung. If there’s anyone else besides you… it’s just Secretary Jeong who takes me to the hospital.”

His narrowed eyes told me that he suspected Jeong Seonwoo. I think I dismissed it as a ridiculous notion before, but this time I had to tell him clearly that it wasn't him.

"But that doesn't mean it's Secretary Jeong. He's more of a comfortable acquaintance, I don't like him, so don't misunderstand!"

At my answer, his eyebrows, which had found their place, twisted again. "It’s really not him." I muttered and carefully shifted my hips. I just wanted to get up from the chair, but Han Jinheon gave me no room. He instead corrected the angle of the chair that I had turned in my discomfort, closing the distance even further.

As I quietly received his scrutinizing gaze, I felt embarrassed and also wronged, wondering if this was such a big mistake. My heart, flushed by various emotions, colored my face red. Han Jinheon, who had been just staring at my face, finally spoke in a low voice.

“You should be honest by now.”

“What, what do you mean?”

“I’m talking about who it is. I’m not curious about which family’s son he is, so just give me a name.”

“……”

“Who knows? Maybe hyung will generously let you go out for Christmas. I could even push you out the door, telling you to have a good time. But before that, I need to know what kind of guy he is, don't I?”

He held out his palm, telling me to either say the name or give him my phone. I didn't understand why this Alpha was so obsessed with the person I liked. I had already told him that I would just like him from afar and then get over it, so he could just watch.

'Should I just tell him I like him?!'

'Would he hate me then? Would he kick me out of the mansion?'

'Would he not let me have my Omega manifestation, not give me the building, and send me back to my main house?'

Various questions got tangled up. I looked deep into Han Jinheon’s eyes as he seductively persuaded me, saying that all I had to do was tell him the name. Then I took his hand and brought it to my cheek.

I wasn’t going to tell him the name, and I wasn’t going to give him my phone. Well, it wouldn’t matter much if I did.

“Hyung…”

Instead, I rubbed my cheek against Han Jinheon’s hand. I wanted to get through this situation naturally.

“Actually, I was planning to go out with you… I was going to ask you if we could go out together when you came… but I got excited on my own and was looking it up beforehand…”

“……”

“Think about it rationally. Do you think I’m secretly contacting someone? Do you really think there’s a guy I’m trying to pull a trick with? You were the one who deleted all my contacts back then.”

“……”

“The only person I’m in contact with is really just you, and even if I were to spend time intimately with someone, I was planning to spend it with you… It’s nice for brothers to have that kind of time together. This has nothing to do with the person I like…”

Han Jinheon pulled his hand away from my cheek, where it had been quietly being rubbed. 'Too bad, that felt pretty good.'

“It’s for me to judge whether it’s related or not. And let’s end this kind of thing of trying to get away with it today. Just tell me who it is at this point.”

'I like you. Huh? I like you!'

“Do you really need to know? You probably won’t like it if you find out…”

Just as I was mumbling, thinking how frustrating his persistence was, I raised my eyebrows at a strange feeling I couldn't ignore and my gaze darted around. Then I tilted my head and looked at Han Jinheon.

“……?”

The sweet smell from this morning brushed past my nose, this time a bit stronger, so much so that my nose tingled, and then it disappeared. Then it brushed past again and disappeared. Had I gotten used to it already? It was so different from this morning.

'Are pheromones originally like this? Are they this good?'

“Han Sol.”

I ignored his voice calling my name, but I couldn’t refuse the rough hand that grabbed the back of my neckline and pulled me away. I blinked my eyes, which were now facing Han Jinheon, and apologized.

“S-sorry.”

I didn’t know either. When I came to my senses, I had not only wrapped my arms around his waist and buried my face in his abdomen, but I was also sniffing and smelling his scent. It happened unconsciously.

“First you rub your cheek on my hand, and now this. Are you trying to act cute to get away with this?”

“It’s not acting cute, I was just wondering if it was really your scent… I did it because it smelled so good…”

“What?”

This morning, I thought the scent was strangely annoying, but that was because I couldn't smell it properly. Now that I could smell it strongly enough to make my nose tingle, I knew for sure. That this Alpha's scent was good. That it made me crave it, wanting to smell it forever.

“Hold on a second.”

The problem was my nose, which kept detecting it and then not, and my pheromone glands, which hadn’t fully opened because I hadn’t manifested yet. I acted as if I could smell the sweet scent just by burying my face in his clothes, but it was no use. Han Jinheon seemed to know that too, as he pushed me away again.

“Hyung, you’re truly unexpected. I never thought your pheromones would be so sweet…”

A man who looked so gentlemanly and classic, as if he would smoke cigars rather than cigarettes and listen to music on a turntable rather than an electronic device, was exuding a sweet scent.

Han Jinheon clicked his tongue as if he found my impression absurd.

“You’re the only one who says my pheromones are just sweet. You probably can’t smell it all yet since you’re not an Omega.”

“Really? Will I be able to smell all of your pheromones after I manifest? Yujin-noona said before. That it’s cool but humid, sweet but smoky…”

'Right now, all I feel is a sweetness that’s more than honey.'

Even when I tried to cling to Han Jinheon again, he blocked me by pushing my forehead with his index finger. As my head fell back helplessly at that small force, Han Jinheon chuckled.

What’s with him? He was angry one moment and now he’s laughing…

“I can’t figure you out. I never thought you’d hug me saying my pheromones smell good when I’m angry. I’m curious to see how much more you’ll be like this when you become an Omega.”

“It wasn’t on purpose. I couldn’t help it…”

“You couldn’t help it? I didn’t want to force an imprint on you.”

“……”

“Maybe I should. If I don’t tie you down, you’ll probably try to hug other Alphas without even realizing it, saying their scents are good, won’t you?”

What am I supposed to say if you put it like that? There’s nothing I can say. I pouted my lips and was about to retort, but Han Jinheon grabbed my chin.

“Don’t leave my side today, and sleep in my room.”

“Sleep in your room?”

“Yes. I’ll pickle you in the sweet scent you like so much.”

Even though I probably wouldn’t be able to smell it, I didn’t want to waste this precious opportunity, so I nodded my head quickly.

“And.”

Han Jinheon’s lips curved up on one side as he looked at the monitor right next to him with an indifferent expression.

“If there’s a place you want to go, look it up. You’re even acting cute, saying you want to spend it with me, so I should grant your wish.”

He said it’s a shame I can’t be with the guy I like. His dry consolation told me that it wasn't out of a pure desire to spend Christmas with his younger brother, but to prevent his brother from spending it with the guy he likes.

He’s being mean, but what can I do about it?

I playfully glared at Han Jinheon before bursting into a wide smile.

“You can’t take that back, okay?”

I’m so f*cking thrilled that I get to spend it with the guy I like!​