“Uh, yeah. What? Why didn't you wake me up?”

“I did, but you wouldn't wake up, Hyung.”

“You should have tried harder.”

“I kept trying.”

“And I still didn't wake up?”

“Yes.”

“I might be a heavy sleeper, but not that heavy.”

At my words, Jeong Haejun gave a faint smile. For some reason, his eyes seemed more languidly unfocused than usual. As that thought occurred to me, I felt like there was a strange smell in the car that hadn't been there before. It wasn't an unfamiliar scent to me as a man. This smell was like...

“You must have been really tired from walking around; you just wouldn't wake up.”

Jeong Haejun's voice cut through my train of thought. Honestly, it was a ridiculous idea. There was no way the smell of semen would suddenly be in the car.

I quickly cleared my head and followed Jeong Haejun out of the car as he suggested we head up. Even though the two of us were carrying shopping bags in both hands, we were still short on fingers, so we had grouped several together, yet there were still so many bags. I groaned, realizing for the first time that clothes could be this heavy.

“Is it heavy?”

“A bit.”

“Give it here.”

“It's fine, you're already carrying less than I am.”

I declined Jeong Haejun's offer of help and stepped into the elevator. It was a short trip to the apartment anyway. Only when we reached the front door did Jeong Haejun set the bags down for a moment to enter the passcode.

As I stared blankly at his back, I noticed something strange. His pants pocket was slightly bulging, as if something were inside. Based on the rounded shape, it wasn't a phone. Besides, his phone was in his back pocket. And his old phone was in the shopping bag provided by the mobile store.

I was sure nothing had been in his pocket before we got in the car, so what was that? Just as the thought crossed my mind, the front door opened and Jeong Haejun picked up the bags again, obscuring the pocket.

“Hyung?”

“Huh?”

“What are you doing? Aren't you coming in?”

I had missed the timing to follow him inside because I was too busy wondering what was in his pocket. Only after hearing him call out to me as I stood there blankly did I hurriedly move inside.

As soon as I entered the living room, I set the shopping bags down. They hit the floor with a dull thud, testifying to the weight of the clothes.

“Do you want some water?”

I nodded at Jeong Haejun's question, and a cold bottle of water flew toward me. Jeong Haejun, who had headed for the kitchen as soon as he entered, now had a flat pocket again. It seemed he had thrown whatever was in his pocket into the kitchen trash can.

Strangely, I became intensely curious about what it had been. I didn't know why I was acting this way. Why was I obsessing over something that could simply be trash? But my intuition was screaming at me to check.

“Organize the clothes. I'm going in first.”

“Yeah, thanks for today. I'll pay you back later.”

“I didn't do it expecting anything, so don't feel burdened. Get some rest.”

Before I knew it, Jeong Haejun tossed the empty water bottle into the trash and left the kitchen. I placed my half-empty bottle on the dining table and walked toward the trash can as if possessed.

If I opened this, there would be something Jeong Haejun had thrown away without my knowledge. A clue that would explain the strange smell in the car and why he looked more languid than usual.

“Hyung?”

“Ah!”

Just as I was about to reach for the trash can, I jumped in surprise at the sound of Jeong Haejun's voice—he had clearly already gone into his room.

“Why are you so startled?”

“Oh, it's nothing.”

“What are you doing in front of the trash can?”

A strange glint appeared in Jeong Haejun's eyes. It was as if he were asking, 'Did you know?' I swallowed hard.

“It's nothing. Why did you come back out?”

“To empty the trash.”

“Huh?”

“I saw it needed to be emptied when I threw away the water bottle. The housekeeper usually does it if I leave it, but it's better to lighten her load. You've lived alone too, so you know, right? How much general waste can smell?”

Having finished speaking, Jeong Haejun strode toward me. More accurately, toward the trash can.

“Then I'll help you—”

“It's fine. You have a lot of stuff, so go organize that first.”

Jeong Haejun crouched down by the trash can and gestured with his chin toward the shopping bags strewn across the living room.

“I don't like things lying around the house like that.”

There was an invisible force behind his voice. I had no choice but to head back to the living room. It wasn't easy to walk away from the evidence that could tell me what Jeong Haejun had done while I was asleep in the car. Behind me, I heard the rustling of a plastic bag.

“I'll go take out the trash.”

A moment later, Jeong Haejun spoke as he headed for the front door carrying the trash bag.

“...Okay.”

I could do nothing but watch his back as he left. I felt powerless, but there was no other way.

I consoled myself by wondering if there could have really been anything strange, and belatedly carried the shopping bags to the room. The built-in closet was more than half full with the clothes we bought today.

“Yiwon-hyung.”

While I was organizing the clothes, I heard Jeong Haejun calling me from outside; he must have already returned.

“What?”

When I opened the door and asked, Jeong Haejun pointed to the remaining shopping bags in the living room and asked, “Why did you leave these here?”

“Those aren't my clothes.”

“They are your clothes, Hyung.”

“Weren't you the one who bought them to wear?”

Since I hadn't picked them and he hadn't asked for my preference, I naturally assumed they were his and left them, but he claimed otherwise.

“I picked them because they're just comfortable clothes you can wear casually, and they are indeed your clothes.”

“They're shorts?”

“Yes. It's uncomfortable to wear long pants at home, isn't it?”

“That's true.”

“Your legs are smooth and pretty, so shorts will look good on you.”

The comment was somewhat precarious. It was uncomfortable to hear.

“How do you know if my legs are smooth or not?”

Irritated by the boundary-crossing remark, I asked sharply. I was also on edge following the trash can incident.

“They're probably similar to your arms. I heard you barely have any body hair. Why are you reacting so sensitively?”

“...”

“Do you think I'm acting like this because I'm in heat over another Alpha man's legs?”

Saying this, Jeong Haejun shrugged—a gesture implying it was no big deal—and pushed the shopping bag toward me. Because he acted as if he had no interest in me and that I was the only one being sensitive, I felt foolish.

“They aren't even that short, so just wear them comfortably. If you don't want to, throw them away or do whatever you want. I'm really going in now.”

Unlike before, when he hadn't made a sound, Jeong Haejun moved away with the audible scuffing of his indoor slippers.

After hesitating for a moment, the words he spoke about being a fellow Alpha bothered me, so I took the shopping bag into my room. I felt that if I threw them away without wearing them, it would be like admitting that what Jeong Haejun said was true.

Starting from the day after that hectic Sunday, Jeong Haejun treated the subtle tension between us as if it had never happened, treating me as normally as before. I had no choice but to go along with it. I didn't want to stir up unnecessary trouble.

“Today is your tutoring day, right?”

Jeong Haejun, who was preparing for school earlier than I was, asked while putting on his shoes. He always looked sharp, but he seemed to shine even more today. I considered asking if he had plans, but my pride stopped me from acting as if I were interested.

“Yeah.”

“Alright, have a good day.”

With those final words, Jeong Haejun left through the front door. He had asked if I wanted to ride with him, but I declined since I still had plenty of time before my class and didn't particularly want to ride in his car.

I sat on the sofa and searched for how long it would take to get from Jeong Haejun's house to school. Because we happened to have the same first class yesterday and went together, I hadn't tried using public transportation yet.

Fortunately, there were no annoying transfers, but the distance was quite far. Previously, I could leave home 30 to 40 minutes before class, but from here, it took over an hour. For a moment, regret surfaced—maybe I should have put my pride aside and taken a ride in Jeong Haejun's car. But regret was useless; the train had already left the station.

I went into the kitchen, made some fried eggs, and diligently prepared for school. Even though it was only my second day seeing the closet full of unfamiliar clothes, it felt awkward, as if I had opened someone else's closet by mistake. I picked out clothes that weren't too flashy and grabbed my bag.

Perhaps because I was starting from a new place, the path to the school I'd attended for years felt new. Maybe it was because the clothes I wore and the house I woke up in had changed, but I felt as if I, as a human being, had been dropped into a completely different world from where I used to live.

After finishing all my classes, I headed for the subway station. I wouldn't be conducting a proper lesson, but I couldn't enter Choi Jung-seo's house empty-handed, so I printed some previous mock exam questions at the school library.

Since there was some time before the tutoring session, I planned to visit a bookstore to buy a workbook and look around. As I walked, organizing today's schedule in my head, a car horn honked beside me. Reflexively turning my gaze, I saw the window of a familiar car roll down.

“Are you heading there now?”

It was Jeong Haejun.

“Yeah.”

“Good luck, Hyung. I'll be a bit late today.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Text me when you get home.”

“Well... okay.”

I didn't know why he wanted me to contact him, but I answered that I would. As I had thought this morning, it seemed he had plans of his own.

“I'll go then.”

“Bye.”

The darkly tinted window slid up smoothly, hiding Jeong Haejun's handsome face. The car, which had paused briefly to talk to me, quickly receded from view.

After that, I enjoyed some rare personal leisure time. I browsed books at the bookstore and, in my spare time, filled my hungry stomach at a cafe while reading the book I'd bought. Honestly, rather than it being 'after a long time,' this kind of time was almost a first in my life. Until now, I could count on one hand the number of times I'd bought a cup of coffee with my own money, even at a cheap franchise cafe.

I thought that if I could continue living like this, life might be somewhat bearable. If only I had been born into a moderately ordinary family, I could have lived a much better life...

Now that I actually had this kind of time, I fell into deep thought. I was wallowing in unnecessary self-pity until I snapped out of it, checked the time, and packed up. It was truly time to head to Choi Jung-seo's house.

A black sedan was parked in front of Choi Jung-seo's house. Just as I was wondering about the car blocking the path and about to ring the doorbell, the iron front door opened first.

“Oh, you're here?”

“Yes, hello.”

The person who appeared before I could even ring the bell was Choi Jung-seo's mother. She was dressed up, as if she had an appointment. I had thought this last time I saw her at home, but she looked so young that you'd never guess she had a son in his twenties.

“I'm actually on my way out.”

Choi Jung-seo's mother spoke as if it were a pity, but her absence was a welcome thing for me.

“Oh, really?”

“Yes, but what is that?”

She asked, pointing to the printouts in my hand.

“Previous mock exam questions. I'm going to go over them with Jung-seo today.”

“I see. Jung-seo is upstairs on the second floor. The housekeeper is with him, so please have some snacks while you work.”

“Okay.”

“Well then, good luck.”

“Thank you, have a nice day.”

I saw her off with a polite greeting and stepped inside the open entrance. Knowing that only Choi Jung-seo and the housekeeper were in the house made the burden in a corner of my heart melt away.

“Hello.”

“Who...? Ah, you must be Jung-seo's tutor. Shall I prepare some snacks for you?”

“It's alright, I've already eaten.”

“Then I'll bring up some drinks; your throat gets dry when you talk a lot.”

“Yes, just some water would be fine.”

After greeting the housekeeper, I went straight up to the second floor. When I knocked on the closed door, I heard Choi Jung-seo's voice from inside telling me to come in.

“You arrived exactly on time, huh?”

Choi Jung-seo, who was half-lying on the bed looking at his phone, asked without even making eye contact.

“I have to be on time. I actually ran into your mother.”

“She's gone already? She said she was leaving a while ago.”

Choi Jung-seo, who couldn't take his eyes off his phone as if he were playing a game, suddenly let out a curse and threw the phone down.

“What are you doing standing there? Come over here.”

Only then did Choi Jung-seo look my way, and seeing me still standing at the door, he patted the spot beside him. I let out a small sigh and moved toward him. No matter how much I had agreed to this, I couldn't help but feel a sense of self-loathing.

“We decided that this time you'd pick a movie you wanted to see, right? Did you pick one?”

“No, nothing particularly came to mind.”

“I was looking forward to it. What a shame.”

Choi Jung-seo spoke in a voice that sounded not at all disappointed.

“Then shall I just pick again today?”

“Do whatever you want. But let's watch the movie in a bit. The housekeeper is bringing water.”

“Is that so? Okay.”

Since it was just to kill time, I spoke indifferently, thinking it didn't matter who picked. At the mention of the housekeeper, Choi Jung-seo sat up from the bed and suddenly let out a sound of surprise while looking at me.

“Huh?”

“What?”

Knock, knock.

Startled by his reaction, I asked what was wrong just as the sound of knocking was heard.

“Yes.”

At Choi Jung-seo's answer, the door opened and the housekeeper entered the room carrying a tray with fruit and glasses of water.

“Have these while you work.”

“Thank you.”

I quickly took the tray and thanked her. Soon the housekeeper left, and Choi Jung-seo strode toward me as I stood there, my hands tied up by the tray.

“Why, what's wrong?”

Flustered by Choi Jung-seo's unexpected behavior, I stammered. A faint scent of perfume wafted from him as he approached, and strangely, I felt my heart beat a little faster.

“Hyung.”

“Yeah?”

“Your look has changed a lot since last week, hasn't it? Even if you got paid for tutoring, you can't buy these here, can you?”

“Ah, this.”

“Don't tell me Jeong Haejun bought them for you? This is a place Jeong Haejun frequents.”

“Yeah, he bought me a few pieces.”

Choi Jung-seo, who had been scanning me from head to toe, asked in a surprised voice, “How many pieces? What the... why is that bastard doing something he never does...” The end of his sentence became quiet and mumbled, so I couldn't hear it clearly, but it didn't sound like a compliment.

“What about him?”

“...I don't know, he just seems to hate things that are messy.”

“Right. Hyung, you said you moved into Jeong Haejun's house, right?”

“What?”

“He's a bit of a germaphobe, that guy.”

“...How did you know?”

“What do you mean?”

“That I moved into Jeong Haejun's house.”

I didn't think I'd mentioned it; had Jeong Haejun already told him? As I looked at Choi Jung-seo, he seemed slightly flustered by my question and couldn't answer easily.

“Did Jeong Haejun tell you?”

“Ah, yes, yes. I knew because Jeong Haejun told me.”

When I asked what I had been thinking, he finally laughed awkwardly and confirmed it.

“But why get flustered over that? You could have just said yes.”

“It's just... you asked so suddenly, like you were interrogating me, so I was flustered.”

Having regained his composure, Choi Jung-seo answered and then moved first, saying we should actually watch the movie now.

“Did you clear out your whole closet when you moved into Jeong Haejun's house?”

“Yeah, that's how it happened. I'll pay him back later.”

Leaning back against the headboard again, Choi Jung-seo replied, “Well, that works,” and picked up the remote. As he pressed a button, the screen descended and the image appeared.

I set the tray on the desk and sat next to Choi Jung-seo. As our shoulders touched, I felt the scent of perfume again.

“By the way, are you wearing perfume?”

“Who wears perfume at home?”

I wondered why he was wearing it today when he hadn't last time, and Choi Jung-seo answered with a look of 'what are you talking about?'

“I'm not?”

“No.”

“Really? Then why...”

“Because my heat cycle is coming up soon.”

“Then this is...”