Love Me More

Chapter 18

The relationship with Kang Ji-won was good. But not enough to get back together. She would probably be sick of it too. She was a smart woman. Her standards were too high to be satisfied with someone like him. Ji-won was the one who ended things first, saying alphas weren’t her type after all. It was a clean break with no lingering attachments, to the point where one might question if they had ever dated at all.

The person Woo Hyun-se came to see wasn’t Kang Ji-won. Though he wanted to pretend otherwise, he realized clearly the moment he saw Kwon Si-yul. The one he wanted to see was Si-yul. He was curious about what he was doing, how he was doing, and wanted to hear that voice he’d heard over the phone more clearly again.

It was just checking if the piece he’d placed was still in its spot, nothing more. Woo Hyun-se wet his throat with the bland non-alcoholic drink, which might as well have been water, as he answered his own question.

“No. I just came for a drink.”

Si-yul responded with a “Yes” and moved away. He busily wiped tables and took orders. When a clanging sound of metal falling was heard somewhere, he hurried over with cutlery in hand. Each of his actions was worthy of Manager Kang’s affection.

His apron strings must have come loose, as he stood there using both hands to cross-tie the thin strings. As he pulled them tight, the black strings cinched in, revealing a slim waistline over his shirt.

The shirt that covered his upper body was loose, as he wore a size too big. He looked like a boy wearing borrowed clothes. Wasn’t there always one in every class? A student who ordered their uniform too large, believing they would grow into it. With his already youthful face and the baggy shirt, he wouldn’t look out of place as a student if only he had a name tag.

Even in the dim lighting, his fair face seemed to glow. His skin was plump with moisture. If pressed, tears might spring forth instead of water droplets. When expressionless, his plump lips made him look dazed, but when he smiled, the mole under his eye stood out, drawing attention.

The customers laughed at everything Si-yul said, though he wasn’t particularly funny. Perhaps his face itself elicited laughter. He was beautifully handsome. Judging by his face alone, he looked like a flower raised with tender loving care in a greenhouse.

“Hyung, they want the pasta less spicy.”

Si-yul leaned towards the kitchen, calling Chef Park “hyung” familiarly, having become close at some point. As he pulled back, he looked this way. Their eyes met easily as Woo Hyun-se had been watching constantly. Despite his delicate face, Si-yul’s eyes didn’t lie. The weariness of a life that had been rough was dissolved in his pupils.

That look made Woo Hyun-se’s throat burn. Even drinking alcohol didn’t quench his thirst. He watched Si-yul’s retreating back for a long time. The straight back, the slender neck rising above the shirt collar, and the black hair swaying with each step.

The rut was over.

But the heat was rising again.

Woo Hyun-se now knew what this meant.

* * *

The weather had turned much colder. A thin hoodie and an old coat weren’t enough to withstand the cold wind seeping through the gaps. Si-yul muttered, “Ugh, cold,” and hunched his shoulders. Trying to avoid the cold even a little, he pulled his hood down tight and drew the strings close. With only his features exposed, he shoved both hands deep into his pockets.

As he hurried his steps, eager to get home and bury himself in a warm blanket, a voice calling “Kwon Si-yul” distinctly made him jump in surprise. His heart pounded so hard it felt like it would burst through his ribcage, even through his clothes.

Si-yul looked around with wide eyes, searching for the source of the voice. Woo Hyun-se was sitting at an outdoor table of the convenience store on top of the stairs. As Si-yul turned to look, he raised his palm in greeting.

Why was this man here again instead of going home? Si-yul pressed down on his pounding chest. He had suddenly appeared at the bar, and now he showed up here too. The man was truly unpredictable.

“Stay for a moment.”

Si-yul had intended to just nod a greeting and leave, but Woo Hyun-se stopped him. He considered making up an excuse about being busy, but realized he’d have no answer if asked what business he had at this late hour, so he turned his feet.

Five minutes should be fine. Remembering Kwon Yuwon’s emphatic warning to avoid alphas, Si-yul sat down in a chair. Though it was around the same table, he chose the seat furthest from Woo Hyun-se.

Having deliberately avoided him at the bar, this was the first time Si-yul had looked at his face closely. Though it had only been about a week since they’d last met, he seemed unfamiliar, like someone not seen for weeks. His handsome features remained the same, but he seemed to have lost some weight. His already defined jaw looked even sharper, and his cheeks appeared flatter.

Woo Hyun-se placed a drink in front of Si-yul. It was the yogurt-flavored carbonated drink that Si-yul liked. A conversation they’d had here before naturally flashed through his mind.

‘You have a child’s taste.’

‘This is delicious. You should try it too, CEO.’

‘It’s too sweet for me.’

After taking one sip, Woo Hyun-se’s brow had furrowed as if he’d tasted bile instead of sugar. Si-yul remembered laughing for a long time at his disgusted reaction.

“It’s been a while, aren’t you being too dismissive? I’m hurt.”

“I’ve been busy with work. You saw it yourself, CEO. How many customers we had today.”

In truth, there weren’t many customers. Si-yul had just been bustling about trying to minimize contact with Woo Hyun-se sitting at the bar. Though he probably knew, Si-yul didn’t reveal the truth that he had been avoiding him. Woo Hyun-se, as usual, just said “Is that so?” and casually moved on.

“What have you been doing while I was away?”

“Just working and hanging out. Were you very busy, CEO?”

Unlike Si-yul who was facing forward, Woo Hyun-se had turned his body completely towards Si-yul. As he stretched out his legs, his hard shoe touched Si-yul’s worn sneaker. Si-yul quickly pulled his legs under the chair.

“I was busy. It was my rut.”

Woo Hyun-se didn’t hide the fact that he had been in heat. Wasn’t he embarrassed? Then again, Kwon Yuwon would throw all sorts of tantrums during his heat, cursing and wishing this “fucking heat” would die. Woo Hyun-se’s reaction was quite gentlemanly in comparison. Or perhaps unlike omegas, alphas only experienced increased libido during ruts without mood swings.

While Si-yul hadn’t been affected when Yuwon cursed his heat, hearing Woo Hyun-se directly mention his rut made him feel like the erotic movie he’d seen that dawn was unfolding before his eyes. His face heating up, Si-yul pressed the cool, wet bottle against his cheeks.

“CEO… are you a dominant alpha?”

After cooling down somewhat, he put the bottle back on the table. Their eyes met briefly before Si-yul hurriedly turned away, but in that instant, he saw Woo Hyun-se’s expression. One eyebrow was raised as if he’d heard a strange question.

“We don’t distinguish between dominant and recessive. That’s discrimination, you know.”

Si-yul had heard that campaign on the radio too. It wasn’t eugenics, so why divide traits into dominant and recessive? Unable to take back his words, Si-yul bit his lower lip. He could only insist that he was ignorant about such things because he was a beta.

“Still, my friend said to avoid dominant alphas. He said they’re more dangerous than regular alphas.”

“Then let’s say I’m recessive.”

“What?”

Si-yul looked at Woo Hyun-se in disbelief. Could that trait be changed so easily, like flipping a pancake?

“Can you change that so freely?”

Woo Hyun-se only put the drink Si-yul had set down to his lips. After taking a sip, he grimaced as if he’d drunk bitter alcohol.

“Why does it matter? A trait is a trait. But why? What did you hear that made our Kwon Si-yul think dominants are more dangerous?”

“They say even betas can present if they’re around dominants. If they’re unlucky.”

“I’m recessive.”

“Really?”

Woo Hyun-se didn’t nod. He rested his chin on his hand and tilted his head, looking at Si-yul. His eyes held both the light seeping through the convenience store’s glass wall and amusement. Si-yul, forgetting he should avoid this, stared at those eyes as if captivated. Unusually, a deep navy color swirled in his irises.

“That’s what I’ve decided to be from today.”

Woo Hyun-se smiled mischievously. Si-yul knew rationally that this was nonsense. But he couldn’t bring himself to tell him not to lie. He was probably dominant, and while Si-yul couldn’t know about pheromones and such, he wasn’t so foolish as to not realize it after seeing such an ambiguous attitude.

He should leave now.

Instead of standing up, Si-yul just stretched his legs out in front of him. The tip of Woo Hyun-se’s shoe touched the side of his sneaker. The contrast between the worn, faded sneaker and the pristine, unmarked dress shoe was stark.

“Didn’t Kwon Si-yul want to see me?”

The question came out of nowhere. Si-yul blinked his large almond-shaped eyes and pointed his index finger back and forth between himself and Woo Hyun-se.

“Me? Want to see you, CEO?”

“I thought that’s why you called.”

“…That’s not it. I called to ask when I could treat you to a meal.”

He shouldn’t have called. Si-yul regretted it belatedly. Hadn’t he just heard obscene sounds and increased his strange imaginings?

“Never mind then.”

For such a direct approach, he retreated too easily. This wasn’t just playing with someone. Though that one phrase shouldn’t have much impact, Si-yul felt anger rising for reasons he didn’t understand.

“Don’t you have a lover, CEO? Say things like that to your lover.”

“I don’t have one.”

“When I called last time, that…”

“It wasn’t a lover.”