Chapter 1: The Reunion at the Tavern

The sound of glasses clinking echoed from all around.

The noisy chatter and the smell of grilling meat sharply stimulated the senses.

People holding liquor glasses moved busily between tables, occasionally bumping into Baek Haejun’s back.

Since these were unintentional touches, apologizing and declining politely every time it happened was exhausting.

“Are you really not drinking?”

A classmate sitting next to him held up a beer bottle as if to pour him a drink.

Just as Baek Haejun was about to shake his head and decline, Kang Hangyeol stepped in to speak on his behalf.

“Don’t give Haejun alcohol. He’s taking herbal medicine.”

“Taking herbal medicine at an age when you should be flying around?”

“His dream is to live a healthy life until he’s a hundred. Ignore him and pour one for me.”

As Kang Hangyeol reached out his glass right in front of Baek Haejun, the classmate filled it to the brim.

The guy, who had been grumbling about never seeing Baek Haejun drink despite it already being the second semester, instantly got excited and shifted his focus at the mention of starting a drinking game.

Baek Haejun offered Kang Hangyeol an awkward smile and mouthed his thanks.

Kang Hangyeol simply filled Baek Haejun’s glass with cider, as if this were nothing new.

“Cheers! Cheers!”

Someone at one end of the table led a chant, raising a glass, and glasses were lifted in small groups across the room.

Baek Haejun, holding a cup filled with cider, was no exception.

Just a few minutes ago, everyone had been busy filling their empty stomachs, but once they were full, they began downing alcohol endlessly instead of food.

Baek Haejun, who had stayed completely sober from the start, was tossed around in the rapidly changing atmosphere, unable to blend in.

Baek Haejun was the only person at the Department of Business Administration’s semester-opening party who had not touched a single drop of alcohol.

He did not like alcohol.

To be more precise, he hated drunk people.

Whenever Baek Haejun’s biological father drank, he would become violent, and the damage always fell upon Baek Haejun and his grandmother.

Although Baek Haejun naturally realized over time that not all drunk people were aggressive, he could not erase the alertness engraved into his instincts.

Honestly, he had not wanted to attend the semester-opening party today either.

Even though it was the second semester, participation was mandatory for freshmen, so he had no choice.

Although he was dragged here almost against his will, the silver lining was that no one really cared whether he drank or not.

He could not get used to how loud the surroundings were.

In the beginning, the atmosphere was mild, so it was bearable to sit through, but now, not only the people from their department but also students from other departments occupying other tables were heavily intoxicated, making the entire tavern chaotic.

Every time eating utensils fell to the floor or someone called out to someone else in a loud voice, Baek Haejun flinched and pulled his body inward.

There was another thing that made this place uncomfortable.

The few secondary-gendered people present were also quite drunk, seemingly unable to control their pheromones properly, causing various pheromones to entangle wildly and brush against the skin from all directions.

Omega pheromones were uncomfortable due to the unique perception of the same gender trait, while Alpha pheromones felt unfamiliar and awkward.

‘I want to go home.’

Baek Haejun deliberately suppressed his pheromones while sipping only his cider.

Even Kang Hangyeol, his closest friend, was addicted to the drinking game, busy running from table to table like a ghost.

By the time he finished this glass, it seemed unlikely anyone would notice even if he disappeared.

As Baek Haejun joined in moderately whenever a toast was proposed across the table, his vision suddenly shifted toward the entrance of the tavern.

Along with the clear ringing of a bell, five or six people burst in together.

It was a normal scene.

Yet Baek Haejun’s eyes locked onto one person in the group as if nailed to him.

His heart beat so hard it felt ready to burst from the sudden shock, but he could not tear his eyes away from him.

“…”

In this world, there were occasionally people who drew one’s eyes unconsciously without any particular reason.

Their presence reached you first, and only then did their appearance or secondary gender become visible.

In his entire life, Baek Haejun had seen only one person who exuded an atmosphere that could never be ignored.

“Oh my god. It’s Senior Moon Sijin.”

“What? Where!”

“Is that guy Moon Sijin? Wow, what a surprise…”

It was not merely because of the murmurs around him that he recognized the name.

He had always pulled Baek Haejun in like gravity.

Despite a gap of several years, Baek Haejun could recognize who he was instantly.

There was no way a mere few years could erase Moon Sijin.

“It’s really been a while, Senior!”

“It has.”

“I heard your internship ended last month. Are you returning to school starting this semester?”

“Yeah.”

“Come sit over here. Have you eaten?”

“I’ll just have a quick drink.”

Answering the rushing attention one by one without any sign of fluster, the refined voice was generally brief, yet still low and gentle.

‘Don’t try to grow up already. If you want to cry, just cry.’

It was the exact same voice that used to stroke young Baek Haejun’s head and comfort him whenever he was down.

Baek Haejun could not even turn around to face where he was, using all his senses to acutely remain conscious of Moon Sijin’s presence.

Even though curling his body as much as possible would not hide him, Baek Haejun hung his head low and even held his breath.

Thump, thump, thump.

The pulse that had begun to accelerate gradually began to rush at a terrifying speed by the time he felt that Moon Sijin, while greeting people, had looked in his direction.

‘W-What should I…’

Baek Haejun clutched his chest, falling into confusion.

Half a year ago, when he found out that Moon Sijin was his university senior, he had worried immensely as well.

It was because he suddenly felt terrified, not yet ready to face him again.

Although his greed to see him again and the reality of not being able to give up a good university had stopped him from dropping out, just becoming conscious of him made the urge to drop out surge once more.

To be more precise, it was an impulse to run away from this very spot right now.

Baek Haejun, who had half lost his mind, did not even realize that his own pheromones were leaking out bit by bit.

His heart was beating so violently that his head hurt.

It was then.

“Hey, where are you going?”

Just as the sound of a chair dragging against the floor echoed unusually loud inside the bustling tavern, Baek Haejun felt Moon Sijin’s presence—the very thing he was focusing all his nerves on—gradually drawing closer.

By the time his mind snapped back as if a soap bubble had popped, a warm body temperature had already settled onto Baek Haejun’s shoulder.

“Haejun.”

“…”

“Baek Haejun. Right?”

It was a question already filled with certainty.

Baek Haejun barely moved his stiff, tense neck to look up at Moon Sijin.

Standing right in front of him was the man who exuded an even more mature and relaxed aura than the face in his last memory.

“…Brother.”

He felt the surroundings grow quiet.

Moon Sijin’s actions, which had captured everyone’s attention since he entered the tavern, still drew intense interest.

People looked back and forth between the two of them, failing to hide their curious expressions.

“To think I’d run into you here.”

Veins popped on the hand gripping his shoulder as strength was applied.

Even in the voice that sounded as if he were chewing and spitting out his words, a subtle fierce edge could be read.

Moon Sijin, who seemed about to say something right then and there, suddenly bit his lower lip hard and took a deep breath, so large that his throat quivered.

“It’s a bit much to talk here. Do you want to go outside and talk with me?”

“Brother… Well, that is…”

“You must have a lot to say to me too.”

Only then did Baek Haejun realize that his pheromones were leaking out little by little.

Far from snapping his gaze away, he went so far as to cover his face with his dry hands.

Beneath his palms lay a touch of embarrassment.

“Get up.”

Although the hand offered for him to take and stand up, along with the encouraging voice, were exceedingly gentle, Baek Haejun somehow could not accept his kindness at face value.

Strangely, he felt hunted in an instant.

Baek Haejun barely stood up from his seat, soothing himself with the thought that the overwhelming gazes pouring in from the surroundings were what made him anxious.

Although he deliberately did not take his hand, Moon Sijin lowered his extended hand and slid his fingers between Baek Haejun’s, interlocking them.

Startled, Baek Haejun’s gaze went down before coming back up.

When their eyes met, Moon Sijin smiled brightly.

Suddenly, he remembered how Moon Sijin used to hold his hand often when they were young.

It was the same warm temperature now as it was back then.

The sensation of the warmed heat traveling from his palm up his arm and sending a numbness all the way to his heart was chilling, making his fingertips tremble.

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