Chapter 27: Sleepless Confessions

“……Huh?”

Even as he repeated the question, Han-geon felt that his own voice sounded embarrassingly stupid.

But once his soul had fled, it refused to return.

Eun-gyeol’s faint smile was strangely gentle.

Unlike Han-geon, who was fidgeting with nerves, Eun-gyeol seemed to be enjoying the silence.

That only made Han-geon twice as anxious.

Eun-gyeol would wait until he answered, and the longer the silence stretched, the more Han-geon would end up looking like some kind of freak.

“When… did I ever.

I was just trying to wash your clothes….”

“You were holding it up to your nose and sniffing it earlier.”

Any attempt at denial collapsed instantly.

There was no point in lying anymore.

He had no more excuses.

What kind of explanation could there possibly be?

What sane person sniffs the workout shirt of the friend he was exercising with just minutes ago?

“D–Don’t misunderstand, okay?

It’s just… I’m a beta.”

Gulp.

The sound of him swallowing echoed too loudly in his ears, but he pretended not to notice.

“I mean, people say your pheromone scent is… nice, everyone says that, so I just suddenly got curious.

That’s all.”

“Yeah?”

Eun-gyeol pulled up the corner of his lips.

He looked like a kid planning a prank.

“So?

Did you smell anything?”

“N–No.

Of course not.”

“Yeah?”

His voice was teasing, clearly entertained.

“I didn’t know.

You really don’t smell anything?”

“Uh?

Y–Yeah.”

“That so?”

Eun-gyeol, who had been lying on his side lazily, suddenly pushed himself up.

Han-geon’s eyes widened.

“W–What are you doing?”

“Stay still.”

His wrists were seized.

Before he could protest, his arms were pinned on either side of his head.

Trapped beneath him, Han-geon could only stare up at Eun-gyeol in mute shock.

His eyelids trembled violently.

Some internal alarm bell screamed.

“What are you doing, seriously—!”

Eun-gyeol didn’t answer.

He simply raised one brow.

When he focused on something, his gaze turned razor-sharp, enough to feel like a hand tightening around Han-geon’s throat.

The sound of his own swallow boomed in his ears.

He couldn’t move.

Just the weight of Eun-gyeol’s stare pinned him more effectively than his grip.

His wrists twitched involuntarily.

His fingers spasmed.

If he really wanted to, he probably could’ve flipped their positions.

But that stare—heavy, binding, inescapable—made resistance impossible.

The silence dragged on to the point of agony.

Han-geon barely breathed.

At last, Eun-gyeol loosened his grip.

And only then did his lips finally part.

“…Interesting.”

“…”

“You don’t feel anything?”

Han-geon had no idea what he was talking about.

He only blinked like a startled fool.

“W–What?

What did you even do?”

“You really felt nothing?”

He insisted on asking.

“Yeah… nothing.”

“That so?”

Reclining again, Eun-gyeol studied his face carefully, as if checking for lingering traces.

After a moment he spoke again.

“Interesting.”

“What is?”

“The reaction’s totally different from omegas.”

“…What?”

The words came lightly.

Too lightly.

But that one sentence dropped into Han-geon’s chest like a ton of lead.

So how did those omegas react?

He wanted to ask.

He wanted to demand he never say things like that ever again.

But the fear froze his lips.

What if he actually answered?

What if he described, in cruel detail, exactly how others responded to his scent?

The thought horrified him.

Even that simple question he asked earlier—he should never have asked it.

He wouldn’t have been able to handle the answer anyway.

Only now did that hit him.

“What did you do just now.”

He barely managed that much.

But all he received was a faint smile, as if saying it didn’t matter.

“If you didn’t feel anything, that’s enough.

You said it doesn’t do anything to you anyway.”

There was nothing more to say.

Whatever he had done, it hadn’t affected Han-geon.

Maybe he’d released pheromones—who knew.

Han-geon dismissed it dull-heartedly.

A moment later Eun-gyeol murmured softly,

“Good night, Han-geon.”

“…Yeah.

You too.”

The strange conversation ended abruptly.

Eun-gyeol fell asleep almost instantly.

His long eyelashes rested neatly over his cheeks, serene as he always slept—just like when they were kids.

But Han-geon could not sleep.

Not at all.

His mind remained agonizingly awake.

Moving to the floor crossed his mind, but he abandoned that idea quickly.

Even asleep, Eun-gyeol was hyper-aware of the space beside him.

If Han-geon disappeared, he’d wake and follow.

Why do you… cling to me like this when you don’t even like me?

And why do I… why do I feel like this for someone who breaks me so easily?

He’d asked himself that countless times.

Never once did he reach an answer.

And he doubted he ever would.

He would simply keep walking, blindly, not knowing where this feeling would end.

Han-geon sighed, rubbing his face roughly.

The warmth of Eun-gyeol’s shoulder pressed against his kept him painfully awake instead of comforting him.

It should’ve been hot sleeping this close.

Eun-gyeol hated heat.

Absolutely hated it.

And yet—Han-geon couldn’t move away.

He was scared to wake him.

Time crawled.

His mind drifted.

From the past few weeks with Eun-gyeol, to earlier memories, deeper, deeper—until he was back in their childhood.

He was used to this—lying awake until dawn while memories whispered through the dark.

Blinking slowly, Han-geon stayed awake until the first faint light crept in.

***

The three weeks before filming started passed quickly.

Han-geon spent the whole time accompanying Eun-gyeol to interviews, YouTube behind-the-scenes shoots, photo shoots, and ads.

They even found time to work out together, which made Han-geon ridiculously happy.

The manager joked that once filming started, things would get hectic—so they should enjoy it while they could.

The set for Heart for Love had been built in Pocheon, so commuting was impossible.

Instead, everyone would lodge at a nearby hotel throughout filming.

They would shoot on weekdays and rest on weekends.

For the entire duration of Season 1 filming, Han-geon would be with Eun-gyeol nearly 24/7.

As kids through high school, they’d lived practically attached at the hip.

But after starting college, they each had their own lives—so seeing each other once every week or two at Han-geon’s place was all they got.

So now, being together like this again—Han-geon couldn’t help being excited.

The first shoot was scheduled for 8 a.m. tomorrow.

So everyone was told to head to the hotel the day before for room assignments.

Han-geon loaded his pre-packed suitcase into the van.

He’d only packed enough for one or two weeks since they could return to Seoul periodically.

He grabbed daily essentials and tucked into a cooler a batch of frozen grapes he’d prepped in advance.

He packed several bottles of sparkling water too.

That would last him a week.

After wrapping the day’s ad shoot, it was already 6 p.m.

After a simple dinner of salad and chicken breast with Eun-gyeol, he started the engine.

Yujin, Geonho, and the manager would meet them at the hotel.

“Let’s head out.”

Eun-gyeol nodded quietly.

He looked a bit tired from the shoot.

Han-geon resolved to drive carefully so he could rest.

Traffic leaving Seoul was heavy, but once they hit the highway it cleared.

Soft classical music played at a low volume.

Eun-gyeol fell asleep quickly.

The sky outside shifted from burning orange to deep dusk as they drove.

Han-geon glanced over now and then.

Leaning slightly against the seat, lips relaxed in sleep, his porcelain face was flawlessly styled from the shoot.

It had been a cosmetics ad, so the makeup was meticulous; his hair was impossibly handsome.

A fairy.

He must be a fairy.

Han-geon chuckled internally.

Who thinks that about their friend’s face?

Completely embarrassing.

Once off the highway exit, their hotel soon came into view.

Han-geon pulled into the parking lot.

“We’re here.”

“Mmm.”

Awakened, Eun-gyeol’s lashes fluttered open.

His voice was low and husky with sleep.

A message from Yujin said they had arrived a bit earlier.

Inside the lobby, familiar faces greeted them.

“Oh, Eun-gyeol, Han-geon!

You made it!”

“Hello, sir.

Hello, noona.

Hi, Geonho.”

“And these are your new hair and makeup staff.”

After being introduced, Han-geon greeted them politely, smiling.

Eun-gyeol, cap pulled low, barely nodded at the manager.

Everyone knew he was grumpy when tired, so no one pushed conversation.

“I’ve already checked in.

Eun-gyeol, you’re in Room 1501.

And Han-geon, you’ll share Room 1002 with Geonho.”

“Yes, thank you.”

The manager handed out the room keys.

Han-geon reached to take the 1002 key in both hands—

“Han-geon is rooming with me.”

The key was taken neatly from his grasp.

Holding the key, Eun-gyeol casually passed it to Geonho.

Geonho accepted it blankly, staring between the two of them in stunned confusion.