Chapter 29: An Obsession Turning Possessive

“Let’s take a short break and resume the lecture at 10:40.”

Finally, the professor declared a break.

Shin Joowon, who had been pretending to take notes while keeping his gaze fixed solely on Jin Yooha’s white nape, blinked his dry, stiff eyes a few times consciously.

The rigid atmosphere of the classroom loosened in an instant, and Jin Yooha could be seen closing his book and walking out of the room.

Only after confirming that Min Gihwan, who had been dozing off, collapsed onto his desk did Joowon carefully follow Yooha outside.

Shin Joowon spotted Yooha, who was mingling among the crowd, entering the restroom.

He stood waiting in the hallway in front of the restroom as if monitoring him to ensure Yooha wouldn’t slip away.

Before long, Jin Yooha walked out of the restroom looking listless.

Why was he walking while staring only at the floor, as if begging to bump into someone again?

Letting out a short sigh of frustration, Shin Joowon called out to him.

“Yooha.”

Although he noticed that the people walking back and forth in the hallway cast glances at him and Yooha, Shin Joowon wasn’t shaken in the slightest.

He only focused on the embarrassment visible in Yooha’s startled, wide eyes and pale face.

“Shall we talk for a moment?”

Shin Joowon gestured for Yooha to follow and strode forward.

He thought Yooha might ignore him and run away, but looking back, he was relieved to see Jin Yooha following him closely like a baby duck.

Only when they reached a secluded emergency staircase did he stop and turn around.

Jin Yooha, who had stopped after widening the distance between them to some extent, hung his head low in dejection.

A hollow laugh almost escaped Joowon at the absurdity of it.

Barely swallowing it by clenching his jaw, Shin Joowon spoke to Yooha with an even brighter smile plastered on his lips.

“Did something happen? Why are you so low on energy?”

Pretending to know nothing when he knew everything, pretending he didn’t have the slightest clue that Jin Yooha had lied, Shin Joowon sounded Yooha out while wearing a mask that fit him perfectly.

At Joowon’s sweet voice, Yooha slowly lifted his head.

The moment their eyes met, Shin Joowon grit his teeth.

The innocent eyes that had made him wonder just a few days ago if falsehood and hypocrisy actually existed in this world looked infinitely hypocritical today.

“Aren’t you going to tell me?”

Jin Yooha was biting his lip repeatedly, as if debating whether to speak, while scanning his mood.

In his heart, Joowon wanted to pry and question him about every detail, but the short fifteen-minute break was far too brief to make Jin Yooha open his mouth.

Lifting his wrist to check the time, Shin Joowon decided to back off for now and brought up his true business.

“Okay, if you can’t tell me, you don’t have to.”

“…….”

“We can have lunch together today, right?”

Since Jin Yooha had even sent a reply to his message asking to have lunch today, he would naturally give a positive answer.

As for why he had told that lie yesterday, he could pry into it again while they ate lunch…

“I’m sorry….”

“…….”

“Today… I have to work from twelve-thirty….”

“…….”

“So I don’t think… I can have lunch….”

As if mocking Shin Joowon’s thoughts, Yooha gave an answer that was completely different from his expectation.

Losing his words for a moment, Shin Joowon scanned Yooha’s face with a sharp gaze.

For some reason, there was absolutely no warmth in his ears, nape, or cheeks, which used to flush red so often when they were together.

He was just pale and bloodless.

‘f*ck, what kind of concept is this now?’

Yooha’s utterly unpredictable words and actions were triggering a severe headache.

“You said last week that you start working from two.”

Shin Joowon, who had pressed his temples, realized his slip only after the words had left his mouth.

It was his first time losing his composure to the point of letting out such an unrefined voice.

Brushing his hair back, Shin Joowon barely managed to relax his expression and stared intently at Yooha, waiting for an answer.

“Th-that’s true… but today, I, uh, have something to do in the evening… so I decided to shift my work hours earlier….”

“…….”

“I’m sorry for not telling you in advance….”

The plan that had filled his head vanished into dust in an instant.

Shin Joowon was at a loss for words once again.

Until now, there had been no one who didn’t move according to his plans.

There had been no one who rendered the meticulous plans he had crafted for each individual useless.

Yet, Jin Yooha rarely followed that pattern.

Just when Joowon thought he was no different from others, he would suddenly veer off, and the moment he thought about following him, he would return to square one.

He should be able to clearly read what was filling that head, but instead, it felt as though Jin Yooha had grasped all of his moves and was sitting right on top of his head.

“…It’s okay. If you have work, it can’t be helped.”

If he continued like this, he might truly lose his mind.

Shin Joowon decided to back off for now, reaching out to gently pat Yooha’s shoulder.

It was a highly deliberate touch.

“But… Yooha, I’m a bit disappointed.”

“…….”

“I thought we had become quite close.”

Shin Joowon knew how to naturally construct his expressions so that the act of playing various emotions wouldn’t show.

He was a person who could skillfully manufacture not only a genial smile but also a sorrowful, pitiable face that carried a hint of hurt.

As if to say, ‘Though I’ve been betrayed, I still want to remain a kind and sweet sunbae to you,’ Shin Joowon merely showed Yooha a sad smile.

“I don’t know what it is, but if you ever need my help, let me know.”

Swallowing a sneer as he saw Yooha’s eyes waver at his words, Shin Joowon patted Yooha’s shoulder once more.

Although he walked away after gesturing with his eyes that they should head back in, for some reason, he didn’t hear any accompanying footsteps.

When Shin Joowon stole a glance back, Yooha was still standing in the same spot, silently staring down.

He wondered if Yooha was finally feeling a pang of conscience, but it was none of his concern.

He was just left feeling foul and displeased at the thought that he had been dealt another blow by Jin Yooha.

****

[Yooha, when do you finish today? ^^]

[Jin Yooha: Today is a work day for me too, so I finish at 8 PM.]

[What about tomorrow?]

[Jin Yooha: I finish at 4 PM tomorrow.]

[Then do you want to have dinner with me? ^^]

[Jin Yooha: I have to go straight home to prepare for tutoring.]

[What about the weekend? You have time after tutoring, right? ㅎㅎ]

[Jin Yooha: This week, I have somewhere to go after tutoring.]

‘f*ck, so you dare say you don’t have time to meet me?’

Shin Joowon reviewed the messages he had exchanged over the past few days with Jin Yooha, who had been avoiding him.

The more he looked, the only thing that surged was a violent rage, but Shin Joowon read the words over and over as if choosing to torture himself.

Shin Joohee, emerging from her room while rubbing her tired face, frowned upon seeing Shin Joowon sitting on the living room sofa, gritting his teeth.

“Shin Joowon, aren’t you going to suppress your pheromones?”

The unpleasant pheromones of an Alpha, which brought only disgust to their own kind, were thickly blanketed across the third-floor living room.

Shin Joohee, who opened the closed French doors wide to ventilate, slapped Shin Joowon’s forearm sharply before heading into the bathroom.

Shin Joowon didn’t even cast a glance at her.

Emerging after a quick wash, Shin Joohee relaxed her expression, feeling she could finally breathe, and took a seat next to Shin Joowon.

Curious about what on earth he had been staring at since Saturday morning, Shin Joohee stole a glance at his phone.

“Jin Yooha? Did he get on your nerves? Why are you releasing your pheromones?”

“Mind your own business.”

Pressing the side button to turn off the screen, Shin Joowon slumped back.

Shin Joohee, already thoroughly accustomed to his nasty temper, merely puckered her lips, found the remote, and turned on the television.

Looking with displeased eyes at Shin Joohee for creating unnecessary noise, Shin Joowon completely lay down on the sofa in defeat.

Once the news came on, Shin Joohee placed the remote down beside her, looked at Shin Joowon as if he were an oddity, and spoke to him again.

“Who is Jin Yooha?”

“I told you to mind your own business.”

“What a temper…….”

When Shin Joowon cut off her question sharply, Shin Joohee grumbled in displeasure.

She seemed to watch the television for a moment, then turned her head back to Shin Joowon.

“Have you been to Baekonjeong recently?”

Baekonjeong was the fine dining restaurant he had gone to with Jin Yooha last Saturday.

Shin Joowon, pulling away the arm he had placed over his eyes, glared at Shin Joohee with a sharp gaze that asked how on earth she knew.

Shin Joohee shrugged and continued casually.

“I went to Baekonjeong yesterday for an appointment, and the manager mentioned that the young master had visited recently too. You’re the only one the manager calls ‘young master.'”

For a moment, he felt a flash of betrayal thinking Shin Joohee had investigated him, but it didn’t seem to be the case.

Shin Joowon placed his arm back over his eyes and let out a sigh.

Shin Joohee, undeterred by his clearly foul mood, persistently threw out another question.

“Did you go alone?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Is it that hard to answer?”

“It’s not hard, I just don’t want to.”

Shin Joowon, who had answered with indifference throughout, suddenly sat upright.

It was because the mention of Baekonjeong had naturally brought Jin Yooha’s face to mind.

Jin Yooha looking at the food in front of him with wonder, Jin Yooha chewing soundlessly, Jin Yooha widening his large eyes as if to prove the food was delicious, and even Jin Yooha looking flustered because they hadn’t paid.

All of it still floated clearly in his mind, and he couldn’t believe Jin Yooha was trying to escape from his grasp.

He was so resentful that Joowon wanted to chase him down to the ends of hell to torment him.

“Why are you so unable to control it? Shouldn’t you visit the center?”

Shin Joohee, who had jumped up from her seat, glared at Shin Joowon with eyes bordering on disgust.

Standing a good distance away, she rubbed her goosebump-clad arms.

Shin Joowon swept back his disheveled hair and let out a long sigh.