Chapter 30: The Chase Begins

For someone like himself, who was so adept at control that he could hide his pheromones without a trace even without suppressants, to be unable to manage them to this extent.

It seemed he had been leaking his pheromones the entire time because a level of rage he could hardly bear was boiling up within him.

“I have somewhere to go this afternoon, so let’s go together. You don’t have plans, right?”

Shin Joohee casually spoke to Shin Joowon around the time his pheromones had thinned, mixing with the outside air.

In the meantime, Shin Joowon had calmed his mind a little, but the reply that popped out was still disrespectful.

“Too bothersome.”

“I don’t want to go alone.”

“If it’s a place you don’t want to go to alone, Noona, it’s probably a place I don’t want to go to either.”

No doubt it was one of those opening ceremonies, inauguration ceremonies, or appointment ceremonies.

Since her promotion to head of division early this year, showing her face at various events had become one of Shin Joohee’s primary duties.

Shin Joowon, deliberately letting his suppressed pheromones leak out little by little, showed a bright smile toward Shin Joohee.

Leaving Shin Joohee behind, who was shuddering in disgust, Shin Joowon walked into his room.

“Ha… f*ck.”

Only after throwing himself onto his bed did he release his pheromones to the limit.

Soon, the room was filled with the heavy and highly concentrated pheromones of an Alpha, thick enough to choke him.

Even letting out vulgar curses didn’t improve his mood in the slightest.

First of all, he had to know.

Why Jin Yooha was suddenly trying to avoid him.

Exactly what thoughts he was harboring in that small head of his.

Even if he were to retaliate, he felt he needed to know why Jin Yooha was acting this way to draw up a proper plan.

Shin Joowon took out his phone to check Yooha’s timetable.

On Mondays, Yooha had no morning classes, only two afternoon classes.

Since they finished close to seven o’clock, he surely wouldn’t be going to work at the library at that hour.

Shin Joowon, calculating the right timing to meet Jin Yooha in his head, placed his phone down beside him and closed his eyes deeply before opening them.

Before he knew it, a playful smile had played on his lips, while a chilling look settled in his eyes.

****

Yooha took all the books out of the book drop, loaded them onto the cart, and finished sorting them roughly.

Immediately taking the elevator, he pressed the button marked with the number ‘4’ and leaned against the wall, taking a long breath.

As always, Monday was the most tiring day, so even the briefest moment of catching his breath was precious.

The fourth floor, which housed specialized books, was quieter than the second floor where literature and humanities books were kept, and there weren’t many books to organize.

Since most of the books on the cart were novels and recommended humanities books, he stood in front of the elevator again to finish his sorting duties on the fourth floor quickly and head to the second floor.

While waiting for the elevator, which was descending from the third floor, to come back up, the phone in his pocket vibrated.

Checking it, he saw a message from Woo Tae.

[Woo Tae: Hyung, use this ㅋㅋㅋ]

[Woo Tae: (Photo)]

Woo Tae had sent one message and one photo.

The photo was a gifticon for a franchise cafe.

Seeing the gifticon, which could be used for two cups of coffee and a cake, Yooha tilted his head slightly and sent a reply.

[No, you use it. It’s fine.]

[Woo Tae: There’s no cafe like that near our house ㅜ or at my school.]

[Woo Tae: I looked it up and saw there’s one near your school??]

[Woo Tae: I forgot about it and was leaving it, but the expiry date is coming up soon ㅋㅋㅋ]

At Woo Tae’s words, Yooha checked the gifticon again and saw that the expiration date indeed had only about a week left.

[Woo Tae: (Sticker)]

[Woo Tae: To go on a date with the rich Alpha hyung.]

Soon, a puppy sticker winking with a sly expression popped up on the screen.

Startled for a moment by the words “rich Alpha hyung” visible below, Yooha boarded the elevator that arrived just in time.

[Woo Tae: Ah, the bell rang.]

[Woo Tae: Make sure to eat it with that hyung, okay?? See you at home later!!]

While Yooha couldn’t say anything in response, Woo Tae unilaterally offered a parting greeting and vanished.

Arriving on the second floor and starting to walk while pushing the cart, Yooha took a deep breath.

Since last Wednesday, when they took the same class, Yooha had tried to avoid Shin Joowon even more consciously.

Even so, he had merely kept to himself as he always did, and had done nothing more than make excuses when Shin Joowon sent him messages.

Actually, on Friday he had been busy preparing for tutoring, and on the weekend he had gone to help out at his aunt’s meat restaurant, so he hadn’t lied to Shin Joowon, but he couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable.

The face of Joowon saying he was disappointed kept flickering before his eyes.

Woo Tae, who knew nothing, kept persistently asking if things were going well with the rich Alpha hyung whenever he saw him, and stirred up his heart by saying that if the hyung had met him separately on the weekend and even bought him a meal, he was definitely interested.

Even though Yooha had told him several times that the person was just a good person, kind and sweet to everyone, Woo Tae didn’t seem to listen.

He was only worried that Woo Tae seemed to be growing more thoughtless by the day.

Yooha shook his head vigorously to shake off his thoughts and picked up a few books.

How wonderful would it be if he could bury his complicated thoughts right here along with the books every time he put them back in their places?

Yooha, who had briefly harbored such an unrealistic thought, gave a bitter smile and quickly organized the remaining books.

“…….”

Putting the last book back in its place, Yooha leaned against the wall for a moment and slid down onto his haunches.

His daily routine was no different from before, yet a corner of his heart felt as empty as if it had been hollowed out.

A biting cold wind continuously rushed into that space, making it cold and aching.

A pain closely resembling the emptiness he felt every time his parents’ death anniversary came around made his chest ache.

Without his realizing it, Shin Joowon seemed to have wormed his way deep into his heart.

Weak against warmth, he must have willingly given up a spot to Shin Joowon and leaned on his heat.

If not for that, there was no reason to feel such emptiness, nor any reason to feel a chill that made his body tremble.

‘If you ever need my help, let me know.’

Yooha recalled the words Shin Joowon had spoken, then shook his head.

He shouldn’t lean on his kindness any longer.

What he had received so far was already enough.

Even if he disappointed him right now and ended up being hated by him in the end, thinking of the future, it was better to distance himself from Shin Joowon as soon as possible.

Since, even if he couldn’t be of help to Shin Joowon, he couldn’t bring shame upon him.

Getting up from his spot, Yooha patted his own cheeks.

It was to shake off his gloomy mood and steady his mind.

Only when a stinging pain spread did he snap to attention.

Yooha hurriedly left the second-floor library room, pushing the empty cart.

While thinking that he should return the gifticon, which didn’t have much of its expiration date left, to Woo Tae.

****

Even after the lecture ended, Yooha remained in his seat for a long time, only leaving the classroom when the surrounding noise had quieted down.

He didn’t even know what he had learned today, or with what thoughts he had listened to the lecture.

He had skipped lunch but his mind was so completely elsewhere that he didn’t feel hungry at all.

If he kept this up, he might ruin the midterm exams coming up in a few weeks.

Although he couldn’t remember the contents of the lecture well, he felt he should review by looking at the book and materials again.

Instead of stopping by the locker room, Yooha put his thick book into his bag and trudged down the stairs.

Perhaps because it was a time when all classes had ended, the Business School building was quiet.

However, shrinking back for fear of running into those sunbaes who had been angry at him for not greeting them, Yooha adjusted his bag strap as he crossed the first-floor lobby, which was lit with minimal lighting.

Taking a deep breath, he quickened his pace the moment he stepped out of the Business School building.

“Yooha.”

Before he had even taken a few steps, he heard a voice calling him from somewhere.

Reflexively turning his head and stopping, Yooha took in the sweet smile of the person approaching him.

As the features grew clearer, Yooha’s heart thumped with anxiety.

He was flustered because he had never imagined running into him like this.

“Ah, hello….”

The person who finally came to a stop in front of Yooha was none other than Shin Joowon.

When Yooha hurriedly bowed to greet him, Joowon let out a small laugh.

“Are you going home now?”

“Yes….”

At the sweet voice, which was no different from usual, his heart churned so much he felt like he would cry.

There was no way Shin Joowon hadn’t noticed that he was avoiding him, yet he seemed completely fine.

Yooha tightly clenched his fists to hold back the emotions that suddenly surged up in his throat.

Even so, he quickly scanned the surroundings, worried that someone might see this.

Fortunately, since it was long after the lecture had ended, the area was deserted.

Shin Joowon looked at Yooha with a questioning gaze.

With his anxious eyes and a face clearly showing nervousness, he looked exactly like a person being chased by someone.

‘Is he so poor that he’s even being hounded by debt collectors?’

Shin Joowon tilted his head at the behavior he couldn’t understand at all.

However, he soon smiled and took another step closer to Yooha.

“I’ll drive you—”

“I’ll be going first…!”

Their words came out almost simultaneously, and among them, Yooha’s voice was slightly louder.

Since Yooha had never once raised his voice in front of him, Shin Joowon was slightly surprised.

Yooha, who had bowed at the waist to offer a polite greeting, quickly walked away.

Shin Joowon, who had been frozen in absurdity, unable to comprehend the sequence of events, quickly snapped out of it and followed behind him.

He easily caught up and snatched Yooha’s wrist.

“Yooha, I have something to tell you.”

Shin Joowon held Yooha back with a sweet voice that didn’t match his grip, which felt strong enough to crush his wrist.

At the very least, he had to get the compensation for waiting for over two hours, didn’t he?

When Yooha’s body turned halfway back toward him and their eyes met, Shin Joowon gave a kind eye-smile.

“Let’s go. My car is over there.”

If they talked on the street, Yooha looked as if he would run away.

Shin Joowon, thinking it would be better to lock him inside his car, pulled Yooha along, heading toward where he had parked.

At first, he felt a force pulling in the opposite direction, as if Yooha were resisting, but that resistance soon vanished without a trace.