Chapter 35: The Smell of You

“You’re in the Business Department, right?”

“Pardon? Ye-es…….”

“We’re just recording it to keep track of inventory. We don’t write down names or student numbers, so don’t worry. The water purifier is over there.”

“Ah… yes, thank you.”

Yooha lightly bowed to the staff member who explained in a businesslike tone, and immediately headed toward the water purifier.

As he put the water in his mouth and swallowed the pill, the capsule slid down slowly with an unpleasant, slimy feeling.

Only after furrowing his brow slightly and drinking water several more times did he throw away the pill packaging and the paper cup.

After offering a polite bow, he left the medical room.

Even while taking the elevator up to the fifth floor where his classroom was, his stomach felt tight and heavy, as if the medicine were stuck somewhere.

‘Did the medicine not go down well…? Why am I so nauseous?’

Walking along the hallway, he patted his chest and took deep breaths, but the discomfort remained.

He had stopped on his way to the classroom to gulp down several more cups of water from the water purifier, but it didn’t improve at all.

He had drunk so much that his stomach felt full, yet the unpleasant sensation remained the same.

“Huu…….”

Yooha let out a long sigh after throwing away the paper cup.

Thinking it must be an illusion caused by the slimy feeling of the capsule, Yooha placed a hand over his stomach and quickened his pace.

It was now truly time to head to the classroom.

Pressing his chest with his clenched fist, Yooha slowly exhaled.

Ever since he had taken the suppressant in the morning, his stomach had felt tight as if he had indigestion, forcing him to take deliberate deep breaths.

In the end, he had skipped lunch and was solely engrossed in his work.

It was now only four o’clock.

There were still four hours left until he finished.

Still, once he organized all the books currently on the cart, he would be able to catch his breath, even if briefly.

Yooha braced his mind and quickly began to organize the books.

It was when he was picking up the pace in the second-floor library room, which had the most books to organize.

The moment he slid a poetry book into the very bottom shelf of a bookcase, his phone vibrated shortly.

Somehow, he felt like his phone had been vibrating frequently lately, but thinking he should work first, he picked up a few books from the cart.

While he was focused on organizing, the vibration rang once more.

He thought it was probably a message from Woo Tae or a spam text.

Yooha headed toward the innermost bookcase of the second-floor library room, checking the remaining amount of books.

Roughly counting them with his eyes, there seemed to be about ten left.

He resolved to finish organizing quickly.

Yooha didn’t stop at organizing the books; he even found the proper places for books that had lost their original spots and were wandering in other sections.

In the midst of that, the vibration rang several more times.

By this point, he grew worried that it might be an urgent matter.

After sliding the book in his hand into the shelf, he fumbled in his pants pocket to pull out his phone, and as expected, several message notifications had accumulated.

[Shin Joowon: Yooha, are you working right now? ^^]

[Shin Joowon: Are you busy?]

[Shin Joowon: I’m at the library right now]

[Shin Joowon: Which floor are you on?]

[Shin Joowon: You must be very busy ^^]

The messages that had arrived were not from Woo Tae, and were far from spam texts.

Confirming that it was none other than Shin Joowon, Yooha’s eyes widened.

It had already been ten minutes since the last message had arrived.

[Helllo]

[I’m sorting books so I’m on the 23rd floor right now]

Because he was in a hurry, his fingers slipped and he sent a reply with typos.

In a building that only went up to the fourth floor, the twenty-third floor was absurd.

[Sorry, that was a typo. I’m on the 2nd floor.]

Only after sending the message to make a hasty correction did he lean against the bookcase and take a thin breath.

Staring down at the screen, the number next to the message remained without disappearing.

‘Has he already left…?’

He felt a little disappointed, thinking that he might have been able to see his face if he had checked the messages immediately.

Then, startled by his own thoughts, he shook his head vigorously from side to side.

It was only this morning that he had resolved to be careful because Shin Joowon might sense his pheromones, yet thinking that Joowon had quickly left the library made a corner of his chest feel empty for some reason.

‘Let’s not do this… let’s not do this, Jin Yooha…….’

Yooha comforted himself while patting his tight chest, which felt as if he had indigestion.

Once he felt somewhat calmed down, Yooha pulled a book from the cart.

Checking the position where it should be placed, Yooha’s gaze climbed higher and higher.

Of all things, it was a book that had to be placed on the very top shelf of a high bookcase.

Wondering if it would be enough if he stood on his toes, he lifted his heels.

He had to make room for the book first, but his hand was barely reaching, almost touching.

It felt like he could do it with just a little more stretch….

However, because his upward-stretched arm ached as if it would pop out of its socket, stretching any further was impossible.

Yooha lowered his arm for now and caught his breath.

“Huu…….”

He decided to try just one more time and then go get a ladder if it didn’t work.

Reaching that conclusion, Yooha stood on his toes once more.

Thinking he could somehow slide it in if he tilted the angle of the book, he adjusted it, when he suddenly felt a presence behind his back.

Before he could check who it was, the book in his hand was smoothly slid into the bookcase.

Startled by the feeling of his body being trapped between someone and the bookcase, Yooha turned around quickly to identify the owner of the presence.

“Ah…….”

“Hi, Yooha.”

Perhaps because of the location, the voice he had deliberately lowered felt softer than usual.

Shin Joowon, with one hand still extended toward the bookcase, looked down at Yooha.

Yooha, leaning his back against the bookcase, looked up at Shin Joowon.

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump.

The moment their eyes met, an irregular pounding vibrated through Yooha’s entire body.

He had to greet him, and he also had to thank him for helping, but his lips wouldn’t open.

Shin Joowon, slowly lowering his arm, stood without widening the distance between himself and Yooha.

Only when Yooha belatedly thought that the distance between them was too close did Shin Joowon bow his head, leaning close to Yooha’s ear and nape.

He pressed even closer, as if about to whisper.

“Yooha.”

“…….”

“You smell nice.”

Yooha couldn’t do anything except freeze in place.

The distance was too close, and Shin Joowon’s breath kept brushing against his nape, tickling him, but he couldn’t make a single movement.

For a moment, the flow of air seemed to stop, creating the illusion that even he was bound.

Shin Joowon’s hand, which had been extended toward the bookcase, slowly descended and snatched Yooha’s wrist.

Yooha, whose face had turned bright red, couldn’t hide his embarrassment and let his eyes dart around.

Shin Joowon, completely undeterred, brought Yooha’s wrist directly under his nose.

“I kept thinking about your pheromones.”

“…….”

“Because they smell nice.”

As if savoring the pheromones, Shin Joowon closed his eyes deeply and opened them, whispering with a light smile.

Unable to believe the words he had just heard, Yooha widened his eyes.

It was his first time.

For someone to say something like this about his pheromones.

Until now, there had been no one who sensed his pheromones, and no one who thought of him as an Omega, so it was only natural.

He had long since resigned himself to the thought that there would be no one who would like him.

When he found out that the reason he hadn’t been matched for over a year was because there was no Alpha with a high pheromone compatibility, he had cast aside even the slightest lingering attachment.

Yet, why did Shin Joowon keep making him want to lean on him, and making him want to hope?

The words that they were going to get close.

The words that he was disappointed because Yooha was distancing himself.

On top of that, Shin Joowon, who even said he kept thinking about Yooha’s pheromones, was cruelly sweet.

“Did you not take your suppressants today either?”

At the languid whisper, Yooha closed his eyes tightly and opened them.

A large lump of emotion lodged in his throat, and if he didn’t hold it back, he felt like he would foolishly burst into tears.

Barely holding it back and shaking his head, Yooha slowly parted his lips.

“No, I took them… I took them, but… I took something else today…”

“Something else?”

“Because I didn’t bring the ones I usually take… I received and took a general-use one…”

“Ah, I see. No wonder…….”

Shin Joowon nodded his head slightly as if he finally understood, then buried his nose in Yooha’s wrist once more and took a deep breath.

Yooha, whose entire body shivered as a ticklish sensation spread, couldn’t even exhale properly.

He wanted to step back and escape, but the towering bookcase was blocking him, leaving him unable to do anything.

In the midst of that, a subtle scent slowly began to swirl around his nose as well.

The wrist Shin Joowon held burned as if scorched by fire, his heart, which pounded without knowing its limit, even ached, and his body, having recognized the Alpha’s pheromones, heated up intensely.

Yooha’s entire body was so red it felt like it would burst at any moment.

“Hng…….”

Shin Joowon firmly pressed Yooha’s right hand, which he was holding, against the bookcase to bind it, and slowly leaned his body forward.

The worry that someone might discover him and Shin Joowon vanished from his mind in an instant.

Regardless of his will, everything about Shin Joowon was felt so sensitively that a thin groan even escaped his lips.

Yooha, startled, quickly covered his mouth with his left hand and took deep breaths.

Shin Joowon’s low laughter shattered into small pieces near his ear.

“Yooha, do you want to release your pheromones a little more?”

“Because I took suppressants… i-it probably won’t work…….”

“Hmm… it feels like it has no effect at all. It doesn’t seem to suit you, so don’t take it from now on.”

That the suppressant had no effect at all.

At the unexpected words, cold sweat ran down his spine.

Could the discomfort in his stomach all day have also been because the suppressant didn’t suit him?

While Yooha was rolling his eyes in confusion, he was further flustered by Shin Joowon’s subsequent action.

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