Chapter 49: Flushed by Work, Flushed by Thought

The four arrived in Cheongju earlier than expected.

Not only had the regional festival not started yet, but the professor had also not arrived.

To make matters worse, she couldn’t be reached, so they had to wait in the parking lot for several more tens of minutes.

“The air is nice, at least.”

Kim Yunso muttered.

It was a good place to take a breather since there were many trees around and it was far from the city center.

“Exactly. It’ll be cold in the evening.”

“Surely she won’t work us until evening?”

“…Right. No way.”

“I’m leaving as soon as the professor’s performance is over.”

Kim Yunso already wore a fed-up expression.

However, because the scenery was nicer than expected, Chaewoo didn’t think much of it.

Although he had been tired and only wanted to go back to his room and lie down before coming, once they actually arrived, both the air and the quiet scenery refreshed his mood to some extent.

He had even followed her around in the past because he originally liked these kinds of events.

Since proper restaurants or food booths had yet to open, the four bought snacks at a nearby convenience store and decided to spend time around the festival plaza on their own.

Chaewoo got out of the car and sent a text to his uncle.

Because his uncle occasionally came to find him at school or his studio apartment without warning, it had become a habit to contact him in advance when going far away.

“The professor is arriving soon.”

At Jeong Taehyun’s words, Kim Yunso, who had been out of sight while smoking in the corner of the parking lot, emerged, sauntering over.

The four slowly gathered and moved the luggage they had brought toward the concert hall’s waiting room.

Including the lunchboxes ordered from C Dessert, which was several times more expensive than Chaewoo’s monthly living expenses.

Since there weren’t many people yet, it was easy to get their bearings, so they found the professor’s waiting room right away without getting lost.

Chaewoo checked one last time to make sure he had packed the sheet music of the song he was scheduled to receive a lesson for today.

As soon as she arrived, the professor introduced the four to the surrounding staff and willingly offered her students’ labor to the festival, saying they could use them as much as they liked.

After executing all of the professor’s instructions, just as expected, the four were called here and there to take on all sorts of chores needed for the festival until they got their lessons.

Kim Yunso was mostly in charge of organizing and cleaning, while the other men were deployed to move heavy luggage or set up the stage.

They were told that lessons would be conducted as the professor found time in the waiting room before the rehearsal, but Jeong Taehyun, who had been slacking off, luckily got to go in first.

Consequently, the strenuous work that required physical strength was mostly taken on by Euigeon and Chaewoo.

“You students over there. Clear these chairs, and clean up the trash and dust underneath. When you’re done, put the chairs back where they belong.”

One of the staff members spoke while pointing to over several hundred chairs.

As if it were no big deal.

‘I want to smack him.’

Chaewoo thought to himself.

When they came to places like this, the staff or managers exploited the students ruthlessly.

Although there were a few other workers besides Chaewoo, some of the chairs were made of iron and were quite heavy, so it seemed like it would take a long time.

Chaewoo, who had been moving chairs and diligently sweeping the floor for a while, straightened his back.

Unlike Chaewoo, who was at the back of the audience seats, Euigeon was near the stage, placing the chairs they had already cleared back into alignment.

Unlike Chaewoo and Kim Yunso, he had a face without complaints.

Or rather, it was closer to him being unreadable as to what he was thinking.

Having temporarily taken off his trench coat, Euigeon carried over a dozen chairs stacked together at once, focusing on the chore.

Among them, it was surprising that Euigeon, who seemed the most individualistic next to Kim Yunso, didn’t shy away from such menial tasks.

Though he occasionally slipped away, whenever he was in a situation where he had to do it, he always worked hard.

That side of him was unexpected in many ways.

Someone of Beom Euigeon’s stature wouldn’t lose anything even if he got on the bad side of the professor or the school.

Since his parents themselves were already the ultimate background, even if his relationship with a few professors soured, it wouldn’t have the slightest impact on his vocal career.

“Don’t you find it unfair doing this kind of work?”

As they placed chairs from the front and back respectively, the two eventually met in the middle.

Chaewoo asked Euigeon, who had drawn close.

“Doing what? Chores?”

“Yeah. Both of your parents are famous, so you don’t really have to work hard.”

“My parents probably think this is natural, too. Since both of them obtained their bachelor’s degrees in Korea.”

“Ah.”

‘I guess that makes sense.’

“If you’re all done here, move the food ingredients on that truck to the booths.”

As soon as they finished organizing the audience seats, a staff member rushed over out of nowhere and instructed them on the next task.

Shaking his dusty hands in the air, Chaewoo asked.

“To any booth?”

“No. There are numbers written on the food ingredient boxes showing which booth to bring them to.”

The boxes on the truck were all heavy.

Fortunately, only about half remained, as if someone had left it unfinished, but whenever he ended up with a box of rice or cabbage, it was difficult to take even a few steps.

Because the booths were installed here and there in the festival plaza, some were close to the truck while some were especially far, making luck of the draw crucial.

“Haa, haa… My stomach… hurts.”

Chaewoo stood leaning against the truck, fanning himself with his hand.

This kind of manual labor was his first since his sophomore year, which made him flustered.

“Rest for a bit.”

“What about you?”

“It’s manageable.”

Euigeon calmly lifted the next box.

Although he knew Alphas were generally strong, seeing it confirmed like this made it feel unfair.

Well, even though Euigeon was on the leaner side for his height, once you saw his naked body, his muscles were clearly defined.

It might be that the difference was more pronounced because he usually exercised… wait, no.

Chaewoo cut off his train of thought and furrowed his brow, wondering what on earth he was thinking.

Imagining Euigeon’s naked body while cleaning up for a festival to be held in the afternoon.

Flustered by his own behavior as he naturally scanned Euigeon’s slender back, Chaewoo stared at a distant mountain.

Perhaps because he had been called out by Euigeon so much lately, all sorts of thoughts seemed to occur to him even in such a wholesome situation, so he really needed to be careful.

“Why are you standing like that?”

Having returned after placing the boxes in the booth, Euigeon approached Chaewoo, who was stopped in an awkward posture in front of the truck.

“If it’s really hard, sit down and rest. You can stay in the car.”

In his eyes, Chaewoo looked exhausted, so he recommended taking a break.

“It’s not that hard.”

“Water.”

Euigeon picked up the bottled water that had been placed haphazardly on the cargo bed and handed it to Chaewoo.

“Thanks.”

“Your face is red. As if you’ve been thinking about something lewd.”

“It’s because I’m hot from working. If you’re going to talk nonsense, hurry up and go.”

Chaewoo shoved his hard shoulder as Euigeon drew close and drank the water in gulps.

He was nervous, wondering what if Euigeon did something strange on a whim here, but Euigeon stepped back obediently, shrugged, and took out another box from the truck.

Having fully caught his breath, Chaewoo also took a step with the intention of moving a new box.

However, Euigeon, who was ahead, stopped lifting the load and suddenly set it down on the ground.

Then, he turned his body and fixed his gaze over Chaewoo’s back, so a puzzled Chaewoo also followed Euigeon’s gaze to check what was behind him.

“Why is this strange-looking bag here?”

A man he had never seen before was kicking the bag placed on the ground next to the truck as if it were a nuisance, which was Euigeon’s sling bag.

“Who are these kids here?”

“Did they say they are the students who came to help that singing teacher or whatever?”

“What? But why are they idling around? If they came to help, they should help quickly.”

The man was not alone; he was with a group of sweat-soaked Alphas passing by.

Judging by their attire, they seemed to be people working here today.

Perhaps they were in their mid-to-late thirties.

Black grease and dust were visible on the gloves they wore on their hands.

They seemed to be the personnel managing the containers behind the stage where there was the most heavy luggage.

They were all men, and perhaps because a recessive Alpha was among them, their pheromones were aggressive and thick.

Of course, he knew there were cases where one couldn’t control themselves when doing hard labor, but the Alphas before him were intentionally not restraining their pheromones, aiming to show off or threaten.

Perhaps due to his habit of avoiding Alphas, Chaewoo subconsciously took a step back from them very slowly.

“Hey, pale-faced guy over there. Are you an Omega or a Beta?”

An Alpha with a dark face pointed at Chaewoo.

“I’m a Beta.”

“If you have nothing to do to the point where you can rest so comfortably, follow us, kid. We’re struggling because we’re short-handed on our side.”

Even though he knew Euigeon and Chaewoo were students, he beckoned with his hand and treated them as if ordering subordinates.

Chaewoo hesitated, unable to follow them readily.

He knew he shouldn’t have prejudice since his uncle also did physical labor lately, but unlike his uncle, they had insolent speech, and above all, they were all Alphas with no intention of controlling their pheromones in a public place.

“Which department are you with?”

While Chaewoo was choosing his words because he didn’t know how to refuse, Euigeon stepped forward first and asked.

At that, the face of the Alpha who had kicked Euigeon’s sling bag crumpled roughly.

“Which deparrrtment? Look at these kids. We’re busy as hell, so what department is there?”

The Alpha shouted loudly enough to splatter saliva on his messy black beard.

Chaewoo tried to step up and say he wouldn’t follow them, as neither Euigeon nor Chaewoo had any duty to be called here and there to work, strictly speaking.

However, Euigeon blocked Chaewoo from stepping forward and answered on his behalf this time as well.

“Although we’re helping with the work, we aren’t formally employed here, so we should know what kind of work we’re doing before we go.”

“What is your deal, cutting in since a while ago?”

“He’s acting exactly like an Alpha protecting his Omega. Look at this, look at this.”

The workers giggled among themselves while holding up their pinky fingers.

Chaewoo felt guilty for no reason and checked if he had subconsciously revealed his Omega status, but fortunately, no pheromones were leaking out without his knowledge.

“Forget it, let’s just ignore them.”

Chaewoo said in a voice small enough that only Euigeon could hear.

However, the festival plaza before the opening had no people, and a few personnel working far away were all there was, absorbed in their own work without paying attention to this side.

Above all, it was plain to see that the Alphas, now lighting cigarettes, were wracking their brains to pick a fight somehow, radiating an atmosphere that could escalate the situation at any moment.

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