Chapter 65: The Scent of the Air
by GideonJubin, who had been diligently unpacking the disposable containers, paused and stared at Si-ha, his gaze silently asking how he knew.
“With a junior who lives here?”
Si-ha didn’t take his eyes off Jubin as he set down a small plate.
“Yeah,” Jubin replied curtly.
“You smell like a really unpleasant floral scent,” Si-ha said, his face contorted in annoyance.
“What do you mean, unpleasant?” Jubin retorted, defensively burying his nose in his collar and sniffing.
A faint trace of Zion’s scent lingered there.
It was inevitable. Zion had made no effort to hide his emotions or pheromones, even going so far as to mark him. Si-ha’s expression remained twisted in a scowl.
“Anyway, this scent is disgusting.”
“What can I do? I’m already covered in it.”
Jubin gave a faint smile as if asking for understanding, tidying up the disposable utensils. Si-ha, however, continued to glare with suspicion before launching into a full-blown interrogation.
“So, who is he? Someone I know?”
A smile tugged at Jubin’s lips as he thought of Zion, who had poured all his devotion into him.
“Yeah, a junior I’m fond of.”
“…A junior you’re fond of? Who?”
“Do Zion.”
Si-ha sat down and tore open a pair of disposable chopsticks, already making a guess.
“The Do Zion I know?”
“Yeah, that Do Zion.”
“The one who’s the reason you smoke?”
“The reason? Let’s just say he was the catalyst.”
Si-ha frowned, his voice sharp and interrogative.
“When did you start sleeping with him? No, wait—how did you two even meet?”
“We’re working on the same project.”
Si-ha stared blankly, his eyes wide with genuine shock. Across from him, Jubin snapped a pair of disposable chopsticks in two with a crisp, clean crack.
“…I didn’t know you were on the same project,” Si-ha said, his voice trailing off. He tried to sound nonchalant, but his startled expression betrayed him.
“You should broaden your horizons,” Jubin replied.
Si-ha was the first to grab a piece of the steaming-hot braised chicken, freshly served and glistening with sauce.
“Have you ever seen me take an interest in anyone else besides you?”
He’d always been like this. Since they were kids, Si-ha had shown zero interest in anyone but Jubin. He lived in his own world, forever lost in thought.
That was why Jubin found him so easy to be around. He only had to expend half the energy he’d otherwise waste on other people.
“I need a favor.”
“Look at you, actually asking me for something.”
“Take a look at my drawing.”
“…Your drawing?”
Jubin nodded vigorously. “I want to make some emoticons. Can you make them look like stickers?”
“Sure. What are they for?”
“Just a gift, I think.”
Si-ha set his chopsticks down with a sharp clack on his small plate, his annoyance plain. “For Do Zion?”
Jubin wondered why he was reacting so strongly. He deliberately ignored the comment and carefully picked out a perfectly cooked piece of braised chicken. “He likes stickers.”
“Oh, really?”
“Why are you acting like that?”
“Are you dating?”
“Have you seen me dating?”
Jubin shook his head, picked up a chicken drumstick—his favorite—and began shredding the meat with his chopsticks.
“What else do you call this? You’re investing time and effort into a talent you don’t even have. That’s called dating.”
“I’m just doing this because I’m grateful. I’ve prepared gifts for the other actors, too.”
“What are you giving them?”
Jubin gathered the neatly shredded meat and popped it into his mouth. The salty, spicy, and sweet flavors were perfectly balanced.
“Kim Do-won likes matcha, so I’m giving him matcha chocolate. Seo Ji-soo prefers acidic coffee over dark roast, so I looked up a cafe near the studio that makes great cold brew. Park Chan-gyu seems to get hot easily, so I figured a mini fan would be good. And…”
“Stop right there!”
Si-ha pointed his chopsticks at Jubin, commanding him to halt.
“Everyone else is just spending money on gifts, but Do Zion is the only one putting in the time and effort to make custom sticker emoticons?”
Jubin quickly drew a line, trying to prevent any misunderstanding. “I’m giving the Director a heartfelt letter and a fountain pen.”
Tsk. Si-ha slowly ran his tongue over his lips, falling silent. A brief, heavy pause settled between them. Jubin tried to avoid the awkward tension by staring intently at the jjimdak, but it didn’t help.
“What? What are you trying to say?”
“The weight of your feelings is different.”
Of course it was.
“It is different,” Jubin admitted. “I’ve known the Director for a long time. The others are people I’m not even close to yet. And Do Zion… I’m just starting to get close to him.”
“…Is that really all?”
Jubin finally snapped, his patience fraying under Si-ha’s relentless interrogation.
“Ugh, what kind of answer are you even looking for?”
Si-ha leaned in, his voice dropping to a more cautious tone. “Is he an Alpha?”
“Does that even matter?”
“He’s an Alpha, isn’t he?”
Jubin let out a soft sigh of resignation. “Fine, yes, he’s an Alpha. Why?”
“You never get involved with fellow actors you’re working with,” Si-ha added, his expression grave. “Did he find some kind of dirt on you?”
“Dirt? What are you talking about?”
Si-ha’s family had been thrown into absolute chaos when he’d gone through a late-onset manifestation the night before he was supposed to enter the training center. He’d canceled his enlistment, and the first thing he’d done was rush to Jubin’s side. Jubin could still hear the words he’d spoken back then, etched into his memory.
“Marry me, Cha Jubin.”
That must have been the start of my descent into madness, Jubin thought. Even now, I still don’t know why he’d say something like that when he isn’t even attracted to my pheromones.
“Have you ever been attracted to a pheromone?” Jubin asked cautiously.
Si-ha shook his head sharply, his chopsticks cutting through the air. “No, never.”
This is normal. Even for a Present, a pheromone chip allowed them to live like a Beta. Even if they could faintly sense someone else’s scent—like Si-ha did—it should have remained a mere preference, nothing more.
“Don’t tell me…” Si-ha asked, his voice laced with shock. “Are you attracted to Do Zion?”
Jubin took a sharp, barely audible breath before admitting it. “…Yeah.”
“Holy shit.”
Si-ha threw his chopsticks down and clutched the back of his head with both hands. “I knew something was off when you started using pheromone cigarettes because of Do Zion!”
Jubin calmly recounted everything that had happened so far, even showing the site of the additional chip he’d had implanted recently. Si-ha’s jaw dropped in disbelief.
“You even got the chip replaced?”
“Look closer. I had an extra one installed.”
“An extra one? You’re out of your mind.”
Si-ha’s expression was one of pure disbelief.
“The problem is, we’ve already slept together. Multiple times.”
“On rainy days again?”
Jubin gave a short nod.
“Yeah, pretty much…”
Come to think of it, it had happened to be raining every time they fucked.
“You crazy bastard. I told you to stop that habit of getting drunk and fucking on rainy days!”
“We did it while I was sober, too.”
“What a fucking brag, you asshole.”
Si-ha clicked his tongue, blaming Jubin.
Well, the damage was already done. Blaming anyone now was pointless.
“I couldn’t help it. I’m drawn to your pheromones.”
Jubin recalled the suffocatingly intense moment before he’d met Si-ha, when his penis had been driven deep into his body.
His body had been burning, and the thrilling experience—leaving nothing in his mind but a fierce, overwhelming impulse—was an emotion that had completely spiraled out of control.
Marking… I want to do it again.
“What’s the difference between being attracted to pheromones and just regular sexual desire?”
“It’s different. It’s just…”
Jubin gripped his chopsticks tightly.
“I feel like I’m turning into an animal.”
The feeling itself was terrifying, yet at the same time, it felt like complete freedom.
“Does Do Zion know?”
“He knows. But he’s fine.”
“Only you’re attracted to him?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
Jubin nodded and picked up another piece of braised chicken.
“Any side effects from the chip?”
“It was a bit rough for a few days, but I think I’ve adjusted now. I’m fine.”
After grabbing a chicken wing, Si-ha started to say something.
“You have a scent too. It’s so faint that other Alphas and Omegas can’t even notice it, but…”
Jubin asked tentatively, “What kind of scent?”
“The smell of air.”
If anyone else had said that, he would have wondered if it meant he had no presence at all. But Si-ha was different.
He was one of the people who had known him the longest, even longer than CEO Moon Woo-jin.
“What the hell does ‘the smell of air’ even mean?”
“Like… moist air? A faint dampness. Like water.”
So he means it’s clammy…
“Air is always there, so we barely notice it. But it’s essential for existence itself. You smell like that.”
A brief silence followed, and the strange tension finally broke.
“So, Cha Jubin.”
He suddenly turned serious.
“Marry me.”
Jubin stuffed the remaining chicken breast into his mouth and washed it down with a huge gulp of cider.
I bought him this whole meal just to calm his crazy ass down, and I still had to listen to this bullshit.
“You’re my air. Hey, are you listening?”
Between watching a horror movie this morning and having sex in a cramped space, I’m mentally and physically exhausted. I need to recharge with some sleep.
“I’m going to take a nap with Cheese. Wake me up later.”
“I’m trying to propose to you properly for the first time in ages, and you’re—”
“Hey, have you ever seen anyone marry air? And what kind of lunatic proposes over braised chicken? Get your head on straight.”
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