Chapter 135: Iconic Mood Special Side Story 2 (END)
by GideonSpecial Side Story Chapter 2: Cha Jubin’s Dating History
Jubin smiled awkwardly as he introduced the man.
“Zion, meet the chef of this restaurant.”
With Jubin taking the lead in the introduction, Zion found it even harder to control his expression.
A brief, heavy silence fell over them. Zion forced a smile, pulling his lips upward as he stood from his seat.
“Yes, hello, Chef. It’s an honor to meet you as well.”
“I’ve heard a lot about you from Jubin,” the chef replied.
Zion had never heard Jubin mention this chef—not even once.
Where the hell did they meet? How?
His heart sank, plummeting straight to his stomach.
Zion’s gaze dropped for a moment. He glanced down at Jubin, who sat across from him, then resumed the conversation with a perfectly composed expression.
“Oh, really? I heard the desserts here are amazing.”
“Yes, pasta is our main dish, but we take great pride in our desserts to match. I highly recommend trying one.”
“In that case, I’d like to leave today’s choice to the chef. Would that be alright?”
A soft voice, a measured smile—I’m reacting perfectly, Zion thought.
This should be enough to keep Jubin from feeling awkward, and it should be enough to hide the way my heart is burning in my chest.
He didn’t want things to become strained between them on the ride home.
“Zion.”
The moment the engine cut out, Jubin broke his silence, his voice a soft murmur.
Zion turned to him with a casual smile, feigning nonchalance. “Yes, hyung?”
“Did I… do something wrong?”
“How could you ever do anything wrong?” Zion shook his head as he grabbed the car keys.
“Then why did you—”
“It was nothing.” Zion lightly ruffled Jubin’s hair, his tone airy. “I just wasn’t feeling well today. Don’t worry about it.”
He stepped out of the car, walked around the hood, and opened the passenger door for Jubin. “Come on, get out. You have another schedule tomorrow. You’ll be exhausted if you don’t get some rest.”
But Jubin didn’t unbuckle his seatbelt. He just sat there, frozen.
When Jubin showed no sign of moving, Zion leaned in, reaching into the passenger seat.
His large hand pressed the seatbelt buckle with a sharp click, and then his low, resonant voice filled the car.
“…Get out.”
Zion kept his hand where it was, wrapping it around Jubin’s. He laced their fingers together in a natural interlock and gently pulled, helping Jubin to his feet.
“You… when did you start wearing that ring?”
“I just felt like wearing it today.”
As if it were the most natural thing in the world, he began walking, their hands still clasped. They remained silent even as they rode the elevator up, their fingers never parting.
The moment they stepped into the entryway, Zion shed his outer coat and turned back.
“Hyung, I’m heading out to work out.”
His tone was casual, but he hurried into the walk-in closet, changed, and came back out faster than usual.
Jubin was still standing in the hallway, watching him. Zion pulled his cap down low and brushed past him.
“I might be back a little late. Go ahead and sleep.”
Driven by a strange, gnawing urgency, Zion fled the house without even glancing at Jubin’s face.
He ran along the Han River like a madman, desperate to just move his body. The night air stung his lungs as he picked up speed.
“The chef here recommended it.”
“I’ve heard a lot about you, Mr. Cha Jubin.”
He’d hoped that running until he was breathless would clear his mind, but only the words he wanted to forget kept circling back. He had no choice but to push his pace even harder.
Cha Jubin’s Number of Past Relationships: ??
“Fuck.”
The harder I pushed, the clearer my mind became. Sweat streamed down my forehead, but I didn’t stop.
I just want this goddamn Status Window to go away!
Only after running for a long time did I finally stop, gasping for air.
I leaned forward, resting my hands on my knees to catch my breath, but my heart refused to calm down. Just then, a familiar pink glow seeped into my field of vision.
“…Hah.”
A hollow laugh escaped my lips. I’d run myself to death trying to clear my head, yet now, with my body completely exhausted, that window was burned into my sight more clearly than ever.
Even as I stopped at a nearby convenience store to buy a bottle of water and sat on an empty bench to recover, the Status Window remained fixed before my eyes.
“So what?”
I’m actually talking to thin air like a fucking lunatic.
If you’re going to lose your mind, you should at least do it gracefully. This was a special kind of insanity—the kind that made it impossible to function.
Zion crushed the empty water bottle in his hand.
“I need to go to a hospital. Now.”
Before him, the river churned in black ripples, its surface dotted with the shimmering lights of the bridge. Cars glided across the span, a steady stream of movement.
He knew exactly why his heart was racing, why his mind was a storm of anxiety.
Hyung would never do something like that.
He hated himself for doubting Jubin. He hated the idea that Jubin was hiding something from him. He had always believed that this level of insecurity was his own burden to bear.
But even when you trust someone, you can’t stop the gnawing doubt from eating at you.
How could anyone remain calm when the person they liked appeared, drenched in Alpha pheromones, and proceeded to introduce the very person who had marked him?
Things that might have been nothing to Jubin felt impossibly difficult and terrifying to Zion, whose first love was now unfolding before him.
Staring at the Status Window floating in his vision, Zion ground his teeth, his voice a low snarl.
“I won’t lose him to a bastard like you. Just fucking get lost…”
Zion pulled his phone from his pocket to schedule a hospital appointment.
30 missed calls.
Every single one was from Cha Jubin. Jubin had never left this many missed calls before. He was the type who was born with an easygoing nature, always assuming the other person was just busy with something personal. The number of missed calls staring back at Zion was truly unbelievable.
Zion immediately tapped the call button.
—Zion, where are you?
“Ah, hyung. Sorry. I was out for a run and didn’t check my phone. I left my watch behind, too…”
―So where are you right now?
Zion stood up from the bench and scanned his surroundings.
“Ah, I’m…”
Only then did he realize he’d wandered quite far.
Jubin must have driven himself to search for him, something he never did. A familiar car was slowly approaching from the distance.
The headlights cut out, followed by the sound of a door flung open and hurried footsteps drawing near.
“Zion!”
Jubin’s face, flushed and panting from his run, was etched with anxiety. And that damn Status Window appeared again, like a wall between the two of them.
“You didn’t answer my calls…”
Zion wanted to see Jubin’s face, still catching his breath, but the window blocked his view.
Ha, so fucking annoying.
In an instant, Jubin’s hand shot out, grabbing Zion’s arm and pulling him close. His fingertips trembled slightly, and only then did Zion get a clear view of Jubin’s face, which had finally moved past the Status Window.
His face bore the clear signs of a desperate run—disheveled clothes, sweat beading on his forehead.
“…Were you looking for me?” Jubin asked, his voice shaking as he wrapped his arms tightly around Zion’s waist, his eyes brimming with tears. “I was wrong.”
He tightened his grip.
“It’s all my fault. I’m sorry. So, please…”
“Wait, Jubin—”
Zion tried to pull away to calm him down, but Jubin shook his head violently, refusing to let go.
“No, just a second—”
“I’m just wrong. I’ll apologize if I upset you. I won’t meet anyone who bothers you.”
“I was upset because I could smell that chef’s pheromones all over you, but it’s not your fault…”
“So it is because of that chef?”
Jubin lifted his head, his face a mess of tears.
“It’s just… you love pasta, so I went to learn a few things from him. You always insist on eating the Korean food or sushi I like, and you never want to go to the places you enjoy…”
My lovely boyfriend is such a warm-hearted person, always tailoring everything to my preferences… and here I am, recklessly doubting him and even making him cry…
“I just thought you might eat it if I made it for you…”
His eyes were rimmed red, his gaze glistening with tears. The way he bit his lower lip in anxiety was driving me absolutely crazy.
“Hyung…”
Zion cupped Jubin’s cheeks, his voice a low murmur. “Open up.”
Status Window, you can try to shake me all you want. What did it matter now if Cha Jubin had dated a hundred men or a thousand?
Zion had known all along. He had chosen to be Jubin’s last Alpha—no, his last person. That was all that mattered.
To soothe Jubin’s anxiety, Zion pushed his tongue deeper, exploring his mouth with a relentless, possessive intensity.
“Hah… mmm…”
Jubin clung to Zion, straining on tiptoe as he let out shallow moans and ragged, heated breaths. They lost all sense of their surroundings, completely consumed by the kiss.
At that moment, the pink Status Window flashed red, and the message changed.
Cha Jubin’s Number of Past Relationships: 1
Zion naturally pulled his lips away and asked, “Hyung, how many people have you dated before?”
“What? Why are you asking that again?”
Jubin’s cheeks flushed crimson as he hurriedly covered his face with both hands. The couple ring on his left ring finger sparkled.
A terrifyingly wide grin spread across Zion’s face.
“Hurry up and answer. How many people have you dated?”
Jubin peeked at Zion through the gaps in his fingers, looking utterly mortified.
“A real relationship… it’s only been you.”
That’s an answer I can get behind.
Zion wrapped his arms around Jubin’s waist and hoisted him up into the air.
“Whoa! What are you doing?!”
“To celebrate our first couple ring, let’s go to the nearest hotel. I want to show it off.”
“You—you’ve lost your mind!”
Jubin squirmed frantically in his arms, but Zion didn’t care.
Thank god.
Because right now, the only person who matters to Jubin is me. Just me alone.
『Iconic Mood』 Special Side Story: The End
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