Chapter 48: ID
by GideonCould he be without a chip?
As a wave of pheromones crashed over him, Yeon-eun hurriedly covered his nose and stared at the man.
The man had just come from an awards ceremony, so his hair and makeup were still perfectly done, yet his outfit was casual.
Even so, there was nothing out of place about him. How could he be this handsome, even to another man? His looks were truly otherworldly.
“Our Actor Do~ Welcome!”
“Whoa, he’s so tall.”
“He’s even more handsome in person.”
“Why is his face so small? It’s like it’s about to disappear.”
“The screen really doesn’t do him justice.”
Everyone crowded around Do Zion, pouring out their amazed impressions. Only Joo Yeon stood apart, watching Zion silently.
His height… it feels like he’s shot up in the past year.
Then again, he was already incredibly tall when I first met him at eighteen.
With his long limbs, he pulled off any outfit effortlessly, and his shoulders remained broad, his muscles still well-defined.
So that’s how terrifying an Alpha’s awakening can be.
“How have you been? Sorry I’m late. The year-end traffic was a nightmare.”
Jubin had expected him to be blunt and cold, but instead, Zion was surrounded by people, smiling brightly. It was the same polished, perfect smile Jubin had seen so many times in the media.
Ever since he’d lost the role in In the Name of Revenge, Jubin had developed a bad habit.
The habit of constantly searching for Do Zion’s name.
In that short time, Zion had completely shed his boyishness. He now approached the other actors with ease, greeting them first.
Jubin decided he’d slip away quietly once everyone else took their seats. He was exhausted from hours of meaningless, superficial small talk.
“Oh my, it’s almost midnight! Should we celebrate Actor Do’s coming-of-age party?”
Actor Kang, her voice dripping with sweetness, gestured for me to take the seat beside her.
“You haven’t eaten a thing since before the awards ceremony, have you? Come, sit here.”
Chief Moon Woo-jin, seeing right through her little scheme, let out a warning ahem.
“No, Do Zion. It’s dangerous over there.”
Chief Moon stepped in to stop her, pointing to the seat next to Cha Jubin instead.
“Sit there.”
“Ugh, why!” Actor Kang protested. “I want to sit next to our Actor Do, too!”
“Why do you keep acting like a child? Let the kids be.”
Actually, I don’t mind if you don’t leave us alone. I wanted to just lose it and say that.
But I also didn’t want Zion to be thrown to Actor Kang and suffer the way I did.
“It’s been a while since you two last met, right?”
Just like the first day we met, Chief Moon Woo-jin volunteered to act as the bridge between us.
Recently, the CEO of BAY Entertainment had gotten a taste of real money and suddenly started buying up prime real estate to build a new building. It was a bold move, made out of absolute faith in Do Zion.
The problem was the rumor that Do Zion’s contract was almost up, and he was undecided about renewing it.
The CEO had already committed to the project, but his pockets were empty, and he was terrified his golden goose would fly the coop. So, he kept badgering Chief Moon Woo-jin and Yeon to find every opportunity to sweeten Zion up.
The promise of a generous bonus for succeeding didn’t seem like an empty one, either.
Joo Yeon had pretended to listen, but he planned to play dumb. Chief Moon Woo-jin, however, clearly wanted that bonus and had been subtly working his magic.
“Zion’s an adult now,” Moon Woo-jin said, winking at Joo Yeon and practically begging him to take responsibility. “Why don’t you use this chance to get closer over some drinks? You can talk about your projects, share your worries… wouldn’t that be great?”
Ju Yeon seethed with annoyance. Why did he always have to dump this kind of responsibility on her?
But she couldn’t let it show.
Do Zion, who sat down the moment he was told to, was even more infuriating. As he settled beside her, his pheromones flooded her senses, making her head spin.
“Ugh…”
She couldn’t hold back the dry heave. While the others paid no mind, Zion, sitting right next to her, noticed something was off. His gaze was blatantly fixed on her.
“I—I need a moment.”
She shot to her feet and rushed outside. She tried taking deep breaths, but it was useless. Do Zion’s pheromones still clung to her mind, refusing to fade.
Her heightened sensitivity, shaken to its core, was causing her excruciating pain.
Should I go to the hospital? Which one is the closest…
Just then, a convenience store caught her eye. Behind the clerk, a row of products stood lined up like a commercial—her only hope.
“Cigarettes.”
Right. I need to smoke a pheromone cigarette, even if it’s just for now.
As soon as I stepped into the convenience store, I asked for the strongest pheromone cigarettes they had. The clerk shot me a suspicious glance.
“ID, please.”
“What?”
“Your ID.”
I’d rushed out without my phone, so of course I didn’t have it. Come to think of it, I hadn’t even brought my wallet or phone for payment.
This is bad.
“Look, I’m in a real hurry—”
“Here. The ID.”
A deep, resonant voice rumbled right by my ear. At the same time, a wave of dense pheromones flooded my senses.
A long, elegant hand held out a mobile ID.
The clerk’s eyes widened as he looked up from the screen.
“H-Hieek! D-Do Zion?!”
The clerk gasped, clapping a hand over his mouth in shock.
I was just as stunned. What are you doing here? The question nearly escaped my lips as I stared at him, completely dumbfounded.
“A lighter, too, please.”
“Sure thing. Here you go.”
“Thanks. If you don’t mind, could you hurry the checkout?”
“Yes, yes. Of course.”
The payment was processed quickly.
“Sunbae, you said you were in a hurry. Grab your stuff.”
Do Zion tossed the words out without even glancing at him as he pocketed his phone.
“Oh? Uh, right. Th-thanks.”
Joo Yeon grabbed the cigarettes and lighter, adding, “I’ll definitely pay you back when I get back.”
“Don’t bother. Just go.”
“Yeah, see you later. Thanks again.”
Do Zion was always so sweet to everyone else, yet he was cold—almost frosty—only to him. He had never once shown him any warmth or even a hint of a smile. Everyone who met him praised his kindness until they were blue in the face, but he was always the exception.
Even now, Do Zion was politely smiling as he declined a part-time employee’s request to take a photo of her.
That smile is reserved for me alone.
“I can sign it for you instead,” he offered.
The employee hurriedly pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. Zion asked her name with a gentle smile, then complimented her phone case, calling it cute.
“Could I hold your phone for a moment?”
“Huh? Why?”
After finishing his signature, he took out his own phone and carefully peeled something off its case, pressing it onto the employee’s phone.
“It’s nothing much, but…”
It was a sticker of the same character that was on her phone case.
“Wow! This is my favorite character! Do you like it too?”
“Yes, it’s cute.”
The part-timer’s reaction to Zion’s simple gift of a sticker was genuinely delighted. Seeing her joy, Do Zion beamed with a smile of his own.
Even a rehearsed performance couldn’t have matched such flawless fan service.
This is why Actor Do Zion is known for being a gentleman—elegant, kind, and effortlessly charming.
Joo Yeon snapped out of his daze, wondering why he’d been staring so blankly, and stepped out of the convenience store.
He wandered around, searching for a decent spot to smoke.
Luckily, he found a designated smoking booth not far from the store. It was empty, the late hour keeping other smokers away.
Perfect, he thought, finally tearing open the cigarette pack. His hands were clumsy, fumbling with the plastic.
Even though he was an adult, he kept glancing around nervously, as if he were committing some grave crime.
His heart was racing, his mind a dizzying mess…
I finally managed to light the cigarette, but it didn’t catch the way I’d hoped.
Why is this so hard?
Just as my frustration peaked, a scene from a movie flashed through my mind—the way they’d put the cigarette in their mouth and draw in before lighting.
“Ah.”
With a soft exclamation, I clamped the cigarette between my lips and struck the lighter, my hand now steady with newfound confidence.
As the flame touched the tip, I took a shallow drag and slowly rotated the cigarette. It caught instantly. But I must have inhaled too deeply, because a violent fit of coughing seized me.
Hack, hack.
The pheromone-laced smoke stung my throat and lungs, but it also instantly quelled the raging pheromones that had been boiling within me.
“Haaah…”
I didn’t even need to smoke it. Just holding the self-burning stick between my fingers, letting the scent waft around me, was enough to make a world of difference.
Once he’d calmed down a bit, he reached up to check the chip implanted in the back of his neck.
“Is it not working…?”
That’s impossible. He still had over a year before the chip needed replacing, and the pheromone-regulating condition hadn’t been bad lately, with no rain to affect it.
This was a first for him, and he was completely bewildered.
If this were a heat, he could at least wrap his head around it. But how was he supposed to interpret this situation?
He stared blankly at the faint wisps of smoke curling from the cigarette clamped between his lips.
It’s definitely calming, but…
“Tastes like shit.”
The scent wasn’t his preference at all.
He was lost in thought for a long moment when the door slid open.
He froze, jumping like a student caught smoking in secret.
“Sunbae.”
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