Chapter 73: Just the Two of Us
by GideonZion, seemingly shaken, pulled Jubin into a tight embrace. A potent wave of his pheromones surged, filling the space and completely masking the center’s damp air and the sterile, bleach-tinged scent of water.
Ah, this feels so good…
Drowning in his pheromones, Jubin’s entire body went limp. Had he been exposed to them this whole time while unconscious? It felt like he’d already absorbed too much.
His heart swelled, overflowing with a heat that threatened to spill over. His mind was a haze of heightened nerves and raw sensation, yet focusing solely on Do Zion made him feel truly alive.
“This is the treatment room,” Zion said. “Don’t you remember? You passed out after falling into the water.”
So it was you… the one who pulled me out.
“Ah, it was you…”
Jubin forced a weak smile, trying to keep the mood light. “Sorry. You must have been scared out of your wits.”
“I thought… I thought I was going to die.”
Zion’s voice trembled violently, sounding like a child paralyzed by a sudden, overwhelming terror.
As long as you’re alive, that’s all that matters, Jubin thought. He offered a casual, soft-spoken reply. “You wouldn’t have died just from swallowing a little water.”
“Don’t say that!”
Jubin started to add, You probably just passed out— but Zion abruptly pushed him away, his voice sharp with alarm.
“If I hadn’t found you, you really would have…”
The flush on Zion’s face sent a pang of guilt through Jubin’s chest. How terrified must he have been to react like this?
“…You would have died.”
His voice shook with a crushing sense of helplessness, a mixture of self-blame and despair.
I’d messed up trying to lighten the mood. This was a feeling that should never have been taken lightly.
Jubin slowly sat up and wrapped his arms around Zion’s neck.
“…I’m sorry.”
He should have taken this seriously from the start. His judgment had been poor. Zion’s fingertips trembled as he pulled Jubin tightly into his embrace.
“I’m sorry. I just… started shouting…”
Jubin ran his hand through Zion’s dry hair, tousling it gently.
“You only got upset because you were worried about me. I was just embarrassed, that’s all.”
He comforted Zion more tenderly, knowing the younger man must have been even more startled because of him.
“I’m okay…”
As Jubin soothed and caressed him, the erratic bursts of Zion’s pheromones seemed to calm down and vanish.
“…I’m not angry at you, senior.”
Zion let out a ragged breath, his voice thick with self-reproach.
“I should have stayed by your side the whole time. I didn’t even realize the instructor had left…”
“Of course you didn’t. You were in the middle of your own lesson…”
“You’re never supposed to leave a beginner alone like that. No matter how urgent it was, you shouldn’t have entrusted me to someone else.”
His voice was unusually sharp, laced with emotion. His tone was firm, his words cuttingly cold.
“I told you to go. It seemed like you had to leave right away…”
“Even if you said that, aren’t people more important than a car?”
Zion, usually so stoic, had never seen him this angry and emotional before.
“You should have finished what you were doing before taking care of your own business.”
The tension in the air was so thick that Jubin found himself unable to speak, his throat tightening.
“Is saying you didn’t know this would happen after a fatal accident enough?” Zion’s voice was laced with disbelief. “There’s a limit to how irresponsible you can be…”
“Stop.”
Before Zion’s suppressed anger could ignite, Jubin forced him to halt.
“I’m really okay, Zion.”
He was trying his best to keep his emotions in check, but with every word, a potent pheromone—a direct reflection of his suppressed turmoil—seeped out.
I’m the only one who can reach him right now, Jubin thought.
“I tried to handle it, but I messed up. I underestimated the water.”
The blame rested entirely on his shoulders. He was the one who had given the instructor permission to leave, and he was the one who had ignored the warning not to swim too deep.
“It’s my fault. Let’s not blame anyone else.”
When Jubin had been drowning, the terror of the water was nothing compared to the agony of seeing Zion’s anger—anger he believed was directed at him.
Jubin pulled Zion closer, trying to soothe him. “Thank you for saving me.”
“…I’m sorry I didn’t see you sooner.”
Zion’s embrace tightened.
“I told you, it’s not your fault.”
“It is.” The words barely managed to escape his lips. “I’m the one who brought you here. I’m the one who recommended that instructor.”
Zion’s body trembled violently in Jubin’s arms.
“If only I’d seen you sooner… if only I’d been closer…”
He choked on the words, unable to finish. He’s drowning in guilt, Jubin realized. He believes this whole nightmare started because of his choices.
Jubin tightened his embrace around Zion’s trembling back.
“I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.”
The more he held him, the more Zion’s sweet scent melted away his own restraint.
“I was too careless.”
Even if my pheromones are a mess right now, I just want him to find some peace in my warmth.
“I’m only here because of you.”
A heavy silence descended, and Zion swallowed the rest of his words. Jubin gently stroked Zion’s back, trying to soothe him.
“Don’t be so hard on yourself.”
Be okay, please be okay. He kept patting Zion’s back for a long time. Slowly, the tension in Zion’s shoulders began to fade. It’s not your fault. You don’t have to carry this alone…
“Please, stop apologizing, Zion…”
Zion’s voice was softer now, his ragged breaths finally evening out. “Why is the injured one the one apologizing? It just makes me feel worse…”
Jubin knew the anger stemmed from worry, but he was the type to stay tense for a long time whenever someone else got angry—especially when he was the cause.
“I know I’m the one in the wrong. And I’ve never seen you this angry before…”
“I’m not angry… Fine, I’ll lower my voice.”
His tone had calmed, but Jubin worried about the hidden distress that had been forced down.
“Seeing you unconscious like that… I just got so scared. I’m sorry. It came out as anger.”
He added his honest feelings, hoping Jubin wouldn’t be hurt.
“I thought I’d never see you again…”
A breath, barely containing his shock, escaped his lips.
He’s being way too sweet today.
Between the tenderness and the pheromones, Jubin felt his gaze go hazy.
Perhaps it was because the entire room was saturated with his pheromones, but Zion’s lips, parting ever so slightly, looked incredibly tempting.
As if possessed, Jubin reached out.
“I’m sorry… for making you worry…”
Zion’s warmth—both his tender concern and his trembling anxiety—felt so precious, so endearing.
Lost in the intoxicating haze of the pheromones, Jubin traced Zion’s lips with his fingertips without asking.
“I’m sorry…”
The warmth radiating from his body seeped into Jubin’s fingertips.
If only he’d flinched, if only he’d pushed me away and asked what the hell I was doing, I might have snapped out of this.
But Zion only watched Jubin’s actions with a soft, melting gaze.
“…I thought you were suppressing your pheromones.”
Even with Jubin’s fingers brushing his lips, Zion didn’t pull away.
“They’re practically overflowing right now.”
Zion shook his head with a faint smile.
“It’s hardly the right time to be suppressing them, is it?”
It was a silent plea for Zion to understand just how shocked he was.
Jubin felt dazed, as if he were being slowly soaked in the sweet, cloying scent of Zion’s pheromones.
“Zion, do you want to?”
The words escaped him without a second thought, a direct admission of his desire.
“Weren’t we supposed to wait until we got to the hotel?” Zion asked, glancing toward the firmly shut door.
Jubin met his gaze with a heavy-lidded, smoldering look, as if he’d been waiting for this exact moment. “…We’re alone, aren’t we?”
An indescribable, powerful attraction crackled between them.
The moment they silently consented, the tip of Zion’s tongue lightly brushed Jubin’s fingertip. His eyes remained locked on Jubin’s, a desperate, pleading look asking for permission to go further.
Jubin lowered his gaze, staring intently at Zion.
It was a definite yes.
He pressed his thumb firmly against Zion’s lips.
Without breaking eye contact, Zion parted his lips and took Jubin’s thumb into his mouth. The moist, melting warmth stole the sweet, sensual heat.
Jubin’s vision blurred as he stared down at Zion.
The sensation at his fingertips was electrifying. Each time Zion’s tongue lapped sensuously against his skin, a sharp jolt of pleasure shot straight to his groin.
His mind screamed for him to stop, but his body refused to obey. Jubin could only surrender to the feeling of his own fingertip being toyed with on Zion’s tongue.
As the dampness spread around his finger, his thoughts dissolved into a chaotic mess. The impulse to lose control snapped the last thread of his reason.
Instinct took over, rendering rational judgment impossible.
He didn’t want just a finger anymore.
The memory of Zion’s lips—a taste he could never forget—burned in his mind, an unbearable craving he had to satisfy.
Jubin slowly withdrew his finger from Zion’s mouth, then abruptly closed the distance between them.
He leaned in until their breaths mingled.
“…Zion.”
He whispered his name, leaving only a sliver of space between them.
It was a question, a silent plea for permission.
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