Reasonable Loss - 15

Eunsu wore a bitter smile. It was a relief that Dokwon was okay. He already had so much confusion; if cars scared him too, how awful would that be? No matter what, the accident was something best forgotten, since there was no need to remember it.

Eunsu swept up his sweat-dampened bangs anyhow. Crimson streetlights lightly brushed over Eunsu’s round forehead and smooth bridge of his nose.

Dokwon’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“You look like it’s really hard for you.”

“No. It’s, fine.”

“You don’t look fine.”

Dokwon said in a voice devoid of emotion.

Eunsu let out a hollow laugh. Why was he suddenly asking that? The current Dokwon didn’t seem like he’d care much whether he was really okay or not. If he suddenly freaked out and fainted here, Dokwon would probably toss him out of the car with an annoyed look.

Eunsu buried his face deep between his legs and mumbled.

“Yeah. It’s not fine. It feels like… a dump truck will suddenly appear out of nowhere and crush the car, haa…”

“…”

“But I’m trying hard to endure, so just… pretend you don’t notice.”

“…”

Dokwon gave no reply. Eunsu hadn’t really expected one, so it was fine. Meanwhile, the car kept moving. Every time it hit a speed bump, Eunsu’s back twitched in spasms.

Eunsu subtly turned his head and glanced at Dokwon. He murmured with a faint smile.

“Still, it’s a relief. Dokwon doesn’t remember that……”

What expression had Dokwon made at that moment? It seemed like the corners of his mouth had twitched, but just then the car entered the underground road, so he couldn’t see.

It had been exactly a month since he last visited Dokwon’s house. And yet nothing had changed. The luxurious yet simple interior was the same, and thanks to the diligent housekeeper, it was spotless without a speck of dust, just as before.

Secretary Jeong dropped Dokwon off and left. He had offered to help with the packing, but Eunsu sent him away, saying it wasn’t right to keep a subordinate for personal reasons at such a late hour. Secretary Jeong didn’t refuse the consideration and departed.

Leaving Dokwon behind with an expression that said, What makes you think you can send my secretary away, Eunsu found the home slippers familiarly and slipped them on.

Before the car accident, their dates had mostly taken place at Eunsu’s house. Dokwon had preferred it that way. He said the place was small, so Eunsu’s scent lingered more strongly. Eunsu found it absurd that Dokwon described his own apartment, which was well over thirty pyeong, as “small,” but he just let it be.

That didn’t mean Eunsu had visited Dokwon’s house infrequently. Dokwon’s place was much closer to the company, so he had stopped by often for various reasons.

For instance, when he skipped work hours, or when a simple lip rub turned into a desire for more. That’s why he had no choice but to be familiar with this luxurious house.

Dokwon let out a soft chuckle at Eunsu’s action of yanking open the shoe cabinet, which was hard to even find the handle for, and stuffing his sneakers inside. He had suspected as much because traces that didn’t seem like his own were scattered throughout the house. Apparently, they all belonged to Eunsu.

Ha, to think I was really in that kind of relationship with this omega. It was hard to believe.

But that was then, and this was now. Unless he suddenly regained his memories like being struck by lightning one day, he felt no emotions toward Eunsu at all right now.

Just…… occasionally, very occasionally, thoughts like, He’s surprisingly pretty, or His perky movements make him look like a white cat—that was all.

“Let’s start by tidying the living room.”

Dokwon passed by Eunsu and stepped into the entrance hallway. But Eunsu brushed right past him.

“I’ll grab some water first.”

With that announcement, he padded off down the short hallway toward the kitchen and disappeared.

“……”

Suddenly left alone, Dokwon let out a long sigh and rubbed his dry face with both hands.

Eunsu’s traces were far more numerous than he had anticipated.

Two years of dating. It was long if you called it long, but…… it wasn’t that long a time either, so why were there so many? Well, they had hardly gone a day without seeing each other in those two years, so it made sense.

Even so, there was only one thing in the living room. The thick blanket that Eunsu would cling to like an attachment doll whenever he came over. It was actually Dokwon’s, but since Eunsu had used it mostly, he decided to just pack it up.

Next was the kitchen. This space was a bit ambiguous. Because Eunsu hadn’t bought a single thing there. The cup he used often was Dokwon’s, the grapefruit-flavored sparkling water in the fridge was what Eunsu drank but Dokwon had bought it, and the macaron ice creams filling the freezer were the same. The piles of cafe latte coffee capsules and the soft butter cookies too.

As he rummaged through this and that under Dokwon’s strict watch, Eunsu glanced at him slyly.

“It’s stuff I eat, but what about the fact that you bought it?”

“Take it all. Or toss it in the trash over there.”

Dokwon nodded toward the trash bin in the corner.

Eunsu pouted his lips and packed the cookies and sparkling water. He couldn’t drink the cafe latte because of the caffeine, but he didn’t want to throw it away, so he left it. Hoping that Dokwon, who wouldn’t touch anything but black coffee, might accidentally drink a cafe latte one day and wrinkle his face in distaste.

The kitchen wrapped up like that. Next, they stopped by the study. There, Eunsu gathered his laptop, wireless mouse, USB drives, and so on. They also checked the bathroom. Besides the electric toothbrush lined up neatly next to Dokwon’s, there wasn’t much to take. The shower products and lotion were all Dokwon’s that he had used.

Just in case, Eunsu opened the cabinet and looked through things. He had left traces here and there in other places on purpose, but not in the bathroom. If Dokwon passed out here, he could get seriously hurt.

It was when Eunsu, finding nothing special, closed the cabinet with a click.

“You must not have taken your suppressants today.”

A voice so low it was almost vicious tickled his ear. The sound echoing in the bathroom made his spine tingle all the way down. Startled, Eunsu whipped his head around.

Dokwon was standing right behind him.

Eunsu stared at Dokwon blankly. It had been so long since he had seen him this close. No, there had been times they were close, but not quietly like now. Dokwon had been unconscious, or in the midst of a seizure, or in the middle of some petty power struggle.

Just gazing at each other like this felt like going back in time. Dokwon’s unkempt hair and the languid droop of his eyes gave off a seductive air. It was the unique allure of an alpha.

If it had been before, he would have been bewitched by that face and those pheromones and burrowed into his arms.

As Eunsu floated dazedly in the past, he came to his senses belatedly. He quickly covered his nape. As if that would hide the pheromones. It was a habit of sorts. A habit most omegas had.

“Ah……. I was in a hurry, so.”

“In a hurry?”

“It was bedtime. Secretary Jeong called, and I just threw on my coat and came out…….”

Eunsu took half a step back. Deep down, he wanted to take a full step, no, three steps and run, but the wall was right behind him, so he couldn’t.

For some reason, Dokwon took a step closer. That made the distance even shorter than before. If Eunsu tilted his head down just a little, his face would bury into Dokwon’s chest.

“……”

“……”

A heavy silence flowed. With his hand around his neck, Eunsu rolled his eyes desperately. He couldn’t bring himself to look at Dokwon’s face, so he stared straight ahead, but his gaze caught on the broad, contoured chest and the wide shoulders visible through his knit sweater.

Just as Eunsu, feeling unnecessarily guilty, let out a long whoosh of breath and twisted his body away, he felt Dokwon inhale sharply. Shocked by that, Eunsu shoved Dokwon away hard.

“No!”

The push was strong enough to make Dokwon stagger back a step.

“……What do you mean, no?”

Dokwon asked, his brows furrowed deeply in annoyance. Being shoved like that out of nowhere made him feel like some shameless pervert. When had he ever said his face and body weren’t to his taste? And now this.

One of Dokwon’s eyebrows crooked upward, and Eunsu made a pleading face.

“What if you smell me and collapse again? The bathroom floor is tile—if you fall wrong, your head could crack open.”

“So you pushed me because you’re worried my head might crack?”

“You said my scent makes your head hurt. So intense, right? Last time you even got a nosebleed.”

So get out of the way. Eunsu pushed Dokwon again. He was so tall it felt like a massive mountain blocking his path. He even blocked the light, making his vision dim.

Eunsu finally broke free from Dokwon and hurried toward the bathroom door. As he gripped the half-open door handle, an arm shot out from behind his ear, and bang—the door slammed shut.

Eunsu’s breath caught sharply. The presence pressed close against his back and the thick pheromones wafting out made his knees tremble. As he tried to say get away with lips quivering sweetly, Dokwon buried his nose in Eunsu’s nape.

The firm tip of his nose. A body temperature cooler than his nape. The slow, exhaled breath. Eunsu froze like a rock. Compared to the countless times they had rubbed their bodies together, this skinship was nothing, but maybe because it had been so long. His heart pounded wildly, thump thump.

“Ge……t away.”

“I don’t want to. If I get used to your scent, wouldn’t that be good?”

Dokwon wrapped his arm around Eunsu’s waist deliberately, as if to show off. Every time he spoke, hot breath tickled his skin gently. Eunsu hunched his shoulders and looked down at Dokwon’s hand around his waist.

“……You won’t collapse?”