Chapter 24

“Dinner? So out of nowhere? At your place, no less?” Yoon-seok asked in surprise.

“Yeah. Hyung has to go back to work starting tomorrow, so if you guys have time today, we could…” Rian explained.

“Even better! None of us have dinner plans anyway, right? These losers have nothing going on. It’s totally fine,” Yoon-seok cheered.

Yoon-seok nodded readily at Rian’s suggestion. Both Yoon-seok and Su-hyun seemed surprised that the dinner was happening so quickly, but they quickly accepted with delight. The only problem was Kim Taeju.

Kim Taeju had stayed out of the conversation from the start, puffing heavily on an e-cigarette over in the designated smoking area some distance away. Yoon-seok glanced at Taeju and grumbled.

“That bastard Taeju thinks he looks so damn cool whenever he smokes,” Yoon-seok snorted.

Su-hyun laughed in response. “Why? He does look damn cool, though. Personally, I think that bastard looks coolest when he’s smoking.”

As Yoon-seok grumbled, Su-hyun chuckled in reply. Following their gaze, Rian turned his head toward Taeju.

Tall and striking, with a small face and quite an aura… Right, they said he was in the middle of presenting as an Alpha. Perhaps that was why he stood out distinctly compared to average guys. Even so, he was nowhere near comparable to Yu-gyeom.

“It’s because that punk has Alpha blood. Still, compared to Yu-gyeom hyung, he’s nothing. Phew. Rian, you’re so lucky you get to look at your hyung’s face every single day,” Yoon-seok gushed.

Yoon-seok made quite a fuss, showering Yu-gyeom’s looks with endless praise.

“Yeah… Hyung really is handsome,” Rian agreed softly.

“Just handsome? Dude, isn’t your hyung practically an actor-tier visual? No, scratch that—at that level, he’d easily be the top of the top even among actors,” Yoon-seok exclaimed.

“Is that so? Well, I suppose someone like hyung…” Rian mused.

Picturing Yu-gyeom’s face in his mind, Rian smiled warmly. Yu-gyeom’s physical allure had been something Rian experienced firsthand since childhood, so it was hardly news to him.

And naturally so, because Yu-gyeom had always been immensely popular. Having been a dominant Alpha from birth, just how much attention must he have garnered from Omegas and admirers alike as he grew up?

It had likely reached the point of utter exhaustion. In fact, back during Yu-gyeom’s school days, Rian had witnessed mountains of gifts piled outside their front door on Valentine’s Day and Pepero Day.

Because word had spread that Yu-gyeom hated the hassle of receiving such things, friends nursing crushes on him had resorted to dumping their presents right at his door. Of course, every single one of those gifts had ended up in Rian’s hands.

“Hey, Kim Taeju! Hurry up and come on!” Yoon-seok shouted, growing impatient.

Unable to wait any longer, Yoon-seok called out toward Taeju. Through the hazy cloud of smoke, Kim Taeju narrowed his eyes slightly and gave a nod. Even that careless tip of his chin held an effortless coolness rare in ordinary guys. Rian pulled his lingering gaze away from Taeju.

Come to think of it, Rian had secretly wondered why Kim Taeju hadn’t uttered a single word about calling last night. If Rian had told him the address, Taeju had sounded ready to race right over to the house.

Calling so abruptly had been perplexing enough, let alone past midnight… What’s more, Taeju asking if they couldn’t just stay on the phone had lingered persistently in Rian’s mind.

Taeju stretched his long arms over his head. “Anyone want to grab coffee?”

Putting out his e-cigarette, Taeju sauntered over to join them.

“I’m good. You heading over?” Su-hyun asked.

Taeju rubbed his weary eyes. “Yeah, I’m thirsty. Tired, too. I couldn’t sleep well last night.”

At Su-hyun’s question, Kim Taeju cracked his stiff neck from side to side. Just as he said, dark shadows pooled beneath his eyes, making him look thoroughly exhausted. But having already had coffee that morning, Su-hyun and Yoon-seok declined the offer. At that, Kim Taeju turned his gaze toward Kwon Rian.

“What about you?” Taeju asked.

Caught off guard by the abrupt question, Rian stammered, “Huh?”

Because Rian rarely drank coffee, he hesitated, searching for an excuse to decline. Taking advantage of that split second, however, Kim Taeju slung an arm around Rian’s shoulders and began steering him forward.

“Come on, let’s go together. I’ll buy you coffee,” Taeju coaxed.

“Huh? Ah, wait… I can’t really drink coffee,” Rian protested, taken aback.

With an arm wrapped around his shoulders and his head practically tucked against Kim Taeju’s chest, Rian couldn’t overcome Taeju’s strength and was dragged along. Oblivious to the fact that Rian was being hauled away against his will, Yoon-seok and Su-hyun told them to hurry back and disappeared into the classroom building.

* * *

Just as they neared the campus café, Taeju finally dropped his arm from Rian’s shoulder. Kim Taeju’s constant, casual skinship made Rian feel rather uncomfortable. After all, it was precisely this kind of behavior that had gotten him scolded by Yu-gyeom before.

Rian hesitated, muttering softly, “I really don’t drink coffee, though…”

“You’re a total kid. Who doesn’t drink coffee?” Taeju teased.

“Yeah.” Rian looked up pleadingly. “Can’t you just go by yourself?”

By the time Rian faltered in his steps, they had already arrived in front of the café.

“We’re already here,” Kim Taeju said, urging him forward. “I’ll buy you a drink. The strawberry juice here is really good.”

“I had a big breakfast, so I’m full,” Rian replied.

Reaching out a hand toward him, Taeju asked, “Full? Here?”

“Ngh!” Rian flinched, jerking backward.

Rian’s sudden, startled recoil was entirely Kim Taeju’s doing. As if touching a pregnant woman’s belly, Taeju had slid a hand smoothly over Kwon Rian’s flat stomach—and had even stroked it. When Rian sprang backward in fright, Taeju let out a snicker. He had unmistakably done it on purpose.

Rian’s face flushed in mortification and indignation. At the sight of his reaction, Kim Taeju clamped a hand over his mouth and broke into quiet laughter.

“Wh-what are you doing right now?” Rian stammered, crossing his arms protectively over his abdomen. “Why are you touching someone else’s stomach?”

“Ah, that’s hilarious…” Taeju muttered, shaking his head.

After laughing for a good while, Kim Taeju wiped a tear from the corner of his eye and barely managed to catch his breath.

“Come on, why freak out over a casual touch?” Taeju asked, snickering. “It’s not like you’re actually pregnant or something.”

“…What kind of nonsense is that?” Rian muttered, defensive.

Heat rushed fiercely to Rian’s face. Pregnant? In all his life, he had never heard such an absurd thing, and it left him completely dumbfounded. While it was true that male Omegas were capable of conceiving, Rian had always considered pregnancy something entirely unrelated to his life.

“Then again, your stomach is so flat that nothing could fit inside anyway,” Taeju drawled with a provocative smirk.

Just what is wrong with him? Uncharacteristically making jokes that repeatedly crossed the line, smirking and giggling for no apparent reason—Rian could not hide his bewilderment at Kim Taeju’s strange shift in attitude. A sudden chill settled over his lower abdomen, prompting Rian to rest his hand there and rub it self-consciously. It left an unsettling, uncomfortable sensation behind.

Kim Taeju’s gaze fell toward Rian’s hand rubbing his lower abdomen. Or rather, in that general vicinity, though it was ambiguous exactly where Taeju was scanning.

Could something else go in there, though?

Unable to endure Kim Taeju’s overt stare any longer, Rian hurried inside the café, and Taeju arched an eyebrow as he followed behind him.

When they emerged from the café a moment later, Rian held a cup of strawberry juice in his hand. Even though Rian had insisted he was fine, Taeju had adamantly persisted in buying it, leaving Rian unable to refuse.

As the cool, sweet strawberry juice slid down his throat, goosebumps prickled across his skin. Rian gave a tiny shudder at the electric chill.

Tilting his head, Taeju remarked, “You know, the way you act… it’s kind of like a small animal.”

“What?” Rian asked, caught off guard.

Rian looked up at Kim Taeju with wide, round eyes, sucking on the straw with a soft slurping sound. Looking down at Kwon Rian, who stood nearly a head shorter than him, Kim Taeju felt a slow pink flush creep into his cheeks.

After staring down at Rian in silence for a moment, Kim Taeju cleared his throat and whipped around. He crunched down on the ice in his iced Americano and let out a low grumble.

“Sly little bastard,” Taeju swore under his breath.

Taeju felt a heavy heat pooling in his groin. Unaware of his companion’s condition, Kwon Rian scampered behind him, his lips constantly sipping at the straw with quiet slurps.

Strawberries are almost out of season, but this is so good…