Chapter 33

A cold shiver raced down his spine.

Unable to find the words, Alex stared at the boy’s face. The moment he saw that expression, flushed with fluttery anticipation and hope, Alex saw someone else superimposed over him. He realized that the face he made when looking at Nathan probably looked exactly like this.

And he knew exactly how desperate his own heart felt when gazing at Nathan. Now, Alex had to decide how he was going to handle those exact same feelings directed at him.

It would have been so much easier if I didn’t know what it felt like to like someone. He could have carelessly hurt him, or carelessly accepted him. But Alex was terrified of shattering Ian’s hopeful expression.

Feeling the crushing weight of David’s stare boring into him, he felt his airway constricting.

This wasn’t a simple favor at all.

Who the hell are you to dictate my feelings?

The answer was already set in stone. Alex Yeon liked Nathan White. He didn’t know exactly how deep the weight of his feelings ran, but if it could be labeled ‘love,’ he undeniably liked him enough to claim it.

But at the same time, Alex acutely felt the burning gazes of everyone around him. That included the gaze of Ian, who was waiting for an answer to his confession while surrounded by over ten people.

He thought about how the boy would feel being rejected right here, right now. A moment that should have been private and intimate between the two of them had been degraded into a public spectacle. He vehemently loathed the idea of adding insult to injury.

“So, I…”

His throat completely seized up, and Alex barely managed to force his mouth open. Knowing exactly how panicked his own face must look as the recipient of a confession, he desperately tried to mask his expression.

It was obvious what would happen if he rejected him. The kid standing in front of him would be hurt. Alex knew exactly how agonizing that pain was. He remembered Nathan apologizing to him. Hearing ‘I’m sorry’ instead of ‘Thank you,’ Alex had felt a profound sorrow that words could scarcely describe.

“Thank you for liking me.”

So, for now, he offered his gratitude. Even saying those words made his head spin dizzily. He wanted to grab someone, anyone, and scream his questions. What am I supposed to do right now? What is the right way to handle this?

Please, someone just tell me the right answer.

Ian’s green eyes brimmed with expectant hope. Watching his eyelashes flutter, Alex found himself thinking of Nathan simply because their eye colors were the same green. Tragically, Alex and Nathan were absolutely nothing to each other. He was merely operating under the delusion that they could become something more.

So, even if I accept Ian’s confession right here, Nathan hasn’t done anything wrong.

He desperately wanted to believe that.

If he rejected David’s favor, he would lose everything: the spot he had just secured today, the guaranteed future, and his father’s joy. Am I being incredibly selfish for thinking about these things?

Sorrow welled up thickly in his throat. What is the right choice? Is this truly so wrong? Can’t I just have it a little easy for once?

“But, could you give me some time to think about it?”

Despite rationalizing it all, Alex couldn’t bring himself to accept the confession. Even as his brain screamed at him that just pretending to date him wouldn’t be that hard. Even as his instincts screamed that accepting would make everything so much easier.

David’s expression instantly contorted into something vicious. Slightly turning his back to the onlookers, his true face was visible only to Alex. At those words, Ian let out a soft gasp, his ears burning red. He looked incredibly flustered.

A crushing wave of guilt crashed over Alex.

“Yes, of course. I, um, I’m sorry. I guess I shouldn’t have just shown up like this.”

The boy’s face turned a shade redder, looking as if he were about to cry. With a heart that felt like it was tearing apart, Alex instinctively reached out.

No, don’t apologize.

“Don’t apologize,” Alex said softly, lightly grasping Ian’s shoulder.

At that exact moment, David whipped his head around and shouted to the soccer team with a brilliantly fake smile.

“He said yes.”

Both Ian and Alex’s eyes snapped to David in sheer shock. Cheers of congratulation erupted from behind them. Emitting a razor-sharp, hostile aura, Alex roughly grabbed David’s arm. Mindful of Ian, he checked his surroundings before dropping his voice to a dangerous, deadly whisper right in David’s face.

“What kind of bullshit is this?”

Perhaps sensing the violently fluctuating pheromones, Ian looked back and forth between Alex and David with deeply anxious eyes.

“Ian, head back inside first.”

Pasting on a fake smile, David soothingly rubbed Ian’s shoulder. Suppressing the white-hot fury surging up his throat, Alex gripped David’s arm so tightly it felt like he was trying to snap the bone. If he had it his way, breaking it wouldn’t even begin to satisfy his rage.

That’s how furious he was. This was an unforgivable act, a cruel violation to both him and Ian.

“Go on.”

Looking at Alex once with a flustered expression, Ian offered a small bow and carefully slipped away. The second Ian was out of sight, Alex dragged David inside by his wrist with bone-crushing force. The clueless bastards congratulating them were still laughing, entirely oblivious to the murderous tension radiating between the two.

The entire situation was utterly absurd.

The moment they entered the locker room, Alex hurled his bag away and shoved David hard against the wall. But David didn’t just take it. Swatting Alex’s arm away, he grabbed Alex by the collar. The fabric stretched taut. His previously smiling face turned ice-cold.

“Are you fucking playing with me right now?”

“That’s my line. Why the fuck did you spout that bullshit out there? I never agreed to it.” Alex forced himself to hold back the scream threatening to tear from his throat. He was so furious his head was physically throbbing.

“The only answer you should have given out there was obviously ‘yes.’ Don’t tell me you didn’t realize that was my favor.”

“Damn it, Mack! If that was the favor, I never would have accepted your pathetic condition in the first place!”

His voice finally broke into a shout. He was so frustrated he felt like he was going insane. Their pheromones clashed violently in the air.

“What’s the problem?”

David Mack’s face smoothed into calm indifference in a fraction of a second. Unlike his pheromones, which were still raging and unsettled, his expression was chillingly composed. Sweeping his hair back, Alex spoke through gritted teeth.

“This is about someone’s feelings.”

“You said you aren’t seeing anyone. Are you saying my brother isn’t good enough for you?” David’s voice hardened. “That kid has liked you for over a year. He didn’t have the courage to confess, so he just watched you from afar. I knew he’d just suffer in silence if I didn’t step in, so I’m just helping him out.”

Alex was momentarily rendered speechless. David capitalized on the silence, backing him into a corner.

“Ian is a sweet, lovely kid. He’s way out of your league, Alex Yeon. What exactly is your reason for rejecting him?”

Nathan’s name rippled violently through his mind. David stared at Alex as if sizing him up before letting out a sharp scoff of disbelief. Muttering a low string of curses, he tightened his grip on Alex’s collar.

“Don’t tell me it’s because of that fucking Nathan White. Are you seriously in love with a bastard who isn’t even an Omega?”