Wait—What?

Haeyoon clenched his fists without even realizing it.

Imagining the faces of the two people who would welcome Baek Jeongha and Seo Haeyoon in front of the dazzling wedding venue made his heart pound as if it would burst.

He couldn’t deny that there was definitely a thrill underlying it all.

“…….”

When his thoughts reached that point, a hollow laugh leaked out this time.

It was ridiculous that what was once a relationship of the deepest trust and love had been ruined and mangled to this extent.

Then again, it was probably only Seo Haeyoon who had been sincere until the very end, so there was nothing more to regret.

To those two, Haeyoon had likely ceased to be someone they loved or trusted long ago.

Haeyoon picked up the phone he had carelessly set down and began typing a message.

[Do you want to grab a drink when you have time?]

Naturally, it wasn’t a reply being sent to Ahn Seonwoo.

* * * *

“You’ve only ever been with Oh Jaeyeol your whole life?”

Baek Jeongha, who had been about to take a sip of his beer glass, set it back down in shock and asked again.

Haeyoon shrugged his shoulders.

“We met in high school and have been together ever since…”

“Wow…”

Jeongha shook his head as if disgusted.

He knew they had been together a long time, but he never thought it was literally only Oh Jaeyeol.

“I guess you’ve been with a lot of people?”

This time, Haeyoon asked.

His tone wasn’t particularly interrogative.

After all, who he had been with and how many was none of Haeyoon’s business.

However, Jeongha, who received the question, felt differently.

Even though he knew it wasn’t a loaded question, he felt strangely prickled inside.

It was true that he had casually enjoyed hookups, and he didn’t think it was wrong, but it was hard to be completely brazen about it.

Jeongha put the beer glass to his lips and mumbled.

“Well, just… a moderate amount…”

The beer he hastily gulped down felt peculiarly bitter.

Having swallowed both the beer and his vague answer, Jeongha brought up the question he had missed the chance to spit out during Haeyoon’s sneak attack.

“What was so great about Oh Jaeyeol anyway?”

Just like Haeyoon, Jeongha didn’t have a particularly interrogative intent either.

It might sound offensive depending on how one took it, but Jeongha was genuinely curious.

Was it really possible to love one person for that long?

If Oh Jaeyeol hadn’t made such a stupid choice, would Seo Haeyoon have really married him and spent his whole life with him?

Jeongha didn’t know Haeyoon deeply yet.

But there was no doubt that he was a sincere person.

For a moment, he wondered what it would feel like to be loved by someone like that.

“Then why didn’t you like Ahn Seonwoo?”

What cut off Jeongha’s deepening thoughts wasn’t an answer but a sudden, unexpected question thrown back at him.

Jeongha furrowed his brow.

It was because the name Ahn Seonwoo, who hadn’t even been on his mind, suddenly popped up.

Haeyoon was fiddling with his glass while looking at Jeongha.

He didn’t seem particularly displeased, but his intention to change the subject was clear.

It was understandable.

Recalling why he loved a trashy ex was definitely not a pleasant task.

Jeongha decided to pretend not to notice his topic change and let it slide.

“Well, does there need to be a special reason? He just wasn’t my type.”

“Hmm…”

“I really can’t stand the type that overtly flaunts their charms. Especially when it’s a male Omega doing it.”

That wasn’t all of it.

Even if Seonwoo had had the complete opposite style, Jeongha was convinced he still wouldn’t have been drawn to him.

Not long after knowing Seonwoo, Jeongha had figured him out.

He wore a meticulously crafted mask of cheerfulness and warmth, but you could see the darkness inside.

Ironically, the reason Jeongha could see through Ahn Seonwoo was because of the man right in front of him, Seo Haeyoon.

While pretending to be a kind and good friend, when dealing with Haeyoon or talking about him, Seonwoo would unconsciously reveal his twisted insides.

He seemed to hide it a bit better in front of others, but perhaps because he was emotionally subordinate to Jeongha, Seonwoo especially revealed himself in front of Jeongha, and it wasn’t a particularly attractive sight.

Still, he hadn’t known he was such an insecurity-ridden piece of trash.

If he had known, maybe back then, he wouldn’t have said the unnecessary things that provoked him.

As Jeongha pondered one of the few remaining memories of Ahn Seonwoo, Haeyoon spoke.

“That’s unusual. Most Alphas really liked Seonwoo.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Not just Alphas, but Seonwoo was someone who attracted attention and was easily loved wherever he went.”

“Wow, you’re praising him now? Really?”

“It’s not praise, just stating a fact.”

Haeyoon answered calmly.

It was a fact, with nothing added or subtracted.

Seonwoo always easily got close to people and won their favor.

During his time as someone in Seonwoo’s circle, Haeyoon had constantly seen Alphas desperate to spend a night with him.

That’s why Haeyoon found Jeongha intriguing.

Even back then, he thought Baek Jeongha was something else for not batting an eye when Ahn Seonwoo had clung to him so desperately.

“Well, I don’t know about that.”

“I see.”

“If anything, Seo Haeyoon is the more eye-catching type, isn’t he?”

It was only natural that he couldn’t understand Jeongha’s following words.

Haeyoon, a rare look of wide-eyed surprise on his face, spoke.

“Me?”

“Yes. You.”

“No way.”

“You really don’t know yourself.”

At first, he thought he was being teased, but Jeongha, shaking his head while answering, looked quite sincere.

Haeyoon explained the reality a bit more proactively.

“In high school, I was probably called ‘Ahn Seonwoo’s friend’ or ‘the guy next to Ahn Seonwoo’ more often than by my own name.”

Despite Haeyoon’s serious answer, Jeongha let out a light snort.

Nonsense.

Regardless of secondary gender, someone who looks like Seo Haeyoon would stand out anytime, anywhere.

Even here and now, it was the same.

The bar the two were in on a weekend evening was packed with people, and amidst all the commotion, Jeongha could feel the gazes and attention of people busily circling around Seo Haeyoon.

If Haeyoon were here alone, or if Jeongha looked like an easy mark, a truckload of people would have already approached trying to get involved with Haeyoon.

And Haeyoon painted.

Quite a few people in the industry were already paying attention to him, and he was said to be even more popular on SNS.

The so-called ‘beautiful person who does art’ being called ‘the guy next to someone like Ahn Seonwoo’ until the very end was a probability close to zero.

Yet Seo Haeyoon perceived himself as ‘the guy next to Ahn Seonwoo’.

It was baffling where it even went wrong.

Since he probably wouldn’t believe him anyway, Jeongha decided to be a bit more honest.

“From the beginning, you caught my eye more than Ahn Seonwoo did.”

As soon as the words ended, Haeyoon looked straight into Jeongha’s eyes.

As expected, he didn’t look like he believed it at all.

After a brief silence, Haeyoon opened his mouth.

“You have a habit.”

“Of what?”

“Flirting without meaning it.”

He knew he wouldn’t believe him, but the words that came out were so completely unexpected that Jeongha burst out laughing, pfft.

Right now, at this moment, if he had to pick the person in the world who knew Baek Jeongha the least, Seo Haeyoon would undoubtedly be number one.

Baek Jeongha had no need to do that.

Why would Ahn Seonwoo have been anything special to him?

It was true that he had been somewhat persistently clingy, but Baek Jeongha’s life was overflowing with people like that.

But habitual flirting?

Why would Jeongha do something that would just make his life more bothersome?

He rested his chin on the table and met Seo Haeyoon’s gaze.

“No way. I only speak sincerely.”

“…I’m a Beta, though?”

“What does that have to do with a person’s charm?”

In the space filled with noisy warmth, the two silently, completely, gazed at each other.

Jeongha instinctively realized this moment could become some kind of turning point between him and Haeyoon.

If he wanted something more with him than a contract relationship, if he wanted anything to progress further, he shouldn’t let this moment just pass by.

So Baek Jeongha thought.

What do I want with Seo Haeyoon?

Beyond the silly revenge drama he jumped into with a bit of interest, a bit of curiosity, and a very small bit of guilt, do I have a desire to go further with Seo Haeyoon?

“If the one who showed interest in me wasn’t Ahn Seonwoo, but you, Seo Haeyoon.”

A subtle scent began to rise from Jeongha’s body.

It was a scent like breathing in the heat of a flame.

It wasn’t intentional.

It was just his Alpha instinct naturally manifesting from his desire for Seo Haeyoon.

For Jeongha, who was usually skilled at controlling his pheromones, this was rare.

He could have reined it in if he wanted to, but Jeongha didn’t.

His scent slowly began to climb up Haeyoon’s fingertips, starting to envelop his entire body.

Seo Haeyoon still didn’t know anything.

“Well, maybe the outcome would have been different from now.”

So Baek Jeongha wanted to tell him.

Tell him how interesting a person he was, to the point that comparing him to someone like Ahn Seonwoo was laughable.

If he hesitated, someone else would interfere.

He still couldn’t be sure exactly what he wanted with Seo Haeyoon, but one thing was clear.

Jeongha didn’t want anyone other than himself by Seo Haeyoon’s side.

For now, that was enough.