Pheromone Shower

“Hey, Yoon Dae-eon!”

Dae-eon, who was walking to class with earbuds firmly stuffed in his ears, turned his head at the sensation of someone tapping his back. It was Oh Dong-chol and Kim Ye-jun.

Kim Ye-jun was still half-asleep, clinging to Dong-chol’s shoulder and nodding off. Among the two, only Dong-chol tapped Dae-eon’s shoulder repeatedly, asking urgently:

“Why aren’t you checking your messages?”

“Huh? Did you send something?”

“I’ve been sending them since last night!”

Dong-chol looked genuinely hurt, as if being left on “read-receipt ignored” was a personal affront. However, Dae-eon had his reasons.

Last night, after he’d walked Seon Ji-ha home, the man had tried every trick in the book to entice him to stay over. Fearing that if he stepped inside that house, he might never be allowed to leave, Dae-eon had flatly refused and practically fled the scene. From that point on, he hadn’t touched his phone.

The reason? A relentless barrage of calls and messages from Seon Ji-ha that lasted all through the night. Dae-eon had eventually turned off his notifications, put his phone on silent, and spent the rest of the night binge-watching YouTube to preserve his sanity.

In the morning, he’d rushed out so quickly he’d forgotten all about it, so it was only natural he missed Dong-chol’s texts.

“Messages? Why? I turned my notifications off because they were too noisy.”

“I was trying to ask if you wanted us to save you a seat.”

“Ah, right. The 1st-period elective.”

“Yeah. Since you didn’t reply, Ye-jun and I grabbed a spot for you.”

“What? So you came out here to greet me?”

“Don’t flatter yourself. I came out to get some water because I was thirsty.”

Dong-chol pouted a bit longer, but Dae-eon smoothed things over with his typical sly grin and effortless charm.

Beside them, Kim Ye-jun naturally took a paper cup from Dong-chol and gulped down water while still half-conscious. Watching them, one would think they were an old married couple.

“So, did you get Jung Yoon-ki home safe yesterday?”

“Yeah. Turns out he lives right under my nose.”

“Man, the fact that you lived right there and didn’t know is more impressive. If he lives that close, you must have run into him at least a few times.”

“I don’t really look at people when I walk……”

The three of them—Dong-chol, Dae-eon, and Ye-jun—headed back to the lecture hall, chatting about nothing in particular. On the way, several people passing by glanced at Dae-eon. It happened so frequently that even the usually indifferent Dae-eon noticed, though he didn’t give it much thought.

Dong-chol, the early bird, had managed to snag a spot in a corner—graciously far from the professor’s podium. Just as Dae-eon was about to rush into the seat next to them, catching the sequence of Ye-jun, Dong-chol, and himself—

Snag.

Dae-eon felt a tug at his waist and couldn’t move forward. He craned his neck to look back and saw a large hand firmly gripping his clothing. Naturally, his gaze traveled upward.

There stood the massive Seon Ji-ha, his shoulders slumped dejectedly.

“Senior?”

“……Dae-eon…… why aren’t you looking at my messages……?”

“The messages? I turned off the notifications. They were too noisy.”

“……”

Dae-eon had reached a level of boldness where he could now openly tell Seon Ji-ha that his message-bombing was a nuisance. Seon Ji-ha’s mouth drooped even further, but Dae-eon feigned ignorance. This senior needed to feel a bit of rejection for his own good.

Assuming there was nothing more to say, Dae-eon tried to move toward the seat next to Dong-chol, but Seon Ji-ha wouldn’t let go. Dae-eon sensed that if he forced his way forward, his clothes would either rip or stretch beyond repair.

Then, Seon Ji-ha muttered softly:

“I…… saved a seat……”

“A seat? For me?”

At Dae-eon’s question, Seon Ji-ha nodded and gestured toward a specific spot with his eyes. Following his gaze, Dae-eon saw two “horror seats” right in front of the professor’s podium. Seon Ji-ha’s old bag was sitting prominently on one of them.

Dae-eon shouted instantly:

“I’m sitting with Dong-chol!”

“……Why……?”

“Those seats aren’t meant for normal students like me.”

“Then who sits there……?”

Dae-eon gestured with his chin. There, Jung Yoon-ki—who had arrived late—was heading toward the seat next to Seon Ji-ha’s reserved spot and sat down. Dae-eon said firmly:

“Only A+ students are allowed to sit there.”

“……Then I won’t get an A+ either……”

“Pardon?”

Muttering gloomily, Seon Ji-ha started to drift back toward his seat. However, since he still hadn’t let go of Dae-eon’s shirt, Dae-eon was dragged along with him. He was shocked that someone’s grip could be this strong.

Having returned to his original spot, Seon Ji-ha grabbed his precious bag and followed Dae-eon to the “prime real estate” near Dong-chol. He then occupied the seat next to Dae-eon. The problem was, that seat already had an owner who had left a bag there.

“Senior, that seat is taken.”

“……There’s no one here.”

“Someone left their bag there to save it.”

Dae-eon stated the obvious. Seon Ji-ha, who had sat down in an occupied seat without a second thought, stared blankly at the bag in front of him. Then, with a casual flick of his hand, he pushed the bag aside.

The bag fell to the floor with a thud. Dae-eon watched in horror.

“……Now there’s a seat……”

“Senior, no!”

Just as Dae-eon was about to scramble to pick up the bag, the man who appeared to be the original owner returned. Seeing his bag on the floor, his face crumpled into a scowl.

“Excuse me, that’s my seat.”

“……”

“Can’t you hear me? I said that’s my seat!”

“……I’m……”

“What?”

Seon Ji-ha opened his mouth slowly. He turned his head and looked up at the man while still seated. His deeply sunken, dark eyes fixed on the student.

“……I’m the one sitting here now……”

Because Seon Ji-ha’s bangs were so long they nearly touched the tip of his nose, his eyes were half-hidden. Furthermore, his voice dropped to a level that sounded borderline ominous. The original owner of the seat swallowed hard as he looked down at Ji-ha.

‘Those are not the eyes of a sane person.’ The man realized this instinctively.

In the end, the original owner left without even trying to argue. Seon Ji-ha returned to his usual “innocent” face and looked at Dae-eon.

“It’s my seat now……”

“Whoa, Dae-eon, looks like you got a partner. Senior Seon Ji-ha must really want to sit next to you.”

Kim Ye-jun spoke up from across Dong-chol, completely oblivious to the atmosphere. Seon Ji-ha surely heard him, but he simply looked bashful and didn’t deny it. Only Dae-eon scowled.

Regardless, the four of them were now sitting in a row. Since the professor hadn’t arrived yet, the room was quite loud. Suddenly, Oh Dong-chol, sitting right next to Dae-eon, spoke up.

“Hey, Dae-eon. What pheromone perfume are you wearing today?”

“Huh? Me? Why?”

“Well…… it’s a bit strong today.”

At Dong-chol’s words, Dae-eon lifted his wrist and sniffed. It was true he was wearing pheromone perfume.

But it was one of his most subtle ones—the kind someone might mistake for fabric softener.

Yet, Dong-chol, sitting right next to him, subtly nudged his chair closer to Kim Ye-jun’s side, creating distance. He frowned and eventually covered his nose and mouth with his hand.

“Ugh, man. It’s a bit much today.”

“……It’s strong?”

“And why did you use Alpha-type perfume instead of Omega-type?”

……?

Dae-eon looked at Dong-chol with a baffled expression. Then, Kim Ye-jun leaned his head over from the other side and sniffed the air. He burst out laughing.

“Hey, that’s not perfume. No wonder I’ve been feeling like crap since earlier.”

“Eh? It’s not perfume? Then what is it?”

Dong-chol looked at him curiously. Kim Ye-jun waved his hand to clear the dense pheromones lingering in the air.

“Yoon Dae-eon, did you get a pheromone shower?”

‘Pheromone shower?’ Dae-eon blinked at the unfamiliar term. Then, a thought struck him, and his head snapped to the side. Toward Seon Ji-ha.

Theoretically, Dae-eon knew that a “pheromone shower” occurred when someone stayed within a certain distance of an Alpha for an extended period. And if he had to pick the Alpha he’d been closest to for the longest time yesterday, it was undoubtedly Seon Ji-ha.

Seon Ji-ha, who seemed to have been watching them the whole time, was already facing him.

When their eyes met, Seon Ji-ha’s pupils shifted nervously. A tiny excuse escaped his lips.

“……That’s why…… why didn’t you check my messages……”

‘You son of a b***h.’