The Predator’s Scent

“Oh Dong-cheol and Kim Ye-jun are at the 8th-floor food court. Let’s head up.”

“Sure. Dae-eon, isn’t that heavy? Should I carry some of that for you?”

“Huh? It’s okay. You’re thinner than I am, how can I let you carry this?”

Yoon Dae-eon waved his hand with shopping bags hooked onto his wrist. Because he was one escalator step below Jeong Yun-gi, he looked a bit smaller than usual.

Jeong Yun-gi, a Dominant Omega, laughed at Yoon Dae-eon’s concern. Although he was an Omega, having been born as a Dominant, he had a fairly solid build. It was just that his hormones made his features look slightly more delicate. He was certain he probably weighed more than Yoon Dae-eon because of his muscle mass.

Just then, the phone sleeping in Yoon Dae-eon’s pocket began to ring. Yoon Dae-eon told Jeong Yun-gi to wait a moment and answered the call.

-Where are you?

“Sunbae?”

Hearing Seon Ji-ha’s voice over the phone, Yoon Dae-eon realized he had forgotten to keep him updated. Out of consideration for him being in a lecture, he hadn’t even read a single text after telling him he was going to the department store with friends. He hadn’t had time.

Yoon Dae-eon adjusted his grip on the phone and continued.

“I’m at the… Han-baek… next to the movie theater…….”

-Not that. What floor are you on?

“Huh? Oh, I’m on the escalator right now…… going up to the 4th floor.”

Yoon Dae-eon, who was riding the upward escalator, read the number displayed above his head without thinking. Jeong Yun-gi remained standing there, watching him quietly.

Before long, the escalator moved steadily and arrived at the 4th floor. The moment he was about to step onto the escalator heading to the 5th, a low voice came through the phone.

-……Don’t go up to the 5th.

“Yes?”

-Wait right there.

With that, the call was abruptly disconnected. Unable to suggest meeting on the 8th floor to a phone that had already hung up, Yoon Dae-eon stopped in front of the 4th-floor escalator. Jeong Yun-gi asked casually.

“Why? Is something wrong?”

“Ah…… Sunbae told me to wait here for a second.”

“He should have just told you to come to the 8th floor. We could just eat together.”

“That’s true. I was so distracted, I didn’t get to say it.”

Yoon Dae-eon scratched his head and looked at him, feeling troubled. Since he couldn’t wait forever in front of an escalator where many people passed by, he was about to tell Jeong Yun-gi to go on ahead when—

Jeong Yun-gi’s eyes, which had been watching Yoon Dae-eon, widened for a moment. But to be precise, he didn’t seem to be looking at Yoon Dae-eon, but rather, over his shoulder.

Thud!

His wrist was seized. Before he could react, he was pulled backward as if he were about to fall. Just as his body tilted, thinking he was falling, he felt a solid embrace behind his back.

A familiar, ragged breath reached his ears in a low whisper.

“……Sunbae?”

“…….”

“Sunbae, why……. Why is your breathing so heavy?”

Because he was being hugged from behind, Yoon Dae-eon couldn’t see Seon Ji-ha’s face. Jeong Yun-gi was the only one who could see his expression now.

Jeong Yun-gi was looking at them with a startled expression. A faint trace of fear was mixed into his gaze.

……Afraid? Of what? Just as the question began to fill Yoon Dae-eon’s mind, he spoke.

“……Who did you meet……?”

It was clearly Seon Ji-ha’s voice. Yet, it sounded strange. Seon Ji-ha’s tone, speaking as if he wanted to crush the person in front of him, as if suppressing his anger, was definitely different from his usual self. Realizing this, Yoon Dae-eon swallowed and answered.

“I came to buy clothes with Oh Dong-cheol and Kim Ye-jun…… and I was just looking at some clothes with Yun-gi for a moment.”

“I see…….”

Was it his imagination, or did the relief in Seon Ji-ha’s voice—contrary to the words ‘I see’—actually sound like anxiety? Held in his arms until then, Yoon Dae-eon twisted his body weakly and said.

“Sunbae, but I’m in pain. Could you let go of my arm for a second…….”

“Ah…… I’m sorry…….”

Seon Ji-ha removed the arm that had been pressing tightly against Yoon Dae-eon’s stomach and chest. Instead, he slowly reached down and took hold of his empty hand. The shopping bags that had been on Yoon Dae-eon’s wrist had long been taken into his own empty hand.

The atmosphere, which had been sharply whetted to a bizarre degree, subsided. Only then did Yoon Dae-eon let out a comfortable breath and ask.

“Sunbae, do you want to eat with the guys on the 8th floor before we go? They said they were waiting.”

Seon Ji-ha nodded without answering. Yoon Dae-eon said, “Yun-gi, let’s go,” and stepped back onto the escalator. He didn’t seem to notice how tightly Seon Ji-ha was gripping his hand.

Because they boarded in the order of Yoon Dae-eon, Seon Ji-ha, and then Jeong Yun-gi, Jeong Yun-gi could see them both if he looked up. He watched them in silence.

“Sunbae, do you like shabu-shabu? We decided to eat that.”

The incredibly affectionate Yoon Dae-eon was busy worrying that Seon Ji-ha, who didn’t particularly like people, would feel awkward with his classmates. Furthermore, perhaps feeling sorry that Seon Ji-ha was holding all his bags, he kept glancing at Seon Ji-ha’s free hand.

On the other hand, Seon Ji-ha was:

“……Yes, I like it…….”

With his head halfway bowed, his eyes were darting back and forth busily. He was surveying the open department store interior with extreme vigilance, to the point where it made Jeong Yun-gi, who was watching him, feel uneasy. It was a gaze that was searching for ‘something.’

Yoon Dae-eon, being one step above Seon Ji-ha, would have no way of knowing what kind of look he had under his hair, or how busily he was hunting for his prey. He didn’t know if Seon Ji-ha was acting like that intentionally, but Jeong Yun-gi could see it all.

On the escalators where the ascending and descending lines faced each other, Seon Ji-ha looked as though he might glare at everyone passing by with those dead, pitch-black eyes. Jeong Yun-gi let out a long sigh. Unable to watch any longer, he opened his mouth.

“Sunbae.”

“…….”

“Our lecture ended at 3 PM, and I happened to run into Dae-eon and the others, so we decided to go buy clothes together and entered the department store around 3:20 PM. Then at 3:30 PM, we went to the Nice store on the 2nd floor and…….”

Jeong Yun-gi was busy recalling the timeline, which he barely remembered himself, one by one. Yoon Dae-eon watched him with a curious expression.

Jeong Yun-gi didn’t want to go to these lengths, but he, too, was a ‘Dominant’ trait holder who couldn’t help it. Jeong Yun-gi understood very well why Seon Ji-ha was acting like this.

Dominants who had performed a one-sided imprint usually reacted like this. As a Dominant, Jeong Yun-gi often encountered other Dominants around him, and very occasionally—very occasionally—those who had performed a one-sided imprint became extremely anxious if they didn’t know what their partner was doing.

Seeing him barge into the department store like this, Seon Ji-ha’s case seemed even more severe.

While Jeong Yun-gi rattled off the timeline like a sigh, in his head, he was thinking, ‘He probably needs surgery for this soon…….’ Or, if not that, he should ask Yoon Dae-eon to perform an imprint so he wouldn’t be anxious.

As Jeong Yun-gi recounted everything he had done with Yoon Dae-eon, Seon Ji-ha’s crazed eyes returned to normal for a moment. Just as he was relieved, thinking it was over:

“……And what about the 20 minutes from 4 PM?”

“Yes? Oh, at that time……. What was it that we did…… again.”

Caught off guard by the sudden question, Jeong Yun-gi couldn’t answer for a moment. Then, a voice came from above.

“I went down to the basement level with Dong-cheol for a bit. We were going to a cafe.”

Yoon Dae-eon said brightly. That’s right. Only then did Jeong Yun-gi remember the final piece of the timeline that had been missing.

While he was blabbing on about what he had done with Yoon Dae-eon today without much thought, there had been a gap in time, and Seon Ji-ha, who had been listening intently, had pinpointed that exact moment. Thinking it was over, Jeong Yun-gi glanced at Seon Ji-ha.

However, Seon Ji-ha was no longer looking at Jeong Yun-gi. He was gazing upward at Yoon Dae-eon. Even though Yoon Dae-eon was on the escalator above, the difference in their eye levels wasn’t that significant.

“Sunbae, did you come right after your lecture?”

“……Yes. Dae-eon, then the people you met today…….”

“Ah, Oh Dong-cheol and Kim Ye-jun are waiting on the 8th floor. And Yun-gi too. That’s the four of us, end of story.”

“……Yes, thank you.”

“What are you thanking me for?”

Jeong Yun-gi, who was listening, also knew that there was no falsehood in Yoon Dae-eon’s words. It seemed Seon Ji-ha finally decided to believe Jeong Yun-gi’s explanation and Yoon Dae-eon’s words.

Watching this, Jeong Yun-gi decided that he would never, ever perform a one-sided imprint, even if he died. And he saw Seon Ji-ha, who liked such a one-sided imprint with its severe side effects, calling it ‘his own thing that he didn’t have to worry about losing,’ as even more of a madman.

Jeong Yun-gi thought he was fortunate that the faint curiosity and fondness he had felt for Yoon Dae-eon didn’t run deep.

If it had, he would surely have been torn to pieces and killed by that predator one day.

He wouldn’t look past the hidden desires mixed into Yoon Dae-eon’s circle of ‘fake friends,’ unlike Jeong Yun-gi. That strange conviction came from the Sunbae who had only ever seemed quiet, with his shaggy hair and unfashionable clothes.

As they arrived on the 8th floor, they saw the two people waiting right in front of them. Oh Dong-cheol and Kim Ye-jun were briefly surprised to see Seon Ji-ha following them up.

“Sunbae is here too?”

“Yeah, I ran into him downstairs. Is that okay?”

“Why wouldn’t it be okay? But there’s a wait, so we have to wait a bit.”

In front of the restaurant, there were sofas arranged in a row for waiting. Because five was an awkward number, Yoon Dae-eon and Seon Ji-ha decided to wait on a slightly more secluded sofa.

Left alone, Yoon Dae-eon suddenly looked at Seon Ji-ha, who was sitting next to him with their hands laced tightly. He started a conversation he hadn’t been able to have while coming up the escalator because Jeong Yun-gi was there.

“Sunbae.”

“……Yes.”

“Is something the matter?”

Seon Ji-ha rolled his eyes and scanned Yoon Dae-eon’s face. He seemed to be feeling him out. Wondering if Yoon Dae-eon had noticed something.

“Why do you ask……?”

“Hmm, you seem very anxious. You haven’t been able to take your eyes off me since a while ago.”

Yoon Dae-eon grinned. At the suggestion that they should go home now if he wasn’t feeling well, Seon Ji-ha wanted to nod immediately.

Yoon Dae-eon didn’t feel offended even after seeing Seon Ji-ha’s anxious appearance; he only sent him a look filled with worry. At that moment, intoxicated by such tenderness, Seon Ji-ha felt like he didn’t want to do anything else. However, he couldn’t bring himself to say what he was thinking in response to the question that followed.

“It’s just that you seem different from usual.”

Different from usual.

At those words, Seon Ji-ha suddenly looked down at his own hands. His thick fingertips were trembling faintly. Then, he realized the truth.

The fact that his rut was approaching.