The Culprit is You

“I told you to stop grabbing my shoulders!”

“Are you trying to show off your abs or something? Why grab my waist?”

The motorcycle screeched to a halt in front of a meat restaurant, and the two men dismounted. Yoon Ju-myeong, pulling off his helmet with a rough tug, grumbled at Dae-eon.

Dae-eon, already stowing his own helmet in the top box, shrugged it off. His long-time friend Ju-myeong always insisted on the waist grip over the shoulders, claiming it was safer, while Dae-eon argued the shoulders were more comfortable.

“Your waist is surprisingly thin, though.”

“What the hell did you just say?”

“Did you lose weight? Lately, you look… a bit suggestive.”

Dae-eon narrowed his eyes. This was a teasing dynamic they’d had since high school. Usually, Ju-myeong would end up blowing a fuse.

Like right now.

“You’re the one who looks suggestive, you bastard!”

“No way. I think you’re way too thin. You look scrawnier than Yun-gi……”

“Yun-gi? Who the hell is Yun-gi?”

“We grabbed drinks together last time. Jeong Yun-gi.”

Ju-myeong, who held the title for being the least interested in other people, had already forgotten the name of someone he’d drank with just weeks ago. It was classic Ju-myeong—the guy hadn’t even known the names of most of his high school classmates, excluding Dae-eon.

Ju-myeong followed Dae-eon into the restaurant, trailing behind him like a persistent shadow. Suddenly, a thought seemed to strike him.

“Isn’t that guy a Dominant Omega?”

“Yeah, he is.”

“f*cking hell.”

“Why are you mad? What’s wrong with being a Dominant Omega?”

“Do I look like an Omega to you? Huh? Does this face look like an Omega’s!”

As Ju-myeong shoved his face forward to prove a point, Dae-eon pushed him away with a look of pure annoyance.

Though Ju-myeong stood nearly 190cm tall, he had been a picky eater since childhood and never put on weight. His height kept him from looking sickly, but to Dae-eon’s eyes, his friend was always just a “walking skeleton.”

Of course, this was a subjective view held by someone raised by parents who took eating very seriously. Objectively, Ju-myeong was just a sharp-featured, handsome Alpha.

“You skipped lunch again, didn’t you?”

“……How’d you know? I’ve been eating fried chicken all week and I’m sick of it.”

“I figured. I told you, you should start packing a lunch.”

“Do I look like you? Are you the same kid who brought a full meal every morning in school?”

“I stopped doing that after freshman year.”

Before his parents passed away, Dae-eon never missed breakfast. In high school, since he had to leave so early, his mother would pack him a lunch box—which is what Ju-myeong was referencing now.

“And you weren’t even that close to me back then, how do you know?”

“You don’t have to be close to smell the sesame oil wafting through the classroom every morning, dammit.”

Dae-eon claimed he ate quietly so no one would notice, but Ju-myeong just scoffed. He knew that back then, Dae-eon would bring food and share it with half the class.

That was why, when Dae-eon missed school for his parents’ funeral, everyone in the class felt his absence. Even before the teacher made an announcement, the students already knew Dae-eon was in mourning.

Ju-myeong was no different. Exhausted from a late-night part-time job, he’d gone to school intending to sleep through the day. But when the familiar scent of sesame oil was missing, he found himself searching for the guy.

Ju-myeong had skipped school during lunch that day and headed straight to the funeral hall. There, he saw Dae-eon sitting alone, hugging his knees.

It was a stark contrast to the Dae-eon who was always surrounded by friends. The funeral hall was surprisingly empty, and Dae-eon looked utterly pitiful.

Ju-myeong’s refusal to leave him alone during that time was exactly how they became best friends.

“You probably don’t remember, but I gave you cup ramen plenty of times when you slept through lunch. Have you forgotten my grace?”

“You make it sound like I asked for it! You force-fed me, you bastard!”

Ju-myeong shook with mock-outrage. He hadn’t “missed” lunch; he just hadn’t eaten.

Dae-eon was the one who had shoved ramen at him, claiming he was so thin he might actually die if he skipped a meal.

“Force-fed? You finished those noodles in three minutes once you had the chopsticks. Hey, shall we sit there?”

“Wherever. I hadn’t eaten since the day before, of course I finished it.”

“You’re so weird. Why skip lunch just because you couldn’t pay the meal fee? There’s always leftover food. The nutritionist didn’t even check the roster back then.”

As a runaway youth at the time, Ju-myeong had no money. Ironically, he was a runaway who still attended school regularly. His parents simply didn’t bother looking for him.

Since Ju-myeong was a “diligent” runaway who often couldn’t pay for lunch, Dae-eon—the vice president of the class—had made it his mission to nag him until he ate.

“Five servings of pork belly, please!”

“Are you trying to kill us? Three is enough.”

“You need to eat. You were going to skip dinner if I wasn’t here anyway.”

Ju-myeong didn’t argue, simply turning his head away. Dae-eon clicked his tongue, knowing that was Ju-myeong’s way of saying “yes.”

“Make a decent amount of money and eat some food. We work to live, after all.”

“Shit, I’m not hungry, what do you want me to do? I just forget to eat.”

“Then start dating. They say you gain weight when you’re in a relationship.”

The five servings of pork belly soon arrived on a white plate.

Dae-eon chatted away while skillfully grilling the meat. Ju-myeong followed the rhythm, pouring water and setting out the utensils. When it came to food, their teamwork was flawless.

“Dating, my ass…… You need money for that too.”

“Oh? So you’d do it if you had the money?”

Clack!

Ju-myeong set the spoon down in front of Dae-eon with a bit too much force. He stared intently at Dae-eon’s face, looking like he was holding something back.

“……You……. Forget it, dammit. Why am I even talking to you.”

“Why? I’m dating someone.”

“What?!”

Thud!

This time, it wasn’t the spoon—the metal table itself shook. Ju-myeong slammed his hands down, looking like his world had been turned upside down. Dae-eon, half-expecting this reaction, calmly flipped the meat with the tongs.

“I’m in a relationship.”

“Who the f*ck!”

“Watch the language.”

“I’m asking who! Is it… is it Jeong Yun-gi?”

Despite forgetting the name minutes ago, Ju-myeong managed to recall it now. Dae-eon replied dryly.

“Yun-gi is an Omega.”

“Ah, right, shit. You’re an Omega too. I forgot because you don’t have a scent. Then who…… is it that Alpha from the bar?”

“That Alpha?”

“You know. The one who spoke so rudely.”

“Ah, Kim Ye-jun?”

As expected of someone who didn’t hide his sharp tongue even with strangers, Ye-jun had left quite an impression on Ju-myeong.

“He’s actually a decent guy. He’s honest and lacks pretense. Why?”

“Bullshit. What do you mean ‘decent’…… are you really dating that guy?”

“No, it’s not Kim Ye-jun. He’s dating Oh Dong-cheol.”

“Then…… ah, shit.”

A heavy string of curses flowed from Ju-myeong’s mouth. He had finally remembered the one person from that night they hadn’t mentioned. Dae-eon smirked.

“Bingo.”

“The Dominant Alpha? That guy who didn’t even seem like a Dominant?”

“What’s wrong with Sunbae? And what do you mean he didn’t seem like a Dominant?”

“If it wasn’t for his pheromones, I wouldn’t even have known he was one.”

Ju-myeong cocked an eyebrow. It was clear he didn’t like Seon Ji-ha. Dae-eon cut the cooked pork with scissors and spoke casually.

“Sunbae is a good person.”

“Did all the ‘good’ people die while I wasn’t looking?”

“Watch it, Ju-myeong. Don’t badmouth my boyfriend.”

“……Shit.”

Ju-myeong swallowed the rest of his curses. To be honest, out of everyone at that table, the “Sunbae” was the one he had hoped Dae-eon wouldn’t end up with. The way that guy looked at Dae-eon wasn’t normal.

However, Ju-myeong knew it was bad form to insult a friend’s new partner. He decided to probe instead.

“How did you two even start dating?”

“I liked him, so I asked him out first.”

“……You? Yoon Dae-eon, you did that?”

“Yeah, I did.”

“You, you……! You said you’d never date!”

Ju-myeong looked at Dae-eon with betrayal in his eyes. Dae-eon shrugged and corrected him.

“When did I say that? I said I had no intention of dating unless it was a Beta.”

“That’s the same thing! Then what about your imprint……”

In his shock, Ju-myeong let something slip that he shouldn’t have. He cut himself off quickly, and an awkward silence settled over the table.

While Ju-myeong scrambled to find a way to fix the situation, the word “imprint” was enough for Dae-eon to piece everything together. Dae-eon was the first to break the silence.

“The culprit was you?”

“……What?”

“The one who told Sunbae about the ‘imprint certificate’.”

Dae-eon stared directly at Ju-myeong. He spoke as if delivering a verdict.

“It was you all along.”