Five Alphas, One Guard Dog, and a Grain of Rice

Seo Eunsu swallowed the small sip of makgeolli. It was barely enough to taste, but that didn’t matter.

What mattered was the sight of Seong Chanyeong blushing red all the way down his neck because of him.

“W-What are you doing…?”

“I just took the rice off for you.”

“Oh, no. Why would you eat that? It’s dirty…”

It wasn’t dirty at all.

Rather, Seo Eunsu liked it.

The grain of rice itself had no taste, but the reaction it drew out of Seong Chanyeong was sweet enough to satisfy him.

“Chanyeong… do you think I’m dirty?”

“No! You know that’s not what I meant!”

“Then you just didn’t like it? I only thought it would be wasteful to throw away rice that someone worked so hard to grow, especially after all the farming we did today…”

“Ugh…”

No way.

Of course it was nonsense.

Seo Eunsu, who had long since evolved from a harmless white sheep into a sly wolf, lowered his eyes pitifully and pretended to look hurt while saying things that made absolutely no sense.

Thankfully, the pain screaming through his overworked body made squeezing tears into his eyes easy.

Baek Dojun, you bastard.

The ridiculous rivalry with Baek Dojun earlier had left his back, arms, and calves aching.

He’d worked so hard trying to impress Chanyeong…

Only for the man himself to care more about farming than people.

Seo Eunsu had been staring at Chanyeong’s face while thinking that when he noticed the grain of rice stuck near his lips.

So he removed it immediately and ate it.

The gazes of the four Alphas behind him felt sharp enough to pierce through his body, but he didn’t care.

“What a sly fox bastard…”

Someone muttered it under their breath while Chanyeong floundered in embarrassment.

Seo Eunsu only felt better hearing it.

It was worth it just to see Chanyeong so visibly shaken because of him.

All day long, he’d only been treated like some hardworking farmhand.

But Seo Eunsu wanted more than that.

He wanted to become the husband who received rice from his wife’s hand.

Watching those peach-colored cheeks flush deeper and deeper while Chanyeong’s light caramel eyes darted around helplessly was enough to fill him up even without food.

“I don’t hate it, but… next time just tell me if something’s on my face. I can wipe it off myself. I’m not a child…”

“Yes, sir.”

It was amusing watching Chanyeong fidget shyly with his slender fingers.

At this moment, Chanyeong’s attention was entirely fixed on Seo Eunsu.

That alone made him satisfied.

“Grrrrrr…”

“Huh? General? What’s wrong? Why are you barking at Seo Eunsu?”

“Bark! Bark bark!”

General lowered himself protectively beside Chanyeong and barked furiously at Seo Eunsu.

As Seo Eunsu watched the puppy bark, he noticed the other Alphas quietly clapping in approval where Chanyeong couldn’t see them.

Ah.

So now the dog recognized him as an enemy.

Honestly, Seo Eunsu had expected this eventually.

General was absurdly sensitive whenever it came to Seong Chanyeong.

Until now, the dog had probably viewed Seo Eunsu as some kind of loyal knight or trustworthy guard protecting his owner.

But Seo Eunsu’s feelings toward Chanyeong had long since darkened into something much greedier.

Naturally, General eventually noticed.

Honestly…

Seo Eunsu preferred it this way.

Being recognized as a threat meant his fox act was working properly.

From his perspective, the puppy was probably the biggest obstacle preventing Chanyeong from noticing the feelings of the five Alphas staying in his house.

“Bark! Bark!”

General barked insistently, trying to stop his owner from making mistakes.

Unfortunately, Chanyeong misunderstood completely.

“What’s wrong with you? Seo Eunsu, I’m sorry. I’ll hold onto him so he won’t bite you. Eat comfortably.”

“But then you won’t be able to eat, Chanyeong.”

“It’s okay. I can eat after General calms down a little. You eat first.”

Chanyeong had only made one wrap for himself before stopping.

Seo Eunsu glanced down at the fluffy white dog growling in warning.

…The others were probably the same.

None of the Alphas here were shameless enough to ask Chanyeong to feed them personally.

Even they were intimidated by the fearless little guard dog.

“Whine…”

Seriously.

How could this dog be so perceptive?

General was so clever and loyal that Seo Eunsu almost suspected he was some mythical spirit beast from a folktale.

The moment Chanyeong said he wouldn’t be able to eat because of him, General’s ears folded down guiltily and his fierceness faded immediately.

“Whine… whine…”

The puppy even nudged the lunchbox toward Chanyeong with his nose, as if telling him to hurry up and eat.

The sight was oddly touching.

An owner and dog united by their shared love of food.

“Aww. My General is such a good boy.”

“Whine.”

“Yes, yes. Stay still while we eat, okay? I’ll take you for a walk later. We can play tug-of-war when we get home.”

“Woof woof.”

Eventually, General lowered his tail and quietly ate his own meal.

Only then did Chanyeong finally relax enough to make another wrap, stuffing bulgogi and kimchi into fresh vegetables.

“That’s a relief. Now I can finally eat comfortably.”

“I know. Chanyeong, you worked hard too. Please eat properly now.”

“What did I even do…? If anyone deserves credit, it’s the people who planted rice by hand.”

When Seo Eunsu saw Chanyeong scratching his cheek shyly, conflicting emotions twisted inside him.

It was frustrating and painful how genuinely interested Chanyeong was in farming.

“Hurry up and eat! Why are you all frozen like stone Buddhas when the ajummas made such delicious food?”

Because of you.

None of the five Alphas could actually say that aloud, so they silently swallowed their frustration instead.

“Alright. Thank you for the meal.”

Only after Chanyeong started eating did the five Alphas finally pick up their chopsticks too.

At first, they ate quietly and elegantly.

But their movements gradually sped up once hunger won over dignity.

Chanyeong looked pleased seeing them eat well and kept holding out vegetables, insisting they make wraps.

“Eat a lot! You’ll recover your energy.”

“Cough—!”

Chae Yoonchan stuffed too much food into his mouth and immediately started choking.

Beside him, Joo Taegang silently handed over bottled water and a paper cup.

Meanwhile, Chanyeong kept eating carefully, obviously conscious of what Seo Eunsu had done earlier.

Every time he thought food touched his face, he immediately turned on his phone camera in selfie mode to check.

The other Alpha men watched with visible disappointment.

Even Baek Dojun eventually attempted something reckless.

He picked up a rolled omelet and tried feeding Chanyeong directly.

Unfortunately for him, it completely backfired.

“Why would I take food from you…? I’m not a patient.”

Instead of gaining points, Baek Dojun somehow lost even more.

Chanyeong looked genuinely horrified, clearly assuming Dojun was trying to feed him like someone bedridden.

“That’s not what I meant…”

“What do you mean it’s not? That’s exactly what you were doing.”

Dojun hurriedly tried to explain himself, but the train had already left the station.

Even so…

Seo Eunsu noticed something interesting.

After rejecting the rolled omelet, Chanyeong quietly focused on eating japchae instead, but the tips of his ears had turned faintly red.

I don’t want to pay attention to Baek Dojun…

But how long can I keep pretending not to?

For some reason, Seong Chanyeong kept trying not to notice the five Alphas in a way that felt almost forced.

Even from the side, Seo Eunsu could tell he deliberately avoided acknowledging them whenever possible.

It was strange.

At this point, farming itself felt like his greatest rival.

Seo Eunsu quietly clenched his fist while eating.

The other Alphas probably felt the same way.

If they wanted to break through Chanyeong’s bizarrely selfless indifference, they might have to temporarily join forces despite hating each other.

“Growl…”

General, apparently equipped with some kind of emotional radar system, sensed the atmosphere turning strange again and wandered over to smack each of the five Alphas with his paws one by one.

His food bowl was already empty, while Chanyeong still hadn’t finished eating, so Chanyeong remained completely unaware.

None of them could afford to look away anymore.

Baek Dojun.

Chae Yoonchan.

Joo Taegang.

Yoo Yi-seo.

Seo Eunsu.

None of the five Alphas had any intention of backing down.

If they kept colliding head-on like this and continued charging toward Seong Chanyeong relentlessly, then eventually…

Eventually, Chanyeong would have no choice but to notice.

After all, the reason they’d stayed in the first place was simple.

Every single one of them had already fallen for the changed Seong Chanyeong.

“Once everyone’s done eating, let’s get back to work! My goal is to finish everything today!”

“…Okay.”

There was still a long way to go.

But Seo Eunsu could already see tiny cracks beginning to form in Chanyeong’s iron wall.

So he quietly put his sheep mask back on and smiled gently again.

I hope Chanyeong thinks about me just a little more.