Yeehyeon’s approaching footsteps quickened slightly. Liu, who had been leaning, straightened up and wrapped an arm around Yeehyeon’s shoulders to greet him. Yeehyeon’s warmth and scent felt affectionate, as if they had been apart for days.
“How long have you been here?”
“Hmm… Since that man in the blue shirt and the woman in the checkered hat walked by, glancing only at Seo Yeehyeon without even looking at the paintings.”
“Ah, yes….”
Yeehyeon’s reply was indifferent. Still, he wrapped an arm around Liu’s waist. Finding him adorable, Liu used the arm around his shoulders to playfully mess with him, sweeping up the bangs covering his forehead.
“You don’t believe me, do you?”
“I do. I believe that in A-wei’s imagination, I’m veeery popular.”
“I knew it. How can you not believe what your boyfriend says? Huh?”
Liu started teasing him, pretending to nip at Yeehyeon’s cheek or the shell of his ear. Yeehyeon hunched his shoulders, trying to dodge the attack. The way his cheeks puffed out as he held back his laughter was adorable. Teasing each other like children, they made their way down the corridor and descended the stairs.
Downstairs, a middle-aged woman began to climb the stairs toward them. Only then did Liu stop his antics.
“But how did you know I was there? I was just about to call you.”
“I followed the scent of your pheromones.”
“…You’re lying.”
Yeehyeon’s steps halted on the stairs. He then lifted his own arm to his nose and sniffed. Liu, looking up from a couple of steps below, reached out and gently pulled Yeehyeon’s wrist down.
“Of course I’m lying, Yeehyeon.”
And yet, Yeehyeon still looked anxious. Liu went back up the stairs to face Yeehyeon and cupped his cheeks.
“I’m sorry. I was just kidding.”
“It’s not true, right? My pheromones… they’re not leaking, are they?”
“There’s no way your pheromones would come out when I’m not next to you.”
Although he was taking suppressants just in case, Yeehyeon did not yet produce omega pheromones on his own. The only pheromones Yeehyeon currently had were those of a Diamond Dust, which only Liu could detect. They weren’t stimulated by other alphas’ pheromones either.
Either they were stimulated by Liu releasing his pheromones first, or Yeehyeon would feel desire for Liu and unknowingly release his own.
Those were the only two situations in which Yeehyeon would release pheromones.
“Would it be a real disaster if you reacted to some other guy?”
“……”
“Or did you find yourself drawn to someone other than me? Is that it? Who was it?”
At Liu’s exaggerated and clumsy acting, Yeehyeon finally let out a small laugh. Meeting the eyes of the laughing Yeehyeon in his hands, Liu also smiled gently. He planted a peck on his pretty lips, then once again draped his arm over Yeehyeon’s shoulder.
Just then, his eyes met those of the middle-aged woman, who had now climbed to about five or six steps below them. She smiled warmly at the two of them, as if finding them a lovely and cute sight.
Liu gave her a slight nod and smiled back, while Yeehyeon briefly hid his face, red to the tips of his ears, with the back of his hand and gave a short bow.
“You’re going to stop by the gift shop, right?”
At Liu’s question, Yeehyeon, his head bowed low, nodded. Liu pulled Yeehyeon’s shoulder closer and pressed his lips firmly to his temple.
“The lady is already far away. You can lift your head now.”
“……”
He did lift his head, but the look Yeehyeon gave Liu was mixed with resentment. Liu, of course, pretended not to notice.
“I think I bought quite a few different things here when I came before. I hope there’s something you like, Yeehyeon.”
The ‘European Art Museum Tour’ had begun in London. After moving from Paris to London, the two spent a week there before flying to Amsterdam. They traveled through Berlin and Munich to Prague, then to Vienna, Austria, and now, Basel, Switzerland, was their final destination.
Whenever they found a gift shop in the museums and galleries of each city, Yeehyeon would carefully browse the merchandise. Sometimes, if nothing particularly caught his eye, he would leave empty-handed. But he always made sure to buy at least one postcard.
And he would write a short message on the back and mail it from a local post office.
It was a postcard to his father on the east coast of Korea.
At the Kunstmuseum Basel, Yeehyeon chose a postcard with a Chagall painting printed on it. It was <The Cattle Dealer>. The one a child resembling Yeehyeon had been sitting in front of… Peeking at the postcard from behind Yeehyeon, Liu smiled silently at the small coincidence.
“You said your father likes Chagall, right?”
“That’s right.”
As he answered, Yeehyeon’s face looked somewhat lonely. Liu didn’t try to offer comfort with words. He simply stroked Yeehyeon’s arm gently and placed an affectionate kiss on the nape of his exposed neck.
Back when Yeehyeon was sixteen. His family had planned a ‘European Art Museum Tour.’
But after his mother passed away in an unexpected accident, their plan, which had been like a balloon filled with swelling hope, burst and fell wretchedly into the mud.
Moreover, although it was his mother who had died in the accident, for Yeehyeon, it was as if he had lost both his mother and his father from that point on, albeit in different ways.
The places the three of them had planned to go together. No matter where he went, he would be reminded of his mother and father, of their family’s happiness and sorrow.
That was why, when Yeehyeon had told him he wanted to go on this trip together, Liu had been speechless for a while. The meaning behind it was too immense for words.
That he would carry out the trip he had planned with his family during a happy time. First, he was moved by the fact that Yeehyeon had grown and overcome his past enough to make such a decision.
And the fact that he had been chosen as the companion for that journey had stirred a complex mix of emotions.
It was an overwhelming feeling, as if he had been accepted as a new member of Yeehyeon’s family.
Yeehyeon was deliberate every time he chose a postcard. He was also deliberate when he wrote his messages on them—sometimes in a museum cafeteria, on a street bench, or at a post office. Though the messages were only a line or two and sometimes written quickly, there were times he agonized over them for a long while.
Occasionally, after mailing a postcard, Yeehyeon would be quiet for a long time. But even then, he never treated Liu as if he weren’t there. On the contrary, he would lean on Liu’s shoulder, hold his hand, and sometimes even lift Liu’s arm himself to snuggle under it.
Holding and kissing Yeehyeon, who was being uncharacteristically clingy, Liu was grateful that he could be by his side in moments like these.
Having bought just the one postcard, the two decided to cross the courtyard toward the gallery’s main entrance. The central courtyard was filled with the warm sunlight and pleasant breeze of an autumn day. It was truly perfect weather for traveling.
“What should we do for dinner tonight? We have some frozen gnocchi dough left.”
“Hmm…”
“We had it with cream sauce the day before yesterday, so should we try a tomato sauce today?”
“Aw, but it’s the last day of our grand journey.”
“Does Kun have something he wants to do?”
“I was thinking we could get all dressed up and go to a restaurant with a nice atmosphere.”
“I like that too.”
In the center of the courtyard stood Rodin’s <The Burghers of Calais>. A couple struggling to take a selfie in front of it came into their view. It seemed they wanted to get the sculpture in the background, but a selfie had its limits.
As they got closer, Liu spoke to them first, naturally.
“Would you like me to take a picture for you?”
“Oh, would you? Thank you. We were trying to take it ourselves, but we can’t even get half of the sculpture in.”
The woman handed her phone to Liu with a relieved expression.
Judging by their attire, meant for lots of walking, and their excited mood, the two were clearly tourists. A trip to Basel when it wasn’t even Art Basel season. They were probably quite fond of art.
“Wow, these came out so well. I love them!”
After checking the four or five photos Liu had taken, the woman couldn’t take her eyes off the screen.
“The composition is great, isn’t it? I never would have thought to take it like this. My wife always nags me about how bad I am at taking pictures. Nice to meet you, I’m Felix.”
A strong German accent was noticeable in the English of the man who introduced himself as Felix. Liu shook his hand and introduced Yeehyeon as well.
“I’m glad you like them. I’m Liu. And this is my boyfriend.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Yeehyeon.”
“Ih…”
After shaking Felix’s hand, Yeehyeon turned to introduce himself to his wife and shake her hand, only to be met with her confused expression.
“Is my name a bit difficult to pronounce?”
“No, it’s not that…. Are you… by any chance… the artist Seo Yeehyeon….”
“Yes, that’s him.”
Liu answered for him, squeezing Yeehyeon’s shoulder.
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