“……”
Startled, Yeehyeon abruptly pulled the bouquet away as if to hide it. As if Liu had just said that Yeehyeon’s pheromones were coming from the flowers.
Jokes like this involving pheromones were something only lovers could share. After all, releasing one’s pheromones to another was an intimate sexual act, as private as revealing one’s naked body—no, one’s genitals—to each other.
“You used to be unfazed when I talked about pheromones.”
“That’s because… I didn’t know any better back then.”
“Know what?”
“……”
“That even if Seo Yeehyeon says no with his mouth, his pheromones reveal everything honestly?”
Yeehyeon was becoming more and more like an Omega. It was a process similar to learning a new culture in a new country. It was a phase everyone had to go through, as all Alphas and Omegas were Betas before they presented, but the reason for Yeehyeon’s presentation was special. To Liu, his adaptation and growth were both admirable and heart-wrenching.
“The same goes for you, A Wei.”
“Me? Why me? I’m honest with my mouth, too.”
Looking quite wronged, Yeehyeon gave a rare wrinkle of his nose. Liu lunged at his profile and showered his cheek with kisses. He was happy.
Suddenly, Liu felt a sense of déjà vu in this moment with Yeehyeon.
And he soon realized the source of that feeling.
It wasn’t something he had experienced with Yeehyeon.
It was from the time he was stalking Yeehyeon, looking for an apartment in Paris. The day he went to see his current unit, 601, Liu had stood by the window and looked down at the street. A male couple coming out of the supermarket after grocery shopping had caught his eye. He had envied their peaceful Saturday as they walked down the street, holding hands.
The only difference between them then and us now is that we don’t have a baby.
He wanted to tell his past self to wait. That a wonderful day like this would come soon. That Seo Yeehyeon was worth waiting a lifetime for.
But there was no real need to tell him. Because Liu, even back then, had already known that fact very well.
■ ■ ■
The two’s lodging was on the first floor of a cozy, two-story detached house.
There was one bedroom, separated only by a wall without a door, and the large window in the living room-kitchen area overlooked a well-tended courtyard. They had enjoyed breakfast three times at the small table there over the past week. He also liked that the window faced the courtyard, making it quiet despite the building facing the road.
Though they had only stayed for a week, they had grown quite accustomed to the neighborhood’s atmosphere and the house itself. The way they unlocked the door and entered the house was so natural that, at a glance, the two looked more like residents than travelers.
“Should I start cooking right away?”
“Yeah, let’s. Can you organize the groceries first? I’ll put the flowers in a vase.”
“Then can you take out the gnocchi dough too, A Wei?”
“Yep.”
Yeehyeon let out a small laugh at Liu’s playful reply.
While Yeehyeon took the items out of the shopping bag, Liu first took the dough out of the freezer. Then he spread out the chrysanthemum bouquet and filled a vase with water. With a pair of scissors that came with the rental, he trimmed the stems to fit the height of the vase, humming a tune unconsciously.
As he laid out all the items from the shopping bag on the counter, Yeehyeon suddenly spoke in a regretful voice.
“I think we bought way too much, since we’re leaving tomorrow.”
“Let’s see.”
Holding scissors in one hand and flowers in the other, Liu approached Yeehyeon’s side.
Italian persimmons, Swiss figs, and South African clementines. Three or four kinds of vegetables, 500g of sirloin for steak, bacon, basil pesto sauce, Mövenpick ice cream for dessert (Yeehyeon chose mango sorbet, Liu chose chocolate), and on top of that, two bottles of wine.
“Hmm… I don’t think so. I bet nothing will be left after we have breakfast tomorrow.”
“Can we really eat all this?”
“Of course. I’m planning on using a lot of energy tonight.”
“……”
At the insinuation of sex, Yeehyeon immediately clamped his mouth shut. It was a strategy of pretending he hadn’t heard.
When Liu said such things outside, Yeehyeon was more wary than shy, concerned about who might be listening. But it was different when they were alone. In these moments, his shyness and tension were greater. He was conscious that this was a place where a fire could ignite at any moment, leading to a sexual act.
Precisely because he was conscious of it, Yeehyeon’s reaction thrilled Liu even more. He couldn’t help but be deliberately mischievous, wanting to see this reaction. What could he do? It was cute and sexy.
Besides, today was the last night of their 40-day trip. He had no intention of letting it pass, even if the world split in two.
To hide his embarrassment, Yeehyeon began to organize the ingredients with unnecessarily fussy movements. Liu smiled slyly but didn’t push him any further.
By the time he had cleaned up the trimmed stems and wrapping paper and arranged the flowers in the vase, Yeehyeon was looking at his phone in front of the counter.
“Did you get a message?”
“It’s Gabriella. She’s asking what time would be good for her to come for checkout tomorrow.”
“Hmm… our train is at 10:34, so should we say around 8:30?”
“Okay. I’ll tell her that.”
Gabriella was the host of their rental. She lived on the second floor of the building right next door and ran a café downstairs. When they checked in, they had met her, exchanged greetings, and received welcome coffee at her café, where she also gave them information about the city.
Her way of speaking was blunt, but she was a person who showed her affection through actions rather than words. When the two were having a late breakfast in the garden, she would bring them lattes made at her café. She also shared chestnuts she had picked from the nearby mountains. It was Gabriella who had told them that in the fall, chestnuts and acorns were abundant in most of the Swiss mountains.
Among the shared rentals they had stayed in over the 40 days, some were run by professional companies, and some had contactless systems where they never saw the host’s face. But all the hosts they had met in person were good people. They had hit it off with a few of them, inviting each other for meals and exchanging email addresses.
“Yeehyeon, once you’re done messaging, can you wash the vegetables?”
“Yeah, okay.”
After confirming that Yeehyeon was engrossed in his messages, Liu hurried to the bedroom. Careful not to make a loud noise, he took a large beach towel from the closet and spread it over the bedsheet. It was in preparation for the sex that would follow their meal.
Unlike hotels, you couldn’t change the sheets in a rental as often as you wanted. It was possible for an extra fee, but they didn’t provide spare sheets for guests to change themselves. This meant they couldn’t sleep on fresh sheets after sex.
Mindful of this, Liu had prepared three beach towels before the trip. It had significantly increased the bulk of their luggage, but that wasn’t a problem. To Liu, they were as essential as a Beta man needing to pack condoms for a trip with his lover.
During sex, Yeehyeon produced a tremendous amount of slick. Recently, the amount had been increasing even more. He didn’t want Yeehyeon to be unable to focus on sex because he was worried about getting the sheets wet. In addition, he wanted to let him sleep on clean, comfortable sheets after sex.
After spreading the towel, Liu next took a small paper box from the nightstand drawer. It was an oral contraceptive for Alphas, to be taken before intercourse.
Yeehyeon had not yet fully presented as an Omega, so the probability of pregnancy was close to zero. His doctor had also advised that contraception was not yet necessary. Even so, he couldn’t be careless. Yeehyeon wasn’t a typical Beta in the process of presenting as an Omega; he was a Diamond Dust.
The moment he tilted his head back and swallowed the pill without water, Yeehyeon’s voice grew closer.
“Kun, I’ve washed all the vegetables, should I open the wine now… uh…”
Yeehyeon, who had just been about to enter the bedroom, stopped dead in his tracks.
Having witnessed him swallow the pill, Yeehyeon’s gaze moved to the box in Liu’s hand. His face, which had already turned red from that alone, now flushed as if it were on fire. He had seen the towel spread out on the bed.
Startled for a moment himself, Liu put the pillbox back in its place and spoke nonchalantly.
“Ah, it’d be great if you opened the wine. But I’ll do it. We can’t have you hurting your hand.”
Coming around the bed, Liu placed both hands on Yeehyeon’s shoulders from behind. He nudged the flustered man toward the kitchen. Yeehyeon said nothing, his head bowed low, and moved his feet as Liu guided him.
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