“No, it’s not….”
“Yes, it is.”
Reaching out his arm, Liu clinked his glass against Yeehyeon’s and smiled with his eyes from across the candlelight.
“Especially in bed, love just overflows.”
Normally, Yeehyeon’s ears would have turned red and he would have pretended not to hear or chided him. But perhaps because of the romantic atmosphere, or perhaps because of Liu’s face, which looked exceptionally handsome in the candlelight, this time he didn’t avoid his gaze, though his face flushed slightly. He even smiled a little, and at that smile, which showed a newfound ease with a sexual joke, Liu felt a new kind of thrill from Yeehyeon, different from any he had felt before.
They drank their wine at almost the same time and set down their glasses at almost the same time.
“Kun.”
“Hm?”
“This trip… thank you so much.”
“What is there to thank me for? We split the costs, and we shared the preparations. I didn’t do anything special.”
“On my own, I wouldn’t have even dared to go on this trip.”
“……”
Because the promise he could never keep would have been too heavy.
Across from him, Liu’s gaze deepened and his expression grew serious.
He thought Liu would make a sly joke to lighten the mood, or perhaps whisper sweet words that would tickle his ears. But he didn’t. He simply reached a hand across the table and took hold of Yeehyeon’s, which had been fiddling with his wine glass. As if to say, I’ll listen to whatever you have to say.
Yeehyeon responded in kind, clasping his hand back.
“Sending postcards to my father was painful at first, too. Even though the promise for the three of us to go couldn’t be kept, I could have at least fulfilled it with just my father, but the thought that he had turned his back on me kept creeping up….”
Yeehyeon’s grip on Liu’s hand tightened.
“But around the middle of the trip, I felt like I was healing a little with every postcard I sent.”
“……”
“And today… that’s what I wrote on the postcard.”
Focusing on Yeehyeon’s voice, Liu even swallowed dryly.
“That I was glad I went on this trip. That I had a happy trip with A-wei.”
Their gazes, fixed only on each other, trembled with passion. But they soon grew tranquil.
“Thank you so much for making it possible for me to say that. These 40 days meant more to me than just a trip.”
Liu’s lips parted as if to say something. But he couldn’t say a word and let out a soft sigh.
No, what he wanted to say was clear.
The desire to propose surged up, clear as day, once again.
He wanted to embrace Yeehyeon’s present and future, and even his past. He wanted so badly to earn the right to be his partner.
But this time, too, Liu held back. He brought his left hand to his right, which was holding Yeehyeon’s, and completely enveloped it, letting the gesture stand in for his feelings. Even if it was a gesture far too small to convey his heart in its entirety.
Smiling softly, Yeehyeon speared the last piece of persimmon in the salad with his fork and offered it to Liu.
“You have it, Kun. I’ve had plenty.”
Liu didn’t let go of Yeehyeon’s hand, even as he opened his mouth to accept the fruit.
“Is it good?”
He nodded in response, but for some reason, Liu couldn’t quite taste it.
There was only one thought in his mind: he wanted to make this person before him his partner.
The long candle had grown short. The light of the autumn moon, though half-hidden by the maple tree in the courtyard, was clear and bright.
■ ■ ■
By the time they finished washing the dishes side by side, it was completely dark outside. On the dining table they had left lit, one candle had gone out, and only one remained, crackling as it burned. It seemed they burned for about three hours.
Liu walked to the table and blew a puff of air at the remaining flame. He moved the candlestick, a wisp of smoke rising from it, to the counter and approached Yeehyeon, who was finishing up the last of the dishes. With a hand that was still slightly damp, he swept back Yeehyeon’s hair.
“Want to take your medicine before your shower?”
As if enjoying the cool touch of the hand that brushed through his hair and rubbed the shell of his ear, Yeehyeon’s eyelids drooped languidly as he nodded. At times like this, Liu could see that Yeehyeon trusted him completely.
He knew that Yeehyeon was not the type to depend or lean on others. He rarely confided his feelings, even to those closest to him. Not because sharing a worry would halve it, but because it would mean two people were now burdened by it. That was what Yeehyeon believed. To solve his own problems by himself, no matter what. That was Seo Yeehyeon’s way of cherishing his people.
But that same Yeehyeon often let his guard down, only in front of Liu Vikhun.
Yeehyeon was clearly learning through experience on this trip that leaning on Liu comfortably at times was not a burden to him.
At every such moment, Liu felt a slight ache in his chest, along with an overwhelming sense of adoration. He found him so lovely that he felt helpless, wanting only to give him his all. He would be swept up in a passion that made him feel he could do anything to prove his love.
To control that heat, Liu let out a long breath. He cupped Yeehyeon’s cheeks, nuzzled the tip of his nose against his, and gently kissed his brow, the bridge of his nose, his philtrum, and his lips.
“Kun….”
They kissed like two wolves showing affection by rubbing their muzzles together, until Yeehyeon suddenly grabbed Liu’s wrist. Only then did Liu realize his pheromones had been leaking.
“Ah, sorry.”
“No. It’s just the two of us, so you don’t have to be sorry, but….”
He could guess what Yeehyeon’s worried gaze was concerned about.
“There’s absolutely nothing wrong with my control. During the trip, there were many times I completely let down my guard in front of you. That’s why I unconsciously relax when we’re alone.”
“If that’s all it is, I’m relieved.”
That’s what he told Yeehyeon, but in truth, Liu himself was quite surprised. It was no longer surprising for him to release pheromones when he felt sexual desire for Yeehyeon. But the kisses and skinship just now had not been a sexual caress, but an expression of love. It was the first time he had unconsciously released pheromones while simply immersed in the emotion of love. It was proof that he was becoming more strongly affected by the Diamond Dust.
He had spent over a month attached at the hip with Yeehyeon, communicating through their pheromones every day. They had intense pheromone sex at least four days a week. That must be why. Liu had a gut feeling that his pheromones had begun preparing to be <bound> to him.
He wanted to tell him, I think I’m starting to be bound to you, but he hid his excitement and smiled. He didn’t want to burden Yeehyeon just yet.
He first poured a cup of lukewarm water that hadn’t been in the fridge, then took out two pale pink pills from a plastic bottle on the counter.
“Here, today’s dose.”
At least for the time they were together, Liu wanted to be the one to give him his medicine.
Yeehyeon was an immature Omega who had not yet fully presented, but was in the process of presenting. He had regular monthly check-ups with a renowned Omega specialist in Paris, and once every three months, Marcus from Boston would visit Paris to see Yeehyeon separately.
Yeehyeon had said that his regular doctor’s check-ups were enough, but Liu was anxious. Since the doctor in Paris only knew Yeehyeon as an Omega undergoing a natural presentation, Liu wanted him to also be seen by Marcus, who knew he was a Diamond Dust. Even if Marcus himself didn’t know much about ‘Diamond Dust,’ Liu felt it would make him a little less anxious.
Both the Parisian doctor and Marcus shared the opinion that he did not need to take heat suppressants yet. But Yeehyeon was not a typical Omega, so Liu couldn’t be at ease with that either.
In the end, Yeehyeon was taking a suppressant recommended by both professors.
There were two main types of suppressants for Regular Omegas, not Golden ones. The relatively strong ‘sharp’ suppressants taken only during a heat, and the ‘balance’ suppressants taken daily like a nutritional supplement. Yeehyeon was taking the latter. Balance had the drawback of needing to be taken every day, but it was much milder than sharp and had almost no side effects.
But just as the suppressants Liu had once swallowed by the handful had been useless against Yeehyeon’s pheromones, Liu could still sense Yeehyeon’s pheromones even when he took the suppressant. Because they were the pheromones of a Diamond Dust, which had nothing to do with Omega pheromones and only affected Ghosts. Pheromones that only the Ghost Liu Vikhun could stimulate, and that only Liu Vikhun could savor.
The pheromones of a Diamond Dust were fine, since only Liu Vikhun could detect them anyway. The purpose of the suppressant was to defend Yeehyeon’s Omega pheromones from the pheromones of other Alphas. No matter how slim the chance, Liu wanted to be prepared for all possibilities.
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