“Should I… go and see them?”
Yeehyeon asked cautiously. Liu shook his head several times. Then he pressed his cheek to Yeehyeon’s chest and wrapped his arms around his waist.
“I don’t want you to see us being awkward with each other over this.”
“Are you going to act like a child?”
Even as he spoke reproachfully, Yeehyeon’s hand stroking Liu’s hair was nothing but gentle.
Liu’s parents had a soft spot for Yeehyeon. There was the guilt and sense of indebtedness over their son, a Ghost, having Changed him, but they also found the very nature of Seo Yeehyeon’s character to be precious and lovely.
Suky Kim, in particular, cherished her strange connection with Yeehyeon. The child she had personally judged and awarded a special prize to in the past had become her son’s lover, and the two of them were now in a relationship as the world’s only Ghost and Diamond Dust. She believed it was no ordinary fate.
If the two of them visited together, they would probably be able to mend the relationship much faster. After all, his parents could never be cold to Yeehyeon. But the thought of Yeehyeon trying to resolve the invisible, awkward atmosphere… Liu didn’t want to make Yeehyeon bear such a thing.
Stroking Yeehyeon’s flat stomach with his large palm, Liu said quietly.
“I know they even went through a sham divorce for me, a Ghost, and that they’ve done everything to protect me. They might feel like… me Changing you made all that effort come to nothing.”
“……”
“I told them everything about the time we spent, how we decided to love each other again. But they won’t change their minds… I don’t know what else I can do.”
Yeehyeon threaded his fingers through Liu’s hair, combing it down with a soft rustle.
“They’re probably more shocked than angry. Maybe they just need a little time.”
“……”
“You’re still going to try, right?”
“……”
“For my sake, you’ll try, won’t you?”
Liu lifted his head and looked back at Yeehyeon.
“See this? I’m telling you, you’ve really learned how to handle me.”
“So you don’t like it?”
“Not a chance. I wish you’d handle me even rougher.”
Sitting up, Liu leaned down and gave Yeehyeon’s lips a short kiss. He wanted to drink more water, but all the water bottles were empty. Getting out of bed, Liu found the least-damp towel and wrapped it around his waist.
“I’ll get more water.”
Yeehyeon’s gaze followed him as he left the bedroom. Even with the towel on, his erection was so distinct that it was impossible not to look. Only that part was jutting out sharply. Yeehyeon knew it would take a few more minutes for it to go down.
By the time Liu returned to the bed with fresh water, Yeehyeon had also propped up a pillow and was leaning against it. Yeehyeon took the new bottle of water Liu handed him. He had just finished a whole bottle a moment ago, but this time too, he drank half of it in one go.
“The flight the day after tomorrow, what time did you say it was?”
“Flight? What flight?”
Liu feigned ignorance, playing dumb as he crushed the now-empty water bottle in his hand.
After they returned to Paris together tomorrow, Liu was supposed to fly back to Seoul the day after. From then, a two-week trip to Bali was planned for a month later. The purpose of the trip was to find a place for the two of them to live and sign a contract in advance. But a little while ago, during their knotting, Yeehyeon had blurted out, ‘Don’t go.’
“What I said earlier… you know, right?”
“What did you say?”
“It was because the pheromones made me act weird. So don’t worry about it.”
“Hmm… so all that crying and saying you didn’t want us to be apart was all because of the pheromones?”
Yeehyeon fidgeted with the water bottle with an anxious hand, avoiding his gaze.
“Kh, Kun knows too. When you’re exposed to pheromones, you act differently than usual.”
“Then once you become a Golden, you’ll never cry or be half out of your mind during sex?”
“That’s right.”
Liu leaned his upper body forward, bracing himself on the sheet, and tucked Yeehyeon’s hair behind his ear.
“I’m looking forward to it. The pheromone-less sex I’ll have with Seo Yeehyeon.”
Sex without the powerful aphrodisiac effect of pheromones, driven solely by feelings of love for each other and the physical pleasure of their bodies. Like Betas.
Yeehyeon glanced at Liu out of the corner of his eye. Liu, with a confident expression that said he could make him cry and drive him half-mad during sex even without pheromones, puckered his lips and moved closer. Yeehyeon pushed his lips away with his palm.
“When I become a Golden, if you act this annoyingly, I’m going to use my pheromones to make you unable to move an inch.”
Blocked from kissing him, Liu hugged Yeehyeon’s waist instead.
“And you think that’ll be a punishment for me? Really?”
“I’ll only give you my pheromones, and I won’t let you touch me.”
“……”
“Why’d you get so quiet?”
Anxiously, was the unspoken word.
Frowning, Liu sighed with a serious and grave expression.
“If I’m looking forward to even that, I must have a serious case, right?”
Thud. Yeehyeon rested his forehead on Liu’s shoulder. Then he started laughing, muffling the sound. The tremor of his laughter was transmitted directly to Liu. Just like when they were connected as one.
■ ■ ■
Arriving at Basel station about 30 minutes early, the two bought a cup of coffee each at a café inside the station and moved to the platform.
As it was a hub for both the Swiss SBB and the French TGV, Basel station was quite large. Inside the huge station, Yeehyeon held Liu’s hand the entire time. This was because the day after Changing, Liu’s eyes would become cloudy and his vision would drop sharply.
It wasn’t to the point where he couldn’t get around if he was careful, but Liu silently held Yeehyeon’s hand and followed him. He enjoyed Yeehyeon’s overprotectiveness, something he couldn’t usually experience. It was also true that he could barely read things like the letters on the electronic board displaying the platform number.
The two had to take the TGV to Dijon first. From there, they had to transfer to another train to get to Paris’s Gare de Lyon.
Arriving at the platform, they set down their backpacks on a bench and looked around. The parallel rows of multiple platforms, the roof, and the connected station building created quite a charming atmosphere.
“Noona, is now a good time to talk?”
As soon as he put down his backpack, Yeehyeon was on the phone with Yuni.
“Yeah, we’re waiting for the TGV right now…. We should arrive at Lyon Station around 3 p.m…. No, we have to transfer once. At Dijon station.”
Perhaps because it was the day they were returning from their trip, a barrage of questions seemed to be pouring from Baek Yuni on the other end of the line. Liu let out a silent chuckle, and Yeehyeon smiled back at him.
“Noona, you know. About the gathering tonight, I don’t think we’ll be able to make it.”
Finally finding his timing, Yeehyeon carefully brought up the main point in an apologetic voice.
Originally, they were scheduled to attend a drinking party with a few colleagues from ‘The Hands’ that evening. But with his eyes in this state, an evening appointment was out of the question. He couldn’t just keep his sunglasses on the whole time.
Sipping his coffee, which was much better than expected, Liu’s gaze shifted idly. On the next bench, a family of four was waiting for the train. He couldn’t see their features clearly, but he could easily distinguish their apparent genders and overall atmosphere.
It was a family composed of a down-to-earth-looking couple, a boy who looked to be in the lower grades of elementary school, and a girl who seemed to be about middle school age. From behind his sunglasses, Liu watched them, especially the girl, intently. It was because her gaze seemed to keep flicking toward Yeehyeon.
Though she pretended to be talking to her mother sitting next to her, all the girl’s attention was on Yeehyeon. He could sense it from the atmosphere.
She probably thought she was hiding her interest well. Just as most kids her age mistakenly think they’re smart enough to fool adults. But to Liu’s eyes, her gaze was so obvious it was almost blatant, and for that reason, cute.
Chuckling to himself, Liu brought the coffee cup to his lips.
“No, it’s not like that! If it were, I wouldn’t have said I’d attend in the first place…. Don’t say weird things.”
Oblivious to the girl’s stolen glances, Yeehyeon’s face was flushed as he was busy making hurried excuses. It was obvious without even seeing. Baek Yuni must have been teasing him again, saying something like, ‘What? Liu’s leaving tomorrow, so you suddenly want to spend a romantic night alone with him?’
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