Pink Flavor Omega

#13

“Who’s this bastard? Ban Eunhong. Do you know him?”

Eunhong turned around, letting out an urgent breath at Woohyun’s voice. He had been flustered after boldly throwing a punch only to be caught. The man who was holding Eunhong’s arm and pushing him against the wall turned to look at Woohyun.

“Mister, mind your own business and leave.”

“How can I not care? He’s my friend.”

Before he finished speaking, Woohyun threw a punch. It was perfect timing as he was already in a foul mood. The man hadn’t expected it, so he took the hit squarely. He fell hard, cursing as he held his bleeding nose. As the man wiped the nosebleed and tried to lunge again, Woohyun quickly held up his phone.

“Should I report this now? I hear they come quickly these days for trait-based sexual harassment reports.”

Whether he had come to his senses from the punch or was scared by the threat of reporting, the man backed down. Woohyun helped Eunhong, who had fallen alongside him, to get up and dust off his palms.

His palms were all scraped. It happened when the man pulled Eunhong down as he fell. Woohyun frowned and took Eunhong’s hand.

“Let me see. Are you hurt badly?”

“Get off.”

“Ban Eunhong.”

Eunhong violently shook off Woohyun’s hand and started walking towards the store. Woohyun quickly followed and grabbed Eunhong’s arm.

“Hey, I’m asking if you’re okay.”

Ha… Eunhong sighed and muttered that it was unbearable. Woohyun looked at Eunhong’s face, wondering if he had heard correctly. Eunhong gritted his teeth and raised his head.

“This or that. Just do one thing, An Woohyun. Just one thing. Stop acting however you feel like.”

Eunhong yelled as he shook off Woohyun’s hand.

“Have you ever thought that I might get tired of watching out for you, accommodating your circumstances? When you’re in a bad mood, don’t drag me down into the gutter with you, and when you’re in a good mood, don’t act like a friend as if you’re giving alms.”

Eunhong pushed Woohyun’s shoulder hard and turned to enter the store. Woohyun couldn’t follow for a long time. When Eunhong sat down and started drinking again, Woohyun came in with a dejected expression and sat down.

After that, it was like a runaway train.

Eunhong drank like there was no tomorrow. As he drank soju like water, his reason flew away and his foul mood seemed to wash away. He might be sick all weekend if he kept drinking like this, forgetting about work schedules and everything else, but he had long since let go of his senses.

Long-standing friendships are difficult to explain. Even if you try to explain it to someone, they’ll give different answers based on their own experiences. How nice would it be if you could just cut it off cleanly, saying “You go your way, I’ll go mine. Life is tiring enough without you adding to it.”

When they were young and simple, they just liked each other, but as they grew up and their lives diverged and became more complex, it became a relationship where the bad outweighed the good. But a tumor that has adhered to your blood vessels is fatal to remove. So you can’t remove it and have to live with the pain.

Eunhong glared at the bomb shot placed in front of him, then downed it in one go. Now he couldn’t even tell if it was water or alcohol.

“Bunhong.”

At first, he thought he had misheard that familiar voice. I must have drunk a lot. Eunhong turned his head with a grin, and his eyes widened in surprise.

“L-Lee Jaeha?”

Jaeha was quietly looking down at Eunhong, who called his name with slurred speech. His face, flushed with alcohol, was soaked. Jaeha felt his mood shoot up to the peak like a roller coaster and then plummet instantly. The sight of Eunhong’s wet eyes drained the blood from his face.

“Jaeha. How did you know to come here?”

Eunhong stood up, stumbling. He asked while clumsily wiping the moisture from his face.

“I thought you were busy… No, really, how did you know? Did they tell you?”

He waved his hand, pointing at his friends. Jaeha wrapped his arm around Eunhong’s shoulder and folded his outstretched fingers, grasping them. He picked up the wet bill on the table with his fingertips and nodded a greeting to Eunhong’s friends.

“Let’s go. You’re very drunk.”

“Me? Teacher?”

As Jaeha tried to take a step while holding the rambling Eunhong, Woohyun grabbed Jaeha.

“No, fuck. Wait a minute.”

“……”

“What kind of rudeness is this? We’re just having a drink among friends, why are you causing trouble? Are we going to eat Eunhong? Are you his mother? Showing up uninvited and making a fuss, what a fuss. Who are you to break this up?”

“You called me, didn’t you?”

At Jaeha’s words, Eunhong turned to look at Woohyun. You? As he asked, Woohyun crumpled his face and chewed on a curse. At the same time, Kang Hanjae suddenly stood up and shouted loudly.

“What are you doing now? Retract your pheromones!”

Eunhong was startled by his friend’s sudden outburst, which seemed unfamiliar. Despite having drunk so much, Kang Hanjae’s face had turned pale, drained of color. Looking around, the situation with Jang Haesung and An Woohyun didn’t look any better, if not worse. An Woohyun, being recessive, was visibly shaking.

In the midst of Eunhong being the only one unaffected, Jaeha slowly looked down at the three of them, pulling in his chin. His icy blue gaze was so cold that Kang Hanjae sheepishly sat back down. Jaeha stared directly at An Woohyun and slowly opened his mouth.

“Are you proud of having a low-grade trait? Aren’t you three friends just using him? Because he’s a manageable and comfortable beta without any heat or rut to bother you? An omega who’s scared to live alone, and conveniently short on money too.”

“Jaeha.”

“Don’t you think it’s pathetic? Mr. An Woohyun.”

Eunhong looked around with his alcohol-addled brain. The atmosphere was terrible. He wondered what Jaeha was saying. Jaeha didn’t stop even as Eunhong grabbed his arm and shook it.

“Whether you’re recessive or dominant, I don’t eat things like you.”

“Jaeha, stop it.”

“Because I have my own preferences.”

Lee Jaeha grabbed An Woohyun’s collar with one hand, lifted him up, and whispered low into his ear.

“So don’t do such lowly things behind my back.”

Jaeha pushed An Woohyun and let go of his hand. An Woohyun, whose legs had given out due to the extremely dominant alpha’s pheromones, tumbled to the floor, knocking over chairs and tables. The cold food spilled everywhere, dirtying An Woohyun’s clothes.

Screams erupted from nearby tables at the sudden commotion, and all eyes turned to them in an instant. Amidst the murmuring, the restaurant owner came running with a stern face. Jaeha carelessly pulled out a bundle of checks from his wallet and handed them to the owner.

Having resolved the situation in an instant, Jaeha grabbed Eunhong’s arm and left the restaurant. He was in a state of mental disarray, with his ears ringing, as he strode towards where he had parked the car.

The bar, filled with so many smells it was overwhelming, and the mixed pheromones that felt like they were stabbing his skin, were nauseating to the point of making him want to vomit. On top of that, seeing Eunhong’s wet cheeks made something snap in his head.

After that, he was so out of his mind that he wasn’t sure what he had said or done. Jaeha walked, almost running, so excited that he was panting.

The melted snow made his pant legs wet and sticky. The cold wind whipped his cheeks, ventilating the air around Jaeha. As he repeatedly took deep breaths, expanding his chest, he finally started to hear sounds.

“…Stop, just a moment!”

“……”

“…Hey, Jaeha! Let go of this!”

“……”

“I’m struggling! Lee Jaeha!”

Eunhong’s voice snapped Jaeha back to his senses. When Jaeha suddenly stopped walking, Eunhong sat down on the ground, panting. His chest was pounding wildly, probably from running after drinking so much alcohol.

“Ow, shit, I’m out of breath. My stomach hurts.”

“……”

Looking down at Eunhong’s round crown, Jaeha slowly caught his breath. Only then did he take in his surroundings. He had run while holding Eunhong’s hand, to the point where their pant legs were all wet.

He had run without direction, his mind spinning, but miraculously, the parking lot where he had left the car was right in front of them. As he caught his breath and slowly processed the situation, a sense of dismay washed over him.

Suddenly, he felt he had overstepped. What if Eunhong got up now, got angry at him, and went back to his friends? Jaeha hesitantly squatted down and touched Eunhong’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry, are you okay?”

Eunhong, who had his face buried between his knees, was already quiet.

“Bunhong?”

“……”

“…Bunhong, you’re not sleeping, are you?”

“No, what? What do you take me for? I should undress before sleeping.”

No sooner had Jaeha muttered than Eunhong suddenly stood up, blurted out some slurred words, and threw off the t-shirt he was wearing. Come to think of it, he didn’t have his coat either. Jaeha hurriedly took off his own coat and wrapped it around Eunhong.

“You drank a lot, didn’t you?”

As he was buttoning up the coat without putting Eunhong’s arms through the sleeves, Eunhong suddenly sank down. Jaeha barely caught him as he was about to lie down on the bare ground.

Eunhong pleaded, asking why Jaeha was tormenting him and to let him sleep. Jaeha let out a long sigh and picked up Eunhong, wrapping him tightly in the coat. As he walked to the parking lot, Jaeha tightly closed his eyes with every step, as the scent of Eunhong’s skin wafted up strongly.