Confined Pheromone

The voice pouring down from above made the boy turn his head and look up at Siwoo. For a moment, his eyes, which had been squinting in the sunlight, straightened out. He quickly grew cold upon confirming who he was. The boy shut his mouth and stiffly lowered his head. As he turned to walk away, Siwoo grabbed his arm.

“Wait a minute.”

“…….”

“Do you want to come over here?”

As Siwoo gestured towards his parked car, a familiar look of wariness appeared on his face. Just yesterday, he had almost experienced something unpleasant here. It was only natural for him to hesitate at the thought of going to such a place, especially a confined car. Siwoo furrowed his brows slightly, realizing his mistake, and apologized. He hesitated for a moment, looking into his cold eyes. Should he tell him to wait here? But if he did, he might run away.

“Well then, just wait here for a moment.”

Well, if he runs away, there’s nothing he could do.

Siwoo turned his body and walked back towards the parked car. He opened the passenger door and leaned halfway in to open the glove compartment. A small ointment jar, slightly larger than a 500 won coin, was not immediately visible. After rummaging through the glove box in slight annoyance, he finally found the ointment and held it in his hand.

As he returned to him, he noticed him hesitating and tapping his toes. He seemed to be contemplating whether to leave or to wait patiently. Just as he let out a big sigh and was about to take a step, Siwoo stood right in front of him.

“Here.”

Seeing the large palm with the ointment suddenly thrust towards him, he slowly looked up at Siwoo’s face. Ah, there was also a bandage, but he had forgotten that. Siwoo added with a small smile, “You hurt your hand, right? Yesterday.”

“…….”

“And your lips too.”

Siwoo’s face shone brightly under the sunlight. His skin was as pale as his, kind yet distant in its kindness. As he continued to stare at the ointment, Siwoo opened his mouth again.

“Will you put it on for me?”

His tone was playful. As his large hand seemed to move to open the ointment lid, he quickly reached out and grabbed it. Looking up at Siwoo with a sulky expression, he said, “Why are you… doing this?”

“Jin Siwoo!”

A voice calling Siwoo was heard. Both Siwoo and the boy turned their heads towards the source of the sound. From a distance, Seunghyun and two classmates were cheerfully waving at Siwoo. Siwoo smiled and waved back at them.

“Pay attention in class.”

As Siwoo was about to turn around after a light greeting, he suddenly faced the boy again. He looked up at Siwoo.

“Tell me your name.”

“Name… you mean?”

“Yeah, your name.”

“You’ve heard my name anyway—”

He almost blurted out a sharp remark to someone who had shown his kindness. You’ve heard my name, right? You must have heard the rumors floating around school, so you would have heard my name too. Fortunately, he swallowed the words back. Feeling Siwoo’s gaze fixed on him, he dropped his eyes.

“Yeah, I’ve heard it. Your name.”

“…….”

“But that’s not something you told me.”

The boy, fiddling with the ointment jar, slowly raised his gaze to look at Siwoo. Siwoo gently lifted the corners of his mouth.

“…Sanho. Baek Sanho.”

Sanho? Siwoo’s smile widened a bit more. Turning fully to face him, he greeted him again. Leaving Sanho behind without a second thought, Siwoo strode towards his waiting classmates.

“Siwoo, do you know Baek Sanho?”

One of his classmates asked, sounding a bit surprised. Siwoo responded with a “Huh?” and then smiled broadly.

“Sanho. Yeah.”

“Hey, that boy…” As the classmate opened his mouth, Seunghyun poked him in the side. “What’s up?” The classmate raised his eyebrows at the poke, while Seunghyun pouted and shook his head slightly. Siwoo noticed this but didn’t pay much attention. Sanho… Sanho? That name is… unique. And that was all. The name Sanho quickly scattered from Siwoo’s mind. As he headed towards the classroom, he laughed and joked with his classmates.

After lunch, the next class was a major course. Siwoo arrived at the classroom a bit early. He slowly walked to the high back row and sat down. There were quite a few students who had arrived before him in the large lecture hall. Upon spotting Siwoo seated, a few juniors rushed over to greet him.

“Senior! Hello!”

“Hello!”

“It’s so nice to see you at school often.”

“Yeah, hi.” Siwoo greeted them with a warm smile. “I heard you’re coming to school often this semester.” “Right, I heard that too. The freshmen are all in a frenzy wanting to see you.” While listening to the bright chatter of the juniors, someone entered the classroom.

This major course was attended by most undergraduates. The professor probably wouldn’t remember each student participating in the class. However, once you get to know someone, that person tends to stand out. Just like Sanho, who had just entered the classroom.

Sanho quietly walked into the classroom, looking for a seat. In the large lecture hall, unless it was the front row, it wouldn’t be easy to catch the professor’s attention, yet Sanho seemed to be searching for a corner as if looking for a blind spot. Siwoo tilted his body back slightly and leaned his head. Then he opened his mouth towards Sanho.

“Sanho.”

The juniors who had been chatting beside Siwoo turned their heads sharply to look at Sanho. If Siwoo hadn’t called out to him, the juniors probably wouldn’t have noticed Sanho entering the classroom. Sanho, who had been about to move to the far end of the room, abruptly stopped and stiffly turned to look at Siwoo.

“…….”

His lips parted slightly and then quickly closed. Though his expression was blank, he seemed quite flustered. Siwoo smiled and gestured.

“Come sit here. Next to me.”

One of the juniors standing in front of Siwoo exclaimed, “Huh?” in a puzzled voice. It wasn’t pure confusion. There was a clear malice mixed in the tone.

“Senior, you know Sanho?”

The voice had no intention of hiding its malice. Siwoo frowned slightly and looked at the junior who spoke. Though his smile didn’t fade, a hint of irritation bubbled up.

“Yeah.”

Then he immediately gestured again towards Sanho.

“Sanho, come here. Quickly.”

As all eyes turned to him, Sanho’s face stiffened even more. Judging that ignoring Siwoo’s words would draw more attention, he slowly approached Siwoo’s side. Siwoo smiled and pulled the chair out for him.

As Sanho sat next to Siwoo, a strange silence settled. The juniors exchanged glances, murmuring, before quickly greeting each other and dispersing to their seats. Siwoo didn’t pay much attention. With a nonchalant expression, he rested his chin on his hand and looked at the classroom blackboard. The sound of Sanho slowly rustling as he took out his major textbook could be heard.

Sanho’s straight back as he opened the textbook with his long fingers looked quite unnatural, and he seemed tense, so Siwoo had to suppress a laugh. Ah, why do I keep wanting to laugh when I see him? Siwoo grabbed the edge of the textbook and gently pulled it towards himself. As the book was pulled away effortlessly, Sanho flinched and frowned slightly, looking at Siwoo.

“Let’s look at it together.”

What a ridiculous thing to say. It’s not like they were elementary school students wanting to share a textbook; it was a major textbook. Siwoo laughed again.

“I didn’t bring my book today.”

As if that were possible. Where in South Korea would you find a college student carrying such a large and heavy book around? Why else would they have assigned lockers? And it’s not like it was someone else; it was Jin Siwoo? Sanho looked at Siwoo with a bewildered expression, but Siwoo just continued to smile.

“I’m serious.”

“…….”

“Just show me today.”

Sanho let out a shallow sigh. What on earth is this senior up to? Sanho silently looked down at the book being pulled towards Siwoo and straightened his back again. Siwoo, who had been resting his chin on his hand while looking at Sanho, slowly opened his mouth.

“From the first time I saw you, I felt like I’d seen you somewhere before.”

What is he saying now… Sanho shot Siwoo a slightly annoyed look.

“I just remembered where I saw you.”

Looking at Sanho with sharp eyes, Siwoo smiled without any speed.

“I have an old porcelain doll at home. It’s really old.”

“…a porcelain doll?”

“Yeah. My dad… no, my father said he got it from Russia when he started his business not long ago.”

“…….”

“You look like that doll. If you smile, you’ll look just like it.”

Sanho’s furrowed eyes trembled slightly. A doll…? A porcelain doll…? I’ve heard that somewhere… Siwoo noticed the change in Sanho’s expression and widened his eyes slightly. Ah, that doll is pretty. It’s not strange at all. Thinking he misunderstood his words, he hurriedly began to explain. Somehow, it felt like a face he had seen since childhood.

With that, Siwoo didn’t speak to Sanho anymore. The professor who had just entered began the class, and his interest, filled with kindness, ended there. Sanho stared blankly at Siwoo’s long, white fingers resting on the textbook. The rounded edges of the ointment jar tightly gripped in his pocket felt vividly present.

***

As the class ended, students stood up in a rush. The large lecture hall quickly became noisy. Siwoo lightly placed his hand on Sanho’s shoulder, pressing down gently, and smiled at him instead of saying goodbye. Sanho’s face, staring blankly at the major textbook stretched between the desks, was expressionless.

Students gathered around Siwoo. Among them was the junior from earlier, who approached with a small fist tightly gripping the crossbody strap of her bag.

“Senior, Siwoo senior.”

“Yeah, Inhye.”

The junior glanced back and lowered her voice slightly.

“How do you know Sanho?”

Ah, that topic again. Siwoo continued to look at the junior’s face with a gentle expression.

“He’s a fellow student.”

Inhye looked up at Siwoo with slightly furrowed brows.

“Don’t get too close to him.”

Her voice was quite firm. So was her expression. When Siwoo tilted his head in confusion, Inhye stepped a little closer to him.

“I’m worried people might misunderstand.”

“Misunderstand what?”

Inhye let out a small sigh. Siwoo silently looked at her. As far as Siwoo remembered, this junior wasn’t the type to casually gossip about others. Neither was Seunghyun, nor was Inhye; why was everyone so particularly sharp towards Sanho?

“He has a strange part-time job… something like that.”

“…….”

“I know someone who works there, so I know well…”

Inhye seemed a bit troubled about gossiping about someone else, as her eyebrows twitched.

“If you hang out with him, you might look like that… strange person too.”

He didn’t quite get to the point and went around in circles before finally speaking firmly.

“He’s an omega and gets paid to go on dates. With alphas or perverts who like that kind of thing.”

Siwoo chuckled in disbelief, and Inhye’s face turned pale with embarrassment.

“No, no! I know you’re not like that, of course—”

“Yeah, thanks.”

“…….”

“But he doesn’t seem like that kind of person.”

“Excuse me?” Inhye stared at Siwoo. Siwoo lightly laughed and gently tapped his shoulder.

“He’s nice. And…”

He’s really cautious around people. As Siwoo comforted him by patting his own shoulder, Inhye relaxed and let out a small whimper.

“Anyway, you’re too nice for your own good.”

“I’m not nice. I’m really bad.”

Inhye giggled.

“Is it like noblesse oblige? How can you live in this world being so nice?”

The joke about how the only son of a conglomerate chairman could live in the world being so nice seemed to amuse Inhye, and he laughed heartily. At that moment, a faint sweet scent wafted towards Siwoo. He turned his head, but the sweet scent had already dispersed among the bustling students. The very last seat Siwoo had occupied, and the one next to it, were both empty.