Confined Pheromone

As Siwoo pulled the boy’s arm, he looked at him in disbelief and shrugged off his grip. Of course, Siwoo had no intention of letting go of his arm. Looking up at him, he said, “Why do I have to eat with you?”

Siwoo took a big step forward, dragging him along. “I told you, I’m hungry right now.”

“So what does that have to do with me?”

“I don’t like eating alone.”

A laugh that sounded incredulous erupted from behind Siwoo. He didn’t turn around, but he could picture the expression he must be making, and he smiled slightly.

“I’m hungry, but I have no one to eat with.”

“What does that have to do with…!”

“I just helped you out. Now you owe me.”

The boy’s steps came to a sudden halt. Siwoo slowly turned to face him. A pretty crescent-shaped smile appeared at the corners of his eyes.

“I’m not telling you to pay for me. So just eat, okay? With me.”

His lips pressed tightly together.

Even as he climbed into the spacious passenger seat of Siwoo’s car, he hesitated a bit. Siwoo pretended not to notice and calmly closed the car door, then got into the driver’s seat. He bit his lip and stared ahead. When Siwoo leaned toward him with a grin, he flinched, his shoulders trembling slightly. Holding back another laugh, Siwoo pulled the seatbelt over him and fastened it.

“Belt.”

He squinted his eyes and muttered softly, “…Don’t do that suddenly.”

Was it a comment meant to be heard, or a mumbled wish for it to go unheard?

“What?”

Siwoo tilted his head, pretending not to know. He continued to bite his lip and look straight ahead. For some reason, he felt cheerful. Gently pressing the accelerator, the car hummed to life and started moving.

The boy’s bitten lips showed no sign of relaxing. He didn’t even ask where they were going. It seemed he regretted getting into the car in the first place. The way his brows were furrowed and his ips were tightly pressed together made that clear. But doesn’t it hurt to keep biting your swollen lips? Siwoo glanced at his lips in the rearview mirror, tilting his head in confusion.

In fact, he hadn’t planned to go far. He was just thinking of taking him to a nearby barbecue place, but seeing him so on edge made him want to tease him a little, so he changed his mind. Siwoo pressed the accelerator confidently along the familiar road.

The destination was a Japanese restaurant on the outskirts of Seoul that Siwoo often visited. It had a luxurious courtyard and a charming shishiodoshi. As Siwoo got out of the car and handed the keys to a valet he recognized, the boy hesitated and got out of the car. It seemed he had never expected to eat at a place like this.

“Please follow me.”

A friendly staff member stepped forward to guide them inside. They walked down a long corridor and arrived at the innermost room. Siwoo smiled brightly and greeted the staff. “Shall I prepare what I usually have?” Siwoo shook his head slightly. “My friend isn’t feeling well. Please take extra care.” The boy stared at Siwoo, but he pretended not to notice his gaze.

Once seated, the boy lowered his head. He was torn between wanting to look around and not wanting to see anything at all. Siwoo could almost see the complexity of his feelings, and he smiled again. Just as he was about to strike up a light conversation, the food began to arrive in succession. Two staff members hurriedly placed dishes on the table.

The shiny sushi rice topped with thick slices of sashimi was beautifully arranged. The boy, who had been staring intently at the pieces placed in front of him, finally lifted his head to look at Siwoo. He met his gaze with a smile.

“…This is too expensive…”

He quickly shut his mouth. Realizing he was stating the obvious, he felt embarrassed. It was impossible for a restaurant of this size on the outskirts of Seoul to be cheap. He pressed his lips together tightly, as if his words had embarrassed him. Siwoo noticed his ears had turned slightly red. Unable to hold back, he let out a chuckle.

“……”

The boy shot him a fierce glare, as if to say, “What are you going to do about it?” His ears were even redder now. Clearing his throat, Siwoo spoke nonchalantly.

“I’ve wanted to eat this all day.”

“Then you should eat it alone…!”

The boy, who had opened his mouth in protest, quickly closed it again. If they were going to eat in such a cozy room, what difference did it make whether it was alone or with others? It wasn’t even an open space. Saying he didn’t like eating alone was clearly an excuse. He glared at Siwoo with a look of frustration.

“I’m not eating this because of you.”

“I know.”

When he replied in a cold voice, Siwoo chuckled again.

“Yeah, so don’t complain and just eat.”

Siwoo pointed his chopsticks at his empty hands. It was a signal for him to pick up the chopsticks. He stared at the dark red lacquered chopsticks for a moment before slowly picking them up. Siwoo watched him carefully lift a piece of sushi with a pleasant feeling. I hope he likes it. I hope it suits his taste.

“……”

The boy chewed his food silently. For a moment, his eyes widened in surprise. Siwoo watched his expressionless face as it returned to normal. Ah, thankfully, it seems to suit his taste. Watching his round, white cheeks move as he chewed, Siwoo picked up his own chopsticks. He noticed a scratch on the back of his hand where he was holding the chopsticks, and he frowned for a moment, but it quickly smoothed out.

During the meal, neither Siwoo nor the boy said much. Most of the brief exchanges were initiated by Siwoo, and he responded with short answers. The content was nothing special. He was two years below Siwoo and in the same business school. Given the large number of students in the business school, it wasn’t surprising that Siwoo didn’t remember him. Especially since he didn’t often attend school.

Finally, as Siwoo set down his chopsticks and wiped his mouth with a tissue, he looked at him and said, “Let’s go home. I’ll give you a ride.”

He didn’t respond again.

When they got back into the car, he hesitated once more. Feeling a bit frustrated and a bit annoyed, Siwoo couldn’t help but smile. “Come on.” As Siwoo urged him with a gesture toward the car, he let out a small sigh and got in. By the time they reached the bustling center of Seoul again, Siwoo touched the navigation and looked at him.

“Your home address.”

“……”

“Tell me where it is.”

The boy turned to Siwoo, as if he had made a firm decision. His expression was resolute, as if he were making a significant choice.

“Just drop me off at a bus stop.”

Siwoo’s hand, which had been touching the navigation, froze for a moment. As he stopped the car at a red light, he tilted his head in confusion.

“Which bus stop?”

“Just any bus stop.”

The boy, who had been wearing a determined expression, averted his gaze from Siwoo and looked ahead again. Just then, the light turned green. Siwoo pressed the accelerator again, furrowing his brows. But soon, he smiled as if it didn’t matter.

“Okay, then.”

The knuckles of his hand gripping the seatbelt turned white. Why is he so tense? It’s not like I’m doing anything to him. A bus stop came into view. It looked like a small stop with not many buses passing by. Should I drop him off at a bigger stop? While he was pondering this, the car came to a stop in front of the bus stop. Without any hesitation, he unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the passenger door.

“……”

Siwoo watched him shoot out of the car like a rocket, feeling a bit flustered. He must have been really uncomfortable. As he reached for the door to slam it shut, he hesitated for a moment. It seemed he was struggling to find the right words. Finally, he opened his mouth in a small voice.

“…Thank you for the meal.”

His voice was gruff. Was he struggling to say goodbye? Siwoo smiled, his eyes crinkling.

“Yeah, take care.”

The door closed with a thud. Looking in the side mirror, Siwoo saw him walking away briskly, having passed the bus stop without a glance back. It seemed he was more uncomfortable than he thought. His hurried steps clearly indicated he wanted to get away from there quickly. Siwoo frowned and turned his gaze to the other side mirror. Did I really invite him to eat together for no reason? The small kindness that had been curled up in his heart faded away.

It hadn’t been a long meal, but quite a bit of time had passed. It must have been because they had gone far. Siwoo drummed his fingers on the leather-covered steering wheel as he looked at the congested road, thinking of a few tasks he needed to handle and some appointments he had to attend. He thought it would be best to organize his work in advance since he planned to focus more on school than on the company for the time being.

Lost in thought, he soon arrived in front of his officetel. In fact, it was closer to a penthouse. It was a place that an ordinary college student would find hard to even visit, but Siwoo’s parents were quite uncomfortable with their only son living alone in such a cramped space.

After asking the manager to park his car and getting out, Siwoo paused for a moment as he was about to walk into the lobby.

“……”

Impulsively, he turned around.

“Um…”

It was a problem that could be solved with a phone call, but Siwoo felt uncomfortable giving orders to someone for even trivial matters. Moreover, it wasn’t even an important issue. Although it was a bit annoying to walk to the main road where the shops were lined up, it wasn’t unbearable. Siwoo entered a shop where the sign was still lit. He pushed open the glass door of a small pharmacy next to a large convenience store.

“Welcome.”

“Hello,” Siwoo said, bowing his head as he looked around the cramped interior.

“Um… do you have any ointment for wounds? I scraped my hand on a wall.”

The elderly pharmacist pushed up his glasses and skillfully retrieved a tube of ointment from the shelf. It was an old-fashioned ointment in a jar rather than a tube. As Siwoo looked at it, the pharmacist silently added a bandage.

“How bad is it?”

“It’s not severe, just a little bit of blood…”

“Oh, and can I use this on my face? My lips are a bit torn too.”

The pharmacist assured him not to worry as he tapped the lid of the ointment.

“It’s fine to use on your face. But if it’s not severely torn, it’ll heal on its own if you just leave it.”

“Ah.”

“But if you really want to apply it, just put it on and use the bandage.”

Siwoo smiled, his eyes crinkling.

“Thank you.”

Bowing his head again, Siwoo exited the pharmacy.

***

There was a morning class. After showering and putting on a dark gray gown, Siwoo was drying his hair with a towel when he spotted the ointment and bandage he had bought yesterday. What is this? At first, he couldn’t remember what it was and tilted his head in confusion. But soon, he realized, Ah, I bought ointment yesterday, and he smiled. After getting ready to go out, Siwoo carelessly stuffed the ointment and bandage into his pocket. Once in the car, he shoved them into the glove box and quickly forgot about them.

The morning class coincided with the rush hour for office workers. After spending quite some time on the road, he finally arrived at school. Siwoo parked his car in the parking lot behind the college building, as usual. As he locked the car with his smart key and started walking, he noticed a boy with black hair passing by.

“…Huh?”

It was him. Standing under the sunlight, his skin looked exceptionally pale. Perhaps that was why his dark hair stood out even more. Suddenly reminded of the ointment he had put in the glove box, Siwoo walked briskly toward him.

“Hello.”