Pig Government Official

-43-

The conversation between the two showed no signs of cooling down. From Jihoon’s unwanted TMI to discussions about dessert set planning and even looking up limited edition Christmas cake designs, their drinking session that started at 3 PM was already approaching 8 PM.

“Let’s start heading out now.”

Jeonggwan, who had to go in early tomorrow to make desserts, tried to get up, but Jihoon, using his authority as the boss, grabbed Jeonggwan saying, “Don’t come in tomorrow, let’s drink more!” Although Jeonggwan, who had a good appetite and could hold his liquor well, wasn’t very drunk, Jihoon was already a mess, dropping his spoon several times. While the offer of not coming in tomorrow was tempting, he didn’t want to drink more with this guy who was on the verge of becoming completely wasted.

“Ah, I can’t. I have a date with Won Junjae tomorrow.”

“You bad guy. You choose love over friendship?! Huh?”

Go home by yourself. Jeonggwan abandoned Jihoon, whose eyes were starting to lose focus, and left the bar to get into a taxi. Even when completely drunk, Park Jihoon seemed to have a strong homing instinct and always managed to find his way home. Jeonggwan told the driver his address and then took out the phone he had long sealed away in his pocket. Finally, he could look at his phone comfortably without worrying about Jihoon.

Actually, he had been thinking about sending Won Junjae a message first for a while now. However, Jihoon in front of him kept stopping him, and with no feedback from Won Junjae, he felt a little less confident about sending a message first. The call had ended like that… He must have known that he met Jung Taegeon, but there was no response. He didn’t come to see him today either.

Park Jihoon’s hypothesis, which he had never considered before, kept creeping into his mind. Is he really trying to cut ties with me after dealing with the Kyung Juhwan incident? But… He brought chocolates yesterday and even waited for an hour…

“Ah-.”

Jeonggwan ruffled the back of his hair roughly. This is why he hates dating. No matter how much he tries not to think about it, tries to push it out of his priorities, thoughts of Won Junjae keep popping up whenever he’s alone or not working. Of course, he knows it’s like this in the early stages of a crush, but this is when emotions fluctuate the most and self-esteem easily drops. He hated himself for thinking only about Won Junjae not contacting him and not coming to see him.

“Please stop here.”

Instead of going all the way to the alley where his house was, Jeonggwan got off the taxi on a slightly larger street. During the short walk home, he decided to call Won Junjae, aided by the alcohol. Let’s settle this now. If it’s good, it’s good, if not, it’s not. I really hate this neither here nor there situation. Why should I be anxious?

Ring-.

Click.

As soon as he pressed the call button, the call connected after barely one ring. Surprised by the quick connection, Jeonggwan spoke urgently without even clearing his throat.

“Huh? Hello?”

[……]

However, for some reason, there was no answer from the other side. Jeonggwan took the phone away from his ear and looked at the screen. He wondered if it had disconnected immediately rather than connecting. But the call seemed to be connected well, with the timer running. What’s this? Is it not Won Junjae? Or did he answer while half-asleep? Jeonggwan remained silent for a moment, then spoke again.

“…Hello?”

[…Yes.]

Ah. It is Won Junjae. Even normally, Won Junjae’s voice was low, but somehow it sounded even lower and more husky now. Did he wake up from sleep?

“…What are you doing?”

[……]

Why is he responding so slowly? Frustrated by Junjae’s reluctance to speak, Jeonggwan got straight to the point.

“Why haven’t you contacted me at all?”

[……]

“You heard everything earlier when the call connected by mistake, didn’t you?”

[……]

“You didn’t come to see me today either. No contact, nothing.”

Jeonggwan had decided to talk casually, but it seems he was upset that Junjae hadn’t come to see him today, hadn’t contacted him, and showed no reaction. Without realizing it, his tone was becoming pouty.

“Is Park Jihoon right?”

[…What do you mean?]

“That you’re done with me after taking care of the gym weakling?”

[……]

“Just tell me. If you say it’s over, I’ll just…”

[Just what?]

…Move on. He needed to say those words, but somehow they just circled in his mouth. Come on, Jeonggwan, just say it coolly. What’s love that I should feel sorry? Haven’t I lived well without Won Junjae and won’t I live well in the future? Let’s just dump this guy who doesn’t say anything. No, Jeonggwan, look at his appearance. It’s not a shell you can easily throw away. How wasteful would it be to dump him without even kissing? The self-esteem Jeonggwan and desire Jeonggwan inside him clashed.

“I’ll meet someone else.”

In the end, desire Jeonggwan won. However, when he tried to coax with sweet words, his pride absolutely refused, saying what’s there to be sorry about, so he chose provocation. Of course, there was a possibility that this might hurt Won Junjae’s pride and make him say go ahead, but Park Jihoon had said. What alphas are most desperate about is,

‘When an omega they thought had completely fallen for them.’

‘Actually hasn’t fallen even 1%.’

He expected that Won Junjae, who clearly had feelings for him, would pretend not to care but actually be desperate and give in first if he said he was going to another alpha. Because he liked it so much when they just touched foreheads. Right? So hurry up and tell me not to! Quickly grab me and tell me not to meet another guy! Just as Jeonggwan was cheering for Won Junjae in his heart,

Click-.

“Huh?”

The call ended. Jeonggwan, flustered, said “Hello?” once more, but the call had definitely ended. Looking down at the darkened screen, Jeonggwan let out an empty laugh. What is this supposed to be? You don’t answer and just hang up now? I mean, this is…

“Is he an idiot…?”

Jeonggwan, dumbfounded, unknowingly let out a curse like a sigh.

“Are you talking about me?”

“Aaah!”

Just then, a low voice came from behind Jeonggwan. It was the voice he had been hearing through the machine until just now. Jeonggwan turned around in shock, even dropping the phone he was holding. Next to a luxury car that anyone would assume was Won Junjae’s, parked between the alleys leading to Jeonggwan’s house, stood Won Junjae himself.

Jeonggwan was blinking in surprise, trying to grasp the situation, and Junjae slowly approached him. He then picked up the phone that had fallen at Jeonggwan’s feet. Somehow, the strawberry jam scent was extremely heavy.

“…W-when did you come?”

Because he was slightly tipsy, Jeonggwan showed his flustered state openly. If he had been in his usual state, he would have asked coolly, “What’s going on?” Jeonggwan thought he had let his guard down, but Junjae’s expression as he looked down at Jeonggwan was somewhat chilly. Junjae, who had been silently looking down at Jeonggwan’s phone, dusted off the dirt and handed it to Jeonggwan.

“Do that.”

“…Pardon?”

“Meet someone else.”

Jeonggwan instinctively knew that this man wasn’t just a little upset, but quite heated. Usually, he mixed formal and informal speech, but now he was in full informal mode. Even finding this forceful attitude attractive made Jeonggwan feel like a hopeless face-con. …Though it’s true.

But where did he get so worked up? From the accidental call? Or because he said he’d meet someone else? Or because he just called him an idiot?

“Did you think I’d beg you not to?”

Ah. He’s angry because I said I’d meet someone else. I thought he’d toughly tell me not to meet anyone else… Seeing him sulk like this, he seemed to be a secretly sensitive type. Jeonggwan glanced at Junjae’s mood and thought he should try to smooth things over with aegyo, but once Junjae started speaking, he couldn’t stop.

“Who are you to me?”

“……”

“Why would I do that for you?”

I’m Kim Jeonggwan, but… Your tone is a bit rude. The air between the two instantly became heavy.

“Don’t misunderstand. You’re just…”

“……”

“Someone I got close to because of pheromones.”

“……”

“As if I’d be crazy enough to… someone like you…”

“……”

Someone like me? Jeonggwan looked up at Junjae with one eyebrow furrowed. As Jeonggwan’s pheromones gradually turned cold, Junjae finally hesitated. Junjae’s eyes wavered at Jeonggwan’s hardened expression. He was supposed to finish saying, “As if I’d be crazy enough to date someone like you.” But Junjae clenched his teeth and swallowed the unfinished words, turning his head away.

Jeonggwan clicked his tongue shortly at this sight. Huh. This guy is accumulating some serious bad karma right now. So this is what Park Jihoon meant about pheromones? Won Junjae… All this time, it wasn’t because he liked me. He came to see me and met me because of pheromones?

“…Ah. Because of pheromones.”

Ha-. Jeonggwan’s expression as he sneered was quite fierce. Jeonggwan was seriously dumbfounded and angry now. Pheromones? Someone like me?

“Well, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize you were being nice because of pheromones.”

“……”

“I guess I, a mere dog or pig, misunderstood.”

“……”

“Just come and smell the pheromones and leave from now on.”

Jeonggwan fired back at Junjae with a sarcastic voice, coupled with an expression of mock apology.

“I won’t misunderstand anymore either.”