It’s a best-friend V-log, but we’re not actually best friends - Chapter 18

What woke Eun-Sol from sleep was the alarm ringing from the phone by his pillow. Frowning, he reached a hand upward.

His small hand fumbled around near his head, then his finger slid across the screen. The loud alarm stopped, and as the still half-asleep Eun-Sol burrowed somewhere deeper, a gentle hand came to rest against his lower back.

Bright sunlight poured in through the window right above the bed. As Eun-Sol slowly woke up, his eyelids opened little by little.

Maybe it was because of the sunlight, but the skin around the collarbone in his view seemed to glow faintly.

Skin… why am I seeing skin?

Blinking blankly, Eun-Sol slowly lifted his gaze.

The dark mole under the lips, the full red lips, the sharp bridge of the nose.

And the thick eyelashes resting neatly downward.

“…?”

The moment he saw Min Baek-Ha’s face, Eun-Sol’s eyes gradually widened. Then he realized what position he was in.

They might have been about the same size when they were kids, but now there was a clear difference in build between them. So Eun-Sol found it deeply startling to realize he was tucked into Baek-Ha’s arms like this.

It was shocking enough that his body fit so neatly into Min Baek-Ha’s embrace, but they were pressed so close together that he could hear even each other’s breathing and heartbeats. It wasn’t the first or second time they had slept on the same bed, but this was the first time something like this had happened.

The soft scent of Min Baek-Ha, unexpectedly filling his nose, made Eun-Sol flinch.

Awkwardness suddenly rose over his stiff face.

“Maybe it’s because I’m an omega. I’m reacting to every little thing…”

It’s bothering me.

After whispering that, Eun-Sol suddenly felt that something was off. He quickly slipped out of bed as if fleeing. Thankfully, Min Baek-Ha seemed to be sleeping deeply and didn’t stir at all.

Thump-thump. The sound of his pounding heart echoed loudly in his ears.

Quietly looking down at Min Baek-Ha, Eun-Sol bit his lower lip.

The moment he had gotten his trait test and learned that he was an omega, everything about Min Baek-Ha had suddenly started to feel strangely stimulating. It was as if his brain had gone, ah, that explains it, and awakened all of his senses at once.

Things he used to brush off as no big deal in his everyday life with Min Baek-Ha had suddenly become a big deal.

Letting out a deep sigh, Eun-Sol smacked a hand against his forehead and shook his head. He had to be going crazy. Yeah, there was no other explanation. Wanting to scratch at the restless feeling inside him, Eun-Sol fanned his face with his hand and left the room. Worried that Baek-Ha might wake up, he carefully shut the bedroom door behind him. Then he leaned his back against it and slid straight down onto the floor.

“……”

His bewildered eyes glanced down at his chest, which was still pounding wildly.

“Ah…”

It felt like a lie. The sound of his heartbeat was far too vivid. Covering the lower half of his face with one hand, Eun-Sol furrowed his brow.

“…Next time, I should sleep on the sofa.”

After muttering that to himself with grim resolve, Eun-Sol stood up. Then he slowly headed for the kitchen.

They said dominants had stronger pheromones and were more sensitive to other pheromones. He had never imagined he would react like this.

A cool, refreshing forest scent, and the warm scent of cotton.

The effect of Min Baek-Ha’s distinct pheromones on Eun-Sol was, honestly, sensual.

Even though they were just friends, his body reacted first, as if it were being drawn in by something. So this was why people always said there was no such thing as alpha and omega just being friends. Only then did Eun-Sol understand the things people always said on social media.

“Sol-ah. Did you sleep well?”

A low, husky voice greeted him softly.

Snapped out of his thoughts, Eun-Sol startled and turned around.

“…Ah! Uh… yeah!”

“……?”

He found himself facing Min Baek-Ha’s puzzled gaze in midair. His heart, which still hadn’t calmed down, trembled from just meeting that gaze alone. It wasn’t exactly the right way to describe how you felt toward a friend, but it was the only way Eun-Sol could think to describe it. Staring intently at Eun-Sol’s flushed face, Baek-Ha tilted his head slightly.

“What were you… doing, for your face to be that red?”

“…It’s nothing. The house is just hot.”

“Really? It’s not that hot.”

The question still hadn’t vanished from Min Baek-Ha’s face as he lifted one eyebrow. It even looked like the corner of his mouth twitched slightly, like he was imagining something weird. So Eun-Sol narrowed his eyes and asked,

“You’re not imagining something weird, are you?”

“For example, what kind of weird thing?”

“……”

Uh… right, like what?

Eun-Sol could only part his lips without finishing what he wanted to say. Watching him fail to say anything, Min Baek-Ha tugged up one corner of his mouth.

“I just thought maybe you were sneaking something tasty to eat by yourself.”

Sneaking food in his own house—that was a weird thing to say. Eun-Sol was about to force his mouth open to answer, but Min Baek-Ha turned away.

“I’m going to wash up.”

Eun-Sol stood there like a statue, blankly watching Min Baek-Ha’s back as he went into the bathroom. The way only the back of his hair stuck up like a little bird’s nest overlapped with how he had looked as a child, and Eun-Sol let out a small laugh.

“I should… be more careful.”

If he kept acting like this without even realizing it, it felt like something serious was bound to happen.

For example… he might end up so entranced by Min Baek-Ha that he’d start pining desperately.

And if that happened, it would be no different from losing the friend he treasured most.

Thinking about what to do, Eun-Sol walked toward the refrigerator.

The fridge was packed with all kinds of food, far too full for someone who lived alone. Because it was a small refrigerator, Eun-Sol had to bend slightly at the waist as his eyes rolled this way and that. Since it was breakfast, he planned to make something simple.

Holding eggs against his chest like a hen brooding over them, Eun-Sol carefully walked to the sink and glanced at the bread sitting off in the corner.

“How many should I make… if Baek-Ha and I are both eating…”

He quickly set the eggs down at the sink and trailed off. Then, as though thinking hard, he rolled his eyes toward the ceiling and slowly folded down his short fingers one by one.

“One… two… hmm… would eight be enough? Four for Baek-Ha, four for me.”

Usually, both Eun-Sol and Min Baek-Ha ate a little more than their other friends. Having settled on the amount, Eun-Sol moved busily around the kitchen.

He made a solid salad in a stainless-steel bowl bigger than his face and skipped the step of moving it to a separate plate. They were going to scoop from it anyway, so why bother?

Setting the bowl in the middle of the table, Eun-Sol immediately started frying eggs. The half-cooked fried eggs, with their yolks unbroken, looked ridiculously perfect. Feeling smug for no reason, Eun-Sol puffed up his shoulders.

In the meantime, Min Baek-Ha came out after washing up, a towel draped around his neck, and pulled out a chair at the dining table.

“You mixed the salad like it’s bibimbap.”

Smiling, Baek-Ha sat down. By then, Eun-Sol had finished frying all eight eggs and walked over to the table.

“Don’t want to eat it?”

“It looks fucking delicious. Did you have enough eggs?”

“Yeah, Mom stopped by not too long ago, so the fridge is packed.”

“Ah, right. She has been bringing over a bunch of stuff lately.”

Thud, thud. The sound of dishes being set on the table rang out, and Baek-Ha let out a breathy laugh.

Since he and Min Baek-Ha had been childhood friends and stuck together for so long, Baek-Ha’s mother naturally ended up taking care of Eun-Sol too. She always worried about him living alone, so whenever she had good side dishes, she shared them with him. And whenever she saw pretty tableware somewhere, she’d buy an extra one and say she thought of him.

Every single time, she handed him this and that with a smile, with such a bright, girlish smile—that he could never bring himself to refuse.

Then one time, when Eun-Sol had been so exhausted from part-time work that he’d left his house looking like a pigsty, Min Baek-Ha’s mother had been horrified when she saw it. Eun-Sol got smacked once across the back right away, and when he awkwardly scratched the back of his neck, after that she started sending a cleaning lady once a week.

“That’s a relief. At least Sol won’t starve. Mom says she misses you.”

“Really? Then after exams, let’s eat with your mom.”

Smiling as he answered, Eun-Sol sat down across from Min Baek-Ha. Just like always, he pressed his hands together in a prayer-like gesture and smiled brightly. Baek-Ha, who had been sitting upright, also folded his hands.

“Thank you for the meal.”

“Let’s eat well.”

Only after bowing their heads to each other did they pick up their chopsticks. Eun-Sol watched with fascination as Min Baek-Ha stuffed an entire fried egg into his mouth and silently chewed. Feeling the stare, Baek-Ha slowly lifted the gaze he had lowered to the table. Since he didn’t talk while chewing, Min Baek-Ha only looked back at Eun-Sol.