Woosung Alpha’s Sour Grapes

Chapter 29

The summer vacation began. Tae-geon and Hyeon-woo stayed at their rented place instead of returning to their family homes.

Hyeon-woo came down to the living room, rubbing his puffy eyes after sleeping in until midday. Tae-geon’s lips relaxed as he watched Hyeon-woo start eating a fried egg with clumsy chopsticks, still not fully awake.

The rich aroma of coffee beans rose from the mug in Tae-geon’s hand, warmly coloring the air in the house. The dazzling midday sunlight delicately cast the silhouettes of the two on the floor.

Every day felt like a continuous weekend.

When they couldn’t sleep due to the tropical nights, the two would walk along the wet sand of the beach, looking up at the Milky Way spread across the black ebony sky.

“It’s nice that it’s less hot at night, right?”

“…It’s hot.”

“Tch. You never say anything good even once.”

“……”

Tae-geon’s lips curled up as Hyeon-woo glared at him with narrowed eyes. Hyeon-woo pinched the back of Tae-geon’s hand, who seemed to only be satisfied when he teased him like this.

“Ouch. You, come here.”

“Ah, shit.”

Hyeon-woo tried to run away from Tae-geon, but his feet slipped on the sand and he was quickly caught. Their hair fluttered in all directions in the wind as they bickered.

It felt like they were the only two left in the world. The predawn sea, without the noisy sounds of cars or the boisterous laughter of people, was as silent and quiet as the vacuum of space.

The sound of waves crashing against their ears was the only thing reminding them that this wasn’t a dream.

As Hyeon-woo moistened his throat with the canned beer Tae-geon handed him, he suddenly turned his head to trace the path they had walked. Their footprints stretched far into the distance on the wet sand, as if they had been a pair from the beginning. Seeing the parallel footprints with a consistent stride somehow made his heart feel full.

He wished life had a bookmark function. So he could easily open to this scene anytime.

Hyeon-woo was certain that this was the page to insert that bookmark. The beautiful scenery spread before his eyes, the sea breeze brushing against his skin, the sound of waves in his ears, the cold canned beer in his hand, and Tae-geon by his side.

Hyeon-woo imprinted this perfect moment in his mind multiple times, as if pressing a camera shutter.

Hyeon-woo took Tae-geon out whenever he had the chance. He wanted to create more memories together in beautiful places, but since Tae-geon hated the heat so much, they had to spend most of the daytime before sunset in air-conditioned cafes nearby.

It wasn’t much different even during his heat cycle. Tae-geon, who was terribly indifferent to his private life, never interfered with staying out overnight or meeting others. While Hyeon-woo thought it was fortunate that Tae-geon was so indifferent, knowing that he would confess everything if Tae-geon were to seriously interrogate him, paradoxically, a feeling of disappointment welled up in one corner of his heart.

Conversely, when Hyeon-woo imagined a situation where Tae-geon had a lover, he felt depressed with a sense of deprivation, his chest aching just from the thought. He could never be as nonchalant as Tae-geon was now.

The path they had walked together wasn’t horizontal. The world Hyeon-woo faced after realizing his feelings for Tae-geon was on a broken scale tilted to one side.

One side of the scale was already pressed to the floor, unable to bear the weight of emotions – hurting more, consuming more emotions, craving more love. And every day, a new weight of emotion was added on top of it. Sometimes, Hyeon-woo felt suffocated under this weight.

Nevertheless, it was indescribably sweet to monopolize Tae-geon’s kindness while pretending not to notice all of his considerations: the fact that the fried egg Tae-geon handed him every morning was always soft-boiled to his liking, that the cap of the water bottle he received from Tae-geon always opened easily without effort, and that when they walked outside together, Tae-geon would stand on the outer side to shade him from the hot sunlight.

Although the form of their emotions might be different, Hyeon-woo took comfort in the fact that he was undoubtedly a precious existence to Tae-geon as well.

It’s okay if it’s not the same emotion as mine.

He comforted himself like that.

Tae-geon, who had frequent conflicts with his family since before entering university, had been staying out overnight more often lately due to calls from his family home. Sometimes he was away from home for longer than Hyeon-woo. It seemed he had become much busier as the succession of management rights began in earnest when he became an adult. The strange thing was that Tae-geon’s overnight stays always coincided with Hyeon-woo’s heat cycles. Thanks to this, Hyeon-woo was able to spend his heat cycles comfortably throughout the vacation.

He had already spent four heat cycles with the alpha he met through the community. Except for the day when he was fucked to the point of not being able to walk, the alpha had embraced Hyeon-woo quite gently and affectionately.

Of course, there were small disputes in the process.

[BunnyBunnyCarrotCarrot]: You’re a pervert.

The alpha appeared on the community before the next heat cycle after their first night together when Hyeon-woo had lost consciousness for two days. Hyeon-woo, who spotted him on the list of simultaneous users, immediately opened a chat window.

He had been waiting for a chance to confront him about his actions on that day when he had fucked him to a pulp. He had been visiting the community secretly when Tae-geon wasn’t around, but the alpha who hadn’t been seen at all finally showed up now, almost a month later. It was an incredible timing, as if he had Hyeon-woo’s heat in mind.

[BunnyBunnyCarrotCarrot]: How could you put your dick in someone who’s unconscious????

[BunnyBunnyCarrotCarrot]: I couldn’t walk for two days after waking up! Will you take responsibility if something goes wrong because of you?

[BunnyBunnyCarrotCarrot]: You won’t show your face, won’t tell your name. You won’t take responsibility either. How will you compensate if something happens to me??

He waited for a response, but there was no reply. Suddenly, his stubbornness flared up. Glaring at the silent chat window, Hyeon-woo delivered an ultimatum.

[BunnyBunnyCarrotCarrot]: Ah~ forget it~ What’s the use of talking. I’ll just meet another alpha. Goodbye.

[K]: I won’t do that.

“…What?”

Hyeon-woo was inwardly surprised by the alpha’s quick response. The alpha had taken the bait that Hyeon-woo had thrown carelessly, thinking “whatever happens, happens.” It seemed his pride as an alpha wouldn’t allow him to let Hyeon-woo mention other alphas.

When the arrogant alpha suddenly took a submissive stance, a strange sense of triumph welled up. As Hyeon-woo sat with his arms crossed, staring at the monitor, he closed the chat window as if to show off. Perhaps feeling anxious, a series of messages came from the alpha.

Ding-.

Ding-.

Ding-.

[I’ll be careful from now on.]

[I promise not to treat you roughly.]

[If there’s anything else you want, tell me.]

Wow.

Hyeon-woo’s eyes widened as he scanned the messages.

To this extent…?

At this point, it didn’t seem to be just a matter of pride. Somehow, he had the intuition that this alpha quite liked their sexual encounter.

Yeah, otherwise, there’s no way he would have fucked an unconscious person to that extent.

“Hmm, well.”

He even felt somewhat pleased that the upper hand had completely come to him.

…Something I want, huh.

Hyeon-woo, who had been deep in thought with his lips pursed like a duck’s bill, opened the chat window with the alpha again.

[BunnyBunnyCarrotCarrot]: Okay.

[BunnyBunnyCarrotCarrot]: I’ll trust you one last time.

[BunnyBunnyCarrotCarrot]: No sex with unconscious people.

[BunnyBunnyCarrotCarrot]: Absolutely no rough handling.

[BunnyBunnyCarrotCarrot]: And

Hyeon-woo paused his fingers for a moment, then after a brief internal struggle, continued typing.

[BunnyBunnyCarrotCarrot]: Please be a little more affectionate.

Although the last request seemed a bit brazen for a relationship that wasn’t even romantic, he rationalized that being affectionate was a hundred times better than being violent. He waited for the alpha’s response to his request, but the chat window remained silent with a prolonged silence.

[BunnyBunnyCarrotCarrot]: No answer~? I guess you don’t like it. Can’t be helped.

[K]: Let’s do that.

[K]: Affectionately.

“Puhah.”

Laughter burst out. It was fun just imagining the alpha’s contorted face as he reluctantly replied.

[BunnyBunnyCarrotCarrot]: Okay. And there’s one more thing I want.

Hyeon-woo recalled a few signature facilities and services of the Eiden Hotel. The rooftop pool & bar called Sky Beach was representative, and the cheese omelet only available through room service was also famous.

He remembered how the visual of the thick yellow omelet, when cut lengthwise from end to end with the vintage-designed small knife provided, would reveal its moist interior and unfold like a flower on the plate, which had become quite famous on social media.

[BunnyBunnyCarrotCarrot]: The room service I had last time was pretty good~ But I heard their omelet is really the best.

[K]: I’ll have the omelet prepared too.

[BunnyBunnyCarrotCarrot]: And dim sum.

[BunnyBunnyCarrotCarrot]: Cola for the drink.

After that conversation, when the alpha left the room after sex, room service would arrive soon. Two trolleys, fully packed with not only the omelet Hyeon-woo had requested, but also dim sum, VIP lounge seasonal limited menu items, and luxurious desserts, were placed in the room. As expected of an expensive hotel, every item was excellent in both taste and presentation.

The alpha embraced Hyeon-woo affectionately as promised. He was so gentle, sometimes even to the point of being overly attentive, that it seemed like a lie that he had been like a beast before. Even in situations right before climax, his gentle touch that made Hyeon-woo’s insides melt was enough to make his mind dissolve.