“…Excuse me?”

“You said you used to cook. So naturally you’d have a good sense of smell and would probably be good at it.”

“Ah…”

“Since we’re talking about it, why don’t we try a little test?”

While Hae-wan couldn’t easily respond to the sudden suggestion, Kang-hyun suddenly stood up and gestured for Hae-wan to stand as well.

“What kind of test…”

When Hae-wan stood up awkwardly and asked in confusion, Kang-hyun perched on the edge of the table and spoke in a light tone:

“One of the most important things in perfumery is analyzing scents and remembering them in language you can express. Let’s try it lightly.”

“But… I don’t know anything about fragrances.”

“There’s no one who knows nothing about fragrances. We all live smelling pheromone scents. We’re always analyzing whether that scent is good or bad for us.”

Unable to disagree, Hae-wan closed his mouth. Human pheromone scents were complex, so even though they had certain tendencies, it was difficult to define them as a single scent. Therefore, when talking about someone’s scent, people often described them through various imagery rather than defining them with words.

Like Hae-eon’s scent that gave the feeling of walking through a forest full of young trees in the early morning.

“Let’s try it with my scent.”

What?

 At Kang-hyun’s voice, Hae-wan snapped to attention and looked at him.

Regardless of Hae-wan’s confusion, Kang-hyun casually grabbed the neck of his loose dark gray turtleneck with one hand and pulled it down to reveal his right nape where the scent was strongest.

When Hae-wan still didn’t move from his spot, Kang-hyun spoke with an incomprehensible expression:

“Don’t just stand there, come closer. You need to properly smell the scent.”

Swept up by Kang-hyun’s voice that held no hesitation, Hae-wan hesitantly approached. Then Kang-hyun turned his head to the side. His sharp, straight nose bridge stood out prominently while strong neck muscles appeared along his unusually long, extended neck.

When Kang-hyun’s gaze completely left him, the tension eased slightly. Just breathing in lightly allowed him to deeply sense Kang-hyun’s pheromone scent. He had thought so since their first meeting, but his pheromone scent was rich. Even without approaching this closely, it was probably the kind that everyone would intensely recognize.

“Close your eyes.”

“What?”

When Hae-wan asked in bewilderment, Kang-hyun answered while still keeping his gaze to the side:

“To concentrate on your sense of smell, it’s better to block out other senses. I’m speaking from definite experience, so you can trust me.”

Those words reminded him of the boy who used to sit with dim eyes.

Inevitably feeling heavy-hearted, Hae-wan closed his eyes without further objection.

“What comes to mind first?”

Kang-hyun’s voice came from the darkness.

And Hae-wan, just like when he smelled Hae-eon’s scent, thought of some forest.

However, that landscape was absolutely not the same as Hae-eon’s.

“Forest… smell?”

When Hae-wan answered vaguely, Kang-hyun calmly asked questions:

“What kind of forest? Is it dry?”

“No… something… like it’s been soaked by rain.”

“Is it a clear, blue forest? Or deep green like it’s covered with moss?”

At Kang-hyun’s request for visual imagery, Hae-wan closed his eyes even deeper.

A forest where deep green moss covered even the solid rock surfaces, where massively grown thick-trunked trees covered the sky, and a single ray of sunlight barely filtering through the gaps fell at his feet.

“Deep green. Very large trees rooted in wet soil… seemingly soaked and intertwined.”

“…Well done.”

At the praise, Hae-wan’s face flushed slightly as he opened his eyes and stepped back, and Kang-hyun spoke gently toward him:

“I’ve been told that my pheromone scent has a lot of woody or chypre elements. The feeling of wet soil, leaves, flower petals, and scents like oakmoss.”

When Hae-wan nodded, Kang-hyun pulled his collar back down and turned his head to the side.

“Let’s try again.”

Having gained some confidence, Hae-wan closed his eyes again and tilted his head. Kang-hyun spoke leisurely like giving guidance:

“This time, try to find something unfamiliar.”

“…There seems to be something like smoke smell.”

“That’s right. There are smoky notes too. What else?”

This time Hae-wan hesitated for a long while before answering:

“Leather…?”

“Good. Want to find one more?”

“I’m not sure…”

“Concentrate a bit more and smell carefully.”

At the demanding voice, Hae-wan tried harder to breathe in his scent more deeply.

“…Cherry…?”

Then, a low, deep voice whispered right beside him, penetrating deep into Hae-wan’s ear:

“…You’re sensitive.”

Startled almost to the point of jumping, Hae-wan clutched his ear and stepped back.

Kang-hyun, who had turned his head toward Hae-wan like he might kiss his ear, smiled calmly.

“Actually, to be precise, it’s almond. Most people are familiar with roasted almonds heated up, so they think of a nutty feeling, but raw almonds actually have a scent similar to cherry.”

“…”

“People with strong personal scents often can’t recognize other people’s scents well, but you have a good sense of smell.”

His heart was beating so violently it seemed like it might burst through his chest, to the point where he was afraid the sound might be heard outside. Thinking his face must be red enough to burst, Hae-wan couldn’t even lift his head and just rubbed his innocent ear.

“It’s gotten this late already. Should we do the rest next time you come?”

Kang-hyun glanced at the clock and straightened his body that had been sitting sideways on the table.

Without even listening for an answer, Kang-hyun began organizing the bottles scattered on the table, his face peaceful like nothing had happened. Hae-wan, unable to do anything about his flushed cheeks, hurriedly helped finish the cleanup.

Firmly refusing Kang-hyun’s offer to drive him home because it was cold, Hae-wan left the workshop without looking back and headed toward the bus stop.

The winter night air was cold enough to instantly cool his arbitrarily heated face. However, even that didn’t work as he wished because people he encountered along the way to the stop kept staring at him.

There was only one reason people looked at him. The emotional turmoil stirring in Hae-wan’s heart was certainly making his scent even richer.

Fortunately, the bus heading home had few passengers. Hae-wan pulled his scarf up to his chin and headed to the back seat. It was partly because he had a habit of sitting in places that were troublesome for others to find even when there were many empty seats, but also because after the transplant surgery, he often attracted attention due to his rich scent, so he wanted to avoid people’s eyes.

When the bus started, Hae-wan slightly pushed open the back seat window. Though it was a narrow gap, he breathed the frantically rushing cold air deep into his lungs.

Nevertheless, his tangled insides showed no signs of untangling.

The side profile that had been too close, falling gracefully like drawn in a single stroke, the long neck and the firm yet delicate fingers that had pulled down his clothes, the clear voice that had whispered in his ear. All of it kept disturbing his heart without time to sort it out.

Feeling the ear where Kang-hyun’s breath had touched grow hot, Hae-wan pressed his forehead against the cool window and closed his eyes.

At twenty-eight years old, being so flustered just because someone came close would look ridiculous to anyone, but it couldn’t be helped. Hae-wan had no immunity to such things.

In an alpha-omega society where pheromones served as powerful criteria for developing ‘relationships,’ it was extremely difficult for Hae-wan, who had a disability preventing him from sensing scents, to be accepted as a romantic partner.

Of course, his pheromone dysfunction couldn’t be a perfect excuse for never having developed a romantic relationship with anyone in his 28 years. However, being naturally introverted and very shy, he didn’t have the personality to overcome people’s prejudices and appeal his charm.

And there was also a fact he couldn’t deny no matter how much he wanted to.

The fact that Kang-hyun was an attractive alpha who could catch anyone’s attention.

Despite being tall enough to be intimidating, his well-maintained thick but not heavy build, and the delicate eyes with long curves drawn like ink on pale skin, along with the imbalance created by his particularly black pupils, made Kang-hyun an unforgettable impression.

And that pheromone scent.

It was the smell of a deep forest where once you stepped foot, you’d never want to look back.

Placed alongside Hae-eon’s scent, it would seem like they were born from the same ancient tree.

At the same time, he even thought he understood why Kang-hyun couldn’t forget Hae-eon’s scent.

His heart, churning like being thrown into a tidal wave, wouldn’t settle easily. Thinking he was making a fool of himself for believing he wouldn’t let Kang-hyun’s existence ruin his daily life, Hae-wan bit his lips hard and slapped his cheeks with both hands several times until they made smacking sounds.

His cheeks, quickly frozen by the seeping winter wind, stung like they might tear, but it wasn’t enough to drive away the ridiculous emotional turmoil.

Perhaps because he had been exposed to cold wind throughout the bus ride, the path home felt particularly cold. Shivering, Hae-wan opened the front door and widened his eyes at seeing Yu-jun, soaking wet with only a towel wrapped around his waist, stamping his feet in front of the gas stove.

“What are you doing right now?”

At Hae-wan’s bewildered question, Yu-jun made a tearful face and grumbled frantically: