Stranger Who Found Spring

Ha-hyun had morning sickness in front of the gukbap he wanted to eat. It was also very noticeable.

“Are you still feeling nauseous?”

“Uung.”

As he waved his hand to tell him not to talk to him because it was hard, Cho-seung touched Ha-hyun’s pale cheek. Ha-hyun let out a sigh and recalled what had just happened at the restaurant while receiving the familiar touch.

One bite, it was just one bite. He felt the delicious smell coming up from the bowl, so he mixed the perilla powder and the sauce.

He took a bite with a smile on his face at the smell that was more delicious than he remembered and then vomited. The restaurant, which wasn’t even quiet, became dreadful after Ha-hyun’s loud nausea brought silence for a while.

There was no such thing as a nuisance.

As he was feeling nauseous and lowered his head to catch his breath, Cho-seung noticed and asked him if it was because of his morning sickness.

Ha-hyun, who had been secretly paying attention to the atmosphere in the restaurant because of him, was relieved by Cho-seung’s actions.

He focused all his energy on clearing his stomach while holding the table, feeling the air released by what Cho-seung said. Ha-hyun, who entered the hotel almost like he was being hugged by Cho-seung, couldn’t move after lying down on the bed.

“Come to think of it, I once read a paper that says the partner’s pheromone helps relieve morning sickness.”

How could he have read such a paper.

Ha-hyun was dumbfounded by Cho-seung’s words and let out a forced laugh. On the other hand, Cho-seung, still serious, cupped his white cheeks with both hands and pressed their foreheads together.

“Would you like to give it a try?”

Having been struggling for several hours already, he nodded his head as if he wanted to do something quickly. It was quite believable that he had read it in the paper. He also expected that it would be effective because it was the result of research by people with a doctoral degree or a master’s degree.

“Tell me right away if you feel uncomfortable.”

Ha-hyun replied by blinking his eyes and then relaxed his muscles as he watched Cho-seung gently curl his eyes as if to reassure him. Cho-seung, who acted affectionately and patted his chest, which went up and down at a steady beat, slowly released the pheromone.

The pine-scented pheromones flowing shallowly soon became strong enough to make him feel as if he was in the middle of a forest. When he was at home, he had only encountered pheromones that flowed out so subtly that it was difficult to recognize, so it was the first time, no, it had been a long time since he had felt such a strong pheromone.

Even during the first sex with him, he was drunk on the scent of the thick pine trees. The refreshing, clear scent was so intense that he would never forget it…

He closed his eyes, relaxing his drowsy body, and was surprised to realize that his rumbling stomach had subsided as if welcoming something he missed. He didn’t expect it to actually work, even though he believed it.

In response to Alpha’s pheromone, ylang-ylang’s pheromone, which began to flow out, naturally swept Cho-seung’s neck and soon covered his entire body. It was a weaker scent than the night they first met, perhaps because he was pregnant, but it felt more intense.

“…I’m hungry.”

Cho-seung, who was burning up, shuddered at Ha-hyun’s sudden words. He couldn’t leave his hunger, so he bit himself and forcibly swallowed a sigh that came out from within while covering his eyes.

“It’s been six hours since you haven’t eaten anything. Shall I buy something?”

Since they came all the way to Busan, it would be nice to eat outside, but it was difficult to release the thick pheromone in an open place. If done wrong, it could lead to a fight, so it was best to eat at the hotel.

“I want to eat gukbap.”

“Right. We came all the way to Busan to eat it, but it’s kind of hard to give up like this.”

Cho-seung slowly turned his head and got out of bed because he felt a little burdensome after being looked at by him, who was blinking his clear, anticipated eyes.

“I’ll be back. You stay here.”

“Let’s go together.”

“It’s not good if you go there and get morning sickness from the smell of food. There.”

He lightly kissed Ha-hyun on the lips, pressed Ha-hyun’s shoulder to lie down, tidied up his dressing, and left the room.

* * *

He set the gukbap he bought quickly in front of Ha-hyun and Cho-seung, who sat across from him, carefully asked as he watched him take a bite.

“How is it, are you okay?”

Wrapped in refreshing pheromone, Ha-hyun was a little nervous and took another bite of the gukbap in front of him. Gulp, swallowing it down and examining the reaction, he realized that he was fine, unlike at the restaurant, and bent his eyes.

Cho-seung, who noticed that he was fine with his clearly brighter momentum, relieved himself. He was worried that if he didn’t eat it this time, it would remain a pretty sad memory, but fortunately, he ate well.

“Strawberry.”

“Ung? Do you want to eat strawberries?”

“No, not that. I was able to eat strawberries today. It must be because of your pheromones.”

For some reason, he thought it would work without hesitation. It seemed that what had made him nauseous before would go smoothly thanks to the sufficient pheromones of Cho-seung. He must have had morning sickness because he didn’t receive pheromones while travelling by public transportation at the restaurant today.

“You couldn’t eat strawberries because of morning sickness?”

“Ung. It’s my favourite fruit…”

As he recalled the days when he hadn’t eaten strawberries, an unfair voice came out. Noticing the subtly changed tone, Cho-seung put down the spoon he had lifted to eat and asked.

“Shall I buy some strawberries?”

“No. Let’s eat first. They say they don’t even touch the dog when they eat.” (먹을 땐 개도 안 건든대, meant don’t make food taste bad or don’t interfere with eating, here)

Cho-seung laughed softly at the sight of him shaking his hand while holding chopsticks, telling him to eat quickly and not to worry about going out.

Ha-hyun, who picked up a piece of radish kimchi and chewed it while listening to the sound of silly laughter, opened his eyes wide.

The gukbap at this house was delicious and the radish kimchi was also delicious.

Whether the fact that he could eat gukbap to his heart’s content or not, everything tasted delicious. Moderately seasoned pickled chives were good, sweet onions and ssamjang for dipping them in were also good.

“Shall we go for a walk to Dongbaek Island when we’re done?” (here)

“Dongbaek Island?”

“Ung. The name of the place where this hotel is located is Dongbaek Island. You didn’t know?”

“I didn’t know?”

He just booked the accommodation here because it was a hotel, not for that reason.

By the way, it was properly connected to the mainland to be called an island. When Ha-hyun tilted his head with a puzzled expression, Cho-seung swallowed the food in his mouth and continued.

“I heard that the camellia flower is famous here. They don’t wither now, but it would be nice to come back later when the camellias bloom. Anyway, I heard it’s good to take a walk, didn’t you feel stuffy staying at the hotel?”

“Uh-ung. I guess it was a bit like that.”

“Then are you going?”

“Ung.”

Cho-seung’s expression brightened when he said that he would go for a walk with him.

Looking at him who didn’t hide his excitement, Ha-hyun tilted his head slightly and took a bite of the steaming gukbap. It was a little awkward looking at Cho-seung because he felt excited for no reason.

Cho-seung, who occasionally placed diced radish kimchi on Ha-hyun’s spoon, opened his mouth as the meal seemed to be finishing.

“It said the night view of Haeundae is beautiful. Since we’ve come this far, let’s enjoy what we have to enjoy.”

Hearing the words “Enjoy what we have to enjoy,” Ha-hyun laughed and thought of sashimi (회). It would be nice to catch the fish with a single knife and eat it raw. Still, sashimi during pregnancy wasn’t very good, right?

“What are you thinking that makes you look so sad?”

“Sashimi. After coming all the way to the beach, I couldn’t eat sashimi…”

“…shall we have maeuntang?” (매운탕, meant spicy fish soup)

Cho-seung asked with a normal attitude, though he felt uneasy as the conversation seemed to end with food no matter what it started.

Ha-hyun shook his head sullenly at that question and instead chose not to eat. Sashimi couldn’t be replaced with any food.

“Then shall we go eat strawberry cake? I think there will be one at a nearby cafe.”

Although the strawberry season was coming to an end, it wasn’t completely over, so it seemed like there would be a store selling them. Relieved to see his relaxed face at the word strawberry cake, Cho-seung picked up his cell phone and prepared to go to the cafe.

“By the way, can we eat at the cafe? Strawberries give you morning sickness.”

There were many other people in the cafe, so he couldn’t carelessly release pheromones. If he wanted to eat it, he had to ask for a takeaway—

“I’m going to eat it. There’s the taste of eating it at a cafe.”

With a rarely determined tone, Cho-seung gave up persuading him. Let’s try it whether it worked or not. It could have been fine if they shared enough pheromones before going out.

“Should I take a pheromone shower…”

“No. It’s a burden.”

In the first place, it was nothing more than a tool to show possessiveness.

Cho-seung, who originally hated the pheromone shower, shook his head, frowning at Ha-hyun’s murmur. No matter how much he said it was good to receive enough of his Alpha’s pheromone, it probably didn’t mean that he should take a pheromone shower.

“Or should I put pheromones on my cardigan?”

“Umm. I think that’s fine.”

The two of them had a serious conversation with the determination to eat strawberry cake at the cafe and it took an hour for them to put down the spoon they were holding.

While Ha-hyun went to brush his teeth after arranging the empty disposable dishes, Cho-seung put pheromones on his cardigan.

He lifted up a cardigan that gave off pheromones even at a glance and showed it to Ha-hyun, who returned to the room just in time.

“Wouldn’t it be a nuisance if it was thicker?”

“Ung. I think that’s enough for now.”

Wearing a fluffy cardigan, Ha-hyun buried his nose in the sleeve of his clothes. It was his first time wearing clothes with heavy pheromones from Alpha and it turned out surprisingly good. Should he say that it felt good because his mind and body were stable?

“Is it okay to take a walk and go to a cafe?”

“Ung.”

Ha-hyun, who was staring at Cho-seung’s hand in front of him, placed his hand on it. Cho-seung, who held his hand tightly as if he had waited, pulled Ha-hyun gently.

“Come to think of it, it’s a first date.”

“…ung. Right.”

He thought it was nonsense, but he expressed his affirmation in a small voice because he didn’t want to ruin his excited appearance with useless words.