Eugene was silent for a while, heart beating loudly for some reason. He felt dizzy, just like when he saw the alpha in front of the playground that day. He felt like something of his was stripped for no reason, and irritation started to bubble inside his heart.
"I'm not obliged to answer that," Eugene's reply was harsh and cold, rendering Arthur confused and speechless. "I think the break time is up. The meeting will start soon."
And just like before, he abruptly stood up and left the rooftop. Left the alpha who could only watch him walk away silently. This time, Arthur was too baffled to chase Eugene, just staring without blinking at the half-eaten cookie fallen to the ground.
W-why? Why did he get that angry?! Arthur couldn't understand!
He only asked about a scent? He even made it seem like he only mentioned it in passing so not looked like he was being too needlessly curious and stalkerish. Besides, they had been talking about scent all day--it was a perfectly reasonable development!
Even if he didn't want to answer, there was no need to say it in that tone, right? Honestly, Arthur was offended by Eugene's reaction, even if he was the one to start the conversation.
Slowly, Arthur returned to his seat, staring at the sky while thinking deeply. He drank his hot chocolate, letting the warmth and the sugar clear his mind.
Perhaps...Arthur slowly turned the cup in his hand, biting his lips. Perhaps...it was something sensitive for Eugene? Thinking back, Eugene didn't just look upset. He was trembling slightly, as if...as if he was afraid of something.
Ugh--Arthur groaned inwardly. Yeah...it seemed to be a sensitive matter for the omega.
Of course, in his defense, Arthur didn't know about it. He wouldn't ask if he knew. Perhaps the fault lies in my audacity to probe such a thing when we aren't that close in the first place. Just because we talked amiably for a second doesn't mean we're friends or anything.
Arthur took a deep breath, and then gulped the rest of his lukewarm cocoa. He picked up the half-eaten cookies from the floor and cleaned up the rest before going back to the company with a bag of new cookies in his hand.
It's easier to apologize with a bribe--err...gift.
Arthur, however, forgot that Eugene was an expert escapee who had once avoided him for a whole week. Evidently, he utilized that the whole afternoon. He locked himself with the scriptwriters before the meeting, and while his expression didn't falter, he also ignored Arthur the whole time.
Haa...he's avoiding me again.
It was even more unfortunate when, after the meeting, he went away to talk to the director while Arthur had to return to deal with another project. All he could do was leave the bag of cookies with someone else so they could give it to Eugene when he was back.
Still, he tried to meet Eugene again to apologize in person, not just in cookies. As soon as he was done with his business, Arthur walked back to the Invisible Scent's office, but stopped when he heard the omega's name from a group of people in the pantry. He stopped in his tracks and tried to listen.
I'm curious about his whereabouts, okay? There's no use for me to go there if he's home already! Arthur listened while rationalizing.
"Isn't this the last time Eugene will be with us?" someone asked--sounded like one of the scriptwriters.
"Well, Ashley might call him to the filming site from time to time, but yeah...this would be his last time in the office until the post-production," someone replied.
Damnit--Arthur cursed inwardly. He should have been more careful.
"In that case, should we have a team dinner tonight?" another scriptwriter said. "We hadn't had one yet, right? Let's use the company card and go have some drinks with Eugene."
Good idea! Arthur nodded vigorously from where he stood hidden behind the wall.
"No, no, we can't!" someone, however, vehemently rejected the idea. The youngest writer who was close to Eugene. "Eugene can't go out at night, remember?"
"Oh, right!" Arthur heard the sound of someone slapping their forehead. "I forgot that he has a child."
...what?!
Arthur's head was spinning. He was so shocked that he ended up leaving, going straight to his car to have a ride around the town before going home.
What?! A child? That means...Eugene Kim has a partner, right? He can't have a child without a partner, yes, that's reasonable. Then...then it should be reasonable to think that the scent belonged to his partner, right?
Then...could it be Gin as he thought? Right, if both Gin and Eugene Kim were the same age as Arthur, they couldn't be brothers, so they must be lovers.
No--they had a child together, so they must be husbands!
As he reached this conclusion, Arthur clutched his head again.
No wonder Eugene became avoidant again! It was rude to ask about someone's scent when they already had a partner! It was like asking for someone's lover's measurement! It would be icky!
Arthur slumped his head over the steering wheel, groaning in the corner of a dark parking lot of his apartment. He felt like a mess. He had no idea whether the mess was caused by his slip-up or his heartbreak. Perhaps both.
His longtime crush and his new favorite author, both of whom he wished to be his friends...
Arthur wanted to cry. He stared at the black dashboard and sniffed a little bit before sluggishly pulling his back and reaching out for his phone. No matter what his condition was, he still needed to apologize.
[I apologize for what I said in the cafe]
Arthur typed with a heavy heart. Damn cafe again! He made a vow to never go to another cafe with Eugene next time.
If there was even a next time.
[I was being rude, asking about your personal life] sighing, he typed again, and pressed the send button.
* * *
Eugene stared at his phone. More specifically, he stared at the texts Arthur had just sent him. Slowly, his eyes shifted to the bag of delicious cookies on the coffee table. Once again, no matter how upset he was, he couldn't waste food given with good intentions.
Also, the children loved the cookies.
Eugene smiled subtly when he watched Hannah and Tobias have their cookies as their dessert. As usual, Sophie took Hannah to her house when Eugene had a schedule in Seed Production. One of the assistant directors suddenly gave him a bag of cookies from that coffee shop before he left the office, saying it was from Arthur. The alpha bought a whole batch, one of each kind, so Tobias could eat some that didn't have chocolate in it.
Sighing, Eugene only replied with one word.
[Alright]
And then buried his face in his palms, cursing in his mind.
Damn it!
What the hell? Scent? Since when did he have a scent? Wait--right, he didn't have one, right? No one ever said he did, so it was probably another person's pheromone stuck in his clothes or something like that.
...aaargh! Eugene wanted to roll around on the floor while clutching his hair in frustration.
He should have said that! Instead of getting flustered and running away, he should have said that it might be someone else's pheromone that stuck to him when he was using the bus that morning. Fuck--this is so stupid! He was being so stupid!
It was too late now, since he already acted so suspiciously. Even if he told Arthur it wasn't his scent, there was no way the alpha would believe it.
Why? Why did he have to lose his cool like that? Was it because being asked about his scent after so long triggered him again? He never did like being asked about it, since it only invited more questions Eugene wasn't comfortable answering. It reminded him of the past he hated too much, and he just...exploded, he reckoned.
...perhaps it was close to his period. Eugene sighed.
"Hey!" Sophie shoved him playfully as she slotted herself on the couch, bringing him a cup of warm milk with a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar. "Why are you spacing out? Sleep deprived again?"
Eugene blinked slowly, staring at Sophie blankly. He was grateful that at the very least, Sophie didn't see him lamenting in his hands since she was busy preparing the milk for him and the children.
With Eugene only staring at her without answering, Sophie narrowed his eyes. "You're not taking on additional work again, are you?"
"What? No..." Eugene shook his head quickly; shook his mind clear while at it. He drank the milk a little bit, and then glanced at Sophie. "Hey..."
"Hmm?"
"Do I smell?"
"...huh?" Sophie looked up from her phone and turned her head to look at her friend, head tilted inquisitively. She leaned closer and sniffed around Eugene's shoulder. "A bit of coffee and tobacco--did you go to a coffee shop, earlier?"
"No, I mean like--" Eugene bit his lower lip slightly. "Something like a pheromone..."
"Huh?" Sophie sniffed again, closer to his neck this time, and frowned. "No?"
She pulled away and looked at Eugene with narrowed eyes. As the person who currently acted as Eugene's medical proxy, and the one who took care of him during his pregnancy and post-partum depression, she naturally knew about Eugene's physical condition, including the fact that the omega did not emit pheromone.
So what was this scent he was talking about? It couldn't be that someone scented him, right?
"Why? Did you smell something on you?" Sophie asked curiously, scooting closer. "Is your scent gland getting activated or something? Awakening?!"
Eugene pursed his lips. "Do you think this is a comic or something?"
"Why not? You have a perfect protagonist aura!" Sophie huffed.
What kind? Like a miserable single parent struggling to reach a good life? Eugene rolled his eyes.
"Anyway," Sophie leaned closer and sniffed her friend again. "I don't smell anything."
"Smell?"
"Smell?"
Called by Sophie's silly shout about awakening, the two children abandoned their milk and brought their half-eaten cookies to the couch, holding them while sniffing Eugene, copying Sophie perfectly.
Tobias gasped. "Uncle smells like candy!"
"That's because you sniffed my pocket, little rascal," Eugene rolled his eyes and took out three pieces of strawberry milk candies, handed them over to Tobias's open palm.
Sophie wagged her finger at her grinning son. "You can't eat it tonight, okay?"
Eugene chuckled at the boy's sullen expression, feeling relieved that he was still as scentless as ever. A bit of disappointment also sneaked in, but only for a second. As it stands, it would be better for him to stay scentless since the person he originally wanted to avoid had the nose of a hunting dog.
"Papa smells like flowers, you know!"