A few peaceful but boring days just passed by. In the anti, Josh spent his ti fixing the roof of the house, planting the saplings his mother had chosen in the garden, cleaning the small pool that hadn’t been filled with water in over ten years, and chasing away the occasional coyote. The old house had many repairs to make, but Josh had plenty of ti.
That day, too, he had been digging up one side of the garden early because an old water pipe was causing trouble. While Pete, who had woken up late, wandered around the garden chasing rabbits, he checked the leaks and asured the size of the pipes that needed to be replaced.
“Take a rest.”
His mother, who had just brought him so lemonade, spoke. Josh, who had co out of the hole and roughly wiped his muddy face and hands with a towel, followed his mother to the tea table. Pete, who had been guarding the rabbit hole, also hurried to his seat for a snack.
The mother, who had been watching Pete drinking lemonade, turned her gaze to Josh. Josh felt like he knew what she was trying to say.
“Does Pete know?”
The mother evasively mumbled the na, careful not to arouse the child’s curiosity. As expected, Pete was busy picking up the cookie and putting it in his mouth, completely unaware that it was about him. Josh, who had been watching him blankly, pushed the bowl of cookies in front of the child and opened his mouth.
“I don’t know yet.”
“Yeah… … .”
The mother trailed off as if she was thinking about sothing. After hearing Josh’s confession, she must have been thinking a lot about this and that, so she continued speaking carefully with a serious expression.
“You’ll have a lot to do in the future. You’ll take care of everything, but… … .”
The mother added quietly.
“I think it’s better to be careful when you first start than to get a divorce later on, Josh.”
Josh looked at his mother with a bewildered expression.
“Emma, ????even if that’s true, you don’t trust
even with your mother?”
“No, that’s not it. I trust everything else.”
You’re saying you don’t trust won.
Josh was dumbfounded. Chase is a man, or that I’ve already thought about it, or that I’m thinking about marriage, so how could you just say that? Many things ca to mind, but all the will to say them disappeared. Instead, Josh concluded firmly.
“Then trust
again.”
“Okay… … .”
His mother closed her mouth, as if she had nothing more to say. An awkward silence fell between them as they drank their lemonade in the calm afternoon sunlight. Josh, who had downed the rest of his drink in one gulp, stood up.
“I’ll go buy a pipe.”
“Oh, Josh. Do you want to buy a mailbox too? It’s old, so I think it needs to be replaced.”
His mother followed suit and stood up. Josh nodded, saying, “Yes,” and then picked up Pete, who was already eating his third cookie.
“Pete, do you want to go with Daddy?”
He asked, stealing the cookie and placing it on a plate. Pete’s interest quickly changed and he hugged Josh’s neck. His mother ca out to the front of the house to see him off as he got into the car, but she didn’t talk about marriage anymore.
Josh drove leisurely down the quiet street with Pete in the baby seat in the back seat. There were few cars on the street and almost no people. Josh felt a strange feeling of familiarity and unfamiliarity at the completely different scenery from the East.
Oh.
Suddenly, he saw a road in his sight and impulsively turned the steering wheel. After driving a little further, he ca across his high school. There were no children coming or going, as if it was a class. Josh stopped the car for a mont and stood there, but before the school security officer noticed sothing suspicious and approached, he started the car again.
Thinking about it, it had been a long ti since I had seen my old school friends. Did they still have their contact information? Josh thought as he drove. If not now, there would be no chance to et them.
He felt like he would go crazy if he didn’t do sothing. Just spending each day blankly was not in his nature. He praised himself for the good idea and picked up the pace.
“Hey, you’re alive? How long has it been!”
If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.
Tommy, who had patted Josh on the shoulder with a loud shout, slapped Josh on the arm again with a twinkle in his eye as soon as he sat down across from him. Josh smiled as he saw Tommy, who had gained so weight but still had his old face.
He had called them in advance during the day and made an appointnt at a chain bar that everyone was familiar with. Of course, Pete had left the car with his mother.
Tommy had been a player on the sa football team in high school, but after graduating, he went to college and beca an engineer. It was surprising that he still had a lot of muscle. Josh looked around Tommy’s body and said,
“You must be working out a lot.”
“You need to take care of yourself. My wife hates fat guys.”
Oh my, Tommy shook his head and asked,
“You’re a bodyguard these days? Hey, so you et celebrities?”
“What, that’s true.”
“Hey! This guy!”
Tommy repeated the sa words again and hit Josh’s arm hard, laughing. Tommy, who hadn’t been very good at language even in school, would sotis repeat the sa words when he got too emotional. This ti, his word seed to be ‘this guy.’ Josh smiled bitterly as he watched him repeat ‘this guy’ again in admiration. Just then, the door to the bar opened and a tall, slender man ca in. Tommy waved when he saw him.
“Hey, Ed! Here!”
“Tommy! Josh!”
He happily crossed the store and hugged Josh. After patting him on the back and exchanging greetings, Josh turned his head and stopped. Two familiar won were standing behind Ed. Ed awkwardly opened his mouth with an embarrassed expression.
“Oh, rember? My sister and brother. I told you I was going to et them today, and they insisted on seeing each other’s faces… … .”
“Josh, it’s been a while.”
“How have you been, Josh? Wow, you’re still handso.”
The sister and brother rushed to greet Josh. Josh smiled and shook their hands in turns. The two of them blushed and smiled without fail, just like Josh had seen before. Ed, who had been looking at them with a disapproving gaze, blurted out.
“You ca out to see , leaving behind your husband and everything, right?”
“Oh, really?”
When Josh asked in surprise, Ed’s older sister and younger brother imdiately opened their eyes wide and started to grab Ed like a mouse.
“You can see your husband today and tomorrow! How long has it been since Josh!”
“Then, the sa! Is your husband and Josh the sa? Josh is Josh!”
If it was a secret place, Ed must have gotten hit several tis. After confirming that Ed was turning his head away with a distorted face, they turned their attention to Josh again. They quickly smiled brightly and spoke.
“I don’t an to interrupt your ti, Josh. I just wanted to say hello.”
“Yeah, I’ll be back soon. Don’t worry, Josh. Oh my, nothing has changed… … .”
The words left a lingering impression like a soliloquy and disappeared. Josh hesitated for a mont and then suggested.
“Would you like a drink each? I’ll buy it.”
“Oh, really? Can I sit down?”
“Then I’ll go with the non-alcoholic one. I brought tea.”
The won sitting on either side of Josh looked up at him expectantly as if they had been waiting. Ed made a fierce expression and pretended to slit his throat with the back of his hand, but it was too late. They each drank a non-alcoholic cocktail and chatted for an hour before getting up. Of course, they didn’t forget to take a picture of themselves with Josh on their phones before leaving.
“It was nice eting you, Josh.”
“Please call
again, please.”
The two exchanged regretful greetings and left the store. Only after Ed confird that they had closed the door and left the store completely did he start to protest to Josh.
“Why did you buy
alcohol for no reason!”
“Sorry, but I can’t just let the girls go.”
“Josh is sweet on girls.”
Tommy shook his head as if he couldn’t help it. Edgar grumbled after him.
“You’re going to get in big trouble if you treat all the girls like that.”
“You’re not going to treat all the girls like that.”
Despite the fact that there was a clear line, his friends didn’t agree. Josh said, looking at him with distrustful eyes.
“Really, if that were the case, I would have married anyone a long ti ago.”
Taking a sip of his non-alcoholic beer, he added casually, “Oh.”
“I was going to tell you anyway, I’m getting married soon.”
“What? Marriage?”
“You? Josh Bailey?”
“Wait, is that a mark on your ear?”
Tommy opened his eyes wide at the belated discovery and pointed. Josh realized belatedly that he had forgotten to cover his ears, but it didn’t matter anyway. After all, most people in this neighborhood who knew Josh would know that he had manifested as an oga. Ed shouted after him.
“Really? Is this the mark? Wow, this is the first ti I’ve actually seen it. I thought he was just injured!”
“Are you marrying the person who has the mark? No, ogas sotis get multiple marks… … No? Is this really the sa person?”
Ed and Tommy’s reactions were not much different from those of their family, so Josh unconsciously furrowed his brows. If they found out that Josh had a child, they would run out into the street and yell at every passerby.
Josh later rembered why he hadn’t contacted his schoolmates. It was because he didn’t want to talk about Pete. This ti, Josh’s marriage alone caused a huge uproar. Ed especially. Tommy was already married and had a child, but Ed was single. He swung his fists in the air several tis with a shocked face.
“How could you do this? You betrayed
too!”
Ed, whose forehead had already receded that far, wrapped his thin scalp around it.
He gulped down his beer, repeatedly shouting “No!” as he belatedly realized there was no alcohol there, and his face twisted, but he couldn’t get too drunk thinking about the car outside. Then, he sighed and opened his mouth as if he had given up.
“Who’s the other person? An alpha?”
“Um, well.”
Josh mumbled sothing. Tommy, who seed to be reliving the shock until then, barely opened his mouth.
“Alpine won aren’t common, but who wouldn’t you et?”
“That’s true.”
Tommy and Ed lightly toasted by clinking their beer bottles together, and then each gulped down their own. Thinking about their mother and Emma’s reactions, it didn’t seem necessary to say that the alpha was a man, so Josh didn’t explain any further. Tommy, who had downed half of his beer in one go, put down the empty bottle and opened his mouth.
“But you have to be careful. If we get divorced, it'll be a headache."
"By the way, did you hear? Josh, you don't know? Dick just got divorced for the second ti and filed for bankruptcy."
Tommy's face twisted at Ed's words.
"Not once, but twice, and we told you to be more careful."
"You should be careful even once, what are you talking about?"
With that, Ed and Tommy glanced at Josh. Josh sighed in disbelief.
"Are you trying to say that I'm acting impulsively right now?"
"I'm saying that being careful is good."
"Yeah, I don't know about other people, but you."
Josh stared blankly at the faces of his high school classmates whom he hadn't seen in years. Who knew his reputation would be like this.
Even though his opponents changed often, he thought he did his best every ti.
He twisted his face, feeling aggrieved.
“Why don’t you go up on top of a building and scream?”
Ed hurriedly waved his hand at Josh’s words.
“No, that’s not what I’m talking about.”
“Yeah, if you do that, people who are going to break up will break up anyway. Rember gan? When she got married, there was no fuss about “I love you on a plane” or sothing, but she got divorced after a month.”
Tommy nodded again with a serious face.
“Anyway, if that’s what you chose, I should support you. Do your best.”
“Are you going to introduce us too? Where are you going to get married? I heard you went to the East Coast, but you moved here?”
Ed changed the subject. Josh vaguely mumbled.
“We haven’t decided that far yet. We’re definitely getting married.”
The two looked at each other as he added a trailing remark on purpose. I was waiting, thinking that he might say sothing negative again, when Tommy suddenly suggested.
“It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other. Do you want to play a ga together this weekend? How about it? Are you busy?”
“Ga? Where?”
Josh asked in surprise. It was obvious what he was suggesting. They were all players on the sa high school football team.
“We can use the empty field at school on the weekend. I’ll get permission in advance. It won’t be hard since we’re all graduates.”
So of the guys had turned pro, but they were all living ordinary lives now. It wasn’t bad to get together and have a blast after a long ti. Above all, Josh was so bored right now and needed sothing to focus on. After ordering a new beer and lightly toasting with his neck, Tommy said.
“Hey, it still feels weird. You’re getting married.”
Edgar, who had just taken a sip of his beer, suddenly started giggling. As Josh and Tommy looked at him with a puzzled look, he opened his mouth with a face that seed to be dying of joy.
“I should tell those idiots, hehehe.”
There was no need to ask who the ‘idiots’ were. Josh and Tommy quickly changed the subject while drinking beer.
*
*
When he finally got ho, all the lights in the house were off. Josh entered the house through the door connected to the garage and headed toward the kitchen through the dark living room.
It wasn’t hard to find things in the kitchen dimly lit by moonlight. Josh poured a cup of tap water and drank it all at once, leaning against the sink and staring into the darkness for a mont. He checked his phone, but there was no call he was waiting for.
It had been nearly two weeks, so filming must have ended. What happened after that? He must have been receiving treatnt.
He was curious about the progress, but there was no way to know. The security team, including Mark, were busy with work, so it was difficult to contact them first, and even if they did contact them, it was questionable whether they would easily tell him about the client. Maybe they didn’t know the real situation either. Josh had no other choice but to wait helplessly for the call.
Suddenly, he felt a craving for a cigarette. He rembered that he hadn’t smoked a single cigarette since he ca to his mother’s house. After thinking for a mont, he quickly pulled himself away from the sink and went out into the garden through the attached door.
The pack of cigarettes was half empty. Josh took out one of the remaining cigarettes and put it in his mouth, lighting it skillfully. The fla of the lighter flashed for a mont and then quickly ford a stable shape. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, and the scent of nicotine that he had tasted for the first ti in a long ti made his head dizzy for a mont.
Was it similar to when Chase poured out pheromones?
Josh, who had vaguely recalled the mory, shook his head. It couldn’t be. He smiled bitterly, but his expression soon disappeared. He stared blankly into a corner of the dark garden, slowly releasing the smoke he had inhaled deeply.
… … I miss you.
Josh stood there for a while with a half-burned cigarette between his fingers. Soon after, he went into his room and lay down on his bed, but there was no news of Chase until the weekend.
*@Punhap*
As always, the weather was wonderfully clear. Tommy, who had called Josh the day before to confirm the arrangent once more, said in an excited voice.
[Everyone is here, it’s great!]
After eating a light breakfast and playing with Pete for a bit, Josh left ho and decided not to worry about Chase today. There was no point in being anxious since he was just waiting for the results to co in.
The school parking lot was empty because it was a holiday. There were a few cars here and there, but the purpose was obvious. Josh got out of the car and headed straight to the football field where they used to run around.
“Josh!”
“Oh my god, how long has it been?”
“Hey, how co you’re still the sa?”
Everyone who found him greeted him eagerly. Shaking hands with so, hugging others, patting others on the back, Josh matched each of the faces he hadn’t seen in a long ti with the ones in his mory.
After graduation, there was another guy who had manifested as an Alpha. Wilson, who had been the ace of a rival school’s football team before Josh manifested, was one of them. I heard that he had left for another city after manifesting. Anyway, they were all stories from their energetic childhoods. In addition to Wilson, Chuck, who had been on Josh’s team, was also the sa. He hesitated and stood a little distance away, but when he saw Josh’s mark, he was relieved.
“You said you were getting married, but you got the mark first?”
Chuck asked curiously. The guy’s ears were clean. Josh answered vaguely.
“That’s it. Don’t worry, you won’t be swayed by your pheromones.”
“Yeah, that’s good.”
Alphas often take dicine to prepare for ruts. Just like many ogas who don’t necessarily take dicine, Alphas were no different, and this guy seed to be one of them. However, the scent of pheromones he gave off had no effect on Josh. There was only one scent that drove him crazy.
Josh, who was about to lose himself in thought again, quickly changed the subject.
“Are you all prepared? I said I’d lend you the ball, so there’s no need for a referee, right?”
As they each put on the protective gear they had brought in the car, they felt like they had gone back to their school days. The team tossed a coin to divide the team, and the positions were the sa as they had in high school. Josh was the quarterback.
“Okay, everyone ready?”
If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.
Everyone exchanged glances and nodded excitedly at Josh’s question. The mbers were all excited about playing in a ga they hadn’t played in a long ti. They tossed a coin to decide the order of attack, and then stood in their respective positions and waited for the ga to start. Josh’s team attacked first. Josh waited for the defense team to throw the ball. And then the ga started right away.
“Run!”
“Catch it, Dean!”
“That kid, don’t do that!”
They started running like crazy here and there, yelling. Other guys rushed over the guy who caught the ball, and the attacker who barely made it forward started the next attack.
Running across the field required a lot of stamina. He was blocked several tis and sotis dropped the ball he was trying to pass.
“Hey, you guys. Are you really serious about this?”
Tommy said, taking a short break, catching his breath. Tommy was no exception. Josh turned his gaze straight ahead after seeing the faces burning with competitive spirit that he hadn’t seen in a long ti.
“I’m serious too.”
“ too.”
Everyone agreed with Tommy. Once the ga started, they absolutely could not lose. They started running with cheers that echoed through the quiet school on a holiday. But this ti, they could not break through the defense. Swears and sighs flowed out, and they regrouped again. In the next attack, they barely made it over the line.
“Josh, can you do that?”
Ed asked casually. Josh knew what it was without having to ask. They had broken through the defense together several tis and won the ga back then.
“Try it.”
Ed smirked at Josh’s short answer, glancing at him. Tension spread among the guys standing in line. Soon, the ball flew in, and the big guys collided with each other.
“Josh!”
Ed caught the ball, shouted, and passed it high. Josh started running like crazy, chasing the ball flying in a long arc. As he avoided the guy blocking his way, soone imdiately rushed to grab his waist. As expected, he turned his body and dodged.
Another guy blocked Josh’s path. Josh shoved him hard with his shoulder.
“Run, run Josh!”
The guys on the sa offense team shouted and worked hard to block the defense. Josh barely managed to shake off the guy who was tangled around his waist and ran away in an instant. Soon after, he crossed the line, and the guys on the sa team cheered and shook their fists.
“Touchdown!”
“Hey, Josh! You’re still useful!”
“Hey, this should have destroyed K High School back then!”
They were running here and there, hugging Josh and shouting in joy. They were so intoxicated with the sense of victory they had felt for the first ti in a long ti that they didn’t notice the stranger crossing the field at all.
The visitor walked straight toward them without any hesitation. The well-maintained grass completely drowned out the sound of his footsteps, and the excitent even erased his presence.
“Uh.”
Suddenly, Tommy turned his head and belatedly discovered the man. However, he had no ti to do anything. Almost at the sa ti, the man grabbed Tommy’s chin and pushed him away, and he fell out with a single scream.
Before he could even fight back, the man grabbed Josh’s shoulder and pushed away several large n who surrounded him. Josh, who had been playing with his friends for the first ti in a long ti and was completely relaxed, had not noticed the situation until then. Suddenly, his shoulder was grabbed and he was roughly turned around, and he instinctively threw a punch.
A creepy sound of bones cracking echoed. Josh, who had been shaking his frozen fist, suddenly stopped. A sweet scent that he had forgotten for a while ca from the gorgeous blond man wearing a dark blue suit that did not match the stadium at all. The scent that usually lingered faintly around him, however, was strong enough to make him furrow his brow at this mont. At his feet lay a pair of dark sunglasses, shattered and scattered, having just been hit by a punch.
The man who had been punched in the face out of nowhere slowly straightened up from his crouch. When he straightened up completely, everyone, including Josh, looked up at him. The man, who was six inches taller than Josh, looked down at him and spoke in a low voice.
“Bailey.”
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