A peaceful but boring few days passed by. In the meantime, Josh spent his time repairing the house's roof, planting seedlings his mother had picked in the garden, cleaning a small swimming pool that hadn't been filled with water in more than a decade, and chasing away the occasional coyote that came down. The old house needed fixing up all the time, but Josh had plenty of time.
That day too, he had been digging out one side of the garden with a shovel early because the old water pipe was causing trouble. While Pete stayed up late and wandered around the garden, chasing rabbits, he checked for leaks and measured the size of pipes that needed to be replaced.
"Get some rest," his mother, who happened to be bringing lemonade, spoke to him.
Josh got out of the hole, wiped his muddy face and hands with a towel, and followed his mother to the tea table. Pete, who was guarding the rabbit post, also hurried to his seat to have a snack.
His mother, who had been watching Pete drink lemonade, turned to Josh. Josh had a feeling he knew what she was trying to say.
"Does Pete know?"
His mother was careful not to make the child curious by vaguely explaining. As expected, Pete was busy picking up a cookie and bringing it to his mouth, completely unaware that he was being talked about. Josh, who was staring at the child and pushing the bowl full of cookies in front of Pete, opened his mouth.
"He doesn't know yet."
His mother trailed off as if she was thinking about something. After hearing Josh's confession, she seemed to have thought about a lot of things and spoke carefully with a serious face.
"There will be a lot of work ahead. You will have to take care of it all." His mother quietly added. "Josh, I think it's better to do it carefully the first time than to get divorced later in life."
Josh looked at his mother with a puzzled look on his face.
"First Emma and now even my mother doesn't trust me?"
"No, that's not it, I believe in everything else."
That meant he didn't believe in women and their intuition.
Josh was dumbfounded. There were many things that came to his mind, such as Chase being a man, or that he had already thought about it, or, conversely, that he had even thought about getting married seriously, but all the will to talk was gone. Josh instead spoke firmly.
"Then trust me this time too."
"Okay..."
His mother shut her mouth, as if she had nothing more to say. There was an awkward silence between them as they drank lemonade in the calm afternoon sunlight. Josh drank the rest of his drink in one go and stood up.
"I'm going to go buy a pipe."
"Oh, Josh, can you get a mailbox too? It's old and needs to be replaced." His mother stood up after him.
"Sure," Josh said, nodding his head and picking up Pete, who was already picking up his third cookie. "Pete, do you want to go with daddy?"
After he was asked the boy gently took the cookie and placed it on the plate. Pete quickly changed his focus and hugged Josh's neck. His mother came out to the house to see them off as they got into her car, but she said nothing more about his marriage.
While driving with Pete sitting in the baby seat in the back seat, Josh leisurely ran through the quiet streets. There were few cars on the streets and hardly any people. Josh felt a strange feeling, familiar yet unfamiliar with the scenery, which was completely different from the eastern part.
Uh.
Suddenly he saw a road come into view and impulsively turned his steering wheel. After running a little further he came upon the high school he attended. There was no sight of children coming and going, probably because they were in the middle of class. Josh stopped the car and stood there for a moment before the school security guard noticed something suspicious and started the car again before he approached.
When he thought about it, it had been a long time since he had met his classmates. Do I have any contact information of them? Josh thought as he drove the car. Otherwise, there was no chance of meeting with them.
He felt like he would go crazy if he didn't do something. Just sitting around day after day in a daze was not his aptitude. He told himself it was a good idea and sped up.
*
"Hey, are you still alive? It's been so long since then!" Tommy shouted loudly and tapped Josh on the shoulder. As soon as he sat down across from him, his eyes sparkled with emotion and he shouted, "You bastard!" and he hit Josh hard again.
Josh smiled as he looked at Tommy, who had gained quite a bit of weight but still had the same old face.
He contacted them in advance during the day and made an appointment at a chain bar that everyone was familiar with. Of course, Pete had left with his mother earlier.
Tommy was a player on the same football team in high school, and after graduation he went to college and became an engineer. It was surprising that he still had quite a lot of muscle.
Josh said after looking around Tommy's body. "It looks like you exercise a lot."
"I have to take care of it. My wife hates fat men."
Tommy shook his head and then asked.
"You're working as a bodyguard these days? Hey, so did you meet any celebrity?"
"Well, that's right."
"Hey! You bastard!" Tommy laughed, repeating the same words again and hitting Josh hard on the arm. Even in school, Tommy, who did not have very good grades at English, would sometimes repeat the same words when he was feeling too emotional. This time his word seemed to be 'you bastard'. Josh smiled bitterly as he looked at him repeating 'you bastard' with admiration again. Just then, the door to the bar opened, and a tall, slim man entered. Tommy saw him and waved his hand.
"Uh, Ed! Here you are!"
"Tommy! Josh!"
He happily crossed the store and hugged Josh. After patting his back and exchanging pleasantries, Josh turned his head and paused. Two unfamiliar women were standing behind Ed. Ed opened his mouth awkwardly with an embarrassed expression.
"Uh. Do you remember? It's my older sister and my younger sister. When I told them I was meeting you today, they said they really wanted to see your face..."
"Josh, it's been a while."
"How are you, Josh? Wow, you're still so handsome."
His older sister and younger sister raced to greet Josh. Josh smiled and shook hands with them in turn. The two of them smiling, with blushing cheeks, had the same expressions that Josh was used to seeing. Ed, who was looking at them with a disapproving gaze, blurted out.
"Does it make sense that you left everything, including your husbands, and came out to see him?"
"Uh. Really?" As soon as Josh asked in surprise, Ed's older sister and younger sister opened their eyes and started chasing Ed like they were catching a mouse.
"I can see my husband today and tomorrow! It's been a while since I saw Josh!"
"Well, then! Are you and my husband the same as Josh? Josh is Josh!"
If it had been a hidden place, Ed would have definitely received a few hits. After checking Ed, who turned his head away with a distorted face, they turned their attention to Josh again. The two immediately started talking with bright smiles.
"I don't mean to interrupt your time, Josh. I just wanted to say hello."
"Yeah, I'll be back soon. No pressure, Josh. God, nothing's changed."
The words behind him disappeared, leaving behind a lingering sound, like talking to oneself. Josh thought for a moment and then proposed.
"Would you like to have a drink? I'll buy it for you."
"Oh, really? Can I sit down?"
"Then I'll have something alcohol-free since I brought my car."
The women sitting on either side of Josh looked up at him expectantly, as if they had been waiting. Ed made a grim expression and tried to fake slit his own throat with the back of his hand, but it was already too late. They drank a glass of non-alcoholic cocktail each and chatted for an hour before standing up. Of course, they didn't forget to take a picture with Josh on their respective cellphones before leaving.
"It was nice seeing you, Josh."
"Please contact me again next time, by all means."
The two took turns exchanging regretful greetings and left the store. Only after he was sure that they had closed the door and completely left the store did Ed begin to protest against Josh.
"Why did you buy so much alcohol?!"
"Sorry, but I couldn't just let the girls go."
"Josh is usually sweet with girls." Tommy shook his head as if there was nothing he could do and said nothing.
Then Ed grumbled after him. "If you keep being so nice to random women, one day you will get hit hard."
"It's not like I'm nice to just any woman."
Even though there was a clear line, his friends did not agree with it. Josh said, receiving looks of disbelief. "Really, if that were the case, I would have married someone a long time ago."
He took a sip of non-alcoholic beer and casually added, "Ah."
"I was going to tell you otherwise, but I'm getting married soon."
"What? Marriage?"
"You? Josh Bailey?"
"Wait a minute, is that a mark on your ear?"
Tommy's eyes widened at his belated discovery and he pointed a finger at him. Josh realized too late that he had forgotten to cover his ears, but it didn't matter. Anyway, most people who knew Josh in the neighborhood knew that he manifested as an omega, so Ed shouted after him.
"Really? Is this a mark? Wow, this is the first time I've seen one in person. I thought you were just hurt!"
"Are you marrying someone with a mark? No, because omegas sometimes receive multiple marks, right? Are they really the same person?"
Ed and Tommy's reaction was not much different from that of their families, so Josh inadvertently furrowed his brows. If the two found out that Josh had a child, they would surely be ready to run out into the street, grabbing and yelling at everyone passing by.
In hindsight, Josh remembered why he had not contacted his classmates all these years. Because he couldn't be bothered to talk about Pete. This time too, Josh's marriage alone caused them an uproar. Especially Ed. Tommy was already married and had a child, but Ed was single. He punched several times with a shocked look on his face.
"How could you do this? Even you betrayed me!"
Ed, whose hairline had already receded that much, grabbed his thin scalp and shouted "No!" over and over again before gulping down his beer. He belatedly realized that there was no alcohol there and his face scrunched up, but considering the car standing outside, he couldn't get too drunk. Afterwards, he sighed and opened his mouth as if he had given up.
"What is your partner? Alpha, right?"
"Um what?" Josh blurted out his words.
Tommy, who until then seemed to be reliving his shock, barely opened his mouth. "Alpha women are not common. Well, who can't you meet?"
"That's right."
Tommy and Ed clinked the necks of their beer bottles and made a light toast, then each took a gulp. Considering his mother and Emma's reactions, he didn't think it was necessary to say that the alpha was male, so Josh didn't explain any further. After drinking half a beer in one go, Tommy put down the empty bottle and opened his mouth.
"Still, you have to be careful. If you get divorced, it'll be a headache."
"By the way, did you hear? Josh, you don't know, right? Dick just got divorced for the second time and filed for bankruptcy."
Tommy's face contorted at Ed's words.
"He did it not once, but twice, and we told him to be more careful."
"What do you mean you have to be careful even more?"
With those words, Ed and Tommy glanced towards Josh. Josh was dumbfounded and sighed.
"Are you trying to tell me that I'm acting impulsively?"
"It's better to be cautious."
"Yes, no one else knows but you."
Josh stared at the faces of his high school classmates whom he had not seen in years. Who would have thought his own reputation was like that. Even though he changed partners often, he thought he did his best every time.
He distorted his face, feeling quite aggrieved.
"Can you go up on a building somewhere and yell at me?"
Ed hurriedly waved his hand at Josh's words.
"No, I'm not talking about that."
"Yeah. Even if you do something like that, everyone ends up breaking up. Remember Megan? When she got married, she said she loved him on a plane in the sky and there was no fuss, but she divorced after a month."
Tommy, who spoke with a serious face, nodded his head. "Anyway, if it's your choice, I support you. Do your best."
"Are you going to introduce us too? Where are you going to get married? I heard you moved to the East, but did you move back?" Ed asked, changing the subject.
Josh blurted out his words. "I haven't decided yet, but I'm definitely getting married."
After deliberately adding an afterthought, the two looked at each other. As he waited, thinking that something negative might be said again, Tommy suddenly made a suggestion.
"It's been a while since we've seen each other, would you like to play a game together this weekend? How is it? Are you busy?"
"Game? Where?" Josh asked in surprise.
It was obvious that it was the game he proposed. They were all players on the same high school football team.
"We can use the school's empty stadium on weekends. I'll get permission in advance. It's not difficult since we're graduates."
There were some guys who turned pro, but they were all living normal lives now. It wasn't a bad idea to get together and run for the first time in a while. More than anything, Josh was so bored right now and needed something to occupy himself with. Tommy said after ordering a new beer, clinking our necks and making a light toast.
"Hey, it still feels weird. You're getting married."
Ed took a swig of beer and suddenly started giggling. As Josh and Tommy looked on in puzzlement, he opened his mouth with a look of joy on his face.
"We need to talk to those idiots, hehe."
There was no need to ask who the 'idiots' were. Josh and Tommy quickly changed the topic over beers.
***
When he finally got home, all the lights in the house were off. Entering the house through the door connected to the garage, Josh passed through the dark living room and headed toward the kitchen.
It wasn't that difficult to find items in the dimly lit kitchen. Josh poured tap water in a cup, leaned against the sink, and stared into the darkness for a moment. He checked his cell phone, but none of the calls he was waiting for were there.
Almost two weeks have passed, so filming must have been completed. What happened after that? Chase must still be receiving treatment.
He was curious about the progress, but had no way of knowing. It was difficult to contact the security team, including Mark, because they were busy working, and even if he did, it was doubtful whether it would be easy for them to talk about the client. Maybe they didn't know the real situation either. Josh had no other choice than to just wait patiently for a call.
Suddenly, he wanted to smoke like crazy. He remembered that he hadn't smoked a single cigarette since he came to his mother's house. After thinking about it for a moment, he immediately pulled himself away from the sink and went out into the garden through the connected shutter.
The cigarette pack was half empty. Josh took out one of the remaining cigarettes and put it into his mouth, lighting it skillfully. The lighter's flame flashed for a moment, but soon took on a stable form. He inhaled the smoke deeply and exhaled it slowly. The scent of nicotine that he had tasted for the first time in a long time made his mind dizzy for a moment.
Was this similar to when Chase poured out pheromones?
Josh, who vaguely remembered, immediately shook his head. No way. There was a bitter smile that appeared, but the expression soon disappeared. Slowly exhaling the smoke he had inhaled deeply, he stared blankly into a dark corner of the garden.
...I miss you.
Josh stood there for a while with a half-burned cigarette hanging 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.
***
As always, the weather was beautiful. Tommy, who had called Josh the day before to confirm the appointment once more, spoke with great excitement.
"They're all coming, it's amazing!"
After eating as light a breakfast as possible and playing with Pete a bit, Josh left home and decided not to worry about Chase for a while. There was no point in being anxious as all he could do was wait for the results to come out.
The school parking lot was empty because it was a holiday. A few cars were standing here and there, but the place was empty. Josh got out of the car and headed straight to the football field where they were playing.
"Josh!"
"Oh my god, how long has it been since then?"
"Hey, how are you still like this?"
Everyone who spotted him rushed forward to greet him warmly. Shaking hands with some, hugging others, and patting others on the back, Josh matched each face he hadn't seen in a long time with the one in his memory.
There was also a guy who appeared as an alpha after graduation, such as Wilson, who was the ace of a rival school when he was playing on the football team before Josh manifested. He heard that he left for another city after the manifestation. Anyway, it was all a story from their energetic childhood. Besides Wilson, Chuck was also on the same team as Josh. He hesitated, standing a short distance away, but was immediately reassured when he saw Josh's mark.
"You said you were getting married, but did you carve your mark first?" Chuck asked curiously. The guy's ears were clean.
Josh vaguely gave an answer. "That's right. Rest assured, I won't be swayed by your pheromones."
"Yeah, that's a relief."
Alphas often took medicine to prepare for their rut. Just as there were many omegas who did not take medicine, alphas were no different, and this guy seemed to be the same. However, the pheromone scent emanating from him had no effect on Josh. There was only one scent that drove him crazy.
Josh, who was about to get lost in his thoughts again, hastily changed the topic. "Has everyone prepared well? They said they would lend us the ball, so there's no need for a referee, right?"
As they put on the protective gear brought in the car one by one, they felt like they had returned to their school days for the first time in a long time. The teams were divided by flipping a coin, and the positions remained the same as those held in high school. Josh was the quarterback.
"Okay, everyone ready?"
At Josh's question, everyone took turns looking at each other and nodding with excitement. The members all seemed excited about playing for the first time in a long time. After flipping a coin to determine the attack order, everyone stood in their respective positions and waited for the game to start. Josh's team struck first. Josh waited for the ball to come from the defensive team. And the game started right away.
"Run!"
"Get him, Dean!"
"You bastard, you can't do that!"
He started yelling and running like crazy here and there. Other guys pounced on the guy who caught the ball, and the attacker who barely advanced started his next attack again.
Running across the field required considerable stamina. He was blocked several times and sometimes dropped the ball he was trying to pass.
"Hey, you guys. I guess you're really serious about this," Tommy said, taking a moment to catch his breath. Tommy was no exception.
Josh, seeing a face burning with a competitive spirit that he hadn't seen in a long time, turned his gaze straight ahead again.
"I'm serious too."
"Me too."
Everyone agreed with what Tommy said. Once you start the game, you can never lose. On a holiday, with shouts of joy rising through the quiet school, they started running. However, this attack could not break through the defense. Swearing and sighing flowed out, they reorganized their ranks again. In the ensuing attack, they barely crossed the line.
"Josh, can you do that?"
Ed was hinted at. Josh knew without even having to ask what it was. At that time, they broke through the defense several times together and won the game.
"Try."
At Josh's short answer, Ed looked at him with closed eyes and grinned. There was tension among the fairies. Soon the ball flew and the hammers collided.
"Josh!" Ed, who caught the ball, shouted and passed the ball high. Josh started running like crazy, chasing the ball flying in a long parabola. As soon as he dodged the guy blocking his way, he immediately ran towards someone to grab him by the waist. As expected, another guy blocked Josh's path as he turned to avoid it. Josh pushed him hard with his shoulder.
"Run, run Josh!"
The guys on the same attack team shouted and worked hard to block the defense. Josh, who barely managed to get rid of the guy stuck to his waist, ran away in an instant. Soon he crossed the line, and the guys on his team were pumping their fists and cheering.
"Touchdown!"
"Hey, Josh! You're still good!"
"Hey, I should have destroyed K High School back then with this!"
It was a time when people were running here and there, hugging Josh, shouting, and enjoying the joy. Intoxicated with the feeling of victory they had not felt in a long time, they did not notice the unfamiliar visitor crossing the stadium.
The visitor walked straight towards them without any distraction. The well-maintained lawn completely drowned out the sound of footsteps, and the excited atmosphere even erased his presence.
"Huh?"
Tommy suddenly turned his head and belatedly spotted the man. But he didn't have time to do anything. Almost immediately, the man grabbed Tommy's chin and pushed him down, causing him to fall out with a loud scream.
Before he had time to counterattack, the man grabbed and pushed aside several large people surrounding him in layers and grabbed Josh's shoulder. Josh, who was relaxed after playing with his friends for the first time in a while, was oblivious to the situation. Suddenly, he was grabbed by the shoulder and roughly turned, and for a moment he reflexively threw out his fist.
The eerie sound of bones turning against the wall echoed. Josh, who was quickly shaking his numb fist, paused for a moment. The gorgeous blonde man, wearing a dark blue suit that did not match the stadium at all, gave off a sweet scent that he had forgotten about for a while. The scent that usually floated around softly was strong enough to distort his eyebrows at that moment. At his feet, the dark sunglasses that had just been blown away by his fist were lying in pieces.
The man who had been hit in the face out of nowhere slowly straightened his crouched body. When he fully straightened his back, everyone, including Josh, looked up at him. A man six inches taller than Josh pulled him out.
He looked up and opened his mouth in a low voice.
"Bailey."