Strangely feeling like he had gone through a worthy test, Eugene let out a satisfied smile before finally digging into his own noodle.
He did taste it before to adjust the flavor, but you never knew if the other person would be as happy as you while eating it. After all, taste was a matter of preference.
Looking at Arthur devouring that big pot, however, it didn't seem like the alpha was lying when he said he liked it. Eugene also found out that Arthur had a tough mouth and steely tongue, slurping the piping hot broth and noodles.
With that, Eugene could eat his noodles in peace, concentrating on his food. Just like before, they ate in silence for a while, as if immersing themselves in the sea of flavor with those cooked clams and shrimps.
Mm...he was the one who made it, but Eugene couldn't help but praise himself. He could feel the refreshing taste brought about by the clams, and the slight sweetness from the onion and the other vegetables. The sliced green chili added a kick that amped up the refreshing feeling and relieved nausea.
He saved the ingredients, after all!
The only drawback was the clam shells. Getting rid of them broke the flow of eating, so he separated all the clams from their shells as quickly as he could before the noodles got bloated.
Arthur, who had a whole pot of noodles, couldn't bother with that and just slurped noodles while biting the clams off their shells at the same time. He'd casually thrown the empty shells into the bin he had pulled next to the kitchen island with his foot.
Eugene considered himself to be someone with a big appetite, but he felt like a layman in front of a professional big eater. He had to tilt his head to check on the alpha's stomach, wondering if the washboard was still there.
"Have you always eaten this much?" he couldn't help asking. "Like...every meal?"
"Yeah," Arthur paused for a second to think. "Unless I'm in a hurry."
Eugene raised his brows. "All your life?"
Was he probably one of those big eaters with a special constitution who wouldn't gain weight no matter how much food they ate?
"Not at the start," Arthur laughed at Eugene's bewildered expression and shook his head. He considered it for a few seconds before continuing in a more solemn tone. "I told you about my accident, right? Well...I was in a lot of emotional turmoil at that time; lots of tantrums, lots of crying..." he took a deep breath and exhaled with a bitter smile. "I was a mess."
Eugene listened carefully as a strange emotion stirred in his heart. He suddenly recalled his own situation when he found out he was pregnant. It was probably more or less the same--minus the crying. He couldn't shed any tears back then, which actually made things worse.
But having that kind of situation when one was a child, the fear and confusion were probably magnified--especially when everyone around him looked like strangers.
"Nothing could make me feel better, whether it was toys or cartoons--even snacks. I didn't even have any appetite," Arthur continued.
Eugene raised his brows. The idea of Arthur Crowley with no appetite was akin to Hannah Kim refusing to watch those magical girl and princess cartoons. Simply unfathomable!
Arthur laughed again at the disbelief in Eugene's eyes. The idea of making the usually reserved omega revealed more expression was truly exhilarating. Despite the nature of relieving an unpleasant memory, he found himself smiling.
Well...not all the memories were bad, anyway.
"My grandfather, out of desperation, learned to cook from his chef friends and made me all kinds of dishes," he said, bypassing the bad memories. "He would fill the whole table with dishes, hoping I'd eat even one of them."
"Your grandfather is...admirable," Eugene nodded.
And tenacious--he added inwardly. The old man could have just asked those chef friends to make the food, but he chose to learn himself. This grandfather must have loved Arthur a lot.
"At that time, rather than because I wanted to eat, I ended up eating because I saw how hard my grandpa was toiling in the kitchen," Arthur continued. "I stuff myself with food without even caring about the taste, and then...one day, I could finally taste again. It was all delicious."
Eugene pondered for a moment. "Did your stomach develop capacity during that time?"
"Yup," Arthur grinned. "Before I knew it, I wouldn't be satisfied with a normal portion."
"I see..."
Eugene nodded, feeling relieved that it wasn't another genetic trait. He didn't need to fear his grocery store expenses ballooning in the future.
At that moment, Arthur chuckled and added after slurping another big mouthful of noodles. "Actually, I ate so much that I became severely overweight."
"Huh..." Eugene looked up and stopped his noodles in the air.
"Maybe because I was also experiencing puberty at that time?" Arthur shrugged. "My weight increased, along with my height, and I ended up in a hospital again."
"...what?"
Why is this alpha so prone to accidents?
Arthur smiled wryly. "Apparently, I had too much fat squishing my organs."
"Oof..."
"Anyway, I was put under strict diet, but it only made me miss the usual food more," Arthur said with a sigh.
Eugene recalled what he heard from Allen. "Because the diet food is horrible," he muttered.
"You got it!" Arthur slapped the kitchen island joyfully. "I don't want to experience that horrible feeling of getting sick because of my weight, but I also still want to eat food as usual."
"Ah," Eugene quickly formed a conclusion from the whole story. "So, you hit the gym so you can still eat a lot while maintaining your body?"
"Yep," Arthur grinned. "Well...I also have the privilege of being an alpha, so it's easier for me to be in shape."
"You privileged punk," Eugene grumbled, but his lips curled up in a smirk.
Arthur laughed this time, because it didn't feel like an insult. Besides, he already realized that he was indeed enjoying a lot of privilege.
Eugene shook his head and chuckled before proceeding to finish his last mouthful of noodles. With only the toppings left, Eugene walked to the fridge again to look for something refreshing to drink and cleanse his palate.
"Do you still have that lemonade you brought last time?" Eugene asked curiously, scouring the fridge.
"That yellow container at the bottom," Arthur said. "There are strawberries in the fresh section--oh, do you want a morning drink? I have a bottle of gin somewhere."
Oof...that was tempting--if only the offer came last night. But Eugene didn't want to drink when he had to see his daughter in a few hours. "I'll take the lemonade."
Arthur chuckled at the hint of regret inside the omega's voice. "You can take the whole container home if you want."
Eugene froze with the lemonade in his hand, a fight happening inside his mind. Between desire and hesitation, Eugene gulped. "I can?"
"Yeah," Arthur laughed. "My grandfather sends me those every two weeks."
Admirable grandpa! Eugene praised the old man whom he never met before in his mind. "I won't be hesitating, then."
Taking both the lemonade and the strawberry to the table, Eugene suddenly thought of something. From the way Arthur said he had a bottle of gin 'somewhere', it didn't seem like the alpha even consumed it. Thinking back to what Arthur ordered back then, the alpha seemed to prefer something sweet.
Why did he have a bottle of liquor he wouldn't drink, then?
Because of...'Gin'? Because of him? Seeing that the alpha confessed to searching for his scent all these years, it didn't sound too far-fetched.
Pouring a glass of lemonade for himself and the alpha, Eugene asked curiously. "I'm curious about something."
"Yeah?"
"You said you used people's characteristics and scent to recognize them, right?"
Arthur nodded while devouring his noodles, looking at Eugene without stopping his ladle and fork.
"So, you really couldn't recognize me back in the office?"
"Uhh, well..." Arthur almost choked on his noodles as he swallowed quickly. He drank the lemonade to soothe his throat and thought of the way to answer without offending Eugene. "Honestly, it had been six years," he started by defending himself.
Thankfully, Eugene agreed that it was enough time for someone to forget other people's faces. "True," the omega nodded.
"Also...you kind of look different now," Arthur said sheepishly.
"Really?"
"Uh--don't get me wrong. How should I say it?" Arthur added quickly while flailing his hands. "You have a different vibe from 'Gin' back then?"
Honestly, Eugene also knew how different he seemed from back then. But Arthur's reaction was rather funny, so he arched his brow to tease the alpha.
"Umm--back then, you were quite...flashy? Very stylish. Be it the way you style your hair or the way you coordinate your clothes at that time," Arthur followed immediately. "It gave me the feel of someone who is part of a circle...or something."
Eugene leaned back and crossed his arms. "You mean someone who parties a lot?"
Arthur grinned sheepishly. "Yeah?"
To be fair, Arthur wasn't wrong. The Eugene back then spent a lot of time hanging out with his friends--just like any early twenty-something youngsters--who were part of artistic circles. From band players to theatre actors, Eugene even visited some random celebrities' parties sometimes. He also had some stylist friends who liked to use him as their training mannequin, so it influenced his everyday style as well.
Eugene himself didn't think he was that flashy, but for Arthur, who rarely went outside to socialize, the omega definitely gave off a more 'experienced' vibe.
"And the current vibe?" Eugene asked.
"Umm..." Arthur rubbed his lips to choose the word he wanted to convey. "Just...normal? Actually, you looked more like an office worker than an author--or a translator who worked from home," he said. "Even if you told people you worked for a publishing company, they would probably think you were one of the regular employees--like a part of the marketing team or something."
Eugene chuckled at the description. "I see..."
"I didn't...mean it in a bad way," Arthur said while lowering his head, worried he had offended the omega.
Eugene shook his head. "I don't see it as one, don't worry."
After all, that was the style he was going for. He couldn't have people think he was the author from his appearance alone. He just didn't think it would be enough for someone who knew him before to not recognize him properly.
But then again, if one couldn't recognize his face and only used a few characteristic clues, he would probably look like a different person.
"Appearance-wise, you were also a bit more slender in the past," Arthur added.
Eugene looked down at his completely disappearing abs. "I do gain weight..."
"Ugh--I don't mean to say you are fat or anything!"
Eugene didn't respond and merely hid his smile behind his spoon, kind of enjoying seeing Arthur getting flustered from worrying about saying something wrong.
"The constant thing I was sure of was your height, but my perception was already warped," Arthur continued, grimacing slightly. "Since I thought 'Gin' was a beta, I remembered him--uh, well...you--as having a rather average build."
"Ah..."
"But I know Eugene Kim as an omega, so my perception of you was a tall, slightly buff male omega," Arthur shrugged, smiling wryly.
And once a perception had set in, it was difficult to break out of it. Eugene nodded in agreement. "Make sense."
"The most striking thing I remembered about 'Gin' was...the eyes."
Arthur looked at Eugene, who reflexively touched the area around his bare eyes.
"I remembered your eyeshape because...I thought it was beautiful," the alpha continued rather bashfully. "A-and...the violet tint around your green irises was rather memorable."
Indeed, that was also the trait Eugene liked most about himself. He was grateful that his daughter inherited that from him--but ironically, that was also why he wanted to hide Hannah's existence.
He was afraid Arthur would find out the moment the alpha looked at Hannah's eyes.
"But I couldn't see them clearly because you kept wearing glasses," Arthur sighed.
Eugene chuckled. "That was deliberate."
"Seriously?" Arthur groaned. "No wonder..."
Eugene just smirked while finishing the rest of his toppings and gulping down the broth, emptying his bowl. All the while, Arthur was tilting his head up, as if in deep thought.
The alpha ended his musing in a sigh. "You know...I felt really stupid now."
"Why?"
"I mean...I even called you 'Gin'," Arthur shook his head. "How could I miss the connection every time I say 'Eugene'?"