No Alphas Allowed - C117

#117

Suho picked up his phone and read the message again and again. Introducing herself as Taeyun’s mother whom he had met before, she sent a careful message asking for some time. Since he had only briefly sat with her that day, Suho immediately replied that anytime was fine.

Then, when Yoon Miso called, they arranged to meet at a nearby cafe without postponing to another day. Suho arrived first and waited for her.

A request to meet separately from his lover’s parents. Not knowing what kind of conversation would unfold, he felt nervous, but also hopeful that he might be able to hear her true feelings that he hadn’t seen that day.

Even if she said she had never thought of him as a match for her son, he could humbly accept it. Though he had joked to Jin-han that he was too good for Taeyun, his true feelings were the opposite.

Background and such were secondary. Compared to his own darkness, Taeyun was bright sunshine. Confident, uninhibited, elegant, and beautiful… Taeyun, who had all of that, shared his brightness generously with Suho. So naturally, he felt Taeyun was too good for him.

Suho was fiddling with the lemonade he had ordered instead of coffee when he heard the bell ring. As soon as he confirmed who was entering the cafe, he jumped up from his seat. With that quick action, Yoon Miso was able to spot Suho without needing to look around.

“Hello.”

“Did you wait long?”

“I just arrived too.”

After exchanging customary greetings, Yoon Miso took her seat while Suho, who had stood up, sat back down. Once the ordering was done, Suho didn’t know what to say and fumbled. He had thought about what to say before meeting her, but now seeing her, his mind went blank.

“Um, whatever you say…”

“…Thank you.”

Suddenly they both spoke at the same time and their words overlapped. Suho and Yoon Miso, who had hastily closed their mouths, looked at each other awkwardly before turning their heads away. Perhaps because of their reactions that seemed different yet oddly similar, the atmosphere gradually softened.

Yoon Miso kept holding her glass of water, though she had already emptied nearly half of it, as if her throat was still dry. Finally, she let out a small laugh and looked at Suho.

“I’m sorry for suddenly asking to meet. And thank you for accepting my request.”

“It’s nothing.”

“The reason I wanted to meet separately… I’ll be honest. I felt I couldn’t say everything I wanted to with Taeyun present.”

Suho, who had similar thoughts, nodded calmly in response to Yoon Miso’s sincerity. Words she didn’t want Taeyun to hear. Words she wanted to say to his lover in his absence, then of course…

“Thanks to you, my son has changed.”

However, with these unexpected words, Suho could no longer predict what she would say next.

“When Taeyun came home with you, I was surprised to see him acting like a different person. It was very fascinating to see him truly loving and considerate of someone.”

She seemed to know well that her son didn’t easily open his heart to others.

“Taeyun was different from ordinary children since he was young. He always avoided people saying they smelled strange, and I thought maybe it was just because he had a sensitive nose. But when we had him tested, we found out Taeyun could smell other people’s pheromones even before presenting. On top of that, we received results that he was likely to present as dominant, and more attention was poured on the child. He was already the youngest who received plenty of affection, so how do you think it was when that attention increased?”

“It must have been a bit overwhelming.”

“You’re right. It seems he got very tired of many people holding onto him and not letting go. At some point, he drew a line on his own and didn’t let anyone inside it.”

Yoon Miso emptied the rest of her water glass and spoke as if lamenting.

“Even with family.”

Suho recalled what Taeyun had told him before. Taeyun, who had lived a life completely opposite to Suho’s lifelong loneliness, had casually mentioned that he would return all that attention to Suho. But hearing this explanation now, he felt that Taeyun’s life must not have been easy either.

“I was very worried as the child seemed to grow more and more wayward. I watched hoping he might follow along if his older brothers and sister doted on him more, but that didn’t have much effect.”

This was what Yoon Miso hadn’t been able to say last time. She admitted it was a mistake, though she had done it trying to help Taeyun somehow. Seeing her admit it so easily, Suho didn’t know how to react and just moved his lips before closing them again.

“He must have disliked the attention that clung to him for being a dominant alpha and not being able to trust people.”

As Yoon Miso continued speaking, Suho’s head gradually lowered. He had avoided Taeyun for being a dominant alpha without properly looking at him. Thinking about how rude that must have been to Taeyun, he couldn’t raise his head proudly.

“So I was always worried. What if he never opens his heart to anyone in his life?”

At the small twist Yoon Miso presented, Suho lifted his head abruptly. Yoon Miso had been sending a warm gaze along with a subtle smile for some time now.

“I can’t tell you how happy I am that my son now has feelings that allow him to love someone.”

“Does that mean it’s okay for me to stay by Taeyun’s side?”

“Of course. Please stay by Taeyun’s side for a long, long time.”

“Thank you.”

It was already grateful enough that she wasn’t telling him to separate from her son, but Yoon Miso was melting Suho’s heart with even greater words. Yoon Miso smiled brightly as she bestowed warmth until Suho completely melted.

***

Hyun Yusoo was slightly anxious about going out after a long time. It was the first proper outing since the time Jeong Sehun had said he would come looking for him and asked him to go to the headquarters briefly. Having lived almost half his life confined, it wasn’t easy to come out, but today he specially gathered courage at Taeyun’s request.

As Hyun Yusoo looked around the cafe and slowly erased his anxiety while watching the outside reflected through the window, Taeyun drank coffee and looked out the window. He had heard Suho had just been here, and he soothed his regret at the unfortunate timing by looking at the same scenery.

“Thank you.”

It was the first thing Hyun Yusoo said after sitting silently for a long time. Understanding what he meant, Taeyun shook his head as if it was nothing.

“I just contacted you because I was bored coming out alone.”

Though he was deliberately helping Hyun Yusoo to be able to go outside, he didn’t show it at all. It was a mature demeanor very different from how he acted with Suho, always wanting to tell him everything to get praise. This was probably Taeyun’s real face when dealing with other people.

While Hyun Yusoo was alternately recalling Taeyun’s two faces, Taeyun lightly opened the conversation.

“I want to hear about you, Father. Um, what did you do before giving birth to Senior Suho?”

At Taeyun’s question, Hyun Yusoo traced back his memories to before meeting Jeong Sehun. Though it felt like such a distant past, he recalled it as vividly as if it was yesterday.

“I worked part-time at a cafe like this.”

Hyun Yusoo’s eyes grew wistful at the memory of working tirelessly at the repetitive job of taking orders, grinding beans, brewing coffee, and serving customers.

“I found brewing coffee fun, so sometimes I thought about opening my own cafe later. Of course, it was an unrealistic dream that didn’t match my major.”

Even that was all ruined when he met Jeong Sehun. Now Hyun Yusoo had nothing except the empty title of Michon’s CEO. No proper job, no future he had dreamed of.

As thoughts turned to his life ruined because of Jeong Sehun, Hyun Yusoo’s face darkened rapidly. He still hadn’t escaped his influence, and often his heart would be greatly shaken and his mood would plummet like this.

“It seems Senior Suho takes after you.”

But Taeyun’s voice sent a cool breeze through Hyun Yusoo’s dark mood.

“Suho?”

“He likes coffee, doesn’t he? He was happy when I bought him coffee even during class. There were times he chose coffee over meals.”

Wasn’t it himself who had tempted Suho with coffee then? Taeyun briefly made a fox-like expression before continuing.

“I thought he just liked drinking delicious coffee, but he showed interest in brewing it too. So he learned bit by bit, and now he’s really good at it. Senior had fun with it and worked hard, and now it tastes good too.”

“I didn’t know he had such a hobby.”

As the conversation turned to Suho, Hyun Yusoo’s expression lightened considerably. Confirming his mood had improved, Taeyun subtly pushed the coffee cup forward.

“This is the taste Senior Suho likes.”

Only then did Hyun Yusoo take interest in the coffee and slowly savored the taste. With the deep, not-too-sweet aroma, Hyun Yusoo found himself relaxing and enjoying the moment before he knew it. As he fiddled with the cup and gained the leisure to look around, Hyun Yusoo shared his first impression of the cafe.

“The atmosphere is nice.”

“Isn’t it too small?”

“I’m not sure. It can’t accommodate many customers, but it seems infinitely cozy for the cafe owner?”

Hyun Yusoo genuinely seemed to like the cafe.

Taeyun rested his chin on his hand and looked at Hyun Yusoo’s profile as he savored the coffee. Seeing his relaxed expression as he closed his eyes and enjoyed the aroma, an image formed in Taeyun’s mind.

“The cafe has found a new owner.”

The image of Hyun Yusoo handling the espresso machine.