Initially, Eugene had planned to meet Hannah and the others at the waterpark. But that was before he smelled the alcohol and tobacco latched onto his clothes from his contact with Arthur. There was no way he could let his little hunting puppy smell them.
Besides, it would be weird to show up wearing the same clothes he wore yesterday.
Thus, he had no choice but to go home instead. For that, he had to take a convoluted bus route to make sure Arthur couldn't lock in his real address. Because of that, it took him two hours to come home, including the time he used to make a short grocery run.
Coming back from Arthur's full pantry reminded him that he didn't have much at home to feed his daughter.
Entering the empty house, he immediately took off his clothes after putting away his groceries. Before throwing them into the washing machine along with the rest of his laundry, Eugene brought the fabric to his nose.
He still smelled the faint smell of alcohol and tobacco there, but he also wondered if he could smell something else. His pheromone? Arthur's pheromone? He sniffed his sweater, especially around the back area, wishing for something similar to what he read within Arthur's scent library's label.
Disappointingly, there was nothing.
Eugene threw his clothes inside the washing machine with a sigh. There was no woody, grassy, forest-like smell, nor was there a powdery, musky, flowery smell.
But then again, maybe it only came from his scent gland, and not enough to stick to his clothes. Perhaps Arthur didn't let out any pheromone at all last night.
Or maybe his pheromone receptor was as dysfunctional as always.
He took a shower while the washing machine did its job, rubbing away any leftover scent on his person. Since he couldn't trust his own nose, he couldn't be sure whether he carried Arthur's scent or not. He didn't want Hannah to come home and ask him about an unknown scent stuck to his skin.
"Should I clean the house while at it?" Eugene tilted his head in contemplation after finishing his shower.
Who knew if the scent he carried had scattered in the air when he entered the house. He certainly didn't want to take any chances. Besides...
Looking at Arthur's room made him a bit self-conscious.
"Is he just neat in nature, or is it discipline?" Eugene wondered while picking up the blanket lying on the rug since yesterday.
At first, he thought Arthur's place was neat because he employed a housekeeper--just like Sophie and Allen. But when he watched the alpha wash the dishes without any sign of awkwardness, he could tell that Arthur was no stranger to house chores. The kitchen also returned to its neat and clean appearance before Eugene raided it, so it convinced the omega that Arthur cleaned his own place.
Compared to that...
Eugene stared at his own apartment. It wasn't exactly dirty, but it was a bit of a mess. There were toys stuck in random places, a towel hung on a chair's backrest instead of a rack, and stickers all over the place.
Well, it was indeed hard keeping a house exactly tidy with a small child at home, but...Eugene felt he could do better with the extra time he had these days.
Eugene sighed as he started to pick up the toys hidden beneath the couch and behind the curtains. Hmph--why would an alpha be good at cooking and house cleaning? Eugene grumbled in pettiness before pausing and shaking his head.
"No--no, Eugene. That is a gender bias."
Yes. Cleaning one's own house had nothing to do with one's gender, be it primary or secondary. Eugene had promised himself to get out of this so-called gender bias that had trapped himself in self-hatred for so long, so he scolded himself thoroughly while mopping the whole apartment.
Thankfully, since the apartment had just gone through a thorough cleaning by Sophie's house assistant not long ago, it wasn't very dirty. Eugene managed to clean everything, including his kitchen, before lunch. He was thinking about putting labels on his containers just like Arthur did when he received a notification from Sophie that the kids were about to eat lunch.
Since he didn't need to make lunch for Hannah anymore, Eugene decided to take it easy by making a simple sandwich with a lot of vegetables inside to combat the sodium he ingested during breakfast. He wondered if Arthur was going crazy in the gym after he left, and chuckled at the thought.
He sighed deeply afterward.
Fuck! He slammed his head into the dining table and groaned audibly, lamenting how things unraveled last night.
He truly didn't think he would get found out that fast. Was it right to just fold like that? Should he fight more to deny it? But, ugh...Eugene had already feeling too guilty, deceiving someone with affliction. Besides...
He had no heart to keep lying to someone who had bared his heart so clearly like that to him.
Eugene had guessed it from the time Arthur mentioned how much he wanted to meet 'Gin'. The alpha might say it was due to gratitude, but the way Arthur talked...it contained a different kind of tenderness. It seemed that, at some point, the image of Gin and Eugene overlapped with each other, and that tender feeling shifted to Eugene.
Although they were basically the same person.
Was this guy so lonely that he became attached to anyone who treated him fairly well? Eugene didn't think he ever treated Arthur differently. If anything, he was quite rude, and they kept arguing at the start. But once the ice wall melted, they did converse quite well--something that Arthur had difficulty achieving with other people.
But...could someone fall for another person because of that? Simply because they conversed well? He couldn't possibly harbor feelings just because they slept once...right?
Eugene, who used to have a lot of friends and had no qualm about connecting with other people, couldn't understand it. Eugene, who saw sex as something casual, couldn't understand it.
"Haa...what should I do?" Eugene ran his fingers through his hair and gripped his head in frustration.
Honestly, it would be much easier for Eugene if Arthur just didn't care--like any other alpha. It would be better if Arthur just forgot about him; just saw him as someone he slept with once while being tipsy.
But, now...now that he found out...
How long would it take for the alpha to somehow see Hannah and deduce something from it?
Should he just come clean? Arthur doesn't seem so bad. He wasn't angry about Eugene deceiving him and having sex with him while being an omega. Well, at least he wasn't angry anymore. So...maybe it would be alright? Maybe they could talk it out and ascertain that Hannah would always be registered as his family.
"No!" Eugene slammed his fist against the table to snap out of his naive thought.
You heard him, Yujin. He didn't want to have kids before marriage. He was a conservative. While it might mean Arthur wouldn't want to have anything to do with Hannah, the biggest probability for a conservative was also to make sure the child belonged to the alpha's family. The family might even demand that they get married because of it!
He knew. He lived with a bunch of conservative and alpha supremacist for eighteen years.
Yeah. He couldn't let that happen.
Get your shit together, Yujin. Don't get swayed just because it felt nice to have someone acknowledge your 'identity' as an omega for once.
Eugene buried his face in his hands for a full minute until he heard the chime of his front door. Two seconds later, he could hear his daughter's excited voice calling for him.
"Papaaaa!"
As if his legs were made of springs, Eugene left the dining table and caught the little girl in a big hug. Hannah squealed while nuzzling the side of his neck, giggling.
"Hannah missed Papa!"
"I missed you, too," Eugene embraced his little girl tightly, swaying her in his arms.
Yeah. He couldn't take any risk. He had to hide Hannah even more. Whether it was to hide Hannah or to curb the alpha's feelings, he should avoid spending time with Arthur from now on.
Hannah sighed while hugging her father's neck. "Haa...hugging Papa is the best..." she mumbled quietly before falling asleep on Eugene's shoulder.
Eugene chuckled. The girl must have been playing hard at the waterpark. He glanced at Sophie by the door, who told him she had to return quickly because Toby had already fallen asleep in the car.
Before leaving, however, she gave her a meaningful look and pointed at her phone. "Call me later."
Well...since Allen knew he was together with Arthur last night, of course Sophie would find out, too. Actually, Eugene was surprised that Sophie held back enough from bombarding her phone with questions.
Eugene knew very well that Sophie still thought it would be better if he and Arthur got together.
Unfortunately, he had no intention to catch a feeling for Arthur. Or anyone else, for that matter.
He had no intention to share Hannah with anyone else.
Ever.