When someone was faced with two choices, they often used a form of 'divination' to decide which choice they would take. Either by plucking a flower's petals, or by throwing a coin. More often than not, however, their true desire would reveal during the process of waiting for the last petal, or the time needed for the coin to fly in the air.
Eventually, regardless of the divination's result, they had already made a choice in their heart.
In Arthur's case, he already knew what answer he wanted to receive from his mother. Despite knowing that his online search revealed nothing, Arthur still wished his mother would say that the perfume with neutralizer effect did indeed exist in this world.
Because then, he wouldn't need to doubt Eugene. Because it would mean Eugene didn't lie about the scent. It would mean Eugene only lied about having a partner, which Arthur could chalk up as an omega's caution against an alpha he hadn't known for a very long time.
But now, he had to face the confirmation that Eugene was lying to him about something else.
Arthur was good enough to differentiate pheromone from perfume. That particular scent, however, was so faint it confused him. It smelled like a pheromone, but not strong enough to be pinpointed as one. If it weren't for the accident at the manor, he would have still thought the scent was perfume.
But if perfume couldn't act as a neutralizer, the only possible explanation was pheromone. It was faint, so faint that even his hypersensitive nose could only smell it by directly inhaling close to the scent gland; but it was a pheromone regardless.
Why? Was there a need to lie to him about a scent?
Sure, confirming someone's scent might be considered rude by the conservatives, but...was there a need to lie about it being a perfume?
Unless...
Unless Eugene didn't want Arthur to know his scent. If that was the case, all of the omega's weird reaction made sense! It explained why Eugene was very defensive when Arthur mentioned his 'scent' in the coffee shop; it explained the nonsensical explanation about calming Arthur with the perfume he spritzed in his clothes when what he did was pulling Arthur to his neck.
Arthur widened his eyes, the amber of his abandoned cigarette almost reached his fingers.
Now that he recalled, Eugene also looked a bit weird when Arthur mentioned 'partner' at the botanical garden. The omega was quite tense when he talked about 'Gin'. While listening attentively, Eugene's body language was more akin to someone who wanted to bolt out of the garden. He only relaxed when Arthur shifted the conversation back to the experience of facing pheromone rampages.
It was truly...weird.
It was like...it was like someone who didn't want their secret to be exposed! As someone who also had a secret he didn't want others to know, Arthur was no stranger to such a reaction.
Could it be...
"Ouch!"
Before Arthur could arrive at any conclusion, he was jolted by the sting near his knuckles. The ember of his abandoned cigarette had burned him a little, ashes raining down the steps of the emergency stairs.
Arthur cursed inwardly and dropped the short butt, waving his hand hard to curb the burning feeling. Grumbling under his breath, he crouched and picked up the cigarette butt, before scattering the ashes with his shoes. When he threw the cigarette but to the trashcan outside, he couldn't help but pause, staring at the branded filter that reminded him of Gin.
Gin...
All this time, he had operated under the preconception that Gin was a beta. But, was he truly? If he were an omega with an abnormally faint pheromone, then he would easily pass as a beta.
Frowning deeply, Arthur tried to recall what Gin looked like while walking back to the party venue. It was hard to remember the characteristics of someone from six years ago, even if he bore a feeling for that person. It wasn't a striking face; the beauty came from the harmonious feeling of the man's features. Everything was proportionately placed with no misalignment, making it harder for Arthur to recall anything as out of place. There was no piercing, no tattoo, no beauty mark.
The only striking feature Arthur recalled was the eyeshape, which was as beautiful as a pair of phoenix tails. Unfortunately, Eugene always wore rather thick glasses, so Arthur couldn't observe the man's eyes closely.
Hair color could be changed, so he couldn't rely on it. It was dark...perhaps black, perhaps dark blue, perhaps dark brown--who knows? It was nighttime, and whether at the bar, on the street, or at the motel, the light was dim.
Like hair, weight was also something easy to fluctuate--especially after six years. The only thing that might not change would be...height.
And Eugene's height was similar to Gin's.
Arthur stopped at the door and inhaled sharply. The more he thought about it, the more he was convinced that Eugene was the man he met six years ago.
Well...not a hundred percent sure, but--
"Where did you go, baby boy?"
Suddenly, Arthur felt an arm around his shoulder. Ashley, already half-drunk, shook him while laughing. What kind of family event is this? Arthur grumbled. Well, most of them only brought their partners or their teenage children--but, still!
"Why the long face at my party, huh?" Ashley poked his cheek, grinning. "Smile and give the employees some company benefit, why don't you?"
No one considers me a company benefit--Arthur grumbled and shoved his cousin away, stumbling slightly in the process. Perhaps because he didn't eat anything, the alcohol from the cocktail was easy to get him tipsy.
Even then, he felt like he wasn't drunk enough to go through that night. He felt like he had just rejected by the only two people he ever had a crush on, damn it!
"Give me something strong..." he grumbled at the bartender before staring at his phone again.
There was nothing he wanted more than to call Eugene's number and confront the omega, demanding the truth. But his still rather sober mind was against it, telling him not to act like a pathetic ex when he wasn't even in any stage of relationship.
Crying inwardly, Arthur wondered if Eugene had ever told anyone about him. If that man was really Gin, he would have felt weirded out by randomly meeting Arthur again, wouldn't he? Perhaps he told someone about it. Perhaps he told Sophie.
Arthur gulped down his new drink while frowning. Ignoring the burning in his throat, he tilted his head while pondering.
"Would Sophie know?" He asked himself, mumbling into the empty glass, feeling more miserable than ever.
He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he was already on the side of the road, alighting from a taxi while holding his card. He blinked in confusion, but still managed to stuff his card inside his pocket.
Where is this? He looked around with bleary eyes, and slowly recognized the rows of flats and city houses. He stood beneath a beautiful street light, staring at a familiar house. He recalled visiting that place after Allen and Sophie got married.
Right. It was Allen's and Sophie's house. Why was he there again? Arthur narrowed his eyes, pressing his index fingers to his temple in an attempt to recollect his blurry memory.
He was drinking, and then he slipped out to get home, but then he changed his mind and gave the taxi driver this address.
Right! He wanted to ask Sophie if Eugene had said anything about him; if Eugene ever said he had met Arthur in the past!
Arthur hit his palm while nodding in satisfaction. Finally finding his objective, he was about to step out of the street light's beam when someone came out of the house.
It was a man with dark hair, average weight, and considerable height. A harmonious face and a pair of green eyes. He wore a smile as he waved at whoever it was behind the door, before climbing down the steps leading to the pavement.
When he stepped onto the pavement and turned in the direction of the bus stop, he saw an alpha beneath the street lamp and froze.
Halting his steps, the man's face morphed from relaxed, to stiff, to horror. He turned toward the house with widened eyes, before shifting his gaze toward Arthur and briskly strode over.
"What are you doing here?" the man hissed as he stopped in front of Arthur. More than angry, the man was flustered.
Arthur could not understand both of those emotions being directed at him. He understood that it was Eugene Kim, however.
In confusion and annoyance at the unwarranted reaction, Arthur grumbled in a slurred voice. "Sophie..."
Arthur saw the way Eugene Kim stiffened. The man bit his lips and, before Arthur knew it, grabbed the alpha's hand and dragged him away. Away from Sophie's house.
The owner of the house, who was coming outside to check whether Eugene would like to wait for his driver to come around, blinked at the sight. He watched Eugene pull a seemingly drunk but obedient Arthur away and arched his brow, mumbling to the night.
"What kind of development is this?"