There was something about Kim Myungsoo that threw everybody off guard.

Including me.

Especially me.

Because out of everyone he could bother, he bothers me.

And the only reason is because he says I smell good.

Out of all the things.

 “You smell lovely today. As always.”

His hot breath on the nape of my neck brought shivers down it. His whisper to my ear lingered like an annoying fly.

And like always, I send my elbow into the vicinity of his stomach.

And like always, he dodged it with a laugh.

I sent a glare to him.

“Leave me alone, Kim Myungsoo.”

He tilted his head as he was actually contemplating his answer.

But I knew his answer because he always said the same thing.

“Mmmm. No.”

“Why?” I ask him for the hundredth, millionth, and trillionth time.

And like a broken record, he replied with a smile.

“Because you smell good.”

I’ve tried multiple ways to get rid of this smell.

I sprayed perfume hoping to cover the smell, but he responded my dumping water on me hoping to get rid of what he said was a “horrid” smell.

I tried washing myself to the point of rawness, but that did nothing. If anything, it made him more receptive.

I even asked my friends if I smelt good to them. They affirmed that I smelled like nothing.

And it has gotten to a point where I have given up on doing anything.

Too tired to try and ward him off.

But a girl can only handle so much.

And today’s the day I finally get rid of this infinite loop we’re stuck in.

Today’s the day I find out why.

The second I knew class was over, I ran.

I ran to his classroom and without a word, I pulled him away.

Despite the stares that followed us, I pulled him into the isolated science room and locked the door behind us.

I faced him with a determined heart, or at least I tried to.

Since the moment I tried to turn my head, I realized that he had leaned towards me, his face inches away from my hair, breathing deeply.

“Kim Myungsoo,” I muttered threateningly.

“I can’t help it,” he murmured, finally pulling his face back. “You just smell so good.”

I stared at him before breathing deeply and stretching my arms wide.

“Smell me.”

He cocked an eyebrow at me. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me. Smell me. Either get your fill now, or at least tell me what is it that makes me smell so good to you.”

A dangerous glint lit up his eyes. “Are you sure?”

My heart wavered, but I already decided.

I nodded.

And in a second to fast to be counted, he had me pinned against the wall, his face buried deep in my hair next to my neck, his fingers curled around my wrists delicately.

Shocked would not be a good way to explain how I felt. It was like I couldn’t move, as if he had me petrified with his eyes.

“Did you know?”

His voice was sultry from ecstasy, his voice bringing shivers down my neck. I felt like a bug in a spider’s web.

“Know what?” I finally managed to breathe out.

He hadn’t moved from his position, his fingers intertwined with mine. His hot breath still against my neck.

“That some animals emit a pheromone to find mates.”

“What does that have to do with you smelling me?”

He finally lifted his head to look me eye to eye.

“We’re not so different from them, you know. Animals.”

“We don’t smell each other to find a lover,” I tried to argue back.

He smiled devilishly. “No, we do. Whether it’s a fake alternative like perfume or because someone literally smells good. But I can tell. My sense of smell is more advanced than other people. I literally smell everyone’s pheromones. It just wafts off everyone. And yours by far attracts me to no ends. It drives me insane.”

“But I –”

He cut me off. “You wanted to know why I always keep telling you that you smell good? Why I continue to grasp at you like a drowning man? It’s your pheromones. It’s all your fault.” His eyes darkened, eyeing me like a prey about to be eaten.

“My fault?” I spluttered out. “I don’t even smell any–”

He cut me off again, this time with his lips against mine.

My eyes widened, but I still felt petrified, as if I knew that it wouldn’t amount to anything if I tried to resist.

And he deepened his kiss, making it even more than an innocent one.

And I responded, as if I couldn’t help it.

Because that smell.

It wafted of him like a strong cologne. A scent like no other. A scent that made me crave his presence.

The very thing that I tried to delude myself with.

The fragrance that I told myself never existed.

But in the back of my mind, I knew was there.

It bloomed and swirled, attacking me without a minute pause.

It invaded my senses, driving me to the brink of insanity.

My consciousness faded away leaving only pure instinct to drive me on.

He pulled back, his lips, a full smirk blooming.

“What is this?”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you smell good. You always have.”

He laughed. “Is that so?”

He leaned in again, his lips barely touching mine as he breathed out one more word. “Good.”

“I don’t understand,” I managed to say despite the vertigo that overcame me, my eyes trained on his.

“You don’t have to. It’s instinct,” he muttered into my ear. “It’s pure instinct. My scent already attracted you to me. All I needed for you to do is take the first step.”

I couldn’t deny his words, devilishly whispering into my ear.

 And his pressed his lips against mine, the pent up tension between him and me librated from the time of “always”.

And we were released from one loop only to find ourselves in another.

One that involved him and me where our fragrances tangled like star-crossed lovers.