By Zephyria When Seo Jeong-won came to, Kwon Tae-hee was already gone. He woke up with the blanket pulled up to his neck.
The door was closed, clearly separating the space, which was filled with warmth. He could feel the texture of the blanket directly against his naked body.
The bedding rustled with every movement. He wasn’t fully awake, feeling dazed. His vision was blurry, and he blinked his heavy eyelids.
“Cough, hmm…”
His throat was completely hoarse. As his mind gradually cleared, his entire body ached with shocking intensity. His back felt like it was about to break because he had been folded in half the whole time, and a lukewarm, sticky substance was still trickling down below, where the foreign sensation lingered.
Would he even be able to move? More than anything, he needed to see what condition he was in, but he didn’t have the strength to lift a finger.
If he went out like this, the caregiver would think it was strange. But if he didn’t go out, she would think it was even stranger.
“Ha…”
His thoughts, chasing their own tails, eventually reached Kwon Tae-hee. He seemed to have been annoyed even after entering the hospital room… After that, he was so agitated that it was hard to tell whether he was annoyed or angry.
He tried not to make any noise because Hyung might hear, but he couldn’t help but moan at the overwhelming stimulation. Something inside him grew strangely large… He told him not to do it, but he didn’t listen. He wanted him to stop, but he didn’t.
He barely managed to move his hand to check the area around his navel, where Kwon Tae-hee’s member had felt like it would burst through his stomach. It seemed fine, but it hurt inside and out even without pressing hard. It felt swollen, but he couldn’t tell just by touching it.
He finally sat up after regaining some composure. He couldn’t see the marks Kwon Tae-hee had made with his mouth from his chest to his thighs, but red handprints remained. Especially on his wrists, they were as clear as if he had been wearing bands. He couldn’t help but frown.
Could he walk? He wasn’t sure. It seemed Kwon Tae-hee had been kind enough to wash him, but his bottom was still damp, as if he hadn’t removed what was inside.
“What about the blanket…”
He felt overwhelmed. He buried his face in his palms for a moment before slowly starting to get up. He felt like a newborn calf walking like this… He had seen it in a documentary.
Seo Jeong-won, his legs trembling, bit his lip as he shook off the stray thoughts that had crept in. It seemed like it would only take five or six steps to get to the bathroom, but even taking one step was difficult, and he wanted to collapse right there.
He barely made it into the bathroom and stood in front of the sink. Seo Jeong-won slowly examined his state. He hadn’t been able to see above his chest, but his neck and shoulders were covered in marks made by a mouth. There wasn’t a single white spot; it was all red and blotchy.
He rubbed it with his fingertips, but it only turned redder with each touch and didn’t fade. It would have been better if it were in a place that couldn’t be seen.
Every part of him ached as if he had used every muscle in his body. He even felt a tingling pain.
His back felt like someone had taken it apart and put it back together, creaking suspiciously. He clenched his fists and tapped it a few times before stepping into the shower booth.
Every time he strained his lower abdomen, the inside ached with a tingling sensation. Was he really okay? What if something went wrong? A sense of fear crept in.
Could someone die from an Alpha’s Knotting? Seo Jeong-won imagined the worst-case scenario. How would he report it? What if Kwon Tae-hee was too excited and didn’t know he had died? What about the funeral, or Seo Gyu-won?
“It hurts…”
Seo Jeong-won endlessly worried about things that were unlikely to happen as he turned on the warm water and stood under the flowing stream for a long time.
Only after the tension had eased somewhat in the hot water did he move his hand. His hand, which had been hovering over his bottom, cautiously probed between his legs. The swollen folds were a mess with lukewarm, melted semen.
He leaned his forehead against the wall and took a long breath. He needed to insert his fingers and scrape out what was inside, but he didn’t have the courage to do so. It hurt just to touch it, so how could he do that?
“Hngh…”
In the end, he removed his hand, which had been hovering around, and decided to stand under the water a little longer. It seemed like it was flowing out little by little, so he would try to remove it like this, and the rest… it would be better to just have a stomachache.
When he came out after drying his wet hair, the moon was high in the sky. He roughly stripped the bedsheets and left them in a corner, picked up the phone on the table, and went outside. The caregiver who had been guarding Seo Gyu-won’s bedside greeted him with an awkward smile.
“Oh, the person who came with you earlier left early. He told me not to wake Jeong-won…”
“Yes, how is Hyung…”
“Gyu-won is doing so well. The Pheromone is really working, I guess. Isn’t it amazing? You can see his complexion has improved, right? The doctor saw it too and said we should keep doing it.”
She didn’t see Seo Jeong-won’s stiff expression and looked at Seo Gyu-won with a pleased gaze.
“It’s so late, I’m worried about Jeong-won going home. I’m not using the caregiver’s room anyway, so sleep comfortably and go tomorrow.”
“…No, there’s a bus—”
“Jeong-won, don’t just look from afar, come closer and see Hyung. I’ve never actually seen a case like this while working as a caregiver. Really… I guess miracles do happen.”
The caregiver repeatedly exclaimed in admiration, as if Seo Gyu-won’s condition was miraculous.
“The doctor in charge said he’s never seen anything like it either?”
“…”
“It’s so amazing, they say it’s because Gyu-won is an Omega. Does that mean he reacts to all Alpha Pheromones? It doesn’t seem like it’s because of the relationship with that person earlier. Right? So, with Jeong-won…”
The caregiver, who had been speaking absentmindedly, smiled awkwardly and trailed off. As if changing the subject, she gestured to Seo Jeong-won, who was standing there without coming closer.
“Touch his hand.”
The hand that hadn’t been able to retain warmth even after being massaged for hours every day was warm. The caregiver smiled proudly.
“His hand has really warmed up. Looking at Gyu-won now, he looks like he’s just asleep, like he’ll wake up any minute.”
“…”
“I’ll leave you alone for a bit, so say hello to Hyung. Stay with him for a little while before you go. In a way, Jeong-won is Gyu-won’s benefactor.”
The urging continued. Unable to refuse, Seo Jeong-won slowly began to move his feet. Only then did the caregiver leave her spot.
She made sure Seo Jeong-won sat in her place, which was close to Seo Gyu-won.
“I’ll be right back.”
The caregiver told him to make himself comfortable and lightly patted Seo Jeong-won’s shoulder. She pretended not to see the red, round marks that had spread from behind his neat head to his neck.
She thought that young people these days didn’t find such things embarrassing, so she should accept it calmly as well, but her face was flushed. Clearing her throat, the caregiver quickly left the hospital room.
Seo Jeong-won couldn’t look directly at Seo Gyu-won and lowered his gaze. As she had said, his fingertips were red. What she said about warmth must also be true. But he didn’t have the courage to readily take his hand.
When he had first gone to Kwon Tae-hee, he had no idea he would feel so guilty, even though he had been able to pay off his debts and breathe easier with his help.
In fact, it was the same when he first slept with him. As all the things that were making him suffer disappeared, his Hyung’s existence faded, and in the midst of that, he even felt excitement towards Kwon Tae-hee.
Then, he would suddenly come to his senses. After hearing the truth from Song Hae-seop, he felt overwhelmed by what he was doing whenever he thought of Seo Gyu-won.
But even then, he couldn’t find the right words to respond to Kwon Tae-hee, who called it self-pity today, and he kept his mouth shut.
He thought it would be enough if only Hyung didn’t know, but he became afraid when he saw Seo Gyu-won reacting to Kwon Tae-hee’s Pheromone. He was scared that eventually, everyone would find out.
“…I’m sorry.”
Seo Jeong-won’s voice trembled. It was the moment he struggled to move his hand, which was resting on his thigh, and grasped Seo Gyu-won’s finger. Seo Gyu-won’s index finger, which had been neatly placed, moved. It was a subtle tremor, but it was definite.
“Hyung?”
Surprised, Seo Jeong-won’s head turned towards Seo Gyu-won in an instant.
“…Hyung? Hyung.”
Seo Gyu-won remained still as he gently shook his hand. Seo Jeong-won rubbed his eyes and stood up. The graph on the machine connected to Seo Gyu-won’s body also remained calm without any changes.
Did he see it wrong? No, he definitely moved…
His heart was pounding. Was it helpful for Hyung if the Pheromone concentration was high? If he did it a few more times, could Hyung… wake up?
“Hyung, I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Hyung. I’m sorry…”
He lowered his upper body and hugged his thin frame, sobbing. As the caregiver had said, he was warm. He could feel the warmth. His grayish skin also had a lively color. It really felt like he would wake up.
He recalled his vow to do anything if Seo Gyu-won would just wake up.
Guilt filled him to the brim, but he had no choice but to pretend not to know. He desperately needed Kwon Tae-hee’s pheromone shower.