By Zephyria Along with the rather enjoyable memory, Song Hae-seop’s face naturally surfaced in Seo Jeong-won’s mind. His words about repaying the favor, and even more so, his desperate voice asking for leniency if he ever did anything wrong. Song Hae-seop probably knew this would happen. That must have been why… he said those things back then. Seo Jeong-won’s expression gradually hardened. He sighed and looked up at the caregiver.
“I think it would be best to go inside for today. It’s a little, cold.”
The caregiver stopped the wheelchair she was slowly pushing and adjusted Seo Jeong-won’s thickly layered clothes. After carefully wrapping the loosely draped scarf around his exposed white neck, she turned the wheelchair around and hurried back the way they had come.
Seo Jeong-won, having passed through the central entrance and arrived in front of the patient-only elevator, coughed weakly. The caregiver’s face paled at the sound of the small, dry coughs. His body naturally tensed with each cough. Perhaps that was why he felt the wetness below even more vividly.
“Are you alright?”
“Ah, it seems like it’s because I suddenly came into a warm place, cough…! Cough!”
“Oh my, what should we do! You shouldn’t be straining your abdomen like that…”
Seo Jeong-won also became anxious at the caregiver’s fuss. The amniotic fluid, which had been leaking like an incontinence, gushed out with each cough.
“I’ll tell the nurse as soon as we get up to the room.”
“I don’t see my cardigan in the room. I, I hung it up. That…”
“Oh, that! Chief Jung took it when he visited yesterday and left new clothes, but I didn’t get a chance to tell you. I was going to mention it this morning… I was even planning to bring it with me when we went for a walk. Look at my forgetfulness.”
Seeing Seo Jeong-won looking for Kwon Tae-hee’s things, she blamed herself for her mistake and stamped her feet. Knowing that being impatient wouldn’t make the elevator come down any faster, she couldn’t keep her body still. Even though he had complained about being stuck in the room all day, she regretted not telling him to stay inside today and sighed repeatedly.
“You’ll be able to take cold medicine, so you’ll get better soon if you get a prescription. Don’t worry.”
“Yes, cough, cough!”
Seo Jeong-won replied, covering his mouth. The caregiver’s face turned even more ashen. She criticized the slow speed of the descending elevator and tapped her feet anxiously. As soon as the arrival chime rang, the caregiver pushed the wheelchair before the doors were fully open.
As soon as they entered the room, the caregiver helped Seo Jeong-won onto the bed and took out the clothes that Chief Jung had brought. She could only smell the soft scent of fabric softener, but Seo Jeong-won, who received the clothes, seemed to detect Pheromone, as the color rushed back into his pale cheeks.
Seo Jeong-won had no time to worry about the caregiver’s watchful gaze. His breathing was labored. When he was with Kwon Tae-hee, he would feel nauseous whenever he smelled his Pheromone, but now he only felt regret. He buried his nose in Kwon Tae-hee’s cardigan, which he held in both hands, and then covered his face with it.
Is he really not going to come when I’m awake? I know that Kwon Tae-hee visits me at fairly regular intervals of two or three days. But I couldn’t know the exact time. I guessed that he mostly visited at night when I was asleep, or in the deep dawn. I couldn’t not know because Kwon Tae-hee’s Pheromone gently floated around when I opened my eyes in the morning.
I tried to stay awake at night several times to check the time, but I failed every time. As my movements decreased, my physical strength naturally weakened, and since I spent most of the day asleep, it was very difficult to stay awake. Even when I kept my eyes wide open, I would fall asleep after a few minutes. It was frustrating more than once to wake up and find it was morning.
It was strange that the man who had acted like he would never let go had broken off the relationship overnight. I didn’t want to admit it, but I knew that the emotion I was feeling was disappointment. It was difficult to endure the surge of that emotion. At the same time, I wondered if it was normal for me to feel disappointed.
“Ha… cough, cough!”
The caregiver’s pitiful sigh echoed at the small cough. Seo Jeong-won lay on his side, covering his stomach, and closed his eyes.
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At some point, his eyes snapped open. Judging by the fact that the soft texture of the clothes covering his face was still there, the caregiver hadn’t taken them away. Seo Jeong-won blinked slowly, still covered in Kwon Tae-hee’s cardigan.
What time could it be? Judging by the fact that no light was shining through the clothes, it seemed to be night, but he was frustrated because he couldn’t know the exact time. Just as he was about to slowly grab the edge of the cardigan and pull it down, he felt a presence.
The faint sigh was different from the one the caregiver made. The number of people who could enter the room was limited. It was only the medical staff, the caregiver, and Chief Jung. But since the medical staff or Chief Jung wouldn’t come at this hour without a specific reason, the only one left was Kwon Tae-hee.
Seo Jeong-won pulled the cardigan down as if he were still asleep. As his face was revealed, a cool breeze and gently laid Pheromone settled on his stuffy skin. He felt the presence getting a little closer. The man, who had approached within reach while muffling his footsteps, reached out and carefully placed his fingers on his cheek.
There was no stroking or any other movement. He was just holding it still. Then, the fingers that soon fell were lightly placed on his forehead. He checked the temperature and sighed softly. It seemed he had heard the report that he had caught a cold.
I felt Kwon Tae-hee’s Pheromone this morning, so he should have come at least two days later, but did he run over as soon as he heard the news? Did he wait until late at night? Or maybe he didn’t want to come any sooner? Ridiculously, I felt an urge to confirm his feelings.
Seo Jeong-won wondered if he should let him know that he was awake. Just as he was watching for the right moment to open his eyes, he felt the wind cutting through the air. Soon, something soft and squishy touched his forehead and quickly fell away.
With a kiss that landed lighter than a feather, Kwon Tae-hee turned around. No, he was about to turn around. If I hadn’t grabbed him. I don’t know why I grabbed him, but it felt like I had to. When I opened my eyes, the man standing alone in the darkness filled my vision.
“…….”
“…….”
Kwon Tae-hee’s eyes widened in surprise at the sudden contact, but he soon composed himself. He also contained the Pheromone that was subtly leaking out. He had naturally assumed that I would be in a deep sleep. Meeting like this was not part of the plan, but Kwon Tae-hee, who was accustomed to hiding his embarrassment, stared into my black eyes, which were impossible to read, and pondered fiercely.
Whether it’s pity or whatever, it’s true that it’s touching Seo Jeong-won’s heart. If I make excuses for why I came here and turn around, will he grab me again? Is it a situation where it’s okay to try? He concealed the thoughts that were swirling chaotically in his head and opened his mouth.
“I heard you caught a cold. I was worried because I heard you didn’t eat dinner, so I came, but I didn’t intend to wake you.”
“…….”
“Rest. I’ll be going now.”
As Kwon Tae-hee was about to turn around, a faint force stubbornly gripped the end of his clothes and wouldn’t let go.
“……Fever.”
A voice finally flowed from his fluttering lips. His voice towards me was so long overdue that it was touching. The saccharine voice, like he had a candy in his mouth, rang out in a tone that suited the late night.
Kwon Tae-hee, who had been waiting for more words to follow, reached out after confirming that his chapped lips had opened and closed a few more times. He covered the forehead, which was still warm with fever, with his lukewarm palm. Seo Jeong-won soon closed his eyes. Kwon Tae-hee watched his slow movements and quietly pulled a chair placed by the bed and sat next to him. Before he knew it, Seo Jeong-won’s breathing had become even.
He didn’t realize how much time had passed as he looked at the hand tightly gripping his clothes and the pale, pitiful face. Only after the bluish dawn broke did Kwon Tae-hee get up from his seat. Then, with a hand full of lingering regret, he caressed various parts of the small face.
He ran his hand down from the well-shaped eyebrows to the elegant line of the nose and rubbed the rough, chapped lips. Without realizing it, he lowered his body and pressed his lips firmly against the hollow cheeks. He planned not to visit Seo Jeong-won for the next few days, so he kept the pitiful face in his eyes for a long time.
He was acting according to the advice of the doctor in charge of Seo Jeong-won’s psychological treatment, but Kwon Tae-hee was just as anxious. It was clear that things were going as he intended, but the problem was that his patience ran out faster than he thought.
Kwon Tae-hee naturally let out a faint sigh. He longed for the young Omega, who was hesitating and stopped at the ambiguous boundary, to cross the line as soon as possible.