RYC 55

Why on earth did this man come here?

That was the only thought that crossed my mind during the few seconds of silence. My head felt heavy, and the fever had left me completely disoriented. I could only blink weakly and ask in a listless voice.

“……What is it, exactly.”

As my voice faded like someone dying, Nathaniel Miller spoke.

“I knew you were home.”

His tone suggested he had expected as much. I let out a short, sigh-like breath.

“Usually, in cases like this, it means I’m in no position to receive visitors.”

Regardless of his business, I meant for him to just leave, but Nathaniel Miller showed no sign of doing so. Instead, he glanced meaningfully past my head into the studio, then returned his gaze to my face with a smile.

“Didn’t I say? I don’t mind if there are three of us.”

I reflexively frowned.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

My voice came out weak. Unable to hold back, I leaned against the door and tilted my head up to look at him. For the first time, Nathaniel asked with a look of curiosity.

“Weren’t you enjoying yourself with someone?”

“What…….”

I was appalled, but I didn’t even have the energy to be sarcastic. Instead, I let out a breath and pressed a hand to my forehead. The meaning of his words hit me a beat late. In short, this man thought I was with another man. That’s why he had been ringing the bell so persistently…….

Even so, it was strange. Why go that far? To think this man came all this way just to have sex with me…….

“Wait, look.”

While I was momentarily lost in thought, Nathaniel casually brushed past me and walked inside. Falling for the same trick again, I stood there dazed, watching Nathaniel’s back as he looked around the house, stopping in roughly the same spot as yesterday.

That damn bastard.

I gritted my teeth belatedly and closed the front door. My body felt heavy and my head was burning, but I couldn’t let it slide without a word.

“Have you never learned manners? Aren’t you supposed to get permission before entering someone else’s home?”

I criticized him with a voice that was wretched and completely hoarse, but as expected, it had no effect on Nathaniel Miller. He responded with such composure that it made my effort to squeeze out a protest feel futile.

“It’s also not polite to pretend you’re not home when you are.”

“I’m sick.”

Eventually, I burst out in frustration.

“Why else would I be home at this hour? Do you think I came back early just to have sex?”

To my protest, he asked back with an equally indifferent expression.

“Didn’t you take the day off yesterday saying you were sick too?”

At Nathaniel’s words, I was momentarily speechless. Was the price for taking a day off with a lie about being sick this high? It became clear that this man hadn’t believed my lie the day before. That’s why he had brought the champagne so nonchalantly. And it was true that I had been perfectly fine when Nathaniel visited…….

I brought this on myself.

A groan escaped my lips. I was truly unwell today, but because of the aftermath of the previous day, I couldn’t get through to him. To think a single lie would destroy my credibility to this extent.

“I’m serious today.”

I muttered weakly. Even to me, there was no sense of reliability in these words, but I had to say it.

“I’m really sick. I’ve caught a cold.”

I insisted again, but as expected, it didn’t work. Nathaniel muttered flatly, as if it were nothing significant.

“It’s just a cold.”

“……Ha.”

I let out another sigh of disbelief. I had forgotten. What his trait was.

Dominant Alphas do not catch colds. Not only colds, but they possess an extraordinary immunity to all diseases. I had heard that as they age and pheromone secretion decreases, they occasionally fall ill, but even then, the possibility was incomparable to that of an ordinary person. Perhaps because of this, those with this trait live longer than the average lifespan and maintain their youth for longer.

While I thought it was a cheat-like trait in many ways, I felt cheated in this situation. Just because he was lucky enough to be born with that trait, the difficulty level of life was this different.

Thinking that, anger surged within me.

“Just go back. I’m in no mood to have sex with you or anyone else right now. Do you not understand? I’m sick. Just a cold? You’ve never even been ill, you damn… where do you get off acting so superior…….”

“Chrissy Jin?”

Suddenly, I felt as if my body were floating in the air. Nathaniel Miller called my name with a surprised face, but soon that image too vanished from my sight, and my consciousness completely blacked out.

* * *

……It’s cozy.

A soft sensation was enveloping my entire body. There seemed to be a faint, pleasant scent as well. I let out a comfortable breath and rolled onto my side. It was then that I felt a cold, smooth sensation against my cheek that I had never felt before.

……Eh?

Barely opening my eyes, I looked around my surroundings in confusion. Everywhere I looked was a scene I had never seen. Starting from the high ceiling, which couldn’t even be compared to my wretched studio, the size of the room was surprisingly large. The pale blue walls looked cold at first glance, but they also felt refreshing. Above all, the comfort of the giant bed I was lying in made me doubt if I was still dreaming. As I carefully stroked the sheet covering me with my fingertips, I suddenly saw an IV inserted into my arm. Following the transparent long tube upward, I saw an IV bag dripping liquid at regular intervals.

What on earth is this……?

I hurriedly looked around again. Through the open floor-to-ceiling window, an endless sky stretched out. Judging by the minimal furniture in the room and the bed I was lying in, this was definitely not a hospital. Then where on earth was I?

Panicking, I tried to push myself up, but I soon felt dizzy and lay back down. At the same time, a massive headache surged. As I grimaced, swallowing a groan, I heard a light knock. Tensing up, I looked back, and soon the door opened and a man I never imagined would be here walked in.

“You’re awake.”

Nathaniel Miller muttered with his usual expressionless face and stepped forward. With his cane still in one hand and a tray in the other, his appearance was very unfamiliar.

As I could only stare blankly with wide eyes in surprise, he walked straight toward me, skillfully adjusted the IV, and looked down at me, asking.

“Are you feeling better? I brought something to eat.”

It was a series of shocks, and I had no idea what to say first. Barely managing to sit up, I asked while still fighting the remaining fever, without letting my guard down.

“How… did this happen……? Where is this, exactly.”

My mouth was so dry that I could barely ask in fragments, and I added a half-doubting question.

“Don’t tell me, is this your house?”

I asked, still unable to believe it, but he said nonchalantly.

“That rat hole is too cramped for me.”

“What…….”

I was so appalled that I could barely utter those words. When there’s too much to say, you end up unable to say anything at all. As I covered my face with one hand and barely managed to take a deep breath, Nathaniel placed the tray he had brought on the side table and spoke.

“Why don’t you drink some water. Staying hydrated helps. It’ll be better to take the medicine after the IV is finished. Your throat is quite swollen, but it’ll improve once the fever goes down. Two or three days should be enough.”

Watching him chatter on like this made me feel strange. Isn’t it common sense to take someone to a hospital when they’re sick? Why did he bring me to his house? Moreover, the way he acted so superior and tried to lecture me was even more unpleasant. Perhaps my inner thoughts showed on my face, because Nathaniel suddenly chuckled.

“Didn’t you know? That I have a medical license.”

I was momentarily flustered by the unexpected words. A medical license? This man?

“……Then, does that mean you’re the one who gave me this injection?”

When I lifted the arm with the IV, Nathaniel answered.

“Most vein locations are pretty much the same, so it’s not difficult.”

Again, he responded simply. But strangely, because his tone was so flat, as if this were absolutely nothing special, it felt even more arrogant.

As if he were saying, Those of you who can’t even do this are monkeys.