By Zephyria 
===
He had thought that facing each other while sober that night would somehow calm his boiling senses, but the result was the exact opposite. If anything, it had only fueled the fire.
Now, there was no “reason.” It wasn’t because of a heat or a Rut, nor was it because of pheromones. He was simply, truly, in heat for every possible reason.
Even when they tried to go to bed normally, the moment their eyes met as they lay down, their bodies would clash frantically. By the time he came to his senses, he would find himself pinning Eun-won against the headboard, sucking and kissing every inch of his body.
Even after tangling together until dawn, he would find himself burying his face between Eun-won’s legs at the dining table while trying to have breakfast. All because their fingertips had brushed while handing over a glass of juice.
There were countless other reasons. The nape of Eun-won’s neck looked exceptionally white as he went in to wash; the sight of Eun-won’s white, slender ankles as he put on his shoes to go to the main house for dinner; the way his lips looked erotic as he chewed on a single green grape.
The reasons differed every time, but the conclusion was always the same. Like a middle schooler experiencing his first masturbation or nocturnal emission, he was easily aroused by the most trivial things. While he enjoyed sex, this was the first time he had experienced blood rushing to his groin so incessantly and for such absurd reasons, leaving Cha Se-jin quite bewildered.
“I don’t know about us, but you really shouldn’t badmouth Gi Jae. You’re a worse bastard than he is.”
“How is Gi Jae-hyeok supposed to live with this injustice? Knowing someone worse than him has been bashing him all this time.”
The fact that he had come out to meet Kang Seo-hoo and Do Hae-jun—who were making a fuss about how it made no sense to cut off contact just because someone got married—was actually because of that arousal. He felt that meeting guys who couldn’t possibly get turned on would help him exercise some self-control. If he went home and saw Eun-won now, he would lose his mind at a single gesture or movement.
“Is it that good? Are you going crazy? No, seriously, what’s so great about marriage?”
“Well, for starters, there’s nothing bad about it.”
“How’s living together? You’re living in that annex together, right? Ah, since you use separate rooms, does it not bother you much?”
“We don’t use separate rooms.”
“Holy shit, why?”
“Because it doesn’t bother me to share.”
Taking a sip of alcohol, Cha Se-jin picked up an olive and popped it into his mouth. It was only natural for Kang Seo-hoo and Do Hae-jun to be shocked. He had been surprised himself. In fact, it was still surreal to him that he was sharing a bedroom and a bed with someone. Even after several days, the fact that it didn’t bother him at all remained a novelty.
“I told you. I’m telling you this guy is for real. When I went to pick him up—even though he didn’t ask—just in case he’d take a taxi alone, I felt it right then.”
Do Hae-jun, speaking to Kang Seo-hoo who still looked shocked while eating cheese, looked at Cha Se-jin, who was tilting his head.
“It’s weird.”
“What is?”
“I’ve never once not been bothered by people before, but now I’m not. And it’s not just this; there are a few other things. Do you become this tolerant just because someone’s face is your type?”
“Well, that happens. That’s why you have to see the face first. The world suddenly becomes damn kind. Hey, even now, everyone who went to your wedding says the same thing. They ask if I’ve seen the face of the person Cha Se-jin married.”
Eun-won is damn pretty. As the conversation turned to Eun-won’s face, that beautiful face flickered before his eyes. The expressionless look everyone knew, the slight smile, the way his pupils darted around when he was nervous—those passed by, and the faces only he knew filled his mind.
The look of him not knowing what to do with the pleasure, the way his eyes closed and lips parted when his nipples were rolled with a fingertip, the way he cried and moaned when his fingers gently probed inside where lubrication flowed in surges, the way he clung to him while sobbing from embarrassment…
“…Ha, fuck, seriously.”
Just thinking about it felt like he was about to get hard. It was a relief to have two friends who acted as powerful arousal suppressants; if he were alone, he would have already pulled out his cock and started shaking it.
“Ah, you’re coming on Thursday, right? Want an invitation?”
Kang Seo-hoo pulled two long envelopes from his bag and handed them to Do Hae-jun and Cha Se-jin. After checking the invitation to the anniversary party, Do Hae-jun smiled and set the long piece of paper down.
“The Chairman’s taste?”
“Yeah. I told him we could just send it via mobile since it’s not a wedding invitation, but he’s making a fuss that VIPs must be invited in person. How can I beat my father?”
Cha Se-jin, who had been glancing at the invitation Do Hae-jun laid out, looked at Kang Seo-hoo as if he had remembered something.
“What was it… that old man in the shipbuilding business who dresses like shit. The one who’s been married six times.”
“Ah, Taeryung Marine?”
“Yeah, is he coming?”
“Probably. Taeryung isn’t the kind of level that wouldn’t get an invitation, and he’s crazy about parties. His hobby is hitting on people everywhere he goes, so he’ll come. But why Taeryung all of a sudden?”
“Just some personal business.”
“If you’re going to cause a scene, do it where it can’t be seen. My father spent a hell of a lot of money preparing this.”
Cha Se-jin smiled faintly and told him not to worry in response to Kang Seo-hoo’s concerned words, then lifted his wine glass. Kang Seo-hoo and Do Hae-jun followed suit, clinking their glasses. Soon, a clear, resonant sound echoed through the room.
* * *
Yoon Ji-woon, who had peeked at Cha Se-jin’s message saying he might be late due to an appointment, smiled as if it were a good thing.
“Let’s have dinner and hang out today. Let’s call the others.”
“Who?”
“Jung Woo-min, Ju Yi-deun, and maybe Im Woo-jin? You haven’t been able to play much because of your part-time job. And after you quit, you couldn’t play much because of the marriage.”
Yoon Ji-woon lowered his voice to a mumble when mentioning the marriage, and Eun-won nodded at his aegyo-filled pleading. It was true that he had almost no memory of properly hanging out except for eating at school, so he wanted to join them today.
“I’ve gotta call them.”
Watching Yoon Ji-woon hum a song and start contacting people on his phone, Eun-won also wrote a message to Cha Se-jin.
[I think I’ll have dinner with Ji-woon before heading home]
[Husband: Okay, let me know when you’re coming home. Enjoy your dinner]
Eun-won read the reply that arrived shortly after several times and then put his phone away after leaving a message saying he’d contact him later. In the meantime, a group chat consisting of the people they were meeting today had been created. Seeing Jung Woo-min and Im Woo-jin competing to suggest restaurants where they could handle dinner and drinks at once, Eun-won laughed and left the student lounge with Yoon Ji-woon.
The time spent with friends was incredibly enjoyable. Starting with tteokbokki, seafood stir-fried udon, cream shrimp, boneless chicken, and mussel soup, and moving on to grilled pollack roe, cheese rolled omelets, fish cake noodles, and takoyaki, the five men cleared ten side dishes. For the second round, they went to a cafe and completely polished off injeolmi bingsu, chocolate bingsu, and mango bingsu.
Throughout it all, they talked without pause. Most of it was unimportant chatter, but it was still fun. It was nice to hear about the latest trending movies or dramas, popular brands, what tasted good, and how people dated and broke up.
“Hey, churros for the third round?”
“Hey, fuck. Can’t you see Jung Woo-min is slumped over because of a blood sugar shock?”
“In that case, it’s better to just raise the blood sugar more.”
“Wow, hey, report Im Woo-jin. He’s literally trying to kill a man.”
Even so, the fact that everyone headed to the churro shop anyway was amusing, and Eun-won just laughed. He felt that this was what it was like to spend time with friends. It had been a long time since he had just laughed and chatted without thinking about money or part-time jobs, and he simply loved it.
Sitting at the churro shop, they each held a long churro, about 30cm, and ate them with drinks. He had heard of them, but it was his first time trying one. Eun-won thoroughly enjoyed the crispy, sweet churro.
“Hey, your phone has been vibrating like crazy for a while, why aren’t you checking it?”
Yoon Ji-woon pointed with his chin to Im Woo-jin’s phone vibrating on the table. Im Woo-jin let out an “ah,” checked the screen with a slightly stiff expression, and put the phone back in his bag.
“We broke up, but she keeps contacting me. Saying that day was a mistake, or that she said it in the heat of the moment.”
“Hey, you broke up? Why?”
“Ah, I don’t know. We break up even after a small fight. She’s always like, ‘Don’t contact me,’ ‘Stop seeing me,’ ‘It’s over.'”
“Why? Jo Yu-na liked you first.”
At Jung Woo-min’s question, Im Woo-jin gulped down some iced coffee, sighed, and shook his head.
“She says I’m not sincere. I mean, it’s true I just dated her because she confessed and I liked her face, but I was actually quite serious. But she makes a fuss every day saying only she likes me and I don’t. So when I just told her let’s break up, she’s like this. Hey, don’t just date someone because their face is okay. I’m warning you.”
With a tired face, Im Woo-jin popped an ice cube into his mouth, took out his still-vibrating phone again, rejected the call, and blocked the number. To lift the inevitably heavy atmosphere, Ju Yi-deun showed them a video of the Golden Retriever he was raising. The atmosphere quickly lightened at the sight of the dog smiling with a gentle face and wagging its tail vigorously.
“…”
At Im Woo-jin’s comment about not dating someone just for their face, Cha Se-jin, who had said he wanted to marry him because he liked his face, suddenly came to mind. The situations were different, so it wasn’t something to dwell on, but for some reason, his heart felt a slight sting.
Not wanting to sink into that feeling alone, Eun-won shook his head slightly to scatter the thoughts and smiled while taking a sip of cold ade and watching the puppy run around excitedly with a toy in its mouth. Undissolved sugar grains rolled roughly across his tongue. A faint pain spread through his head.
Until he started heading home, he just felt strangely dizzy and dazed, but by the time he arrived home, he began to run a high fever. Getting off in front of the annex, Eun-won told the driver he was fine when asked and went inside.
Even while washing with warm water, he shivered violently from the cold. It was different from his heat cycle. It seemed he had come down with a severe cold.
After barely finishing his wash and drying his hair, his vision spun. Perhaps the driver had passed on the word, as Butler Yoon called him. Eun-won answered and honestly told him that he had a fever and felt pain throughout his body. It wasn’t something to hide, and he was becoming so ill that even lying in bed was a struggle. Eun-won pulled the blanket up to his chin and curled up. Every time a hot breath escaped his lips, his vision swirled.
Butler Yoon quickly brought medicine to the annex. Eun-won barely managed to swallow two pills with lukewarm water and exhaled a feverish breath.
“…Did you happen to contact the Executive Director?”
“No, I haven’t yet. I thought I should report your condition first.”
“It’s not that severe, so I’d prefer if you didn’t… I’ve taken medicine, and I think I’ll be fine after some rest.”
“Yes, I’ll do that. Since you’ve taken your medicine, please get some deep sleep.”
“…Yes. Thank you…”
Soothed by Butler Yoon’s words, Eun-won lay in bed and closed his heavy eyes. As darkness descended, he fell uncontrollably into it. Even with his eyes closed, it felt as if everything was spinning.
…I only saw the Executive Director for a little bit this morning…
Even as he was pulled into a deep slumber, he felt regretful that he had to fall asleep without seeing Cha Se-jin. Struggling to hold onto the afterimage of Se-jin flickering through the hot fever, Eun-won eventually sank completely into the heavy darkness.