By Zephyria 
It must be because the cold hadn’t yet faded. Seo Baek-han, who had confessed something that couldn’t be dismissed as a joke or a jest, had a slightly red nose, cheeks… and even around his eyes.
“……”
The words, I love you.
Joo Tae-hyun had always referred to Seo Baek-han with modifiers like first love or unrequited love, but Joo Tae-hyun himself had never uttered those words to Seo Baek-han.
Joo Tae-hyun bit his lip like a sulky child. He knew that pressing the tip of his index finger with his thumb looked terribly restless, but he couldn’t stop the anxious gesture.
How… should he react?
If he had repeated his love confession as many times as he had been saying sorry lately, he would have snapped at him to stop. But Seo Baek-han seemed to know the weight of the words “I love you” and didn’t repeat them. He just stared intently, as if trying to remember Joo Tae-hyun in this moment.
The faint smile on his lips was awkward. He seemed happy, and also relieved…
Unable to bear it any longer, Joo Tae-hyun looked away first. Ah… he should have acted nonchalant instead of showing such signs of hesitation.
“…Thank you.”
“……”
“Just, thank you for everything, Tae-hyun.”
He told him not to even mention the word sorry, and instead, he kept repeating thank you, as if it were a substitute.
Joo Tae-hyun tilted his head slightly, contemplating the surreal scene Seo Baek-han had created.
He had never been conscious of his own pheromones before, but perhaps it was because of the unfamiliar scent that suddenly intruded. The fragrance of trees was as strong as the petals piling up at his feet.
He still couldn’t detect Seo Baek-han’s pheromones. He couldn’t feel the unique scent like crushed fruit, nor the sharp sensation that seemed to stir his brain, nor the touch that seemed to envelop his skin.
…But still.
“But… before I go, um, to you..”
Joo Tae-hyun, who had been averting his gaze all along, slightly raised his head. What was it? Seo Baek-han seemed a little strange. Rather than seeming lost in thought and choosing his words, his sentences trailed off like a broken robot.
“…Hyung?”
“Um, so, no, I shouldn’t say this… but Tae-hyun, I really…”
Still fixing his feverish gaze on Joo Tae-hyun, Seo Baek-han’s hands drooped.
“Hyung!”
The huge bouquet fell to the floor with a thud, and at the same time, Seo Baek-han’s body tilted forward slightly.
As soon as Joo Tae-hyun reached out and grabbed Seo Baek-han’s teetering shoulder, his body collapsed as if he had been waiting for Joo Tae-hyun’s touch. The huge circle drawn with flowers rippled greatly like a wave.
“Hyung, wait… ugh!”
He wasn’t one to be outmatched in terms of physique or strength, but supporting Seo Baek-han, who had completely lost his strength, was a bit overwhelming.
“Hyung.”
“……”
“Seo…Baek-han?”
He shook him slightly while awkwardly supporting him, but Seo Baek-han showed no response, as if he were dead.
He wondered if there was something wrong with the area where the bullet had grazed, so he held onto him tightly, as he kept drooping powerlessly. It didn’t seem like he was bleeding, and he was breathing… so should he check his eyes?
Joo Tae-hyun fumbled awkwardly with Seo Baek-han’s face, and was startled by the heat he felt even before his hand touched him.
His whole body was burning as if it was a wonder he had been able to stay conscious until now.
“So why did you insist on being discharged so…”
He knew that Seo Baek-han wouldn’t even hear him, but a complaint came out on its own.
Even if he was an Alpha, even if he had an imprinting partner, even if it was a one-sided imprinting. Pheromones weren’t a panacea, so what was he trusting in to insist on being discharged?
Besides, standing in one place in this weather would have put a strain on his body.
Even before Secretary Nam contacted him separately, Joo Tae-hyun had noticed that Seo Baek-han had been lingering in front of his house since dawn.
It wasn’t like Joo Tae-hyun had been able to sleep soundly last night either.
“…I really.”
He couldn’t just leave a collapsed person on the ground…
Whether he knew that he was gritting his teeth and enduring it or not, Seo Baek-han just breathed hot air while burying his nose in Joo Tae-hyun’s neck and shoulder.
Joo Tae-hyun glared at the boiling pot with a sullen face. He had tried to make porridge with instant rice that he had bought just in case, but it wasn’t as easy as he thought.
‘It’s a temporary pheromone overexposure.’
Fortunately, Seo Baek-han’s condition wasn’t serious. The area where the bullet had grazed, which he had been most worried about, had already healed, and it was just that he had been overdoing it and then suddenly came into contact with his imprinting partner, which caused a slight shock.
‘Then what should I do…’
‘He’ll be fine if he just gets plenty of Young Master’s pheromones.’
‘……’
‘That… Director Seo Baek-han, he’s returning to the country soon, right?’
Did he hear it through his family? Or was Seo Baek-han’s schedule being widely reported? Anyway, knowing that he would be leaving soon, Doctor Woo cautiously suggested.
‘I don’t want to see Director Seo Baek-han’s face either… but if Young Master is worried about him, just staying close to him as often as possible until Director Seo returns to the country should prevent any major problems for the time being.’
As often as possible, and only for the time being…
Doctor Woo, who hated Seo Baek-han as much as his family did, was saying this much, so his condition must be much worse than he thought.
‘Um, his condition is quite… serious, I guess.’
‘…Well, what do I care? It’s Director Seo’s own karma. Anyway, tell him to take the medicine over there as soon as he comes to his senses. Eat well, take some medicine, and get some of Young Master’s pheromones, and he should be able to manage.’
Doctor Woo reassured him that there wouldn’t be any problems, but how could he kick Seo Baek-han out after hearing those words? Secretary Nam, who had rushed over as soon as he heard the news, was also desperately looking at him, so he ended up laying him down in the guest room.
Anyway, he said he just needed to eat and take medicine, so he was trying to make porridge…
Joo Tae-hyun put the pot with the burning smell in the sink and rummaged for other tools. Um, this is… the pot I use when I boil pasta.
Now there was only one pack of instant rice left. If he failed this time too, he would have to wash the rice and cook it from scratch, which would turn into an unplanned long journey.
“…What is this?”
He didn’t know there were so many cooking utensils in the cupboard. Joo Tae-hyun, who was rummaging through the kitchen that was unfamiliar even though it was his own house, was caught in an unexpected dilemma while holding a frying pan. Maybe a frying pan would be better. Was there a wider and deeper pan than this?
“Tae-hyun?”
A hurried call came from behind Joo Tae-hyun, who was squatting down and carefully considering with a frying pan and a pasta pot in his hands.
“Joo Tae, ah…”
Seo Baek-han looked disheveled, as if he had rushed out as soon as he came to his senses. It wasn’t that he looked bad or funny, but it was just a little strange because it was the first time he had seen him looking around anxiously while quickly sweeping back his hair.
…For some reason, he seemed greatly disappointed to realize his absence, which was also puzzling.
“Um, I don’t remember from the middle, but maybe-.”
“They said it was a pheromone shock.”
“…Ah.”
“Doctor Woo came by. He said to take the medicine over there…”
Only then did Seo Baek-han’s eyes gradually regain their vitality. The pallor that had completely drained his face, making him look pale, also began to regain its former light, as if he had been imagining something on his own.
“Sorry for scaring you, no… um, thank you. But what were you doing?”
Seo Baek-han, who had already come closer and narrowed the distance, squatted down in the same position as Joo Tae-hyun. Perhaps because he was a little taller, Seo Baek-han looked somewhat uncomfortable sitting with his long legs folded.
“Ah, were you making porridge? Do you feel unwell?”
Seo Baek-han didn’t even imagine that Joo Tae-hyun was trying to make porridge for him. Joo Tae-hyun also didn’t want to show it, so he stood up awkwardly.
That’s right. What was I trying to do? I wanted to take care of him a little because I was worried that he had collapsed in my house because of my pheromones… but still, trying to cook porridge for him was a bit much.
“Tae-hyun.”
“……”
“Um, if you don’t mind, can I make something simple for you?”
His voice was calm, as if it was okay to refuse, but his gaze towards him was so earnest that he couldn’t possibly ignore it.