By Zephyria 
===
He mingled for a reasonable amount of time and tried to leave before midnight, but Kang Seo-hoo and Do Hae-jun clung to Cha Se-jin fervently, asking where he thought he was going. Because of that, Cha Se-jin only managed to leave Obsidian after one in the morning and climbed into the waiting car. The driver checked on him once and quietly drove him home.
By the time he arrived, it would be around two, so Eun-won would likely be asleep. During exams, Eun-won sometimes stayed up late, but usually, he fell asleep around one. Of course, for the past few days, they had been having sex almost every night, pushing that time much further, but that was the norm.
In truth, he could have gone home around midnight if he wanted to. Who could stop him when he decided to go home? However, the reason he let himself be held back was due to this inexplicable heat.
If he went in before Eun-won slept, he would undoubtedly try to touch him, citing some absurdly trivial reason. Because it was cute how Eun-won would come down the stairs upon hearing him arrive; because the ankle visible when he wore slippers barefoot was erotic; because he looked so enticing after getting ready for bed, smelling of cozy shampoo… he was certain his cock would harden for any number of such reasons.
What was the problem? It wasn’t even a Rut, so how did it make sense that he felt this way every time he saw him? Seriously. Ah, maybe he should visit the Center.
Along with a strange sense of frustration, Eun-won flickered through his mind again. Loosening his tie, Cha Se-jin opened the window halfway and took a deep breath of the pouring dawn air. Just the thought of it caused a surge of heat to spread. Just like when he received the message that he was heading home. He was clearly not normal.
As he opened the front door and stepped inside, the low silence of the dawn touched his face. Normally—that is, before the marriage—entering the annex would bring a subtle, pleasant scent used for home maintenance, but now, Eun-won’s scent was mixed in.
After taking off his shoes and putting on slippers, Cha Se-jin took a moment to look around the quiet living room before climbing the stairs. Seeing the blanket unfolded and draped over the armrest of the sofa, he remembered Eun-won sitting there covered by it yesterday.
Picturing Eun-won moving his legs under the blanket or habitually fiddling with the corner of it, Cha Se-jin approached the sofa, lifted the blanket, buried his lips and nose in it, and inhaled deeply. The blanket smelled of Eun-won. A cozy, sweet, wonderful scent that made him want to keep his nose pressed against it forever.
Smelling Eun-won caused tension to build in his genitals. Honestly, he felt like he could come three times just from the blanket. However, having no intention of actually doing that, Cha Se-jin put the blanket down with a sigh and moved forward.
“…….”
As he turned and walked a few steps away, a funny idea suddenly occurred to him. Cha Se-jin returned to the sofa, picked up the blanket, and released his pheromones over it. He wondered how Eun-won would react when he covered himself with it again. If Eun-won used it while he wasn’t there, he wouldn’t be able to see the reaction firsthand, but the mere imagination was enjoyable enough.
Would he bury his face in it and inhale his pheromones the whole time, just as he had? Would he be flustered and aroused like him? Would he masturbate with his face buried in the blanket?
“…Ah, damn.”
That last thought was too stimulating. Eun-won masturbating while smelling his scent. He wondered what that would look like. Would he stop at gently touching his pretty cock—perfect in shape, color, and size? Or would he cover the tip and rub it?
Recalling various images of Eun-won as he climbed the stairs, Cha Se-jin passed through the quiet second-floor hallway and entered the bedroom, which wasn’t fully closed.
“…….”
Had Eun-won ever masturbated after marrying him? If so, where? In bed? The bathroom? Or on the sofa? No, if it were Eun-won, he wouldn’t do such a thing in a place where someone could walk in. Then perhaps mostly in the bathroom. In his mind, Eun-won, touching himself in the only place where he could be completely alone, let out a flushed moan.
Meanwhile, Cha Se-jin reached the bed and looked down at the sleeping Eun-won. The real Eun-won, sleeping peacefully, was more erotic than the imagined Eun-won shedding tears while masturbating.
He wasn’t doing anything; he was simply sleeping with his eyes closed, breathing softly, yet Cha Se-jin couldn’t understand why that looked so erotic. He looked erotic sleeping with the pajamas he had bought him, all the buttons fastened, and strangely erotic hugging the duvet while he slept.
“Ah, seriously….”
He wanted to wake him. No, he wanted to just climb on top of him right now. He wanted to suck his nipples to make him feel it. He felt like he was going crazy wanting to press and lick his perineum with the tip of his tongue, then wake him up by poking just shallowly into his hole.
He must have lost his mind. Honestly, it was a bit serious. Without realizing it, his hand moved to stroke the cheek of the sleeping Eun-won.
Huh?
The moment his fingertips touched the pale cheek, Cha Se-jin tilted his head. While he was usually warm, today it was excessive. He wasn’t just warm; he was hot.
Turning up the light of the lamp that emitted a soft glow, Cha Se-jin looked at Eun-won, who was sleeping with flushed cheeks from the fever.
When he moved his hand from the cheek to the forehead, the heat was even more apparent. Frowning, Cha Se-jin saw the water and extra medicine on the bedside table, took out his phone, and left the room while calling Butler Yoon. Soon, Butler Yoon’s voice was heard.
Yes, Executive Director.
“What’s wrong with Eun-won?”
Ah, it seems Young Master Eun-won has a cold.
“A cold? Since when? I wasn’t told about this.”
He came in around eleven. According to the driver, he seemed fine when he got in the car, but he was struggling by the time he got out.
“Why didn’t you contact me immediately?”
…I apologize. Young Master Eun-won requested that you not be contacted…. I am sorry, Executive Director.
“Contact me about everything from now on. Does it make sense that I don’t know about something happening in my own house, especially something involving Eun-won?”
Yes, Executive Director. I will keep that in mind. I am truly sorry.
After hanging up, Cha Se-jin entered the room again and looked down at Eun-won, whose breathing had become slightly heavier. Why would he tell them not to contact me while he was this sick? Because he was worried I’d worry? Because he didn’t want to interrupt my time with friends? He knew Eun-won was gentle and kind enough to do that, but it didn’t sit well with him that the driver and the butler knew, yet he didn’t.
“…….”
The sex was likely the problem. Not only had they done it for days during the heat cycle, but he had been relentlessly persistent for several days after that; it was only natural that an unaccustomed body couldn’t hold up. He should have considered the person he was doing it to, but he had been too aroused and failed to properly check Eun-won’s condition. It was clearly his own negligence.
Touching Eun-won’s forehead once more, Cha Se-jin looked down at the duvet covering his body. Even in a situation that should only be filled with worry, he wondered how hot it was under the covers. He felt like he had hit rock bottom.
He pushed back his messy bangs with force, only for the disheveled hair to fall back over his forehead. It was a strange feeling, a mix of worry for Eun-won and irritation toward himself.
He felt that if he stayed by his side, he would eventually touch him, even if just a little. Even if it wasn’t in the form of sex, he would undoubtedly bother the sleeping Eun-won. Even if he didn’t, Eun-won would wake up if he paced around the room washing up and getting ready for bed.
What Eun-won needed right now was complete rest. To achieve that, he first had to not be in this room.
After touching Eun-won’s cheek with his fingers and the back of his hand once more, Cha Se-jin left the room and headed the opposite way. Going to the bedroom near his study—which was practically sealed since he never used it—Cha Se-jin took off his outer coat and entered the bathroom, stripping off the rest of his clothes. Then, thinking of the sleeping, hot-cheeked, heavy-breathing Eun-won, he ejaculated once while gripping the sink and once more in the shower booth. A faint sense of guilt for doing this to a sick person layered over the pleasure, making it feel sharper.
Coming out in a robe, he lay on the bed he had never used since the marriage and stared up at the dark ceiling. The large bed, lacking the warmth that should be felt beside him and without the sound of Eun-won occasionally tossing and turning, felt excessively foreign and awkward. No, he had slept alone for over twenty years, yet he found it awkward to sleep alone after just a few days. Did this make sense? Was he actually sane?
It was so absurd he was speechless. He could just close his eyes and sleep, yet he couldn’t do that and was instead having these useless thoughts.
Shaking his head, Cha Se-jin rolled onto his side and forced his eyes shut. However, thirty minutes, then an hour passed, and sleep did not come. When he closed his eyes, he could hear the sound of Eun-won’s soft breathing, and his fingertips and the back of his hand, which had touched the feverish cheek, felt flushed.
Lying back on his back staring at the ceiling, Cha Se-jin covered his face with both hands, rubbed them harshly, and groaned. Then, he pushed aside the robe, reached in, and gripped his already erect member. It seemed sleep was out of the question.
* * *
Perhaps the medicine was quite strong, as his head and body felt heavy. Even after waking up, Eun-won kept his eyes closed for a moment and raised a hand to touch his face. Thanks to sleeping after taking the medicine, the fever had completely subsided.
He had no idea what time it was. Eun-won reached out, picked up the phone on the side table, and checked the time. 5:52 AM. It was still before Cha Se-jin would wake up. On days he wanted to swim early, he set an alarm for 6:00, otherwise, he woke up around 6:30 or 7:00, so he probably hadn’t woken up yet.
He had fallen asleep without seeing him come in; perhaps because of the medicine, he hadn’t felt any sign of Cha Se-jin’s arrival. Feeling a longing to see him since he hadn’t seen him since yesterday morning, Eun-won turned over, only to stare blankly at the empty spot beside him.
“…….”
The sleep clinging to his eyelids vanished without a trace. Sitting up, Eun-won went through several thoughts in a short span of time.
…Did he wake up early to go swimming?
Is it a day he has a morning appointment?
If that were the case, the spot beside him was too tidy. There was no mark of a pillow being used, and above all, Cha Se-jin’s pheromone scent wasn’t strong.
……Has he not come home yet?
He had heard that he would be late, but he had never imagined he wouldn’t return until dawn, and his heart sank.