By Zephyria 
After spending the rut like that, he lay sick for ten full days. It wasn’t severe enough to be hospitalized, but since Jeong-min couldn’t get up, a worried Ju-hwan even called a doctor to the house and made a fuss.
When Jeong-min sarcastically asked if he should just brag to the whole neighborhood that two Alphas collapsed after a rut, Kim Ju-hwan felt proud and said he should have. It was so ridiculous that Jeong-min laughed aimlessly.
After receiving an IV drip and resting a bit, he was able to move his body. The first thing he did upon getting up was send Kim Ju-hwan to work. For some reason, Kim Ju-hwan had not gone to work for ten days and stayed by his side.
‘Aren’t you going to get fired?’
‘If they fire me, half of the company’s market cap will vanish.’
He thought it was nonsense, but seeing his confident demeanor, it seemed he had something to rely on. But that was that, and work was work.
As Jeong-min started nagging him again, Kim Ju-hwan only started going to work the next day after receiving final confirmation from the doctor that Jeong-min’s body had recovered. That was yesterday. Of course, after getting off work at night, he came with the doctor and checked Jeong-min’s condition several times before returning to his own home.
He thought about asking him to stay over… but honestly, he couldn’t imagine sleeping in the same bed with Kim Ju-hwan while fully conscious, other than when he was sick or in rut, so he just let him go.
And today, Doctor Kim visited Jeong-min’s house to check his condition and draw blood for a test.
“I could have gone to the hospital.”
“No. It’s a good excuse for me to get out too.”
Spending all day at the research institute, she often liked having a good excuse to go out. But Jeong-min knew. This, too, was Kim Ju-hwan’s idea…
“Shin-woo hyung is…”
He probably called the doctor so that Shin-woo and he wouldn’t meet.
“Ah.”
Doctor Kim smiled awkwardly at Jeong-min’s question.
“He’s undergoing treatment. It’s not a serious side effect… so please be at ease.”
“I see. Ah, by any chance, when is his scheduled discharge?”
“We decided to monitor him for about another week.”
“I see.”
Actually, he could just ask Shin-woo directly. If he sent a message, he would get an answer. But for some reason, he couldn’t.
He thought that if he mixed bodies with Shin-woo, many things would change. And he believed it would surely be for the better. However, the reality was different from his expectations. It was rather the opposite. His mood continued to spiral downward.
He felt deeply sad and depressed. And everything felt futile. Even if it was childish, if he had said those words… the words he wanted to hear back then… would he feel this way? If he had, it would have been truly wonderful.
“No…”
It was already in the past, and the milk was spilled. He had no choice but to accept reality. After seeing Doctor Kim off, Jeong-min sat on the sofa and looked up at the ceiling. He closed his eyes, feeling the quiet air of the house.
“I should sort things out.”
It was the wrong path. Jeong-min thought it was clear that Yu Shin-woo was also becoming unhappy because of his own greed. The same went for Kim Ju-hwan. He was mixing bodies and worrying about his sick self for no reason. Of course, he seemed fine, but there was no way to know what was inside him. What was certain was that he was indeed a nuisance to everyone.
“And… me too.”
Jeong-min looked at his hand. Thanks to the careful treatment and the drug formulated at the cal front, the tremors in his hand had disappeared. Because of that, he gradually wanted to return to his original place. Becoming a doctor had ultimately started by following Yu Shin-woo, but he enjoyed it because it suited his aptitude. He couldn’t return to work immediately, but he thought he should start preparing little by little.
Only now did he look back at himself, who had been abandoned. The person who should have loved him the most, but who had cast him away most cruelly, was none other than himself. He had to take care of himself again before it was too late. Otherwise, he might collapse to a point where he could never return.
He looked around the house. He felt he should talk with Yu Shin-woo and move again. Whether to return to his parents’ home or get a place near the hospital… he thought he should give it some thought. Thinking that he should be careful and serious since it was a consideration for a new start, Jeong-min inhaled and then chuckled. It was because Kim Ju-hwan’s pheromones filled the entire house.
And that night, he received a call from his mother for the first time in a long while. It was a call telling him to come to the family home for a meal, as Young-min had come home for the first time since giving birth. Jeong-min also readily agreed to go, wanting a change of pace and wanting to see Young-min and his newborn nephew.
─ Should I come too?
Jeong-min paused while pressing the engine button. As he was leaving the house, Kim Ju-hwan happened to call, and this was the answer after Jeong-min told him not to come home in the evening because he planned to go to his parents’ house.
“What are you talking about? Why would you come?”
─ Wow, that’s harsh. Isn’t it about time I greet your parents? You’re trying to eat and run again.
No, how could this guy say such things so naturally and brazenly? Listening to him, there were times when he wondered, ‘Did I really do that?’
─ I’m joking. I’m just worried.
As he heard Kim Ju-hwan’s voice suddenly turn serious just as he was about to say something, Jeong-min felt he couldn’t even say that one word and cleared his throat.
“I’m fine. You must have received a report. My fever is down… and I’m not lethargic. I’m even driving today.”
─ Call a driver.
“I said I’m fine.”
─ I’m the one who’s not fine.
“Uh, so I think I’m even more fine. What does it have to do with me that you’re not fine?”
─ Wow, is that something to say to the person who nursed you for ten days?
“The main culprit who made me lie down for those ten days has a lot to say.”
─ You really don’t lose a single argument. Just give in a little.
“Why don’t you give in a little?”
─ Sunbae, the very fact that you’re acting like that right now means I’m giving in.
He was about to ask what that meant, but Jeong-min stopped because he suddenly got goosebumps.
“Let’s hang up. I have to go.”
─ Are you sure I don’t need to come?
“I said I’m fine. I’ll… call you if something feels strange.”
Jeong-min beat him to it, fearing that if he didn’t say this, he would keep calling and sending messages. That was really all. But why was he so embarrassed?
─ You have to call me first.
“Not 119?”
─ …You know what I mean.
It sounded like he was telling him to prioritize him over Yu Shin-woo. But why? What did he have to do with him? It was nothing more or less than a relationship where they mixed bodies when needed, so why… when had he started prioritizing this guy in everything? Jeong-min wondered, but then stopped thinking. And only after saying he would do so about a hundred times was he able to hang up.
✽✽✽
“Jeong-min!”
“Oh~! Shin Jeong-min!”
As soon as Jeong-min arrived home, not only his mother but also Yeong-min welcomed him warmly. Since it had been nearly half a year since Jeong-min had last visited, it was only natural, even though Yeong-min was technically the guest. Jeong-min hadn’t wanted his family to see him in an unhealthy state. It was also the first time he had seen Yeong-min since hearing the news of his pregnancy. Yeong-min looked the same as always, while his mother had grown a bit older in the meantime.
“Mother.”
“My goodness, it’s been so long. What happened to your face? Why have you lost so much weight?”
He was actually looking healthy now… If she had seen him while he was suffering from the side effects of the drug, she would have fainted.
“I wasn’t feeling very well for a while.”
“Where? Do you not need to go to the hospital?”
“I’m going to the hospital. And it’s not a serious illness, so please don’t worry. I’m eating well and exercising. Oh, Shin Yeong-min. Long time no see.”
“Yeah, you heartless twin brother of mine.”
He had hated him. He was a brother he truly despised, yet because they shared the same blood, he couldn’t cast him out; he had spent his time resenting and envying Yeong-min, but now he didn’t know why he was so glad to see him. Perhaps blood really is the strongest bond.
“Where’s my new niece?”
“Look at how you talk. ‘New niece’?”
“It’s true, isn’t it?”
“Well, that’s true.”
While their mother prepared the meal, Yeong-min smiled and led him to the room where the baby was sleeping. He mentioned that since Jeong-min would be staying at the family home for a while, their mother had beautifully decorated Yeong-min’s old room into a nursery.
As he opened the door and stepped inside, the scent of baby powder filled the air. He didn’t know why this scent always evoked such a sense of longing every time he smelled it. On a cute little bed in the center of the room, a tiny angel lay fast asleep.
“Wow, she’s really small.”
“Right? I was surprised too because she’s so tiny. But they say she’s healthy.”
“That’s a relief. Is it a girl?”
“Yeah, how did you know?”
“Because she’s pretty.”
“Hehe, of course she is, since she takes after me.”
“True. Maybe it’s because she looks like you; she’s really pretty.”
Yeong-min’s remarried partner was handsome, but not ‘pretty.’ As he was thinking this, he felt a gaze on him and looked up to find Yeong-min staring intently.