By Zephyria 
“Ha, I’m dying.”
After finishing his shower, Jeong-min slumped onto the sofa, and seeing this, Shin-woo smiled and handed him a glass of cold water.
“Drink up.”
“Thanks, Hyung. By the way, is it really the first time in a while that you’ve worked out?”
“Yeah. I’ve been a bit lazy.”
He was too good for someone who claimed to be lazy. Jeong-min grumbled as he drank the water. Just then, the food they had pre-ordered arrived, and the two of them had a filling dinner, talking as if they were people who had never once been apart. Jeong-min felt a sense of comfort, as if this were a natural part of daily life.
“Want to stay over?”
Shin-woo asked Jeong-min, who was clearing the dishes and wiping the table. Looking at the clock, it was already past 11 PM. Since he had morning duty tomorrow, honestly, it would be better to sleep here, but… is it okay to do this on the first visit to the house?
“There’s a guest room. You can refuse if it’s too uncomfortable.”
“No, I’m not uncomfortable. Actually, I’d like to… wouldn’t Hyung be uncomfortable?”
“I’m suggesting it because I’m not uncomfortable.”
“Uh… then I’ll impose on you. Just for today.”
“You can impose on me indefinitely.”
He’s still the same Hyung. Kind and full of consideration… and that’s why…
Jeong-min smiled faintly while looking at Shin-woo, then suddenly snapped back to his senses. Feeling his heart beat heavily, he shook his head. No. Absolutely not.
“Want a drink?”
For a suggestion, he already had beer cans in both hands, and dried snacks were placed on the table.
“Ah, what. So this is why you told me to stay over?”
“Haha. Please understand. I’ve come back to Korea after a long time and have no one to hang out with.”
“What would you have done if I wasn’t here, Hyung?”
“I know. If Jeong-min wasn’t here, I would have been very bored.”
Shin-woo said as he placed the beer in front of Jeong-min.
It’s like before. Like those young days. It’s just that we’ve both become adults. Of course, Shin-woo has a huge problem now with his illness, but they said it’s not that there’s no way. Surely… it will work out. We’ll be able to find an Omega that fits Shin-woo hyung.
As Jeong-min picked up the can, Shin-woo clinked glasses and smiled. It was a smile that made all worries disappear.
✽✽✽
“Ugh-! Uuuugh!!”
Jeong-min woke up to the sound of someone in extreme distress. At first, he wondered if he had misheard and just blinked while lying in bed, but he bolted upright, startled by a loud thumping sound.
The digital clock in his line of sight showed 2:30 AM in white digits. Hearing the suspicious noise once more, Jeong-min got out of bed and opened the bedroom door.
“Hyung!!”
Shin-woo was lying on the floor, clutching his chest as if in agony. The sheer intensity of Yu Shin-woo’s pheromones was so overwhelming that Jeong-min’s skin felt like it was stinging. Aside from one specific time in the past, this was the first time he had ever been hit directly by Alpha pheromones with such crushing force.
But whether his own body was struggling or not didn’t matter right now. Shin-woo’s condition was critical. He couldn’t control his pheromones and seemed unable to breathe properly. Furthermore, dark red spots had broken out all over his body, and his fingernails were torn and bleeding. Looking at the floor, Jeong-min could see the scratch marks where he had clawed at the ground. Even as a doctor, these were symptoms Jeong-min had never seen before.
Forcing down the pounding of his anxious heart, Jeong-min quickly called 119. As he watched Shin-woo being wheeled away, the peace he had felt earlier felt like a dream. Yes, it was a dream. This was reality.
✽✽✽
Yu Shin-woo was taken to the Cal Front research institute, which had been newly established next to the hospital. As soon as his identity was confirmed, the ambulance changed direction, and the medical staff in charge of Yu Shin-woo were already waiting for him. They hurriedly took him in to provide treatment and attempted to determine the cause. Amidst the chaos, Jeong-min could do nothing. He simply sat helplessly in a hallway chair, staring at his trembling hands.
“It seems he has developed a resistance to the drug.”
Jeong-min looked up at the sound of Kim Ju-hwan’s voice. Despite the late hour, he looked pristine, looking down at Jeong-min with one hand in his pocket.
“How did you….”
“I happened to be here. A new hypersensitivity patient was discovered in Korea today. I was just about to leave after examining them….”
“Ah… I see. So… you’re saying Hyung developed a resistance to the drug he’s taking?”
Jeong-min asked, his voice devoid of all energy.
“Yes. I’ve been changing the drug about once every three months recently… but this time it only lasted two. The cycle is getting shorter. Since his own pheromones are fine, it seems he pumped them out frantically to try and cover them up… Thanks to that, Sunbae’s body is currently vibrating with Yu Shin-woo’s pheromones….”
That would be it. He had been suppressed by pheromones like that….
“Did you sleep together?”
“What?”
Kim Ju-hwan’s single question dropped onto Jeong-min’s head. For a moment, his voice felt excessively low and heavy. Even stronger than the pheromones Yu Shin-woo had poured out earlier.
“I’m sorry, Sunbae. My brain is so rotten that when I hear two humans with genitals were together until this hour, that’s the only thing I can think of.”
He spoke with a sly smile, but his eyes were not smiling. What is this? This sense of intimidation.
“Did you sleep together?”
He asked again. This time, more forcefully.
Jeong-min clenched his fists. Normally, he would have snapped back with, ‘Yeah, fuck, we did! What about it?’, but he felt he shouldn’t do that right now.
“You crazy bastard. Why would I sleep with Hyung? I was just hanging out at his house. We were drinking….”
Kim Ju-hwan’s face suddenly leaned in close. He sniffed from a distance where their lips almost touched. It happened so quickly that Jeong-min couldn’t even dodge.
“I smell whiskey.”
At the sound of Kim Ju-hwan’s voice accompanied by a faint smile, Jeong-min snapped back to his senses and pushed him away.
Fuck, you scared me—
“I told you so. Why are you checking in such a creepy way?”
“I can’t help but be suspicious since there’s a precedent.”
Just as Jeong-min was about to ask why on earth he was suspicious, the door to the room where Yu Shin-woo had been taken opened. When the people in white coats and a professor who had recently been appointed stepped out, Jeong-min bolted up and ran toward them.
Watching this, Kim Ju-hwan looked back and forth between Jeong-min’s empty seat and Jeong-min, who was speaking to the doctors with a pale face, and slowly straightened his posture.
“Ah… that’s a bit problematic, Dr. Shin.”
The professor, who had been in charge of Yu Shin-woo since England, was flustered and trying to stop Jeong-min, while Jeong-min was desperately pleading for something.
Kim Ju-hwan considered this the fuse. He was very curious to see what kind of future would unfold from his current actions. He also felt it was a pity that he had to choose only one thing.
How will you break? How far will I throw you away?
“What’s going on?”
As Kim Ju-hwan approached, Shin Jeong-min looked at him with a serious expression. However, he couldn’t bring himself to ask for the favor and instead turned his gaze toward the bed where Yu Shin-woo lay.
Ah, Dr. Shin says… he wants to nurse Shin-woo….”
They were likely very cautious, thinking that Jeong-min didn’t know about Yu Shin-woo’s condition. Moreover, since Jeong-min was an Alpha, they were even more so.
“Then you’ll need an injection to temporarily paralyze your pheromone glands. Will that be alright?”
When Kim Ju-hwan asked for his opinion, Jeong-min extended his arm without hesitation.
“Give it to me right now.”
Kim Ju-hwan smiled slightly and shrugged his shoulders.
Right. That’s the kind of person you are.
“Not the arm.”
Kim Ju-hwan tapped the back of his own neck.
“It’s the back of the neck, Sunbae.”
✽✽✽
As the drug entered the back of his neck, Jeong-min flinched slightly. It was an unpleasant sensation. Like getting a local anesthetic in the gums at a dentist….
“It lasts for about a day. During that time, Dr. Shin, you won’t be able to smell pheromones either. And once you receive this anesthetic, you cannot receive it again for a month.”
“Yes, I understand.”
After hearing the explanation from the doctor, Jeong-min put on the clothes provided by the hospital. It was a kind of patient gown; he readily changed into it since they said it was best to have as little body odor as possible.
As he stepped out of the room to drop off the clothes he had arrived in, Kim Ju-hwan was standing in front of the room.
“Aren’t you leaving?”
“Ah, after using me, you’re now heartlessly throwing me away because you don’t need me. You really are a cold-hearted Sunbae.”
“When did I ever.”
“It’s cold.”
Kim Ju-hwan draped a white cardigan over Jeong-min. The tension in his body, which had been slightly chilled by the dawn air, relaxed.
“These are what the researchers wear, so you can wear it inside.”
“Since when were you so kind?”
“I don’t want to be blamed if you catch a cold. Go on in. I should be going now too.”
Saying so, Kim Ju-hwan waved his hand and left the scene as if he had no lingering regrets.