“It’s not as big as I thought.”
Joo Tae-hyun looked around the Royal Hospital as if it were new to him. He had been here before.
“You came for the Director’s inauguration.”
“I was only in the auditorium then.”
Was he? It was just a mix of a hospital and a graduate school lab, nothing too impressive, but Joo Tae-hyun’s eyes sparkled. Of course, his usual sullen expression was still there, but Seo Baek-han knew that those eyes meant he was excited.
Watching him examine the unfamiliar names of the research labs on each floor and every name engraved on the wall honoring donors, Seo Baek-han wondered if Joo Tae-hyun wanted a Royal Hospital academic tour instead of a date.
Seo Baek-han, who had become an unexpected guide, pretended not to mind Joo Tae-hyun, but he was increasingly curious about his ulterior motives.
The last conversation Seo Baek-han had with Joo Tae-hyun a few days ago wasn’t pleasant. He had even mentioned that he had people watching him and had been somewhat overbearing, so he didn’t expect it to be easy to resolve. Joo Tae-hyun had never disobeyed him before, but this was a serious matter.
But now he was asking for a date. At the Royal Hospital, of all places.
What was Joo Tae-hyun up to? Seo Baek-han couldn’t figure out how to lead the atmosphere.
More than anything, Seo Baek-han had never brought anyone, whether it was a girlfriend or a sex partner, to his school or workplace. In a way, the office was a more private space for Seo Baek-han than his bedroom.
“…Let’s go in.”
For that reason, the current suggestion could be considered half impulsive.
Yes, impulsive…
Tracing the source of this unfamiliar emotion eventually led back to the issue of traits.
Seo Baek-han’s condition, having Imprinted alone, wasn’t normal, and Joo Tae-hyun’s body, with its distorted Pheromones, wasn’t normal either. Whether it was him or Joo Tae-hyun, the fact that they were acting subtly different from usual these days was all because of their traits.
Seo Baek-han had always believed that traits were something that could be controlled. Since majoring in traitology and becoming the youngest Director of the Royal Hospital, his arrogance had become an established fact, supported by evidence.
But it seemed that he, too, was unable to escape his fate.
“Where…”
Joo Tae-hyun’s gaze, which had been wandering around, wavered slightly for a moment. It was because he belatedly realized what was behind Seo Baek-han, who was standing at an angle.
“We came all the way here, are you just going to leave without seeing the Director’s office?”
“…Is that okay?”
“You’re my spouse. What’s not okay?”
Even though he had been given permission, Joo Tae-hyun hesitated, only slightly rolling his eyes. Seo Baek-han lightly added, “If you just keep standing there blankly, other people will think it’s strange,” and only then did he take a step.
Watching Joo Tae-hyun cautiously open the door to the Director’s office, Seo Baek-han narrowed his eyes without realizing it.
Was it just his imagination? From the last time he saw him in the hospital room, or even before that, his condition had been subtly different. How should he put it? He was showing his inner thoughts more than before, but it didn’t seem to be of his own volition. It was as if the fortress that had always firmly protected him was gradually crumbling.
Like someone who was about to leave somewhere at any moment.
“It feels similar to Hyung’s study.”
That was all Joo Tae-hyun had to say after looking around the Director’s office, standing by the door even though he had been given permission. Still, seeing him peek and crane his neck to the back, he was still a child, even if he was all grown up.
“The space utilization, the way things are organized… and Hyung’s Pheromones are everywhere.”
Joo Tae-hyun closed his eyes and took a slow breath as if overwhelmed by the Pheromones permeating every object, then nodded briefly as if he was okay now.
“Then shall we go now?”
“Go?”
He had opened the door to the Director’s office for the first time, and that was all the reaction he got? He was going to leave already? Seo Baek-han’s voice was sharp at the end of his question, as he was taken aback.
“Yes. Strictly speaking, Hyung hasn’t been discharged yet. You should go and rest.”
Joo Tae-hyun checked his watch and replied, “It’s been well over 30 minutes.”
“Forget about my situation, is that enough for you?”
“Pardon?”
“You acted like you were on an academic tour, are you really going to have your curiosity satisfied with just this?”
“Ah…”
Seo Baek-han watched Joo Tae-hyun’s uncharacteristically blank reaction and couldn’t help but chuckle. Ah, so he had a strategy of his own? He was trying to gloss over what he was hiding from him by doing things he wouldn’t normally do.
“Aren’t you even going to have a cup of tea before you leave?”
No way. Even if he couldn’t uncover all of Joo Tae-hyun’s schemes today, he would at least get him to confess to one major incident on his own.
“You said we’d go on a date on Friday.”
See? As soon as he said such a soft word, Joo Tae-hyun stopped as if he had never been acting up.
Seo Baek-han stepped into the office, leaving Joo Tae-hyun, who was still standing there, alone. He deliberately made a loud noise when he closed the door, and it seemed like Joo Tae-hyun’s shoulders twitched slightly.
“There’s no vending machine coffee… I have tea that I often drink when I work, I can make you some if that’s okay.”
“…Yes, that’s fine.”
After hesitating for a moment, Joo Tae-hyun naturally sat down on the sofa.
Instead of his closed mouth, his eyes moved very busily. He glanced at Seo Baek-han making tea, scanned the order of the books, and peered at the plaques and various papers and journals with his name on them.
Seo Baek-han chuckled without realizing it as he poured the tea.
He was going to do that anyway. Where was he going to go?
“Baek-han Hyung.”
“Hmm?”
Joo Tae-hyun, who had been examining the interior as if he were stroking the furniture with his eyes, finally opened his mouth. Finally. The expression was fitting, as his voice was hoarse as if he was being strangled.
“…I’ve been thinking about what Hyung said.”
Aha. So there was another purpose for mentioning the date. Seo Baek-han gestured lightly, urging him to continue. If Joo Tae-hyun was obedient, he wouldn’t push him to the end either.
“Before that, there’s something I want to ask Hyung. I’m not trying to test you, I’m just really curious.”
“What is it?”
Seo Baek-han placed the steaming teacup in front of him and relaxed.
Even if Joo Tae-hyun had been hiding the timing and frequency of taking the Switch, or his physical condition, it didn’t matter anymore.
After all, it was something that had happened because of him.
Joo Tae-hyun had taken the Switch he had given him and had a Pheromone abnormality, and now he couldn’t live a normal life without his Pheromones. He had even been holding the robe he had been wearing in the car in his mouth.
It wasn’t a foreseen event, so he was still embarrassed, but if he thought about it differently, it wasn’t all bad.
Seo Baek-han was satisfied that he was the only one who could control Joo Tae-hyun, the one-sided Imprinted partner, both in the past and now.
“Hyung, do you… how do you feel about children?”
“…Children?”
“Ah, I mean… literally. How would Hyung feel if you had children, or, I think you said you wanted to have children, is that right?”
Seo Baek-han’s predatory momentum suddenly turned fierce. Joo Tae-hyun had impeccable timing, bringing up the topic that irritated Seo Baek-han the most. It was so absurd that he had thought this flow was okay, that he could let it go.
“I don’t understand the intention of the question, Tae-hyun. Why children all of a sudden?”
“I was wondering if Hyung said you were going to spend Rut… with someone else because you wanted to have children. And you suddenly, um, talked about that to me.”
So he was asking if he was breaking up with him and preparing to have a baby with someone else?
You’re asking me that?
Seo Baek-han was speechless and just stared at Joo Tae-hyun.
Ah, surely he wasn’t suggesting bringing Cheon Seung-pil’s child.
If Cheon Seung-pil really had Joo Tae-hyun’s child, although it wasn’t certain yet.
It had been a little over three months since Joo Tae-hyun last visited the United States. If he wanted to get rid of it, it was a little late now.
“No, I don’t.”
But that was Cheon Seung-pil’s problem.
“Children in my current situation? It’s of no help at all.”
Even if half of the child’s blood flowed from Joo Tae-hyun, he wasn’t the type to generously embrace someone else’s child in the first place.
Especially considering Cheon Seung-pil’s family.
“Tae-hyun, you probably know better than anyone. What I’ve been aiming for and why I’ve been running here without rest.”
“…”
“Have you forgotten why I married you, a male Alpha, in the first place?”
Seo Baek-han forced down his boiling anger and smiled appropriately, and Joo Tae-hyun lowered his eyes slightly. Even so, he was chewing on his lower lip, as if he was doing it on purpose. He had told him several times to fix that habit because it didn’t look good.
Come to think of it, he couldn’t help but snort at the thought that Joo Tae-hyun’s clumsy hip movements had somehow resulted in a child. Well, Cheon Seung-pil was famous for playing around, so that bastard must have taken care of it?
“…Hyung, what if-“
At that moment, Seo Baek-han’s phone rang loudly. Joo Tae-hyun, who had even squeezed his eyes shut and was about to say something, only let out a futile breath and lowered his head even deeper than before.
“What if, what.”
Just as he was about to flip it over to mute it and urge him on, not wanting to interrupt the flow of the conversation, there was a hurried knock on the door from outside.
“Director!”
Secretary Nam, who should have been waiting in the parking lot, shouted urgently.
“Director, I’m really sorry, but something has come up that you need to check urgently.”