By Zephyria 
Clutching the cold toilet, Haon retched endlessly. Perhaps because he had eaten more than usual, the nausea wouldn’t subside even after vomiting for a long time.
“Ugh… hurk.”
His thin frame shuddered violently with every heave. If not for the firm hand holding him, he would have collapsed onto the hard bathroom floor long ago. Aware of the hand wrapped around his shoulder, Haon let out one last burst of white gastric juice.
There was nothing left to come up. Letting out a wet cough, Haon saw red droplets fall onto the water’s surface and thought he had coughed up blood. Fortunately, it was just a nosebleed. Though, that wasn’t exactly something to be relieved about.
As Haon reached out to flush, the man pressed the lever for him and handed over a generous amount of toilet paper. He then helped Haon lean back against the wall before going to the sink to fill a cup with water.
“Rinse your mouth first.”
Haon couldn’t see the man’s expression, but he could tell from the tone of his voice that he was angry. Wiping his soiled mouth, Haon repeatedly swallowed, feeling the sting in his throat. He couldn’t bring himself to look up at the man right now.
“I-I’m sorry….”
He murmured faintly as he took the cup of water. His heart burned with guilt toward the man.
“I’ll… I’ll clean it all up quickly.”
The bathroom wasn’t particularly dirty. Aside from the man’s and Haon’s clothes, there were no traces of vomit on the floor. The problem, however, was the bedroom floor.
“I’m really sorry….”
The distance from the living room to Haon’s room had been too far. Despite his efforts to hold his breath and sprint, Haon had collapsed the moment he stepped into the room. His legs had simply given out.
The moment his knees hit the floor, he had vomited. The vomit had splattered onto the clothes of the man who had followed him in immediately. The man had reached out to the panicked Haon and told him to vomit there. Startled by the soothing voice telling him it was okay, Haon had tried to push him away, only to end up making a mess on the man’s clothes.
“Haon, look at me.”
Calling his name repeatedly, the man knelt down in front of the dazed Haon. Haon’s gaze was fixed on the soiled knit sweater.
“It’s okay. It’s not dirty.”
To Haon, whose ears felt muffled, the man’s voice sounded distant. He hadn’t even realized the man had been calling his name for a while. He was that far gone. To think he had vomited on someone else’s floor. And on their clothes, too….
“I can just wash it. And the floor can just be cleaned.”
Despite the words, Haon guessed that the man must be angry. He thought the man was probably regretting bringing him here.
“I’m not angry. And I don’t regret it at all.”
“I thought… you’d tell me to leave….”
“I won’t.”
Perhaps because of the alcohol, his inner thoughts were spilling out effortlessly. Of course, Haon himself wasn’t aware of it.
“Haon, can you stand up?”
He nodded reflexively, but there was no strength in his legs. The same went for his arms.
The man looked back and forth between Haon and the bathtub, then brushed back his falling bangs. A deep crease formed between his brows.
“Haon,” he began in a cautious tone.
“Can you wash yourself?”
“…….”
“I want to do it for you, but I’m worried it might make you uncomfortable.”
As Haon looked up at the man in exhaustion, blood trickled down from his nose. The man pulled more tissues and wiped Haon’s mouth and under his nose. Fortunately, the bleeding stopped quickly.
“I’ll just help you wash.”
He locked eyes with Haon deeply, as if asking him to trust him.
“…….”
Staring back into the man’s eyes, Haon gave a faint nod as his answer. He didn’t even have the strength to stand.
Swoosh—
The man began filling the tub and took off his own top first. Meanwhile, Haon did his best to rinse his mouth. The man had told him to do so, saying it could damage his teeth.
Taking the water cup from Haon, the man gestured for him to lift his arms. Influenced by the man’s calm expression, Haon obediently raised his arms and followed his instructions. He wasn’t in a physical state to think deeply.
Unlike the man, whose only soiled garment was his top, Haon had vomit on his pants as well. Lifting Haon up, the man skillfully stripped off his trousers. Haon flinched when the man’s bare chest touched him, but he didn’t pull away. He remained still even as his underwear was removed along with his pants.
Lifting Haon with ease, the man sat his thin frame in the tub and let him lean back. As his legs dipped into the moderately warm water, Haon’s complexion improved slightly.
The dizziness in his stomach began to settle. And above all, the bubbly foam filling the tub hid his naked body, making him feel less embarrassed. It seemed the man had added something when filling the tub; he must have squeezed in a lot of body wash.
“It’s a bath additive.”
The man, who had squeezed actual body wash onto a shower ball, told Haon. As he said, the bubbles made by the body wash were slightly different from the foam in the tub. The man washed only Haon’s upper body and did not touch him below the lower abdomen.
Even though the man’s hand never touched his legs, Haon kept his eyes down and pressed his knees together. Every time the soft, foam-covered shower ball moved across his arms and back, a strange tension tightened in his thighs. He felt as nervous as if the man’s hand were touching his private parts.
* * *
Wearing a shower gown, Haon left the room cradled in the man’s arms. Perhaps he had grown comfortable in the man’s embrace, as he didn’t try to walk on his own. Since the man was holding him, he simply stretched out his arms and surrendered his weight.
The man laid Haon on the bed. The room smelled even better than usual. It seemed the man had cleaned the floor while he had stepped out to get the shower gown.
“Are you sure you don’t need to go to the hospital?”
The man, who had covered Haon with a blanket, asked with a worried face. He suggested going to the hospital for an IV since it seemed like a severe case of indigestion, but Haon firmly refused.
“I don’t need to. I’ll be fine after I sleep.”
Letting out a short sigh at the stubborn response, the man placed a hand on Haon’s forehead. He seemed relieved that there was no fever, but his worry didn’t diminish.
“You’re really not in pain?”
“Yes.”
He sat on the edge of the bed and looked closely at Haon’s face. Realizing it wasn’t a lie, he stepped back for now.
“Still, tell me immediately if it hurts.”
Haon nodded right away. Just as he was about to say thank you, the man started to get up from the bed to bring some digestive medicine. Before he could, Haon grabbed his wrist.
“I… I can’t take medication.”
He confessed that he had a drug allergy to the man who was going through the trouble of bringing medicine he couldn’t even take. Symptoms varied from person to person, and the medicines they couldn’t take differed, but in Haon’s case, he broke out in hives with almost all medications. Suppressants were a given.
“So that’s why….”
The man, sitting back down on the bed, murmured softly. When Haon looked up at him, wondering what he meant, the man continued his explanation.
“You kept spitting out the suppressant. I had put it in your mouth.”
Haon hadn’t known that the man had tried to give him a suppressant when he had lost consciousness due to his heat. Among all the people he had met, this was the first time someone had given him an expensive Omega-specific suppressant.
“That could have been serious…. I’m sorry for forcing you to take it then.”
“No, it’s okay. You gave it to me for my sake.”
“Do you have any other allergies? Like foods you can’t eat?”
Haon’s lips parted, but he couldn’t speak easily. Should he mention the heat symptoms? Was there a need? He would likely never see this man again once he left this house.
“Actually… I can’t eat food very well.”
After a brief hesitation, Haon only said what he felt he had to. He slightly regretted accepting the man’s request.
When he explained that he could only consume liquids for a few days after a heat cycle ended, the man’s lips parted silently. It was the expected reaction.
“But the food I ate today was really delicious.”
Though he had vomited it all, he had genuinely enjoyed it. He hadn’t forced himself to eat just to please the man. The food had gone down so well it surprised even him. Because of that, thinking he would be fine, he had recklessly eaten double his usual amount. He had originally intended to only pretend to eat.
“Why did you only say that now….”
The man trailed off, looked away for a moment, and then nodded. He seemed to have come to his own conclusion.
“Just rest for now.”
Standing up from the bed again, he looked down at Haon. When he asked if there was anything he needed and Haon said no, he looked around the room as if he still had something to do. Eventually, unable to find anything else, he slowly began to walk toward the door.
“Um.”
“Yes?”
The man, about to open the door, heard Haon’s call and returned to the bed in a single stride. Feeling awkward, Haon expressed his gratitude in a raspy voice.
“Thank you so much, for everything.”
He looked up at the man intently, hoping his sincerity would be conveyed. The man, wearing a gentle smile, told him to call whenever he needed anything.
“Sleep well.”
Leaving only warm words behind, he closed the door and left. Haon listened quietly to the sound of the door closing firmly, then faintly frowned. He had a lingering feeling that he had forgotten something.
What did he forget? He was sure he had wanted to ask something….
What was it?