By Zephyria 
Haon’s heat lasted a long time this time as well.
In-ho didn’t get a wink of sleep during this heat period. He couldn’t take his eyes off Haon for a single moment because the second In-ho stepped out of the bedroom, Haon would wake up like a ghost and whimper.
Since the rut symptoms that began on Thursday only subsided on Tuesday, In-ho had gone over five days without closing his eyes. It was only natural that he would fall asleep while preparing a meal.
At first, he had tried to pick up a potato that had fallen. However, the moment he leaned forward, his vision went white, and he collapsed right there. If Haon had seen it, he would have been far more shocked than the person who actually fainted.
But In-ho only gave a small smirk at his own condition. He hadn’t intended to sleep. He planned to close his eyes for a moment and get up once the dizziness passed. Before Haon woke up. Of course, that plan ended in failure.
“Mr. In-ho.”
Haon, who had shaken the sleeping In-ho awake, whispered for him to come up and sleep. In-ho ended up falling asleep again while holding Haon in his arms. The scent of Haon made the drowsiness hit him even harder.
“Are you cold, Haon?”
With his eyes closed, In-ho asked while rubbing his cheek against Haon’s warm neck. Haon shook his head, saying he wasn’t cold.
“Then just… stay like this a little longer.”
In-ho whispered, locking Haon firmly in his embrace. While he was worried that Haon’s fever hadn’t dropped, he found himself wanting to cling even closer to that high body temperature.
He held him tight, as if Haon might run away the moment he loosened his grip. Even if he didn’t hold onto him, a lucid Haon would surely stay glued to his side.
“Aren’t you… cold, Mr. In-ho?”
Haon asked, subtly stretching out his leg and rubbing his heel against the marble floor. He was fine since he was sitting on In-ho’s thigh, but he was concerned about In-ho sitting on the cold floor.
“I am.”
Using the excuse of being cold, In-ho pulled the already tightly pressed bodies even closer. In that moment, Haon—who hugged him with all his might instead of suggesting they go back up—was unbearably lovely.
Lifting his head slightly, In-ho playfully pecked Haon’s lips. Haon, who had been struggling to embrace a body much larger than his own, welcomed the sudden kiss and parted his lips.
As the soft tip of a tongue pressed against the lower lip, his mouth opened instinctively. But the welcome of that tender flesh was short-lived.
“Mr. In-ho, are you hurt…?”
Haon’s eyes snapped open, and he tilted his head back to look at In-ho’s face. There was a small scratch on In-ho’s cheek.
“What happened here?”
It was a scratch that looked as if it had been caused by something small and sharp. Like a fingernail, for example.
“Was it… did I do that…?”
“No.”
In-ho answered immediately, realizing what Haon was referring to. Haon seemed startled by the scar left by Jang Eun-young’s ring.
“I just scratched it by mistake. I’m not hurt.”
A plausible lie came out naturally. Seeing his composed expression, Haon didn’t ask again, but instead wore a distressed look.
“Did you put on medicine?”
“I will.”
“Put a bandage on it too. It might leave a scar if you’re not careful.”
“Yes, I’ll do that.”
With a face that looked like he might cry, Haon carefully examined the scratch under In-ho’s eye. Even though it was truly nothing, he worried sincerely as if In-ho had been seriously injured. Despite the fact that he himself was far more injured.
Gently stroking the area around the wound, Haon carefully pressed a kiss against the red mark.
In-ho smiled softly and rubbed his entire cheek against Haon’s soft lips. He felt as if the wounds inside his heart were being healed as well.
Taking advantage of the strength he’d gained, he carried Haon up to the bedroom. Since it was time to remove the IV needle, he carefully took it out. Haon shivered at the sensation of the needle leaving the back of his hand and clung tightly to In-ho.
Soon, In-ho lay down in bed, holding Haon warmly. Then, out of habit, he checked Haon’s condition.
“Your throat hurts, doesn’t it?”
Haon nodded slightly.
“It’ll hurt more because you vomited a lot. Tell me immediately if you’re thirsty.”
He covered him with a blanket, thinking he would call the primary physician again if Haon’s fever rose further. Haon replied that he understood, then looked at In-ho lying close beside him and asked tentatively.
“Are you… sleeping with me…?”
In-ho paused for a moment, then gave a smiling look. When he asked if it would be more comfortable to sleep alone, Haon immediately shook his head and added:
“I’m afraid I might give you my cold…”
“I don’t catch colds easily.”
In-ho reassured Haon and kissed his forehead. He gave Haon an arm to lean on and hugged him tightly.
Haon didn’t know it, but his entire body was currently drenched in In-ho’s pheromones. In-ho’s scent emanated from every corner of Haon’s body, as if they were one.
It was reassuring to think that his scent had reached the deepest places. Still not satisfied, he released a very calm pheromone—just enough not to affect Haon.
“Haon.”
Wrapping the thin body in his pheromones, he gazed steadily at the pale face. Another bruise had already formed on the clean cheek. His hands, feet, and even his knees, hidden by clothes, were a mess. Haon had already been hurt before he met In-ho.
“You don’t remember, do you?”
Blinking, Haon answered with another faint nod.
“Can I tell you?”
Waiting for Haon’s answer, In-ho explained the situation. He only explained up to the point that Haon seemed to want to hear.
“A supermarket…?”
A stunned Haon looked surprised. It seemed he had given the taxi driver the address of the gosiwon instead of In-ho’s house.
Haon looked down with a bitter and embarrassed expression. He thought he was fine until he took the taxi, but he clearly wasn’t. Just when had he lost his grip on reality?
“Haon.”
In-ho paused for a moment and brushed away a strand of hair clinging to Haon’s eyebrow. He also pushed back the hair covering the pretty forehead.
It was to see Haon’s face more clearly. So that he wouldn’t miss even the slightest change in expression.
“Don’t you have anything to say to me?”
At the sudden question, Haon’s lips flickered as he looked up at In-ho. In-ho’s expression wasn’t serious at all. Rather, he wore a serene smile.
“Tell me everything you can remember. Anything.”
Even while looking at In-ho’s kind face, Haon couldn’t easily open his mouth. He had to mention that he lost his phone, too. He hesitated, reluctant to honestly explain the circumstances of how he lost it.
“Right now, I… don’t really…”
He closed his eyes tight, meaning he didn’t know. He avoided the answer by burying his face in In-ho’s chest. He didn’t have the confidence to say it yet.
What would Mr. In-ho say if he found out? If he found out I slept with a man who has a family…
Haon swallowed hard against the ache in his chest and let out a dry cough. In-ho patted Haon’s back and tried to get some water.
“It’s okay.”
Instead of water, Haon only hugged In-ho’s body tighter. He didn’t want to be apart from him.
And so, he fell asleep while clinging desperately to In-ho’s embrace. Perhaps because his body was aching, sleep rushed over him as soon as he closed his eyes.
In contrast, In-ho could not sleep.
He stroked the back of the deeply sleeping Haon and then got out of bed alone an hour later. He moved silently, killing any sign of his presence so as not to disturb Haon’s sleep.
Fortunately, Haon did not wake up. Seeing him fall back asleep so quickly even after sleeping a lot, his body must still be exhausted. He’ll likely struggle for a while.
In-ho looked at Haon, who was breathing softly and evenly, and then left the bedroom. Before crossing the threshold, he checked Haon’s sleeping figure one last time. Haon slept soundly, as if he wouldn’t wake for a long time.
Coming down to the living room, In-ho took out his phone.
He took the earphones out of the sofa table drawer, put them in his ears, and prepared to call his secretary. Before that, he opened the message window he had shared with the secretary.
A video file had arrived from the secretary. It was something In-ho had already checked that afternoon. After washing the calmed-down Haon and changing him into new pajamas, he had watched the materials provided by the secretary over and over again.
He had watched it to the point where he could memorize the faces and descriptions of every person who passed by in the video.
In-ho played the video he had already seen dozens of times. Since it was a video without sound, he put the earphones back in the case.
Click, clack. Opening and closing the lid of the earphone case, he stared intently at the small phone screen.
What the secretary had sent was CCTV footage from a large supermarket.
People pushing carts or carrying shopping bags were passing by. Since it was a place people visited with their own purposes, they had no interest in one another. They simply walked looking straight ahead.
Among those people, Haon’s back was visible.
“…….”
The moment the familiar back of the head appeared, In-ho paused the video. The movement of his hand opening and closing the earphone case became a bit rougher.
He slowly turned his head and played the video again.
In the following footage, Haon was being dragged away by a large man. Even on the small screen, it was visible that he was struggling with all his might to pull his wrist away from the harsh grip. In-ho could read every desperate look in Haon’s eyes as he searched the surrounding people for help.
In-ho stared intently at Haon’s terrified face and the back of the large man.