By Zephyria 
Haon didn’t stay asleep as long as In-ho had expected. Not long after In-ho went down to the living room, Haon tossed and turned before opening his eyes. He had probably slept for about two hours.
If In-ho had been by his side, he might have fallen back asleep, but the moment he confirmed the empty spot next to him, the drowsiness vanished. Haon glanced at the darkened bathroom and pushed himself up.
“Cough…”
His throat felt scratchy, so he took a sip of water from the nightstand before getting out of bed. His body felt heavy, weighed down by the onset of a cold. He was already aching all over in the aftermath of his heat, and the fever only made it more miserable.
Still, it was bearable because he wasn’t alone.
Hearing the faint sound of the television echoing from downstairs, he slowly left the bedroom. He didn’t want to go all the way down the stairs, fearing In-ho might worry; he simply wanted to let him know that he was awake.
“Oh, you’re up?!”
As he was descending the stairs, Haon’s eyes widened at an unexpected voice. The person sitting on the living room sofa watching TV wasn’t In-ho.
“Why are you coming down! Do you need something? Are you hurting?”
Tae-hwi, seeing Haon, rushed up the stairs and peppered him with questions. Ho-yeong, following behind him, told him to lower his voice.
It was surprising enough that Tae-hwi was here, but to find Ho-yeong here as well…
Dazed, Haon blinked, wondering if he was dreaming. He thought perhaps he hadn’t fully woken up yet.
“Your boyfriend called us. He originally only contacted me, but I felt a bit awkward coming alone.”
Tae-hwi supported Haon and led him back toward the bedroom while explaining the situation. He said he had come with Ho-yeong after receiving In-ho’s permission.
Even after the explanation, Haon wore a stunned expression and first looked for In-ho.
Where is Mr./Ms. In-ho?”
“He went out on some business. That’s why he called me.”
“Hyung, please lie down for now.”
Ho-yeong, who had entered the bedroom first, lifted the duvet. Tae-hwi also carefully helped Haon sit on the bed. The two of them treated Haon as if he were a critically ill patient.
“He told us you were sick and asked us to nurse you back to health.”
Tae-hwi peeled off the fever patch on Haon’s forehead and replaced it with a new one. Haon, who hadn’t even realized something was stuck to his forehead, simply stared at Tae-hwi and Ho-yeong with surprised eyes.
“How did you get his number…?”
“Did he not tell you?”
Tae-hwi scratched his chin and glanced at Ho-yeong before continuing. He seemed to have assumed that In-ho had already told him.
“He said he went to the shop to look for you. So the boss asked us to help him find you. That’s when we exchanged numbers.”
“To the shop…?”
Haon looked blank, still holding the glass of water Tae-hwi had handed him. Tae-hwi also mentioned that In-ho had spent over three hours frantically searching for Haon. Had it not been for him, Haon would never have known.
“I-I’m sorry… because of me…”
Flustered, Haon first apologized to Tae-hwi and Ho-yeong. He had no idea they had gone through such trouble to find him—and in such torrential rain, at that.
“No, it’s fine. Ho-yeong struggled a bit on the motorcycle, but I just sat here waiting for you.”
“I’m fine too, so you don’t need to apologize.”
The two told Haon to focus only on recovering. They were very worried about him, having learned about Haon’s heat symptoms.
With a pained expression, Tae-hwi suddenly pulled Haon into a tight hug. As a fellow Omega, he could imagine how difficult it must have been for Haon, and his heart felt heavy.
“Do you think you can eat something? Are you okay?”
“Yes… I’m okay.”
He didn’t know how much In-ho had explained to them, but Tae-hwi and Ho-yeong didn’t push him further to eat.
Swallowing a sigh, Haon remained quietly embraced in the arms of Tae-hwi, who was similar in size to him.
He felt grateful and sorry. To Tae-hwi, Ho-yeong, and In-ho.
“Hyung, get some more sleep. We’ll be downstairs, so if you need anything, turn on the TV. We’ll come up when we hear the sound.”
Ho-yeong placed the bedroom TV remote by Haon’s head. It seemed he had also heard that Haon had lost his phone.
Tae-hwi patted Haon’s shoulder repeatedly before helping him lie down properly. Exhausted, Haon’s eyelids were quickly becoming heavy again. Even though he had been sleeping, sleep was washing over him once more.
“By any chance, do you know where he went…?”
Before closing his eyes, Haon asked Tae-hwi. He was curious where In-ho had gone.
“He just said he had some business. He said it wouldn’t take long.”
Haon nodded in understanding. The moment he received the answer, his heavy eyelids closed on their own.
Tae-hwi and Ho-yeong quietly left so that Haon could rest comfortably. They intentionally left the bedroom door open and descended the stairs with muffled footsteps.
“This house is insane. Right?”
Tae-hwi, who had been inwardly curious about the upper floor, let out a small exclamation of admiration and nudged Ho-yeong in the ribs. He brought up the topic to lighten the mood since Ho-yeong looked so serious.
“Yes, it’s nice.”
Ho-yeong answered dryly and sat on the sofa first. He didn’t pay much attention to the layout of the spacious house and kept his eyes on the TV. Even that was a new model he had never seen before, which was intriguing, but he didn’t show it.
He had expected it since the man drove an expensive foreign car, but it seemed the man was a chaebol beyond imagination. Because he had too much money, Ho-yeong instinctively became more guarded. He wondered what kind of person he was to live in a house like this.
“Are you jealous by any chance?”
“It’s not that.”
“Then relax your face. Haon looks okay now.”
Tae-hwi kept poking Ho-yeong in the ribs. He was worried about Haon too, but not as much as Ho-yeong was.
“Doesn’t he seem like a dangerous person?”
Eventually, Ho-yeong, who had been holding back, spoke up.
“I think it’s true that he really likes Haon hyung… but he still seems dangerous.”
Through this incident, he had learned that In-ho genuinely liked Haon. Just seeing how frantically he had searched for Haon made it clear that his feelings were not light. However, that didn’t mean he trusted him.
“What seems dangerous about him?”
Tae-hwi, leaning back on the sofa, asked with a sigh. He seemed to view In-ho favorably. To think he had once suspected him of being a gangster.
“First of all, his vibe isn’t great. I feel like he’s hiding a lot of things.”
“Wow, are you criticizing his face right now? Then you definitely are jealous.”
“No, not his face, I’m saying his vibe is bad. His vibe. You know, people have a certain look to them.”
“Hey, Ho-yeong.”
Tae-hwi paused and brought some beer from the kitchen refrigerator. Since In-ho had told them to help themselves, he figured this much was fine.
“No one in this world is perfect.”
Tshhh—the sound of a beer can opening rang out cheerfully. Tae-hwi let out a long sigh as he quenched his thirst with the cold beer.
“It’s true that he’s terribly good to Haon. That’s enough.”
Unlike Ho-yeong, he seemed to trust In-ho quite a bit. He wasn’t evaluating him favorably simply because of his perfect appearance and wealthy home.
“As long as he’s good to his own person, that’s all that matters. There are so many people who can’t even do that.”
“How much have you even seen of him to say that?”
“Kid, just watch the TV. I’ll buy you drinks later.”
Ho-yeong pouted, but he didn’t refuse the drinks. He simply thought Tae-hwi was evaluating In-ho favorably because he was smitten with his face. As Ho-yeong said, this was the first time Tae-hwi had actually met and spoken with In-ho properly.
However, because that one impression had been so intense, all of Tae-hwi’s slight wariness toward In-ho had vanished.
In fact, there was a story Tae-hwi hadn’t told Haon. This was something Ho-yeong didn’t know either.
When In-ho first brought the unconscious Haon home, Tae-hwi had been sitting in this living room. While hoping that Haon would return safely, he had rushed to the entrance the moment he heard the door lock open.
And that was when Haon opened his eyes.
‘Haon, are you okay…?!’
Seeing Haon drenched in rain, a flustered Tae-hwi couldn’t find his words. It was because Haon had started screaming.
Haon, who had been held in In-ho’s arms, pushed him away and flailed his limbs. If In-ho hadn’t held his waist firmly, he would have fallen onto the entryway floor.
Tae-hwi froze at the sight of Haon, who was screaming fiercely and even swearing—a side of him he had never seen. He wondered if the person before him was really Haon.
‘Let me go! Let go—!’
In contrast, In-ho calmly held Haon and knelt down in front of the inner door. Although Haon shouted at him not to touch him, In-ho never let go.
‘It’s me. Mr. Haon. It’s me, Seo In-ho.’
He simply stroked Haon’s thin back endlessly, waiting for his breathing to stabilize. He constantly repeated comforting words, telling Haon that everything would be alright.
Tae-hwi could only stand there, frozen, unable to utter a word. Because In-ho’s complexion was pale and covered in cold sweat, Tae-hwi watched the situation with a racing heart, fearing that In-ho might collapse as well. There was nothing else he could do.
Haon, who had been screaming until his throat tore, ended up vomiting onto In-ho’s clothes. In-ho didn’t seem to mind, catching the vomit with his bare hands while patting Haon’s back.
By the time Tae-hwi snapped out of it and rushed to bring a towel, Haon was letting out groans.
‘It… hurts… I’m hurting…’
As if he had never rejected In-ho, Haon clutched his stomach and moaned in pain. He even rubbed his aroused lower body against In-ho.
It’s a heat. The moment Tae-hwi realized this, In-ho spoke to him for the first time.
‘I’ll contact you.’
Sensing it was a sign to leave, Tae-hwi nodded and quickly put on his shoes. He wanted to ask what on earth had happened, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so. In-ho’s stern expression silenced him.
He felt that he shouldn’t interfere right now. His intuition told him so.