By Zephyria 
Han Seung-jae gazed quietly down at Seo Yi-kyung’s face, whose breathing had gradually become steady. His reddish cheeks were slowly returning to their original pale complexion. His slender neck looked as if it might snap under pressure, and his thin shoulders and the area around his chest, which rose and fell shallowly, were marked with vivid red bruises.
No matter where he looked, it was a body that seemed fragile beyond measure. Despite this, Seo Yi-kyung occasionally showed a contradictory side.
One moment he seemed terrified, as if he might turn and flee at any second, yet the next, he would meet Han Seung-jae’s eyes with composure and calm. And whenever those lips, which he kept stubbornly pressed shut, parted, they captured Han Seung-jae’s gaze.
He was far too different from the people who had been around Han Seung-jae until now—those who always wanted so much and did nothing but list their demands.
After watching the face of the now-sleeping Seo Yi-kyung for a while, Han Seung-jae pulled the blanket up to cover him to the chest.
* * *
Early in the morning, Seo Yi-kyung, who had been tossing and turning in bed, lifted his heavy eyelids. Soon, a stinging pain surging from around his chest made him wince. He didn’t even need to lift his head to look at the wound to guess why it hurt.
It was a spot that Han Seung-jae had licked and bitten several times yesterday, both in the painting studio and the bathroom. Furthermore, the wounded area had been submerged in the water of the bathtub.
“It would be strange if it didn’t hurt…”
It was entirely predictable. Seo Yi-kyung felt that his own voice, which leaked out faintly, was deeply husky. As he struggled to push himself up, long streaks of sunlight were streaming into the room.
Wearing a bathrobe that wasn’t properly closed at the front, Seo Yi-kyung fluttered into the bathroom to wash his face. With every movement of his body, pain surged frequently, prompting him to carefully lift the bathrobe and stare at the wound.
“…”
Then, Han Seung-jae came to mind. Every action was recalled—how he had pressed his lips and tongue to this area several times as if it were a fuse, how he had held his waist, spread his legs, and thrust his member into the hole.
Seo Yi-kyung shook his head, forcing himself to detach the man who clung to him like an afterimage, and tried his best not to look at the wound.
He went down to the first floor, changed his clothes, and ate a late breakfast prepared by Butler Do. He had eaten food sent by the chef at the hospital as well, but perhaps because he had been uneasy, he usually found he couldn’t eat much more after a certain point. Now, however, everything tasted delicious. Perhaps it was because he had exhausted so much physical strength the previous night that he was famished.
“I enjoyed the meal.”
Butler Do collected the plate, which was cleared for the first time in a while, and set down a concave bowl filled with bite-sized fruit.
“The primary physician will be arriving soon.”
After seeing Seo Yi-kyung appear on the first floor, Butler Do had contacted the primary physician as Secretary Park had instructed. He also remembered clearly that Han Seung-jae had told him not to go up to the second floor when he left for work this morning. It meant not to disturb the sleeping Seo Yi-kyung. Since a fair amount of time had passed since he entered this house, Butler Do could vaguely guess Han Seung-jae’s intentions.
“The tea is hot.”
Butler Do filled Seo Yi-kyung’s teacup with warm tea. Seo Yi-kyung gave a barely perceptible nod as he took a bite of fruit with a fork.
Inwardly, Seo Yi-kyung was also concerned about the painful wound. He wanted to alleviate the pain even slightly.
It was even more distressing in another sense, as Han Seung-jae came to mind every time the shirt brushed against his chest. He could even almost hear the man’s low voice in his ears.
Since Han Seung-jae wasn’t usually someone who spoke in whispers, that was closer to Seo Yi-kyung’s imagination. The low, gentle, and soft whispers of Han Seung-jae. It was likely because Han Seung-jae had clung to him last night and asked several times if it hurt.
Before long, the primary physician entered the house. Seo Yi-kyung stood up and glanced down at the clothes touching the wound.
Suddenly, as he was moving, Seo Yi-kyung stopped in his tracks.
“Is something the matter?”
Butler Do, who had been walking ahead to guide the physician to the room, looked back. Seo Yi-kyung stared at the door of the room where Min Ra-hyeon had stayed before continuing his walk.
“It’s nothing.”
Inside the open room, the physician opened the house-call bag he had brought. With one hand, Seo Yi-kyung unbuttoned two buttons of his shirt just enough to reveal the wound.
The physician, who had inadvertently turned his head, gasped upon discovering the wound on Seo Yi-kyung’s chest. He inhaled sharply, unable to speak properly. It hadn’t even been a full day since the bandages were removed, but the condition was not good. And upon closer inspection, it looked as if he had been bitten. It even looked like human teeth marks.
Swallowing hard and choosing his words, the physician’s eyes darted around with a bewildered expression. While taking out tools to disinfect the area, he glanced sideways.
“Was it not painful?”
“A little…”
Seo Yi-kyung trailed off. It wasn’t just that the wound hurt; the physician must have realized. The fact that the person who had bitten his shoulder this badly was Han Seung-jae. After all, there was no one else in this house who could leave such a mark on Seo Yi-kyung’s body.
After disinfecting the wound and applying ointment, the physician attached gauze so that the shirt would not touch it.
While Seo Yi-kyung buttoned his shirt, the physician examined the cast on his left hand. The frayed edges clearly showed that it had been wet and then dried. Since the physician’s honorable future was directly linked to Seo Yi-kyung’s physical condition, he swallowed his inner distress. Soon, the physician looked up at Seo Yi-kyung and spoke cautiously.
“I believe you should go to the hospital for an examination and have the cast redone.”
Seo Yi-kyung’s gaze fell on the arm the physician was touching. He had forgotten. At first, Seo Yi-kyung had been careful not to let water touch it, but at some point, he had plunged his arm deep into the bathtub filled with hot water. However, he hadn’t had the capacity to worry about his arm.
“I will go and call Butler Do.”
The physician packed up his house-call bag. There were strictly limits to the treatment that could be provided here. He didn’t add anything else as he opened the door and left, but Seo Yi-kyung, who was getting up from the edge of the bed, felt his face flush with embarrassment. The physician was likely pretending not to know while knowing full well.
* * *
Haseon Hospital.
As the sedan stopped, Butler Do stepped out and opened the car door. As Seo Yi-kyung stepped out behind him, a cozy breeze brushed past his white cheeks. The jacket he was wearing fluttered in the wind.
Soon, the primary physician, who had arrived first in a separate car, approached and walked ahead as if guiding him.
Seo Yi-kyung followed him up the stairs. As the physician entered the hospital, people approached him with greetings. However, the physician frequently looked back to check on Seo Yi-kyung.
While driving over, the physician had also relayed the situation to Secretary Park. This was to emphasize that the reason he couldn’t treat him at home was by no means due to a lack of his own ability.
“Please sit here.”
The physician entered the consultation room and hurriedly put on a white coat. Then, he hurriedly made a phone call somewhere.
A moment later, the door to the consultation room opened, and a doctor entered, removed the cast from Seo Yi-kyung’s arm, and meticulously examined the cracked bone.
Butler Do, sitting beside him, watched with a worried look. Unlike him, however, Seo Yi-kyung felt an urge to move the arm that had been practically imprisoned in the cast for a while. He pulled his arm inward and slightly twisted his wrist.
“It doesn’t seem to hurt.”
Rather, the wound on his chest hurt more than his arm did now.
“You must be more careful at times like this.”
The doctor repeatedly cautioned him. Although Seo Yi-kyung said he felt fine, the doctor recommended that he keep the cast on for another week. The primary physician added a reminder.
“Since you are carrying a child, you must absolutely not overexert yourself.”
Because Seo Yi-kyung’s body was so frail, the primary physician could not let his guard down. Left with no choice, Seo Yi-kyung left the consultation room with his arm casted once again. The primary physician took the elevator down to the first floor and saw him off.
Stepping outside the building, Seo Yi-kyung smoothed his hair, which was being ruffled by a sudden gust of wind. It was the moment he looked ahead to descend the stairs. Seo Yi-kyung’s gaze fixed on one spot.
‘Secretary Park?’
He hadn’t seen wrong. Secretary Park was standing in front of a parked sedan. And as if he had spotted Seo Yi-kyung, he shifted his body slightly.
Secretary Park opened the rear door. Han Seung-jae, wearing a dark-colored suit, revealed himself as he stepped out of the car.