By Zephyria Seo Jeong-won, having arrived at the hospital, couldn’t bring himself to go up to the ward and had been circling the walking path for hours. He didn’t have the confidence to go up and face his Hyung right away.
“Haa…”
As he retraced his steps, his eyes lingered on the benches placed here and there. He stopped at a suitably shaded and secluded spot and slumped down.
The weather was quite pleasant. His hair was tossed by the cool, dry wind characteristic of autumn. Seo Jeong-won gnawed at his lips, chapped from stress and frequent fever, then abruptly stood up.
He took a deep breath. His mind was still as foggy as a misty dawn. The more he thought about it, the less he could see ahead. This wasn’t a problem that could be solved by saying he wanted to end the relationship.
“Only I…”
Eventually, he reached a point where rational thought was impossible. With a blank expression, Seo Jeong-won stared at the empty air and muttered softly.
“I can just pretend I don’t know.”
Even if it’s a little shameless, at least Hyung is alive.
Hyung doesn’t know yet, and I don’t plan to tell him for the rest of his life. Kwon Tae-hee said he would do the same, and the guilt will be entirely my burden, so it doesn’t matter, right? After all, I’ll end up marrying Song Hae-seop anyway.
His hand trembled. Seo Jeong-won glanced at the vibrating hand in the air before forcibly shoving it into his pocket.
It was much better than being caught showing the discomfort of sporadic side effects.
Seo Jeong-won slowly walked back along the path he had traversed dozens of times today.
As soon as he entered the hospital, he mingled with the people waiting for the elevator and went up to the ward. Thanks to a prior arrangement, the caregiver greeted Seo Jeong-won with a welcoming smile as soon as she saw him.
“The traffic must have been terrible because it’s a holiday, right? You must be exhausted from coming all this way.”
“Yes, it was congested. I guess it’s because the weather’s getting cooler.”
People are bound to tell lies, big and small. From trivial things like the answer I just gave, to the big things I’ve done.
“You must be tired.”
Seo Jeong-won, smiling at the caregiver’s worried words, held out the potted plant he had been clutching so tightly that the imprint of the string remained on his palm.
“This… I brought it sealed because the hospital said plants and flowers are prohibited.”
“Oh my goodness.”
“It’s a Cymbidium goeringii. It’s a fragrant variety, so you can smell the fragrance when it blooms. Actually… I don’t really know much about it. I went to a farm, and the CEO there recommended it to me, so I bought it.”
“Thank you. I’ll take good care of it.”
Seo Jeong-won bowed his head as he received the plant with a bright smile.
“Thank you. Thank you for taking good care of my Hyung.”
“It’s my job. And Hyung… will be okay.”
The caregiver, who had been looking down at the potted plant, reached out and patted Seo Jeong-won’s shoulder.
She knew better than anyone else the condition of the patient she was caring for. She couldn’t even say as a platitude that he would get better soon, but told him to hang in there.
“Make yourself comfortable. Don’t worry about me.”
“Yes, please have your meal and rest slowly today. I’ll be here.”
“Thank you. I’m going to the restroom and then take this to the lounge.”
The caregiver carefully held the potted plant and left the ward. Seo Jeong-won sat in the chair where the caregiver had been sitting a moment ago, his eyes fixed on his neatly trimmed fingernails.
Seo Gyu-won was withering away like a skeletal tree branch. His once beautifully shaped fingers were now so knobby that they could no longer be described as beautiful.
Why did Kwon Tae-hee’s voice, saying that he seemed to be holding on out of greed as he examined Seo Gyu-won, who had no flesh and was literally just skin and bones, come to mind?
“…I don’t know.”
The more time passed, the more Seo Gyu-won, whom he was trying to hold on to, seemed to be drifting further away. Seo Jeong-won reached out with a trembling hand and carefully grasped his emaciated fingers. Even though his anxiety was relieved a little each time he confirmed his lukewarm body temperature, Seo Jeong-won was afraid that Seo Gyu-won would die.
“Please… please don’t die.”
He rested his forehead on the bed and closed his eyes for a moment. How long had he been there, stroking the back of his dry hand with his fingertips?
He heard the door open. Assuming that the caregiver had returned, he raised his head, and what filled Seo Jeong-won’s vision was Kwon Tae-hee.
“…Ah.”
“Are you tired?”
Kwon Tae-hee was dressed more casually than on weekdays, but he didn’t look like he had been relaxing at home.
“Oh, how did you get here…”
“I’m taking a bit of a detour. I heard that Seo Jeong-won was here today.”
He had gone out of his way, but the reaction he received was lukewarm. Kwon Tae-hee’s brow furrowed slightly.
Despite making the effort to take time out, Seo Jeong-won didn’t seem particularly happy to see him. Kwon Tae-hee stopped moving and leaned against the door.
As he sent a steady gaze, Seo Jeong-won straightened up but couldn’t readily approach, glancing at Seo Gyu-won. The sight was strangely unpleasant.
Wouldn’t it be right to consider him dead? There’s no chance of him waking up, and waking up would be close to a miracle.
“Aren’t you coming?At the low, deep voice, Seo Jeong-won finally moved. He turned his head towards Seo Gyu-won, who was using a respirator every few steps.
Seo Jeong-won, barely stopping in front of Kwon Tae-hee, met his gaze before bowing his head deeply. He hid his restless expression like a child trying to hide a mistake.
“You haven’t been in touch.”
“…I thought you seemed busy lately. I didn’t want to bother you when you’re busy—”
The moment he slowly trailed off, Kwon Tae-hee grabbed Seo Jeong-won’s wrist. He had been interlocking his fingers to avoid revealing his slightly trembling wrist, and his shoulders flinched slightly in surprise at the sudden contact.
“Not in the ward…”
“The fever.”
“It’s all gone down. I’m really okay.”
“You look very haggard.”
Kwon Tae-hee ignored Seo Jeong-won’s softly spoken answer and moved his hand. He cupped his pale cheeks and pulled up his gaze, which he kept avoiding.
“If you tell me honestly now, I’ll forgive you for whatever it is.”
“…Pardon?”
“Whatever it is, I’ll overlook everything.”
“I, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Seo Jeong-won felt like his heart was sinking. He shook his head with trembling eyes.
Did he find out that I manifested as an Omega? That can’t be. I didn’t tell anyone, so there’s no way Kwon Tae-hee would know.
The prescribed suppressants may have minor and major side effects, but they were said to be strong enough to hide even the trace amounts of Pheromone that leaked out.
Hand tremors, endless drowsiness, abdominal pain, anemia, nosebleeds, distortion of vision. He didn’t even hear the side effects.
When he checked the results of the Pheromone screening test after taking the suppressants, which showed that not even trace amounts were detected, he could only think that he had done well.
So there’s no way he could find out. There’s no way Kwon Tae-hee could have known.
“Really, there’s nothing?”
“There’s nothing. Really… there’s nothing.”
“Then why are you so scared? Like you’ve done something wrong to me.”
“It’s not that, it’s just that when you ask me like this, I get… nervous.”
Kwon Tae-hee smiled as he mumbled softly that he was scared. Anyone could tell that he had done something wrong or was hiding something, with his anxious demeanor and his eyes darting around.
“Should I believe you?”
“…It’s really not.”
“I’m originally a suspicious person.”
Kwon Tae-hee, staring intently at his wavering gaze, lowered his head. Seo Jeong-won turned his face away as if refusing, and his neatly shaped eyebrows furrowed.
Ignoring the voice that mumbled that Hyung might see, he straightened the twisted head, and his black eyes were glistening with moisture.
He released his Pheromone as a habit. The pleasant and refreshing space was instantly filled with Kwon Tae-hee’s Pheromone.
Seo Jeong-won hunched his shoulders, feeling the Pheromone tickling his throat and seeping in every time he inhaled. Something hot spread quickly from his chest to his lower abdomen, as if he had hastily swallowed something hot.
“I’m curious as to why Seo Jeong-won is suddenly acting like this, but since you’re asking me to believe you, I’ll believe you.”
“…Th, thank you.”
“Shall we kiss?”
“Here… here?”
What had welled up finally overflowed and dripped down. Kwon Tae-hee’s head tilted slightly as he wiped the lukewarm moisture with his fingertips.
His chestnut eyes observed Seo Jeong-won as intently as if he was trying to confirm what was making him feel uneasy. His skin, with its rising temperature, quickly turned red.
Feeling a strange sense of déjà vu, Kwon Tae-hee lowered his head. He brought his face close to his exposed neck and lightly inhaled. It smelled good. The scent of his skin that he had obsessively buried his nose in and smelled.
“I don’t understand why you’re crying… Did I perhaps tell you to suck my dick in front of your Hyung?”
Seo Jeong-won shook his head at the vulgar question asked with a polite and elegant face.
“Want to try? Should I show you in front of him?”
“It’s not, sob, it’s not that. It’s just… not here, let’s go out. Because Hyung is here.”
“Actually, Seo Gyu-won is as good as gone, isn’t he? You know that too.”