It really seemed that way.
My breathing became increasingly rapid and my head felt heavy. As I groaned beside him, Baek Woojin started the car and firmly held my hand.
“Please endure a little longer, wheeze… we’ll arrive soon.”
“Yes….”
I entrusted myself to his warm touch and slowly lost consciousness again.
*
“Breathing is stable, fever has gone down, and the injection has been administered… Now all that’s needed is to go home and get plenty of rest. There should be no issues with daily activities, but avoid strenuous exercise and take your medication on time.”
“Yes, thank you….”
I nodded with relief at the doctor’s words.
Fortunately, the sudden heat cycle calmed down quickly after getting the injection. The doctor said that although I had taken the suppressants late, they were effective medication, so I should continue taking them steadily for about 5 days.
After lying in the hospital bed and resting for a while, my condition improved rapidly.
“Daddy, are you really okay now?”
Hyeol had been sticking close to my side the whole time. According to the nurse, Hyeol had been hugging me while I lay unconscious in the hospital bed until I woke up.
I wondered how scared he must have been. (Of course, I couldn’t forget how he had sprayed pheromone deodorizer on my face.) I felt sorry for constantly making the child worry.
“Yes… I’m fine now. Hyeol, you were very worried about Daddy, weren’t you?”
“…I don’t know.”
Hyeol responded as if annoyed, but still burrowed deeper into my arms. Knowing how worried he had been, I hugged him tightly.
“Kkotsu must be very tired….”
“He fell asleep as soon as he lay down.”
“Is that so…?”
Kkotsu was sleeping on the sofa next to the hospital bed with his mouth wide open. Just as I reached out to gently close his mouth, the door slid open.
“Are you alright?”
It was Baek Woojin. As soon as he entered the hospital room, he examined my condition and asked. His eyes were full of concern.
Suddenly, I remembered the chaotic scene in the car, but this was different. He wasn’t wearing a gas mask, and I wasn’t tied up…
Just having the familiar Baek Woojin in front of my eyes gave me a sense of relief.
“Yes, I’m fine. I’ve troubled you again… I’m sorry, Woojin-ssi.”
As I expressed my gratitude and apology, Baek Woojin gently placed his hand on my shoulder without saying anything.
“Next time anything happens, call me first.”
“But….”
“I would like it if you would do that.”
“……”
I couldn’t say anything in response to Baek Woojin’s firm tone.
Why? Such words should make me feel reassured, but somehow I felt sad.
“Mmm…. T-teacher… a-are you o-okay now…?”
Just then, Kkotsu, who I thought was sound asleep, woke up. Seeing him rub his eyes and look for me first made my nose tingle with emotion.
“Yes, I’m fine, Kkotsu. Were you very worried?”
“Y-yes….”
Kkotsu climbed onto the bed, hugged me, and buried his face in my chest with a soft “plop.” Since Hyeol was also hugging me from the other side, I somehow felt like a tree with koalas hanging from it.
“Shall we go home now? Woojin-ssi, they say I can be discharged right away. By any chance, my clothes…”
Since I wasn’t being admitted to the hospital, but all my clothes had been changed to hospital gowns, I asked, and Baek Woojin replied with a slightly stiff face.
“…Let’s stay a bit longer.”
“But the doctor said I could be discharged right away….”
What is it? Is there something bothering him?
When I stared at Baek Woojin as if asking for my clothes, he mumbled with a somewhat awkward expression.
“The car seat and… your clothes are at the cleaners…”
“What? Cleaners…?”
I was confused for a moment about why he was mentioning the car seat and cleaners, but then I realized.
“Gasp, don’t tell me, did I make a mess…?”
Had I lost control while unconscious? I looked at Baek Woojin with a shocked face, but strangely, both his ears were bright red.
“That’s… not it….”
“Oh… That’s a relief, then…?”
When I asked again, Baek Woojin quickly avoided my gaze.
“…The cleaning might be done by now. I’ll go check.”
“What?”
Baek Woojin hurriedly left and the door closed. Since I had never seen Baek Woojin flustered or avoiding something like this before, I was quite taken aback.
“T-teacher….”
Just then, Kkotsu, who had been quietly nestled in my arms, blinked his eyes and whispered softly in my ear.
“Your p-pants were… v-very… w-wet….”
“……!”
Only after hearing those words from Kkotsu did I understand why Baek Woojin had reacted that way.
*
We were on our way home safely after leaving the hospital. Kkotsu and Hyeol were sleeping soundly in the back seat with their heads touching. They had every right to be exhausted. There had been too many events in one day…
Baek Woojin hadn’t said anything particular after bringing me clothes. He just covered me with his coat after I changed and drove silently.
The coat, which was one size larger than mine, had Baek Woojin’s unique scent. I already knew he had a good scent, but strangely, my heart was racing. Was it because I was still in my heat cycle despite having received an injection and taken medication? If not that, then…
“What happened?”
Just then, after confirming that the children were asleep, Baek Woojin asked me. Judging from the meaning in his question, “what happened” didn’t seem to be referring to my heat cycle.
Could it be… he noticed?
The men who appeared suddenly in black suits and sunglasses, impersonating Professor Choi, the client who supposedly ordered them to protect me, the man called Chief Seok… It was hard for even me to believe, and I had experienced it directly.
But I didn’t know how to explain it to Baek Woojin. No, more than that, I couldn’t decide whether I should tell him at all.
‘The same goes for Baek Woojin-ssi, as it could become dangerous.’
Chief Seok’s words kept echoing in my mind.
I felt frustrated. How long had they been watching me? Perhaps those eyes that had been following me before were theirs too? If so, who was the client? If not someone from the Gwak family, could it be the Chae Seungyeon before I was possessed…
There were so many questions that my head became too complicated.
“…I’m sorry, I don’t think I can tell you right now.”
In the end, I couldn’t tell Baek Woojin anything and just apologized. In truth, the most decisive reason for keeping silent was that Baek Woojin might be in danger.
“That’s alright.”
Baek Woojin spoke gently and reached his hand toward me. Only when he took my left hand did I realize I was trembling.
Why…?
“There’s no need to force yourself to speak… When your feelings are sorted out, you can tell me then.”
Baek Woojin comforted me with his usual kind voice. I was so grateful just for those words. I grasped his hand in return.
“Yes… I will. Thank you.”
Right after that, Baek Woojin’s gaze lingered on me for a moment. Warm light emanated from his eyes as they met mine.
“It may seem sudden, but when you say thank you, I want to give you a hug like before, but…”
Baek Woojin lifted the corners of his mouth, thinking something I couldn’t guess.
“This time, I think we need to set something other than a hug.”
“Something else like…?”
*
“Chae Seungyeon-ssi.”
A few days later, it was the first day of Hyeol and Kkotsu’s two-week vacation.
Thud.
Baek Woojin placed a stack of heavy books on the living room table all at once. The titles of the books stacked like a tower were “Trait Studies,” “The History of Omegas and Alphas,” “How to Live as an Omega in This World,” “The Agony of Heat Cycles,” and other books fitting the omegaverse worldview.
“Are these all…”
When I looked at Baek Woojin with bewildered eyes, he opened the book “Trait Studies.”
“It explains in detail not only about omega traits but also alpha and beta traits. I’ve speed-read this book three times, and the explanations are easy to understand. It will be much more helpful than studying on the internet.”
So, in other words…
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
