57
I was so tired that even moving my lips to speak felt bothersome, so I just wiggled my fingers. I was transported that way for quite some time. Even though my eyes were open, I wasn’t sure if my mind was actually awake.
“Young master, we’ve arrived.”
Lee Gyeongjin opened the car door, pulled me out, and helped prop up my limp body.
“Cha Sukyung.”
I heard Kwon Yikang’s voice from a distance. With quick footsteps, he approached and pulled me away from Lee Gyeongjin, whom I had been leaning on.
“Let go.”
“I was just supporting him.”
Lee Gyeongjin stepped back and responded as if making an excuse.
Kwon Yikang, who had pulled me into his arms, supported my bottom with his hands and lifted me up. He held me in his arms like a child, gently rubbing my back as he continued speaking.
“Thank you for bringing him here. He should calm down in about three to four days. I’ll contact you then.”
“Yes.”
“You may go now.”
Though he was using honorifics, there was something strangely domineering about it. His manner of speaking is so odd. How can someone sound superior to the listener even while using respectful language? I wrapped my arms around Kwon Yikang’s neck and laughed softly.
The familiar sweetness transmitted from Kwon Yikang’s body pressed against mine. Unlike the chaotically mixed pheromones, his scent made my body feel much more at ease.
After sending Lee Gyeongjin away, Kwon Yikang caught the elevator and headed to his home. Carried like a child, I buried my nose in his neck and kept inhaling his scent.
“You’ve had a rough time getting here.”
“I was in so much pain. …I thought the medicine would make it better, but it still hurts even after taking it. It feels like my bones are melting.”
“It’s okay now. Your clothes are damp from sweat. Let’s take them off and clean you up.”
“I don’t want to do anything.”
“You don’t have to do anything. I’ll do it all.”
After laying me on the bed, he carefully removed my damp clothes and slowly wiped my body with a towel soaked in warm water. He meticulously cleaned my neck, chest, back, arms, and even each finger before covering my fresh body with a blanket.
“Hold me.”
At my request, he readily slipped under the blanket and embraced me. The scent filling my nostrils was satisfying. I rubbed my cheek against his firm chest that held me.
Now I feel like I might survive.
“They say everything will be fine if you take the medicine, but it’s not fine at all. It hurts whether I take it or not. There’s no point in taking it. It’s a fucking terrible medicine.”
“It’s like a preventive measure to suppress your pheromones so you’re not exposed to alphas. Of course it’s going to hurt when your pheromones are forcibly suppressed.”
“I don’t think it hurt this much the last time I took it. I just felt a little tired and sleepy, but this time it’s different.”
I emphasized to Kwon Yikang how much I was hurting. I was acting childishly with him—something I’d never done before—because I liked how he soothed, comforted, and held me.
“That time you took it when your heat was almost over, but today is the first day when it’s at its most intense. It’s fortunate you were at home at least.”
“I was on my way out. I had to turn the car around and rush home.”
“That was really fortunate. If you had encountered an alpha…”
“Would something bad have happened to me?”
“Yes, and something bad would have happened to that alpha too.”
What’s that supposed to mean? Is he saying something bad happens to anyone who gets involved with me? Am I some kind of disaster? Is he, as the one involved with me, expressing regret?
“Do you regret being involved with me?”
“No, I’m saying I would have made something bad happen to that alpha.”
I smiled faintly at his whisper. I like when Kwon Yikang talks like that. It makes me feel like he cherishes me and is obsessed with me. The feeling that someone wants me gives me a strange sense of satisfaction.
“I like that you worry about me.”
“Just don’t create reasons for me to worry. I’ll worry about you even if you’re just breathing.”
He lifted our interlocked hands and kissed the back of my hand and each of my fingers, whispering as if confessing his love. His voice, creating subtle vibrations as if caressing my earlobe, was sweet.
“Let’s have sex.”
“Your voice sounds like you’re about to fall asleep though?”
He laughed, pointing out my drowsy voice. The chest pressed against mine trembled slightly. The movement transmitted to me, the heartbeat in my ears, the hand stroking my back—it all felt so good.
“I won’t sleep.”
“It would be better for you to get some rest.”
“What about sex?”
“You’ve taken the medicine, so you can’t even get it up anyway.”
It’s sad to hear I can’t get it up. My balls have disappeared, my dick has shrunk, and it seems I can’t even get an erection when I take medicine during my heat. A wave of melancholy washed over me.
“…Then why did you ask me to come?”
If we’re not going to have sex. Why not just leave me at home instead of calling me here? Despite my small protest, he just tightened his arms around me without making any sexual advances.
“Because you were struggling. Don’t you feel a bit better now?”
Not just a bit, but a lot better. I felt completely improved, like I was floating in the sky. My wild pheromones had found stability, and my listless body was enveloped in a pleasant languor.
“It’s amazing. Pheromones… They make your body completely fucked up. It doesn’t feel like my body anymore.”
“Your body might be in pain, but your mouth is the same as ever.”
“Yeah, I’m dying but my mouth is still alive.”
Looking down at me with eyes overflowing with affection like someone gazing at an adorable creature, Kwon Yikang pressed his lips lightly against mine. When I stuck out my tongue to lick at his simple kiss, he chuckled softly.
The motion of gently entwining and sucking on my tongue was cautious. When I rubbed against the heated flesh, he withdrew his tongue and pulled his lips away.
“Why…”
I whined, rubbing my lips against his chin, but he shook his head firmly.
“Don’t be stubborn and get some rest. I’m saying this for your sake. What you need is sleep.”
“What I need is you.”
“I’m right here beside you.”
“I don’t want to sleep. My body feels so limp, like when you’re having sleep paralysis—if I stay still, I feel like I’ll be dragged to some place I don’t know. It’s scary.”
I can’t even move a finger, and it feels like my body will sink and never surface again. I feel obligated to exert some force to move my fingers, to confirm that I’m still alive.
“This means you’re either a liar or an exaggerator. Which one is it?”
“No, it’s real, really.”
“Your pheromones are faint. You’re very peaceful, like a child sleeping in their mother’s arms—subtle but stable.”
He’s as sensitive as an animal. I felt like if it were him, he’d immediately notice any other lies too. Do all alphas react this way, or is he uniquely sensitive? It would be nice if he pretended to fall for my lies just once, but he was mercilessly straightforward.
“That’s annoying.”
“Your eyes are half-closed too.”
“No, they’re not.”
“And your voice is fading in and out.”
“I said they’re not.”
“Don’t be stubborn.”
Kwon Yikang kissed my cheeks and neck soothingly as he gently stroked my back. The repetitive movement made my already hazy consciousness even more drowsy. He didn’t release his tight embrace until I fell asleep, and I drifted off in his arms, feeling a stronger sense of security than ever before.
∞ ∞ ∞
“Fuck, stop acting so high and mighty!”
I was on my way home after having dinner rather late. As I walked up the darkened garden, several men were standing in confrontation.
A fistfight in our garden? I looked carefully at the men standing by the garden light. My second brother and my oldest brother, accompanied by an attendant, were facing each other as if about to come to blows.
No, my oldest brother had his usual emotionless, bleak expression, and my second brother also looked like his normal self, full of anger.
“Do what’s appropriate while Father is still willing to let things slide. It was quite a headache to smooth over the last incident. How long do I have to clean up after you? How long has it been since you cried and begged Father that you’d be good, and yet again…”
“Well, well, now you’re even taking credit? How much have you really cleaned up after me, brother? You probably just laughed inside thinking, ‘This bastard’s caused trouble again.'”
“Cha Donghu.”
“Just because people praise you as the next hospital director, you think the world belongs to you? Fuck, if I had been born first, you would be nothing. You’re just a bastard who knows nothing except putting on airs about being the older brother.”
Wow, my second brother is being particularly aggressive today. Did they have a pre-fight before I arrived? The atmosphere was heating up intensely, making it exciting just to watch.
In response to my second brother’s cursing, my oldest brother threw a punch. My second brother’s face turned from the impact, which made a loud smack. It must have hurt quite a bit because my second brother rubbed his jaw and then grabbed my oldest brother’s collar. The attendant who had been standing a step behind came forward to block my second brother.
“You’re not moving? You insolent bastard.”
“Please calm down, young master.”
“I said move.”
“I apologize.”
“Oh, look at this? You’re acting up because you trust your master, is that it? Do you think I’m easy to mess with too? Fuck, do I look like trash to you?”
“Stop it. It’s embarrassing in front of the staff. Don’t make yourself more ridiculous than this.”
My oldest brother pushed away the hand grabbing his collar and straightened his wrinkled shirt while pointing out in a cold voice. Despite their similar height, he had a strange way of looking down on people.
“You won’t listen to anything I say anyway. Just make sure it doesn’t reach Father’s ears. Don’t disappoint Father any further.”
“Why? Would it be bad for you if Father heard? Or are you saying you don’t even care about someone like me?”
“You twisted person.”
As if there was no more value in exchanging words, my oldest brother left my second brother behind and headed towards the house. The attendant followed behind my oldest brother, and my second brother was left alone.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck!”
My second brother, who had been taking out his anger on the innocent grass, turned his head and looked at me. I might get caught in the crossfire if I stay around. Hiding my awkward expression, I approached him.
“My oldest brother always manages to make people feel bad even when he’s saying the same thing as others. Are you okay where he hit you?”
“Were you watching like a little rat?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
