***
“Oh my, you made it here alive?”
Junghyun, who had arrived after spending over ten minutes on what would normally be a three-minute walk, barely managed to respond to this unwelcome greeting while breaking into a cold sweat.
“Thanks to whom, exactly?”
“Well, that’s the kind of determination you should have. Dinner is ready, sit down.”
As he said, the large dining table in the room, which was spacious enough to accommodate a grand piano, was modestly set with risotto, orange juice, steak with salad, sandwiches, and coffee.
“Meat…”
In truth, Junghyun had nearly given up several times on the way here, but what ultimately drove him to persevere was the delicious aroma.
Enticed by the appetizing smell of meat, he trembled as he approached the table while supporting himself against the wall. As he pulled out a chair, Jaehyuk precisely divided the food.
“The steak, salad, sandwiches, and coffee are mine. The risotto and orange juice are yours.”
This warning to not even glance at his portion immediately prompted a protest.
“You’re really going to eat meat right in front of me?”
“Precisely, that’s right.”
“Why?”
“Because you can’t have any.”
“Hyung must have been hungry too, right?”
“No. I’ve eaten.”
The moment Jaehyuk finished saying he’d done his best to eat regularly, if not perfectly, Junghyun, who had just settled into his chair, let out a silent scream at the pain shooting up his spine.
He had already experienced this once when sitting in the bathtub, but experiencing it a second time didn’t make it any less painful.
Not wanting to endure this terrible muscle pain a third time, Junghyun gritted his teeth to suppress a groan.
After taking a deep breath for a moment, he finally raised his head and confronted him.
“So you starved me but made sure to feed yourself?”
“Watch how you phrase things. I clearly woke you up at every mealtime. Each time, you couldn’t think straight and threw yourself at me.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“You might not remember, but that’s exactly what happened. Because of that, I missed a few meals too.”
“That’s not—”
He was about to say there was no way, but an unwelcome memory flashed through his mind.
“Wake up. You need to eat something.”
The memory of Jaehyuk’s voice whispering in his ear while gently stroking his head, as if coaxing a disobedient child, pierced through his memory with startling clarity.
Simultaneously, he recalled with unnecessary vividness how he had clung to Jaehyuk, rubbing against him and begging for more.
“…Damn heat cycle…”
“It really is a cursed system. Anyway, eat first. The muscle relaxant has arrived too, so take it after your meal. I also asked for cold medicine just in case. They say sometimes you can get flu-like symptoms with muscle pain, so let me know if you start feeling unwell.”
“I think meat would help me recover faster than medicine. Protein is good for muscle pain.”
Junghyun’s eyes sparkled hopefully, suggesting they remove this useless mass of carbohydrates and give him some meat instead, but Jaehyuk was strict.
“You’ve had more than enough protein. You need to balance it with carbohydrates first. Nutrition requires balance.”
Junghyun was about to argue about when he had consumed protein, but a beat later, he realized the implication and grimaced.
“That’s sexual harassment too.”
“It’s not harassment, it’s a fact. Hurry up and eat. Once that’s digested, we can think about other menu items later.”
“Will you really give me some after I finish?”
“If you digest it properly.”
“I’ll make sure to digest it completely.”
“I hope so.”
“We’ll see about that.”
Not only was he desperately craving meat, but he was so hungry he felt like he could chew through the marble dining table.
Deciding to fill his stomach first, he reached for the risotto with trembling hands, but Jaehyuk immediately stopped him.
“Water first.”
“…Ah…”
“I gave you water intermittently, but just to be safe, drink water first.”
Following his advice that his throat might be quite dry, Junghyun took a sip from the water glass. Immediately, thirst overwhelmed him.
His senses had been too dulled to notice, but his throat was extremely parched.
More precisely, his mouth, esophagus, and stomach felt shriveled and dry.
Once water entered his system, the thirst intensified, and he emptied the full glass in an instant, which then triggered an even stronger hunger than before.
With a dizzying emptiness in his stomach, he couldn’t restrain his hunger and moved his spoon quickly as if possessed, reducing the plate’s contents by half in no time.
As food entered his system, blood finally began circulating properly through his body, and his mind cleared as well.
Thanks to this, he finally had the luxury to look around and slow his eating pace, voicing something he’d been curious about since getting dressed.
“By the way, these aren’t my clothes.”
He had put them on to survive, but they definitely weren’t his. And they seemed too small to be Jaehyuk’s clothes.
When he asked where the clothes came from, suggesting they were too small for Jaehyuk, the other man cut his meat elegantly with an expression that suggested the answer was obvious.
“You brought clothes that were too thin, so I bought a few more.”
“…You bought them yourself, hyung?”
“Yes.”
At his answer, Junghyun glanced down at the clothes that fit him perfectly.
Moreover, both the fabric and design matched his taste.
That’s why it seemed surprising.
“They fit well for something bought in a rush.”
“I asked for your size.”
“Who did you ask?”
“Director Han Juwon.”
His hand paused at those words.
“…Uncle?”
“I asked Jeonghoo to connect me with him on the phone.”
Of course he would have. Lee Jeonghoo was here too.
Still, it was unexpected.
“…It’s surprising he helped.”
“There was no reason for him not to.”
“…I guess that’s true.”
Since Jeonghoo would jump into fire with explosives strapped to his back if this man asked, Junghyun accepted this and resumed eating.
Pretending to be calm with a nonchalant face.
But strangely, he could no longer taste the food. Even moving his body, he couldn’t feel the pain anymore.
Oddly, all his nerves were focused on just one thing.
What conversation took place between him and his uncle—it was driving him crazy with curiosity.
Strangely so.
***
“Watching you eat, you’re more of a megalodon than a chihuahua.”
After Junghyun finished the risotto, drank the juice, and still claimed to be hungry, Jaehyuk offered him a sandwich. He looked admiringly at Junghyun, who after five days showed no signs of nausea or indigestion despite the amount he ate.
During those five days, even though Junghyun occasionally fainted, Jaehyuk was amazed that he ultimately kept up until the end. He truly had exceptional physical strength.
Honestly, he seemed even better than a typical Alpha in terms of stamina and health.
“At this rate, you could eat a regular dinner. Coffee is still off-limits, but how about an after-meal tea or dessert…”
Jaehyuk was about to ask what he’d prefer when he noticed Junghyun sitting absently on the living room sofa and gave him a puzzled look.
“Hey.”
“…”
“Lee Junghyun?”
“…”
He had seemed strange since mealtime, but he had continued the conversation, so Jaehyuk thought he was just tired. But now something was definitely off about his reaction.
“Are you feeling unwell? Do you have a fever?”
Concerned, Jaehyuk approached Junghyun and reached out to touch his forehead, but Junghyun flinched away in alarm.
Seeing this overreaction, Jaehyuk frowned, and Junghyun, finally seeming to grasp the situation, looked embarrassed.
“Uh… sorry. I was just lost in thought…”
“Are you still tired?”
“No. I’m just a bit spaced out.”
“Maybe you should have rested more?”
Though Jaehyuk suggested he might want to go back to bed since he’d already bathed and eaten, Junghyun immediately shook his head.
“No. My body feels fine now. It seems like post-heat symptoms. This is my first time experiencing a proper heat cycle, and also my first time having sex for five days straight, so I feel a bit languid.”
Despite his words, Junghyun was nervously scratching his neck.
He seemed completely unaware of what he was doing, but from Jaehyuk’s perspective, it was concerning enough to worry about injury.
Thinking he might draw blood at this rate, Jaehyuk quickly grabbed Junghyun’s left hand to stop him.
“Stop.”
“…What?”
“Stop scratching. You’ll make yourself bleed.”
Seeing Jaehyuk’s hand holding his wrist, Junghyun finally realized what he had been doing and hurriedly lowered his hand.
Then, with an awkward expression, he changed the subject.
“The air here seems dry. I’ve been feeling itchy.”
“Should I lower the temperature?”
“Just a little.”
It might seem absurd to complain about dryness at the seaside, but the completely sealed room was warm and dry despite it being November.
There wasn’t even a smell of the sea.
“I’ll lower the temperature, and if it’s still dry, I’ll ask for a humidifier.”
“It’s not that bad. I think it’ll be fine if the heat is just turned down a little.”
“Alright.”
As Jaehyuk stood up to adjust the temperature and was about to leave the living room, he suddenly noticed a shopping bag placed beside the sofa and seemed to remember something he’d forgotten.
“Ah…”
“What is it?”
At Junghyun’s question about whether he had something to say, Jaehyuk bent down to pick up the shopping bag from the floor and approached Junghyun again.
“I forgot about this in all the chaos. It came for you. It was by the door?”
As Junghyun looked his way thinking he hadn’t ordered anything, he saw the receipt attached to the shopping bag and turned pale.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
