Jung Haon couldn’t stay asleep as long as Seo Inho had expected. Not long after Inho went downstairs, Haon stirred and opened his eyes. Maybe two hours had passed.
Had Inho been lying beside him, he might have fallen back asleep. But the moment he realized the spot next to him was empty, all traces of drowsiness fled. Haon cast a brief glance toward the darkened bathroom and pushed himself up.
“Cough, cough… “
His throat burned. He took a sip of water from the glass on the nightstand before getting out of bed. His body, already aching from having recently collapsed from exhaustion, now felt even heavier under the weight of an oncoming cold. Every inch of him hurt. The fever made it all the more unbearable.
Still, it was manageable because he wasn’t alone.
Hearing the faint sound of the television from downstairs, Haon slowly made his way out of the bedroom. He didn’t plan to go all the way down the stairs—he just wanted to let Inho know he was awake.
“Hey, you’re up?!”
While he was making his way down, an unexpected voice made Haon widen his eyes. The person sitting on the living room sofa, watching TV, wasn’t Inho.
“Why are you coming down?! Do you need something? Are you feeling worse?”
Kang Tae-hwi quickly bounded up the stairs, firing off questions at Haon. Nam Hoyoung, trailing behind him, gave a low murmur telling him to keep his voice down.
Not only was Tae-hwi hyung there, but Hoyoung too.
Haon blinked blankly, wondering if he was dreaming. Maybe he wasn’t fully awake yet.
“Your boyfriend called us. Originally, he only contacted me, but I didn’t feel right coming alone.”
Supporting Haon, Tae-hwi gently guided him back toward the bedroom, explaining the situation. Apparently, he had come over with Inho’s permission, bringing Hoyoung along as well.
Even after hearing the explanation, Haon still wore a dazed expression as he immediately asked for Inho.
“Where’s Inho-ssi?”
“He had something to take care of outside. That’s why he called us.”
“Hyung, please lie down first.”
Hoyoung, who had entered the bedroom ahead of them, lifted the blanket for Haon. Tae-hwi also helped him sit down carefully on the bed. They treated Haon like he was a seriously ill patient.
“He said you were sick and asked us to stay with you.”
Tae-hwi peeled off the cooling patch stuck to Haon’s forehead and replaced it with a fresh one. Haon, who hadn’t even realized something was stuck to his forehead, could only stare at Tae-hwi and Hoyoung with wide, astonished eyes.
“How did he even get hyung’s number…?”
“Didn’t he tell you?”
Scratching his chin awkwardly, Tae-hwi glanced at Hoyoung before continuing. It seemed he had assumed Inho had already explained everything.
“He came to the shop looking for you. So the boss asked us to help him out. That’s how we all ended up exchanging numbers.”
“To the shop…?”
Haon sat there blankly, clutching the glass of water Tae-hwi had handed him. Tae-hwi also relayed that Inho had spent over three hours searching for him. It was something Haon wouldn’t have known otherwise.
“I-I’m sorry… because of me…”
Flustered, Haon hurried to apologize to both Tae-hwi and Hoyoung. He hadn’t even imagined they had gone through so much trouble to find him—especially on a day when it had been pouring rain.
“It’s fine. Hoyoung had a bit of a rough time riding his motorcycle, but I just sat here waiting for you.”
“I’m fine too, so you really don’t have to apologize.”
Both of them told Haon to focus solely on getting better. Their voices were filled with genuine concern. They had learned about Haon’s collapse from heat exhaustion.
Tae-hwi, wearing a pained expression, suddenly pulled Haon into a tight hug. As a fellow Omega, he could easily imagine just how much Haon must have been suffering all this time, and the thought made his heart ache.
“You sure you don’t need to eat anything? Are you okay?”
“Yes… I’m okay.”
It wasn’t clear how much Inho had explained to them, but neither Tae-hwi nor Hoyoung pushed Haon to eat any more.
Suppressing a sigh, Haon quietly rested in Tae-hwi’s arms, whose build was quite similar to his own.
He felt overwhelmed with gratitude and guilt—toward Tae-hwi hyung, Hoyoung, and Inho-ssi, all of them.
“Hyung, try to sleep some more. We’ll stay downstairs, so if you need anything, just turn on the TV. We’ll hear it and come up.”
Hoyoung placed the bedroom TV remote on the nightstand next to Haon’s head. It seemed they had also heard that Haon had lost his phone.
Tae-hwi kept gently patting Haon’s shoulder, then carefully helped him lie down properly. Haon’s heavy eyelids began to droop once again. Even after having slept, drowsiness quickly overtook him.
“By the way… do you know where he went…?”
Just before falling asleep, Haon managed to ask Tae-hwi. He was curious about where Inho had gone.
“He just said he had something to take care of. He said it wouldn’t take long.”
At that, Haon nodded faintly. The moment he got his answer, his heavy eyelids finally shut on their own.
Tae-hwi and Hoyoung quietly left the room so Haon could rest. They deliberately left the bedroom door slightly open and tiptoed as they made their way down the stairs.
“This house is incredible, huh?”
Tae-hwi, who had been secretly curious about the upstairs, whispered in awe and gave Hoyoung a playful nudge in the ribs. He had brought it up to lighten the mood, since Hoyoung’s face looked unusually serious.
“Yeah, it’s nice.”
Hoyoung answered dryly and plopped down onto the sofa first. He didn’t pay much attention to the spacious layout of the house, keeping his gaze fixed on the TV instead. Even though it was the latest high-end model he’d never seen up close before, he didn’t show much reaction.
He had suspected it ever since he saw the man driving an expensive foreign car, but it was now clear—Inho was ridiculously wealthy, far beyond his imagination.
And with wealth that excessive, Hoyoung’s instincts kicked in, making him all the more wary. He couldn’t help but wonder what kind of person lived in a place like this.
“You’re not jealous, are you?”
“It’s not like that.”
“Then relax your face a little. Haon looks a lot better now, doesn’t he?”
Tae-hwi kept poking Hoyoung in the side. Though he was worried about Haon too, it wasn’t to the extent that Hoyoung was.
“Doesn’t he seem… dangerous to you?”
In the end, Hoyoung, who had been trying to hold back, finally spoke.
“I think Haon-hyung really does like him… but still, he seems dangerous.”
This incident had made it clear that Inho truly cared about Haon. The way he’d frantically searched for him showed that his feelings weren’t shallow. But that didn’t mean Hoyoung trusted him.
“What part of him seems dangerous?”
Leaning back against the sofa, Tae-hwi asked with a sigh. He seemed to view Inho more favorably now—despite how he had once suspected he might be a gangster.
“First off, his whole vibe isn’t good. It feels like he’s hiding a lot.”
“What, are you criticizing his looks now? Then yeah, you are jealous.”
“I’m not talking about his face, I’m talking about his vibe. His aura, you know?”
“Hey, Hoyoung.”
Tae-hwi, pausing for a moment, went to the kitchen and grabbed a beer from the fridge. Inho had told them to help themselves, so he figured it would be fine.
“No one’s perfect.”
Pssht—the sound of the beer can opening echoed crisply. Tae-hwi took a refreshing gulp, letting out a long sigh.
“The important thing is that he’s crazy about Haon. That’s enough.”
Unlike Hoyoung, Tae-hwi seemed to trust Inho quite a bit. His positive impression wasn’t just because of Inho’s perfect looks or his wealth.
“If someone’s good to the one they love, that’s all that matters. There are way too many people who can’t even do that.”
“You’re saying that after meeting him once?”
“Kiddo, just watch TV. I’ll buy you a drink later.”
Hoyoung pouted slightly but didn’t refuse the offer of alcohol. He still thought Tae-hwi was letting himself be blinded by Inho’s face and wealth. As Hoyoung pointed out, this was technically the first time Tae-hwi had ever properly met and spoken with Inho.
Still, the impression Inho had left on him was so strong that whatever little wariness Tae-hwi had initially felt was completely gone.
There was, however, one thing Tae-hwi hadn’t told Haon—or even Hoyoung.
When Inho had first brought Haon home, unconscious, Tae-hwi had been sitting right there in the living room. He had been desperately praying for Haon’s safe return when he heard the door lock beep and rushed to the entrance.
And at that moment, Haon had opened his eyes.
“Haon-ah, are you okay…?!”
Seeing Haon drenched from the rain, Tae-hwi had been so shocked he couldn’t even finish his sentence—because of what happened next.
Haon, who had been in Inho’s arms, suddenly shoved him away and started thrashing his arms and legs violently. If Inho hadn’t held his waist firmly, Haon would have fallen straight onto the floor.
Tae-hwi had frozen, utterly stunned at the sight of Haon screaming and even cursing—something he had never seen before. For a moment, he wondered if this was even the same Haon he knew.
“Let go of me! Let go!”
Meanwhile, Inho remained calm, holding Haon tightly as he knelt down in front of the inner door.
Even though Haon screamed at him not to touch him, Inho never loosened his grip.
“It’s me. Haon-ssi. It’s me, Seo Inho.”
He simply kept stroking Haon’s frail back over and over, patiently waiting for his breathing to settle. He murmured soothing words without end, telling him that everything would be alright.
Tae-hwi could do nothing but stand there, frozen, unable to utter a single word. Inho’s face was deathly pale, beads of cold sweat covering his skin, and Tae-hwi could only watch anxiously, afraid that he might collapse too.
There was nothing else he could do.
Screaming until his throat was raw, Haon eventually vomited all over Inho’s clothes.
Without a hint of hesitation, Inho caught the vomit with his bare hands and continued to pat Haon’s back.
By the time Tae-hwi snapped back to his senses and hurriedly brought a towel, Haon was already moaning weakly.
“Ah… it hurts… it hurts so much…”
As if he had never rejected Inho at all, Haon now clung to his own stomach, writhing in agony, grinding his fevered body against Inho’s.
He’s going into heat, Tae-hwi realized at that moment.
It was only then that Inho finally spoke to him for the first time.
“I’ll contact you later.”
It was clear he meant for Tae-hwi to leave.
Nodding quickly, Tae-hwi scrambled to put on his shoes. He wanted desperately to ask what the hell had happened, but he couldn’t bring himself to voice the question.
Inho’s grim, hardened expression made it impossible for him to open his mouth.
It felt like if he intervened now, he would only be making things worse.
His instincts told him so.
