Inho knew the reason for Haon’s distress. In fact, he had known it even before they got in the car, noticing Haon’s awareness of the young couple sitting next to them in the audience. He had seen him glance at the woman’s belly right before the intermission ended.
Therefore, he didn’t ask the weeping Haon, who was rubbing his flat stomach, what was wrong. Inho, who was more perceptive than anyone, understood his inner thoughts with just Haon’s gaze and subtle changes in expression.
“It’s hot, isn’t it?”
Once his ragged breathing subsided, Inho, who was holding Haon in his arms, patted his damp back. His whole body soaked with sweat, Haon nodded and rubbed his cheek against Inho’s chest.
He seemed to have calmed down enough now. Thankfully, his tears had stopped quickly.
Inho completely removed Haon’s knit shirt and used it as a towel. After wiping away all the semen mixed with sweat from his thighs, he covered him with his cardigan instead. It was then that Haon asked a sudden question.
“Do you have something to say…?”
Inho, who had been silently zipping up Haon’s pants, smiled with his eyes.
“Does it look like it?”
Haon hesitated for a moment before nodding. He didn’t know why he thought so. He just somehow felt that Inho had something to tell him.
“If you do, please say it.”
Haon slowly reached out and straightened Inho’s crumpled collar. Inho, who had been moving his lips as if to speak, simply lightly bit Haon’s flushed cheek.
“I’ll go out and buy some water.”
It didn’t seem like that was what he wanted to say, but Haon let it go for now. He felt thirsty because he had lost strength.
“Let’s go together.”
“I’ll be right back. You stay inside, Haon-ssi.”
Inho moved Haon to the passenger seat. Watching Inho fasten his seatbelt as if telling him not to get out, Haon chuckled softly. He didn’t dislike the way he treated him like a child.
“Don’t come out alone, okay?”
“Yes.”
Haon gripped the seatbelt tightly to reassure him. In truth, even though he had said he would go together, he didn’t have the strength to walk properly.
Left alone like that, Haon blankly watched Inho’s retreating figure. There didn’t seem to be a convenience store nearby, so it looked like it would take some time.
While fiddling with the seatbelt that touched his chest, his gaze suddenly went to the console box.
Did he take out the condoms from there? Thinking that, he ran his fingertips over the smooth surface. Out of curiosity, he touched the outside of the console box and accidentally pressed a button. He was curious about how many condoms were inside.
However, he was startled by the lid opening faster than he expected. Haon, his eyes wide, blinked and shifted his posture to sit sideways. Since the inside of the car was dark, he would have to lower his head to see the contents of the console box clearly.
Lowering his upper body, Haon’s eyes slowly moved. The first thing that caught his attention was a condom box.
Just as Haon reached for the small rectangular box, his mouth slightly fell open and he froze. Because he saw numerous medicine bottles.
Unlike the clean exterior of the console box, not a speck of dust in sight, the inside was a mess with unsorted items piled up haphazardly.
Plastic medicine bottles, condoms, crumpled tissues, and business cards were all mixed together randomly. The medicine bottles were what filled Haon’s vision the most.
Haon moved his lips and picked up one of the medicine bottles. The bottle was very light. He shook it gently, but no sound came out. He picked up another bottle, but it was also empty. He couldn’t tell what kind of medicine it was because it was written in English.
So many pills… Since when has he been taking them?
Haon had never seen Inho take medicine. He hadn’t even seen him take vitamins. In Haon’s eyes, Inho was healthier than anyone else. He had never dreamed that he would be taking so much medicine.
He had trouble falling asleep sometimes, but Haon thought it wasn’t severe enough to cause significant problems in his daily life. In fact, Inho never looked tired or exhausted in front of him. He was always bright and relaxed.
In Haon’s bewildered mind, images of Inho from their time together flashed by quickly. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t recall a single instance of him looking distressed. He resented his own insensitivity.
While he was looking at the scattered pills in the console box, the driver’s side door opened. Inho had returned earlier than expected.
In his hands were two bottles of mineral water and a bag containing a green ice cream. Haon greeted Inho with a dazed expression.
“Want some ice cream?”
Inho, averting his gaze from the open console box, shook the green bag. It was the melon-flavored ice cream that Haon had enjoyed before.
He first opened the cap of the water bottle and handed it to Haon. When Haon didn’t take it, he gently pressed the cool bottle against Haon’s flushed eyes.
“They’re just old ones I kept.”
He said in a light tone, explaining that they had just piled up because he hadn’t thrown them away.
“What kind of medicine is it…?”
“Headache pills. There’s also indigestion medicine, and this is a suppressant.”
Inho shook a bottle with about half the pills left. Even with the heavy rattling sound of the pills, Haon’s expression didn’t ease. They were all common over-the-counter drugs, but he was still worried.
“Do you take medicine often?”
“No, they just piled up because I didn’t organize things here.”
He repeated a similar explanation, wearing a gentle smile. He acted cheerful towards Haon, as if there was nothing serious at all.
“Drink your water quickly. And eat your ice cream.”
While Haon wet his throat first, Inho took a bite of the ice cream. Then, he grabbed Haon’s chin, turned his face, and pressed his lips against his.
He transferred the unmelted ice cream into Haon’s mouth. A cold and sweet sensation spread through Haon’s narrow mouth. The sweetness seemed to calm Haon’s startled heart a little.
“I have something to tell you, Haon-ssi.”
Inho continued to feed Haon ice cream with his mouth as he spoke. He seemed to be trying to answer Haon’s earlier question.
Haon swallowed the cold ice cream and listened attentively. He was curious about what Inho had been hesitating to say.
“This Friday,”
Just as Inho opened his mouth, his phone happened to vibrate. It was Haon’s phone ringing.
“Ah, just a moment.”
Flustered by the vibration in his pants pocket, Haon fumbled to take out his phone. Inho told him to answer slowly.
“Uh… it’s an unknown number…”
It was a call from a number that wasn’t saved. He was about to reject the call since they were talking, but suddenly Inho snatched the phone away.
“Has this number called you before?”
Haon shook his head. It was a number he had never seen before.
“Ignore calls from unknown numbers.”
Inho pressed the reject button instead and blocked the number. Then, he seemed to check the call history before turning the phone back to Haon, being mindful of him.
“You just have to tell me.”
His expression, asking if he could do that, was cautious. Haon naturally said he would. It wasn’t a difficult thing to do. Right now, he was more concerned about what Inho had been about to say than the call.
“Please continue what you were saying earlier.”
He wanted to hear it even more because he had never seen him hesitate to speak his mind before.
“A close older sister of mine is an obstetrician-gynecologist. She’s an omega specialist.”
Inho rested his arm on the steering wheel and continued the conversation slowly.
“Would you like to meet her sometime on Friday?”
He suggested that Haon get a pheromone test along with a simple check-up.
“You usually get a health check-up once a year anyway. It won’t take long. I’ll be there with you too.”
Inho unusually added a lengthy explanation. At the end, he looked at Haon’s expression and added a final remark.
“You absolutely don’t have to go if you’re uncomfortable, Haon-ssi. Please feel free to answer.”
His attitude was so overly cautious that it felt strange, even though he was just suggesting going to the hospital for a check-up.
“I’ll go.”
Haon answered without hesitation, immediately pulling Inho’s hand towards him and holding it tightly.
“I’ll get all the tests.”
He put strength into their clasped hands. Haon looked directly at Inho and made one condition.
“Instead, Inho-ssi has to tell me if you feel sick anywhere, too.”
He asked him to tell him even when he didn’t feel well or was tired.
“Because… I’m Inho-ssi’s boyfriend. You can’t hide it if you’re sick.”
Haon, who had spoken carefully, wore a very serious expression.
“Promise.”
He held Inho with his resolute eyes and tightly gripped their firmly connected hands.
“Of course. Don’t worry.”
He had secured the promise.
