Chapter 52
It was late at night. Although his body was tired from the many customers today, it felt wasteful to spend this leisurely time sleeping. Especially since Woo Hyun-se had just come in not long ago.
They were each doing their own thing while sitting on the sofa with an out-of-season movie playing. Si-yul, of course, reached for his phone first. Hyun-se nagged that it was a serious addiction, but Si-yul had to log in to the game to receive his daily reward.
Si-yul lay on his stomach at Hyun-se’s feet, tapping away at his phone. His favorite game was, naturally, a puzzle game. When three characters were lined up, they would pop like balloons. There was no better game for relieving stress and clearing one’s mind.
“Ouch!”
Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his ankle. There was only one culprit, so Si-yul frowned deeply and turned around. Hyun-se was grinning shamelessly, holding Si-yul’s ankle and rubbing his lips over the spot he had just bitten. There was a clear teeth mark around the ankle bone.
“Why are you biting so hard? Are you teething or something?”
Si-yul put down his phone and sat cross-legged on the sofa, examining the bite mark. Earlier, Hyun-se had bitten the smooth flesh of his calf, and now it was his ankle bone. At this rate, none of his leg would be left intact.
“Weren’t you dangling it in front of me, asking to be bitten?”
While he had been wiggling his feet while concentrating on the game, that certainly wasn’t the intention. Si-yul gently rubbed the dotted line of teeth marks. It probably wouldn’t bruise, but it still throbbed. Maybe Hyun-se was lacking meat in his diet, or perhaps Si-yul’s legs looked like glistening pork hocks to him, because lately he’d been biting at every opportunity.
Should he be grateful that Hyun-se left visible areas alone? If he were to take off his top right now, there would be red marks like brands around his nipples and on the soft skin under his arms.
“Stop biting me. If you bite me again, I’m really going to put a muzzle on you.”
“If you’re upset, why don’t you bite me back, Kwon Si-yul?”
Hyun-se rolled up his sleeve and stretched out his forearm, provoking Si-yul. Despite being much older, he sometimes attempted such childish pranks.
Si-yul looked at Hyun-se’s arm and shook his head. It was like the steel beams often seen at construction sites. He’d rather bite a brick wall; falling for the provocation and biting hard would only result in needing dental implants at a young age.
He was about to lie back down but changed his mind and got up. It was dangerous here. If he stayed still, he might fall victim to Hyun-se’s teeth again. He was thinking of finishing his unfinished game at the dining table when he noticed a box on the table that he hadn’t seen before.
“Huh?” he muttered, taking a closer look. The instructions were all in English, so he couldn’t understand what they meant. When he picked it up and shook it slightly next to his ear, something rattled inside. In the bag next to it were bundles of unopened syringes.
Perhaps because he used to deliver drugs, seeing the sharp needles made his heart sink. Si-yul held up the box and called out to Hyun-se.
“Hyun-se, what’s this?”
“Suppressants.”
Hyun-se, who had been quietly observing Si-yul’s every movement, answered as if he’d been waiting for the question. He said he had gotten them in advance. Weren’t suppressants usually taken orally? Kwon Yuwon used to always have gummy suppressants in his mouth, even when it wasn’t his heat.
“Weren’t they usually in edible form?”
“Those are less effective.”
In the bag, there was also a rubber band used for tightly binding the upper arm. Si-yul fiddled with the crinkly syringe packaging. He didn’t feel good about this.
“Do you know how to give injections?”
“Yeah. I’ve done it since middle school.”
“You took injections back then too?”
“Couldn’t go into heat at school. Back then, my cycle was erratic, so pills didn’t work well.”
He casually mentioned having a hard time, as if it wasn’t his own experience. Although Si-yul had never seen it, he could picture it in his mind: a young Hyun-se tying his own arm and sticking a needle into the crook of his elbow. What expression did he have while injecting the suppressants?
“…”
Suddenly, a wave of sympathy welled up. Si-yul abandoned his intention to play the game and walked over to Hyun-se. Whether it was because of seeing the suppressants or because he wasn’t feeling well, Hyun-se looked more tired than usual. His usually healthy-looking cheeks and ears seemed slightly flushed.
Si-yul bent down and pressed his forehead against Hyun-se’s. It was something Kwon Yuwon used to do whenever Si-yul had a fever. The forehead against his was warm. Although Hyun-se was generally a warm person, his temperature seemed higher than usual.
“I think you have a fever.”
“Do I?”
Hyun-se replied as if he didn’t care much and wrapped his arms around Si-yul’s waist. He pulled Si-yul close and nuzzled his forehead against Si-yul’s neck. Worried that he might suddenly bite again, Si-yul squirmed to get away.
“I won’t bite. Just stay like this for a moment.”
He read Si-yul’s mind well. Feeling caught, Si-yul stood still like a statue before burying his nose in Hyun-se’s thick hair. Having just washed, the scent of Si-yul’s shampoo wafted fragrantly from Hyun-se’s hair.
Hyun-se laid Si-yul down and wrapped his arms and legs around him tightly. On the spacious sofa that could easily fit two, Hyun-se held Si-yul like a body pillow and closed his eyes.
Si-yul faithfully played his role. When the breathing near his head became regular and the heartbeat in his ear steadied, he lifted his head. Looking at the clock, he realized it was earlier than Hyun-se’s usual bedtime.
“…”
He stared intently at Hyun-se’s face. Despite being the person he saw the most and for the longest these days, this angle made it feel new. He hadn’t noticed before because of Hyun-se’s long eyes, but his eyelashes were also dense and long. His skin was good too. No acne scars, and even his pores were barely visible. Kwon Yuwon also had great skin, but was this something alphas and omegas were born with?
Si-yul traced Hyun-se’s eyebrows and bridge of his nose with his finger slightly hovering in the air. Afraid of disturbing him, he didn’t dare to actually touch.
He waved his hand in front of Hyun-se’s face. There was no reaction, as if he had fallen deep into sleep. Si-yul lifted his head slightly and pressed his lips against Hyun-se’s. They were soft and supple. He didn’t press hard, just stole a light kiss.
Even after pulling away, Hyun-se didn’t wake up. His steady breath tickled Si-yul’s cheek. Si-yul grinned like a child who had just pulled off a secret prank. Despite their relationship having progressed as far as it could, his heart still fluttered like a little bird just from a simple kiss.
Watching the deeply sleeping Hyun-se made Si-yul feel sleepy too. With drowsy eyes, he snuggled into the embrace before him. Just before falling asleep, a faint scent brushed under his nose. It was a scent like a cold, quiet forest blanketed in white snow.
At the same time, drowsiness engulfed Si-yul. Before he could realize what the scent was, Si-yul drifted off to sleep.
* * *
[Let’s see your face]
[I might forget what you look like]
A message came from Kwon Yuwon. As soon as he saw the text, Si-yul rushed out of Hyun-se’s house. Fortunately, Hyun-se had gone to work and it was Si-yul’s day off. Although he had planned to rest because he wasn’t feeling well, there was no time for that. Even if he had been bedridden, if Kwon Yuwon asked to meet, Si-yul would have to take painkillers and go out.
The motel owner, as long as the rent was paid on time, wouldn’t touch anything even if a corpse was found in the room, so Si-yul’s belongings remained exactly where he had left them. However, a thin layer of dust had settled on top of the TV and on the floor. Si-yul picked up a broom and a rag and quickly swept and wiped the floor before Yuwon arrived. It was a kind of evidence destruction.
However, Kwon Yuwon didn’t come to the motel where Si-yul had cleaned so diligently, but set up the meeting at a different place. When Si-yul arrived at the address he was given, he found himself in front of a shabby snack shop. Inside the door, which was shorter than Si-yul’s height, sat an elderly person wearing an apron, so old that Si-yul wondered if they could even open a packet of ramen.
Kwon Yuwon wouldn’t have set up a meeting place and not shown up. Assuming he had arrived first, Si-yul went in and sat down. Exactly ten minutes later, Kwon Yuwon arrived.
“Kwon Yuwon!”
Si-yul jumped to his feet. It had been so long. Tears welled up in his eyes involuntarily. He immediately ran and hugged Yuwon tightly. Though saying “Oops,” Yuwon patted Si-yul’s back, accepting the hug.
“You bastard, how could you leave on a trip without saying a word to me? Do you know how worried I was!”
“Kwon Si-yul was worried about me?”
He teased, widening his eyes in mock surprise. Si-yul slapped Yuwon’s back hard. Despite hearing a playful “Ouch,” he hit him once more, conveying his hurt feelings.
“If not me, who else would worry about you, you crazy fool!”
