#121
When Jaeha punched Lee Sangmin in the solar plexus, his body leaped up. As he rolled on the ground pathetically curled into a ball, Jaeha mercilessly kicked him multiple times, and even that wasn’t enough—he continued to stomp on him. Choked screams echoed along the street, but Jaeha didn’t flinch. Grabbing the man’s collar after he had already crumpled from just a couple of hits, Jaeha continued punching, creating a sound like a rock smashing a watermelon.
He’s going to kill someone at this rate. Hey… Lee Jaeha, stop. Jaeha…
His nearly expressionless face looked demonic. His pale white face seemed even paler with the spatters of blood. Eunhong struggled to get up, trying to stop him somehow. Lee Jaeha, you’ll commit murder at this rate…
Fortunately, Eunhong brightened when he spotted Kang Hanjae and Han Jeongwook in his line of sight. The two men, who had just emerged from the establishment and discovered Eunhong sprawled on the ground and the fight unfolding, rushed toward him in surprise.
Or rather, they tried to rush over. Jaeha grabbed Jeongwook by the back of his neck as he passed by and slammed him to the ground. Hanjae jumped away in the opposite direction, startled. Eunhong’s mouth fell open. Jaeha wasn’t in his right mind right now.
Hey, that person is innocent.
Watching Jaeha’s fist slam into Jeongwook, Eunhong lost consciousness. Truly, he had no strength left to endure anymore.
***
Blink, blink, his eyes opened slowly. Upon seeing the scene that entered his vision, Eunhong thought he had returned to the past. The ceiling with its ornate engraved patterns and the wooden ceiling fan spinning made him think of his manifestation period.
The difference was… Eunhong, lying still, rolled his eyeballs to the side.
Jaeha was sitting on a chair next to the bed. With his forehead resting on his interlocked hands, his head was bowed deeply, and the backs of his hands were scratched and covered in blood. The image of Jaeha throwing punches vividly came back to Eunhong.
He blinked his stiff eyes again. As his vision gradually cleared, he could see the IV fluid dripping through the tube connected to his arm. Next to the transparent fluid bag hung a small bag containing a suspicious-colored medication. Given that both were nearly empty, it seemed that a considerable amount of time had passed since he lost consciousness.
“…haya.”
Perhaps due to his cracked voice, Jaeha jumped up in surprise. Eunhong was startled by his own dry voice, but Jaeha’s reaction made him even more startled. When he opened his mouth, he could feel the sweet pheromones spreading outward, as if his tongue had been coated with sticky paste.
As Eunhong stirred, Jaeha, now regaining his composure, pressed a button to raise the bed. He then brought a water bottle with a straw to Eunhong’s lips. His intensely focused eyes examined Eunhong carefully.
“Are you feeling okay?”
Nod, nod.
“They say you’re in heat cycle.”
As Eunhong concentrated solely on drinking the water, Jaeha continued.
“This is Han University Hospital. You’re getting suppressants now… they said it might make your throat dry.”
“…Yeah.”
“Haah… Thank goodness.”
Jaeha carefully reached out and brushed Eunhong’s hair. Despite his calm expression and steady gaze, his fingertips were trembling slightly. He must have been so frightened. Eunhong just blinked, feeling sorry.
“You were brought to the hospital because you couldn’t regain consciousness. Those people you were with…”
“……”
“……”
Eunhong was the first to break the awkward silence.
“The person you hit, not that criminal bastard… is he okay? He’s a doctor.”
“…Yeah. He got treatment. Nothing broken, they said.”
“When did you learn to fight like that? The way you slammed him down was no ordinary move.”
As if Eunhong’s question was unexpected, Jaeha let out a small laugh.
After a brief exchange, heavy silence descended again. Neither knew how to continue the conversation. Eunhong dropped his shoulders and exhaled a long sigh.
He tried clenching and unclenching his fist repeatedly. Now he had strength in his hands. After several attempts at movement, when he tightly clenched his fist, a dull pain rose from the needle inserted in the back of his hand. Red blood flowed back through the transparent tube. Jaeha, alarmed, took Eunhong’s hand and opened it.
“Don’t do that. What’s wrong?”
“……”
“Eunhong.”
Eunhong’s face slowly flushed red. He bit his lip until it turned white, desperately trying to hold back tears. Roughly rubbing his eyes with his free hand, he barely managed to say:
“Can you hold me?”
Jaeha stared at Eunhong for a moment, then slowly approached. Half-sitting on the bed, he offered his shoulder. He spread his arms wide and pulled Eunhong tightly into his embrace, as if trapping him.
Eunhong learned for the first time what it felt like when relief was too overwhelming. It felt like warmth gradually returning to a frozen body. Blood circulated tinglingly from the crown of his head. He exhaled a moist breath like someone who had just swum out of water.
He rested his head on the warm shoulder and buried his face in Jaeha’s chest. When he trembled, Jaeha hugged him tightly.
Being held like this gave him a sense of déjà vu. That cold day, when Jaeha had rushed to embrace him as he crouched crying in front of the hospital. He had felt instantly reassured then too. And this time, nothing had happened.
He tried to compose himself again. But the sensation of that man’s skin pressing against his neck and the feeling of hands groping his body reflexively flashed back, making him shrink. As he shuddered, Jaeha stroked his back.
“Shh, it’s okay. Everything’s fine now.”
“…I’m sorry.”
At the barely audible apology, Jaeha pulled away. He held Eunhong by both shoulders and examined his face. His expression looked as if he might cry instead. Eunhong, finding this unbearable, dropped his gaze.
“Honestly, I was so scared. Afraid that I’d stupidly lose consciousness again and the same thing would happen.”
“Nothing happened. I saw everything.”
“Yes. Really… it’s really fortunate. That you came, that you came for me. That you came for me again this time…”
His shoulders slumped completely. Eunhong buried his face in his hands.
“I got angry at my own feelings and recklessly went to such a place… Unable to take care of myself, with no caution… If the same accident had happened, I couldn’t face you. How could I look at you after hurting you like that?”
Eunhong kept repeating to himself: I know how much you like me. Why did I doubt the depth of your feelings over something like marriage or imprinting? I almost pulled you into this messy sludge and nearly caused a huge wound in your heart.
I was upset that you might be thinking of letting me go, and I wanted to hurt you…
Eunhong rubbed his face. As he realized what underlying thoughts had driven his impulsive actions, his insides trembled uncontrollably. What was the result of his childish, immature attempt to confirm the depth of Jaeha’s affection?
The humiliation of losing control of his body and being overpowered by an alpha wouldn’t leave his mind. He was furious with himself and ashamed to face Jaeha. The realization that he had nearly gone down an irreversible path made him dizzy with horror.
“……”
“Like an idiot… You warned me every time that I could be in danger, and like a fool… I was too…”
Jaeha closed his eyes tightly and reopened them as Eunhong rambled on, blaming himself.
Eunhong was trying to blame everything on himself. He was saying it was his fault that he suddenly manifested, that he wandered around in poor physical condition, even that he had his body taken by someone he couldn’t remember.
“No! Eunhong. No. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
His hunched shoulders were trembling. Jaeha was about to embrace Eunhong again but bit his lip hard instead. He clenched his fist tightly.
“…It was me.”
“…Huh?”
“When you manifested on Christmas Eve.”
Eunhong’s eyes widened.
“The person who was with you for those two days, it was me.”
“……”
“I was waiting at the musical theater to surprise you when you collapsed, and I took care of you. We should have gone to the hospital, but…”
Eunhong had trouble understanding what he was hearing and found it difficult to respond appropriately.
So the protagonist of that missing time was Lee Jaeha… The first partner of my manifestation was you, Jaeha… It felt like riding a roller coaster. He couldn’t get his bearings, as if he had been precariously climbing a slope and suddenly dropped.
“I called Professor Choi, worried that there might be news about it because of me. Then we went to a hotel… And after that, as you know… I…”
Jaeha trailed off and bowed his head deeply.
“I’m sorry. For not telling you earlier…”
“……”
Jaeha, who had been hanging his head, slowly raised his eyes. Eunhong was just quietly looking at him. Their gazes met in midair, and silence fell over the hospital room. After a suffocatingly long time passed like this, Eunhong exhaled a murky sigh.
“Ha…”
The sound was like a gunshot, making Jaeha stiffen in surprise.
Haha… Eunhong laughed faintly like someone who had lost their mind.
“It was you.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
