Ha-jin pressed his lips tightly together. He was so taken aback by how shameless Cheon Tae-seong was that he was at a loss for words. When he glared at him with round eyes narrowed into sharp crescents, Tae-seong leaned in even closer, refusing to back down. Is he doing this on purpose, knowing his face is lethal? Ha-jin could feel his ears growing hotter by the second.
“You son of a—”
“What, nothing to say because I’m too right?”
“It’s not that you’re right—you’re just being so damn shameless…”
Ha-jin cut himself off mid-rebuttal and cast a sidelong glance around them. After the commotion earlier, they’d already attracted everyone’s attention, and now the stares were blatantly curious.
Shrinking his shoulders, Ha-jin lowered his voice to a whisper.
“Why do you have to ruin a pretty face with such dirty words?”
“…”
Tae-seong was struck speechless for a moment. It was the first time anyone had ever called him dirty. He just stared at Ha-jin in disbelief. A hollow chuckle escaped his lips.
“Well… at least you think I have a pretty face.”
Tae-seong, now sulking, couldn’t take his eyes off Ha-jin.
He had no clue what Ha-jin had imagined the moment the doctor had mentioned the heat cycle in that pristine white exam room. And of course, right after walking out, all he could think about was their contract. Pretty face, dirty words, huh. But Tae-seong was sure of one thing: on this floor, it was Ha-jin who was drawing all the stares.
Tae-seong had told him to wear something comfortable while sleeping and eating at his brother’s hospital room, but Ha-jin stubbornly showed up in a button-down and slacks every day. Only recently had Tae-seong learned how provocatively suggestive a loose, clean shirt could look on someone like Ha-jin.
“…I’m not joking, you know.”
Ha-jin bit his lip, trying not to shrink back.
“Joking? Then how about I get serious?”
His eyes flicked restlessly, searching Tae-seong’s face. Those clear, glassy brown eyes glimmered with a tenacity that felt like they were digging straight into his soul. Then suddenly, Tae-seong fluttered his long lashes—and let out a voice so heartbreakingly pitiful, it was hard to believe.
“I told you more than once that I need you…”
“…”
“But maybe it’s not that you can’t. Maybe you just don’t want to?”
“…That’s not—”
Ha-jin surrendered almost instantly. Not because of those heartbreakingly pretty eyes—definitely not—but because the thought of Tae-seong possibly feeling hurt popped into his head without warning.
Thinking back to what Tae-seong had done for him these past few weeks, Ha-jin realized he couldn’t just toss out the idea of ending things—not like that. Not even if it was just about the contract.
Ha-jin leaned back slightly to create some space between them, then took a small step away. Lowering his eyes like someone surrendering, he mumbled softly.
“That’s a misunderstanding. It’s not that I don’t want to. I’m just… worried.”
“You don’t need to worry. Like you said, it’s a contract. Why should you care? I’m just asking you not to keep thinking about ending it. Is that really so hard?”
Ha-jin let out a quiet sigh.
Tae-seong stepped forward again, closing the distance that Ha-jin had tried to create. Since he’d already been called dirty, he figured he might as well keep making use of his pretty face. He’d never once thought of trading on his looks, not with everything he was born with, but life sure had a funny way of bringing days like this.
“Look at me. Say it while looking at me.”
“I just… I hate seeing people get hurt because of me.”
“When did I ever say I was hurt because of you? I said I’d be hurt without you.”
“You said it was because of me, several times…”
Ha-jin trailed off, dropping his gaze again.
“Anyway, that’s why I acted a bit defensive. I’m sorry if I made you feel bad. You’ve done a lot for me, and I wasn’t thinking straight.”
But an apology with a downcast tone wasn’t what Tae-seong wanted. Hearing Ha-jin speak so meekly actually made his mood worse. He realized again that what he truly wanted was for Ha-jin to be bolder, more demanding—shameless, even. He’d once thought he wanted Ha-jin to behave obediently, like a tongue inside his mouth, but that past version of himself was an idiot.
“Then what’s with that?”
Tae-seong abruptly changed the subject with a pout.
“What do you mean?”
Ha-jin blinked, then his face instantly flushed red. Tae-seong was asking about Kim Nalgae.
“Th-that…”
Tae-seong was staring at him with an expression that clearly said, Don’t you dare tell me it’s another secret.
“Because… because every day felt like hell.”
“What did you say?”
“Ugh, seriously.”
Ha-jin ran a hand through his hair and turned his back. It was just too embarrassing to say it out loud while looking at Tae-seong. All this over such a minor detail—he always had to obsess over things and make everything ten times more mortifying.
“Managing people’s pheromones every day felt like shit, so I came up with ‘Nalgae’—‘Wings.’ It was impulsive… And I didn’t want people to think I was ashamed of my job, so I kept it a secret.”
“…”
“No one ever asked about it, so I didn’t realize how embarrassing it was. That’s all. It wasn’t some big secret. I was just… embarrassed.”
Tae-seong had asked with a teasing smile, but now that he’d heard the answer, his face went blank. For the first time since they left the exam room, he looked away from Ha-jin. With a deep scowl, he stared off into the distance and rubbed his eyes like he was exhausted.
“Ha…”
As if trying to shake off the heat gathering on his face, he rubbed his face dry a few times, then stared blankly at Ha-jin’s feet. “Felt like hell every day?” he murmured, though Ha-jin didn’t hear it clearly.
Tae-seong pulled Ha-jin into a tight embrace before he could ask again.
“Let’s go, baby. Let’s not do this here—let’s go home and talk.”
He said it loud enough for everyone around to hear, their pressed-together bodies reverberating from the volume. Half-lifting the startled Ha-jin into the air, Tae-seong began walking off without hesitation. The onlookers quickly averted their eyes, startled, pretending not to have been watching.
Not long ago, it had been his idea to pretend they were dating, but now Ha-jin couldn’t even lift his head. Tae-seong, on the other hand, didn’t seem to care about anyone’s gaze and walked with total confidence.
After several strides, he suddenly leaned down and pressed his lips to Ha-jin’s ear. The warm breath tickling his earlobe made Ha-jin flinch.
Tae-seong whispered with a chuckle.
“You know, this kinda makes it feel like we’re actually dating.”
Ha-jin gave him a stunned, incredulous look, but Tae-seong just grinned even wider.
“What? Isn’t this how couples act—bickering all the time?”
Seriously? Did you learn relationships from books or something? Ha-jin grumbled inwardly. He’d never been in a relationship in his life.
***
On Saturday morning, Professor Joo Yoon-seo, who was working through the weekend, stopped by Yushin’s hospital room.
“Good morning.”
Rubbing her hands with sanitizer, she walked over to Yushin’s bedside and began her usual round of questions: Did you sleep well? How’s your condition? How was your appetite? Once she got a “yes” to all of them, she smiled in satisfaction.
“Then I’ll keep monitoring things through the weekend, and on Monday morning, we’ll do a few more tests…”
She made eye contact with the two brothers who were both watching her closely and then continued.
“…and then you’ll be discharged.”
“Wow! Thank you, doctor!”
Ha-jin practically shouted in joy. For that moment, even his discomfort with Professor Joo was completely forgotten. He felt so happy he could’ve hugged anyone nearby. Instead, he reached out and gripped Yushin’s hand tightly, and Yushin looked back at him, equally overwhelmed.
Feeling the emotion in the room, Kwak Mari, who had stayed in the hospital room since Friday night, stepped forward.
“It’s all thanks to you, Professor. You’ve taken such good care of our Yushin. Ha-jin was so worried, but now I think he can finally breathe easy. I’d love to treat you to a meal sometime, if that’s alright?”
“Oh, thank you, but your appreciation is more than enough. Yushin’s surgery and recovery went so smoothly—I should be the one thanking you.”
“Then maybe I should treat CEO Cheon instead.”
Kwak Mari laughed heartily, and Professor Joo grimaced, then mimicked Tae-seong’s voice.
“He’d probably say, ‘I’m fine. You two should go eat instead.’ Like he’s the only one who’s busy. Seriously.”
She let out a bright, carefree laugh—quite unlike her usual demeanor. After a while, she noticed everyone staring and cleared her throat as she straightened up.
“Actually… I’ve been wondering ever since Yushin was admitted—Professor, what’s your relationship with CEO Cheon?”
Kwak Mari blinked innocently as she asked the question out of the blue. Ha-jin frowned deeply and jabbed her in the side with his elbow, clearly thinking, What kind of question is that? But he couldn’t hide the way his ears perked up in curiosity either.
