Though he had come to check on him out of concern, he was regretting whether it was unnecessary, when he recalled Yeonwoo’s poor complexion.
“Since I’m already here, should I give Yeonwoo some vitamins? It might also be good to check his pheromone levels just in case…”
“…”
“Of course, our Ho Munbeom would take good care of him, but you never know, right?”
At Hwayoung’s words, Munbeom checked the corridor he had come from.
Hwayoung, being a beta, wouldn’t know, but this room was marinated in Munbeom and Yeonwoo’s pheromones. Even a recessive manifester might feel suffocated by these thick pheromones. And these pheromones themselves could be recovery medicine for Yeonwoo. But regardless, it was true that Yeonwoo’s physical strength had weakened significantly. Recalling the waist and arms that had become much thinner and more slender than before, Munbeom said calmly.
“I’ll nourish him with food rather than vitamins.”
“What? But injections would help him recover faster.”
“Those damn needle marks turned blue. Seeing him in pain even while sleeping, those vitamins would be useless.”
“…”
Ah, so he doesn’t want injections for that reason.
When consulting for treatment, she often encountered doting husbands or overly devoted men saying unreasonable things, but for Ho Munbeom to be saying this? This is surprising. Indeed, the attitude he showed before wasn’t my imagination.
If I had known it would be like this, I wouldn’t have referred to Yeonwoo as a “partner” back then. When Munbeom’s expression hardened then, it wasn’t because he was uncomfortable with the conversation about his rut, but because he didn’t like Yeonwoo being treated as a mere partner.
If that was the case, he could have just said so.
Hwayoung, recalling if there were any other mistakes she had made, soon wore a complex expression.
“Then I came here for nothing? If I had known, I would have gone out to eat instead.”
“Don’t say that, and just go to one place with Secretary Kang.”
“Where? Don’t tell me you’re asking me to pick up nourishing food for Yeonwoo?”
Instead of answering, a hardened gaze flew at her words.
Feeling like she had made a wasted trip and uncomfortable with this unfamiliar side of Munbeom, Hwayoung had unconsciously said unnecessary things. She immediately backed down and mumbled, “I’m sorry.” With the quick apology, Munbeom withdrew his gaze and slowly walked toward the kitchen. Feeling awkwardly shy at his languid movements, Hwayoung waited for his next words.
Munbeom, who had taken out a bottle of water, opened with “For Yeonwoo.”
“He has an omega father who suffers from Pheromone Hyperactivation Syndrome. The first surgery went well, but the prognosis isn’t good. He’s currently receiving treatment to raise his pheromone levels for a second surgery. Secretary Kang will give you a detailed explanation if you follow him.”
“So, I now need to check on Yeonwoo’s father’s condition.”
“Please.”
“…”
Though Ho Munbeom was so impressive, Hwayoung was also a well-regarded doctor in her field. People had to wait for more than a year to get a new appointment with her. But now Munbeom was trying to skip all those procedures and pass a new patient to her. And even one of the most demanding pheromone syndrome patients.
If someone else had behaved like this, she wouldn’t have even dealt with them. But it was Ho Munbeom. If she resolved this matter well, there would be an even greater reward. It might not be bad to take this opportunity to replace all test equipment with new ones. It would also be good to extract a huge donation from Ho Moon Group and use it for treatment costs for manifester children with financial difficulties. But for that, the first thing to solve was Yeonwoo’s father’s issue.
“Before we start, let’s be clear. I’m not the kind of person who works this way. No matter if it’s the great Ho Moon Group or Ho Munbeom, you shouldn’t exploit people like this. But because Yeonwoo is pretty, I’ll help just this once.”
A shallow wrinkle formed between Munbeom’s brows for a moment.
She’s doing something she doesn’t have to do, so why is she looking at it that way? Then, recalling that she had called Yeonwoo pretty, Hwayoung opened her mouth wide in amazement.
“Wow, really, my goodness, oh my…”
She had seen many people whose attitudes changed overnight, but this was too much. How can a person change so much? Is this also a characteristic of manifesters? No, what’s wrong with calling a pretty person pretty?
Feeling a sudden distance from Ho Munbeom, who had been neither disliked nor liked as an acquaintance, Hwayoung turned her body without even saying goodbye. After confirming her retreating figure, Munbeom headed back to Yeonwoo.
As he quietly opened the door, he heard soft breathing sounds and faintly emanating pheromones, which immediately softened his expression. Quietly entering the room, Munbeom stood beside the bed and looked down at Yeonwoo lying there.
After looking at Yeonwoo’s face lying straight, he bent his waist and brushed back the hair that had fallen on his forehead. When he touched his eyebrows, brushed his bridge of nose, and touched his lips, Yeonwoo smacked his lips. After swallowing dry saliva and furrowing his brow, Munbeom confirmed that he exhaled more deeply, removed his hand, and smiled faintly.
“…”
If he looked very unwell or uncomfortable anywhere, he was ready to get him treated immediately. But by occasionally feeding Yeonwoo water and porridge, and letting him sleep continuously, he was recovering little by little. It seemed better to let him sleep more here and then feed him the food Secretary Kang would bring, rather than having him receive an IV.
Lifting the sheet, Munbeom frowned at the bruise mark on Yeonwoo’s right arm.
In reality, if examined closely, the skin was discolored all over, to the extent that the needle wasn’t the issue. Though it was because of spending the rut with him…
Should he call Hwayoung now to administer IV fluids or vitamins?
The deliberation was brief. If, by any chance, he had lost his reason in his rut and pushed through recklessly, he would have moved him to a hospital immediately. But throughout, Munbeom had focused on Yeonwoo’s face, on the changes in his expression. If it had really seemed impossible, he would have ended things appropriately, rut or not.
That’s not to say he had gone easy on Yeonwoo either. He had done as much as needed, though perhaps a bit insufficient. Now he had emptied everything that had accumulated in his body for a long time, and in terms of condition, it wasn’t that bad. Rather…
Lifting the sheet, Munbeom lay down next to Yeonwoo and immediately pulled his body towards him. As if it were natural, he placed Yeonwoo’s body on top of his own and put his hand on his waist. Enjoying the soft and pliant skin, he continued to fiddle with it, causing Yeonwoo’s head resting on his shoulder to twitch.
Slowly opening his eyes, Yeonwoo was blank for a moment before slowly raising his head. Meeting the gaze of Yeonwoo looking at him, Munbeom patted his small head with one hand.
“Aren’t you hungry?”
“…No.”
Mumbling his answer, Yeonwoo squinted his eyes, then exhaled a small breath.
At that response, Munbeom lowered his hand to his face. After stroking his cheek, he lightly pinched and kneaded it, causing Yeonwoo to bow his head deeply. Then, hearing him breathe softly, Munbeom released his hand. Though he wanted to touch more, continuing to do so would disturb his deep sleep.
Pulling the sheet, he covered Yeonwoo up to the middle of his head and placed his two arms on his back and waist respectively. It was the first time he had placed someone on top of his body, but it wasn’t bad. Rather, he liked this light weight.
No, not just that…
“…”
He was frustrated by his inability to properly explain the emotions he was feeling now. When he unconsciously took a deep breath, inflating his chest, Yeonwoo immediately wiggled. Seeing the small head moving as if uncomfortable, Munbeom placed his hand on Yeonwoo’s back, patting it, and opened his pheromones. In response, the round shoulders gradually lowered. Feeling the arms that had been hanging loosely to the sides wiggling and attaching firmly to his sides as if embracing him, Munbeom closed his eyes. Whether he knew it or not, the corners of his mouth were slightly raised.
He kept sleeping even after sleeping so much.
To the extent that he naturally wondered if he was sleeping too much, he just kept sleeping endlessly until his eyes opened by themselves. Yeonwoo, who had been lying as if prostrate, felt around beside him. He could feel a slight remaining warmth. After continuing to feel around as if searching for it, he soon realized he was lying alone on this wide bed and stopped moving.
Instead, he looked around with his eyes.
He knew very well where this was.
That’s why being alone on the bed in this situation felt uncomfortable and awkward. Eventually, Yeonwoo slowly raised his body. Though he didn’t remember everything, from the memories that rose like they were roughly stitched together, he recalled one by one the things that had happened on this bed.
They were a series of skin-colored events. Whenever he came to his senses, he seemed to always be below, above, or beside Munbeom. Each time, their lower bodies remained connected. And…, recalling the lump-like swelling that had pressed against his body, Yeonwoo blushed.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
