Though it was just speculation, I suspected that it might have been the Ho Moon Group that fixed up the area around the house like this. The taste of today’s baeksuk was definitely worth it. Yeonwoo, who gulped down the cinnamon punch, licked his lips thinking he would have done the same.
“Even though it’s not typically a food I like, this was delicious. It seems to be digesting well too…”
Then he recalled Ho Munbeom’s words about how eating dongchimi after being full helps everything go down.
“…Haha.”
Yeonwoo laughed softly and closed his eyes.
He could hear insects chirping nearby. Behind him, the sound of dishes clattering echoed. It felt strange. Normally, cleaning up would have been his job. Yeonwoo’s lips curled up as he recalled how Munbeom would casually clear away the empty bowls and bones.
It didn’t feel real. It was like being in a dream. At least until tomorrow, I should be able to stay in this mood. While fiddling with the glass in his hand, Yeonwoo slowly opened his eyes. Although the two men had told him to go and pushed him away, he couldn’t just keep sitting like this. Just as he was thinking he should go help them, he felt a vibration from somewhere.
“…”
He knew but wanted to pretend he didn’t.
Because until tomorrow, he could stay in this dream. But that didn’t mean he was actually dreaming.
Sighing briefly, Yeonwoo pulled out his cell phone from his outer pocket. Spam rarely came to Yeonwoo’s phone. Knowing this, he still hoped it would be spam. Hoping it wasn’t a message from Lee Jonghoon, he checked the screen to find it was from the caregiver, Junseok.
When they had spoken yesterday, there hadn’t been anything unusual.
On Monday, Yeonwoo had visited the hospital and later that night boarded a bus back to Seoul. There had been a sudden call from Lee Jonghoon, and he had suddenly felt tired. Since then, he had been checking on his father’s condition through updates from Junseok.
Even yesterday, Junseok had said everything was fine, so what could have happened suddenly? Being a weekend and an odd hour for contact made Yeonwoo nervous.
“Hello?”
[Yeonwoo, can you talk right now?]
Unable to guess what this might be about, Yeonwoo nodded. Then, realizing he was on a call, he softly said, “Yes, it’s fine.”
[I’m sorry for calling you suddenly on the weekend. But I think my cousin made a mistake…]
“…What?”
[Well… it seems my cousin Hyeonseong met with you on Monday. He’d been quiet all along, but today at a family gathering, he casually brought it up. There was a time when we drank together, and his phone died, so he briefly used mine. It seems he saw the texts and call history between you and me.]
Only then did Yeonwoo recall the alpha he had encountered outside the hospital on Monday.
The brief encounter, which hadn’t left a good impression, had quickly been erased from Yeonwoo’s mind. But thinking about it, his sudden appearance that day had been odd. The words he’d blurted out upon seeing Yeonwoo seemed as if they had been prepared in advance. And the last thing he’d said was that he liked Yeonwoo. That he had bullied him in the past because he liked him.
If it had just been light teasing, perhaps Yeonwoo could have laughed it off, but for him, it wasn’t that simple. While he had no intention of hiding being an omega, making a fuss about it was a different matter.
[From what I heard, there was something unpleasant that happened in middle school… right? He says he was young and didn’t understand his own feelings, but from my perspective, that doesn’t seem right. When he said he even confessed to you, I was so shocked, I’m truly ashamed. I’m really sorry.]
“You didn’t purposely tell him. It’s okay.”
[It seems he came to visit a relative who was hospitalized in our hospital and ran into you. Apparently, he kept coming back after that, but I told him to stop. I’d like to beat him up, but aside from this incident, he hasn’t caused any problems.]
Normally, Junseok wasn’t this talkative unless it was about Yeonwoo’s father. Though he found his cousin’s actions absurd, Yeonwoo could feel Junseok’s desire to somehow defend him. Because he was family, a beloved younger cousin. After going on at length, Junseok eventually apologized again.
“…”
While the incident hadn’t been pleasant, Yeonwoo had already forgotten about it. It didn’t seem likely that such chance encounters would continue. And even if Hyeonseong did show up, it seemed Junseok would step in and handle it well, so there was nothing to worry about. He just envied having someone who would apologize and say sorry on your behalf. Finding it amusing that he would envy such a small thing, Yeonwoo smiled faintly and said,
“I’m really fine. Don’t worry about it. How was my father today?”
[Ah, a new patient arrived today, and he had quite a conversation with them. Though he was awake for only a short time, he didn’t seem to be in a bad mood. I also bought him snacks with the money you gave me this time.]
“Yes, thank you for taking care of him. I’ll come down sometime next week.”
[You’re busy though. Will that be alright?]
“It’s fine. I quit my job.”
By now, he was planning to erase the fact that he had quit the mart from his mind. Things that would only make him feel bad if he recalled them, he’d forget one by one.
[…I see.]
Junseok mumbled and said nothing more.
Feeling it was time to end the call, Yeonwoo wrapped up as always by asking him to take good care of his father and expressing his gratitude. He lowered his phone. As he deleted the call log and was putting the phone back in his pocket, Yeonwoo sensed someone approaching and looked up. He saw Ho Munbeom.
As their eyes met, the man approached as if he had been waiting and placed his hand on Yeonwoo’s shoulder.
“Did I disturb your call?”
“No, it just ended.”
After mumbling a response, Yeonwoo added softly, “It was a call from the caregiver.” Though Ho Munbeom didn’t seem particularly curious, Yeonwoo just wanted to tell him.
“Is the caregiver a manifested individual?”
“He’s a beta.”
As far as he knew, omega specialty hospitals only allowed omegas or betas to work there. Of course, there might have been alpha doctors.
At that moment, hearing a low “Hmm,” Yeonwoo looked up.
It was dark, making it difficult to see his expression clearly. Curious about what face he was making, Yeonwoo looked up higher, and Ho Munbeom’s hand brushed his cheek. “You’re cold,” the man said, then placed his hand on Yeonwoo’s forehead and naturally brushed his hair back.
“Let’s get going. We need to arrive before it gets too late.”
Suddenly, Yeonwoo realized that Munbeom had been driving all by himself. Normally, he should be someone who would be driven around by others.
Ho Munbeom’s hand naturally took hold of Yeonwoo’s arm. Seeing his own arm in that large, firm grip made him feel warm and fuzzy. Though he never knew when he might suddenly receive a call from his father, he hoped it wouldn’t come while he was with Ho Munbeom.
As he followed him, Yeonwoo’s steps became increasingly light. Consciously trying to forget the things that weighed on his chest, his mood improved again. A faint blush spread across Yeonwoo’s cheeks as he gazed at Ho Munbeom’s broad shoulders walking ahead.
When they left the mountain path and entered the road, rain began to pour. As the thin raindrops grew thicker, Yeonwoo glanced at Ho Munbeom, who was driving. Sensing the gaze, he briefly asked, “What is it?”
“Aren’t you tired? Should we rest before continuing?”
Ho Munbeom smiled at Yeonwoo’s cautious question. The reason he found it amusing, though it wasn’t a funny story, was because Yeonwoo was being sincere.
Alphas naturally had good stamina. Even after staying up for several days in a row, they could recover quickly after one good night’s sleep. If that weren’t the case, there was no way they could move normally right after a rut ended.
Good stamina was a given, and with excellent recovery abilities, they rarely felt fatigue from ordinary activities. The only thing that affected an alpha’s condition was pheromones. Unless they didn’t properly release their pheromones, or if their pheromone glands were directly damaged, they could go without sleep for about four days without major issues.
Moreover, Ho Munbeom was an extreme dominant. For someone like him, who was often referred to as having a blessed manifestation, to be tired? If someone else had said such a thing, he might have doubted their sincerity. He might have suspected some ulterior motive.
“I’m fine. You should get some sleep, Yeonwoo.”
“No, how could I when you’re driving?”
“Don’t I drive well?”
“…”
“Don’t people tend to get sleepy when they’re sitting next to a good driver? When you wake up, we’ll have arrived at our destination.”
Still, he couldn’t sleep next to someone who was driving. Yeonwoo squeezed their joined hands and turned to face forward. Through the wipers moving left and right to clear the rainwater, he could see the long stretching road.
Though he hadn’t been told exactly where they were headed, he felt it would be a nice place. All the places Ho Munbeom had taken him to had been nice so far. Including the hotel room.
He had intended to stay awake until they arrived, but it wasn’t as easy as he thought. The warm air blowing from somewhere, the stable driving, and Ho Munbeom’s presence beside him — all these things gave him a sense of security that made his eyelids heavy.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
