49
Jo Junghyun couldn’t even call his name before dry heaving several more times. Saliva dripped from his open mouth.
The pain was terrible. He couldn’t immediately understand why he was in so much pain, why he was lying in bed now, or why Ji Seunghyeok was looking at him with such concern. When he moved his hand, he saw the IV line shake.
Only then did he realize he was wearing a patient gown with the hospital’s name on it.
Having finally stopped retching, Jo Junghyun pressed one hand against his stinging throat and looked at Ji Seunghyeok. The man started to pat him reassuringly but hesitated and lowered his hand.
“Are you conscious now? You’re in the hospital. You were unconscious for the entire day.”
He explained the situation to Jo Junghyun in a calm voice.
Jo Junghyun carefully looked at the man in front of him with disbelieving eyes.
“My parents paid all the debt, so hyung… I mean, CEO, you… ah, your employee said… that’s why I left…”
He mumbled incoherently, not even understanding what he was saying himself. This was terrible. Ji Seunghyeok wouldn’t be able to understand him either. Jo Junghyun tried to explain properly once more, but Ji Seunghyeok quietly stopped him.
“Junghyun, those people didn’t pay off your debt. And I never intended to break up with you. Whatever you heard was all lies.”
“…Huh?”
A stupid sound escaped his lips.
Jo Junghyun froze for a moment as if turned to stone, then closed his mouth.
“No, but… your employee said that you…”
“Was there anything you heard directly from me?”
“…No.”
Come to think of it, that was true.
He looked at Ji Seunghyeok with confusion. Regardless of what he’d been told by anyone, the fact was that Ji Seunghyeok was beside him now. Moreover, he had even come looking for him at that place.
If he were to consider only the evident facts and disregard everything he’d been told, Ji Seunghyeok hadn’t let him go. Not only that, but Jo Junghyun had caused unnecessary trouble for Ji Seunghyeok because of his own foolish actions.
My God. It couldn’t be. He was so embarrassed.
He felt ashamed for having had such absurd misconceptions.
He wanted the ground to open up and swallow him.
But those thoughts didn’t last long.
Memories of what had happened to him slowly began to surface. His parents receiving money and handing him over to the old man.
His parents, whom he thought had come to find him, had ultimately exchanged him for money. The despair he’d felt then came rushing back with renewed force.
Even the first time he met Ji Seunghyeok was because they had dumped all their burdens on Jo Junghyun and pushed him away. Despite that, he hadn’t fully realized they had abandoned him.
But now it was different.
Even with his eyes closed, he could still see them counting bills, unconcerned whether he was being dragged away or not.
My parents abandoned me.
That fact hit him with painful clarity.
His vision blurred, and he blinked rapidly.
Come to think of it, the old man had said something strange.
About adoption.
What could that have meant? At the time, he wasn’t in a position to ask properly. Jo Junghyun glanced at Ji Seunghyeok. He was tempted to ask if there was a way to find out, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so in this situation, feeling too ashamed.
Could the old man have been mistaken? But there was no reason for him to be wrong. Unless someone had deliberately told him that.
‘The reason for adopting that thing was that, so I won’t need to see it anymore.’
He recalled the old man’s words. From the beginning, whether Jo Junghyun was adopted or whatever, he was probably outside the old man’s sphere of interest. Yes, the old man seemed only interested in tormenting him.
Another memory surfaced in Jo Junghyun’s mind, following one after another.
The image of himself panting, surrounded by strangers, in heat from the pheromones.
It was humiliating, shameful, and embarrassing. And above all, he was afraid that Ji Seunghyeok might have been disgusted by him. Jo Junghyun bit his lip and tried to move a little away from Ji Seunghyeok, but any effort was futile on the bed.
“D-did you see?”
“See what?”
“Th-that, me, there, that… did you see?”
His body had heated with lust, and he’d been moving his hips even in that terrible situation.
Dominated by pheromones, he had shown such an animalistic side—surely it had repulsed him. The futile wish to melt away and disappear grew stronger. What must Ji Seunghyeok have thought seeing him like that?
The blanket crumpled in Jo Junghyun’s hand.
Perhaps affected by the extreme stress, the nausea that had subsided came rushing back again.
“…Ugh.”
His stomach turned once more. He twisted his body at the pain that felt like his insides were being torn apart. He covered his mouth with his hand, but couldn’t stop the retching sounds. The pain was so severe that tears flowed involuntarily.
A nurse rushed into the hospital room, having been called at some point. She grabbed the connected line and was doing something, and suddenly Jo Junghyun’s consciousness began to fade. Strength drained from his entire body, and he couldn’t think clearly. Even the pain that had been raging inside his body suddenly couldn’t be felt anymore.
* * *
Ji Seunghyeok’s jaw twitched as he looked down at Jo Junghyun, who had quietly fallen asleep after being given a sedative.
One side of his pale face was swollen and purplish-red, making his original face shape unrecognizable. He carefully removed the strands of hair stuck to Jo Junghyun’s face, which was covered in cold sweat from the pain.
Jo Junghyun had been beaten severely enough to rupture his eardrums.
His fist, clenched tight enough to make his joints protrude, trembled.
Since bringing the unconscious and collapsed Jo Junghyun to the hospital, he hadn’t received any reports. He could only understand the situation through occasional text messages.
Believing that Jeong Taejun and the employees were handling things well, he stayed by Jo Junghyun’s side.
When they arrived at the hospital, the attending physician immediately hardened his expression, asking what on earth had happened upon seeing Jo Junghyun. Ji Seunghyeok handed an envelope to the doctor, who was about to report to the police, saying he would handle the aftermath himself. After checking the contents, the doctor cleared his throat once, put the envelope inside his coat, and began various examinations.
He explained that the omega pheromones injected in drug form and the artificial alpha pheromones had collided, affecting Jo Junghyun’s stabilizing pheromones and nearly putting him in grave danger. Fortunately, Ji Seunghyeok’s pheromones, which had previously interacted with Jo Junghyun, had pushed out the other pheromones, helping him overcome the crisis. The doctor hesitated briefly before carefully adding that there was a high probability of aftereffects.
Seeing Jo Junghyun lying there connected to various devices, Ji Seunghyeok vividly felt what it meant to “see red.” At first, even the presence of a guardian was rejected, but the doctor finally permitted him to stay by Jo Junghyun’s side after seeing Ji Seunghyeok’s alarming state.
The doctor made sure to give a stern warning that Jo Junghyun’s unstable condition could be endangered even by Ji Seunghyeok’s pheromones.
He had stared endlessly at Jo Junghyun, who was lying there with a pallid complexion and bloodless lips.
He was sleeping so deeply that Ji Seunghyeok checked multiple times if he was still alive by placing his hand under Jo Junghyun’s nose.
He hesitated to touch him for fear that his pheromones might leak out.
Anxious about having a negative impact on Jo Junghyun, he checked his own pheromone state repeatedly.
That time of simply watching Jo Junghyun lying there, unable to do anything, was nothing short of hell.
“I came after receiving your call. You’re Jo Junghyun-ssi’s guardian, correct?”
“Yes.”
A doctor who entered the private room spoke while examining the chart.
“We’ve administered medication to address the immediate concern. The pheromone levels have almost stabilized. However, since he nearly went into pheromone shock, it will take some time for his pheromones to properly stabilize.”
“When will he be alright?”
“Ah, I can’t say for certain… The omega pheromones administered to Jo Junghyun-ssi were for dominant omegas, so it might take longer. The alpha pheromones he inhaled were also artificial and quite potent. Fortunately, the extremely dominant alpha pheromones were immediately administered, preventing greater damage, but the side effects from excess pheromone supply and pheromone collision are unavoidable. Until then, he may experience nausea and vomiting like now. All we can do is administer painkillers. We can’t use pheromone sedatives because Jo Junghyun-ssi’s pheromone state isn’t good right now. It’s best for his pheromones to stabilize naturally, but if the patient consents, we can use pheromone sedatives.”
“How much strain would that put on his body?”
“Well…”
The doctor shifted his gaze away from Ji Seunghyeok and blinked a couple of times.
“These days, pheromone sedatives are so well-developed that there are almost no side effects. The question is whether to endure milder pain for a longer time or stronger pain for a shorter time. The choice is up to the patient. Of course, if it becomes too difficult for him, we can administer narcotic painkillers.”
“Milder? You call what he’s going through right now mild?”
“Ah, that’s… a comparative statement.”
The doctor added an explanation, somewhat flustered.
Ji Seunghyeok gritted his teeth again. If this was considered mild, he couldn’t even imagine how intense the stronger pain would be.
He was someone who rarely deliberated over decisions. His desires were always clear, and he never hesitated. Ji Seunghyeok moistened his lips once.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
