#43
Pain blossomed from his tongue as he spoke, but all he could think about was Hyun-oh. With his sluggish mind, Eunsol thought that Hyun-oh might still be at the party venue. While Eunsol had so little presence that no one would notice his absence, Hyun-oh was essentially the host of the party. The moment he recalled the omega who matched well with Hyun-oh like a perfect couple, unlike himself, tears that had filled his eyes suddenly fell.
Eunsol bit his quivering lip. He couldn’t even leave the bed. It was because his body kept swaying even while sitting.
In the midst of his disorientation, his arm that had felt a sharp pain came into his wavering vision. It seemed like a sharp needle had pierced his arm at some point. Getting an unexpected injection wasn’t all. Someone had changed his clothes, yet Eunsol couldn’t even put up any resistance.
Though they had only changed his uncomfortable suit while leaving his underwear on, Eunsol still felt embarrassed. He tried to push away the approaching hands, but all he could manage was a slight twitch of his fingertips.
He felt suffocated by the boiling heat rising within him. It was the kind that would be soothed if he met Hyun-oh. But he kept confirming the fact that Hyun-oh wasn’t here right now.
“Hnngh…”
Eunsol practically threw himself to the floor. Thud—his knees met the hard floor with an ominous sound. His large eyes blinked slowly.
It wasn’t that he didn’t feel pain. But the pain quickly transformed into a different sensation. The dull ache spreading from his knees sent tingling vibrations to his lower abdomen.
He wanted to immerse himself in water right away. It felt as if his entire body was buried in a sticky swamp.
Eunsol’s hands wandered around his waist. While he wanted to strip off his clothes immediately, a shred of reason prevented him from doing so.
He needed to go out to meet Hyun-oh. Although he knew his current state wasn’t presentable, he wanted to see Hyun-oh as soon as possible. Just as Eunsol was dragging his weakened legs toward the door to wait for Hyun-oh at the entrance as usual:
“Mr. Eunsol!”
Kim Myungjun, who had been listening to the doctor’s explanation about Eunsol’s condition before bringing medicine and water to the room, approached him with quick steps in surprise.
Placing the tray he was holding on the bedside table, he knelt on one knee in front of Eunsol.
“You’ll hurt yourself like this. Let me support you back to bed so you can rest properly.”
Kim Myungjun spoke in a calm voice, unable to touch Eunsol carelessly. In his current state, Eunsol could perceive even the touch of others as severe stimulation.
It was the aftermath of being forced into a heat cycle. His teeth gritted at the thought of Han Hyunyong who had put Eunsol in this state.
Kim Myungjun was an alpha, but like Eunsol, his pheromone levels weren’t high. Even so, the amount of pheromones flowing from Eunsol now was so concentrated and alluring that it could shake even Kim Myungjun’s rationality.
The new doctor they had found after Dr. Lee fell out of favor with Hyun-oh was also an alpha. Though not as high as Hyun-oh, his pheromone levels were quite high too.
“…I don’t think I should continue examining him up close. I’ve administered suppressants to lower the pheromone levels, but it’s uncertain how effective they’ll be. This isn’t a naturally occurring heat cycle.”
Those were the words of the doctor who had been examining Eunsol, with a troubled expression. Kim Myungjun could guess what the doctor couldn’t bring himself to say. Just looking at his flushed face, it wasn’t hard to know that he too was being affected by Eunsol’s pheromones.
“The best way to calm the current state is to feel an alpha’s pheromones through a natural process.”
After hearing the doctor’s opinion, Kim Myungjun had to close his eyes tightly for a moment to steady his breathing. As an urgent measure, he had the doctor wait in another room and only obtained medicine that could calm Eunsol’s heat.
After much deliberation, he also sent a text message to Hyun-oh. He had no choice, even if Hyun-oh might think he was overstepping.
After all, Eunsol was currently Hyun-oh’s registered spouse, and as a spouse, one had a moral obligation to soothe their partner’s heat cycle.
“Mr. Kim…”
Just as Kim Myungjun was trying to compose his increasingly rapid breathing and pulling a blanket to wrap around Eunsol. He thought he shouldn’t touch him directly, so he planned to wrap him in a blanket before helping him back to bed.
With a face flushed redder than usual, Eunsol called out to Kim Myungjun. His small voice was rough, as if parched from the heat.
Kim Myungjun paused wrapping Eunsol in the blanket and raised his gaze. After fumbling with his lips for a moment, Eunsol made a desperate request.
“I want… to see Hyun-oh…”
The eyes wet with heat trembled violently the moment Hyun-oh’s name passed his lips. Like a lost child, even in his delirious state, his desire to see Hyun-oh was clearly conveyed to Kim Myungjun.
“…He’ll be here soon if you wait just a little while.”
That’s why Kim Myungjun had to reassure Eunsol, despite not having received any response from Hyun-oh. If he didn’t do at least this much, Eunsol seemed like he would drag his ailing body out of the bedroom no matter what.
Kim Myungjun had occasionally encountered Eunsol waiting at the entrance like a statue for Hyun-oh, when he came home with Hyun-oh after work wasn’t finished.
Each time, he felt unnecessarily sorry toward Eunsol, even though he had done nothing wrong. The guilt of not being able to send Hyun-oh home earlier made a corner of his heart uncomfortable.
Moreover, today Eunsol had nearly suffered a terrible ordeal because of Han Hyunyong.
Even Kim Myungjun, who prioritized Hyun-oh above all else, couldn’t help but soften his heart.
“Do you think so…”
Despite Kim Myungjun’s reassurance, there was no certainty in Eunsol’s voice. He wanted to go find Hyun-oh right away if he could. But neither his physical condition nor the circumstances allowed it, so he wanted to at least wait for him at the entrance to quench his terrible thirst.
“Yes. So please… hold on just a little longer.”
The doctor had added one more thing:
“In the current state, taking suppressants until the heat cycle ends is the only method, but that’s likely to damage the pheromone system. Especially since this person already has low pheromone levels… And if the heat isn’t properly resolved like now, physical abnormalities may occur. Honestly, I can’t even recommend using suppressants if we prioritize the patient’s health. And we’ve already administered one dose of medication.”
Although he didn’t have a chronic illness, Eunsol was originally a person with a weak constitution. Even now, while his face was noticeably red, there was no strength at all in his swaying body.
He had lost consciousness for a while and only opened his eyes because of the persistent heat that wouldn’t subside.
“…Yes.”
Eunsol couldn’t push away Kim Myungjun’s hands. He had been trying to move by practically throwing himself off the bed because he didn’t even have the strength to walk on the floor. Once Kim Myungjun helped him back onto the bed, he didn’t have the strength to move even a fingertip.
Holding onto consciousness as it was being dragged into darkness again was currently the best Eunsol could do.
…He wasn’t certain that Hyun-oh would come.
Even so… he didn’t plan to give up hope.
The heat raging through his body was clearly similar to when a heat cycle came. There was still time left before his heat cycle was due to arrive. It was obvious that his body had been affected by Han Hyunyong’s pheromones.
As the memory of that time surfaced, Eunsol’s body trembled violently.
Thinking Eunsol was cold, Kim Myungjun raised the room temperature, but the trembling of the slender body didn’t decrease—it only became more intense.
“Ugh, hic…”
“Mr. Eunsol?”
Kim Myungjun’s eyes wavered as he was re-covering Eunsol with the blanket that had fallen off as he trembled. Though his face wasn’t clearly visible as he was curled up, the cold sweat forming profusely on the slender nape of his neck was clearly visible.
It seemed something was wrong with his body. Kim Myungjun briefly looked at the medicine placed on the bedside table with conflict. If he gave him this medicine, Eunsol’s seizures might subside.
But the doctor had clearly warned that it could harm Eunsol’s health. Using suppressants on a forcibly induced heat cycle increased the likelihood of side effects.
The deliberation was deep, but the time to make a decision was quick.
Kim Myungjun took out a handkerchief from his pocket, rolled it into a ball, and placed it in Eunsol’s mouth. Currently, Eunsol was twisting his body as if in agony. In this state, there was a possibility that he might accidentally bite his tongue. As it was, Eunsol’s mouth was already full of wounds.
“I’ll be right back.”
After this urgent first aid, Kim Myungjun quickly left the bedroom.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
