#49
Hyun-oh placed Eunsol on the bed and headed straight to the bathroom. His gaze kept returning to the hand Eunsol had pushed away. Yesterday, Eunsol had fallen asleep almost unconsciously, unable to withstand the pouring pheromones. Hyun-oh wondered if that was why Eunsol was frightened by his touch, and it bothered him.
Putting aside his complicated thoughts, he filled the bathtub with warm water.
Though he could have had the servants do this, for some reason, he disliked the idea of others seeing Eunsol’s naked body. Especially with his marks left all over that white skin.
“Come here. I’ll help you wash.”
When he came out of the bathroom, Eunsol was hugging his knees with both arms. With his forehead resting on his folded arms, his already thin body looked even smaller as he curled up tightly.
Hyun-oh had even told him to rest with a pillow propped against the bed headboard to avoid straining his back. Yet Eunsol was curled up like a frightened child, as if he wasn’t in pain.
“I…”
At the soft voice falling on top of his head, Eunsol lifted his face. Though he wasn’t crying, his large eyes were still full of fear.
Hyun-oh felt more suffocated than when Eunsol had pushed his hand away. Even though he was only wearing a robe with nothing constricting his neck, his hand reflexively went to his throat as if he were wearing a tie.
“If you have something to say, say it.”
This time, instead of forcibly lifting Eunsol, Hyun-oh sat on the edge of the bed. Eunsol’s head was tilted far back as he looked up at him.
Eunsol’s gaze, which had been directed high into the air, stopped at a position slightly above Hyun-oh’s eye level.
“I have a request…”
At the word “request,” a strange light passed over Hyun-oh’s eyes. It was the first time Eunsol had asked him for anything. According to Kim Myungjun, he often made requests to secretaries and servants.
In fact, he had heard that there was talk among the servants because Eunsol would use polite, suggestive forms for things he could simply order.
It wasn’t a bad thing, but it wasn’t good to appear too easy-going to subordinates either. So Hyun-oh had considered speaking to Eunsol about his word choices but decided to leave it as it was.
By nature, Eunsol was very shy with strangers. He was still shy even with Hyun-oh. Even after sharing a deeper time than usual last night.
Hyun-oh was planning to reinstate Song Do-ye after administering appropriate disciplinary action. He could clearly see that Eunsol would be uncomfortable for some time if he changed his secretary.
Only long-term employees frequented the house. They seemed to treat Eunsol with the same appropriate respect and distance as they did Hyun-oh.
From Hyun-oh’s position, with many enemies around him, he had to be much more careful when selecting people to bring into the house. Fortunately, he had heard that they were treating the docile Eunsol with more respect rather than looking down on him, so he didn’t particularly feel the need to address that issue.
Hyun-oh fixed his gaze on the small lips, wondering what Eunsol wanted to ask of him. Seeing the wounded lips, he felt a surge of desire to wash him quickly and apply ointment, but he restrained himself.
“Could I… not take contraceptives…?”
Even after mentioning that he had a request, Eunsol continued to fidget with his fingers, hands clasped together for quite some time. Then he said those words in a small voice.
Hyun-oh’s eyebrows twisted. The request from Eunsol’s mouth was something he hadn’t expected at all.
The black eyes trembled slightly as they looked past Hyun-oh. Hyun-oh turned his head following Eunsol’s gaze. The medicine box he had brought was sitting conspicuously on the bedside table.
Eunsol’s Adam’s apple moved significantly from bottom to top. After Hyun-oh entered the bathroom, Eunsol had quickly discovered the medicine box.
Eunsol’s fists clenched. His palms, already full of red marks, throbbed with pain as pressure was applied again.
His fingertips turned as white as the color of the medicine box. Eunsol realized that what he had expected had finally come. As he had predicted, Hyun-oh had left the room to find medicine to give him.
Even if he had hidden in the dressing room before Hyun-oh returned to the bedroom, the result would likely have been the same. Eunsol was in a position where he would have to take contraceptives if Hyun-oh demanded it.
So Eunsol decided to be brave.
If last night wasn’t a one-time occurrence but a beginning, there might be moments in the future when Hyun-oh and he would join bodies. He couldn’t tremble with fear every time that happened.
The biggest problem was that Eunsol had pushed away Hyun-oh’s hand. His body had reacted first, unconsciously, regardless of his will.
If this state continued, the normal married life Eunsol had hoped for would become an illusion he could never grasp. Because Hyun-oh wouldn’t keep Eunsol by his side if he continued to reject him.
Perhaps Eunsol would be divorced and abandoned by Hyun-oh earlier than expected. With that thought, Eunsol had no choice but to make this presumptuous request to Hyun-oh.
Eunsol anxiously waited for Hyun-oh’s answer. Each time he had the illusion of hearing the ticking of a clock in his ears, the inside of his mouth burned.
“…Contraceptives.”
At the low voice, Eunsol shrunk his neck. Hyun-oh was repeating what Eunsol had said with an expression as if he’d been hit on the back of the head.
“I didn’t expect you to be thinking about that.”
Hyun-oh’s calm gaze turned to the small head. Eunsol’s words brought back a forgotten memory. The day they had drawn up the contract.
Hyun-oh didn’t want children. While his childhood wasn’t particularly unfortunate enough to be special, he didn’t have happy memories he would want to return to either.
Above all, Hyun-oh had no intention whatsoever of passing on what he had achieved to his child.
What he had achieved was for him to enjoy in his generation. He didn’t want to hand it to someone else and hope that his will would be carried on after his death.
The biggest reason was that Hyun-oh had never felt the thought or desire to impregnate someone with his seed. And if he had wanted descendants, he wouldn’t have registered his marriage with Eunsol.
Hyun-oh’s gaze fell toward where Eunsol’s stomach was. As if the gaze were a threat, Eunsol raised both hands to wrap around his thin stomach. That again gave Hyun-oh a strange feeling.
“Does Lee Eunsol think there’s a possibility you could become pregnant?”
That would have been a story if Eunsol’s pheromone level had been higher. Or if he were female.
“That’s…”
Hyun-oh was genuinely curious about what was going on in Eunsol’s mind. Eunsol was a male omega. And one with a markedly low pheromone level at that.
The fact that Hyun-oh, who didn’t want children, chose Eunsol was partly influenced by his low pheromone level. He had no intention of taking someone with a high pheromone level as his spouse, like Eunsol’s half-brother, for the same reason.
He had mentioned contraception, but that was just something he said in passing. In reality, the chance of Eunsol becoming pregnant naturally was less than 1 percent.
And the two had only spent last night together.
While Eunsol had lost consciousness, Hyun-oh had to endure alone for a long time afterward. If Hyun-oh had truly intended to impregnate Eunsol, he would still be embracing his body now.
He had embraced Eunsol yesterday because Eunsol had suddenly gone into heat. Hyun-oh had slept with him only because, as a spouse, he had a duty to suppress Eunsol’s heat cycle.
Hyun-oh simply organized his complicated feelings that way.
“I’ll leave the decision about contraceptives to Lee Eunsol. It wouldn’t be right for me to force you to take them.”
Eunsol blinked his eyes slowly. There was no sign of trouble on Hyun-oh’s face as he looked at him. He really seemed to believe that Eunsol wouldn’t get pregnant.
After the issue that had been tearing apart Eunsol’s heart had been resolved so well, he should have felt relieved. Eunsol pressed his hand gently against his stinging heart.
“…Thank you.”
But there was only one thing Eunsol could say. He was in a position where he had no choice but to follow Hyun-oh’s decisions. In any case, Hyun-oh had essentially granted Eunsol’s request.
After Eunsol’s expression of gratitude, a strange silence lingered between them.
Instead of continuing the uncomfortable conversation, Hyun-oh did what he needed to do. He stood up and extended his hand toward Eunsol.
“Let’s get you washed now. You must be very uncomfortable.”
Eunsol looked at the large hand extended to him with trembling eyes before carefully reaching out. Hyun-oh firmly grasped the small hand, which felt as weightless as a feather, and pulled Eunsol up in one motion.
The black eyes widened. It was because his body tilted forward sharply, unable to maintain balance. However, Hyun-oh easily lifted Eunsol’s collapsing body and headed to the bathroom.
Looking down, he could see round earlobes that had turned as red as they possibly could. With his head still bowed deeply, his facial expression wasn’t clearly visible.
“Tell me if it’s too hot.”
He had adjusted the water temperature to what felt moderately warm to him, but it could be hot for Eunsol. In response to the seemingly indifferent yet considerate words, Eunsol only shook his head.
His body, overworked throughout the night, sank deeply into the warm water. Having been in Hyun-oh’s arms with a naked body until now, being submerged in water, albeit transparent, made him feel like the heat filling his face was subsiding somewhat.
“I can… do this alone now…”
Eunsol whispered softly when it seemed Hyun-oh wouldn’t leave even after lowering him into the bathtub. The idea of Hyun-oh attending to his bath was unthinkable.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
