PAO 16

“What in the world happened to you?”

“If you’re going to keep beating around the bush, I’m going to flip this thing over and leave.”

He had been patient enough. Yoo Taeha had been muttering to himself for over 30 minutes, and Junghoo truly felt like flipping everything upside down. But Yoo Taeha had his reasons.

“All of your levels have stabilized.”

“So?”

“What?”

“What’s the big deal about that?”

In reality, Junghoo could feel the state of his own body more clearly than Yoo Taeha, who was just looking at the results. When he woke up, his headache had noticeably lessened.

“You might seem perfectly fine right now, but this is a really amazing thing. You know, up until now, the only times your condition showed improvement were when your pheromones were completely extracted, or when…”

Yoo Taeha, speaking with an agitated face, belatedly found Junghoo’s nonchalant reaction strange.

“Do you know the reason?”

“I slept with Seowon.”

Junghoo replied as if it were nothing. However, judging by how he took it, Yoo Taeha was more than just pleased.

“To do something like that in a hospital… still, considering your condition, I’ll let it slide just this once. Good job.”

“What are you talking about?”

As Junghoo looked at Yoo Taeha like he was a pervert, he realized they were on different pages.

“We slept. We just held each other and slept.”

Junghoo clarified curtly and mentioned the reason for his improved condition.

“I’ve always wanted to hold him and sleep at least once, so I’m probably in a good mood because that wish came true.”

It wasn’t for nothing that they said stress was the root of all illness. That’s how much the body’s influence from one’s mood could not be ignored. Junghoo was referring to that.

“He didn’t say anything even when I touched his waist as much as I wanted. Seowon’s waist is smooth and slender. That’s why my mouth watered every time I saw it, but…”

“Patient Yoo Junghoo, this is a hospital.”

Yoo Taeha drew a line as if he didn’t want to hear it. Then he went back to being a cousin and clicked his tongue.

“Well, it’s not like you’d actually sleep with Seowon, whom you hold so precious.”

Not only was Seowon not an Omega, but Junghoo would never lay a hand on him for fear he might lose his reason to the pheromones and hurt him.

“But for an effect based on mood, your levels are quite stable.”

At Yoo Taeha’s muttering, which had started up again, Junghoo stood up from his seat. The way he grabbed the underside of the corner of the desk looked like he was about to flip it over, so Yoo Taeha hastily pressed down on the desk. That temper of his, really.

“Anyway, next time will be really dangerous. This time your levels stabilized for whatever reason, but next time it’s going to hit you even harder. As you know, we haven’t properly extracted them until now, so even I don’t know how you’ll react.”

Yoo Taeha quickly glanced at Junghoo’s expression and poured out his words in a rush. It would have been better if he’d said it that way from the start, but he had hesitated because he knew Junghoo would never listen to what came next.

“It’s subsided this time so nothing will happen for a while, but the time after that, you’ll really die. You’re a ticking time bomb right now!”

“Then I’ll just die.”

“Dying would be better. You’ll become a madman. Do you want to show Seowon that side of you? You’ll be walking around releasing pheromones like a lunatic, you hear? Wh-whoa? Don’t!”

Yoo Taeha shouted desperately. The desk was already rattling, which meant Junghoo was putting his strength into it.

His body is in pain because of the built-up pheromones, so why is he so strong? Yoo Taeha pressed down on the desk with all his might and met Junghoo’s eyes.

“Let’s schedule a time and extract them.”

“No.”

“Then through sex?”

“Not happening.”

“Ah, damn it. What do you want me to do?”

“I’m not doing anything.”

“I’m telling you, you’ll die if you don’t! Have sex. You can just do it by releasing your pheromones a little at a time, just a little. Of course, if that were possible, this wouldn’t have been a problem in the first place, but, ah, anyway. Whoa, whoa whoa whoa? Don’t do it, don’t flip it.”

Yoo Taeha, pressing down on the desk with his whole body as it lifted to a point where he could no longer stop it, was horrified. The computer was on the verge of being destroyed. It wasn’t a clinic day today and the data was backed up to the hospital drive daily, but wrong was wrong. This was no ordinary computer.

“Don’t destroy my alter ego. Hey, you crazy bastard! Is it wrong to tell you to have sex? Huh? Having sex feels good and you won’t die! No, no. Wait a second.”

Unlike that of an ordinary doctor, Yoo Taeha’s effort to protect his all-in-one computer, which was built to the highest specifications, was tear-jerking. Miscellaneous items fell, and just as the last remaining computer was about to topple over—

“Junghoo.”

As the door opened, Seowon’s calm voice was heard, and Junghoo’s movements stopped.

“I knocked, but I don’t think you heard me…”

Seowon, who was about to continue that he had come in to check, took in the scene in the office at a glance. The standoff was stark: Junghoo with one hand braced under the corner of the desk as if to flip it, and Yoo Taeha halfway on top of the desk.

“Are you finished?”

Even though he knew everything, Seowon asked the question as if he hadn’t seen a thing. At that, Junghoo took his hand off the desk and turned toward Seowon. There was a thud as the desk hit the floor, but none of the three men mentioned it.

While Yoo Taeha stood with both hands on the desk, breathing heavily, Junghoo stood next to Seowon.

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

“Did you have a good talk with Taeha hyung?”

“Yeah.”

“Did he say you can be discharged?”

“Yeah.”

Just as their voices in the peaceful conversation were fading away—

“Junghoo, don’t flip desks just because you’re annoyed. Even if he’s your cousin, this is still outside.”

“Then is it okay to flip the one at your place, hyung?”

“That’s up to you.”

With Junghoo’s voice turning bright right after Seowon’s comment, their conversation could no longer be heard.

“Are you all right, sir?”

A nurse, who had been worried by the commotion she heard from inside, poked her head in. Yoo Taeha, who had been frozen with his body leaning on the desk until then, let out a sigh. Hoo.

“From now on, if that patient comes, call him into a different examination room.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Ah, and…”

Yoo Taeha called out to the nurse who was just turning away.

“Yes, sir?”

“Did you hear everything I shouted?”

“Um…”

The nurse couldn’t meet Yoo Taeha’s eyes.

“Just the part about telling him to extract it, or not to destroy your alter ego?”

She couldn’t bring herself to mention the word ‘sex’.

“So you heard it all. That’s good.”

She didn’t know what was good about it, but the nurse no longer saw Yoo Taeha as a polite doctor.

“You may leave.”

As the nurse hurried away as if embarrassed, Yoo Taeha slowly got down from the desk.

“What am I doing at my age?”

Having to be concerned about his cousin’s sex life, and even having to encourage it.

“Being Yoo Junghoo’s cousin is my sin, my sin.”

Yoo Taeha kneaded his tense shoulders. Then his thoughts suddenly drifted to Seowon.

“What sin did Seowon commit?”