PAO 56

Yoo Taeha, who had no intention of hiding it in the first place, clicked his tongue and answered. Until now, he had only briefly explained what had happened over the phone. However, now his uncle would want to hear in detail about Junghoo’s condition.

“Go and tell him, and on your way back, buy some groceries. Buy soft foods that Seowon can eat. Don’t forget a cake, either.”

“Alright. The on-call squad is leaving.”

Yoo Taeha waved his hand as if he had given up on everything and left the room. The only sound in the quieted room was Seowon’s even breathing. Junghoo looked down at Seowon’s face endlessly, then carefully caressed the fingers that were outside the blanket. He paused to catch his breath, fiddling with the bones that could be felt beneath the soft skin.

Brushing back Seowon’s hair, he lightly stroked his face. Junghoo, who even had a faint smile, carefully called his name.

“Seowon.”

At Junghoo’s call, Seowon’s closed eyelids trembled slightly, but he did not open his eyes. Junghoo, who called the sleeping boy several times, pulled up the blanket and covered him. In addition, Junghoo also lay down next to Seowon. Then, he preciously stroked Seowon’s shoulder, neck, cheek, and ear—all of him.

“Sleep well.”

Making up for all the sleep he could not get properly until now. Junghoo, who was gently stroking Seowon’s sunken eye sockets, released his pheromones. So that the cozy pheromones would envelop Seowon’s body….

Waking from sleep, Seowon stared blankly at the ceiling for a moment before sitting up. He watched the arm that had been pressing on his chest slide off, and when he turned his head, Junghoo was sleeping next to him.

He had felt so stuffy, as if he had been rolled up tightly in a blanket like a kimbap roll while sleeping, and this guy was the cause.

He lifted Junghoo’s arm and put it inside the blanket. Although the air conditioner was running, he tightly covered him up to his neck with the blanket, with the thought of, wake up from the heat.

Seowon, who had roughly dealt with the sleeping Junghoo, turned his body. He noticed that the IV on the back of his hand had been removed at some point, so it seemed quite a bit of time had passed.

His back was stiff, and that unmentionable place still felt like the sensation hadn’t fully returned, but other than that, he was doing pretty well.

As soon as he thought that he could at least sit up at this point, Seowon picked up his phone and called Yoo Taeha.

“Where are you?”

—I’m on the first floor.

“Please help me a bit. There’s somewhere I have to go.”

Seowon carefully got out of bed and, very slowly and quietly, left the room.

“It has been a while.”

Yoo Younghan, as if he had not heard Seowon’s greeting, checked his complexion first. He had heard about the children from Yoo Taeha. Junghoo had collapsed, and it was Seowon who had fully handled him.

The contrast between his deathly pale face and his swollen red lips made Seowon look pitiful.

He had wanted to see him right away, but he could have waited until Seowon’s body got better. The area under his eyes was also haggard, showing signs of his illness, so it was surprising that Seowon had asked to see him first.

“You don’t look well, you should have rested more and then contacted me.”

“You wouldn’t believe me even if I said I’m okay, right?”

“I’d believe you if you had the face for it.”

To think he would try to say he was fine with a face that looked like a ghost floating around. At Yoo Younghan’s disbelief, Seowon wiped his face. Since rubbing his dry face did nothing to improve it, Seowon gave up and lowered his hands.

“There is something I need to tell you. I will just say that and then go rest.”

“Do that.”

His worry was brief; to hear the reason he had moved despite the strain, Yoo Younghan waited for Seowon to speak.

The reason he had left Junghoo behind.

The words that had to be said where Junghoo was not present.

“I want to be with Junghoo during the vacation.”

Seowon revealed what he wanted, but Yoo Younghan could not answer readily. His expression became serious, and it was not as if he did not know why.

“I know you want to have Junghoo examined as soon as he wakes up.”

Was that all he knew?

Seowon himself had told Junghoo the same thing. He wanted to get him examined right away, and he wanted to get a checkup and treatment for himself at the same time, by his side.

If he was like this, how much more so would Yoo Younghan be? He knew without seeing that he had not been able to rest his heart at all since Junghoo’s presentation. Knowing that he would want to confirm his son was safe, Seowon had come to see him in person.

“Please wait for two months. After that, I will send Junghoo.”

At Seowon’s request, Yoo Younghan could not make a decision easily.

“Don’t you think you should go to the hospital too?”

Junghoo was a concern, but Seowon’s condition, which he was seeing with his own eyes, was just as bad.

“Don’t even mention it. I can’t even get up on my own right now. I feel like I’ll collapse right away.”

Even while sounding weak, Seowon did not withdraw the request he had made. It was because his desire to be with Junghoo right now was greater than having him examined. Since what they each wanted was different, Yoo Younghan, instead of giving a definite answer, wanted to know Seowon’s inner thoughts.

“May I ask why?”

“That is….”

Unlike when he said he wanted to be with Junghoo, Seowon hesitated for the first time. He was speaking as if it was nothing now, but he was very embarrassed to talk about something a little more personal.

“Please do as Seowon says.”

It was then. An ally entered, as if he had noticed Seowon’s predicament.

“Taeha.”

Yoo Taeha, who opened the door and came in, glanced at Seowon’s face once before speaking to Yoo Younghan.

“Junghoo is fine. I checked with the patch I brought. He won’t collapse for about two months.”

Yoo Taeha held out his phone to Yoo Younghan with something displayed on it.

“This is the value that came out from inputting the test results. The pheromone stability level isn’t bad either.”

“Then is the danger completely over?”

“That… no.”

Yoo Taeha shook his head.

“It probably hasn’t been long since Seowon decided to be with him. Before that, I think he would have only thought about it.”

Yoo Taeha gave Seowon a look as if asking if that was not the case. Seowon did not deny that he had seen through him.

“Since there are pheromones that have built up over time, they probably won’t all be released at once. Furthermore, Junghoo also needs time to be able to control them. Looking at it that way, there are no better conditions than staying at the villa.”

The person who decided to be with Junghoo was Seowon, but the one explaining the more concrete reason was Yoo Taeha.

“And….”

Yoo Taeha put his phone in his pocket and looked at Seowon, who was sitting quietly and occasionally unable to hide his signs of difficulty.

“There must be built-up emotions between Junghoo and Seowon too.”

If that could be calculated as a number, would it not be comparable to the pheromone level?

Seowon, whose head was not working well due to his poor physical condition, broke into a relaxed smile at Yoo Taeha’s clear explanation.

From being called as an on-call squad to being an ally. Bringing Yoo Taeha was truly the best thing he had done. Now, only Yoo Younghan’s answer remained. If he insisted on taking Junghoo, Seowon was thinking of not holding on any longer.

“Do that.”

Fortunately, Yoo Younghan’s permission was granted, and Seowon expressed his happiness by gently clapping his hands.

“Instead, call me anytime if there is an emergency.”

“I understand.”

Wanting to go to Junghoo’s side as soon as possible, Seowon gave Yoo Younghan a light bow and stood up.

“You might fall. Let’s go together.”

Yoo Taeha grabbed Seowon’s arm to prepare for any potential danger and gave Yoo Younghan a nod.

Meanwhile, Seowon, who had come outside, leaned completely on Yoo Taeha.

“Hyung.”

“Yeah.”

“Could you please give me a piggyback ride?”

At Seowon’s bold request, Yoo Taeha looked up at the ceiling for a moment and sighed, then bent his body.

“Get on.”

“Thank you.”

Seowon latched onto Yoo Taeha’s back without refusal. He thought he was fine after sleeping for quite a long time, but even so, as he kept moving, he could feel his stamina quickly depleting.

“But I do know that it’s because of releasing Junghoo’s pheromones….”

As Yoo Taeha’s question was felt through their touching bodies, Seowon turned his head and leaned against him.

“Do you have a next plan too?”

“Next?”

“Well, I’m talking about after you’ve released all of Junghoo’s pheromones.”

“I wonder.”

Seowon rested his chin on Yoo Taeha’s shoulder and became lost in thought. After Junghoo is all better? He had never thought about something like that….

“Won’t I think of it then?”

“So you have no plan.”

“Well, that’s that. Anyway, right now I’m only thinking of hanging out with Junghoo at the villa.”

He needed time to be alone with Junghoo, and he got permission from Yoo Younghan, so that was that. If he had been rejected with the excuse of an examination, he felt like he would never be able to get a chance like this again. Coming back to the villa was possible at any time, but a once-broken mood could not be mended.

“On this occasion, I’ll also have the talks I couldn’t have with Junghoo….”

Seowon’s eyes drooped as he mentioned the things he wanted to do while being with Junghoo. Yoo Taeha, who felt his voice fade and the strength in the hand that was holding his neck rapidly drain, leaned his upper body further forward. Tightly holding Seowon in case he fell, he let out a deep sigh.

“Then do I have to keep waiting?”

When would he be able to return to his daily life.

Waking from a deep sleep, Seowon rubbed his eyes as he looked at the dark surroundings.

“It’s dark.”

If it were not for the lights that had been left on one by one, the villa, being in the mountains, would be extremely dark.

“What time is it.”

Seowon got up and felt around him, but his phone was not there. Seeing that there was nothing placed on the bedside table either, he got up from the spot altogether.

“Yoo Junghoo.”

As he went out to the living room where the wall clock was, he looked around, relying on the lights, but Junghoo was nowhere to be seen.

Am I alone in the villa? Even though he could not see him, he tried to smell Junghoo’s pheromones floating in the air, but he could not feel anything.

“Did he go out?”

Along with Seowon’s mumble, even the lights went out.

“Huh?”

It was so dark he could not see anything, as if it were a power outage. In the darkness where he could not take even a single step, Seowon became flustered and felt for the wall. Using the wall as a support, he moved forward, roughly estimating the length of the hallway, but his heart was pounding and his whole body was trembling.