PAO 57

It was not the aftereffects of sex. Rather, it was more because of the overwhelming feeling of being left all alone in the pitch-black villa.

“Is no one here?”

Seowon raised his voice as he moved forward. He did so in the hopes that someone—actually, that Junghoo—would answer.

If I knew this would happen, I shouldn’t have fallen asleep when I was getting a piggyback ride from Yoo Taeha.

In a situation full of regrets and what-ifs, Seowon was about to call for Junghoo again when he felt the floor disappear and held his breath.

As the floor supporting his body vanished, he fell forward, unable to catch his center of gravity that was shifting forward, but….

A familiar embrace caught Seowon.

Another reason he realized the owner of that embrace was Junghoo was because of the familiar pheromones.

Seowon, held in his arms, let out a long sigh.

“It’s a relief even when I can’t see you.”

So this is how good pheromones are.

“Look at this.”

Seowon muttered, lifting only his head from Junghoo’s embrace.

“I feel at ease because of your pheromones.”

“You almost fell, and you can say that?”

“You caught me.”

Was that all? It had also kindly let him know that the one who caught him was Junghoo.

“The fact that I can feel you without hearing or speaking….”

The lights that had been out from the power outage flickered on in an instant.

“Are you kids okay? The power went out in this area….”

Even at Yoo Taeha’s loud voice as he came inside, Seowon did not turn his gaze away from Junghoo.

“It’s the pheromones.”

Staring intently into Junghoo’s eyes, Seowon continued the rest of his sentence.

“Now my five senses don’t just see, hear, and taste you. I can also feel you.”

“You can feel me?”

“Yes. Not only is your face handsome, but your pheromones are handsome too. It’s to the point where I want to keep smelling them.”

At Seowon’s explanation, a red flush gradually rose on Junghoo’s face.

“I’m saying it’s a relief that I can smell your pheromones from you.”

He wanted to tell him that the pheromones, which were like a threat that could have taken his life at any moment, came to him with a different meaning.

“Of course, they’re wicked pheromones to you, but I like them.”

Seowon took a step back from Junghoo and placed a hand on the railing. Then he turned his body and “unfroze” the frozen Yoo Taeha.

“You said you’d be nearby. You said you’d leave just Junghoo and me here alone.”

“Oh, right. I did.”

He couldn’t bring himself to say that he had run over in a mad dash because of the power outage, and he awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

“Fortunately, the power came back on.”

“Right. It did.”

Yoo Taeha also looked at the few lights that had come on in the vicinity before awkwardly turning away.

“The refrigerator must have power now too, right? What if the food went bad?”

Towards Yoo Taeha, who couldn’t find the refrigerator right away even after entering the kitchen, Seowon kindly pointed out, “To the right.”

“Oh, right.”

Yoo Taeha, who finally found the refrigerator and opened the door, closed it right away.

“There’s only water and alcohol.”

“It’s a relief there was nothing that could go bad.”

“Oh, right. It’s a relief.”

Yoo Taeha, who kept repeating the same words like a parrot, realized his pathetic state and let the tension drain from his body.

“Forget it. What’s the point of pretending I’m not?”

He figured there was no point in trying to hide his fluster after hearing Seowon’s straightforward words towards Junghoo.

Yoo Taeha gave Seowon a thumbs-up and clapped. As if he were even more moved from having unintentionally heard everything Seowon said to Junghoo, Yoo Taeha’s mouth split into a wide grin.

“Amazing. You’re the best.”

“Thank you.”

“Yeah. Hey, take good care of that spaced-out guy over there. It seems like there’s no major problem, so I’ll be going.”

Yoo Taeha pointed to Junghoo, who was leaning against the wall, with a casual wave of his hand and disappeared.

Seowon, who watched Yoo Taeha leave while leaning on the railing, contemplated for a moment.

‘Take care of him…’

He was standing there blankly as if a screw had come loose from just one word of his, but.

After finishing his contemplation, Seowon draped his waist over the railing as if hanging a blanket. If he hit the floor from here and used the rebound to tilt his center of gravity to one side….

Thwack.

Junghoo caught Seowon’s body. One hand was on his waist, and the other hand caught his shoulder, preventing him from falling over, and Seowon grinned.

“I knew this would happen.”

Even if he acted like he was out of his mind, he thought that in the end, he would catch him.

“Is there any need for me to take care of him? He’s the one taking care of me….”

He realized it even better while going through Junghoo’s rut. That he would never try to harm him. Even with all that great medical equipment, they could not treat Junghoo, but the biggest reason he was able to endure was thanks to Junghoo’s willpower. That was why, more than anything else, he could trust and rely on the fact that Junghoo cared for him.

“Let’s go to the room.”

At Seowon’s murmur, Junghoo immediately supported him and headed for the room.

“I must be crazy.”

Yoo Taeha muttered regretfully, repeatedly grabbing and releasing his hair. He should have just assumed they were fine even if the power went out at the villa, but he could not.

“It’s not just Junghoo, Seowon is there too…. With that resourceful Han Seowon there, what was I worried about?”

Wasn’t Seowon the most reliable person of all?

And if he wasn’t feeling well, Junghoo could take care of him again.

“Still, it’s a relief I didn’t see anything more.”

Yoo Taeha was about to think it was okay since he only heard Seowon’s seductive words, but he was overcome with skepticism and covered his eyes.

“I must never go there next time.”

He was letting it slide because of his cousin, but it was when he was vowing not to go until they actually contacted him.

“What are you doing here?”

“What is it?”

Startled by the person who had suddenly appeared, Yoo Taeha stopped in his tracks. An unexpected person had shown up. It was unlikely he was just passing by, and seeing as he had come all the way into the mountains, he was an opponent with a clear purpose.

“I came because I heard Yoo Junghoo is here.”

The person Sung Hangyul had come to find was indeed Yoo Junghoo.

Yoo Taeha looked at Sung Hangyul with a complicated gaze.

“Doctor Yoo, no, Taeha.”

“Yes, sunbae-nim.”

The moment Sung Hangyul dropped the formalities, Yoo Taeha swallowed dryly as if he were nervous.

“I don’t like being deceived.”

“I’m sorry, but I cannot carelessly disclose information about my patient.”

He thus put up a firm wall, hoping he would not show any more interest, but….

“Interesting.”

Far from being offended, Sung Hangyul smiled and approached. He came walking leisurely towards Yoo Taeha with a face full of excitement, as if something fun had happened for the first time in a while.

“Taeha.”

As if taking a stroll, Sung Hangyul stepped onto the mountain path with great ease.

“You haven’t forgotten who the Omega was that was exposed to Junghoo’s pheromones, have you?”

“….”

“And you would also know that I was his attending physician until Junghoo was discharged.”

At the thorny words Sung Hangyul nonchalantly uttered, Yoo Taeha caressed his own neck. It felt as if an invisible hand was squeezing his throat.

“And you’re going to keep a secret from me?”

“That is….”

“Is he over there?”

Sung Hangyul pointed to the villa with his eyes, and Yoo Taeha wordlessly nodded his head. The initiative had already been handed over, so even if he had a mouth, he had nothing to say.

“He had an examination last time, but I think a follow-up test will be necessary, so I’m going to take him.”

“That!”

However, he had no choice but to open his mouth at the words that Sung Hangyul would take Yoo Junghoo.

“You stay put. I’ll take care of it myself.”

“Sunbae-nim! Seowon asked me to wait. So just a little….”

“Yoo Taeha.”

Sung Hangyul shot him a cold glare, indicating he would not accept his opinion.

“I’m taking him tomorrow morning, so be aware of that.”

So he came here with it already decided. At Sung Hangyul’s resolve, which had erected a wall even stronger than his own, Yoo Taeha let out a deep sigh.

‘I’m sorry.’

I’m counting on you.

Sending an apology and trust, not knowing to whom he was speaking.