TRIPLE 19

“Heat cycle? Then….”

As Siyeon trailed off, looking startled, Chae Yoonoh naturally took over for Beom Yisu.

“Hyung isn’t wrong. But your case is a bit different from a typical partner relationship.”

“Different how?”

“Usually, it’s just meeting up to match the duration of a rut or heat. But since we’re contracting with the premise of pregnancy from the start…”

Chae Yoonoh leaned back loosely against the backrest and added,

“Simply put… you can think of it as an adjustment period.”

Listening to their explanations, I felt like I roughly understood what they meant. So, in simple terms, it was like a sex partner arrangement. It sounded like a medical sex partner arrangement that included therapeutic purposes.

I wondered if I had understood it correctly, but the general meaning seemed similar. Siyeon nodded appropriately, fearing that if he asked any further, he would just end up looking like the only person in the room asking weird questions.

Then, Beom Yisu, who had been looking back and forth between Siyeon and Chae Yoonoh, continued as if summarizing.

“What we, the couple, want is a healthy child without flaws. For that to happen, the probability would be higher if implantation occurs while in a state where sufficient pheromone communion with the mother has been achieved.”

A healthy child without flaws. The moment Beom Yisu uttered those words, Chae Yoonoh’s gaze flickered minutely. The thing he was probably thinking of was the Unhit they had talked about that morning. Even though it wasn’t my fault, Siyeon swallowed the feeling of his mouth going dry for no reason.

“I understand what you mean. You want us to adjust to each other before having a child, right? That communion, or whatever you call it.”

It wouldn’t be for romantic reasons like our hearts connecting first. Like he said, it sounded like they wanted to proceed with physical contact for the sake of better genetics. If that meaning was correct, there was no room to refute Beom Yisu’s subsequent words.

But does this mean I have to be holed up in this house, rubbing shoulders with this couple all day? Although I came to the mansion to give birth to a child, I had no intention of living like livestock just for that purpose.

“Then I’d like us to set a proper time, like… maybe about 30 minutes every day?”

Siyeon suggested it first, glancing around tentatively. As if it were a suggestion that wouldn’t hold any weight, Beom Yisu tapped the table twice, hard enough to make a clicking sound. It meant he was displeased. When he looked toward Chae Yoonoh, he avoided his eyes. Even he, who had been bickering with his spouse, seemed to be on Beom Yisu’s side this time.

“If it could be done in that amount of time, we wouldn’t have brought Mr. Hong Siyeon into this house.”

“Then, are you saying I have to be stuck to you people all day? I need some kind of limit to follow, too.”

“I have accepted most of the conditions Mr. Hong Siyeon put forward. Including an amount ten times the contract deposit.”

“…But!”

“Don’t you think you should be worth the money, Mr. Hong Siyeon? I believe I told you in advance that I do not enter into disadvantageous contracts.”

Beom Yisu showed no signs of backing down on this matter. If I provoked him further, would even the preceding conditions be overturned? It was extremely unpalatable, but as the weaker party in the contract, this wasn’t a situation where I could just insist on my own way. Eventually, Siyeon was the first to wave the white flag regarding the skinship issue.

“Fine. Let’s do it. But in return, I would appreciate it if you could tell me in advance what you’re planning to do.”

If it doesn’t work, then so be it. Since Beom Yisu’s mood didn’t seem great, Siyeon had no choice but to be careful. In the meantime, Chae Yoonoh quickly resolved the situation.

“Good. Let’s live as pheromone partners for the time being. And please share your rut or heat periods in advance.”

How would I know when the heat period for this body is? Chae Yoonoh’s ramblings didn’t enter Siyeon’s ears at all. Isn’t this a situation where I have to silently obey if this couple decides to start rubbing lips starting today?

Perhaps because I hadn’t realized it until now, I had slept comfortably during the day and even pressed down and ate every grain of the heaping bowl of rice they had given me. But honestly, at the thought of having to spend my days rubbing bodies with guys who have peters, I felt like what I’d eaten was going to come back up.

“Let’s stop here for today. I will organize the detailed clauses into a document and send them.”

With that, thankfully, the uncomfortable meeting was adjourned. The worrying would start again tomorrow, but well, perhaps I had gotten over one hurdle for now.

‘Can I really endure this well?’

As he headed to his room, honestly, he had no confidence. No confidence that he wouldn’t beat them to a pulp if they tried to encroach upon him.

∞ ∞ ∞

Ah, my head feels like it’s going to split. The first day in the mansion, which I had desperately tried not to come to, had passed. I felt like my physical condition was worsening for no reason because worries were piling up. Perhaps because I had taken a nap the day before, Siyeon, who had been wide awake since dawn, was buried in a high-end goose-down duvet worth millions of won per piece, just lying there with his eyes open.

“Ugh….”

Actually, he thought about getting up and doing something, but it was burdensome to leave the room as he pleased and run into one of the couple for no reason. Though he was in the position of an unemployed person with nothing to do, weren’t those two busy people—one a conglomerate head, the other a famous entertainer? He was being a little lazy, thinking he would wander around every corner of the house only after the couple had both left the mansion.

But just then, as if to disrupt Siyeon’s plan at once, footsteps that had been pacing outside the hallway drew near. Thump thump— The uninvited guest in front of the door knocked and turned the handle simultaneously.

“Did you sleep well, dear?”

I thought it would be Chae Yoonoh. I didn’t think Beom Yisu would make such a boisterous entrance.

‘Should I have asked for a different room?’

Surely he wouldn’t wake me up like this every morning, would he? Just as a worry bloomed, Chae Yoonoh walked boldly inside as if it were his own room and pulled Siyeon, who was melted into the bedding, out.

“Get up. Let’s go on a date.”

This early in the morning? Siyeon’s eyebrows, which were already under low pressure, twitched minutely.

“Suddenly?”

“It’s not sudden. I told you yesterday.”

Chae Yoonoh’s gaze slid to the empty pill bottle left on the desk.

“We have to go on a date to the hospital.”

Ah, so the “date” was to go for a medical check-up. If that was the case, there was no reason not to follow. Siyeon, who had been wary of him, obediently raised his body from the bed.

“To the hospital from last time?”

“No, a different place this time. First, get ready and come out.”

Unable to overcome Chae Yoonoh’s urging, he had no choice but to get ready to go out. After a quick shower, he clumsily dressed and stepped out, where he saw cars lined up in the building behind the garden. Chae Yoonoh, confirming Siyeon had come out, approached while spinning the car keys on his finger.

“Dear. Which one do you want to ride?”

Are all of these Chae Yoonoh’s cars? Siyeon scanned the lined-up cars in silence. Flashy colors and ostentatious curves. The dream cars he had only seen in magazines, the ones every man dreams of having at least once. From yellow sports cars to modest sedans. How many are there in total…? Among them, just as he was starting to feel he understood why Beom Yisu had sarcastically called him wasteful with his “loud cars” yesterday, his gaze came to a rest on a black Jeep.

“That one.”

Chae Yoonoh’s eyes widened for a moment, then he chuckled.

“You have that kind of taste. Do you like big things?”

“…Isn’t it good if they’re big?”

He had never owned a car, but if there was a small one and a big one, wouldn’t anyone naturally prefer the big car? As Siyeon nodded without much thought, Chae Yoonoh smiled meaningfully.

“Do you like the color to be dark?”

“It doesn’t matter, but… rather than something too flashy, white would be fine too. It looks clean, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, you like big and clean things. That’s a relief, since that’s exactly your taste.”

So what the hell is it? Why is he grinning like that? Chae Yoonoh, who was smiling in a way that made his meaning impossible to decipher, walked to the Jeep without hesitation and opened the door.

“Did the manager not come today?”

“Yeah, it’s a bit off to take a manager on a date, right? And I’m a good driver.”

Siyeon looked around just in case. Since he was a celebrity, he didn’t think he would drive himself just for a hospital visit…. Well, there were so many cars, maybe he was just being prejudiced.

“Get in, dear. The ride will be comfortable.”

Although he had been going up and down the stairs with a half-cast, the Jeep’s body was higher than that. It didn’t significantly hinder him from moving around, but he still felt a throbbing pain when he had to bend down deeply or fold his legs. As he struggled with his less-than-perfect leg, Chae Yoonoh grabbed his waist firmly.

“Augh!”

He seemed to have intended to help him up, but Siyeon was so startled that an embarrassing sound popped out. When Siyeon looked back, glaring, Chae Yoonoh was smiling with his eyes crinkled, looking completely unfazed.

“Is the coat too thin? Or are you just sensitive?”

To top it all off, he even kneaded the waist he was holding!

“What are you doing?”

“I was wondering if it was an erogenous zone.”

This bastard is at it again. I asked him what he was doing as a way to tell him to take his hands off, but an unexpected answer came back. It was clear that they had started their contractual cohabitation, but it was truly troublesome if he kept acting like a bastard in heat at every possible moment.

“I’d like you not to touch me without permission in the future. I don’t need things like support.”

As Siyeon drew a firm line, Chae Yoonoh, who seemed to think for a moment, curled up the corners of his mouth craftily.

“Then, does that mean it’s okay if I touch you after getting permission?”