LM 52

It was late at night. Although the body was tired from serving many customers that day, it felt wasteful to spend the rest of his free time sleeping. Especially since Woo Hyunse had just arrived home.

They were each lounging on the sofa while an old movie was playing. Kwon Siyul, of course, grabbed his phone first. Woo Hyunse nagged that it was a serious addiction, but Kwon Siyul knew he had to log into the game if he wanted to receive the daily reward.

Kwon Siyul lay sprawled with his feet toward Woo Hyunse, busily tapping on his phone. His favorite game was still the puzzle game. Lining up three characters in a row and making them pop like balloons—there was no better game for relieving stress and clearing the mind.

“Ouch!”

Suddenly, a sharp pain struck his ankle. With only one culprit possible, Kwon Siyul frowned deeply and turned around. Woo Hyunse, utterly shameless, grinned while holding Kwon Siyul’s ankle and rubbing his lips over the spot he had bitten. When he looked next, there were clearly teeth marks around the ankle bone.

“Why do you bite so hard? Are you teething?”

Kwon Siyul put down his phone and sat cross-legged on the sofa, examining the bite mark. Earlier, Woo Hyunse had bitten the smooth calf flesh, and now it was the ankle bone. At this rate, he would no longer have a leg to speak of.

“Weren’t you flirting by wiggling your foot in front of me?”

Although Kwon Siyul had been moving his foot while concentrating on the game, it certainly wasn’t meant that way. He gently rubbed the dotted line of teeth marks. It probably wouldn’t bruise, but it still throbbed painfully. Perhaps Woo Hyunse was lacking meat, or maybe Kwon Siyul’s legs looked like glistening pork hocks to him—lately, he’d been biting at every opportunity.

Should he take comfort in the fact that Woo Hyunse left visible areas alone? If he were to take off his shirt right now, there would be red marks like signatures around his nipples and on the soft flesh under his arms.

“Stop biting me. If you bite again, I’ll really put a muzzle on you next time.”

“If you feel wronged, why don’t you bite me too, Kwon Siyul?”

Woo Hyunse rolled up his sleeve and extended his forearm, obviously trying to pick a fight. Despite being much older than Kwon Siyul, he occasionally attempted such childish pranks to tease the other man.

Kwon Siyul looked at Woo Hyunse’s arm and shook his head. It was like the steel beams commonly seen at construction sites. Rather than fall for the provocation and bite hard only to need dental implants at a young age, he’d prefer to bite a brick wall instead.

He was about to lie back down but changed his mind and got up again. It was dangerous here. If he stayed still, he might fall victim to Woo Hyunse’s teeth again. As he was thinking of sitting at the dining table to finish his game, he noticed a box on the table that he hadn’t seen before.

“Huh?” he said, upon closer inspection. The descriptions were all in English, so he couldn’t understand what it meant. He picked it up and shook it gently near his ear, hearing something rattle inside. In the bag next to it were unopened syringes bundled together.

Perhaps because he used to deliver drugs, seeing the sharp needles made his heart sink down to the pit of his stomach. Kwon Siyul held up the box and called out to Woo Hyunse.

“Hyung, what’s this?”

“Suppressants.”

Woo Hyunse, who had been quietly observing every movement of Kwon Siyul’s fingertips and toes, answered as if he had been waiting for the question all along. He said he had received them in advance. Weren’t suppressants usually taken orally? Kwon Yuwon always had gummy suppressants in his mouth, even when it wasn’t time for his heat.

“Wasn’t it in an edible form?”

“That’s less effective.”

In the bag, there was also a rubber band used to tightly bind the forearm. Kwon Siyul fiddled with the crackling syringe packaging. He didn’t feel good about this.

“Do you know how to give injections?”

“Yeah. I’ve done it since middle school.”

“Did you take injections back then too?”

“Couldn’t go into heat at school. Back then, my cycles were a mess, so pills didn’t work well.”

He casually mentioned his struggles as if it wasn’t a part of his own experience. Although Kwon Siyul had never seen it, he could picture it in his mind. A young Woo Hyunse tying his own arm and inserting the needle into the crook of his elbow. What expression did he wear while injecting the suppressants?

“…”

Suddenly, a wave of sympathy welled up in him. Kwon Siyul abandoned the idea of playing his game and walked over to Woo Hyunse. Whether it was because of the suppressants or because he wasn’t feeling well, Woo Hyunse looked more tired than usual. His usually healthy-colored cheeks and ears seemed flushed today.

Kwon Siyul bent down and pressed his forehead against Woo Hyunse’s. It was something Kwon Yuwon used to do whenever Kwon Siyul had a fever. The forehead touching his was warm. Although Woo Hyunse was naturally warm-bodied, his temperature seemed higher than usual right then.

“I think you have a fever.”

“Really?”

Woo Hyunse replied nonchalantly and wrapped his arms around Kwon Siyul’s waist. He pulled him close, hugging him and nuzzling his forehead against Kwon Siyul’s neck. Fearing another sudden bite, Kwon Siyul squirmed to escape out of his arms.

“I won’t bite. Just stay like this for one moment.”

He reads my mind so well. Kwon Siyul, feeling caught, stood still like a statue before burying his nose deep in Woo Hyunse’s thick hair. Having showered not long ago, Woo Hyunse’s hair carried the fragrant scent of Kwon Siyul’s shampoo.

Woo Hyunse lay Kwon Siyul down completely, wrapping his arms and legs around him. On the spacious sofa that could fit both of them with room to spare, Woo Hyunse held Kwon Siyul like a body pillow and closed his eyes.

Kwon Siyul faithfully played his role. When the breathing from beside his head became regular and the heartbeat in his ear steadied, he lifted his head to check something. Looking at the clock, he noticed it was earlier than Woo Hyunse’s usual bedtime.

“…”

He stared intently at Woo Hyunse’s face. Despite being the person he saw most often and for the first time in a long time, this angle made it feel new. He hadn’t noticed before because of Woo Hyunse’s long eyes, but his eyelashes were also dense and long. His skin was good too. No acne scars and even his pores were barely visible. Even Kwon Yuwon, known for his good skin, would be jealous. Do alphas and omegas naturally have such good skin?

Kwon Siyul traced Woo Hyunse’s eyebrows and nose bridge in the air, not daring to touch them for fear of disturbing him.

He waved his hand in front of Woo Hyunse’s face. There was no reaction, indicating he was already in deep sleep. Kwon Siyul lifted his head slightly and pressed his lips against Woo Hyunse’s. They were soft and smooth. He didn’t press hard, just stealing a light kiss from the other man’s mouth.

Even after the kiss, Woo Hyunse didn’t wake up. His steady breath tickled Kwon Siyul’s cheek. Kwon Siyul grinned like someone who had just pulled off a secret prank. Despite their relationship having progressed as far as it could, his heart still fluttered like a little bird just from a simple kiss.

Watching Woo Hyunse sleeping away made Siyul feel sleepy too. As his eyes grew heavy, he snuggled into the other man’s embrace. Just before falling asleep, a faint scent passed under his nose. It was like a cold, quiet forest covered in white snow.

At the same time, sleep overcame Kwon Siyul. Before he could realize what that scent was, he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

[Let me see your face.]

[I might forget.]

A message came from Kwon Yuwon. As soon as he saw the text, Kwon Siyul rushed out of Woo Hyunse’s house. Thankfully, it was Kwon Siyul’s day off while Woo Hyunse had gone off to work. Although he had planned to rest due to not feeling well, there was no time for that now. And even if he had been bedridden, if Kwon Yuwon asked to meet, he would have taken painkillers and gone out.

The inn owner, as long as the rent was paid on time, wouldn’t touch anything even if a corpse was found in the room, so Kwon Siyul’s belongings remained untouched. Still, a thin layer of dust had gathered on top of the TV and the floor. Kwon Siyul grabbed a broom and a mop, hurriedly sweeping and cleaning before Kwon Yuwon arrived back home. In a way, it  kind of was like destroying evidence.

However, Kwon Yuwon didn’t come to the inn that Kwon Siyul had cleaned so diligently but set up a meeting elsewhere. When Kwon Siyul arrived at the address provided, he found a shabby snack shop. Inside the door, which was shorter than Kwon Siyul, sat an elderly person wearing an apron, looking so old that Kwon Siyul wondered if they could even tear open a packet of ramen.

Kwon Yuwon wouldn’t have set up a meeting place and not shown up. Assuming he had arrived first, Kwon Siyul went in and sat down. Exactly ten minutes later, Kwon Yuwon arrived at the scene.

“Kwon Yuwon!”

Kwon Siyul immediately jumped to his feet. It had been so long. Tears welled up in his eyes involuntarily. He immediately ran and hugged Kwon Yuwon tightly. Though saying “Whoa,” Kwon Yuwon patted Kwon Siyul’s back, returning the embrace.

“You bastard, how could you go on a trip without saying a word to me? Do you know how worried I was!”

“Kwon Siyul, you were worried about me?”

He teased while widening his eyes in mock surprise at the same time. Kwon Siyul slapped Kwon Yuwon’s back hard. Despite hearing an exaggerated “Ouch,” he hit him once more, this time to convey his hurt feelings.

“If not me, who else would worry about you, you crazy fool!”