TIN 94

I seemed to be sick for several chaotic days. My body would shiver as if I had the flu, and then my lower abdomen would cramp as if my intestines were twisting. The unpleasant pain was different from differentiation pain from the start.

They said it was strong enough to damage pheromone glands, and it was certainly doing its job. I had expected and accounted for this fully. I just hoped that if side effects were inevitable, they would damage my trait.

“…You’re feeling sick?”

Joo Do-hwa’s face grew quite serious seeing me ill again. At first, he seemed to think it was from the previous night, but when it continued for days, he immediately called a doctor. Naturally, the doctor couldn’t find the cause either, but when he mentioned wanting to do a blood test, I reflexively had to refuse.

“Don’t need tests.”

“…”

“…I get sick often.”

The last part I added quietly was a lie. I rarely got sick, but it felt like I was experiencing a lifetime’s worth of illness since coming to this house.

“I’ll get better with rest. It’s just a cold.”

If he didn’t accept that, I planned to insist that I knew my body best. Even if I was treated like a crazy person, I was prepared to struggle if they tried to force me.

“Are you that afraid of injections?”

However, Joo Do-hwa surprisingly listened generously. His caring voice suggested he thought I was being childish. After gently brushing back my hair damp with cold sweat, he ordered the doctor, Just prescribe medicine. And vitamins.”

Only then did I feel relieved. Though I tensed up again hearing his next words.

“If you’re not better in a week, you’ll get tests.”

“…”

“You’ll get shots then, even if you’re scared.”

His voice was kind but it sounded like a threat to get better within a week. Actually, it wasn’t my imagination—from experience, I knew he was the type to draw blood even if he had to tie me down if I acted up.

Well, it didn’t matter either way. I just needed to find a solution within that time frame.

From the start, my goal was to buy time. To leave for somewhere safe before my differentiation was discovered.

During daylight hours, I slept using illness as an excuse, only moving carefully after sunset. I ate alone with food brought by servants, and at night when Joo Do-hwa was nearby, I pretended to be sleepy with closed eyes. Even though an alpha dominant couldn’t check my eye color in a dark room, I still felt anxious.

During the times I was alone, I habitually went to the bathroom to examine my eyes in the mirror. Fortunately, whether because the medicine was working or not, nothing had visibly changed since the first day. No, the blue tint might have even faded somewhat.

It would be nice if the changes stopped here. Though of course, no matter how much I hoped, the future wouldn’t go as I wished.

“Why are you so sick?”

Late at night, Joo Do-hwa came to check on me again before ending his day. As my stomach happened to be hurting, I lay curled up on my side looking up at him. Under the soft lighting, his bright golden eyes carefully examined my face.

“You look pitiful.”

“…”

What do you mean, pitiful? Though it felt like mockery, surprisingly the emotion contained within was concern. As always, his touch was incredibly gentle as he sat on the bed and lightly stroked my cheek.

“Maybe you need to go somewhere to recover…”

His hand, large enough to cover my whole face, softly caressed my cheek and ear. He gathered and brushed aside the hair stuck to my nape, then stayed there while cradling the back of my neck. His hot body temperature transferred directly onto my cool skin.

Joo Do-hwa’s attitude had become somewhat subtle lately. Before he would just brush against me like a cat rubbing itself, but now he openly touched and clung to me. Just like now, with his hand on my nape slipping beneath my collar.

“You’re so fragile.”

Instead of answering, I quietly closed my eyes. Normally I would have flinched under his touch, but I had grown used to such situations after similar behavior these past few days. It helped that there was no sexual intent in his intimate touch and he wasn’t being aggressive.

“Did you eat?”

“Yes.”

“Took your medicine too?”

“…Yeah.”

I hadn’t actually taken it, but had hidden it well in the glass bottle that had contained the suppressant. Since the medicine was causing my illness anyway, I didn’t feel like taking more. I thought I might sell it to someone who needed it after I left this place.

“Did you sleep all day today too?”

“No…I was up for a bit.”

His occasional questions were quite ticklish. Along with his increasingly intimate touch, Joo Do-hwa would ask about my well-being daily in a voice as sweet as dissolved sugar. His pheromones were also sweet, making me feel dizzy and elated whenever he was closeby.

“Good.”

Why is he being so kind? It was similar to how he would performatively treat me like ‘hyung’ when we attended parties together. Being endlessly gentle and caring, it felt suspiciously strange to the point of discomfort.

Is he pitying me because I’m sick? Or did he decide this was how he should treat someone acting as his hyung? Either way, it wasn’t like Joo Do-hwa at all.

“You must really be sick. Not even going to look at the painting you love.”

I hadn’t gone to look at the painting in the corridor since my body started changing. Since I had to stay in my room pretending to be sick (and actually being sick), I rarely went outside my room, to begin with.

Besides, I’d be seeing the real thing soon anyway.

“Two days left, hyung.”

“…”

I opened my eyes slightly to look at him. The two days he mentioned were probably what remained of the period he’d given me to get better. For me, it was also the absolute deadline by which I had to move.

“Going back to sleep?”

“Yeah, need to.”

Though I wasn’t sleepy anymore, I answered that way first. Since he would likely leave the room if I said I was going to sleep, I deliberately closed my eyes as if trying to fall asleep. I planned to go check the mirror in the bathroom again once I was alone.

“Hmm…”

But for some reason, he didn’t immediately get up from the bed. His gentle touch moved from my cheek past my ear to the back of my head. As he softly stroked my hair, he quietly asked, “Then shall I help you sleep?”

“…?”

What’s this sudden nonsense? I reflexively lifted my eyelids and flinched in surprise. He quickly withdrew his hand and lifted the blanket I was under.

“I’ll help you sleep.”

I belatedly realized it wasn’t a question but a declaration. Shamelessly, he got under the blanket without waiting for my answer. His large frame climbed onto the bed, turned off the lights with practiced ease, and lay down facing me, starting to pat my shoulder.

“Sleep. You need proper rest to get better.”

“…”

And…I’m supposed to sleep like this?

“You’re going to sleep here too?”

“Yes.”

His answer was simple. He even closed his eyes before me and tried to sleep with a peaceful expression. I wanted to tell him that I’d prefer it if he’d let me sleep alone, but his red lips moved faster.

“I won’t touch someone who’s sick.”

“…”

“Then it’s fine.”

What’s fine about this?

Setting aside whether he really wouldn’t touch someone sick, this situation complicated my plans. I needed to be alone in the room to check if my eyes had changed, look out the window, and find a way to leave this house. With only two days left, each passing day was a precious opportunity.

“Won’t you be uncomfortable? Go sleep in your room.”

“I’m not uncomfortable.”

“What if you catch what I have?”

“How would a cold be contagious?”

“You never know…”

“I’ve never caught anything like that.”

I had suspected as much, but hearing it from his own mouth made him seem truly monstrous. I couldn’t help but think that Chairman Joo was amazing for sending a guy like this to a seaside resort.

“…Won’t it be cramped?”

“Does this bed look cramped to you?”

“…”

I couldn’t even jokingly say yes. It was too large for one person and looked like it could fit one more even with two people in it.

“Still…”

“Seems you don’t want to sleep with me.”

I shut my mouth tight. It probably wasn’t good either way. I couldn’t bring myself to say that. Just as I was resigning myself to sleeping like this, he slowly opened his gently closed eyes.

“…”

“…”

Our eyes met. In the moonlit room, only his features and bright eyes were faintly visible. Having not properly faced him for days, it was a mystifying sight that made me freeze for a moment.

I should…close my eyes.

Perhaps because of the darkness, his golden eyes seemed to sparkle even more. Like the moon has risen here too, I thought absentmindedly.

A subtle atmosphere flowed in the quiet silence. The reason I couldn’t avert my gaze was a premonition that closing my eyes now would make the atmosphere even stranger. Lying side by side on the bed facing each other felt like a prelude to something.

“…Um.”

Just as I unconsciously moved my lips, Joo Do-hwa’s expression changed. His brow furrowed slightly, and then suddenly his expression hardened.

Then he roughly grabbed my chin.

“Hyung.”

His ice-cold voice pierced my ear. Before I could flinch away in surprise, he stared into my eyes with a serious expression on his face.

“What’s wrong with your eyes?”