“But your face still looks pale. It seems like the shock from yesterday and your condition haven’t fully recovered. You should take a good rest today.”
“Oh… I’m not really sick… I think I’ll be fine if I rest a bit.”
“Maybe it’s the onset of a cold.”
“…?”
“I should go and get some medicine. I’ll be back soon.”
Seeing Kwon Taejung getting up immediately, Yigyeom, surprised, quickly grabbed his arm.
“It’s just a bit chilly, and my body feels a bit sluggish… If I rest for a day, I think I’ll be fine. It’s not like I have a sore throat or cough, so I don’t need to take medicine.”
“Then let’s have breakfast first and rest for a while. If you still feel cold even after sleeping, we’ll call Hyunjoon. The friend who was at the center that time.”
“Okay…”
Yigyeom nodded and took a few more bites of the bread. Although the taste was good, he didn’t feel like eating more. Could it really be the onset of a cold? Yigyeom, who let out a small sigh, took one more sip of milk and put down the bread.
“Did you finish eating?”
“Yes…”
“Then let’s go inside.”
After finishing the remaining coffee, Kwon Taejung got up and wrapped his arm around Yigyeom’s shoulder, heading towards the room. Yigyeom, feeling the warmth of Kwon Taejung touching his body, leaned a bit more toward him. In his arms, there was a unique scent of dry roses and the warm fragrance of the body wash.
“Tell me if you feel a bit unwell while sleeping. Got it?”
“Yes, I will.”
Yigyeom, lying on the bed with the blanket covering him, closed his eyes while watching Kwon Taejung softly light up the room to dispel the darkness and avoid disturbing his sleep. He used to endure well with only five hours of sleep every day, but these days, it didn’t work as well.
Especially these past few days, it was even more unusual. Falling asleep while waiting for Kwon Taejung on the stairs yesterday, and also moving to the room without him noticing and sleeping again – it was clear that he slept more than usual. Even though it hadn’t been long since he woke up, the fact that sleep poured out like this suggested that something must be hurting somewhere.
“Sleep well.”
Yigyeom, slipping into a shallow sleep, heard Kwon Taejung’s farewell in his ear. Please stay with me, Chief… I wanted to convey that, but the words he couldn’t convey got tangled in his confused mind and were soon scattered.
***
Having rested for a few days, the chills and lethargy didn’t easily dissipate. Although Yigyeom didn’t have any specific symptoms, he tried to alleviate the condition by wearing an extra layer of clothing and taking short naps whenever he felt drowsy.
However, there was still one thing left for Yigyeom that he couldn’t figure out how to alleviate. It was the lingering awkwardness between him and Kwon Taejung.
It wasn’t that Kwon Taejung acted indifferently or distantly. He still took care of Yigyeom affectionately. He checked his temperature every morning, expressed constant concern for Yigyeom, who still looked pale even after a good rest.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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“Yigyeom, I got a call from my dad, and it seems like I need to go to the company today. There are some things to discuss before the dismantling tomorrow. I might have to work until evening.”
“Oh… Are you going to be late?”
“They suggested I check in at the company and then leave together in the evening. Is it okay for you to stay alone?”
Nodding, Yigyeom recalled the message from Kang Jihoon that he received last night.
“Chief, could I go out for a few hours to work today? Jihoon hyung asked if I could help for a day… It’s not something difficult; I’ll just be handing out flyers for the opening.”
“Why bother doing something difficult? You don’t need to do that kind of work anymore…”
“…”
As the conversation inevitably turned to the topic of debt, a moment of awkward silence lingered in the air. Yigyeom, glancing at Kwon Taejung’s expression, quickly opened his mouth again.
“…It’s not a job that involves wearing an animal costume or anything difficult. It’s just a few hours during the day…”
Although going out to do laborious work wasn’t appealing, he thought meeting those street people might be better than staying alone in an empty house all day. Kwon Taejung reluctantly nodded.
“Okay, then. Don’t push yourself too hard. You say it’s fine, but you still look a bit pale, Yigyeom. Instead of going to work, it seems like you should go to the center.”
“If it’s tough, I’ll quit and come back. Don’t worry, Chief.”
“Alright. I need to go soon. My dad really hates it when people don’t keep their appointments. I’ll change and be out.”
Watching Kwon Taejung enter the dressing room, Yigyeom let out a small sigh. Despite the conversation flowing smoothly and the atmosphere not being bad, there was a strange awkwardness, and he found himself constantly checking Kwon Taejung’s mood. The fact that he had hurt Kwon Taejung’s feelings still weighed on his mind, making him anxious.
“…”
Yigyeom stood in the same spot, lost in his thoughts until Kwon Taejung came out after changing his clothes.
“I’ll be back. See you in the evening.”
“Yes… Chief, take care.”
“Yeah. Oh, this.”
Yigyeom accepted the black card that Kwon Taejung handed out with both hands. The black card looked incredibly luxurious at first glance.
“Have a delicious lunch. Don’t just grab something quick at the convenience store. Buy something tasty for the colleagues too.”
“…Thank you. I’ll have something delicious. Chief, please make sure to have your lunch and dinner.”
“Yeah, I will. Oh, and don’t use the card for purchases under 100,000 won. Make sure to enjoy something tasty that costs at least 100,000 won.”
“…Really, it won’t work for transactions under 100,000 won?”
“Yeah. So, make sure to eat something expensive and delicious.”
Nodding, Kwon Taejung, as if sensing something, leaned towards Yigyeom and brought his face near the neck, then slightly pulled away.
“Haven’t taken the suppressants?”
“Ah… no. Not yet…”
Kwon Taejung, tilting his head slowly upon hearing that Yigyeom hasn’t taken them yet, lightly stroked Yigyeom’s cheek with his fingertips.
“Make sure to take them before going out. The pheromones are strong.”
“Yes…”
Smiling mischievously, Kwon Taejung separated his body and shook hands with Yigyeom before greeting and leaving the house. Yigyeom silently watched as the door opened and then closed.
“…”
With his hand still covering the neck where Kwon Taejung’s breath lingered, Yigyeom went to the kitchen, took out the suppressants, put them in his mouth, and drank some water. Normally, they would exchange kisses at the entrance before going out, and there would be deeper physical contact, but all of that seemed to have disappeared. Yigyeom couldn’t help but feel worried.
Trying to convince himself that it’s just one of those days, he found himself troubled by the absence of physical intimacy with Kwon Taejung for several days. The thought of Kwon Taejung not hugging tightly or kissing him as passionately as before made his heart constrict painfully.
“Sigh…”
Letting out a small sigh, Yigyeom coincidentally received a call from Kang Jihoon, informing him that he could start working. Hoping that the preoccupations stuck in his mind would at least somewhat dissipate as his body busied itself, he went to his room.
***
Kang Jihoon looked at Yigyeom, who was wearing two layers of clothes, up and down, and stuck out his tongue. It was quite surprising to see Yigyeom, dressed in layers, in contrast to him wearing short sleeves and shorts.
“Hey, it’s hot, why are you wearing two layers of clothes? Aren’t you feeling hot? It’s 28 degrees today.”
“I keep feeling a bit chilly.”
“Huh, it’s not the kind of weather to feel chilly. It’s not 18 degrees; it’s 28 degrees. Even I feel hot in short sleeves right now. Is something wrong with you? Come to think of it, your face looks a bit off. Hey, Yoo Jaemin, look at this. He looks like he’s in pain.”
Yoo Jaemin, who came out with a bunch of leaflets, nodded as he looked at Yigyeom’s face.
“Is it a cold? Can you work?”
“I thought it was a cold, but other than feeling a bit chilly and sleepy, I don’t have any symptoms… Doesn’t seem like a cold.”
“Do you fall asleep while handing out leaflets if you’re sleepy?”
With Yoo Jaemin’s words, Kang Jihoon burst into laughter and generously handed a stack of leaflets to Yigyeom.
“Still, it’s tough to do without a mask. Damn, you’d suffocate if you wore that in this weather. There was a guy I know who used it in August. He used it, collapsed, and passed out. He said the sky was spinning like crazy and just fell backward.”
“Wasn’t he hurt?”
“Fortunately, I grabbed him quickly, so he didn’t get hurt. But it was terrifying to see his eyes rolling back. So, I stick to comfortable things in the summer. You should be careful too.”
“Yes…”
“Oh, but can you come out to do this today? Is it okay even if you’re from a chaebol?”
Yigyeom, who was shaking the leaflets to align the edges, looked at Kang Jihoon.
“What?”
“You’re… dating Kwon Taejung, right? It seems like it when you suddenly showed up and took me away when you were drunk. It was scary back then, like I was stealing someone else’s girl.”
“It’s not like that…”
Even though Yigyeom denied it, he quickly hugged the leaflets to his chest, distancing himself from Kang Jihoon and Yoo Jaemin, who did not believe him at all. It was not something he shouldn’t reveal, but he didn’t want to make Kwon Taejung more agitated by letting him know.
“Hey, are you really okay, though? If it’s hard, tell us.”
“Yes… But right now, I’m really fine.”
***
“You didn’t eat breakfast.”
“No, how about you?”
“I did. I can’t function if I don’t eat. Oh, what are you having for lunch?”
When the topic turned to lunch, Yigyeom remembered Kwon Taejung giving him a card in the morning, saying he should buy lunch for the colleagues.
“Hey… Hyung, I’ll buy lunch today. Is there anything you want to eat?”
“Whoa, really? Okay then. You need to pay off your debt. Even if I’m really broke, I won’t ask you to spend money.”
“Uh…”
As the conversation turned to debt, Yigyeom couldn’t say anything and remained silent for a moment. Even though he could now say he didn’t have to worry about debts anymore, and it was okay to talk about it casually, it wasn’t easy for the words to come out.
He knew that after that statement, questions about how he managed to pay off such a large sum would naturally follow. And, knowing that Kwon Taejung’s story would inevitably come up, he couldn’t bring himself to speak up readily.
