It had been ten days since Kwon Taejung had been sleeping in the car. No matter how much he liked it, he realized the car was just a means of transportation, not a resting space.
He thought it would be much more comfortable to lie down on the red sofa inside the container. Kwon Taejung slightly moistened the seat and loosened his tie by shaking the knot.
For some reason, his condition wasn’t good today, whether due to accumulated fatigue or the slight chill and headache.
Even though he had set up Beta security guards at the entrance of the shantytown, he couldn’t bring himself to go home as he felt he needed to personally guard the entrance to Yigyeom’s house from this alley. Though he had blocked the opposite entrance with a van, making it impossible for anyone to enter, keeping watch here would ensure Yigyeom’s safety. He felt he could still manage without patrolling both entrances all night.
“This is today’s last story. Hello, I’m a thirty-two-year-old office worker living in Seoul. I’ve been dating a guy for five years, and we’ve had such happy times together for those five years.”
Listening to the radio, which he hardly ever heard in his life, Kwon Taejung had now learned enough about the late-night program and its sequence to break the silence of the past ten days. He silently listened to stories of people dating at his age.
“My boyfriend, whom I believed would be as happy as I am, suddenly broke up with me a few days ago. I asked for a reason, but all he kept saying was that he doesn’t seem to be a vessel to make me happy…”
“Damn. He must have cheated.”
Kwon Taejung cursed as these stories seemed to keep coming up, adding to his dampened mood. He turned off the radio and closed his eyes. Despite the outside temperature not being too low, he kept feeling a chill in his body.
While contemplating whether it was a sign of a cold, Kwon Taejung opened his closed eyes and stared at the silent alley entrance.
Feeling unwell, he thought it might be better to just see Yigyeom off to work tomorrow morning and then go home to rest a bit. And later, go to pick him up and have a nice dinner…
Thinking about what to feed Yigyeom, Kwon Taejung leaned his body, feeling a shiver, and closed his eyes again. It seemed like not getting proper sleep every day was starting to take its toll.
Oh, this isn’t good. He couldn’t afford to tire out until Yigyeom’s heart turned back to him. He had to endure at least until the day Yigyeom would come into his green door.
Despite being an Alpha and usually having a good physique due to regular exercise, the odd chilliness made him unusually sensitive. Kwon Taejung spat out curses under his breath at the irritating feeling in his chilly and tense head.
But in Kwon Taejung’s mind, there was no option to leave this alley until morning.
***
Yigyeom woke up to the vibrating phone and sat up, seeing Kang Jihoon’s name on the screen before answering the call.
“Yes, hyung…”
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.
– Hey! Can you come out by nine? Someone bailed on the part-time job at the big supermarket in our neighborhood. I was supposed to do it alone, but we need one more person.
“Yt, P mjc ub. Vtbeiv P mbwf ab atf cflutybgtbbv ktfgf sbe ilnf ys clcf?”
– Yeah, when you’re on your way, call me. I’ll guide you.
“Vegf, P’ii ufa gfjvs delmxis.”
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After washing up with warm water, Yigyeom dried his hair and changed into a casual T-shirt he usually wore, throwing on a worn-out shirt. He didn’t see the need to dress up for a part-time job. Plus, he didn’t want to risk damaging good clothes at the place.
Confirming it was a bit past 8, Yigyeom packed a spare T-shirt in the backpack he used as a school bag and added the spare battery Kwon Taejung had gifted him as thanks for helping with the opening event.
Kwon Taejung’s new phone had a long battery life, so he didn’t really need the charger anymore, but just in case, Yigyeom hurriedly left home.
Locking the door and stepping onto the alley, Yigyeom put the backpack forward and slipped the keys into the front pocket. If he walked about ten minutes and took the bus to the subway station that directly led to Kang Jihoon’s neighborhood…
“…Huh…?”
As Yigyeom thought about how to get to Kang Jihoon’s place, his steps halted upon seeing something. Still holding onto the backpack, Yigyeom looked at the black car under the streetlight, an all-too-familiar car belonging to Kwon Taejung.
They hadn’t arranged to meet today, especially not at this early hour. Yigyeom wondered why Kwon Taejung was here. Did something happen? Approaching cautiously, Yigyeom tilted his head to look through the windshield. Kwon Taejung was in the driver’s seat, slightly disheveled, apparently sleeping.
“…….”
Looking at the asleep Kwon Taejung, various thoughts flooded Yigyeom’s mind. Why did he come here so early in the morning? Did he drink like last time? Or perhaps, did he sleep here?
Blankly staring, Yigyeom approached the driver’s side and tapped the window, which made the slightly startled Kwon Taejung quickly open and step out of the car.
“Oh… Yigyeom.”
Surprised, Kwon Taejung quickly checked the time on his wrist. Seeing it was past 8, the sleepy Kwon Taejung furrowed his brows, looking pathetic.
Normally, he would’ve parked the car in front of the container at this hour, but it seemed he fell asleep in the early morning due to not feeling well. Not knowing anything and sleeping away, he felt pitifully unacceptable.
Even waking up without knowing anything, the heavy head and tired body still irked him.
“…Have you been here since last night? Since you dropped me off?”
Looking at Kwon Taejung, dressed exactly the same as when he had picked Yigyeom up yesterday, Yigyeom let out a held breath. Kwon Taejung was wearing the same clothes as when he had picked Yigyeom up after having drinks, bought lunch afterward, and even when he dropped him home yesterday. Yigyeom couldn’t think that he had gone home after dropping him off yesterday.
“That’s…”
Kwon Taejung’s disheveled hair and clothes, and his inability to deny it only added more weight to the fact that he had slept in the car. Yigyeom couldn’t hide his disappointment.
“To be honest, I was worried about you being alone at home.”
“…….”
“Even if Goo Daebom is avoiding me, it’s dangerous for you to be here.”
“Still, why uncomfortably in the car…”
As Yigyeom spoke with a voice tainted by disappointment, he paused. It felt like something wasn’t the first time from yesterday.
“It’s been about ten days since I came back here, so you’ve been here since then?”
He hoped it wasn’t true, but seeing Kwon Taejung’s face, he knew my assumptions were correct. Yigyeom looked at Kwon Taejung, his face showing confusion and embarrassment.
“Wow, you catch on so quickly.”
Trying to lighten the situation with a playful remark didn’t seem to help. Kwon Taejung, seeing Yigyeom on the verge of tears, smiled awkwardly and lowered his gaze.
Usually, he’d swiftly analyze the situation and move forward, but his condition wasn’t allowing his mind to move quickly.
No, it wasn’t just a bad condition; it felt worse than last night. He felt a fever and dizziness.
He should have heard the alarm, but he had no memory of it. Kwon Taejung couldn’t forgive himself for falling asleep until Yigyeom arrived, making the already painful situation even more distressing.
“Chief, I don’t like it when you do this.”
“…….”
“How could you spend ten days in the car…”
His voice, laden with disappointment, choked up. Yigyeom wiped tears falling down his cheeks and looked at Kwon Taejung, who appeared slightly paler than usual and in poor condition. His pained expression hurt Yigyeom deeply.
“I didn’t mean to bother you… I’m sorry.”
It wasn’t an apology for wanting to hear an apology; it came from genuine concern. Seeing Kwon Taejung looking pained despite saying he didn’t want this made Yigyeom worried.
“…….”
His heart ached at Kwon Taejung’s appearance, weaker than usual today. Perhaps it was because he hadn’t taken his suppressants, but today his pheromones felt stronger than usual. Despite this moment, Yigyeom disliked feeling drawn to Kwon Taejung’s pheromones and wanted to keep his distance.
“Please don’t do this anymore. I’m fine. I appreciate your concern, but if you stay here all night, I feel uncomfortable, and Chief, you’ll have a hard time too…”
“Okay. I won’t.”
“…….”
“I didn’t know Yigyeom would dislike it this much.”
“It’s not that I dislike it…”
“I’m sorry. I keep making you uncomfortable despite saying I won’t. Maybe I’ve always lived my life as I pleased.”
His smile lacked its usual vigor. Looking at Kwon Taejung, with everything disheveled, Yigyeom pressed his hurting heart with his hand.
“Ah, I couldn’t sleep well until yesterday, but suddenly I fell asleep this morning, and everything went wrong.”
“…….”
“Don’t cry, I won’t do it anymore. Really. I won’t do it if you dislike it.”
Seeing Yigyeom trying not to cry, Kwon Taejung tilted his head, looking closer at Yigyeom’s face. Emotions were unusually turbulent today.
