TAF Ch 12

Yeonwoo let out a small laugh, and Chahyun cocked an eyebrow as if asking why.

“Why are you dressed like that?”

“My clothes? Oh.”

“You look silly.”

“You’re saying that now?”

“You could have taken your time, why did you rush?”

It felt strange. Baek Chahyun sitting in a hospital chair with ridiculous clothes and messy hair.

And Baek Chahyun, who confined me as he pleased and was going to marry another woman.

I hated him, yet I also found him endearing.

Conflicting emotions, emotions I didn’t want to feel.

Chahyun, after making a fuss to the doctor, wrapped a heat pack around Yeonwoo’s ankle. He didn’t seem to care that people in the hospital were glancing at them.

Looking at him, a weak thought naturally came to mind. Was I too agitated because of the rut? Did I make a mistake?

Tell me that’s the case, Chahyun.

I wanted to press him and plead with him. I wanted to understand him.

Even though I knew I shouldn’t.

As Yeonwoo’s expression hardened, Chahyun’s touch became more cautious, thinking it was due to the pain.

After applying the heat pack, Chahyun sat down next to him. He wrapped an arm around Yeonwoo’s shoulders and pulled him close.

Yeonwoo leaned his head against Chahyun’s shoulder, yielding to his pull.

“Does it still hurt?”

Chahyun whispered, kissing the top of his head, as if feeling sorry for Yeonwoo’s pain.

“No…”

“Bear with it a little longer, even if it’s uncomfortable. I’ll put another heat pack on it when we get home.”

He spoke as if it was a familiar routine. Come to think of it, Chahyun was the one who paid the most attention to my rehabilitation from the time I hurt my ankle until now.

Although there were some lingering aftereffects, the fact that I could function normally like this was entirely thanks to him.

That’s why Chahyun’s decision felt even more resentful. My stomach churned with betrayal.

“Being like this feels like we’re at the old vacation house.”

“…….”

“Although the roles are reversed.”

Chahyun was referring to the times when he suffered from fever or nausea due to pheromone imbalance.

Originally, Yeonwoo’s mother should have taken care of Chahyun, but sometimes, when he was sick at night and his mother was asleep, Yeonwoo would care for him instead, hoping not to wake her.

He would bring medicine, change his sweat-soaked clothes, wipe his body, and nurse him throughout the night.

Even while groaning in pain, Chahyun would gradually fall asleep as Yeonwoo stroked his hair.

On days when Chahyun was feeling better, they would go up to the second floor and make paper airplanes, competing to see who could fly them further. It was a rather childish game for middle schoolers, but Chahyun especially enjoyed it.

Perhaps due to the frustrating situation of being unable to go outside, he reacted more strongly to even minor stimuli.

“…Yeah.”

Back then, he would smile prettily and call him “hyung.” But when they met again as university students, Chahyun no longer called Yeonwoo “hyung.” He mostly used informal language or called him by his name.

“How about this?”

Yeonwoo suddenly remembered the hospital brochure he had received from the examination room a few minutes ago. He took it out of his pocket and quickly folded a paper airplane. Chahyun chuckled.

“A paper airplane? Seriously?”

“Don’t you like them anymore now that you’re all grown up?”

“I grew up a long time ago.”

“That’s true. Baek Chahyun has grown up too much.”

As Yeonwoo mumbled as if disappointed, Chahyun snatched the paper airplane. And he pulled Yeonwoo’s body closer again.

Yeonwoo inhaled Chahyun’s pheromones and scent deeply in his warm embrace. Fidgeting his hands hesitantly, he finally asked what he had been wondering.

“Why didn’t you come home yesterday and today?”

He felt Chahyun’s body stiffen.

“…I thought you’d hate it if I came.”

“I see.”

“Were you waiting?”

“…….”

Chahyun’s question made Yeonwoo’s lips suddenly feel dry.

He felt foolish for still not being able to completely let go of Chahyun.

“Patient Hong Yeonwoo.”

Just as Yeonwoo was about to answer, the nurse called his name. This time, too, Chahyun stood up in his place.

“Let’s go home, not to the officetel.”

Yeonwoo said to Chahyun, who had returned with the prescription.

Chahyun stood frozen for a moment, then smiled.

“Okay.”

Seeing his lips curve upwards, Yeonwoo’s heart ached.

He had become a dry and hardened adult, but when he smiled so brightly, the freshness he had retained from his adolescence still showed.

The fact that Chahyun still retained traces of his former self made Yeonwoo’s heart heavy.

✧✧✧

Yeonwoo opened his eyes at the presence he felt beside him. Chahyun, who had woken up first, was picking out clothes.

“…Are you going to work?”

Yeonwoo asked, his voice still thick with sleep. Chahyun turned his gaze to the bed where he was lying and nodded.

“I have to. Ugh, I don’t want to go.”

“…….”

“How’s your ankle? Does it still hurt?”

Yeonwoo looked down at his ankle. The heat pack wrapped over the support bandage was warm, as if Chahyun had replaced it during the night.

“A little.”

“Someone will come to take you to the hospital this afternoon. For physical therapy.”

“What about you?”

“I have something to do, so I can’t go with you.”

Yeonwoo blinked his still sleepy eyes heavily, looking up at Chahyun. He was holding a tie. For some reason, Chahyun always had a serious expression whenever he tied his tie. Sometimes he even looked solemn.

While Yeonwoo’s mind had been so complicated for days, Chahyun seemed the same as always. Even after confiscating his phone and confining him to the officetel, he acted as if nothing had happened. Feeling it was unfair, Yeonwoo spoke.

“About that person.”

“Who?”

“The woman you’re going to marry.”

Chahyun, who had been tying his tie, paused and gave Yeonwoo a cold look.

“What’s her name?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“I’m curious.”

“You wouldn’t know her even if I told you her name.”

The same reaction as Chahyun’s mother made Yeonwoo feel bitter. Was it that someone like him shouldn’t even know her name? The responses from both mother and son felt harsh.

“Aren’t you going to live with her after you get married?”

The atmosphere, unlike a moment ago, turned cold. Chahyun buttoned his jacket with a blank expression.

“You can at least tell me that much.”

Yeonwoo said in a subdued voice. It almost sounded like he was talking to himself.

“We’ve agreed to live separately. There will be a house where we nominally live together, but…”

“…I see.”

“It’s a marriage of convenience. A necessary marriage.”

Yeonwoo buried his face in the pillow. He felt pathetic for tormenting himself, even though Chahyun was only answering his questions.

“It doesn’t mean anything other than that, okay?”

“…….”

“Yeonwoo.”

“Call me hyung.”

He mumbled, still with his face buried in the pillow. He heard Chahyun approaching. Yeonwoo strained his ears.

Chahyun then embraced Yeonwoo, who was lying on the bed, from behind. Chahyun’s pheromones and scent were strong.

Burying his lips in the back of Yeonwoo’s neck, Chahyun kept calling his name as if pleading.

After a while, Yeonwoo asked again.

“What about children?”

“Well, I’m not interested.”

Chahyun replied in a disinterested voice.

“So you don’t need to be jealous.”

“…….”

The fiery emotions he had suppressed surged up again. He wanted to push Chahyun away and punch him in his smug face.

However, he knew from experience that aggressive behavior wouldn’t work on Chahyun, so he stopped at the thought.

Yeonwoo recalled the sex he had with Chahyun. He was always meticulous about contraception. His lack of interest in children probably wasn’t a lie.

But even if he said that now, things would probably change if he had a child with the person he married. Not being interested didn’t mean he didn’t want them.

The mere thought of him becoming someone else’s husband and father made his chest ache, as if pierced by a blade.

It was unnecessary lingering attachment since he had already decided to leave Chahyun.

Yeonwoo realized anew how much he truly loved Baek Chahyun.

“Look at me.”

Chahyun whispered to Yeonwoo, who stubbornly kept his face down. And he turned Yeonwoo’s body towards him.

Yeonwoo obediently followed his lead. As if pleased with his compliance, Chahyun’s lips curved upwards. He climbed on top of Yeonwoo, his eyes gleaming with lust, and said,

“I want you.”

“It’s morning.”

“How can you look so fucking hot even in the morning? It’s your fault, Hong Yeonwoo.”

“…Don’t talk to hyung like that, you, you…”

“Because you’re hyung, my dick is hard in the morning.”

Saying such vulgar things, Chahyun kissed him. His lips landed on Yeonwoo’s chin, neck, and collarbone.

“Ah, your sweet scent is driving me crazy.”

“Stop it.”

“Hmm. But your pheromones are so weak? If your heat cycle is approaching, you should be giving off that enticing scent.”

Chahyun, who had his nose buried in Yeonwoo’s collarbone, muttered as if puzzled. Yet, he continued to lick Yeonwoo’s fair skin with his tongue.