TAF Ch 19

A vague unease grew as Yeonwoo realized the car was heading towards the apartment. The thought that Chahyun wouldn’t relent, that he would be forced to watch him get married, made his head spin.

“It’s hard to… breathe.”

He wanted to jump out of the car, but his body wouldn’t cooperate. His hands and feet trembled slightly, and his heart pounded uncontrollably, so hard that his whole body seemed to vibrate.

“Ha… ha… ha…”

Yeonwoo clutched his chest, struggling to breathe. Cold sweat beaded on his temples.

“Yeonwoo? What’s wrong?”

“I can’t… breathe…”

Then, a wave of nausea hit him.

“Stop… stop the car… Ugh!”

Covering his mouth, Yeonwoo fumbled for the car door handle. But it was locked.

“Stop the car! Hurry!”

Chahyun, realizing something was wrong, yelled at the driver. The driver immediately pulled over and turned towards the sidewalk.

“Ugh!”

But before the car came to a complete stop, Yeonwoo vomited.

He tried to cover it with his hands, but the contents of his stomach surged out, accompanied by a terrible, constricting pain in his chest. It all happened against his will.

“Y-Yeonwoo! What’s wrong? The door! The car door! Open it now!”

The moment the car stopped and the lock disengaged, Yeonwoo flung the door open.

As soon as his feet hit the pavement, Yeonwoo collapsed, his body rolling onto the ground. He began to vomit even more violently than in the car.

“What’s wrong? What is it, huh?”

Chahyun rushed out after him.

“Ugh… retch, cough!”

“Where does it hurt? Hong Yeonwoo. Did you eat something bad?”

As Chahyun anxiously reached out to pat Yeonwoo’s back, Yeonwoo recoiled and crawled away.

“Don’t touch me, stay away…”

Even with vomit covering his knees, Yeonwoo didn’t seem to care. Or rather, he seemed unaware of it.

Chahyun froze, half-bent over, at the sight of Yeonwoo recoiling as if having a seizure at his touch.

“I, I just wanted to… because you seemed to be in pain…”

“Ugh…! I know, ha… Just don’t come near me. You’ll get your clothes dirty…”

At Chahyun’s wounded tone, Yeonwoo tried to soothe him. But then, another wave of nausea hit, and he shuddered.

“Should we go to the hospital?”

Unable to touch Yeonwoo, Chahyun paced anxiously.

“No.”

“Then…!”

“Just… leave me alone for now. That’s all I need.”

“…….”

“Please… Chahyun. I’m begging you.”

✧✧✧

In the end, instead of getting back in the car, Yeonwoo checked into a nearby hotel and washed up.

He was so exhausted from vomiting, even his stomach acid, that he didn’t have the energy to go anywhere else.

Stepping out of the hotel bathroom, Yeonwoo felt a slight sense of relief as the unpleasant smell that had been clinging to him disappeared. At the same time, he was still uneasy about his physical condition.

Why had he been trembling so much? Was it the fear of returning to the apartment?

Moreover, it was the first time he had felt such intense revulsion towards Chahyun. He was bewildered by his own reaction.

Was it the anxiety of being confined again? Or was it nausea brought on by the shock of being caught? …He didn’t know.

Somehow, things had turned out exactly as Chahyun had unreasonably insisted—if he was going to sleep somewhere else, it should be a hotel.

“Clothes…”

Emerging from the bathroom in a bathrobe, Yeonwoo belatedly realized he had nothing to wear. His clothes, both underwear and outerwear, were covered in vomit.

He had no choice but to lie down on the bed in just his bathrobe. He touched his swollen neck. He tried to recall why he’d vomited so violently, but the memories were hazy. He only vaguely remembered feeling his blood run cold the moment Chahyun touched him.

Lost in thought, he heard a knock on the door.

“Who is it?”

Yeonwoo asked, his voice hoarse.

—It’s me.

It was Chahyun. Yeonwoo flinched as he sat up.

—How are you feeling?

“…I’m okay now.”

—I’ll hang some new clothes on the doorknob.

Chahyun spoke as if he had no intention of entering. His voice was lower than usual.

Yeonwoo was relieved. If he had been dragged away earlier, he would have been locked up in the apartment again.

“Okay.”

—There’s medicine inside too, take it after you eat.

“Okay.”

—Go to the hospital when you’ve rested.

“…….”

—Okay?

“I’ll take care of it.”

—I won’t follow you. So, whenever you’re comfortable…

“I said I’ll take care of it.”

Yeonwoo responded curtly. There was no reply from outside.

Was that too harsh?

The room, which had been filled with their conversation through the door, fell silent, and Yeonwoo’s heart grew heavy.

But right now, he truly didn’t want to do anything. He just wanted to rest.

—About coming home…

“I’m tired, let’s talk later.”

As soon as Chahyun mentioned coming home, Yeonwoo changed the subject. He compulsively checked that the hotel room door was properly locked.

—Alright.

Chahyun’s calm reply came. Yeonwoo, unsure of what to say, just parted his lips several times.

An awkward silence followed. He wondered if Chahyun had left, but then he heard his voice again.

—And don’t worry about the sleeping pills. I was only dizzy at first, I felt fine soon after.

“…….”

Yeonwoo flinched at the mention of the sleeping pills.

—Rest.

Without waiting for a reply, Chahyun left. The faint sound of his footsteps disappearing into the hallway carpet reached Yeonwoo’s ears.

Yeonwoo sat on the bed, staring at the door.

He hated Chahyun so much. He wanted to feel pure hatred, but Chahyun wouldn’t let him.

He hated him because Chahyun wasn’t just selfish and cruel.

✧✧✧

Yeonwoo, who had fallen into a deep sleep at some point, woke up to the sound of the doorbell.

—Housekeeping. I’ve come to clean your room.

A middle-aged woman’s voice repeated several times. Groggily sitting up, Yeonwoo approached the door.

“You don’t have to clean.”

—Understood. But sir, there’s this hanging on your doorknob. Is it yours?

At the staff member’s words, Yeonwoo tightly wrapped his bathrobe and opened the door. A cleaning staff member in uniform stood there, holding a large shopping bag.

It was what Chahyun had left before he fell asleep.

“Oh, yes. It’s mine. Thank you.”

“Please let the front desk know if you need anything else.”

The staff member moved on to the next room. Yeonwoo glanced down the hotel hallway, relieved to see that Chahyun and his men weren’t there.

Back in his room, Yeonwoo opened the shopping bag. As Chahyun had said, there were new clothes and medicine inside. And Yeonwoo’s bag as well.

Was Chahyun not at the hotel at all? He hadn’t mentioned going anywhere else, so Yeonwoo had no idea where he was. He didn’t know if Chahyun had given up on taking him back.

He didn’t seem intent on bothering him further when they spoke before he fell asleep… In any case, it was fortunate that Chahyun was particularly concerned about his health.

A while later, dressed in the clothes from the shopping bag, Yeonwoo left the hotel.

“I need a pregnancy test for a male omega.”

He bought a pregnancy test at the nearest pharmacy. Back in his room, he immediately tore open the package and used it.

He had to wait a bit for the results. Yeonwoo placed the test face down and glanced at his watch, contemplating the possibility of pregnancy.

The sudden nausea bothered him. Morning sickness was the most common pregnancy symptom, so he couldn’t rule out the possibility.

Pregnancy. What were the chances he was pregnant?

They usually used contraception when they had sex. Chahyun was the one who took care of it.

There had been a few times when they lost control and forgot about contraception, but he’d never gotten pregnant before.

It was inherently more difficult for male omegas to conceive than females. That’s why, if you checked the demographics of infertility centers, the number of male omegas far outnumbered females or female omegas.

Still, the probability wasn’t zero, so he couldn’t help but feel anxious. Knowing that Chahyun had chosen someone else, he didn’t want to cling to him and go back if he was pregnant.

Chahyun seemed determined to go through with the arranged marriage, so if he was pregnant, things would get very complicated.

Time was up. Checking his watch, Yeonwoo nervously wiped his face repeatedly.

Taking a deep breath, he picked up the pregnancy test.

“Whew.”

One line. Negative.

Thank goodness. Yeonwoo checked the test one more time before throwing it in the trash. Just then, his phone started ringing.