Chapter 10: The Lacquer Rash and Unrequited Love

“What are you doing right now?”

Do-ha, startled by Tae-jun’s frantic actions, found himself in the driver’s seat. Without a word, he quickly pulled on his seatbelt as Tae-jun immediately started the car.

“Are you really that oblivious? I specifically ordered something else for you, telling you not to eat it. That should have been enough, damn it. Don’t scratch, even if it itches.”

Do-ha, who should have been the one angry, instead felt suppressed by Tae-jun’s booming voice and fierce demeanor. He simply stared blankly at him.

“Speed, slow down! Are you trying to die? Are you crazy? Don’t you know how to drive safely?”

Though traffic wasn’t particularly heavy, Tae-jun drove recklessly, speeding and cutting off other cars. Do-ha instinctively gripped the grab handle with both hands.

“Let me see your hand.”

Overwhelmed by Tae-jun’s rough driving and cursing, Do-ha instinctively extended his arm. His wrist was seized firmly, and he was abruptly pulled closer.

“I knew it. Do you have a regular hospital you go to?”

Do-ha blinked, following Tae-jun’s gaze as he subtly pushed up the sleeve of Do-ha’s knit sweater. Although Do-ha had only lightly scratched it due to a slight itch, his delicate white skin was inflamed and red from the scratching.

“Ah, S University Hospital.”

“Set the navigation.”

After inputting the directions into the navigation, Do-ha pulled up both of his sleeves. He couldn’t pinpoint any specific cause, yet the persistent itching on his wrists and nape bothered him.

“This… what is this? Did you know, Team Leader?”

“It’s a lacquer rash. Don’t scratch it, no matter how much it itches. It’ll only get worse if you do.”

Tae-jun glanced at Do-ha’s wrist, then clicked his tongue as he spoke.

He’d been told they were eating *ottdak*, but he’d still harbored a faint hope. It seemed impossible for the exact same thing to happen as in the past.

He recalled Jin, who had suffered for days after they’d simply gone for a walk up the hill. Her body had been covered in spots, and she’d writhed in torment from the itch. Even after renowned herbal doctors had visited, she’d endured for over a month, ultimately left with scars across her body.

“I told you not to scratch.”

The moment Tae-jun saw Do-ha, who, unable to bear the itch, was rubbing the rash with his fingertips rather than scratching with his nails, a sharp remark burst from Tae-jun’s lips.

“No, it’s just so itchy.”

“Tsk. Just bear with it a little longer.”

Tae-jun firmly clasped Do-ha’s inflamed left wrist.

****

“Patient, do you have a fever?”

“No fever yet.”

Do-ha, having just answered a few questions while Tae-jun went to register at the emergency room, sensed something was wrong when he saw the doctor speaking to the nurse with a grave expression.

“You’ll be examined in an isolation room first.”

“What? But I’m just a little itchy here and here.”

‘An isolation room? What kind of isolation room? Am I some kind of infectious disease patient? All I did was get dragged here while eating. And on the way here, I searched it up, and it really does seem like a lacquer rash.’

Without even a chance to meet Tae-jun, who had gone to settle the bill, Do-ha was led to an isolation room. He changed into a patient gown as instructed, then found himself confined to a sterile room. Only then did he frantically cling to the sterile room window.

“What is happening to me right now?! Please call Seo Jin-wook! He’s a surgical resident at this hospital!”

Do-ha’s shouts echoed within the sterile room.

“It appears to be a lacquer rash. He ate *ottdak baeksuk* about an hour ago…”

Tae-jun, who had entered the emergency room after registering, sighed deeply upon hearing that Do-ha had been taken to an isolation room. Whether it was a sterile room or anywhere else, as long as he received proper treatment, there was nothing to worry about.

“Yes, he didn’t really eat anything before that, *cough*.”

As Tae-jun was explaining Do-ha’s condition, someone suddenly grabbed him tightly by the collar, cutting off his words.

“Was it you? You bastard who did this to our youngest?”

People quickly intervened, and Tae-jun, grabbing the wrist that held his collar, managed to pull himself free. He glared at the man, who was both taller and more heavily built than himself, his expression hardening in displeasure.

“Dr. Seo! He’s here as the patient’s guardian.”

“What?”

“He’s here as patient Seo Do-ha’s guardian.”

The moment Tae-jun saw the nameplate ‘Seo Jin-wook’ on the doctor’s gown, his rigid expression softened. Thinking that Jin-wook’s fiery temper and tendency to resort to fists hadn’t changed, Tae-jun involuntarily let out a small laugh.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes. But is it really necessary to isolate him in a sterile room?”

“If it’s a lacquer rash, as you said, Mr. Tae-jun, then an antihistamine IV, oral medication, and ointment should suffice. However, there’s someone more formidable than me at our house. If we treat him carelessly and send him home, there will be chaos.”

Tae-jun nodded silently as he walked with Jin-wook toward the sterile room. Then as now, Do-ha was the beloved youngest. Just like in the past, he was still the sole Omega youngest of the three brothers.

“Oh, that idiot.”

Jin-wook muttered to himself, watching Do-ha pressed against the sterile room window. Still, seeing his brother eagerly talking as if glad to see someone he knew, Jin-wook clicked his tongue and picked up the intercom.

“Brother! Jin-wook hyung! Get me out of here!”

Do-ha’s shout, as he finally picked up the intercom inside after seeing Jin-wook’s gesture, reached Tae-jun, who was standing behind him. Tae-jun subtly bowed his head, a mix of relief and laughter bubbling within him.

“Wait. We’ll check the blood test results as soon as they come out, then we’ll let you out. For now, just sit there and quietly take your IV.”

At first, Do-ha had thought it was nothing, just an itch around his wrist and neck. But now, trapped alone like this, all sorts of thoughts flooded his mind. He pouted at his brother’s calm words.

“I told you not to just pick up and eat anything! Didn’t I? Don’t tell me, did *this person* feed it to you?”

Tae-jun, listening to the conversation between the brothers—which could be considered affectionate—suddenly found Jin-wook turning around and glaring at him with sharp eyes. He lifted his head, trying hard to suppress the smile he’d previously hidden.

“Are you crazy? No! Hyung, you didn’t actually grab our team leader by the collar, did you?”

“Then, did you just eat it on your own?”

“Hyun-woo! Hyun-woo gave it to me. The Team Leader just brought me to the hospital!”

Tae-jun offered a faint smile and shrugged with both hands, only to suddenly feel his throat constrict again. He quickly grasped the hand that had seized his collar.

“Dad, I already took care of it. Ugh.”

“Ack! Dad, what is it, no!”

Following Do-ha’s second brother, Tae-jun was seized by the collar a second time, this time by Do-ha’s father, who had rushed down upon hearing that Do-ha was in the sterile room. Tae-jun could only let out a hollow laugh.

“I apologize. My dad and my brother tend to act first and think later.”

Having been confirmed as an allergy to lacquer through his blood test, Do-ha was released from the isolation room and let out a deep sigh of relief inwardly.

Now that his father and brother, who had rushed to the emergency room upon hearing of his arrival, had left, it was up to Do-ha to handle the aftermath of this situation.

“It seems it would be difficult to survive if one were to wrong Mr. Do-ha.”

“Is your neck alright? My second brother has been doing judo since he was little. I always knew that brute bear would cause trouble eventually.”

With his peculiar family now revealed, and with no hope of impressing Tae-jun, whom he liked, it became clear that he should give up on his unrequited love at this point.

“I’m fine. As the doctor said earlier, make sure to take your oral medication and apply the ointment diligently.”

“Yes. But how did you know I shouldn’t eat lacquer? You didn’t say anything like that to anyone else.”

Do-ha, feeling that he wasn’t really sick enough to lie down and get an IV, sat perched on a hospital chair, swinging his legs. He stared intently at Tae-jun, who was seated in the guardian’s chair opposite him.

“If you haven’t eaten it before, you should be careful on your own. Well, it seems you’re fine, so I’ll see you at the office on Monday.”

Watching Tae-jun’s broad back as he slowly rose and left the private room, Do-ha merely bowed his head. He felt pathetic, constantly causing trouble for Tae-jun after being the one to suggest they date. In his heart, he wished he could ask Tae-jun to wait until his IV was finished and to take him home.

“Thank you for looking after our Do-ha. If it’s alright with you, may I invite you to my home?”

“No, not at all. If I had known beforehand, I would have been more careful. I apologize for causing trouble unnecessarily. You don’t need to invite me over for something like this…”

“You’re his team leader, I hear. Well then, I’ll formally invite you soon.”

Recalling the conversation his father and Tae-jun had just shared, Do-ha’s cheeks flushed for no reason, and he buried his face in the bed.

His father was likely inviting Tae-jun out of gratitude for bringing him to the hospital, but Do-ha found himself wishing to formally introduce Tae-jun to his family.

“Ha. It’s a delusion, just a delusion. You’re crazy, Seo Do-ha.”

Do-ha, lying straight to prevent the IV line from tangling, consoled himself as he thought of Hye-jin. When he had believed Tae-jun was single, everything felt wonderful, and he dreamt that Tae-jun would start dating him at any moment.

No matter how carelessly he lived or how impulsively he acted, he knew for certain that harboring feelings for someone who was already in a relationship and pursuing them was not the right thing to do.

Do-ha raised his left hand, which wasn’t connected to the IV, and gripped his own wrist with his right hand. His wrist fit perfectly within his grasp.

As he felt nothing on his own wrist, Tae-jun came to mind. Tae-jun’s large hand, which had enveloped his wrist with ample room to spare, and the intense heat that had emanated from it. Releasing his grip, Do-ha closed his eyes.

****

“Hello.”

Do-ha paused as he entered the team leader’s office at Tae-jun’s summons, but then clenched his fists and stepped inside.

Tae-jun was perched on the desk, and Hye-jin was seated on the sofa. Do-ha, unable to approach either of them, closed the office door.

“Come closer.”

‘Is he deliberately showing off their affectionate dynamic, almost as if to confirm a kill? Do-ha hated Tae-jun for acting this way, knowing full well Do-ha’s feelings.’ He bit his lower lip and stood before Tae-jun.

“Do-ha, hello. I heard you got a lacquer rash. Are you alright? If I had known, I would have gone somewhere else.”

Do-ha offered an awkward smile at Hye-jin’s words, then stumbled back a few steps as Tae-jun suddenly grabbed his wrist and began unbuttoning his shirt.

“Did you apply the medicine?”

Although he had stepped back, Do-ha couldn’t go far since his wrist was already caught in Tae-jun’s hand. He was at a loss, unable to react as Tae-jun inspected his wrist from various angles.

“Yes, I applied the med… *Gasp*.”

After unbuttoning both sleeves and checking his wrists, Tae-jun’s hand moved to his neck, unfastening the carefully buttoned collar. Do-ha couldn’t complete his sentence.

“So, where would be good? Oh, Do-ha, you mentioned you live in the same residential complex as Jun-i, right? Is it a good place? I need to find somewhere to live for a year, but I don’t have much information.”

Do-ha merely blinked, even though he knew Tae-jun had unbuttoned several buttons of his shirt and was pulling back his collar to examine his neck.

He struggled to follow the unfolding situation and the conversation that ensued.

“Just move into our place then. Make sure to apply the medicine diligently and eat well. Even if the lacquer rash seems fine, it can cause trouble for over a month.”

As Tae-jun’s hot fingertips touched his neck, Do-ha sharply inhaled.

“Huh? Yes.”

Once the hand that had lingered on his neck receded and Tae-jun meticulously re-buttoned his shirt, Do-ha couldn’t meet anyone’s gaze and simply stared at the floor.

“Don’t keep doing that. Someone might actually move in.”

The moment he registered the light, joking banter between Tae-jun and Hye-jin, Do-ha squeezed his eyes shut, feeling as if someone was fiercely squeezing his left chest.

“Did you call me just to check if I applied the medicine?”

Do-ha desperately wanted to escape that place as quickly as possible.

“Yes.”

As soon as Tae-jun’s short, curt reply reached him, Do-ha bowed hastily and fled the team leader’s office as if escaping.

“Kang Tae-jun, don’t use me too much.”

Watching Do-ha’s retreating figure, like a small animal cornered and fleeing, Hye-jin swept back her long, flowing hair.