Chapter 45: Something Has Changed

Believing the positive answer that he would wake up once he recovered to some extent, Joowon was currently waiting in silence.

Before he knew it, it was already close to ten o’clock at night.

He had notified his family that he would be staying at his officetel, offering the absurd excuse that he would be staying late at school for several days due to an assignment.

The officetel, which Chairman Shin had given him as a college entrance gift, was only about a ten-minute drive from the school, and because he had frequently stayed there for three or four days at a time whenever he had to remain at school for a long period, Chairman Shin didn’t show any particular suspicion.

Shin Joowon, after sending a message to his mother saying he would be at the officetel for a few days, pulled a chair close to the bed and sat down to observe Yooha.

Yooha’s relaxed face looked exceptionally gentle, making a laugh leak out of him for no reason.

Just as he was about to reach out his hand with the playful thought of poking his cheek, a vibrating sound was heard from somewhere.

The sound was so small that he would have missed it if he hadn’t paid close attention.

Since his own phone on the tea table was silent, it wasn’t his.

Then that meant it was Jin Yooha’s phone.

Shin Joowon withdrew his hand, stood up, and left the bedroom.

He saw Yooha’s backpack sitting alone in the hallway connecting the entrance and the living room.

The vibrating sound, which grew clearer as he approached the bag, spoke on behalf of Shin Joowon’s hunch being correct.

He fumbled through the bag and found Yooha’s phone.

The screen was cracked here and there, and it looked old, as if it had been released a long time ago.

‘Woo Tae’

A missed call notification that had just ended appeared on the screen.

It was a call from his cousin Woo Tae, who seemed to care for Jin Yooha terribly.

Shin Joowon, confirming that the phone wasn’t locked, checked the accumulated notifications.

Two missed calls from “Aunt,” five from “Librarian,” and seven from “Woo Tae,” and there were also several messages from Woo Tae.

[Woo Tae: Hyung, how is your body? Are you okay? You should have rested instead of going to school ㅠㅜ]

[Woo Tae: Are you in class?]

[Woo Tae: Can’t you answer the phone?]

[Woo Tae: Hyung, why aren’t you coming? ㅠㅠ]

[Woo Tae: Mom is worried because you’re not answering her calls either.]

[Woo Tae: Did something happen???]

[Woo Tae: Hyung, please answer the phone.]

As if the words that he took good care of him weren’t a lie, the messages, in which urgency could be felt, seemed full of concern.

Shin Joowon, walking to the living room with the phone in hand, leaned back leisurely on the sofa and contemplated what kind of reply to send to Woo Tae.

Since it would be troublesome for him if they filed a missing person report, he felt it would be better to contact them.

As if reading his thoughts, a call from Woo Tae came through again just in time.

Shin Joowon pressed the call button without hesitation.

– Hyuuung! Why are you only answering now! I was really putting on my shoes to go look for you just now!

As soon as he answered, a voice loud enough to make his eardrums numb struck his ears.

Shin Joowon, just as Yooha had done before, briefly pulled the phone away from his ear and turned down the volume with his brow furrowed.

He had felt it last time too, but unlike Yooha, his cousin Woo Tae had a very resonant voice.

“I’m Yooha’s Sunbae. We’ve met before, right?”

– Uh……? If you’re Hyung’s Sunbae, are you… the person who drove him home before?

Behind the dazed voice, a cautious question followed.

Shin Joowon liked Woo Tae a little, as his memory at least didn’t seem bad.

“Yes, that’s right. Yooha is with me at my officetel. Mmm… I think I’ll have to keep him here for a few days… but Yooha is sleeping right now, so I answered instead.”

– Uh… uh-huh… yes, okay…….

“Can you let the adults know so they don’t worry? Yooha is fast asleep, so it’s a bit difficult to wake him.”

Although he didn’t know if Woo Tae knew Yooha was in his heat cycle, he couldn’t tell a kid who hadn’t even become an adult yet that his brother was in estrus so he couldn’t bring him home right now.

Shin Joowon explained vaguely, hoping Woo Tae would tactfully understand.

Fortunately, Woo Tae did not disappoint Shin Joowon’s expectations.

– Ah…… yes! Understood! I’ll do that!

“Thank you. I’ll tell Yooha to contact you when he wakes up later.”

– Yes! Please take good care of our Hyung, Hyung-nim!

“Haha, yes. I’ll hang up now.”

– Yes! Thank you!

Unlike Yooha, who always called him Sunbae-nim and found him difficult until he corrected the title, Woo Tae seemed to have a good sense of humor.

Shin Joowon, who finished the call with a quite pleasant mind, stopped his action of putting Yooha’s phone back into his bag.

‘Since he’s the person closest to Jin Yooha, wouldn’t it be useful to know his contact information someday?’

At the sudden thought, he returned to the bedroom holding Yooha’s phone.

After searching the contacts and saving Woo Tae’s number in his own phone, he checked a message that had arrived from his mother.

A short sentence was displayed on the screen, telling him to make sure to eat regularly even if he was busy, and to contact her immediately if anything happened.

After sending a brief reply and placing his phone on the tea table, Yooha, who hadn’t budged a single finger until now, began to toss and turn slightly.

Shin Joowon, stroking his lips that had curved into an arc, sat on the edge of the bed.

Reaching out his hand to gently rub Yooha’s neck, Yooha quickly shrunk back as if tickled.

The slowly opening pupils looked a little hazy.

“Yooha.”

“…….”

“Do you know who I am?”

Shin Joowon, offering a half-joking remark, gently stroked Yooha’s hair.

Reflected in the dim mood light, Yooha’s face was flushed with healthy color.

As the number of times his eyelids blinked increased, Yooha’s gaze grew clearer.

“Joowon-hyung…….”

Through his slowly parting lips, a raspy voice escaped.

Seeing Yooha startled by his own voice, Shin Joowon gently stroked his still-flushed cheek and stood up.

“I’ll get some water. Wait just a moment.”

Before Yooha could stop him, Shin Joowon quickly left the room.

Because his mind was hazy as if he had been hit hard on the head, he couldn’t tell what was going on.

Yooha, who was lying still and blinking, tried to sit up, thinking he shouldn’t just stay like this.

“Ugh…….”

First, he tried to prop himself up on the bed with his elbow, but it wasn’t easy.

His body was aching as if he had been beaten in every corner, and before he could even prop up his elbow, his entire arm was shaking, leaving him unable to do anything.

He was able to lift his head slightly, but before long, the back of his head sank deep into the pillow again.

Eventually giving up on rising and closing his eyes, Yooha let out a long sigh and tried to trace his memory.

Because his heat cycle had been brought forward and his condition was bad, he had somehow gone to school, and had met Shin Joowon there…….

‘Please help me, Hyung….’

Recalling the words he had uttered at the end of his memory, Yooha froze with his breath caught.

It was because the pieces of memory that surfaced one by one fell into place, revealing why he was lying here.

‘Wouldn’t it rather be more realistic if all of this were a dream?’

As the memories that made his head spin grew clearer, Yooha felt so humiliated he couldn’t bear it.

Although there were hazy parts here and there, the sensation when Shin Joowon had first dug deep inside him was vivid.

His entire body had been tingly, to the point where he was fearful of moving even a single finger.

An unfamiliar feeling he didn’t know how to express in words had tightly bound his limbs.

If someone asked if he had disliked it and been terrified, he would have shaken his head.

The most prominent conclusion that remained was simply that everything he had done with him had been insanely good, to the point where he couldn’t control himself.

“Yooha, drink some water.”

‘Did Shin Joowon also think everything was good like me? What if he felt bad because I was clumsy?’

Yooha, who was sighing at the belatedly rushing helplessness, shivered at Joowon’s voice.

Shin Joowon, who had returned to the room before he knew it, placed the cup on the nightstand and helped Yooha sit up.

Placing a soft pillow behind his back so it wouldn’t be uncomfortable, and adjusting his posture so he could lean well against the headboard, his touch was incredibly sweet.

Yooha couldn’t bring himself to lift his head, silently staring only downward.

Shin Joowon slipped the cup into Yooha’s hand.

“Thank you…….”

In the midst of that, Yooha, not forgetting his thanks, barely managed to quench his throat with water.

Shin Joowon, who placed the emptied cup on the nightstand, suddenly narrowed the distance and leaned close.

“You look much better than earlier… but I can still feel your pheromones.”

“Ah… if I take my suppressants, I’ll be fine soon. I’ll take them now….”

“I wasn’t telling you to take suppressants.”

Shin Joowon, who stopped Yooha as he tried to move his fumbling and creaking body, slightly curved his eyes and smiled.

Propping one knee on the bed to press even closer to Yooha, Shin Joowon slowly rubbed his neck with his fingertips.

After wiping Yooha’s body, he felt it would be better to put a shirt on him, so he had dressed him in his own t-shirt, and because the shirt was large, it exposed his collarbones, which looked quite good.

“Hng….”

“Are you originally sensitive? Or is it because it hasn’t subsided yet?”

Yooha shivered weakly every time Shin Joowon’s finger slid over his skin.

The voice asking was exceptionally wet, as if carrying moisture.

The weak heat that still remained reacted to Shin Joowon’s fingertips and voice, making his entire body heat up in an instant.

Yooha, shivering at the thrilling sensation coursing from his hand, began to answer haltingly.

“Usually, once I take my medicine, it subsides immediately… but this time… my doctor said… h-hormonal disruption… so it would be harder than usual….”

“Hormonal disruption?”

“Yes… if you have contact with an Alpha… your heat cycle can be brought forward… and they say that’s because of hormonal disruption… if it’s brought forward like that… he said it would be harder than usual….”

Gradually, the space between his legs also turned stiff and felt sore.

Yooha, who curled his feet hidden inside the blanket tightly, only then realized that although he was wearing a shirt, he had nothing on below his waist.