Chapter 78: Hell of A Birthday

Han-geon walked endlessly along the banks of the Han River.

Even with his phone turned off, the watch on his wrist kept vibrating.

Calls from Eun-gyeol had already passed seventy.

Mixed in were calls from his mother and father—he must have contacted them too.

He was so drained that all he could do was walk.

He didn’t want to contact anyone.

But when calls started coming in even from Yujin and the manager, he realized he couldn’t keep avoiding it forever.

In the end, Han-geon contacted the adults first.

He told them he had only stepped out to get some fresh air and that they didn’t need to worry.

After hesitating, he sent one final message—to Eun-gyeol.

[I stepped out to get some air.

I’ll be back by Sunday evening.]

After delivering the message unilaterally, he turned the phone off again.

A glance at the watch showed 00:12.

A hollow laugh slipped out.

Hell of a birthday present.

And even that had already passed.

The pale moon looked empty and forlorn.

The noise from the road brushed harshly against his ears, and the shimmering reflections on the river beside him rippled and swayed.

But to Han-geon, trudging forward step by step, all of it felt separated from him by an invisible wall.

It was as if he were wandering alone inside a tunnel with no end.

He wanted to walk until his body and mind were completely exhausted, then collapse anywhere and fall asleep.

But he didn’t even have a place to go back to right now.

Eun-gyeol would obviously be waiting—not at his own place, but at Han-geon’s.

And going back to his parents’ house wasn’t an option either.

A few college friends crossed his mind.

There were plenty who lived alone, and some who were close enough not to mind him asking to crash at this hour.

Still, he didn’t want to see anyone right now.

By the time he finally arrived at a random motel after walking endlessly, it was past two in the morning.

After showering and tossing a couple of pills into his mouth, Han-geon collapsed straight onto the bed.

His completely depleted body fell into deep unconsciousness the moment he closed his eyes.

***

When he opened them again, it was almost ten in the morning.

Han-geon mechanically pushed himself up from the bed.

He was afraid that if he gave even a sliver of space, the flood of intrusive thoughts would crush him.

He’d left only some cash in his pocket and abandoned both his phone and watch in the motel room.

Leaving the motel, Han-geon retraced yesterday’s path.

He ran along the Han River, and then ran some more.

After running until he was soaked through with sweat, Han-geon stopped by a large mart he happened to see and bought a set of training clothes to change into.

He returned to the motel, showered, and changed clothes.

Then he went to a nearby restaurant and had a bowl of hangover soup.

After exercising himself to exhaustion, washing up, and eating, drowsiness naturally crept in.

He was grateful for how smoothly time passed.

All the effort he’d put into forcing himself to sleep without thinking felt worth it.

Back at the motel, Han-geon extended his stay.

He wanted to sleep mindlessly until evening.

When he opened his eyes again, it was almost five.

The dim hues of early evening were seeping in through the open window.

He gazed at the scene with a slightly wistful heart.

No matter how much he exercised, he never usually took naps this long—he must have overdone it.

Yeah.

He really had overdone it.

Rolling the words around in his mouth, Han-geon let out a bitter smile.

But that smile quickly faded.

In a place with no one around—especially a place without Eun-gyeol—there was no reason to pretend he was fine.

Soon, Han-geon’s face darkened.

He had run and run to escape his thoughts, but now that he had to return to Eun-gyeol, he couldn’t do that anymore.

Before meeting him, he inevitably had to face his own heart at least once.

Omega.

They said he had become an omega.

He, who had lived his entire life as a beta man.

Was this punishment for wanting more than he deserved?

For enjoying only the pleasure Eun-gyeol gave him while deliberately turning away from how Eun-gyeol truly saw him?

For giving himself away without pride, pouring out everything—only to be punished by having even his identity and the way he had lived his life stolen from him…?

He hadn’t been able to come to his senses at all.

He hadn’t even thought about escaping.

Because the pleasure Eun-gyeol gave him had felt too good.

He had loved him his entire life, yet had never dared to lay a hand on him.

But when Eun-gyeol did that, he held him with burning intensity.

The scalding heat wasn’t limited to his fingertips.

Eun-gyeol looked at him with eyes boiling with emotion, and when their bodies collided fiercely, he shoved that heat deep inside him.

It felt too good.

So good that he failed to realize his body had reached its critical point and was finally boiling over.

Like an idiot.

Like a fool….

“…Haha.”

The powerless laughter spilled out for a while longer.

The price for a miserable unrequited love was spectacular indeed.

He’d thought nothing could be more wretched than being forced to give his body to Eun-gyeol, but he’d been wrong.

The abyss was deeper than Han-geon had imagined.

It was as deep as the pain of having endured Eun-gyeol’s cruelty with stubborn devotion.

He forced his body, which felt glued to the bed, to sit up.

After washing up briefly, he tossed his medication into his mouth.

The doctor had stressed repeatedly that pheromone control would be difficult for a while after manifestation, so he had to take it without fail.

After hesitating, he took one more pill.

The thought of himself leaking pheromones while talking to Eun-gyeol…
just imagining it made his skin crawl.

He gathered the spare clothes he’d left out and mechanically exited the motel room.

No matter how much he wanted to delay it, it was time to settle things once and for all.

Standing at the bus stop, he took out his phone.

The moment he turned it on, messages from Eun-gyeol flooded the screen.

There were too many to even count.

The contents were all similar—asking where he was, asking why he’d suddenly disappeared.

[Let’s meet.

I have something to say.

Where are you right now?]

Almost immediately after he sent the message, a call came through.

He rejected it without hesitation.

[Text me.

Where are you right now.]

[At your place.]
The reply was brief.

Just as expected.

Boarding the arriving bus, Han-geon let out a small sigh and slipped the phone into his pocket.

Now, he was afraid to face Eun-gyeol.

Not because he feared his anger.

But because he didn’t fully understand his own feelings toward him.

The most frightening thing was not knowing what color his emotions—curled up and sleeping quietly inside him—had taken on, or where they might burst toward next.

If asked whether he still loved him…
He did.

His heart still did.

But despite the lingering ache and feverish longing, that once tender and innocent feeling was clearly changing.

Like fruit quietly rotting from the inside.

It looked no different on the outside, but as the owner of that heart, he couldn’t possibly fail to notice the change beginning at its core.

The way home felt like an eternity.

At last, he got off at the familiar stop.

Each step toward the front gate of the house felt heavy as lead.

He quietly unlocked the door and stepped inside.

The moment he took off his shoes, Eun-gyeol—who had been sitting on the sofa—shot to his feet.

At the sight of him, Han-geon flinched and froze in place.

“…Cha Eun-gyeol.

You—”

The instant he met those bloodshot eyes, a chill ran down his spine.

The face that always seemed solidly, unshakably beautiful held no trace of composure now.

Dark shadows lay beneath his eyes, and raw, unrefined anger overflowed from his gaze.

It was hard to believe this change had happened in just one night—Eun-gyeol’s complexion looked that bad.

Eun-gyeol closed the distance in a single stride and seized Han-geon’s shoulder.

It felt as though he were screaming through his grip alone.

The crushing strength made Han-geon grimace involuntarily, as if his shoulder bone might shatter.

“Where did you go.”

The growling voice tore through the space.

“I’m asking you where the hell you went!”

Han-geon slowly grabbed Eun-gyeol’s wrist and pulled it away.

Meeting his fierce glare head-on, he spoke in a calm tone.

“…Don’t use force.

Let’s talk.”

“Talk?

f*ck, do you think that’s something you can say right now?”

“I have something to say too… sit down.”

Seeing how composed Han-geon sounded, Eun-gyeol clenched his teeth and stared up at the ceiling.

His expression screamed I’m going insane.

“What the hell are you?

Yesterday, all of a sudden—why did you just disappear like that?”

Rubbing his face roughly with one hand, Eun-gyeol ran his tongue over his dry lips.

Han-geon watched him trying to suppress his anger with a numb expression.

Grinding his teeth, Eun-gyeol strode closer.

In the familiar shadow falling over his face, the glint in his eyes was snake-like.

“Say something.

Why did you suddenly disappear on your own?

If something happened, you should’ve told me first.”

“Cha Eun-gyeol.”

Saying his name felt like dropping a stone.

His chest trembled finely as he drew in a difficult breath.

“…I became an omega.”