“Teacher Yun looks a bit sick today, so let’s end a little early. We can just add 10 minutes next time.”
The students who’d already become close all agreed, saying let’s do that, and in the daze it became an atmosphere of just ending like that. In my dazed state, my old habit came out without realizing it and I said I’d buy coffee rounds next time. With cheers, I sat in the instantly emptied classroom in a daze, then sluggishly rummaged through my pockets and looked down at the pill bottle I’d secretly brought this morning just in case.
It was heat suppressant. I’d hoped it wasn’t, but it seemed to be right after all.
It was weaker than during my first heat, but it felt similar to the warning symptoms from that time. I still didn’t know what my cycle was like, but since it’s usually once every 3 or 4 months, I’d stopped by the hospital early last month to get medicine prescribed in advance.
Sighing, I opened the water bottle placed on the table. I took out three white pills with water and swallowed them, then took out my phone from my pocket.
Earlier, I’d already sent Jukyung a message saying he didn’t need to come pick me up. The content was that my body had completely recovered so he didn’t need to come during lunch time, and that I coincidentally met an old friend and decided to go play with that friend over the weekend, so I’d be sleeping out tonight.
Honestly, from a listener’s perspective, it was content that was sudden and somehow forced. A person who looked sick and sluggish just this morning was suddenly going to play with a friend who appeared from nowhere. I’d waited for a reply in a fairly tense state, thinking a message would surely come from Jukyung asking what nonsense this was and grilling me thoroughly.
But Jukyung didn’t send a reply for quite a while even after checking the message right away, and checking now, he’d only sent a brief response saying he understood.
I felt pointlessly disappointed. At the mention of meeting a friend, was he perhaps thinking it was fortunate? Since I suddenly met someone and said I’d spend the weekend together, it must seem like a very close relationship. So was he perhaps hoping he could shake off the freeloader named Kang Doyun to that best friend?
Until I spend the weekend somewhere and return to Jukyung’s house, I’d have to prepare a plausible excuse about this problem. Like the friend I coincidentally met was a foreign resident who’d only come to Korea briefly, or still a college student living off their parents.
Well, let’s think about that later. First I have to put out the fire at my feet.
I was planning to spend the weekend somewhere other than Jukyung’s house. No matter how much I took heat suppressant, it would be different from usual. I wouldn’t lose my mind like the first time, but I wasn’t confident I could perfectly conceal my pheromones, and although Jukyung was a Beta not an Alpha, I wasn’t confident enough to risk getting in the same bed while in a sexually sensitive state.
I’d already admitted that I liked Kwon Jukyung’s shell. With pure intentions, of course. The problem was the heat. Even if I liked it with pure intentions in my right mind, who knows what I’d do if I was in the same bed as that guy while in heat?
Plus, it’s not like that bastard wraps himself up in clothes when sleeping—he sleeps practically naked. Since we covered ourselves with one blanket, bare skin would touch with just a reach of the hand. Even just thinking about it now made my fingertips and toes tingle, so what was I supposed to do?
Having become homeless, I’d already had plenty of rough experiences. I had absolutely no intention of falling to the level of a criminal.
So the conclusion I reached was to pretend to go play somewhere over the weekend and hole up in a pension or hotel in the suburbs. Since I took medicine, about 2 nights and 3 days should put out the urgent fire.
I collected my complicated feelings and returned home, packed briefly, then immediately left Seoul. Without thinking deeply, I booked accommodations at an arboretum in the suburbs. As clean and quiet a place as my pockets would allow. I resolved to really carry coffee from home or have cup ramen for lunch for the next month or so, just as Jukyung said.
I entered the lodging early and holed up before the sun had even set. Although I’d taken medicine, I could feel my insides gradually tickling and heating up even by myself. It was definitely heat.
Being in a daze made my thoughts keep flowing to pointless directions, so I tried hard to do other things at least within the room. I couldn’t concentrate on things like books or drawing. I turned the TV up loud and moved my body doing stretching and such with the window wide open to let in outside air.
But moving my body didn’t seem to help much either. No, rather my senses seemed to become more sensitive. I gave up and decided to just let my body go as it would. Every time something touched me, electricity sparked, so I felt like an electric eel. Heat of a completely different sensation from when in pain was boiling up from deep inside my body.
Though I normally couldn’t shower with cold water even in midsummer, even after washing off all the soapy water, I stood under the pouring cold water for quite a while. At first the cold water seemed to sharpen my senses more sensitively, but after a long time as my body cooled, the heat subsided somewhat.
Having calmed down a bit, I roughly dried my hair and jumped into bed wearing only a robe. The suppressant also had a sleep effect, so drowsiness was gradually creeping in. As I closed my eyes, my consciousness slowly faded as if melting into the floor.
***
I woke half-asleep because of a bell sound. Someone had come. I came down from the bed half-drunk with sleep. My body felt like it was floating in the air. Would walking on clouds feel like this? I staggered toward the entrance.
“Who is it?”
“It’s me.”
Though low, it was Kwon Jukyung’s voice. Kwon Jukyung came home from work. I forgot reality for a moment and was mistaken. Drunk with sleep, I thought I was at Jukyung’s house. That Jukyung had come home from work while I’d briefly fallen into a late nap, like occasionally happens.
“Uh… you’re back?”
I opened the door in a dazed state wondering what time it was now. Kwon Jukyung’s face filled my blurred vision. A strange face that somehow seemed both extremely heated and anxious.
“What’s with your face? Is something wrong?”
I asked stupidly toward Jukyung, who stood glaring without any thought of entering even after I opened the door. Jukyung’s eyes scanned my appearance up and down, then suddenly became extremely fierce.
“What? Is something wrong?”
Jukyung said as if chewing, then pushed me hard and entered. My back hit the wall as I was pushed, snapping me awake. The impact area stung. Ow… this bastard.
“Hey, what is it, what’s wrong?”
I complained in annoyance while rubbing my sore shoulder. Jukyung glanced toward the bed then immediately walked to the bathroom and opened the door. I mean, even without opening it, the wall is glass so you can see everything inside anyway.
Following Jukyung’s gaze while thinking that, I suddenly realized. Ah. This isn’t Jukyung’s house. And I lowered my head to check my state. Bare body in a robe. Though the lower part was roughly closed, the upper part was a mess, spread open, so it was an embarrassing situation to say I was wearing anything.
Having come to my senses, I sneakily arranged my robe while checking down below hidden in the robe. Between my legs felt somewhat heavy but it wasn’t noticeable to that degree.
…Right?
“Where’s your friend?”
“Huh? What?”
I didn’t immediately understand what Jukyung was asking as he suddenly turned around, so I asked back. Jukyung’s fierce face crumpled sharply. Hey, that’s scary. Why, why are you like this?
“You ‘coincidentally’ met a friend and ‘suddenly’ decided to go play all weekend.”
Jukyung emphasized certain words while chewing and spitting out his words.
“Ah.”
I let out a stupid exclamation. Only then did I remember I’d lied.
“So what I mean is…”
My head, drunk on medicine and sleep, floundered. I hadn’t prepared a suitable excuse yet. There’s no way there’d be a friend or anything, so what should I answer?
“What is it?”
“…They left.”
“What?”
“They came to play, but suddenly got a call saying there was an urgent matter at home so they left. The lodging fee was already paid anyway, so I just decided to stay and rest since I came all this way…”
It’s a bit awkward but… doesn’t it make sense? At my somewhat stammering words, Jukyung’s eyes narrowed searchingly.
“Who’s the friend?”
“Huh? You… don’t know them. A friend from middle school.”
Hmm, Jukyung scanned my appearance up and down again. Then suddenly reached out his arm and pulled at my robe that I was awkwardly closing. The loosely tied waist belt fell off and my upper body was revealed with a flap. Having been off guard, my robe was stolen away absurdly, and without realizing it I pulled the robe hem hanging around my waist to protect my lower half, creating a ridiculous scene. Jukyung looked at my body from corner to corner with hawk-like eyes.
“Turn around.”
He even grabbed my arm and whipped my body around. Fuck. If you want to see, why don’t you turn around instead of making me turn?
No, that’s not the problem. Having barely come to my senses, I shook off Kwon Jukyung’s hand.
“Hey, you crazy bastard. What are you doing suddenly chasing after me? Did you eat something wrong?”
Of course, today’s behavior of mine would also be hard for Jukyung to understand from his position, but what this bastard was doing now was truly hard to understand as a normal person. Why the hell did you chase after me here? Because I suddenly said I was going to play, worried I’d blow money that wasn’t even planned? That would twist a creditor’s insides, but is it something serious enough to chase after me and interfere like this? Doesn’t this bastard seriously need to go to a mental hospital for counseling?
Whether I was shouting or not, Jukyung grabbed my arm again as he pleased, turned my body this way and that while looking me over, and only then let go of my arm with a slightly softened expression. I shuddered as the memory of being inspected after showering when I first went to Jukyung’s house came back.
“You crazy bastard. This isn’t even your house and we’re not sharing your bed, so why are you freaking out? When I get my paycheck, I’ll find you a psychiatrist first so go get some counseling. You know you’re really not normal, right?”
“Did you eat dinner?”
While I was rarely raising my voice and even cursing, Kwon Jukyung suddenly pretended to be normal with a calm face and attempted ordinary conversation. As if the fact that he’d been rummaging through my naked body like a crazy person just now never happened.
“What?”
“If you haven’t eaten, let’s go eat something. I’m hungry. Where are your clothes?”
It was an attitude that didn’t care at all that I was dumbfounded. Jukyung looked around as if searching for my clothes, then glanced at me as if belatedly recalling something and made a troubled expression.
“Is going out a bit much? Should we just order something to eat? Is there anything good to eat here?”
Then he naturally sat on the sofa and began flipping through the delivery order booklet placed on the table. I was so flabbergasted I lost my words and just stood with my mouth open.
***
<To be continued in Volume 2>
