His tear-soaked lashes were still damp, and his breathing still came in hiccuping little sniffles from all the crying. With his cheeks and the corners of his eyes flushed red, he sat there sucking on his fingers — and every adult in the room looked as though they had committed some grave sin.
“Looks like he got quite a scare. He’s doing things he used to do as a baby. Dano, didn’t you already kick the thumb-sucking habit?”
“He’s still a baby.”
“You’re right. Still a baby. Yes, yes, our Dano is still absolutely a baby. If possible, let’s keep him home from daycare today and let him rest. He had a real shock. He seems like he might have a slight fever too — watch carefully whether he’s eating well and playing like he normally does.”
“Yes……”
The doctor held Dano easily in one arm and gently stroked his back with his hand.
“I’ll take him. You need to get to work, hyung.”
“Right, right. Make sure you come in later. For your appointment.”
“Yes. Thank you for worrying about us.”
As he turned to leave for work, Donghyeok, who had been quiet up until then, called out to Hyeon.
“Come have a meal with me. I know a place with incredible haejangguk.”
At Donghyeok’s invitation, Hyeon glanced back at Seowoo and Dano. He seemed to sense instinctively that Seowoo had asked Donghyeok to get him out of the house. His gaze lingered on Dano nestled against Seowoo — and then stayed a little longer on Seowoo’s face.
“I’ll pass on the meal.”
“If the menu’s not to your taste, there’s a home-cooked option too.”
“It’s not that. Don’t worry about me.”
“……Understood.”
No matter how much Seowoo worked his eyes, he couldn’t forcibly drag someone away when that person had decided not to leave. Donghyeok retreated without success, and a heavy silence settled over the house.
Dano clung to Seowoo and watched Hyeon with eyes full of wariness. Then the moment Hyeon took one step closer — chop, chop, chop, chop — the sound of furious finger-sucking picked up speed. Seowoo had no choice but to keep stepping back.
“Um, I’m sorry, but as you know, today I need to get to the clinic, and Dano’s really unsettled——”
“I wasn’t planning to ask you to come out with me. What exactly do you think I am, Yoon Seowoo? I……”
Hyeon moved to say something more, but the moment his eyes met Dano’s, he shut his mouth. Then he let out a long exhale.
“Count today as a day off from the photos.”
“……Thank you.”
I wish you’d just leave my house — he couldn’t say those words. And yet Hyeon was being oddly stubborn about it, standing his ground like a man with something to prove. With no sign of him moving, Seowoo finally forced the difficult words out.
“We’re…… we’re going to take a bath now.”
At that, Hyeon’s expression crumpled sharply. He seemed about to shoot something back, but he swallowed whatever it was and let out another long breath instead.
“I’ll wait outside.”
“……Sorry?”
“I’ll drive you to the clinic.”
He seemed to feel guilty over what had happened the night before — and paradoxically, that guilt was what made Seowoo uncomfortable. He himself was carrying a tangle of feelings toward Hyeon: guilt, unease, an unwelcome flicker of hope. None of them were easy to name as a single thing, and that was precisely why he had no room left to tend to Hyeon’s feelings on top of it all.
“Okay. We won’t be long.”
He gave a reluctant nod, and only then did Hyeon turn and head out the front door. Through the small kitchen window, Seowoo could see him standing to one side of the yard, one hand on his hip, staring off into the distance. The dried fleck of blood on Hyeon’s lip was strangely, vividly clear from here.
***
The results were exactly as expected. After running through the same basic tests and hearing the same medical opinion, Seowoo found himself resenting even the small amount he’d paid. It felt less like treatment and more like a fee to confirm that things hadn’t reached their absolute worst.
“Appa, does it hurt?”
“Hm? No. Appa doesn’t hurt anymore.”
Dano had turned into an absolute barnacle throughout. He clung on and refused to leave Seowoo’s arms, which meant he had to be brought into the examination room as well. When the ultrasound was used to check the pheromone glands in Seowoo’s neck, Dano had to be seated on his lap for the whole thing. Once the exam was done and Seowoo was straightening his clothes, the nurse tidying up the bed glanced at Dano and said, almost offhandedly:
“Why didn’t you leave him with the tall dad outside? Clinging like this — how do you manage. You must have your hands full.”
She had clearly noticed Hyeon in the waiting room. With both Hyeon and Dano being as eye-catching as they were, it was nearly impossible for them to go unnoticed. She seemed to expect some kind of response, and Seowoo found himself at a complete loss — he couldn’t ignore her well-meaning concern, but he couldn’t claim Hyeon was a stranger either.
“Dano doesn’t like him. I can’t leave him, so……”
He trailed off vaguely, trying to move past it, and the nurse’s eyes went round.
“Oh my, the little thing! Are you jealous? Does Dano have to have pretty Appa all to himself? Only likes pretty Appa?”
“Yeth. Appa is my favowite person in the whole world.”
He probably didn’t understand half of what she said, but Dano clapped his hands and confirmed it anyway. He even broke into a giggle, which made the nurse laugh along with him.
“He laughs so easily and seems so easygoing — and yet he picks and chooses who he likes? Picky little thing.”
Seowoo laughed at that too. It was just as she said — Dano was generally a very even-tempered child. But if there was a more delicate, perceptive streak in him that Seowoo hadn’t yet noticed, he couldn’t help thinking it was probably something he’d inherited from Hyeon.
After finishing the long consultation with the doctor and stepping out of the examination room, Seowoo spotted that same nurse in conversation with Hyeon. They were talking with quite serious expressions, serious enough that he found himself paying attention without meaning to. The nurse had her arms spread wide in a circle and kept repeating a patting gesture. Stranger still was Hyeon, who was nodding along and listening intently.
“Yoon Seowoo. Please take your results and prescription here.”
“Yes, thank you.”
He took Dano’s hand, gathered the papers, and stepped away from the desk — at which point Hyeon looked up and met his eyes. The nurse gave Seowoo’s shoulder a small pat and headed back to her station, wearing an unmistakably satisfied smile as she went.
“What were you two talking about?”
He asked as he watched her go, but Hyeon was slow to answer. Seowoo sent an impatient look, and Hyeon raised an eyebrow as though mildly surprised by the question.
“It’s a secret — but are you curious?”
“……No.”
Seowoo made a sour face, and Hyeon let out a quiet laugh.
“It’s been a while since you asked me something first. I was just teasing.”
He glanced down at Dano, who was still keeping his full guard up, and his eyes curved softly.
“She told me to hold you.”
“Sorry?”
“A parenting tip, apparently. She said it’s important to show the baby that the primary caregiver trusts and loves you. Keep hugging Yoon Seowoo, patting his back, saying it’s okay, Appa loves you too — she told me to keep doing that.”
“……”
“Like this.”
“Ah……”
That was when the nurse’s earlier gesture finally made sense. Hyeon mimicked her, spreading his arms in a wide circle and waggling his hands as if patting the air.
“Of course, it’s Yoon Seowoo who has to do it to me.”
“Me……?”
Seowoo could tell without a mirror that his face had gone red. He could feel the warmth blooming at the tips of his ears — it was safe to assume he’d gone full tomato.
He had just come out of the examination room having heard something very similar.
‘Seowoo, that’s Dano’s father, isn’t it? That alpha?’
They looked too alike for anyone not to know. He just didn’t know how to respond, so he stood there blinking — and the doctor added quickly:
‘Donghyeok didn’t say anything. Don’t misunderstand. I just couldn’t not know.’
‘Yes. I figured you’d be able to tell, hyung.’
‘Have you explained your situation to him?’
He shook his head, and the doctor clicked his tongue with a look of sympathy.
‘You’re at your limit. You know that, right? Look at what happened to Dano yesterday.’
‘Yes. I know.’
‘You know you have to stop taking suppressants now, don’t you? The medication most omegas take a few times a year for their heat cycle — you’ve been living on it. You’re in real danger. I’m not saying this to frighten you.’
‘Yes.’
‘Talk to him. He seems coherent enough to hold a conversation. Dano is anxious. You need to find a solution. And if you collapse again, it’s dangerous for you too. You can’t count on being lucky every time. One bad fall could seriously hurt you, Seowoo.’
‘……Yes.’
‘Slowly.’
The doctor had spread his arms the same way.
‘Start slow — try just being held first. While you’re living in the same space, adapt to light contact and work up from there. You only need to keep it up until your pheromones stabilize. He can at least do that much, can’t he?’
‘I’ll talk to him.’
‘A full pheromone shower is too much too soon — I’m not asking for that. But a hug should be manageable, right?’
“Yoon Seowoo, your face is red again.”
Hyeon’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts. He lightly gripped Seowoo’s shoulder as it jerked in surprise.
“Stop making me nervous. This little one already thinks I’m the villain — if you collapse again right here, there’s no coming back from that, is there?”
He leaned his injured lip close and murmured:
“Breathe. If you’re not planning to stop seeing me, you’re going to have to adjust.”
“Adjust to what?”
“It’s not hard to figure out. It’s my pheromones doing this to you. Must be because the deficiency has gone on so long.”
Hyeon held Seowoo’s wildly wavering gaze and said it like a declaration.
“If you keep collapsing, there’s nothing we can even try.”
“Try what, exactly?”
“And by the way — I don’t think you realize this, but I’m not used to being disliked. Look at this kid’s face.”
Following the tilt of his chin, Seowoo looked down — and there was Dano, scrunching his round eyes into sharp little squares, staring up at the two of them with a ferocious expression. One hand was clenched tight around the hem of Seowoo’s pants, and the other was pushing against Hyeon’s leg. He looked seconds away from crying, and Seowoo hastily scooped him up.
“I can’t believe this. Now I’m actually feeling stubborn about it.”
Hyeon walked ahead out of the clinic, raising a hand to shield his eyes from the sun. He muttered that the weather was really nice, then looked back at Seowoo and jerked his head.
“Let’s go. We’re getting something to eat.”
