c21
This chapter is paid for by Mimzy and Nemuru!
The Constitution Department, as the name suggests, is a place that examines overall diseases or body conditions related to the constitution, and it was mostly visited by omegas and alphas.
Hyeseong is a beta, so why did he use the Constitution Department? It seemed strange.
“Are you sure you didn’t get it wrong?”
That was the only conclusion he could draw. Ihyeok also had a separate attending physician at the Constitution Department. He only got check-ups mainly when he suffered from severe ruts, and if it wasn’t for such issues, there was no need to personally visit. Let alone Cheon Hyeseong, a beta?
“I don’t know. But I found out while investigating the people Hyeseong has been frequently meeting recently. That Constitution Department doctor is one of the people he’s been meeting often, so it shouldn’t be wrong.”
“Alright, I got it. Just quickly find out what I instructed you to.”
That wasn’t what was important right now. He needed to figure out who the hell was messing around with Cheon Hyeseong, and who made Hyeseong come down to this countryside.
“Yes!”
Deok-soo answered loudly, saying to leave it to him, and hung up the phone. It seemed his motivation was rising after being told he would get more money. Ihyeok, who hung up the phone, leaned his body against the chair. The wooden chair looked a bit precarious for his tall height.
“Constitution Department…”
Ihyeok muttered in a low voice while looking up at the ceiling.
While Ihyeok was in the midst of a phone call with Deok-soo, Hyeseong squirmed on the bed and opened his eyes late in the morning. The wall clock he had newly bought and hung yesterday pointed to 10:00 am. He had been waking up before 9:00 am as his body remembered, but he overslept for the first time.
There was a reason for that oversleeping. It was because of what happened last night. Not only did Kwon Ihyeok suddenly show up, but it felt like a dream that he settled down to live in the house next door. Moreover, the last thing he said to him yesterday was,
“I fucking hate it.”
“Ugh…”
Hyeseong buried his face in the pillow, ruffling his disheveled hair.
“What the hell is ‘fucking’?”
He’s not a kid. He had a sleepless night regretting it out of embarrassment. Then he fell asleep around dawn and woke up now. Originally, he had the habit of taking a shower right after waking up, but today he slowly headed to the kitchen.
He couldn’t wake up at all. The fact that Kwon Ihyeok was in the house could be seen just by turning his head outside the window and the fact that he unexpectedly got angry at him made his mind hazy.
He brought cold water, plopped down in front of a chair, and laid his head on the table. But it was really unfair and annoying for him too. Why does Kwon Ihyeok say such things so casually? He really hated him for suddenly appearing and calmly saying such things.
Knock knock!
Then he heard someone knocking on the door. Hyeseong was startled and jumped up. Who could it be? At this hour…
“Ah, is it the delivery man?”
It was probably the TV he had ordered. They said the delivery would arrive sometime today a few days ago, so it seemed they had come now. While Hyeseong was thinking, he heard another knock on the door.
He hadn’t even washed his face yet. Thinking of at least opening the door and quickly going to the bathroom, Hyeseong dragged his slippers and opened the front door.
“Yes. Delivery…”
“Hi.”
However, when he opened the door, it wasn’t the delivery man with the TV, but Kwon Ihyeok. The culprit who made him unable to sleep and wake up late was casually greeting him as if nothing happened.
“…”
Hyeseong didn’t know what to do, so he tried to close the door as it was. But Ihyeok was faster. He swiftly reached out his hand and grabbed the door.
“Let’s not lose strength from the morning. And do you think you can overpower me?”
“The most cowardly and childish thing is to show off strength.”
He said that, but the door that was already caught didn’t budge at all. Still, thinking he should at least struggle, he tried hard to pull the door, but it was no use.
“…Why did you come?”
In the end, Hyeseong decided to stop the meaningless power struggle. He let go of the doorknob and quickly hid behind it. Ihyeok unknowingly raised the corners of his mouth at the sight that seemed like he was sulking.
“Hyeseong, your hair is a mess. Did you just wake up?”
“Ah…”
Come to think of it, he hadn’t even thought about it. Who would have thought Kwon Ihyeok would come looking for him first thing in the morning? Hyeseong quickly pressed his hair as if to cover it.
“Cute.”
Ihyeok spoke as usual and stepped behind Hyeseong, then went inside just like that.
“No, why are you coming in without permission?”
Hyeseong followed him inside in surprise. Of course, while frantically fixing his hair. But Ihyeok went into the kitchen where Hyeseong had been lying face down until just now, wobbling and not caring at all.
“Let’s eat breakfast together.”
He was dumbfounded by the nonchalant words he said while sitting down. Saying let’s eat together meant he was telling Hyeseong to prepare breakfast. Why? Because this was Hyeseong’s house.
“I can report you for trespassing.”
Hyeseong made a strong threat, unable to take it anymore, but Ihyeok didn’t even blink an eye.
“You can. But you won’t.”
“…”
Of course, there was no way he would. Hyeseong let out a deep sigh. He wanted to look inside that head and see why he was being so persistent with him. Even if he asked, there was no way he would get a proper answer.
“I always have to eat breakfast, but I don’t have much to eat since I just moved.”
How could he not know? If he were at his house in Seoul, the lady who came every morning would have prepared a feast with rice and side dishes.
“So why did you come all the way here…”
Hyeseong ran his hand through his neatly arranged hair as if frustrated. Then he went to the gas stove and turned it on. There was some leftover curry he had made for dinner last night. After a few minutes, the unique aroma of curry filled the kitchen.
Hyeseong skillfully put rice in a bowl and poured an appropriate amount of curry. He placed it in front of Ihyeok along with a spoon, then prepared his own and placed it across from him. He also opened the refrigerator and took out a few side dishes. They were side dishes he had bought at the market while grocery shopping yesterday.
“Eat.”
Hyeseong sat across from him and picked up a spoon. Ihyeok also silently started eating, mixing the curry with rice.
“I thought this before too.”
Ihyeok spoke first after taking a few spoonfuls.
“You’re quite good at cooking, Hyeseong.”
“I’ve been living alone since college.”
Usually, people say when you live alone, you always order delivery food and your diet becomes poor, but Hyeseong wasn’t like that.
He rarely ate delivery food unless there was a special occasion because he had to save money, and he thought that in order to have a well-functioning brain, he needed to have a balanced intake of nutrients, so he always cooked his own meals three times a day.
Of course, at first, he could only make simple kimchi fried rice. But eating kimchi fried rice all week made him sick of it, so he gradually tried various dishes. Thanks to that, he became skilled enough to say he could make a few dishes.
“Then Hyeseong is ready to get married now.”
Cough.
Hyeseong, who choked, immediately ran to the water purifier and drank water. He barely swallowed the rice stuck in his throat with cold water and glared at Ihyeok with resentful eyes.
“What.”
“What’s that all of a sudden?”
“Why are you surprised? I was just joking.”
Ihyeok shrugged his shoulders and started eating rice again. Hyeseong looked at his back in disbelief. What kind of joke is that?
“Or are you really getting married or something?”
As Hyeseong returned to his seat, Ihyeok continued to throw jokes.
“Stop joking and…”
He was about to nag him to eat quickly and go to work. Their eyes met, and Ihyeok’s gaze was strangely serious and persistent. He had such a solemn face that it seemed like it wasn’t a joke.
“…If you don’t eat quickly, I’ll kick you out.”
Whenever Ihyeok stared at him with those eyes, it became difficult for him to endure. Hyeseong eventually avoided his gaze first and ate rice while only looking at the bowl.
Like that, until both of their bowls were empty, it was quiet without any exchange of words. With the sound of the second hand ticking as background music, Hyeseong took the empty bowls and headed to the sink.
“Now hurry up and go to work.”
He put on rubber gloves to do the dishes. It was also an implicit action telling him that he was going to work, so he should leave now.
“Hyeseong, are you sick or something?”
“Pardon?”
These days, whenever he had a conversation with Kwon Ihyeok, he often felt it was difficult to follow the flow. It was the same now.
“I asked if you’re sick.”
“No. I’m healthy.”
Rather, he felt more energetic after coming here. It seemed to be because he had escaped from the night shifts he had always been under and the stress of keeping a secret next to Kwon Ihyeok had disappeared.
“…I see. I’ll get going.”
Ihyeok nodded his head a bit meaningfully and left the house. After he left, Hyeseong turned on the water and washed the dishes.
A little later, the delivery man came. The man quickly installed the TV, and he spent the remaining morning leisurely watching variety shows.
The house chores continued the next day as well. He did laundry, and in the yard, he personally assembled a DIY kit he had ordered online and made a new drawer. In the middle of it, he got a call from his aunt and talked for nearly an hour, then Hyeseong went back inside.
“Ugh…”
But suddenly, a headache struck him. It was different from a headache that comes from being tired or not getting enough sleep. He knew when this headache came.
“Phew…”
Omega manifestation side effects. The doctor said that because Hyeseong’s constitution manifested later than others, his body also needed time to adapt. During that time, his body would gradually change according to pheromones, and during that process, some difficult symptoms might occur.
The main symptoms were headaches and fever, but since the cause of Hyeseong’s constitutional transformation hadn’t been clearly identified yet, there could be other symptoms as well, so he was advised to come for a regular check-up at least once a month.
“Where did I put the medicine…”
Usually, he only got headaches and that was it, but now it seemed like he was getting a fever too. For now, he had some prescribed medicine left, so he popped it into his mouth.
Feeling his body going limp, Hyeseong had no choice but to walk unsteadily to the bed.
If I sleep for a bit, I’ll be fine.
Hyeseong couldn’t resist his closing eyes and lost consciousness just like that.
TN: Thank you so much, Mimzy and Nemuru!