HYDP C19

Chapter 19

Cheonguk opened his eyes again around dawn, about three hours later.

Seeing an unfamiliar ceiling, he shot upright.

At the same time, the soft, slightly shivery blanket slid down. Rolling his eyes around the room, he suddenly sniffed at a scent lingering in the air.

Unfamiliar, but definitely coming from this room.

“…Is it here.”

Cozy and warm, but the kind that would be hard to catch again once the moment passed. After a brief debate, he drew a conclusion.

“Baby smell.”

That scent newborns have. A pliant, wordless presence kind of smell that only infants give off. Realizing it was coming from the sheet that had covered him, he gave a surprised snort.

At the same time, he thought, “Sanhong’s perfume taste is… unique.”

While he was sniffing alone at a not-unpleasant smell, voices drifted in from outside the door.

“This is a million won? Only a million?”

“That’s me being generous.”

“…Damn it… shouldn’t have come here!”

“If you go elsewhere, you won’t get half what I offered. I don’t say things that aren’t true.”

“……”

“And there’s no pawnshop open at this hour anyway. You said you needed cash fast.”

“…True enough.”

The man trying to haggle gave up in the end. As if expecting it, he smiled gently and took ten fifty-thousand-won notes from the safe and handed them over. He didn’t bother notifying that he’d be overwriting the prior pawn-loan contract rather than drafting a new one.

“Anyway, hold on to this tight. One good win and I’m coming to reclaim it. And if my wife finds out, I’m dead, so keep it between us.”

From the sound of it, you’d think the pawned load filled a truck.

“Yes. Got it.”

“Then I’m off! Sorry to wake you!”

The man reiterated the plea and slipped out the door. He saw him off with a quiet smile, then gently began wiping the porcelain the man had left.

Two in the morning. Jerked awake from a sweet sleep, his body felt heavy.

“Who was that. A lover?”

“…Whoa, you startled me…”

Without a hint of presence, at some point Cheonguk was standing behind him, one hip cocked, as if he’d drifted out of the room. When he turned, hand to his chest, the faint flush under his jaw caught his eye and he quickly looked away.

“Since I got my temple pressed by a muzzle as a rookie, I’ve never blacked out.”

“……”

“And our Sanhong took another of my firsts? Wow, first time I’ve bled.”

At the nonsense, he pressed his lips together. Enjoying himself, he chuckled alone, then clutched his head and winced, staggering into a chair to sit and groan with his head bowed.

The sight was ridiculous and funny.

“Ha, someone’s killing me here.”

“That’s not where.”

“It hurts here, too.”

When he touched his head and he corrected him, he flinched and moved his hand to his jaw. After acting meek for a beat, he slipped back into his slick performance—looked like he was angling to dupe him.

Then—

Beeee—

A sharp tinnitus tore into his ear.

“Ugh…”

Grabbing his head, he dropped to the floor. He crawled under the desk and curled tight, waiting for the pain to ebb.

Right. His memory wasn’t intact. If he didn’t take his meds on time, side effects hit like this. Lately he kept missing doses and collapsing this way more often.

Sweat beaded cold as he panted.

“Hey. Sanhong, what’s wrong?”

“……”

“Look at me. Are you hurting bad?”

In the blink of an eye, the teasing vanished; face set, he rushed in. On his knees checking his condition, he saw a round forehead damp with sweat and, just above it, a faint old scar.

Carefully, with a thumb, he traced the scar to soothe him.

“It’s okay, Sanhong.”

“Haa…”

When his breath came out like a sob, he gently gathered him into his arms.

After a few minutes, the slight tremors faded, and he carefully opened his eyes.

“Oh. Eyes open.”

“……”

“Peekaboo.”

Right before him was a guileless smile on Cheonguk’s face.

“……Who are you.”

“Ah.”

He recalled then what the deputy had once let slip—peculiarities noted in his file: after the accident, there might be memory problems. So this was the side effect.

Still cradled in his arms, he murmured. Then, hand to his brow, he retraced the situation.

“…It’s you… right…”

“Yeah. It’s me.”

“Supervision… team leader… Ah, right. Team leader. Came to kill me and then spouted weird things…”

“Not weird—will you accept it as my proposal?”

“You… damn… and breaking in, too…”

“Wow… hey. Swear again, Sanhong. That one just now—hot as hell.”

His blurred vision was filled with him. The hand wiping his brow was so careful he couldn’t understand why this man treated him like this.

If he killed him when he was this defenseless, it would be easier. Why make a face that sticks in memory. Why make him give any feeling at all.

He hated exchanging feelings with people.

“…Why are you doing this to me. If you’re going to kill me, do it.”

“Who’s killing you. Bring you home—then I’ll tear out your viscera.”

“As a corpse?”

With a slight smile, he pushed him away with an arm, and he went limp and let himself be pushed.

He was simple and straight. He fell in love easily and spoke easily. But he was different. Truly different.

He had fallen for him at first sight, hard. The shock still lingered thick. There was no way the echo would fade soon. If he could go back, he’d want to meet him again; given the chance, he’d still fire his gun, and still want to be next to him.

Though he was a Beta, just imagining Alpha punks raking him with lewd eyes made his fingers tense.

He wanted to kill them all. Wipe the Alpha breed from the earth. At the same time, he hated, anew, being a Beta.

“Does your memory do that often?”

“Sometimes…”

“And you didn’t take your meds?”

“…I forget to take them.”

It was already out; no need to hide more. Oddly, when he asked, he found himself slipping out even what he didn’t want to say.

He was a cipher. Saying he’d bought it earlier, he fetched a sandwich from the fridge and held it out.

“Here. I put it in the fridge before I patted your back so it wouldn’t spoil.”

“……”

“Eat up. Your belly’s hollow.”

Eyes bright with excitement, he shook the sandwich. Saying it was his first time in line to buy something, pleased, and somehow he couldn’t look away.

What is with this guy.

“Come to think of it, we’ve already shown each other our unguarded sides. You, with indigestion; me, passing out.”

“……”

“At this rate, it wouldn’t be strange if a kid showed up between us. Fate.”

“……”

“If it’s hard for you, I’m fine with just one.”

Perfect nonsense.

His tossed-off lines tangled his thoughts. It felt like deciphering a complex cipher. Instead of replying, he opened the sandwich quietly. He took a bite.

…Oh. That’s good.

“Tasty? You look happy.”

“…Edible.”

He was honest.

He wasn’t the type to deny good food out of spite. He just said what was; at that one line, he beamed.

“…Ah!”

Then suddenly, he bit down on his soft, rounded cheek.

The cheek puffed by the filling took the imprint of teeth; satisfied, he rose with a pleased face.

“Makes me want to rub my dick on your cheek.”

“……”

“That one’s not a joke.”

He tapped the stone-still face with a fingertip. Then declared, with great vigor, that from now on he’d only use pretty words.

“Lock up tight. Sleep well.”

“……”

“I’ll be back.”

And emphasizing again that he was holding back a lot right now, he waved and stepped out of the pawnshop.

His cheek tingled where the lip mark remained, but hunger was more important; he chewed the sandwich in silence. Truly a strange one. Or… maybe what he was seeing and what the man actually did were not the same, he found himself thinking.

For a while, the only sound in the quiet shop was the rustle of the wrapper.

“…Handsome idiot.”

That was how he defined Cheonguk.