HYDP C28

Chapter 28

As the chaotic presences disappeared, Sanhong was suddenly overwhelmed by sharp fatigue. His nose was fine, but a throbbing pain began to spread gradually from his forehead.

“Sanhong. Since I’m a Beta, I can’t smell scents. Were there any Alphas among those bastards?”

“…No.”

“Fuck. If there were, I’d have cut his dick off and boiled it.”

“……”

It did not sound like a joke in the least. Instead of answering, Sanhong turned his head away. But Cheonguk suddenly grabbed his face and stared at him, making him lose his voice altogether.

Whenever Sanhong tried to have a conversation with him, it always ended in failure somehow.

“Ah. Fuck…. What are we going to do about your forehead?”

“……”

As time passed, Cheonguk stared at Sanhong’s increasingly swollen, bluish forehead, and it twisted him up inside, as though a treasured possession of his had cracked.

The throbbing was bearable for Sanhong, but he found it uncomfortable to let his face be touched any longer and lightly swatted Cheonguk’s hand away.

“It upsets me seeing your face like that. Want something tasty? I bought some.”

Cheonguk was still treating him like one would a child.

His manner of speaking remained burdensome. With his nosebleed now stopped, Sanhong silently rose to head toward the sofa. But as he was about to sit, Cheonguk plopped down right in the seat first, blocking the way.

“Sit here.”

He tapped insistently on his thigh, looking up at Sanhong expectantly. But Sanhong turned his head away and quietly lowered himself to the floor instead.

“Your butt’s going to get dirty.”

“I’m more comfortable here.”

“Ah. Hold on a sec. I didn’t bring the dessert in from the car.”

“……”

Cheonguk sprang to his feet and went outside the pawnshop. Sanhong hesitated for a moment, considering locking the door, but decided against it for fear the door might get smashed to pieces.

Before long, there was the sound of rustling at the entrance. He almost wished Cheonguk would just leave, yet when he returned, Sanhong was strangely glad.

“You want it that badly?”

“……”

“Even if you don’t stare like that, I’ll give it to you quickly.”

Cheonguk burst through the door, dropping a big paper bag onto the table with a thud. Inside were baguettes, croissants, jam buns, even things resembling Choco Pies — he’d bought an armful, truly. Then, with more sincerity than anyone, he carefully began setting them on the table.

Watching his rather meticulous behavior, Sanhong decided to wait and see.

“Eat it quickly.”

Lacking much appetite, Sanhong hesitated, about to refuse. But seeing Cheonguk holding out a daintily wrapped dessert with such a poor expression, he couldn’t bring himself to push it away.

Before he could even speak, a neatly packaged croissant was pressed into his hand. It wasn’t exactly a meal, but more than enough to fill him. He tried opening his mouth to take a bite, but because of his injury earlier, he couldn’t open it properly.

“Open your mouth slowly and eat.”

Cheonguk gazed tenderly at his lips. Sanhong parted them again, managing only the tiniest nibble, like a bird pecking at feed. Quietly, without a word, he chewed.

The croissant was soft and fluffy, filled generously with cream. Without realizing it, he took another bite. The long-forgotten sweetness lightened his mood a little.

“Fuck. The way you bite looks pathetic. Are you a kissing gourami¹?”

“……”

Sanhong gave no reply, only kept chewing. But after a few nibbles, he suddenly grimaced.

“What’s wrong?”

Cheonguk bent anxiously, their eyes meeting.

Covering his mouth with the hand holding the bread, Sanhong frowned — it seemed the sharp edge of the crust had scraped and torn the roof of his mouth. He said carefully, brows furrowed in discomfort:

“It cut the roof of my mouth.”

Cheonguk laughed in disbelief, then gently lifted Sanhong’s chin from beneath.

“If you start bleeding, spit it out. I’ll eat it in your place.”

“You’re truly disgusting.”

The words slipped out of Sanhong’s mouth, making Cheonguk snigger in that cheeky way. Sanhong brushed his hand away from under his chin, then went on crunching and swallowing the bread despite the scrape.

The taste was too good to stop, even though his mouth was hurt.

“Next time I’ll only buy soft things, ones that won’t hurt the roof of your mouth. Just let it slide for me this once, hmm?”

Hearing that, Sanhong paused. He glanced briefly at Cheonguk, then silently stuffed the remaining croissant into his mouth.

“Eat slowly. Ah, by the way, earlier — what was that misunderstanding? You kept stopping me.”

So quick to ask.

He had beaten those boys without even understanding the reason. The sight of him enjoying it was unforgettable. Sanhong only thought those boys, Juyoung and his group, pitiful for being beaten up so senselessly.

“You said something about a contract. Isn’t it really a slave contract?”

“No.”

“Then it wasn’t that they forced you to sign one of those waivers to give up your body because you’re an Omega?”

“No.”

“Ah, then you should’ve told me earlier.”

“……”

“No need for me to use violence then.”

The shamelessness of Cheonguk, who hadn’t even given him the chance to speak back then, was staggering.

“He pawned a watch and took out a loan. That’s what the contract was about.”

“How much did he take?”

“I can’t tell you the contract details.”

“So that bastard is genuinely tied up with you now, huh?”

“…If you put it that way, yes. I already knew him too.”

Explaining everything seemed pointless, but Sanhong figured there was no need to hide it either.

At that moment, their eyes met, Cheonguk’s gaze gleaming, and Sanhong was suddenly seized with a foreboding sense, though he forced himself to ignore it. That, at least, made him feel calmer.

Even with his cut mouth, he finished off the bread, licking sugar dust from his fingers and chewing the last pieces.

Cheonguk watched silently, then peered back into the paper bag. Every single thing he had bought had vanished into Sanhong’s stomach. With tears of joy shimmering, he covered his mouth.

Meanwhile, Sanhong wondered if perhaps being hit in the head had changed his appetite.

“It makes me happy to see you eating so well. Did your stomach get round? I want to touch it.”

“……”

“Just kidding.”

At Sanhong’s look of disgust, Cheonguk gave a strained smile and pulled back. His shameless lies sickened Sanhong.

Cheonguk smoothed his messy hair, thinking that as long as Sanhong ate well like this, there was nothing he couldn’t do for him — queuing endlessly, even sneaking into the production factory itself if necessary.

He looked warmly at Sanhong, then stood and began tidying the disaster-stricken pawnshop. Shockingly, Cheonguk cleaned with real skill, remembering where each and every item had been, as though with uncanny precision.

‘What the hell. Has he been here secretly before?’

“I hardly ever forget things once I’ve seen them.”

“…Ah.”

“And your face, Sanhong, even more so.”

“……”

With his exceptional memory, Cheonguk made the floor spotless in no time.

In truth, he wasn’t a guest but an intruder. Still, since the shop was getting cleaned, Sanhong thought there was no need to interfere.

He rose from the sofa and went to the desk where the safe was, intending to check the pawned watch Juyoung had left behind. Sending a photo of the watch by messenger, he soon got his reply. Thankfully, it wasn’t stolen property, and its background was from a legitimate transaction.

So yes, the watch really did belong to Juyoung.

[But why did he look so uneasy then?]

Since Cheonguk was nearby, Sanhong continued conversing by messages instead of a call. Soon enough, a fast reply came.

[He snatched it from a lover he broke up with after reuniting briefly.]

“…Ah.”

It was a watch carrying a messy romantic history.

At any rate, since the deal was complete, the watch was now his. Carefully, Sanhong set it into the basket.

Just then, he recalled Juyoung being thrashed and nearly dragged out by Cheonguk. He sighed, resolving to apologize if they met again. Even if Juyoung’s gang had mocked him earlier by tripping him up, still — living in the same neighborhood, it would only make life uncomfortable to hold grudges.

Steeling himself, Sanhong then looked around the shop.

“……”

His jaw dropped — the floor gleamed unbelievably. For the first time, he felt genuine curiosity about Cheonguk.

“Sanhong. It’s clean enough to lick, right?”

Putting the mop away, Cheonguk lived up to his “I never forget what I’ve seen” claim by approaching with a first aid kit too.

Only then did Sanhong realize that none of this felt real.

“If it hurts, don’t hold back. Cry.”

“……”

“I’m dying to see your crying face.”

Smirking, Cheonguk treated the swelling by dabbing ointment onto a cotton swab and carefully spreading it on his forehead.

“When I have my future child, maybe it’ll feel like this.”

At his ceaselessly absurd remark, Sanhong simply closed his eyes.

“My heart feels torn. This face has such beauty.”

“……”

“But still — with that fair face bruised, it excites me.”

The way Cheonguk could sing praises and insults with the same lips left Sanhong only baffled.

It was a personality he had never once encountered, and he had to forcibly brace himself lest he be swept into it entirely.

¹ Kissing gourami: A species of fish (Helostoma temminckii) whose mating/breeding behavior involves pressing mouths together in a way that resembles kissing. Used here as mocking slang.