Jung Hwanhui received an urgent call after eating out and left right away, and we returned to our usual routine.
‘My body doesn’t feel so great….’
As usual, I got up to prepare breakfast, but at that moment I realized something felt off—different from normal.
It felt like the onset of a cold, or maybe a bout of body aches…. Either way, my condition was clearly not the same as usual.
After checking myself over, I frowned. A cold, or maybe muscle aches.
This was the first time something like this had happened since entering this body….
Back when I had Kim Hanyul’s body, even as I got older I never neglected exercise and always made sure to take anything that was good for my health, so getting sick was rare enough to count on one hand.
This body was already weak and frail to begin with, and after stressing over this and that, it seemed like things had finally gone wrong.
For now, I’d feed Jung Hwangyu and Jung Hwangyeong breakfast…. Then I should probably go to the hospital.
After organizing my thoughts, I put on a mask so I wouldn’t pass a cold on to Jung Hwangyeong, left the room, and started preparing the meal.
“What’s with the mask? Why are you wearing that?”
Jung Hwangyu, having finished his workout, spoke to me as he came down the stairs, eyeing the mask on my face.
I answered with a sigh.
“…I think I caught a cold.”
“You catch a cold in the summer, when even dogs don’t? Go to the hospital later. Don’t spread it to me.”
Even when he talks, he really has to be like this….
I glared at Jung Hwangyu.
He flinched at my look and sat down at the table to eat.
Then, as if something suddenly occurred to him, he spoke to me in a slightly grumbling tone.
“Hey, but did your way of talking and your temper come back? I thought you were back to how you used to be…. But now that I look at it, it feels like your temper only gets nasty in front of me. That’s just my imagination, right?”
Jung Hwangyu was sharper than I expected.
I thought he was so oblivious he wouldn’t notice at all, but I guess he wasn’t that much of an idiot.
“…You’re my employer. If I want to keep working here long-term, I need to watch myself. If I get kicked out, you won’t be able to eat this food you like anymore, you know?”
“When you put it that way, I guess that’s true.”
Always simple-minded, Jung Hwangyu nodded as if he’d been convinced by my half-assed explanation. It really was a good thing I’d captured Jung Hwangyu’s taste buds first. As long as I used food as an excuse, everything went through.
With nothing more to say, Jung Hwangyu focused on eating without pressing the issue.
And not long after, Jung Hwangyeong came out of his room.
“…I’m hungry.”
There was exactly one thing that had changed since Jung Hwanhui left. Jung Hwangyeong’s behavior.
Before, I had to go to his room and feed him before he’d eat at all, but now, when the time came, he came out on his own and ate together with me or Jung Hwangyu.
That small change made me truly happy—it felt like he’d finally opened his heart to me.
“Housekeeper hyung, are you sick?”
Seeing me wearing a mask, Jung Hwangyeong asked with a puzzled expression as he sat down.
“…No. It’s just a cold. I’m fine.”
“If you’re sick, make sure you go to the hospital. Okay?”
How adorable can he be….
Now he even worries about me. Maybe that’s why people say you should have kids and raise them. Just looking at him made the fever seem to go down.
“Yes, young master. I’ll definitely go later.”
“Hey, worry about hyung like that. He doesn’t even pretend to care about me!”
“…Hyung, just eat. Don’t bully housekeeper hyung for no reason.”
“You little brat!”
They bickered back and forth, but both Jung Hwangyeong’s and Jung Hwangyu’s faces looked much brighter than before.
Jung Hwangyeong remembered how Jung Hwangyu had desperately called around looking for him when he’d been kidnapped.
On the other hand, Jung Hwangyu had worried inwardly about Jung Hwangyeong being cooped up in his room, but hadn’t been able to show it. Now that Jung Hwangyeong was back out, eating together and talking normally, it seemed to reassure him in his own way.
Watching the two of them share affection through bickering because neither could openly express it made me smile without realizing it.
‘Cute. So cute. Two kids. The both of them.’
Thinking that a house really needs kids for the atmosphere to feel right, I joined them and spent the morning together.
* * *
“Haah…. Hah.”
My condition seemed to be getting worse.
After seeing Jung Hwangyu and Jung Hwangyeong off, I normally would have started cleaning, but I had no energy at all, so I lay down in my room for a bit and dozed off.
But even after waking up, my body still didn’t feel right. Rough breaths kept spilling out of my mouth.
I needed to go to the hospital…. At this rate, I might collapse on the way there.
‘I haven’t even finished the housework yet….’
Panting, I closed my eyes again. I should probably sleep a bit more. Collapsing while cleaning would be a problem in its own way, wouldn’t it?
The housework…. I’ll see how things are later….
* * *
“…Do I feel a bit better?”
When I woke up again and opened my eyes, my body still felt heavy. But maybe because I’d slept deeply, I felt a little better than before.
I slowly got up. My head was throbbing, but moving wasn’t too difficult. Unlike earlier, my breathing wasn’t rough.
I checked the time—it was around 2 p.m. I’d slept straight through lunch.
Thinking I should hurry and clean while I felt a bit better, then go to the hospital, I quickly left the room.
I swept roughly, starting from the first floor.
As I worked, it felt like strength was gradually returning to my body. I’d planned to just do a quick clean of the visible areas on the first floor, but at this rate, it seemed like I could do the second and third floors too.
It didn’t seem like anyone was home anyway, so I might as well do a full sweep.
After cleaning the second floor, I hesitated briefly, then went up to the third. Normally, Jung Hwangseo’s pheromone scent was so thick you could feel it as soon as you reached the second floor, but today I didn’t sense it at all—he must have gone out.
That made things easier to clean.
Because of Jung Hwangseo, I’d always felt uneasy cleaning the third floor, and even when I did go up, I only tidied up the dust I could see. Since he was gone, I should clean properly.
Letting out a sigh of relief, I started cleaning the third floor where Jung Hwangseo’s room was. Moving from room to room, I soon found myself in front of his door.
I couldn’t smell his pheromones, but just in case, I knocked. There was no sound from inside.
I opened the door and went in. There was no one there.
Unlike Jung Hwangyu’s room, where clothes were always tossed everywhere, Jung Hwangseo’s room was surprisingly neat and well organized, despite appearances.
But I couldn’t help frowning.
‘…Ah. The smell.’
Just how much pheromone does he scatter while sleeping?
Unlike the hallway, the inside of the room was filled with Jung Hwangseo’s pheromone scent, so strong it made my head spin.
Good thing I wore a mask. Without it, I would’ve been overwhelmed by the stench and unable to clean.
With my mask firmly on, I started cleaning his room.
“I’m dying. Seriously.”
I lifted the hem of my T-shirt slightly and fanned myself.
‘It’s hot. I can’t breathe.’
Had I overdone it with the cleaning?
As I worked, it felt like the fever was slowly rising again. At some point, my vision blurred and my head went completely blank.
The feeling that I might collapse at any moment was exactly like the first time, when I entered this book.
I stopped where I was and tried to steady my breathing.
What is this—why am I suddenly getting worse?
If I’d known this would happen, I should’ve gone to the hospital earlier, when I was feeling better….
Regretting it too late, I staggered, then remembered that if I fell like this, I’d at least get a concussion. Using all my strength, I made it to Jung Hwangseo’s bed and collapsed onto it.
This won’t do. I need to take it off for a moment.
Overwhelmed by the suffocating feeling, I finally pulled my mask down slightly.
The instant I did, I clamped a hand over my mouth.
Damn it.
With the mask off, Jung Hwangseo’s pheromone scent became incomparably stronger than before.
‘Haah, this bastard. That smell….’
I needed to pull the mask back up quickly, but I was so intoxicated by the scent that I couldn’t bring myself to.
It smells too good.
Drunk on the scent, I lay down on Jung Hwangseo’s bed. All I could think about was wanting to smell more.
It felt like Jung Hwangseo’s pheromones were wrapping around my entire body.
The problem was that the sensation didn’t feel dirty—it felt incredibly good.
Instinctively, I pulled Jung Hwangseo’s blanket toward me and clutched it to my chest. My head knew I wasn’t in my right mind, but my body was craving Jung Hwangseo’s pheromones.
‘The scent… it’s nice….’
Not just nice. It was sweet. So sweet.
Of course, I’d always faintly smelled Jung Hwangseo’s scent as I went about my days. But back then, it was nothing more than, Jung Hwangseo passed by, I should avoid him. That was all.
Now it was different.
It felt like my whole body wanted to take in Jung Hwangseo’s scent.
My body and my thoughts felt strangely out of sync.
‘What is this. It’s unpleasant.’
Unpleasant, yet good—those emotions were mixed half and half, and I couldn’t get a proper grip on myself when I heard someone climbing the stairs, the steps creaking as they went.
Normally I wouldn’t have noticed, but with all my senses stretched taut, the sound came through with crystal clarity.
I hurriedly pulled my mask back up.
And stared at the door as if I could bore a hole through it.
‘Someone’s back.’
Footsteps approaching this way.
Whoever it was, it was obvious.
Because along with the sound of footsteps, Jung Hwangseo’s scent was growing thicker and thicker through the gap in the door, spreading with overwhelming intensity.
At the same time, heat began to slowly pool in my lower body.
I couldn’t help flinching.
‘…This is dangerous.’
In time with Jung Hwangseo’s scent, my body started heating up in a completely different way from before.
I’d seen these symptoms plenty of times.
There was no way not to recognize them.
The symptoms that appeared over and over throughout the book.
They were exactly the same as the heat cycle that omegas were said to experience.
‘Wasn’t I… a beta? Was I an omega?’