Haejin, just awakened from sleep, could not hide his confusion at Lyle barging in late at night, talking about managing his body. Following the sharp line of Lyle’s gaze, he finally noticed the trays left outside.
“Why are they still there…?”
Half-asleep, Haejin muttered blankly. If he didn’t eat in time, weren’t they supposed to disappear?
The moment those words left him, Lyle’s temper snapped. How difficult did he intend to be? The sight of those increasingly gaunt cheeks only made the emotion surge higher.
Shoving the door Haejin was holding as if in defense, Lyle stepped inside.
“Are you protesting because I dragged you back? Planning to starve to death in my estate?”
“…I simply didn’t have much appetite.”
“No appetite?”
“Yes. …There won’t be any issue with the contract, so there’s no need for you to concern yourself.”
There was far too much evidence for it to be merely a lack of appetite. After seeing the stacked trays, Lyle could no longer dismiss this state of his.
In truth, it shouldn’t matter whether he starved or not. If Haejin insisted on building walls and telling him not to worry, Lyle could ignore him in return. It might be somewhat irritating during pheromone discharge, but there was no need to come here and tell him to eat.
And yet, every time he saw Haejin growing thinner, Lyle felt seized by a strange thirst. As if something were going seriously wrong.
The pheromones must be congested to the point of clouding his mind.
“Then there’s no reason to wait any longer.”
“…What?”
“Prepare yourself. I need pheromone discharge.”
***
“W-wait, at least let me go prepare first—”
It had been a long time since Haejin’s voice carried that kind of rise and fall. Even so, Lyle could not contain his anger. The wrist in his grip felt so thin that it was painfully obvious in his palm.
Every time Haejin twisted, the protruding wrist bones knocked sharply against Lyle’s hold. And each time, Lyle’s agitation flared in tandem. With every step he took, it felt as though his heart dropped lower in his chest. Irritation mixed with unease.
It was all because of the pheromones. The congestion was severe, and Haejin’s constant friction had clearly worn his patience to nothing. If he had known it would be like this, he shouldn’t have bothered pretending generosity by waiting.
“Shut up.”
At the cold command, Haejin furrowed his brow. No matter how he braced his weight, the strength of Lyle’s grip dragged him along.
He had only just woken. What kind of ordeal was this? Was skipping a few meals truly something to provoke this much fury? Then the faint pheromones leaking from Lyle washed over him.
Ah. The pheromones have built up again.
Faced with the familiar situation, resignation came quickly. It had been a long time since Lyle had called for him. It was simply time.
But while his mind accepted it, his body did not cooperate.
“Ugh.”
Being dragged like this was hardly comfortable. Midway, Haejin misstepped on the stairs and twisted his ankle, unable to suppress the sharp sound that escaped him.
Lyle’s back halted abruptly.
Haejin looked at him in confusion, but Lyle did not turn around. He resumed walking forward.
Once past the stairs, it became slightly easier to place his feet. As they left the main building and headed toward the separate structure where he had originally stayed, Haejin swallowed the familiar blend of humiliation and panic. Servants stared in shock as they passed, but he kept his head lowered, avoiding their eyes.
Eventually the familiar floor of the corridor came into view. A little further ahead would be that room—the room where they entangled their bodies.
The moment the thought surfaced, he heard a sharp knocking sound.
What is that.
As the faint question formed, his knees suddenly buckled. Haejin staggered, unable to understand why. Lyle yanked him upright forcefully.
His ankle throbbed, but not to the point he couldn’t walk. Lyle had even adjusted his stride to make it slightly easier.
He knew that.
And yet his legs gave out again.
“Stand properly.”
“…Ugh.”
Lyle growled as if convinced Haejin was deliberately stalling. He tried to steady himself, but his body refused. The pain rising from his knees on the marble floor felt distant, unreal.
Barely regaining his balance under Lyle’s pull, Haejin lifted his head.
The door to that room stood before him.
‘Fucking hell, for a kid selling his body, you’re ridiculously stiff.’
Why had he wanted to see his parents so badly that day?
The knocking sound had been echoing for some time now. It resembled a heartbeat, pounding against his ears like thunder.
As they drew close enough to see the fine engravings on the door, the knocking grew louder. Just like the butler’s knock that morning.
“Move.”
When he remained staring at the door, Lyle shoved him inside roughly. As if the constant nuisance of resistance had stoked his temper. But Haejin had long since resigned himself. He had no intention of struggling.
The push at his back sent him forward like falling into water. His knees gave way again, striking the cold marble floor. The sensation was familiar.
Then Lyle’s voice.
“Undress.”
‘Kneel.’
Haejin inhaled sharply without realizing it and moved mechanically. Familiar. It was familiar. When the butler had looked him over with filthy eyes and said those words, he had moved the same way. He had done this countless times over five years.
And yet the hand unbuttoning his shirt began to tremble uncontrollably.
‘Actually, before we began that day, I came to see you urgently because I received a call that they were critical…’
“What are you doing. Didn’t you say yourself there would be no issue with the contract?”
He had believed there would be no issue. Returning to the estate, Haejin had only worried about swallowing familiar humiliation again. He had not expected to be forced to relive this despair. The last time he had been in this room kept resurfacing.
While he was being broken like a tool, his parents had passed away alone.
‘Mr. Bright, your parents passed away last night.’
Haejin realized then that the contract or the power of the Vermouth name were secondary.
The most important thing was that he had not been able to endure it.
Bile surged upward. Still kneeling, trembling hands stripping his clothes, Haejin doubled over and braced himself against the floor. Since that sharp inhale earlier, his lungs had not properly moved. As though something were clamping tightly around his throat.
The absence of tears did not mean he was bearing it well. He was simply too shattered to cry.
‘…Please let me go to the hospital once this is over.’
When the driver had acted that way, he should have left immediately and taken a taxi. He should not have even considered relying on Lyle. He should have run from the estate that very moment.
He should have gone. He should have said thank you. He should have said he loved them.
And he couldn’t even manage that.
“Jin?”
“—!”
Lyle, who had been watching Haejin coldly, suddenly called his name. He had assumed he was merely stalling, but something about Haejin’s state was wrong.
Almost reflexively, Lyle dropped to one knee in front of him to meet his eye level. A strangled, choking sound was coming from Haejin. Grabbing his shoulders, he forced him to lift his head. His complexion was deathly pale.
In that instant, Lyle found himself unable to breathe as well.
“Hey, Jin! Get it together!”
He forced the words out. The heart that had been blaring warnings since he dragged him here now pounded violently, as if about to explode. He twisted around and slammed his hand against the estate’s emergency phone.
Something was going terribly wrong. An ominous sensation shot up his spine and squeezed his brain. The feeling peaked when Haejin suddenly retched weakly in front of him.
“Jin!”
Without thinking, Lyle pulled him close. Normally Haejin would have recoiled, but instead he collapsed into Lyle’s arms. That limp compliance felt like a sharpened spike of dread.
This won’t work.
Without caring that his clothes were soiled, Lyle lifted him. Haejin’s head lolled back weakly as he murmured something faint. The words drifted out like mist. His gaze was not on Lyle, but somewhere far away.
“…I’m sorry… for not going…”
He kept dragging in broken breaths, but after that no more sound came. His entire body hung slack, trembling without rest. Seeing the pallor of his face and the whites showing in his eyes, Lyle understood.
Something had gone very wrong.
With Haejin.
And with him.