Naturally, So Gi-hyeon didn’t get a single minute of sleep.
All night, he was stuck beside a drunk Alpha running unnaturally warm, one arm wrapped tightly around his waist while soft breaths brushed against him from far too close.
By morning, even Gi-hyeon’s patience had finally snapped.
“Hey.”
Sitting at the table with a murderous expression, he glared at Yeon-oh’s back.
The Alpha was standing in the kitchen aggressively chopping something while the knife slammed loudly against the cutting board. Meat sizzled in a pan, filling the apartment with a rich smell that completely failed to make Gi-hyeon hungry.
Not surprising.
He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d slept properly.
“What.”
Yeon-oh didn’t bother turning around.
He just kept cooking.
Gi-hyeon pressed hard against the space between his brows.
“Please just sleep at your own house tonight.”
Even saying that much without cursing took effort.
Now that they’d crossed the line from friends into something else, Gi-hyeon felt like he should at least attempt to speak like a normal person instead of calling Yeon-oh a fucking psycho every five minutes.
Unfortunately—
“No.”
Gi-hyeon’s eye twitched immediately.
“Do I look like I’m joking right now, you bastard?”
“Why are you this pissed off first thing in the morning?”
“Because I want to sleep. So for one night, go sleep at your own place.”
“Why? Planning to invite someone over if I leave?”
That finally made Yeon-oh turn around.
His expression looked genuinely confused, as if the idea of another person entering Gi-hyeon’s apartment had never once crossed his mind.
Something in Gi-hyeon finally broke.
“Stop talking bullshit. If I tell you to leave, then leave. Or I’ll go sleep at your place instead.”
For the first time, Yeon-oh looked slightly surprised.
Then he smirked.
“What exactly are you so angry about?”
That smirk nearly drove Gi-hyeon insane.
Normally, So Gi-hyeon barely reacted to anything. Even if someone cursed him out directly to his face, he’d usually shrug it off and move on with his life.
But there was exactly one person on Earth capable of ruining his peace of mind this thoroughly.
And right now that person was standing in Gi-hyeon’s kitchen wearing his apron and cooking breakfast like none of this was his fault.
“Forget it. Just go sleep at your house.”
“Tell me why first.” Yeon-oh narrowed his eyes slightly. “Are you really planning to bring someone here?”
The apartment was technically Gi-hyeon’s.
But Yeon-oh had long since started acting like he owned half of it.
That possessiveness was exactly what was making Gi-hyeon lose his mind.
At this point, he just wanted retaliation. He wanted to wipe that calm expression off Yeon-oh’s face at least once.
So he snapped.
“Do you seriously not remember throwing yourself at me naked last night while drunk?”
Yeon-oh raised an eyebrow slowly.
Then he turned the stove off and crossed his arms.
“Go on.”
“You seem to have some huge misunderstanding.” Gi-hyeon’s voice came out sharp. “I’m fully capable of doing whatever I want with you. The only reason I haven’t touched you until now is because you made it obvious you’d hate it—”
“Ah.”
Yeon-oh cut him off with a low laugh.
“I get it now.”
Gi-hyeon’s mouth shut instantly.
Something about the look on Yeon-oh’s face made dread crawl up his spine.
“You’re upset because I acted too much like a normal Beta couple yesterday?”
“…What?”
Gi-hyeon stared at him blankly.
What the hell was that even supposed to mean?
Apparently unbothered by his confusion, Yeon-oh continued calmly.
“I already told you this before, didn’t I? If you’re that desperate and can’t hold yourself back, I’ll find someone for you.”
All the blood drained from Gi-hyeon’s face.
For a second, he genuinely couldn’t breathe.
He clamped a hand over his mouth before something unforgivable came out.
Years in the military had given him an exceptionally creative vocabulary when angry.
Self-restraint was currently the only thing keeping this relationship alive.
Unfortunately, Jo Yeon-oh clearly had no intention of helping.
“But stick to Omegas if possible,” he added casually. “I’ll arrange it properly.”
“…What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Language.” Yeon-oh frowned slightly. “Use nicer words.”
Gi-hyeon laughed in disbelief.
Not because anything was funny.
Because this entire conversation felt insane.
“I tell you to smile once in a while,” Yeon-oh muttered, watching him carefully, “and this is the expression I get?”
It felt like talking to a wall.
In Gi-hyeon’s mind, every problem between them existed because of Jo Yeon-oh.
But somehow, every single conversation ended with Gi-hyeon looking unreasonable instead.
His entire world had shrunk down to this exhausting cycle.
And the worst part was that he couldn’t even escape it.
He could end things right now if he wanted.
He could tell Yeon-oh he was tired of all of it. Tired of the secrecy. Tired of the constant exhaustion. Tired of living in a world where everyone looked at Alpha-Beta relationships like something dirty.
If he actually said it—
“No, seriously. Omegas are better. Alphas are off limits.”
Gi-hyeon looked up slowly.
Yeon-oh smiled faintly.
“I don’t care what you do with the front,” he said lightly. “But the back is off limits.”
Gi-hyeon went completely still.
“Even if you’re with someone else,” Yeon-oh continued, “you’re still my—”
Gi-hyeon shut his eyes hard.
He couldn’t listen anymore.
If Yeon-oh finished that sentence, he really felt like something inside him would break for good.
Because that was cheating.
Every single time.
Without even realizing it, Jo Yeon-oh always knew exactly where to stab.
“Dr. So, you look good today.”
“Really?”
Gi-hyeon smiled faintly.
It felt unnatural on his face, like forcing cracks into dry plaster.
No matter how miserable your personal life was, corporate slavery demanded professionalism. The second you let your emotions show at work, people started treating you like a lunatic.
So despite everything, Gi-hyeon had still shown up to work normally.
“My shoulder’s been hurting lately,” the head nurse said. “Can I come by later?”
“Of course. Stop by during lunch.”
No matter how exhausted he was, Gi-hyeon was always polite with women around his mother’s age.
The head nurse smiled brightly.
“I’ll buy you coffee afterward.”
“You don’t have to.”
He already knew he’d get too busy and let it melt untouched anyway.
This morning, he’d practically fled the apartment.
Tonight’s plan was simple: go straight to a hotel after work.
A pathetic escape attempt, maybe, but still an escape.
Staying with friends was impossible since Jo Yeon-oh knew every person in Gi-hyeon’s life. Staying with coworkers sounded even worse.
Thankfully, Gi-hyeon had money.
Because Yeon-oh practically lived at his apartment and Manager Yoo constantly restocked groceries and supplies using company money, Gi-hyeon barely spent his own salary.
Combined with the inheritance from his mother, a hotel room wasn’t exactly a financial burden.
Honestly, the plan felt brilliant.
The second lunch break started, Gi-hyeon inhaled his food in under three minutes and immediately booked a hotel room online.
Right after finishing, the head nurse arrived for treatment.
As she settled onto the therapy bed, she glanced at his monitor.
“Oh? Going somewhere?”
“Just taking a short break by myself.”
“That sounds nice. You should rest properly.”
Gi-hyeon only smiled faintly in response.
After finishing her shockwave therapy treatment—a procedure every patient screamed through before claiming it changed their life—most of his lunch break was already gone.
The moment she left, Gi-hyeon collapsed face-first onto the empty therapy bed.
Only twenty minutes remained.
Every second mattered.
He fell asleep instantly.
Several therapists’ alarms eventually dragged everyone awake at once.
“Who stole half my lunch break?”
“Mine disappeared too.”
“Dr. So, how much of yours survived?”
“Maybe three minutes.”
The rehab staff grumbled together while preparing for the afternoon shift.
Still, even that short nap helped.
At least until work exploded again.
One of the middle school volleyball athletes skipped rehab entirely after lunch, forcing Gi-hyeon to track him down personally.
“Hyun-jin. If you hate rehab this much, just quit and go home.”
“Aah, I’m sorry, Doc!”
“Go watch volleyball anime instead.”
The kid immediately apologized while Gi-hyeon shoved him toward the mats.
“Stretch first.”
Another athlete immediately started whining nearby.
“Doc, can I skip lunges today? My knee hurts.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
“It really does.”
“I literally watched you beating Seong-bin up an hour ago.”
While organizing fresh rolls of sports tape into the cabinet, Gi-hyeon glanced over at Soo-young, a taekwondo athlete nearing the end of recovery.
Around three in the afternoon was usually when younger athletes mentally collapsed from boredom and frustration.
“You just don’t want to exercise,” Gi-hyeon said flatly.
“…Maybe.”
Gi-hyeon lightly smacked the back of his head.
Soo-young immediately looked scandalized.
“Dr. So just hit me.”
“Call the police.”
“I’m seriously never forgetting this.”
“Good. Win a gold medal someday and expose me on TV. Tell everyone I’m an evil doctor.”
Soo-young stared at him in disbelief.
Gi-hyeon finally laughed a little.
“Soo-young. Training sucks, right?”
“…Yeah.”
“Being a corporate slave is worse. Go do your lunges.”
“Seriously, what’s wrong with you?”
“I’ll reduce it to thirty.”
Soo-young’s eyes lit up immediately.
“And after?”
“I’ll massage your knee.”
“Deal!”
Watching him instantly recover over thirty fewer lunges made Gi-hyeon smile again.
Must be nice to have simple problems.
Meanwhile, the disaster that was So Gi-hyeon’s life showed no signs of improving anytime soon.
Still, he had things to do.
Organize the tape cabinet.
Massage Soo-young’s knee.
Check on Seong-bin after getting beaten up earlier.
Then survive long enough to escape to the hotel.
Tonight, more than anything, he wanted to be alone.
Because the cruelest part of loving Jo Yeon-oh was how lonely it always felt whenever they were together.