Yeonwoo felt a faint jolt of guilt and looked away. He had taken a heat delay suppressant in advance.
“I don’t want to go to work. I just want to stay here, inside you, and sleep again.”
Chahyun muttered as he firmly grabbed Yeonwoo’s ass with both hands. Yeonwoo scowled in irritation.
“Get off me.”
“Just let me stay in you this once.”
“No. My stomach feels off.”
“Why? You used to let me sometimes as a reward.”
For some unfathomable reason, Chahyun liked sleeping with himself still inside Yeonwoo. On the nights he passed out from exhaustion, Yeonwoo had grudgingly allowed it a few times, which only encouraged him to beg for it every chance he got.
“Get off.”
This time, Yeonwoo shoved him harder.
“Hah… you really treat me like a toy.”
“Stop acting like a kid and get up. You’ll be late for work.”
“……”
As Yeonwoo got out of bed, he let slip the one phrase Chahyun hated the most.
The perverted grin on his face vanished instantly. Other people might have found his stiffened expression scary when he was angry, but to Yeonwoo, he just looked sulky—like he was throwing a tantrum.
Yeonwoo didn’t bother trying to soothe him. Instead, he sat on the edge of the bed and reached down to remove the cold pack from his ankle, only for Chahyun to step forward and do it himself.
“I told you not to say that.”
“Then act like an adult.”
“If this isn’t adult, what is it? What kind of kid sleeps with a dick inside him?”
“My ankle hurts. Not today.”
“What the fuck does that have to do with anything?”
“Stop talking like a child.”
The moment Yeonwoo repeated the insult, Chahyun finally shut his mouth, jaw clenching tight enough for the muscles to bulge visibly.
With the cold pack now removed, Chahyun stormed out of the bedroom and slammed the door behind him.
“What’s his problem,” Yeonwoo muttered, unfazed.
A few seconds later, the door creaked open again. Yeonwoo looked up from his phone.
“Hong Yeonwoo.”
“What?”
“Are you eating now?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll carry you.”
“I can walk on my own.”
“That’s just gonna make it worse for your ankle.”
Without waiting for permission, Chahyun hoisted Yeonwoo up like a sack of rice and strode into the kitchen, carefully placing him into one of the dining chairs.
“If you’re not around, I have to do everything by myself anyway.”
“That’s true. Hm. Should I hire a caretaker for a few days?”
“It’s not that bad anymore. I’ve got meds now…”
Despite his protest, Chahyun stayed close and prepared breakfast himself, scooping rice into a bowl and heating up side dishes and soup from the fridge.
While the soup simmered, he came over with a fresh cold pack and knelt in front of Yeonwoo.
“Let me switch this out.”
The warmth of the new pack touched his ankle.
“Tell me if it hurts.”
Yeonwoo nodded silently.
“Hope it heals quickly.”
Chahyun bent down and kissed his ankle, murmuring the words with a worried look.
Watching him, a sharp ache bloomed in Yeonwoo’s chest.
Baek Chahyun and Hong Yeonwoo looked exactly the same as always—and yet, they weren’t.
This used to be their normal. Their peaceful, tender everyday life.
Baek Chahyun… you’re the one who ruined it.
Yeonwoo bit his lower lip and reached out, ruffling Chahyun’s neatly slicked-back hair.
“Hey—what the hell. I set that.”
His bangs immediately fell forward, and he glared at Yeonwoo.
He always wore pomade when going out. Back in college, Yeonwoo had once said he looked cuter with his bangs down. Since then, Chahyun had stuck to keeping them swept back.
“Now I have to fix it all over again.”
“…You look cute.”
Yeah. Even now, Chahyun still wanted to look like a proper man in front of him—and that made him adorable. The more he acted like this, the deeper Yeonwoo’s resentment burrowed.
“You’re annoying.”
“Chahyun. I want to go back to the café.”
Yeonwoo slipped his foot out of his hands and shifted the conversation.
“Later.”
“When’s that?”
“When your ankle’s better.”
“……”
“And your heat’s soon, right? Just wait till that’s over.”
So he really meant to keep him stuck inside until then. No matter how Yeonwoo read it, Chahyun had no intention of letting him out.
“You’re not preparing for the wedding?”
At the mention of marriage, Chahyun’s face soured again. His lips twitched faintly in displeasure.
“Isn’t it next year?”
“……”
“I’m just curious. Tell me.”
“It’s all handled by professionals. I don’t have anything to prepare. It’s not even happening soon.”
Yeonwoo’s calmly persistent tone eventually got a reluctant answer out of him.
“I see…”
So he really was going through with it. That meant there really wasn’t a future for the two of them.
Yeonwoo let the thought settle.
It hurt, knowing he couldn’t change Chahyun’s mind. But at least now he had clarity. Chahyun had no intention of calling it off—and no intention of letting Yeonwoo go peacefully either.
It really did seem like coaxing worked better than confrontation.
“Take your meds.”
“Okay.”
After they finished breakfast, Chahyun brought out the prescriptions from the ER. As Yeonwoo answered obediently, he glanced sideways at the sleeping pills—only prescribed for nighttime use.
There were seven pills total—enough for a week.
“Have a good day.”
Yeonwoo spoke from the dining table. Chahyun, already having slicked his hair back again, gave a small nod and kissed him lightly on the lips before heading off to work.
Just as Chahyun had said, someone came in the afternoon to take Yeonwoo to the hospital for physical therapy. It was Chahyun’s chauffeur—someone Yeonwoo had seen many times before.
He hoped maybe he’d find a way to escape while outside. But that hope was quickly dashed.
There were three people watching him.
He couldn’t help cursing in his head. What the fuck—three people just to watch one person?
Two guards stood outside the house whenever Chahyun wasn’t home, and now the chauffeur joined them. There was no way he could escape—not like this.
Even if the ankle injury had been fake, running full-speed on it would strain it. He’d be caught almost instantly. And if that happened, Chahyun would only become more unhinged.
If he was going to run, he couldn’t afford to fail.
Yeonwoo decided the best chance was when Chahyun was at home. That’s when the guards seemed to disappear. That would be the easiest time to slip away.
But for that, he had to drug Chahyun. That was the whole reason he’d asked for sleeping pills in the first place.
It left a bad taste in his mouth—drugging his own lover just to escape—but there was no other way. And it was Chahyun who’d started acting like a lunatic first.
***
The sooner he acted, the better. He needed to be gone before Chahyun’s rut cycle started. The pressure was mounting.
“You’re home early.”
Yeonwoo greeted him when the front door opened.
“What are you doing out here? You should’ve stayed seated.”
Chahyun frowned, noticing his limp.
“You’re the breadwinner. Gotta greet the man of the house. Gimme your bag.”
Yeonwoo held out his hand. Chahyun rolled his eyes at the childish line but chuckled anyway, taking his hand.
“I thought you meant you were going to carry my bag.”
“I wish you’d just stay home, Hong Yeonwoo.”
Still smirking, Chahyun walked into the bedroom, keeping hold of Yeonwoo’s hand the whole time.
Yeonwoo watched him change clothes, silently planning how to slip him the pills.
Just the sleeping pills alone probably wouldn’t knock him out. But he couldn’t dump them all into a drink—that’d be dangerous, and the taste would give it away.
Alcohol. That was the answer.
“What’d you do today?”
“Besides going to the hospital? Just laid around.”
“Anything bothering you?”
“I’m bored being stuck at home all day.”
“Just a few more days.”
Chahyun replied lightly as he loosened his tie and slipped off his jacket. Sitting on the bed, Yeonwoo looked up at him and asked,
“Shower?”
“Yeah.”
“Want to take one together? It’s been a while.”
Chahyun paused mid-button.
“What’s with you today, being all sweet?”
“I just want to wash too.”
He hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.
“Too slippery. It’s dangerous. I’ll wash you if you want.”
Yeonwoo had expected him to take the bait right away, but apparently the ankle was holding him back. He nodded reluctantly.
Chahyun looked pleased—his mouth twitching in a barely-contained smile.
Once he finished changing, he guided Yeonwoo to the bathroom and carefully washed him. Yeonwoo had clearly left an impression by moaning about his ankle at dawn; Chahyun handled him like glass the whole time.
After sending Yeonwoo out of the bathroom, Chahyun started his own shower.
Watching his chance, Yeonwoo quietly pulled out two of the sleeping pills.