Correction Chapter 110

My body felt heavy. As if I would never wake up. Even just opening my eyes was agonizingly difficult, but unlike my body, my mind commanded me to open them at once. I had no choice but to painstakingly open my eyes.

“Ah…”

My vision isn’t clear. Where on earth am I? Judging by the smell of the space, it seems to be a hospital… Jungmin blinked a couple of times, then squinted his eyes again. His gradually clearing vision proved that his guess was not wrong.

“Why am I in the hospital…”

His voice cracked, perhaps because his throat was dry. He swallowed hard and took a breath. I’m sure yesterday I met Kim Joohwan, took the pheromone drug… and slept with him just like any other time. Then my condition gradually worsened… and in the middle of that, I got a call from hyung… I think I was on my way to meet Shinwoo hyung when I collapsed…. I couldn’t remember what happened after that.

“I… didn’t die.”

Jungmin mumbled with a slight hint of a laugh. It wasn’t to himself. It was directed at the man sitting by the bed, staring at him with a serious face.

“I know.”

The man sighed, got up to get a glass of water, then helped Jungmin sit up and perched on the edge of the bed.

“I’ll drink it myself.”

Jungmin’s hand, which had said that, was trembling like a leaf. Not only that, but he had no strength in his body, and his arm rose regardless of his will only to drop with a thud.

Kim Joohwan was afraid to look at Jungmin like that. He wanted to avoid it. He didn’t want to admit that Jungmin’s condition was that bad. But the state Jungmin had been in last night was so poor that it wouldn’t have been strange if he had died. No, he had genuinely thought he was going to stop breathing.

As Jungmin’s face grew paler, Kim Joohwan had carried him in his arms to the research institute. Until he could show him to a doctor… he had checked several times to see if he was still breathing. It was horrific. To the point he never wanted to experience it again.

“Kim Joohwan.”

Seeing Kim Joohwan just staring at him blankly while holding the water cup, Jungmin sighed and called his name. Only then did his pupils waver, and seeing that, Jungmin smiled.

“Hey, I didn’t die.”

“Don’t say things like that, not even as a joke.”

Only then did he bring a straw and offer it to Jungmin, and Jungmin drank the water slowly, but as if he had been waiting for it.

“Want more?”

“No… I’m fine.”

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No. Other than being a little dizzy…”

“Then lie down.”

“I want to go home…”

“Let’s go after you finish the IV drip.”

After helping Jungmin lie down and even tucking the blanket in snugly, Kim Joohwan just gazed at Jungmin. Lately, Kim Joohwan had been staring at him silently like this more often. He had stared at him intently in the past, but back then it felt like watching an animal in a cage; now… it felt like he was seeing him as a person.

That gaze was a bit burdensome, so he deliberately avoided looking at Kim Joohwan even more. But for some reason, he couldn’t avoid that gaze today. If he were to think that his eyes held concern… would that be too self-conscious of him?

“You…”

“Yes.”

“You seem to be worried about me.”

“You’re only just realizing that?”

He had expected him to say something like, ‘Me? No way,’ but he was surprised that he admitted it so readily.

“You probably don’t know, but I’m likely the one who worries about sunbae the most out of everyone around you right now.”

What should he say…. Should he tell him not to joke? Or tell him not to tease… or should he say thank you? While he hesitated, Kim Joohwan stood up from his seat as if he didn’t need any answer.

“Rest a little more. I’m going to go meet sunbae’s doctor.”

“…Okay.”

“If anything happens, press the button there.”

“I got it.”

As if he had so much more to say, Kim Joohwan couldn’t easily leave the hospital room. He stood at the door like that, staring at Jungmin for a long while longer, before finally closing the door and leaving.

At the sound of the door closing, Jungmin was finally able to close his eyes. And he slowly raised his hand. Thankfully, strength had returned to his hand, and he could make a fist. He was starting to feel it. That his body had reached its limit. This was like a final signal from his body.

“Do I… have to give up?”

He wondered if he should now accept that he couldn’t change the fate decided by the heavens. It was because he felt that only then could not only himself, but also Yoo Shinwoo, and even Kim Joohwan, move forward. But to do that, he had to stop his feelings for Yoo Shinwoo.

The reason he took the drug last night was because of a phone call Yoo Shinwoo had made to Jungmin, completely drunk.

‘You’re going to become an omega, right? Jungmin… you are, right?’

He knew that he was struggling a lot. Almost every time he had seen him recently, he was drinking. If he suggested they go outside for some fresh air or even take a trip, he would get angry and flip out. He would ask if he was in any condition to go outside right now. Seeing him so afraid that he might develop a tolerance to the medicine at any moment, he understood on one hand, but a corner of his heart felt suffocated.

Usually, Yoo Shinwoo went for matching with an omega during the day. At some point, it had been a long time since he had gone to the hospital with him. He just waited blankly at home for his call. He wanted to talk more and discuss things, but Jungmin never even got the chance, and his heart inevitably withered.

And the first thing he said on the phone after so long was, ‘You’re going to become an omega, right?’ That’s why he thought he had to become an omega. That if he became an omega, they could go back to how things were.

“But you know, don’t you.”

I know. That we can’t go back. Jungmin smiled bitterly.

✽✽✽

Jungmin’s IV drip finished, and his attending physician entered the hospital room. Kim Joohwan waited quietly outside and only got up when the physician came out.

“He is currently changing his clothes.”

“Is there anything wrong?”

“Hmm… as you know, there are no new symptoms other than the ones that have been appearing. He has just gotten much weaker. It seems for the time being, he will have to focus solely on his body’s recovery.”

Joohwan also agreed with that. In truth, the drug he had given Jungmin yesterday was just a nutritional supplement, different from the original drug. But a drug rejection reaction had clearly occurred, and seeing him struggle… he came to the conclusion that he couldn’t even accept a nutritional supplement right now. At this rate… Jungmin would truly be in danger. But….

“If only he would listen to me.”

Kim Joohwan sighed, pressing a hand to his forehead. Jungmin’s stubbornness was no ordinary thing. Would he take it well if he suddenly suggested stopping the medication?

“He said he would, though?”

At the physician’s words, Kim Joohwan looked at her in surprise.

“When I said it would be best to stop the medication for the time being, he said he would. He said something along the lines of having to be healthy to be able to look forward to the future.”

“…Haaah.”

It was a sigh of relief. He doesn’t listen to me, but he listens to the doctor. Should he call him admirable or feel disappointed? But right now, relief came first. For the time being, he would have to take Jungmin and get some nourishing food into him.

“Ah, but looking at his pheromone levels right now, it seems Mr. Shin’s rut will be coming soon, so I told him. He can’t take suppressants either. If possible, please keep an eye on him and bring him to the hospital immediately if anything unusual happens.”

“Understood.”

The physician talked about precautions for a long time, and Kim Joohwan listened with focused attention, not missing a single word. Jungmin, who had changed his clothes, opened the hospital room door and came out. Seeing him walk out fine, he felt the tension in his body finally release. What a relief. He’s alive.

✽✽✽

After putting Jungmin in the car, Kim Joohwan took the driver’s seat. At some point, this whole situation had come to feel natural.

“Shall we go to sunbae’s house?”

“Yeah.”

The car started as soon as he answered. As they came out of the underground parking lot, the light poured in, and for a moment his eyes were dazzled. At that small flinch, Kim Joohwan was the one who was more startled, which made Jungmin smile. This guy was really worried about me, wasn’t he?

“I’m fine. My eyes were just dazzled by the light.”

“Sunbae doesn’t see the light much. You’ve been cooped up at home lately.”

“That’s true.”

“…You need to take care of your body for a while, so let’s exercise together.”

“Should we? It’s been a while since I exercised.”

“And let’s eat some nourishing food too. I haven’t been eating properly lately because of work, and it’s been a bit tough for me too.”

“You— you were working?”

“Sunbae…”

“I’m kidding.”

He knew. He was more of a workaholic than anyone. He had seen him buried in his phone and laptop more than a few times when he wasn’t with him. That’s why he couldn’t even ask him why he wasn’t at his company.

“Okay. Let’s do that. Let’s eat something delicious too.”

“Hmm… then shall we go abroad?”

“Abroad all of a sudden?”

“We can exercise, eat delicious food… since we’re taking a break anyway, it would be nice to go somewhere nice.”

A trip…. After quitting the hospital, he had continued to live like this and hadn’t even been able to travel by himself. Of course, before things became like this, he had gone to Busan and a few other famous spots in the country with Shinwoo, but even that… since moving, they hadn’t gone to a single place together.

“Should we…”

“Then I’ll look into it.”

“They said my rut is coming soon… let’s think about it after the rut is over.”

“Okay.”

Color suddenly returned to Kim Joohwan’s face. It wasn’t very obvious, but that’s how Jungmin could tell. That he was in a good mood right now.

Jungmin looked out the window, gazing at the blue sky spread between the buildings. He must be tired. To think that the sky he used to see without a second thought now felt so suffocating….