Mother Tape Chapter 7.4

“It is good that this kind of thing suits your disposition, but it is unsettling.”

Jaekwon frowned slightly.

He too finished his monologue and asked back.

“So what is this about yang energy?”

“Before… you mentioned something like that.”

“Did I.”

“Anyway.”

Wisoo, not wanting to say that he had undergone a postnatal trait transformation and that it was also the Teacher’s doing, spoke evasively. He thought that even Jaekwon, who had accepted him so generously until now, could react with puritanical disgust if he heard that not only was the trait transformation itself unethical and bizarre, but the Teacher was also involved.

“I haven’t been seeing the dead much lately. I don’t think they’re coming to the house.”

“So you think it’s because of me?”

“…It’s been like this since I started sleeping with you, Jaekwon.”

“Hmm.”

Jaekwon responded indifferently.

“I do not know if pheromones and yin and yang, which are closer to Eastern philosophy, are interchangeable concepts.”

“I knew you’d say something so uninteresting.”

“It’s not that it’s uninteresting.”

Jaekwon unconsciously fiddled with Wisoo’s hair and dragged out his words, “Umm.”

Neither of them was trying to have a conversation with the purpose of seeking an answer anyway.

“Then we should do it often.”

It was what Jaekwon said after a long while.

“Pardon?”

“Whether it’s true or not, if it’s because of my pheromones and it’s been happening more and more since I started sleeping with you, wouldn’t it be good to do it often?”

“Ah…”

“Or is it because you want to see your dead friends?”

“No?”

Wisoo replied flatly, as if telling him not to say such strange things.

“That’s great. I’ve got a good excuse. Shall we do it often? So this is why you suddenly wanted to do it with me, Seon Wisoo?”

“That’s not it.”

Wisoo, his feelings wrongly accused, answered heatedly.

“I would have wanted to sleep with you, Kwak Jaekwon, even if it wasn’t for that reason.”

His reply was quite spirited.

Jaekwon found Wisoo, who would often surprise him by getting straight to the point with such directness, yet would react just as a child would when teased like this, very interesting.

“Is that so? Really? You’re not just using my cock as a ward against evil?”

“I said that’s not it!”

Wisoo’s attitude was one of genuine injustice.

“I want to sleep with you, Kwak Jaekwon, even if it means I’ll see more of the dead.”

“Wow… That’s touching. I’ll have to try harder.”

“…You don’t have to try any harder than this, though.”

Wisoo mumbled and fiddled with Jaekwon’s chest. He envied the thick yet very firm volume. He absentmindedly fiddled with the chest, and his hand reached the deep apricot-colored nipple. There was no way it would not be fun to touch. Wisoo absentmindedly repeated scratching, pressing, and rubbing it with his fingernail. He was so engrossed that he did not even notice the warning hmpf from above his head.

“Seon Wisoo.”

In the end, Jaekwon closed his book and called Wisoo.

“Why do you keep touching me. Is it because you want to do it again?”

Wisoo thought for a moment. Even though it had ended after two rounds, Jaekwon had been persistent each time, and doing it with him was really good, but he also did not want to let go of the current, pleasant languor. If they did it even one more time here, he would fall sound asleep without even having this kind of time.

After some thought, Wisoo shook his head.

“I think I should work out a little.”

Wisoo muttered dejectedly.

“To build up my stamina a bit.”

The goal was obvious. Jaekwon let out a hollow laugh and, not to be outdone, he too groped Wisoo’s back. If he had been in a position where he could touch them, he would have touched his nipples “It is good that this kind of thing suits your disposition, but it is unsettling.”

Jaekwon frowned slightly.

He too finished his monologue and asked back.

“So what is this about yang energy?”

“Before… you mentioned something like that.”

“Did I.”

“Anyway.”

Wisoo, not wanting to say that he had undergone a postnatal trait transformation and that it was also the Teacher’s doing, spoke evasively. He thought that even Jaekwon, who had accepted him so generously until now, could react with puritanical disgust if he heard that not only was the trait transformation itself unethical and bizarre, but the Teacher was also involved.

“I haven’t been seeing the dead much lately. I don’t think they’re coming to the house.”

“So you think it’s because of me?”

“…It’s been like this since I started sleeping with you, Jaekwon.”

“Hmm.”

Jaekwon responded indifferently.

“I do not know if pheromones and yin and yang, which are closer to Eastern philosophy, are interchangeable concepts.”

“I knew you’d say something so uninteresting.”

“It’s not that it’s uninteresting.”

Jaekwon unconsciously fiddled with Wisoo’s hair and dragged out his words, “Umm.”

Neither of them was trying to have a conversation with the purpose of seeking an answer anyway.

“Then we should do it often.”

It was what Jaekwon said after a long while.

“Pardon?”

“Whether it’s true or not, if it’s because of my pheromones and it’s been happening more and more since I started sleeping with you, wouldn’t it be good to do it often?”

“Ah…”

“Or is it because you want to see your dead friends?”

“No?”

Wisoo replied flatly, as if telling him not to say such strange things.

“That’s great. I’ve got a good excuse. Shall we do it often, we two? So this is why you suddenly wanted to do it with me, Seon Wisoo?”

“That’s not it.”

Wisoo, his feelings wrongly accused, answered heatedly.

“I would have wanted to sleep with you, Kwak Jaekwon, even if it wasn’t for that reason.”

His reply was quite spirited.

Jaekwon found Wisoo, who would often surprise him by getting straight to the point with such directness, yet would react just as a child would when teased like this, very interesting.

“Is that so? Really? You’re not just using my cock as a ward against evil?”

“I said that’s not it!”

Wisoo’s attitude was one of genuine injustice.

“I want to sleep with you, Kwak Jaekwon, even if it means I’ll see more of the dead.”

“Wow… That’s touching. I’ll have to try harder.”

“…You don’t have to try any harder than this, though.”

Wisoo mumbled and fiddled with Jaekwon’s chest. He envied the thick yet very firm volume. He absentmindedly fiddled with the chest, and his hand reached the deep apricot-colored nipple. There was no way it would not be fun to touch. Wisoo absentmindedly repeated scratching, pressing, and rubbing it with his fingernail. He was so engrossed that he did not even notice the warning hmpf from above his head.

“Seon Wisoo.”

In the end, Jaekwon closed his book and called Wisoo.

“Why do you keep touching me. Is it because you want to do it again?”

Wisoo thought for a moment. Even though it had ended after two rounds, Jaekwon had been persistent each time, and doing it with him was really good, but he also did not want to let go of the current, pleasant languor. If they did it even one more time here, he would fall sound asleep without even having this kind of time.

After some thought, Wisoo shook his head.

“I think I should work out a little.”

Wisoo muttered dejectedly.

“To build up my stamina a bit.”

The goal was obvious. Jaekwon let out a hollow laugh and, not to be outdone, he too groped Wisoo’s back. If he had been in a position where he could touch them, he would have touched his nipples. Jaekwon was secretly thinking he wanted to put a piercing on Wisoo’s nipple. That was how pretty their shape and color were.

“If you want to build up your stamina, I think you should start by eating a lot. Your portions are still so small. I wonder if it’s because your stomach is small.”

Jaekwon said something that would make others gasp, with such a calm demeanor.

Wisoo yawned. It was a silent yawn, so he thought Jaekwon would not know, but he did. He covered Wisoo with the thin blanket that was at his feet.

“Go to sleep.”

“Am I not heavy?”

“If you were heavy, I’d push you off on my own. Do you think I’d go through the trouble of keeping Seon Wisoo on top of my body all night?”

Wisoo smiled, much more relieved. Didn’t that mean he could stick to him closely, at least while he was awake?

Jaekwon’s body was warm, his heartbeat was like the gentle thrum of a bass string, and the scent from him gave the comfort of sinking into warm ink.

Jaekwon soon patted the sleeping Wisoo and was unconsciously looking at the ceiling, then fell asleep just like that, contrary to what he had said.

Perhaps he never had any intention of pushing him away in the first place. Because it was not a trouble.

❖ ❖ ❖

However, was it a problem that they slept naked, covered only by a thin blanket?

Not long after his indigestion had gotten better, Wisoo began to show signs of a cold.

“I’m fine.”

Wisoo reassured Jaekwon, despite his voice being completely nasal.

“It’s just a touch of a cold.”

“You know that a cold is one of the diseases that doesn’t have an exact cure, right?”

“Is that so? But it’s not like I’ll die from it, right?”

Wisoo was spirited in strange ways and surprisingly stoic in many aspects.

His nasal voice was only because he had no energy; in truth, his nose was not stuffy, nor was he getting a runny nose. His body was just extremely languid and he had the chills.

“They say not even a dog catches a summer cold.”

“I caught it because I’m not a dog.”

“……”

Have I been too lenient with him?

Jaekwon briefly reflected on his actions at Wisoo’s sharp retort.

But his sharp-tongued retorts were much better than him being gloomily listless.

Jaekwon looked at his wristwatch and filled a glass with orange juice for him.

“If you need anything, call Hwang Gujo.”

Today, Jaekwon is going to stay at a hotel. He does not know if it will end tonight or last for three nights. Jaekwon is expecting two days, three at most. He can feel his rut is imminent from the stuffy heat boiling inside his body.

“Hwang Gujo will take care of you instead. He’ll come in the evening. He can’t be here all day.”

He omitted the fact that it was because he had given him a task.

“Yes. I’ll be fine. I’ve been alone a lot, I’m good at it. That.”

The spirited sound of his voice actually held Jaekwon’s ankles back.

Jaekwon smacked his lips with a displeased look and pinched Wisoo’s nose without hurting him.

“Ah…!”

“I’m getting cranky for no reason.”

Jaekwon muttered and got up from his seat. He was dressed in comfortable clothes. Even though he had clearly told him that he would be back in a few days and that Hwang Gujo would be coming and going in the meantime, Wisoo became anxious just from the fact that he was holding the simple Boston bag he had brought when he first came.

“You’re definitely coming back, right?”

Wisoo asked with teary eyes, making a mockery of his resolve to let Jaekwon leave and to see him off calmly.

“You have to. You’re coming back, right?”

Jaekwon frowned slightly.

This… I feel like I’ve heard something similar before.

But his body and mind are not listening well because of the rut.

The reason he had not persistently questioned Wisoo about his hazy memories was because he was the same. Despite being confirmed as an Alpha, his first rut had been far too late. It had erupted only when he was twenty. Considering it usually happens between the ages of sixteen and eighteen, it was on the late side.

If it had erupted when he was younger, it would have been easier to suppress with medicine, but just as it is harder to remove wisdom teeth later in life, the late-erupting rut tormented him persistently.

A severe fever had struck him along with it. They said he was sick for ten whole days. He had nightmares about his mother the entire time. They said you get excited like a dog, but it was all lies, Jaekwon could recall. It was just painful and horrible, and after that, he too ended up with parts of his previous memories blinking out like a sinkhole. For him, who was not inconvenienced by it and rather wanted to erase all his memories, it was only welcome.

That was how painful a process the rut was for him. Jaekwon endured the headache with a bitter taste in his mouth and nodded.

“I’ll come. I even fixed the bathroom, I have to come back just out of spite.”

It’s right to tell him not to come, to a house like this….

But this time too, Wisoo could only reply that he was grateful in a fading voice.

Thinking that it would be okay since the Teacher had not contacted him yet.

❖ ❖ ❖

Only after teaching Wisoo about all the medicines did Jaekwon call Hwang Gujo.

—You’re calling later than I thought?

“So you don’t like it? Your salary is still coming out of my assets.”

—They are your assets, right, Representative? Not the ones tied to Mr. Wisoo.

“I haven’t even checked those.”

To Jaekwon, it still felt less like his own assets and more like Kwak Bonyoung’s. It was like raw flesh, unpleasant to touch because her disagreeable, lukewarm body heat remained on it.

Jaekwon stayed by Wisoo’s side until Hwang Gujo arrived.

Seon Wisoo slept like a child. Seeing him with his eyes closed like this made him realize anew how young he was. What had he done with a kid who still had baby hair? Even though he knew that Omegas usually have soft skin and fine body hair, to Jaekwon, all of Wisoo’s features seemed not like the characteristics of an Omega, but unique characteristics of Seon Wisoo.

He did not realize time was passing. He was almost disappointed when Hwang Gujo called to say he had arrived.

Perhaps sensing that displeased atmosphere from Jaekwon as he got into the car, Hwang Gujo smiled slyly.

“You seem like newlyweds these days?”

“You’re talking nonsense.”

“Oh? Unlike usual, you’re not saying things like ‘don’t even talk about marriage’?”

“……”

Jaekwon did not reply.

The car moved. As they crossed the bridge whose name changed with the island, Jaekwon asked.

“To be a more certain guardian and have legal binding force, is marriage the only way?”

“Why. Are you planning on getting married?”

Even though he did not even mention who he was talking about, Hwang Gujo understood immediately.

“I don’t know.”

Jaekwon rested his forehead against the car window and muttered.

Hwang Gujo was secretly surprised by the unexpected words.

“Isn’t it right to let him live without me.”

Jaekwon’s hand now moved from his forehead to his lips. He rubbed his lips with the side of his finger as if in deep thought, and took a breath with a hiss.

“If it’s truly for Seon Wisoo’s sake, isn’t it right to let him live a life without a guardian. He’s lived his whole life under someone else’s control.”

Even while saying that, Jaekwon unconsciously fiddled with his fourth finger.

“Well…”

Hwang Gujo mumbled evasively.

“I don’t know everything about Mr. Seon Wisoo, but according to what I’ve been looking into…”

Jaekwon had mentioned to Hwang Gujo around when Seon Wisoo had gotten involved with the Teacher. Only then would he know how long he needed to investigate.

“It seems like there was never a guardian in Mr. Seon Wisoo’s life.”

“……”

Hwang Gujo, though playful, was a very deep-hearted person. He felt sorry for Seon Wisoo. As he spent more time with Jaekwon, he naturally saw him more often, and as the information he knew about him increased, it was only natural for him to care.

“He’s definitely not a weak person like you think, Representative. It’s actually the opposite. Don’t you think so, just seeing how he’s lived and grown up so well on his own despite being surrounded by bastards like that? He might be tougher than us.”

“……”

“Rather, it’s pitiful that he never had a good guardian, and I hope someone protects Mr. Seon Wisoo.”

“And that’s me?”

“I didn’t say that.”

However, while he was affectionate, he too had lived in a dog-eat-dog world. A place where one erases the people behind the numbers, betrays and deceives people, and gets stabbed in the back.

“You would know who is best, Representative. Or Mr. Seon Wisoo would.”

The headache grew stronger and stronger. Like a swell growing larger and the waves getting rougher, it weakened and then intensified, repeating.

Jaekwon closed his eyes and crossed his arms. It was a silent sign that he would not talk anymore. Hwang Gujo glanced at him and closed his mouth.

Hwang Gujo had just procured everything that could replace the painkillers Jaekwon had been taking, for his rapidly worsening condition. People think that when a rut comes, one extremely pursues pleasure, and while that is true, there is something they overlook. That anything in excess will make you sick.

Jaekwon was a rare case even among the rare Alpha traits, with highly developed pheromone receptors and a very concentrated pheromone level. Because of this, he felt exceptional pain when his rut came. Beyond the impulse for pleasure-seeking and violence, there were times when he could only breathe after doing something close to self-harm. At least now, medicine was helping him.

“I should lobby them to make a proper rut suppressant, for goodness sake.”

“You’ve tried.”

Hwang Gujo said to Jaekwon, who was already starting to shed his clothes and complain about the heat.

“The risk of carelessly touching the receptor side for Alphas is extremely high, so it’s best to alleviate the state of sensory overload and arousal with supplements rather than a rut suppressant. How many times have you heard that.”

“I don’t know, fuck. I don’t remember.”

“Every time this happens.”

Hwang Gujo grumbled, turning his head to avoid seeing Jaekwon’s incredibly menacing genitals.

“You even got a vasectomy while being warned that it’s less effective than for Beta males, but did that make it any better? It didn’t.”

“Is there any ice water.”

“I’ve filled it up right next to you. Your vision has already narrowed.”

Hwang Gujo clicked his tongue.

That state right now is the state Jaekwon hates. Impatient, highly impulsive, and incapable of deep thought, a state he had self-deprecatingly described as being no different from an animal.

“There’s no other way but to just find a partner who’s a good match… Whoa whoa!”

Hwang Gujo shouted in surprise, seeing Jaekwon pour the entire bottle of ice water onto the blanket. Jaekwon handed the bottle to Hwang Gujo and clicked his tongue as if annoyed.

“That’s enough. Get out.”

“Starting off like this already…”

“You pay for my rut care fee anyway. Get out. I want to be alone.”

Jaekwon pulled the wet blanket, with ice rattling around inside, over himself and lay down.

Hwang Gujo, seeing the giant cocoon-like thing, lowered the lights and headed for the door.

As he was leaving, Jaekwon’s hoarse voice stopped him.

“Hwang Gujo. Do you think I’m a good person?”

“A good person… is a relative term. Who do you want to be a good person to?”

At the sly remark, Jaekwon spouted curses in English. How vicious. Hwang Gujo left the room as if fleeing, with a broad grin on his face.

Hanging the ‘Do Not Disturb’ tag on the doorknob, Hwang Gujo let out a sigh.

After Hwang Gujo left, Jaekwon’s breathing became even more ragged. It felt like he would suffocate on his own hot, humid breath. Just then, when his vision was spinning and he was confused about whether this was reality or his subconscious, Jaekwon sees something brilliantly sparkling.

‘A snake…?’

The moment he tried to get a better look at the coiled thing, his mind went completely black.

❖ ❖ ❖

Around the time Jaekwon locked himself in the room, Wisoo also woke up.

He felt much better after sleeping, but his body was still weary. It was a typical case of body aches.

However, there is no time to waste. Wisoo headed to the first-floor dressing room, which had now habitually become a hiding place. He does not know how many times he stopped just in the short time it took to come down the stairs. The world was spinning. He did not have a fever, though….

Arriving at the dressing room, Wisoo immediately called Na Hakyoung.

“Please send a taxi!”

Wisoo shouted as soon as the ringing tone ended.

“It’s now. I have to go now.”

Dizzy, Wisoo unknowingly went to the side with clothes Jaekwon did not even wear and leaned his body against them. Even if he did not wear them, just imagining him wearing them made it feel as if he could feel his body heat and scent.

“Kwak Jaekwon is not here right now.”

Wisoo said, closing his eyes and trying somehow to maintain the shape of his body, which was about to collapse like a liquid. His voice faded away.

“I have to do it now…”

He can feel the Teacher walking with long strides from behind him. It felt like he would approach him at any moment and say, ‘Wisoo. Well done. You have brought the Kwak family to me.’

—I just called for one.

Wisoo did not know that you could call a taxi with an app. He blinked his eyes in surprise.

—It’ll arrive in five minutes. Get ready. The taxi number is….

Wisoo scrambled to his feet. He changed his clothes, since he had sweated a little. Coincidentally, it was a white short-sleeved t-shirt that Jaekwon would have worn. As he left, he put on his socks with light, hopping steps and bumped his shin on the sofa. The socks were the yellow ones Jaekwon had bought him.

By the time he got into the taxi just in time, a small, blue bruise was already forming on Wisoo’s shin.