The Male Lead Is Obsessed With My Health Chapter 283

What on earth was I thinking?

It was just a light peck, but it was like adding the very last drop to a cup that had been barely holding together by surface tension.

I had no idea where all that patience he’d shown until now had gone. Pession’s eyes flipped in an instant, and he stole all my breath away.

“—!”

The feeling of lips pressed against lips was still unfamiliar. Too soft, too warm…

My body stiffened from the sudden kiss. My heart was pounding so loudly it made me feel guilty, like I was doing something terribly wrong right now.

“Arell, breathe.”

Even Pession’s voice—unusually low—was way too stimulating.

He tells me to breathe, but he’s the one not giving me time to do it. Who exactly is at fault here?

Our naturally parted lips and mingling breaths made it impossible to stay clear-headed.

As I clutched tightly at the hem of Pession’s shirt, I could feel him smiling.

“Arell, I said breathe.”

“Breath—”

—Every time I try, you stick your lips back on me, you jerk!

Before I could even finish speaking, our lips met again. Pession lightly bit my lip, then tangled with me once more, sticky and persistent, like he couldn’t breathe at all without my air.

Pession finally let me go when I genuinely thought I was about to suffocate.

“—You!”

I glared at him with tears clinging to my reddened eyes, and Pession swallowed a laugh.

I wanted to curse him out, but breathing came first. As I caught my breath, I hit his broad chest instead, and he accepted it like I could hit him as much as I wanted.

That just made it more annoying!

“I almost died because I couldn’t breathe!”

“That’s why I told you to breathe.”

“How am I supposed to breathe when you keep covering my mouth?”

“You breathe through your nose.”

Now completely unbothered, Pession smiled as he lightly touched my nose.

“How am I supposed to breathe through my nose in that situation? Is that even possible?”

“Want me to teach you?”

I blocked Pession’s face with my hand as he tried to sneak closer under that excuse.

Where did he even learn stuff like this? He was way too skilled.

“Ah.”

Pession looked at me pitifully, like I’d been too cruel.

But this time, even his good looks won’t work on me, you punk.

That face always made me weak, but this time… this time…

“Ugh.”

When I shut my eyes to avoid falling for his looks, I heard a low chuckle.

“Okay. I won’t kiss you anymore.”

Pession soothed me gently, his voice dripping with regret. He didn’t kiss me, but I couldn’t stop him from scattering light kisses over my lips and cheeks. Not that I wanted to stop him.

“I don’t want to go back.”

At his sudden whining, I shot him a sharp look, but when I saw his sulky expression, I just ended up laughing.

“Still, you have to go back.”

“Arell, you’re really cold at times like this. Can’t you try to understand how I don’t want to leave you behind?”

“I’m just stating facts. Is that being cold? What kind of answer do you want?”

“Something like, ‘I wish you wouldn’t go either,’ or ‘Let’s stay a little longer.’”

“And what if we get caught?”

No matter how cute Pession was, some things were still a no.

“Should I just kidnap you?”

He said it like a joke, but—

…Was it really a joke?

“That’s a joke, right?”

Pession didn’t answer, just smiled quietly. My uneasiness only grew.

While I wasn’t looking…

It was hard to shake the uncomfortable feeling that Pession had gained some deep darkness I didn’t know about.

“It’s not like we can’t see each other at all, so why are you so reluctant to leave?”

“Because it’s frustrating.”

“What is?”

“I get anxious when you’re not in my sight.”

Maybe because the night was so deep, I couldn’t clearly see what kind of expression he was making in the shadows.

Was it the faintly shining stars in the night sky that made this moment feel special, or was it because this time felt too unreal?

The way Pession spoke made him seem like a mirage.

‘Does Pession feel that way about me too?’

Is that why he keeps holding onto me, checking that I’m here, trying to keep me by his side?

I don’t know.

I don’t know where this longing started, or how I’m supposed to quench his thirst.

I don’t even know if I’m capable of calming this anxiety.

All I can do is…

“I’m not going anywhere anymore.”

Because this is the only promise I can make.

“Even if you tell me to leave, I won’t. It’s not like I never wanted to die—but you saved me on your own.”

You were the one who grabbed me when I was born into the body of a terminal extra, unable to blend into this world and endlessly drifting on the outside.

If it weren’t for you, wouldn’t I have quietly accepted my fate and died?

“Pession, you’re in big trouble now.”

“…?”

“Even if you push me away and say you’re sick of me, I’m not leaving your side. You’re done for. You have to keep me with you for the rest of your life.”

Pession’s eyes widened, then he smiled—like he truly welcomed that idea.

“That sounds even better.”

The gentle curve of his eyes was completely enchanting.

“And that’s exactly what I wanted.”

His whispering low voice was unbelievably sweet.

Sometimes, I couldn’t tell whether what I received from Pession was salvation or a shackle.

But…

It really does feel like salvation.

Because you held onto me, I wanted to live.

Even now, countless troublesome shackles are wrapped around me, but they feel insignificant—so much so that “it’s only that much” seems fitting.

I just think this sometimes.

I shouldn’t have read about you first. I shouldn’t have met this world through words.

If I hadn’t, I would’ve gladly laid out all my secrets and shared everything I had.

‘I don’t know why, but whenever I try to say it… it feels like I shouldn’t.’

Just as my lips moved hesitantly, held back by an unexplainable intuition—

“All right, Arell. I’ll go back quietly tonight.”

Pession stepped back first.

“Tonight?”

“If I miss you, I’ll come again.”

He said it more softly than before. As I nodded quietly, a gentle touch landed on my forehead.

Peck.

“Good night, Arell.”

Just like when he came, Pession left in an instant.

When I was younger, I always complained about why the mansion’s security magic never caught him.

“Hm.”

It still felt like the warmth of his lips lingered on my forehead. I rubbed it as I turned to head back to my room—

“…!”

 

 

****

 

 

I almost screamed when I saw the silhouette standing by the stairs.

The regent duke—who I had no idea how long he’d been standing guard there—was looking at me with a complicated expression, and eyes that revealed an even more complicated state of mind.

“……”

“……”

Why is this man here?

My confusion and agitation must have shown clearly on my face.

“I came back at dawn.”

“Ah, yes.”

“……”

“……”

And then, silence again.

I was the one who couldn’t stand the atmosphere any longer.

“From what point did you see us?”

“From when the two of you… were close together.”

“……”

“……”

It seemed like the regent duke couldn’t bring himself to actually say the word “kiss,” so he vaguely glossed over it. Still, I understood exactly what he meant.

‘I’m screwed.’

What I’d been worried about had actually happened.

‘I really thought no one saw us!’

As I screamed internally without a sound, the regent duke awkwardly opened his mouth.

“Well… was it that nice?”

“Yes.”

Why ask something so obvious?

“……”

“……”

For some reason, my hesitation-free answer made the regent duke’s expression grow even more troubled.

Ah, is this the ending where Mehen chews me out? Dad will probably join in too, right? He already doesn’t like Pession—how much worse is he going to be now?

As my thoughts spiraled one after another, something suddenly occurred to me.

‘Wait. If only the regent duke doesn’t say anything, isn’t this problem solved?’

“Godfather.”

“?!”

Since I’d been calling him things like “that man” or “the regent duke” however I felt, the moment I properly addressed him as “Godfather,” the regent duke flinched.

“How about making a deal with me?”

A shady deal—interested?