* * *
“Hey? Baek Saewoo…?”
Jibeom’s face twisted in disbelief as he looked down at Saewoo, who was limp and unresponsive with his eyes closed.
“What the hell? Is he seriously just going to sleep like this…?”
Jibeom grabbed Saewoo’s shoulder and gave him a shake, but there was no sign of him waking up.
Instead, as if seeking warmth, Saewoo burrowed deeper into Jibeom’s embrace and curled up.
As he moved, his loose pants slipped further down, exposing his pale, bare backside.
“Ah, fuck….”
Jibeom scowled, unable to tear his gaze away from the soft, rice cake-like flesh.
His fingers twitched as he reached down to pull out his already rock-hard length from his waistband.
Dark red and throbbing, his cock was not only impressively thick but also covered in bulging veins, snaking up the shaft like the roots of an old tree.
“…Hah, shit.”
With his bandaged hand, Jibeom wrapped his fingers around his own aching arousal, stroking himself slowly.
His eyes turned bloodshot in an instant, his breath ragged as he pumped his slick, fevered shaft.
His other hand reached out, grabbing a handful of Saewoo’s supple, yielding flesh.
“Ha, seriously… Why is your ass so fucking small? Huh? So damn… soft….”
Muttering to himself, Jibeom kneaded the flesh in his palm, squeezing and spreading it like dough.
“Nngh….”
Saewoo let out a faint noise in his sleep, his body twitching slightly.
Jibeom, watching him intently like a predator, swallowed thickly as his mouth filled with saliva.
“Looking like that… how the hell am I supposed to hold back?”
Jibeom licked his lower lip before opening his mouth wide.
His teeth sank into the flushed, sensitive flesh of Saewoo’s ass.
“Mmnh…!”
Saewoo’s body shivered at the sudden stimulation.
The way his pale skin trembled beneath Jibeom’s lips sent a rush of heat through him—so much that he couldn’t stop himself.
“Shit…”
Thick, hot cum spurted out, coating the insides of Saewoo’s thighs in long, messy streaks.
The sheer amount of it left his legs looking as if they were strung together with threads of milky white.
“Ha… fuck…”
Jibeom let out a ragged breath as he pulled away, admiring the deep imprint of his bite on Saewoo’s delicate skin.
The bright red mark stood out starkly against the pale flesh, like a claim of ownership.
“…I hope it doesn’t fade.”
He wished it would stay, like a tattoo, like proof that Saewoo was his.
With that thought lingering in his mind, Jibeom reached out and gently brushed a few strands of hair away from Saewoo’s sleeping face.
“Nngh….”
Saewoo awoke from a deep sleep, one so heavy that he wouldn’t have noticed if someone had carried him away.
His body felt well-rested, but the moment he opened his eyes, a pounding headache greeted him.
His limbs were sluggish, wrapped in an odd sense of drowsy warmth.
“You’re awake?”
Startled by the unexpected voice, Saewoo turned his head quickly.
Sitting beside the bed was Go Junwoo—the raccoon shifter and a traditional medicine doctor.
Clink.
“We meet again, Saewoo. Nice to see you,” Junwoo greeted cheerfully, setting down the teacup he had been drinking from.
“Ah… Hello. But, um, where’s Jibeom…?”
“This is Yoon Jibeom’s house. He had to step out for a bit. He asked me to watch over you, so I just got here a little while ago.”
“Oh… Really? I’m so sorry… You came all the way here just because of me?”
Saewoo, realizing he had inconvenienced someone again, quickly tried to get out of bed.
But Junwoo stopped him with a light chuckle and a reassuring smile.
“Don’t be. Honestly, taking care of a patient is way easier than dealing with that lunatic’s tantrums.”
A patient…?
Just that word alone was enough for Saewoo to get an idea of what had happened.
Embarrassment crept up his spine—he had caused trouble again, even if unintentionally.
“You must’ve been really exhausted, Saewoo. You slept for almost 18 hours straight.”
“What? 18 hours?! Are you serious?”
Saewoo’s eyes widened in shock.
Not only had he slept for that long, but he had done so in Jibeom’s house—completely defenseless.
‘What… What the hell happened…?’
He tried to recall his last memory.
After drinking something from the fridge, everything became hazy, like a fog had settled over his mind.
The only thing he could vaguely remember was Jibeom—his ever-changing expressions, his presence, the way his mere existence made him feel strangely light and euphoric.
Why it made him feel that way, he didn’t know.
But given how much he had slept, that might have been the reason.
“How do you feel? Still tired?”
“Yeah….”
The drowsiness still clung to him, but his body felt oddly refreshed, as if he had taken a warm bath in his sleep.
Did someone… wash him?
For a moment, Jibeom’s face flashed through his mind, but he quickly dismissed the thought.
No way… right?
“My head hurts a little….”
Saewoo placed a hand on his temple, rubbing at the dull ache.
“Hmm… Maybe you slept too long. Here, try drinking this. It should help with the headache.”
Junwoo poured a fresh cup of tea and handed it to him.
“What is it…?”
“It’s willow bark tea. It’s good for headaches. It’s not too hot, so you can drink it right away.”
“Ah… Thank you.”
Saewoo hesitated for a moment before taking a small sip.
“How is it?”
“It’s… kind of bitter.”
The aroma wasn’t bad, but the taste was surprisingly strong.
Still, he didn’t want to seem ungrateful, so he drank it all in one go.
“You handled that better than Jibeom. That idiot spat it out the second it touched his tongue.”
That… sounded exactly like something Jibeom would do.
Not just spit it out—he’d probably swear up a storm while doing it.
Saewoo had recently learned that Jibeom had a ridiculous sweet tooth, so it wasn’t surprising.
Imagining him scrunching up his face, cursing under his breath, and sticking out his tongue in disgust made Saewoo chuckle.
“Haha… Yeah, that sounds like him.”
Junwoo blinked at him, as if surprised by the genuine laughter, then spoke up hesitantly.
“Um… Actually, while you were asleep, I checked your pulse.”
“You did?”
Caught off guard, Saewoo instinctively rubbed his wrist.
“You’re still taking the medication I prescribed, right?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Hmm… I’m not sure if you’ve been overexerting yourself lately, but even in your sleep, your heart rate was abnormally fast. Did you know that?”
“…….”
Saewoo’s lips pressed together at those words.
His doctor’s diagnosis—his so-called “heat cycle”—flashed through his mind.
He had been trying his best to ignore it, pretending it wasn’t happening.
But if even his body was betraying him, then maybe it was time to stop pretending.
“For now, just focus on resting. Don’t push yourself too hard, okay?”
“…Okay.”
Seeing Saewoo’s sudden silence, Junwoo stood up, picking up the wooden tray with the empty teacups.
As he turned to leave the room, Saewoo quickly got out of bed.
“Wait! I’ll take care of that. And… thank you, Junwoo.”
“Oh—no worries. And hey, you don’t have to call me ‘doctor.’ Just call me Junwoo, like Jibeom does. We’re the same age, after all.”
“Oh…”
Even though Junwoo explained in a gentle voice, Saewoo still hesitated, feeling uneasy.
It wasn’t as if he had instantly called him “Doctor” from the start, but for some reason, the words wouldn’t come out easily.
“If that’s too much, you can just call me Doctor Go. Hmm… or whatever feels comfortable for you.”
Noticing Saewoo’s hesitation, Junwoo flashed an easygoing smile and headed toward the kitchen.
As he placed the tray on the neatly cleaned dining table, Saewoo, who had been trailing behind him, suddenly stopped and stood there, blankly staring.
Junwoo followed his gaze, a puzzled expression forming on his face.
Saewoo was staring vacantly at the table and the space beneath it.
“What’s wrong?”
“Ah… it’s just, something feels…”
Saewoo felt confused.
There was nothing special about the space, yet his eyes kept drifting toward the area under the table.
“Saewoo? Are you still feeling unwell?”
Thud.
That was when it happened.
Worried about Saewoo’s condition, Junwoo lightly grabbed his shoulder.
It was a casual touch, devoid of any ulterior motive, yet Saewoo flinched violently and immediately pulled away.
“Saewoo…?”
“Ah…! S-sorry! I didn’t mean to—”
Saewoo clutched the spot where Junwoo had touched him, wrapping both arms around himself as if to say, “Don’t touch me.”
“No, it’s fine, haha. I must’ve startled you. Ah… hold on a sec. Let me just let Jibeom know you’re awake….”
Junwoo gave an awkward chuckle and stepped away.
Left alone, Saewoo stared blankly at the spot where Junwoo had been, then slumped onto the nearby sofa.
He rubbed his hand furiously over the place Junwoo had touched, as if trying to erase a stain—an almost obsessive act.
“What’s wrong with me…?”
Realizing how strange his own behavior was, he muttered quietly.
“Even the slightest touch felt unbearable….”
* * *
