Yoo Joohwan’s trademark smirk spread across his face.
Watching him take off his shoes and naturally head toward the dining table made me smile despite myself.
By now, I had grown so used to his visits and the way he strode around my house as if he lived here that it didn’t feel strange at all.
In fact, the time I spent alone yesterday felt more awkward.
As I tried to get up, Yoo Joohwan stopped me with busy hands.
“Where do you think you’re going? You can barely move. Stay put. I’ll bring it over to you.”
“I’m fine.”
“Fine, my foot. You’ve had to deal with Kang Taeyun and then Moon Dowon. For a beta, you’ve got some stamina. And to think you were so stingy with me.”
He seemed a bit sulky deep down.
Even so, he didn’t voice it further and focused on moving the porridge from the container into a bowl.
Worrying it might be too hot, he stirred it gently to cool it down before placing it on a tray.
“I was going to come yesterday, but I held back because I thought I’d want to touch you the moment I saw you. I’m the only one who hasn’t had a turn, after all.”
Resentment flickered in his voice again as he brought the tray to where I sat on the bed.
He sat on the edge, rested the tray on my lap, and blew on a spoonful of porridge before offering it to me.
“Open wide.”
“I’ll eat it myself.”
“Do you even have the strength to hold a spoon?”
It wasn’t like we had done anything with our fingers, yet Yoo Joohwan was overprotecting me.
Like someone who knew he was next in line, he treated me with careful, cautious affection.
I had no choice but to play along and accept the porridge. I realized I was hungry after my early morning trip.
As I ate with appetite, Yoo Joohwan smiled brightly and asked:
“What were you doing at the delivery company office at dawn?”
“Pffft.”
Startled, I nearly spat the porridge out.
I hurriedly covered my mouth, my eyes widening in shock.
“…H-how did you know?”
“How else? I heard it from Kang Taeyun. I’m on my way back from his place. Moon Dowon was there, too.”
“The three of you were together?”
“Our relationship hasn’t been the same lately, so we had to have a little chat.”
Yoo Joohwan explained they had spent the whole night together while he pulled out a wet wipe to clean the corner of my mouth.
I had been so careless—I completely forgot that Kang Taeyun had people stationed outside my house.
And I had gone through the trouble of getting that delivery uniform in advance.
I began to worry if my plan had already been exposed.
Swallowing the porridge with a sense of dread, I spoke to Yoo Joohwan cautiously.
“I was just curious. Actually, I keep my cash at home. I wanted to see for myself if it was a company I could trust.”
“That’s what I figured. Moon Dowon mentioned it, actually. He said you seemed anxious because you keep cash at home, so you took a business card from him.”
“Yeah.”
“So I thought that was the reason. Since you said that money is your entire life savings.”
Fortunately, he didn’t seem particularly suspicious about that part.
Thinking that keeping the cash at home was a stroke of genius, I nodded silently.
“Who keeps their cash at home these days? Doesn’t it exhaust you to live in such anxiety?”
“I just prefer it that way.”
“I’ll respect that. But it is pretty cute. Someone who hoards bundles of cash at home… I’ve never seen anyone like that in my life.”
Yoo Joohwan let out a low laugh filled with playfulness.
It wasn’t exactly a laughing matter, but I forced an awkward laugh to match his mood and reached for a glass of water.
“You guys will be downstairs anyway. So the chances of losing it are low….”
“I heard from Moon Dowon. I figured you must have been worried enough to visit the company yourself.”
Since it involved my entire fortune, they didn’t seem to find it suspicious.
After all, anyone would be meticulous about their money.
Yoo Joohwan looked at me with a fond gaze, as if even this was adorable.
“Should I clear this away since you’re done?”
“I’ll do it.”
“Sit. From now on, don’t do anything and just tell me. I’ll do it for you.”
Yoo Joohwan insisted I stay still until I was healed.
As he moved the tray to the table, he spotted the folded blanket on the chair.
“You really are in a lot of pain. What about your medicine?”
“Dr. Hong gave me some. I’m feeling okay, maybe because of the IV drip with the nutrients.”
“If it hurts, don’t be stubborn—just say so. Enduring it won’t make it heal faster.”
“Okay. I will.”
“Moon Dowon was really worried. He said he just pushed through like a brute.”
Since it was the truth, I couldn’t really deny it.
As I remained silent, Yoo Joohwan continued while tidying up.
“You don’t have to say it, I know. I’ve been friends with Moon Dowon for years. His cock is pretty big, isn’t it?”
“…Yours was big too.”
“Yours is just small. Mine is standard, I told you.”
Yoo Joohwan, who took a certain pride in that area, shook his head as if even he couldn’t compete with Moon Dowon.
If they were the “standard,” then just how small was I?
In this moment, I was actually relieved to be a beta rather than an alpha; it felt less like a blow to my pride.
“What time are you meeting Kim Seunghyun tomorrow?”
“One o’clock.”
“Then it overlaps with the moving time. Will that be okay?”
“Yeah, it’s fine. You guys go ahead first, and I’ll bring Seunghyun there.”
“No way. Why would you bring Kim Seunghyun yourself?”
Yoo Joohwan wiped the water off his hands and approached the bed again.
Thump.
The springs creaked under his weight.
“This bed is really old. Throw it away. I’ll buy you a new one.”
Everything here was going to be thrown away regardless.
The moving center wouldn’t keep ownerless items for long.
When I nodded, Yoo Joohwan took my hands in his.
“We’ve talked it over. We think it’s unfair for you to stay only at Moon Dowon’s place. If you’re okay with it, we think it’d be better to rotate between our houses, or stay at a villa we’ve designated. What do you think?”
“Rotating might be a bit uncomfortable. It makes me feel like I’m wandering because I don’t have a home.”
I gave a serious answer, worried that a half-hearted one would make Yoo Joohwan suspicious like Moon Dowon.
With only one day left, I had to act with extreme caution.
“I thought so, too. It’ll be hard on you to keep moving around. Then stay at the villa instead of Moon Dowon’s house. Since we’ve all agreed to accept it as long as you’re okay with it, you don’t have to worry about any fallout. However… there’s the matter of the rut.”
I flinched at the word “rut.” Their rut period was only a few days away.
Though they seemed to have agreed to Kang Taeyun’s suggestion to spend it separately, there was no telling how they would actually behave.
They always defied expectations.
“If you’re okay with it, I want to spend it with you. What do you think?”
“…With me?”
“Yeah. You’ve had sex with the other two, but not with me yet. I was hoping you’d recover well and then spend the rut with me at my villa.”
So this was why Yoo Joohwan was being so attentive.
Just one time was exhausting enough.
A rut?
Remembering how Kang Taeyun had described a rut, I couldn’t even fathom it right now.
It was hard to say yes.
It felt like if I agreed, it would truly become reality, so I just squeezed his hand tightly.
“Why, are you scared? Scared I’ll lose my mind and do something mean to you?”
“…Of course I’m scared. I’m just a normal beta.”
I was a type with no pheromones, no ruts, and no heat.
After experiencing Moon Dowon once, I suspected a rut would be even more intense, not less.
When I couldn’t hide my doubt, Yoo Joohwan admitted it cleanly with a light shrug.
“You’re right. I don’t know how I’ll change either. It’d be strange not to go crazy during a rut. But I still plan on spending it with you. Your body should be healed in three days, so isn’t the timing perfect?”
He meant that, considering the time since I’d had sex with the other two, it should be possible.
Even normal sex was difficult right now; a rut was overwhelming even to think about.
With a firm resolve to escape with everything I had, I let go of Yoo Joohwan’s hand.
“Alright. I don’t know what will happen then, but for now, I’ll do as you say.”
“Are you serious? I thought you’d push me away and say no.”
“We did it outdoors, didn’t we? I should do what you want, too.”
It was a blatant lie, but Yoo Joohwan was so delighted he broke into a wide grin and pulled me into a tight hug.
It was a squeeze so strong it took my breath away.
“I’m going crazy. You’re really staying with me during my rut?”
“Yeah.”
“Fuck, that’s great. So great. Siho.”
“…….”
“I didn’t expect this, which makes it even better. I guess this is why I’m so crazy about you. This is why.”
