* * *
He became anxious in the brief moment it took to grab some medicine.
What if Seonyul left the hotel secretly, what if he left his home after that?
The groundless worry only disappeared when the familiar pheromone scent hit his nose.
He felt frustrated with himself for a moment.
If he acted on instinct, he’d have already pulled Seonyul close, surrendering entirely to his desires.
That had been the life Doha led.
What had stopped him from doing so…
“To win your heart.”
Watching Seonyul, who’d dozed off, wrapped in a fluffy robe, Doha brushed Seonyul’s soft hair, calming his anxious heart with the scent of the surrounding sea air.
It was a scent that made him uneasy for some reason.
Worried that it might somehow be related to Seonyul’s health, he was filled with a sudden fear.
“A checkup… he should get one…”
It needed to happen at least once, but he knew that convincing Seonyul, with his unyielding nature, wouldn’t be easy.
If an opportunity arose, he’d take him, but it was hard to predict when that might be.
Thanks to the intense closeness, Seonyul’s previously rampant pheromones had stabilized.
Still, Doha was anxious.
He worried something would go wrong, that Seonyul might leave.
He dreaded losing the sweet fruit he’d finally managed to keep.
“He’s just now starting to open up a bit more, so I should wait, right?”
Looking closely at Seonyul’s face, breathing softly like a child, Doha held him gently.
“Hmm…”
As if uncomfortable, Seonyul squirmed slightly, then nestled his face against Doha’s chest, like someone drawn to warmth.
When he poked Seonyul’s cheek, the soft flesh quickly returned to shape.
Smiling faintly, Doha’s hand slid down, gently grasping Seonyul’s hip.
With a small laugh, he brought his lips to Seonyul’s forehead, the bridge of his nose, and eventually, his neck.
Though he knew he was an adult, he couldn’t help himself from clinging to Seonyul like this.
Surprisingly, Seonyul softened each time Doha behaved this way.
Although he pretended otherwise, Seonyul’s attentiveness hinted that he enjoyed it more than he let on.
While indifferent to himself, Seonyul was quick to pick up on the emotions of others.
Even if Doha didn’t cling to him like a child, Seonyul would eventually indulge him with a reluctant affection, but it wasn’t enough.
Doha wanted Seonyul’s full attention, and even greater affection.
From a young age, he hadn’t craved his parents’ love so much as he’d longed for independence.
Sometimes, seeing his mother bear the burden of his father’s possessiveness made him wonder if he was truly an alpha.
But after meeting Seonyul, discovering his emotions, Doha came to feel his alpha nature deeply.
From this one person, he yearned for endless love and care.
Even the trivial scoldings to stop causing trouble made him happy.
“Only if you could control your impulses…”
A memory of Seonyul’s annoyed scolding at the vacation spot flashed through his mind, making Doha chuckle quietly.
It hadn’t always been this way.
Yul was always the reason behind Doha’s actions.
Five or six years ago, returning from a business meeting…
Looking back and seeing no response, Doha glanced behind him and noticed Seonyul staring into the distance.
Following his gaze, he saw across the street through a café window, a woman he assumed was a mother feeding her child through a straw.
The sight of the whining child made a surge of irritation rise in him without even realizing it.
“Do you like kids?”
It took a long time for Seonyul to respond to Doha’s sarcastic comment.
“Yes, I do.”
“But they require so much attention. They’re such a hassle.”
Having grown weary from his father’s endless lectures on having children, Doha scowled in frustration, but Seonyul gently reached up, smoothing out his brow.
“It would be a problem if someone caught you making that face, CEO. And as for kids, of course they need attention. Teaching and caring for them, that’s what makes them children. And, I do enjoy looking after someone.”
As he spoke with a gentle smile, Seonyul seemed more comforting than ever.
Maybe, if Seonyul liked kids, then if Doha acted like one, he’d at least get a bit more of Seonyul’s attention.
Acting recklessly, childishly, it seemed to work, drawing Seonyul’s focus entirely onto him.
After all, it wasn’t as if his mischief would cause any harm to the company’s standing.
Doing things like distancing himself from people his father assigned to him, or subtly bothering his seemingly perfect half-brother—none of it was all that serious.
Even if he came off as childish, he didn’t care.
To those who knew him, his behavior would’ve seemed ridiculous, but Doha was entirely genuine in every moment.
In front of Seonyul, he just wanted to become a child, so he could at least receive a small piece of his affection.
Running his hand softly through Seonyul’s smooth hair, Doha whispered like someone afraid to lose something precious.
“I’ve waited this long… Can’t you say what I’ve been longing to hear? Even if it’s just once, on some day, just once.”
He kissed Seonyul’s cheek repeatedly, savoring the warmth of his skin.
‘He’s mine.’
This person is mine, at least in this moment.
I will brush against that boundary until you break.
For the moment when you think of me, even just a little.
“…Just once a day.”
A soothing low voice slipped through his sleepy mind without passing through his brain, as if it entered one ear and left the other.
His drowsy consciousness was still wading through a deep mire.
He heard the faint rustling of clothes and felt a gentle hand stroke his hair, pulling him back toward sleep under its warmth and tenderness.
The warm hand moved slowly, threading through his hair, and he suddenly felt a tingle on his scalp.
At the same time, there was a sharp, raw sensation that made him wince.
Noticing his frown, someone gently pressed on the creases between his brows.
“Yul, time to get up.”
Feeling a comforting embrace pulling him in, he exhaled a relaxed breath.
Perhaps it was because of the familiar scent.
Seeking warmth, he leaned into it, drifting back toward sleep with the rhythmic patting on his back, until a sense of unease made him open his eyes.
“You’re awake?”
The familiar warmth, familiar voice, and familiar scent surrounded him.
Seonyul blinked a few times, then braced himself as he sat up.
Right in front of him was Doha, gently smoothing Seonyul’s messy bangs before pressing a kiss to his forehead.
“Why were you sleeping uncomfortably over there?”
“Uh, well… I’m sorry. When I fall asleep, I, uh, don’t wake easily…”
“I know.”
When Doha replied so nonchalantly, Seonyul widened his eyes in surprise before Doha continued.
“I watch you all the time.”
“….”
“You know, I said I only care about you.”
That one tender line sent a shiver down Seonyul’s fingers.
He wondered if Doha always spoke this way, so endearingly.
Though he had a habit of gifting watches and jewels even to his casual partners, this sweet talk felt like nothing more than politeness, leaving Seonyul with an ache in his chest.
He balled his fists instinctively and averted his gaze to avoid looking directly at Doha.
“Show me where you’re hurt; I want to see what happened.”
Doha placed him gently on the sofa and grabbed a small packet of medical supplies nearby, rolling up his sleeves.
The firm muscles of his forearm appeared from beneath his shirt, with blue veins visible along the back of his hand.
“Snap out of it.”
Snapping his fingers a few times, Doha brought Seonyul halfway back to reality.
Seonyul gave a slight nod and lowered his head without much thought.
“It’s just that spot, right?”
“Yes. Nowhere else was hit…”
Doha sat beside him and carefully brushed his fingers through Seonyul’s hair, searching for the wound.
Every touch of his warm fingers on Seonyul’s scalp sent a chill through him.
“Next time someone throws something, throw it back.”
“If it escalates and leads to a lawsuit, I can’t handle it.”
“Why would you handle it? I’ll handle it.”
Seonyul let out a small laugh at Doha’s casual response.
It was as though he’d cover up even the most extreme actions.
“Oh, so you’d cover for me, even if I killed someone?”
“Yeah.”
“…You can’t say things like that so casually in a country with rule of law. Let’s not go there. Rather than killing someone, reform or rehabilitation… something like that should be attempted first. If all else fails, then they should rot in prison for life.”
Though there were definitely some people out there who made you want to strangle them, Seonyul mused, he’d never come across anyone quite that despicable in his life.
As he lost himself in thought, he looked down.
If he had to make life easier, maybe wiping out a few loan sharks from the world would do the trick.
* * *
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