Chapter 4

“Let’s leave together in a bit.”

Instead of answering, Gi-hyeon shot a glance at his watch. The phrase “in a bit” implied that the Alpha still had business to handle at the hospital, leaving Gi-hyeon to wonder if he could just head home first.

Yeon-oh was probably planning to discuss hospital operations with Beom-hee.

It was fascinating to watch Yeon-oh pour so much genuine effort into Haeseong Rehabilitation Centre Hospital, the smallest and most insignificant venture in his vast portfolio. Despite looking exactly like a breathtakingly beautiful gigolo who did nothing but lounge around the house all day without a real job, the man was shockingly aggressive and meticulous when it came to his work.

“Don’t even think about running away on your own.”

Unfortunately, Gi-hyeon’s desperate hope for a quick escape was instantly shattered. Even though he constantly heard people complain about how utterly unreadable his stoic face was, Yeon-oh always managed to read his mind with terrifying accuracy, likely a byproduct of having watched him for far too many years.

Reluctantly, Gi-hyeon offered a slow nod. Since the locker room door was still cracked open and a patient could wander past at any second, he waved his hand dismissively.

“I get it, so get out.”

“We haven’t seen each other in a while, yet you’re still treating me like a damn stranger.”

“We saw each other yesterday.”

Gi-hyeon knew the Alpha had been on a business trip yesterday as well. Manager Yoo, Yeon-oh’s eternally suffering secretary, had sent Gi-hyeon a series of agonizingly desperate messages that practically threatened to break through the screen of his phone. Since every single message had been a pathetic, weeping lament no matter how far he scrolled, Gi-hyeon easily deduced that Yeon-oh had abruptly canceled a schedule on his business trip just to crash at Gi-hyeon’s apartment.

Gi-hyeon had genuinely wanted to ask why the man insisted on traveling all the way back to Seoul just to sleep in his apartment, but by the time he had finished washing the dinner dishes and entered the bedroom, the Alpha was already dead to the world.

Gi-hyeon had spent almost the entire night wide awake beside the sleeping Yeon-oh. No matter how thoroughly he had crushed his own carnal desires, having the man he was desperately in love with sleeping right next to him, his breathing low and even, naturally provoked thoughts. It would have been entirely abnormal if it didn’t.

It wasn’t that Gi-hyeon possessed absolutely zero sexual desire; he simply had no intention of acting on it. Because of that agonizing restraint, he had been forced to drag himself out of bed at 3 AM to take a freezing cold shower.

Before finally realizing the true nature of his feelings for Yeon-oh, the people Gi-hyeon had dated were predominantly Beta women. Though they were nothing more than short-lived, clumsy middle and high school romances, Gi-hyeon had still engaged in the typical relationships expected of kids that age.

He hadn’t necessarily entered every relationship head over heels in love, but as they dated, he usually grew to care for his partners. Gi-hyeon had been relatively sweet in his own way, and his partners had been deeply attracted to his handsome face, masculine physique, and quiet but gentle personality. Yet, every single relationship had violently crashed into the exact same ending.

— “I’m sorry. I think I have feelings for Jo Yeon-oh.”

One day, Gi-hyeon felt a sudden wave of sheer injustice. To think that every single ex-girlfriend he had ever dated ultimately ended up falling for Jo Yeon-oh. Perhaps that was the exact moment he began perceiving Yeon-oh in that particular light.

Yeon-oh’s own romantic endeavors mirrored this dynamic.

While the Alpha wasn’t the type to spill every trivial detail about his love life, it was glaringly obvious he predominantly dated Omegas. Since their relationship had blossomed from a purely platonic foundation utterly devoid of sexual tension, any attempt to shift into romantic intimacy naturally birthed a suffocating, awkward air. Yeon-oh harbored a visceral repulsion toward Betas, and Gi-hyeon absolutely refused to force the issue.

Consequently, despite having dated for a considerable amount of time, they had yet to share a single deep kiss. Furthermore, Gi-hyeon had never even seen Jo Yeon-oh completely naked; they hadn’t even bathed together as children.

Having selfishly bulldozed his way into this relationship, Gi-hyeon ruthlessly suffocated any carnal desires the moment they threatened to surface, actively seeking alternative outlets to burn off the frustration.

Before his ankle injury, he used to sprint until his lungs burned whenever the urges piled up, but lately, he relied heavily on the indoor cycling bike. Yet, when the frustration compounded over time, mere exercise completely failed to extinguish the fire, leaving him no choice but to take care of it himself. Today was supposed to be one of those days, a day where he desperately needed to just grab it, jerk it, and wring out the pent-up tension. Coincidentally, the very day he firmly made up his mind, Yeon-oh had ambushed him.

Having violently suppressed his urges since yesterday, he had absolutely no desire to parade around naked.

While Gi-hyeon wasn’t usually overly self-conscious about such things, Jo Yeon-oh was profoundly oblivious. In truth, their dynamic hadn’t drastically shifted since they transitioned from friends to lovers. Eating together, killing time in each other’s apartments, watching movies; these were all mundane routines they had shared long before crossing the line.

If anything had actually changed, it was perhaps the brief, chaste kisses they shared roughly once every ten days. Even those were nothing more than a fleeting press of lips, almost exclusively initiated by Yeon-oh, usually in the dead of night when his favorite football team scored a goal in the Europa League.

Every time it happened, Gi-hyeon couldn’t shake the distinct impression that the Alpha was merely kissing a trophy in the sheer euphoria of victory, yet he never voiced the thought.

When they turned off the living room lights and switched on the TV, the pale glow of the screen and the faint illumination from the goldfish tank would crash against the sharp, flawless slope of Yeon-oh’s nose, casting shifting shadows. Gi-hyeon would often catch himself stealing glances at that breathtaking profile, only to suddenly have his cheeks seized as Yeon-oh inflicted a swift, punishing kiss.

A hollow chuckle would inevitably slip past his lips in those moments.

For a punishment doled out just for admiring a face as delicately masterful as a fine brushstroke, it harbored a rather sickeningly sweet edge. Gi-hyeon knew he was a pathetic fool who could endure an eternity of this stagnant purgatory on those meager scraps alone.

If he truly hated it, if the agonizingly slow pace of their relationship was genuinely unbearable, he possessed neither the personality nor the patience to endure it this long. In short, So Gi-hyeon was the one reaping the most happiness from this arrangement. Enduring a lack of physical intimacy was a trivial price to pay.

Would it kill me not to have sex? he constantly reminded himself. However, losing Yeon-oh absolutely would kill him. Even back when he had resolved to bury his feelings post-confession, he had never once entertained the thought of abandoning Yeon-oh’s side. Therefore, silently suffering was the only correct path.

“You’re ignoring me again.”

“Ah.”

Sleep deprivation must have left him in a daze. Unable to reel back his wandering thoughts in time, he completely failed to respond to Yeon-oh’s remark. The Alpha looked visibly displeased, but Gi-hyeon’s mind was entirely occupied by a single, pressing dilemma: If he just stands there blocking the door, I can’t take off my pants.

Before fully awakening to the reality that his feelings had bypassed friendship but remained trapped just shy of reciprocated love, the two of them had frequently shared a bed in nothing but their underwear after drinking heavily, making stripping down a non-issue.

Ironically, it was Yeon-oh who seemed far more reluctant to expose his body. While Gi-hyeon carelessly shed his clothes wherever he pleased, Yeon-oh preferred remaining fully dressed, meaning Gi-hyeon bared his upper body far more frequently. Stripping the lower half, however, plunged the current situation into incredibly awkward territory.

Furthermore, with the locker room door cracked open, anyone wandering down the corridor could easily catch an eyeful of him. Possessing absolutely zero desire to put on a peep show, Gi-hyeon froze mid-strip. Reading his exact hesitation, Yeon-oh let out a low smirk.

“There isn’t a single bastard in this hospital bigger than me, so how exactly are they going to see you through my body? Just finish what you were doing.”

Finish taking them off? Gi-hyeon wondered why the man was being so deliberately petty when simply shutting the damn door would solve the issue.

Granted, since all the basketball players had officially concluded their rehab last week, there genuinely wasn’t a single soul in the building taller than Yeon-oh, but the sheer absurdity of the situation remained. Staring in silent disbelief, Gi-hyeon slowly turned his head to face Yeon-oh directly. Shifting from his peripheral vision to full focus, the Alpha’s massive frame entirely dominated his sight. A heavy sigh escaped Gi-hyeon’s lips as he finally deduced the root of Yeon-oh’s childish obstruction.

“Are you doing this because I said I didn’t want to commute home with you?”

“Yeah. So why the hell were you ignoring me? You’re pissing me off.”

The sudden spike in profanity signaled a severe level of irritation. Gi-hyeon couldn’t fathom why the Alpha had subjected himself to the exhausting endeavor of commuting all the way to Gi-hyeon’s apartment yesterday in the first place. Putting himself through completely unnecessary trouble only to throw a temper tantrum about it was a logical leap Gi-hyeon simply couldn’t comprehend.

Just then, the screen of Gi-hyeon’s phone lit up with an incoming call. Standing awkwardly half-naked, Gi-hyeon didn’t waste a second overthinking it, immediately swiping to answer.

“Yeah, Cheol-jin. Why did you bother buying that? You should have just come empty-handed,” Gi-hyeon greeted before the younger man could even utter a hello. Bending down, he fished a spare staff towel out of the lower cabinet propped against the wall and slung it over the locker handle. Since he still needed to strip and head into the shower while juggling the call, he casually hooked his thumbs into the waistbands of his boxer briefs and scrub pants.

Feeling a sudden chill prickle his bare back, he glanced over his shoulder to find Jo Yeon-oh still standing there, staring a hole right through him. Just as Gi-hyeon opened his mouth to tell the man to either shut the door and come in or get the hell out, Cheol-jin’s voice boomed through the receiver.

[Ah, they said you were super busy, so I just left! See how incredibly perceptive I am? You have to buy me a meal next time!]

“Do you realize how much your annual salary is? Why the hell are you trying to extort a meal out of me?”

Considering he had snatched a gold medal at the Asian Games just last autumn, his prize money was undoubtedly still overflowing, not to mention the numerous commercial shoots he had recently booked. The sheer audacity of a wealthy sports star plotting to leech off a physical therapist’s meager salary was incredibly amusing.

Consequently, a faint smirk tugged at the corners of Gi-hyeon’s mouth. While an outsider might have been baffled to classify that minute twitch as a smile, for a man who rarely found reasons to laugh, it was a genuine expression of amusement.

Click.

The sharp sound of the door shutting echoed through the room. Turning around to investigate, Gi-hyeon found Jo Yeon-oh staring intensely at him, the locker room door now firmly closed behind the Alpha’s chillingly rigid face.

…Why is he looking at me like that again? Something had violently twisted his mood. Releasing a low sigh, Gi-hyeon spoke back into the phone.

“Anyway, I can keep you company for a meal, but you’re the one paying. Something came up, so I’m hanging up now.”

[Hey, wait! What came up?! And you’re just saying that! You have absolutely no intention of letting me buy you a meal anyway! Fine, just let me treat you!]

“Lower your voice. I can hear you perfectly fine without you screaming. I get it. I’ll contact you later, Cheol-jin.”

Without bothering to listen to the rest of the young athlete’s frantic, rapid-fire rambling, Gi-hyeon mercilessly ended the call. Cheol-jin must have sensed the abrupt dismissal, raising his voice so loudly through the receiver that Gi-hyeon’s ear physically stung.

Tossing the darkened phone back into the locker and reaching for his towel, Gi-hyeon suddenly realized Jo Yeon-oh had closed the distance, looming directly over him. Watching the heavy shadow stretch across his head, Gi-hyeon didn’t even bother turning around.

“What now?”

“Cheol-jin? You say his name so fucking sweetly. Did you already swap out your lover?”

The sheer absurdity of the accusation left Gi-hyeon momentarily speechless. Turning to face the Alpha, Gi-hyeon was fully prepared to scowl, but he immediately caught himself. When Jo Yeon-oh was genuinely, dangerously furious, his face shed all expressions, morphing into a terrifying blank slate, a look he rarely ever directed at Gi-hyeon.

What the hell is he so dissatisfied with now…?

If he wasn’t legitimately pissed off, he wouldn’t be deliberately sabotaging Gi-hyeon’s attempt to change clothes. While Yeon-oh was inherently clingy, that was purely platonic affection; the Alpha absolutely despised any sexual tension brewing between them. Yet here he was, aggressively barricading the door while Gi-hyeon stood half-naked, signaling a deeply twisted foul mood.

Swallowing the exhausted sigh threatening to escape his lips, Gi-hyeon deduced that the severely insomniac Alpha was likely lashing out from sleep deprivation. Reaching out, he firmly patted Yeon-oh’s back. It wasn’t exactly a tender caress; the strikes were heavy, akin to thumping the back of someone choking on their food.

“You couldn’t sleep, could you?” Gi-hyeon stated with deadpan neutrality.

“Don’t change the fucking subject. Who the hell was that bastard on the phone, and why were you smiling so freely?”

“When did I ever smile? And how am I changing the subject? I’m only pointing it out because you clearly look like shit right now.”

Blessed with monstrous stamina, Yeon-oh rarely showed physical signs of exhaustion, but chaining together multiple sleepless nights inevitably triggered this exact brand of toxic, foul-mouthed behavior. He had managed to crash at Gi-hyeon’s place yesterday, but it was painfully obvious he hadn’t caught a single wink of sleep in the days prior.

As Gi-hyeon stared at him, his silent deduction glaringly obvious, Yeon-oh clicked his tongue. Seeing the terrifyingly blank mask crack slightly, Gi-hyeon knew the Alpha had realized he was taking his unwarranted exhaustion out on him. He hadn’t always been this aggressively abrasive; the kid’s personality had warped strangely over the past few years.

Carving a deep, menacing trench between his flawless brows, Yeon-oh grumbled, “I ran my fucking ass off trying to match your clock-out time.”

“Do you want me to check if your ass actually fell off? Why are you whining so much?” Gi-hyeon retorted, exhaling a heavy sigh.

It was hardly a rare occurrence for the Alpha to work himself into an unjustified rage. Since leaving him alone usually resulted in his mood miraculously rebounding over some incomprehensible detail, Gi-hyeon saw absolutely no need to coddle him.

“You seriously have a fucking comeback for everything.”

Apparently infuriated by Gi-hyeon’s deadpan response, Yeon-oh closed the remaining distance and roughly grabbed his bare shoulder. Completely unfazed by the manhandling and capitalizing on the closed door, Gi-hyeon simply stripped off his pants.

Yeon-oh’s expression darkened with displeasure. “If you have plans, cancel them. I just got back after three days; shouldn’t you be eating dinner with me?”

“I don’t have any plans.”

“…What?”

“I said, I don’t have any plans.”

Yeon-oh’s rigid posture instantly deflated at the confirmation. The fierce peaks of his eyebrows, looking as though they had been painted with thick, aggressive brushstrokes, softened drastically, while the delicate, finely drawn corners of his eyes sloped downward in relief.

How can a person look like a living ink wash painting? His pitch-black irises gleamed, appearing almost damp. Left to his own devices, Yeon-oh radiated a terrifyingly cold aura, but he rarely wore that mask in front of Gi-hyeon, making it painfully easy to forget just how breathtakingly beautiful the bastard actually was.

Seeing the Alpha look genuinely apologetic elicited a quiet chuckle from Gi-hyeon. Catching the smile, the door-sized Alpha let out a short, embarrassed cough.

“…Then why did you say you didn’t want to commute home together?”

“Because I was too lazy to wait. I haven’t been sleeping well, so I’m exhausted.”

At that admission, Yeon-oh reached out, his hand gently brushing Gi-hyeon’s dry forehead. It was a gesture saturated with deep affection. As the warm palm grazed his skin, Gi-hyeon closed his eyes briefly before blinking them slowly open. Yeon-oh was staring down at him intensely.

“Why couldn’t you sleep? Because I left in the middle of the night?”

“Who knows. Anyway, get out. Let me shower,” Gi-hyeon deflected, smoothly evading the question while issuing an eviction notice.

Having discarded his shirt ages ago, he was now fully stripped of his pants as well. Hooking his thumbs into the waistband of his sole remaining garment, Gi-hyeon arched a single brow, resembling a shameless scoundrel relentlessly teasing a modest noble.

“Unless you want to stay? Do you want to watch me strip?”

“No, wait a second…”

Yeon-oh seemed momentarily flustered by the provocative taunt. Gi-hyeon found his panicked reaction highly amusing. Who said I was going to eat you alive? Look at him shrinking back.

If simply watching him undress caused the Alpha to short-circuit, it was no wonder they hadn’t progressed past chaste pecks for years. Whenever Yeon-oh froze up like that, a sickening wave of guilt washed over Gi-hyeon, making him feel as though he had selfishly trapped the man out of pure greed.

Jo Yeon-oh hesitated, clearly wrestling with something he desperately wanted to say. A strange, unidentifiable emotion seemed to violently churn within his pitch-black eyes. While Gi-hyeon was momentarily curious about the storm brewing inside that head, the Alpha abruptly turned his back and marched out of the locker room.

Shrugging off the encounter, Gi-hyeon instantly banished the thought from his mind, stripping off his underwear and stepping into the shower.