Contract Marriage with Memory Loss on Top - Chapter 5
“Yeon-woo, wake up.”
He seemed to be in a deep sleep. The closer he got, the clearer the panting breath could be heard. The sheets were a mess as if he had tossed and turned before finally falling asleep.
‘…Goodness.’
When he lifted the blanket slightly, he saw Yeon-woo curled up like a shrimp. At the same time, a faint smile broke out between Ki-won’s teeth. On top of the mat were clothes that seemed to have been taken out of the closet. It seemed that he had unconsciously made a nest seeking the alpha’s scent, perhaps because he was anxious due to his heat cycle. Not only did Yeon-woo lay on top of Ki-won’s clothes, but he was also hugging a bundle of clothes.
“I was going to scold him.”
He had intended to sternly scold Yeon-woo for going outside when his heat cycle had come. However, seeing Yeon-woo buried in his clothes, his angry heart melted away. Kwon Ki-won consciously pulled down the corners of his mouth that kept trying to rise and examined Yeon-woo.
Yeon-woo was tenaciously hugging the clothes as if he wouldn’t miss Kwon Ki-won’s lingering scent in the fibers. That sight strangely tickled one side of his chest. What was this? It was an emotion that was difficult to describe.
If he woke him up like this, he would be embarrassed. He didn’t think Yeon-woo had consciously made a nest using his clothes. So he tried to clean it up before waking him. Ki-won gently pulled out the clothes that Yeon-woo was hugging and sat down by his pillow. He also tried to clean up the clothes messily laid out under his body, but it failed as Yeon-woo furrowed his brows as if telling him not to.
‘I guess I can clean that up later.’
Judging by Yeon-woo’s condition, it seemed difficult for him to regain his senses right away. He changed his priorities, deciding to clean up the messily laid out clothes later.
“Let’s take the medicine, Yeon-woo.”
Ki-won called out to him while caressing Yeon-woo’s cheek. Then Yeon-woo buried his flushed face further between Ki-won’s clothes. Based on his reaction, it seemed that his heat cycle hadn’t fully started yet. Ki-won slid his arm behind Yeon-woo’s neck to help him sit up.
“Hyung… My head hurts.”
Yeon-woo, with a tearful face, whined while sticking out his lower lip. They say the early symptoms of heat cycles vary from person to person, and it seemed Yeon-woo had a high fever.
“You’ll feel better after taking the medicine.”
As he put the pill in Yeon-woo’s limp hand, instead of trying to eat it, he tried to crawl into Ki-won’s arms.
“Good smell…”
Yeon-woo clung to Ki-won as if he was possessed by something.
“Seo Yeon-woo.”
Kwon Ki-won hardened his mouth at the deepening pheromone scent. He tried calling him sternly to tell him to come to his senses, but it didn’t work. Despite barely sitting up earlier, Yeon-woo laid his head on Ki-won’s lap. Not only that, he wriggled and buried his nose near the lower abdomen.
“Hyung smells good.”
“You really have no fear.”
At this rate, it seemed Seo Yeon-woo, not himself, would cause an accident. Ki-won urgently pushed Yeon-woo away and grabbed his chin. It seemed that sensation wasn’t very pleasant. Yeon-woo made a sullen expression.
“This won’t do, open your mouth.”
If he refuses to eat it, there’s no choice but to force-feed him. When he pulled down the end of his lips, his mouth opened reflexively. Not missing this opportunity, Ki-won pushed the pill, the size of a fingernail, into Yeon-woo’s mouth.
Kwon Ki-won was at a loss. The medicine that went into his mouth must have tasted bitter, as Yeon-woo kept spitting it out with a frown. When he tried to push it deep in again to make him eat it somehow, Yeon-woo spit it out while coughing, which was absurd.
“Seo Yeon-woo… You want to be like this?”
Ki-won sighed as he held his forehead. Since it was the first time facing Yeon-woo’s heat cycle after marriage, the difficulty was doubled. His patience was also reaching its limit. Ki-won hurriedly pushed away Yeon-woo, who would rub his head against his abdomen if he let his guard down.
There was no other way. If he tried to force-feed the medicine but Yeon-woo was stubborn, there was only one thing he could do. Block his mouth itself. Just blocking it wasn’t enough to make him swallow. A momentary lust flashed in Kwon Ki-won’s eyes.
“Look at me.”
Ki-won lightly lifted Yeon-woo, who was wriggling like a mollusk. Yeon-woo blinked slowly, puzzled by the sudden change in eye level. Just like before, Kwon Ki-won, who had pushed the pill into Yeon-woo’s mouth, kissed his lips.
“…Mmph!”
Surprised by the sudden kiss, Yeon-woo weakly pushed against Kwon Ki-won’s chest. Ki-won held him tighter as if to soothe Yeon-woo, gently patting his back. Hot breaths intermingled. The sweet pheromone mixed with the inhaled breath was dizzying. He clenched his fingertips to overcome the unbearably sweet scent.
It was going as intended. The startled Yeon-woo swallowed the pill he hadn’t been able to swallow so far. Ki-won relaxed his arm that was holding Yeon-woo and carefully explored his mouth. The tip of his tongue slowly pressed against Yeon-woo’s molars, palate, and under his tongue. Judging from the way his Adam’s apple moved, he must have swallowed, but considering that the other person wasn’t in his right mind, he double-checked.
“Haa…”
When their overlapped lips parted, Yeon-woo let out a hot breath. His chest heaved as he breathed heavily. Kwon Ki-won laid Yeon-woo properly on the bed. It would take at least ten minutes for the medicine to take effect. During that time, he pressed on his shoulders with a moderate force so that he couldn’t do anything unnecessary. Thanks to that, Yeon-woo’s body, which was trying to turn towards Ki-won, only wriggled on the mat.
“Hyung, do you dislike me…?”
It seemed he was sad about Kwon Ki-won’s attitude of drawing a line even after kissing him. Yeon-woo looked up at the man with watery eyes. The drooping ends of his eyebrows represented Yeon-woo’s emotions.
“Yeon-woo, you need to be quiet.”
What should I do with this kid? Kwon Ki-won didn’t answer Yeon-woo’s question. Ki-won made sure his pheromones didn’t leak out by mistake. Unlike typical alphas, the dominant Kwon Ki-won was different. It was easy for him to excite an omega who had taken suppressants, so he had to be careful. There was no need to become distant with Seo Yeon-woo due to an unplanned heat cycle.
Ki-won placed his palm on Yeon-woo’s eyelids. Yeon-woo’s vision turned pitch black. Yeon-woo let out another whimper as if his vision was tormenting him in addition to the suffocation.
“Hyung, please… remove your hand… I can’t see.”
“The medicine will kick in, so take a nap.”
“But I’m not sleepy…”
The pharmacist said that after taking the medicine when heat cycle symptoms appear, a sudden feeling of fatigue would hit. He was worried about what would happen if he didn’t fall asleep, but Yeon-woo’s mumbling gradually subsided. The skin that had turned bright red was the same. As the medicine seemed to be working properly, Yeon-woo’s movements slowed and his skin turned pale. Kwon Ki-won, who had been unconsciously caressing Yeon-woo’s cheek, belatedly withdrew his hand.
‘Did I smell the scent too much?’
A self-deprecating smile hung on the corner of his lips. Although he pretended to be relaxed, it was precarious. Kwon Ki-won desperately ignored his lower region that was about to become stiff. He was not a kid anymore, but he almost acted impulsively as if he couldn’t resist.
Yeon-woo’s irregularly heaving chest quieted down. Ki-won intensely examined Yeon-woo’s face as he slept next to him. As Kwon Ki-won traced Yeon-woo’s sharp jawline, lips, nose bridge, and eyes one by one, he gently touched the reddened area under his eyes. His skin was so delicate that even a brief moment of tears quickly created a red tinge.
Eventually, Kwon Ki-won’s gaze shifted to the drooping corners of Yeon-woo’s mouth. It seemed that the not yet fully suppressed heat cycle symptoms were disturbing Yeon-woo’s sleep. Yeon-woo, who had been taking a light nap, slightly furrowed his brows as if sensing Ki-won’s gaze.
“What did you do so well to frown?”
Ki-won’s low voice was warm, contrary to the words he uttered. Ki-won got up, picking up the clothes Yeon-woo had messed up. He was about to leave after roughly organizing the surroundings so that Yeon-woo could rest comfortably. If only there wasn’t a vibrating sound coming from somewhere. Buzz-. Buzz-. Worried that it might wake up Yeon-woo, who had finally fallen asleep, Ki-won turned his body towards the direction of the sound.
‘Around here?’
The place Ki-won headed to was the foot of Yeon-woo’s bed. When he gently lifted the blanket, a cell phone appeared as expected. As he was about to put it on silent mode so as not to disturb Yeon-woo’s sleep, a message with annoying content came in.
[ 010-3820-**** : You’re not answering the phone?? You keep… ]
It was a text message from an unsaved number. Judging from the content of the message partially exposed in the preview and the way of speaking, it seemed to be sent by someone who knew Yeon-woo well.
Why didn’t he save the phone number? That thought suddenly came to mind first. Above all, there were two missed calls from the same number, not just ending with a text message. The time the calls and messages came in were similar but different. If it happened multiple times, not just once or twice, it wouldn’t be a wrongly received contact either. The lingering unpleasantness circling around fueled Kwon Ki-won’s suspicion.
Of course, there were many ways to confirm the doubt right away. The simplest thing was to open the received message. However, Kwon Ki-won didn’t do that. If Yeon-woo noticed this, Ki-won could be stigmatized as someone who secretly looked at his spouse’s cell phone. There was nothing more foolish than reading a message without the notification disappearing.
There was no need to break trust just to check the content of a text message. Ki-won put the cell phone on the table, leaving behind his lukewarm feelings. If he was really curious, he could just ask directly. He was also curious about how he would answer.
Kwon Ki-won decided to respect Yeon-woo in his own way. So he had no intention of immediately probing into who the owner of the saved number in his head was.
Of course, there were exceptions to Kwon Ki-won’s good faith. If it was taken for granted that Yeon-woo had a secret hidden from him, and he tried to conceal it even then… He had no choice but to take action as well. Ki-won hoped that Yeon-woo wouldn’t create secrets from him.
That was also the way to maintain a normal married life.
***
It felt like a sunken body floating to the surface. The long eyelashes that had been casting shadows trembled. Soon, the lifted eyelids slowly closed again. Had his eyelids ever been this heavy? Yeon-woo struggled for a long time to shake off the fatigue.
Rustle rustle, the sound of paper being flipped could be heard nearby. The sound of a pen tip brushing against paper was also heard as if writing something with a pen. Just as Yeon-woo was groaning and trying to lift his upper body, an unfamiliar long shadow invaded the bed.
“Do you want to hold onto me and get up?”
Kwon Ki-won asked in his characteristically gentle voice. Only then did Yeon-woo realize that Ki-won was in the bedroom. Yeon-woo slightly nodded his head and accepted his help to sit up.
His head rang. As it had been a long time since his last heat cycle, the aftermath of forcibly suppressing it was severe. Yeon-woo swallowed the pain and frowned, and a memory that shouldn’t have crossed his mind.
– Hyung smells good.
In the memory, he was clinging to Kwon Ki-won and mumbling strange things. Is it a misunderstanding? No, it must be a dream. Yeon-woo moved his lips and then covered his pale face. The surfaced memory cruelly became clearer. A vivid memory that was difficult to deny, Yeon-woo bit his teeth in agony.