PO 34

Woojeong stood in front of the water purifier and opened the medicine, then he took out two sky-blue pills. Even after he had grown up, taking medicine still didn’t feel pleasant.

Woojeong put in one tablet at a time and swallowed, then he filled a paper cup with water and drank it. The bitter taste didn’t fade.

Woojeong held water in his mouth and looked into the pill bottle. It was a little unusual that two kinds of medicine were mixed in the bottle. He was wondering if medicine prescribed at the pheromone center was always like this.

“Parachute, what are you eating alone?”

Manager Jang, who approached without a sound, peeked over his shoulder and asked. Woojeong quickly swallowed the water and answered.

“Medicine.”

“What? Are you unwell?”

“I am not sick. It is just like a supplement.”

Woojeong felt awkward explaining suppressants to a beta, so he glossed over it, and he nodded without suspicion.

“Our Parachute, you have time in the morning, right?”

“A lot.”

“I am going to do bangle work today, do you want to help?”

“Yes, Chief.”

Woojeong answered brightly. Though all he did was get called here and there to help with little things, it was still fascinating and enjoyable just to watch the work process up close.

“Good, take that box there and follow me.”

Manager Jang pointed at the box on the floor and walked to his spot first. Woojeong tried to lift the box the size of his body, then stopped and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

He was sure it had vibrated, but there was no call or message. Since the day he had talked with Han Jaegang on the phone, Woojeong kept checking his phone from time to time. When he came to the gallery or during breaks, he would even write a text message and then delete it.

He wanted to ask trivial things like whether he went to work fine, whether he ate, whether work was still busy. He wanted to set aside complicated thoughts for a while and have an ordinary conversation with him.

Of course, he couldn’t really send it…

“Parachute! Why aren’t you coming quickly?”

“Yes!”

Woojeong, who had been lost in thought, hurried to hug the box and ran over to Manager Jang.

“What are you thinking so much about alone?”

“Nothing. Where should I put this?”

“Put it there and sit next to me. My hands are too fast, so if you do not stay alert, you will miss everything. You know?” When Woojeong dragged over a chair and sat down, Manager Jang handed him a few papers.

“There is one customer who came to our workshop because of metal allergy, and this time that person ordered a bangle. This is the design.”

“Wow, it is pretty.”

“Right? We will work with ninety-five percent platinum. After heating and hammering, we will alter the structure densely to make it. Since you are a beginner, you will have to start with cheaper material, understand?”

“Yes.”

When Woojeong answered carefully, Manager Jang, who had a daughter around Woojeong’s age, smiled warmly and tousled his hair.

•••

Yoon Hyunjun came out of the gallery and walked to a small noodle shop nearby. At a small table in the cozy interior, a large figure in an expensive suit was sitting and waiting for him.

“Ah, I’m not fond of noodles.”

Yoon Hyunjun pulled out the chair and sat down. He was grumbling, but when the owner approached, he shut his mouth quietly. Maybe it had been ordered beforehand, banquet noodles and gimbap were set down on the table.

“You told me to eat lunch, so I waited to eat properly, but what, noodles?”

“Just eat.”

“Where have you been?”

“I had an outside schedule. After eating I have to go right away again.” Yoon Hyunjun, who wanted a proper meal, grumbled, but Han Jaegang, without a trace of apology, picked up his chopsticks and told him to eat quickly.

“Why did such a busy person come all the way here again?” Han Jaegang, as if he didn’t hear those words, concentrated on his meal, then casually brought up his business.

“How is Lee Woojeong?”

As he was about to put gimbap in his mouth, Yoon Hyunjun frowned. Han Jaegang, who never moved without a clear purpose, had lately been appearing in front of Yoon Hyunjun often without any special reason. Without particular reason, he contacted him quite frequently too.

He started behaving strangely after Yoon Hyunjun brought Lee Woojeong into the gallery.

“What do you mean how? I moved him to the workshop, and he is adapting well. I was a bit worried too, but he gets along with people better than I thought.”

“Really?”

He bothered to ask, but his reply was half-hearted, as if he wasn’t interested. Not long ago, Han Jaegang had even been hospitalized, and it still looked like he hadn’t fully recovered his strength. Seeing him run here and there because of company work in that body made Yoon Hyunjun curse him as a “stubborn bastard”. On top of that, the fact that he was worrying about someone else in the middle of it all made it look like he wasn’t in a normal state.

“Can I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“Did Woojeong perhaps get some hold over you? No. You are not in a situation to care about others. This is the first time I saw you personally looking after someone like this. What is it? Why are you doing it?”

Han Jaegang’s hand that had been stirring his noodles stopped. He looked straight at Yoon Hyunjun and seemed to be thinking for a moment, then he quietly set down his chopsticks.

“Lee Woojeong, I plan to take him with me.”

Yoon Hyunjun laughed at the reply he received after a long pause, he seemed to think that it he was talking nonsense.

“Why would you take someone else’s son? And not even Lee Doyoung, but Lee Woojeong.”

“Because I have a reason.”

“I am sure you do. So what is that reason?”

The unexpected words made him curious, Yoon Hyunjun insisted with questions, but Han Jaegang spared his words and gave no proper answer. Unable to bear the frustration, Yoon Hyunjun gulped down cold water and set his cup down.

“You frustrating bastard. Hey, do you maybe have feelings for Lee Woojeong?”

Han Jaegang ignored him with a blank face. Yoon Hyunjun, who had been throwing out random questions, paused for a moment. What kind of reaction was this?

Others might not notice, but Yoon Hyunjun caught right away that something was strange with Han Jaegang. Evading an answer to such a question wasn’t like him. Moreover, the fact that he showed such behavior often only when it came to matters concerning Lee Woojeong made him even more suspicious.

“…Let’s get up.”

“Hey.”

“Keep Lee Woojeong with you for the time being. That is all you need to do.”

Han Jaegang, who checked the time, stood with the bill in hand. The way he asked him to look after Woojeong and saying that he didn’t to know the reason left him dumbfounded. Yoon Hyunjun, who hadn’t even finished his noodles yet, shouted in anger.

“Damn it. He is my employee, got it? I will take care of it myself!”

•••

Manager Jang, who had been quietly watching Woojeong absorbed in his work, tapped on the workbench.

“Aren’t you going to leave work?”

“I will just finish a little more of this, you go ahead first.”

“Parachute, you look really excited. It’s fun, right?”

Manager Jang, who was putting on his coat, watched for a moment as Woojeong polished the surface of the bangle.

“Good. Practice a lot. When you use the handpiece, you know you cannot just rub one spot, right? You go over the whole thing once like you are brushing it. Do not forget to let it rest before it heats up.”

“Yes. I will do that.”

“Woojeong-ssi, wear a mask while you do it. We will head out first.”

“Get home safely.”

“Woojeong-ssi, good work.”

The workshop staff went out in a group, calling their farewells to Woojeong. On other days a few would have stayed behind to work, but today Woojeong was left alone.

When he carefully rubbed the rough spots with the handpiece, the surface became smoother and started to shine, and it fascinated him so much that Woojeong did not notice time passing.

“Haa…”

Woojeong, who had been working without rest, stopped the tool and rubbed his stomach. Maybe the snack he had eaten at dinner did not sit well, his insides kept churning.

Thinking it would soon pass, he reached for the handpiece again, but then Woojeong bent and curled his body. With the sudden feeling of his stomach turning over, he couldn’t do anything. He wiped his forehead covered in cold sweat with the back of his hand.

Before he had time to figure out the reason, he felt a strong wave of nausea. Woojeong covered his mouth and jumped up from his seat, then he ran to the restroom.

“Ugh…”

Woojeong groaned for a long time in front of the toilet before he barely lifted his body. He rinsed his mouth leaning against the sink, washed his face, and then collapsed to the floor.

His strength drained from his body, and his vision blurred. He suspected for a moment that maybe a heat cycle had come, but then he recalled the doctor’s words.

“If you take suppressants with an increased dose, at first there can be side effects such as nausea, headache, and fever.”

Was the medicine he had taken for the first time today the problem? What had the doctor said to do if side effects appeared…

Woojeong, who had sat holding onto the sink for a long time, barely managed to stand. He staggered out of the restroom and slumped down at the end of the conference table. As soon as he put his arms on the table, he dropped his head and lay there powerless.

In this condition, he could not go home alone. It would get a little better if he rested for a while. Woojeong closed his eyes and breathed slowly.

“…….”

He fell asleep while he was resting. When Woojeong opened his eyes, darkness had swallowed not only outside the window but the inside of the workshop too. The cafe on the first floor had apparently closed, and even the sounds that had occasionally reached him vanished completely, leaving a silence as still as death.

Woojeong blinked slowly. He had thought it would get better with time, but his condition showed no sign of improving.

Heat seemed to rise, and he felt chills. But he had no strength even to fetch something to put on. Woojeong barely moved his hand and took out his phone from his pocket.

Should he call home? Woojeong turned on the screen and hesitated for a while, then slowly pressed the numbers.

At this hour at least one person should be at home, but strangely no one answered. When he tried again, all he heard was the ringing tone.

Maybe because of the fever, the phone numbers of his family members, which he normally remembered well, didn’t come to mind at all. Even if he made contact, he had no certainty that anyone would come all the way here to fetch him.

<And if you ever want to contact me, call me>

Woojeong looked at the only number saved in his contacts. The words telling him to call whenever he wanted came back to him, but he didn’t have the courage to press it.

Woojeong fiddled with the phone, then sighed and buried his face in his arm. The fact that even when he was this sick there wasn’t one person he could rely on made him feel miserable.

Should he call a taxi? Woojeong, who was mulling over a solution with his head down, raised it. His phone was vibrating.

On the screen where the light flickered, the name “Han Jaegang” appeared. Even though he had given him the phone, he never contacted him without reason, but now, as if he knew Woojeong was in trouble, he suddenly called.

-Hello.

Before Woojeong even pressed the call button to his ear, he heard a familiar male voice. Just hearing that voice made him feel relieved.

-Why aren’t you speaking?

Woojeong held the phone tightly and pressed it closer to his ear so he could hear his voice better.

-…Lee Woojeong.

As Han Jaegang called his name, a wave of sorrow overwhelmed him. Before he knew it, tears that had welled in his eyes slid down the bridge of his nose.

-What is wrong? What happened?

He paused to give him time to answer and waited. Woojeong, who had only opened and closed his lips while holding the phone, finally spoke with a small voice. His voice trembled with tears, and he could hardly speak properly.

“…I am sick.”

Silence fell. Woojeong was seized by fear, he thought the call might have cut, but Han Jaegang’s voice, lower than before, reached him.

-Where are you now?

Woojeong barely lifted his upper body and slowly looked around the dim interior. The workshop, empty of anyone, was dark.

“…Here, the workshop.”

-You are alone? No one else?

“There is no one. No one…”

As Woojeong bowed his head, tears dropped every time he blinked. He thought he should not rely on him, but he feared that Han Jaegang might tell him to call someone else for help and then end the call.

-Wait. I will come.

Woojeong nodded in answer, forgetting that it was only a call.

-I will be there soon, so wait a little.

After Han Jaegang ended the call first, Woojeong forced himself to stand up. He thought he should clean the workbench and at least gather his things before he arrived.

Was this really the side effect of the suppressant? Even when he was in heat, he had never felt it this painful. Woojeong, who looked toward the workbench, couldn’t take even one step and had to grip the table again. His vision shook with the severe dizziness.

He gasped for breath and ended up crouching down. He braced himself for a moment with his hand on the floor to keep balance, but in the end he collapsed.

With a heavy noise, silence fell into the dark space as if no one was there.