RACA 58

“What would you like Lee Eunsol-ssi to do?”

“Huh?”

“To be honest, I don’t even remember when they were conceived, so I’m at a loss about how to take responsibility. And not just one, but two…”

Pyo Jaebeom was definitely making eye contact with Eunsol. But it wasn’t to discuss anything; he simply wanted to hear his thoughts.

Could his opinion really change that person’s mind?

‘Probably not.’

Looking back, actor Pyo Jaebeom never had any scandals. He should have realized that all of it was the result of Pyo Jaebeom drawing a strict line with others.

“So you’re saying you have no intention of raising Ssangssang and Ddungddung?”

That’s why Eunsol cut straight to the chase with his question. He even deliberately included the nicknames. He felt his stomach churn, but he forced himself to ignore it.

“If you say you’ll raise them, I’ll actively help.”

But the response that came back was truly cold.

Eunsol, drained of all energy, stared at the ceiling. He wanted to roll around on the bed to sort out his thoughts. But thinking of the twins inside him, he couldn’t move carelessly.

“Haaah…”

The conversation he’d just had with Pyo Jaebeom replayed over and over in his mind. No, more precisely, the last thing he’d said to him.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean? ‘I’ll actively help with child support’?”

That basically means he has no intention of raising the children together? No matter how he thought about it, that was the only way to interpret it.

“That’s too much. Did I get pregnant all by myself?!”

Suddenly feeling wronged, Eunsol kicked at thin air before sitting up straight. Honestly, the more he thought about it, the more absurd it seemed.

“To begin with! This whole mess happened because you said you needed a baby!”

Of course, the incident didn’t start with Pyo Jaebeom, but Chairman Jang. But that was merely the trigger.

He was the one who actually took action. But now he was trying to wriggle out of the situation, it was infuriating beyond words.

“A responsible actor?! Where exactly do you see responsibility? Where?! Even if it happened while you had no memory, but…”

He’s still the same person? Then he should be thinking about resolving this properly. Trying to brush it off with money wasn’t like Jaebeom. After fuming for a while, Eunsol let out another sigh.

No matter how much he fumed alone, it wasn’t something he could insist on.

‘I can’t control other people’s lives either.’

Besides, who is he? He’s a brilliant actor who shines even when you just watch him. If you hold someone like that back simply because of a pregnancy, you’re not a true fan.

Of course, he isn’t currently active as an actor, and even if his pregnancy did occur because of Jaebeom’s needs.

“Ah!”

After pondering back and forth, Eunsol suddenly thought of someone who could resolve this matter. None other than Chairman Jang, the very person who had caused this situation.

“No, wait…”

But he decided to carefully consider meeting him. The very act of explaining his background to Chairman Jang was the problem.

Perhaps it was because there were so many things to ponder.

The next morning, Eunsol woke up feeling an exhaustion that seemed to weigh down his entire body. His head throbbed, and his face and limbs felt hot and flushed, so he immediately recognized what symptoms he was experiencing.

“Looks like I’ve got the flu…”

Eunsol was naturally robust and rarely got sick, but once a year, he would catch a severe cold. Because of this, rumors once spread that Eunsol was an omega who hid that fact, then used the cold as an excuse to stay home when his heat cycle came.

“Yeah, that happened too.”

Blinking blankly, Eunsol recalled the past. He later found out it was an Alpha classmate who started that rumor.

How absurd it felt when he realized it was all because someone liked him but couldn’t express their feelings properly.

“That sounds pretty bad.”

Judging by how hoarse his voice was, this bout of illness was expected to be quite severe.

“This is bad.”

Things were already grim enough with the immediate problems at hand, and now he’s sick too. Honestly, it had been so long since I’d felt this sick that he was a bit flustered.

Eunsol, his arm pressed against his throbbing forehead, pondered what to do before tentatively reaching out. He decided it would be better to seek advice from a doctor.

Being pregnant, he couldn’t take fever reducers or headache medicine carelessly. So getting help from a doctor was definitely the best option.

Knock knock.

Just as he was about to grab his phone, he heard a knock on the door.

“Yes.”

He answered, then coughed hoarsely, his throat sore. At the sound, Pyo Jaebeom, who had just opened the door and was about to enter, paused.

“Lee Eunsol-ssi?”

He immediately spotted Eunsol lying on the bed and noticed he wasn’t in good shape.

“Are you hurt somewhere? Your pheromones are incredibly strong.”

To be precise, thick, sticky scent of an Omega was filling the air. The reason he remained unshaken by the potent pheromones was that he realized Eunsol’s pheromones weren’t being emitted to seduce him, they were simply leaking out uncontrollably.

“Pheromones?”

Only then did Eunsol realize the situation and sniffled. As Pyo Jaebeom had said, a subtle strawberry scent was wafting from him.

“Ah…”

Earlier, he had this thought about Alpha and such, but it seems that thought didn’t just come out of nowhere, it was because he caught his pheromones.

“Your voice sounds bad. Did you catch a cold?”

“Ah, yes. I suppose so.”

Pyo Jaebeom approached the bed in one swift motion and examined Eunsol’s face. His flushed cheeks, sweat-dampened forehead, disheveled hair, and hot breath escaping in gasps.

He immediately reached out and placed his hand on Eunsol’s forehead.

“Ah… That feels so good.”

Eunsol let out a moan without realizing it at the coolness touching his skin. Then Pyo Jaebeom paused briefly before sighing.

“You have quite a high fever. You shouldn’t take medicine carelessly when you’re pregnant. Just wait a moment.”

Eunsol grabbed Jaebeom’s wrist as he tried to step back.

“Lee Eunsol-ssi?”

“Ah….”

Eunsol gasped in surprise at his action, his mouth agape. Warm, heated breath escaped through the gap.

Eunsol quietly withdrew his hand. He did it simply because he didn’t want that cool sensation to fade away. But the fact that he had tried to act spoiled toward Pyo Jaebeom was a shock to him too.

“I was actually planning to contact the doctor anyway.”

Eunsol couldn’t even meet his eyes as he nodded in response to his gentle words, spoken to soothe him. It was fortunate he had a fever. Otherwise, he would have had to show him his flushed cheeks, red with embarrassment.

“Just wait a moment. I’ll ask right away.”

“Yes…”

As he pretended to wipe sweat from his face, covering it, Pyo Jaebeom spoke to him again, and Eunsol gave a half-hearted nod.

All the while, he could clearly hear him talking on the phone with the doctor.

“Lee Eunsol-ssi has a cold. What should I do? He has a pretty high fever. Yes, he’s coughing too.”

“The cough isn’t… Cough!”

Just as he tried to deny his words, his throat suddenly itched, and Eunsol covered his mouth as he coughed.

Feeling Pyo Jaebeom’s looked at him, Eunsol rolled his eyes and stared at the ceiling. The dizziness meant his stamina was clearly running low.

“He’s coughing too. Ah, I haven’t taken his temperature yet. Just a moment… I need to check if we have a thermometer.”

Eunsol grabbed him again as he tried to walk away while still on the call. Pyo Jaebeom paused and turned back, then made a strange expression when he saw his clothes caught in Eunsol’s hand.

“Wipe it down with a damp cloth? Yes, that’s what I should do. Make sure he stays hydrated too? Okay. How about taking some medicine?”

Startled by his own actions once more, Eunsol tried to pull his hand back, but it was caught in a large, firm grip.

“No fever reducers? Hmm… I see. Lee Eunsol-ssi, they say an ice pack is better than medicine right now to bring down the fever. I’ll go make one, so please stay here alone for a moment.”

“Uh… okay.”

He just blankly answered. How could he refuse when Jaebeom looked at him with that handsome face?

He squeezed his hand one more time before letting go and turning away. Unlike before, Eunsol simply watched him walk away.

Pyo Jaebeom continued his call with the doctor.

“They said to increase it by about 10 to 15 minutes. Right. What else is there? I’m not sure about the muscle pain yet.”

Click.

The door closed. Left alone, Eunsol exhaled. There was a scene in a drama where Pyo Jaebeom, who played a sociopath, was nursing the omega protagonist.

He had clearly said something about how he poured all his devotion into the other person without realizing his own feelings.

“You’ll regret it later if you keep going like that…”