TSG 96

The end of a confession usually leads to a kiss, or perhaps something more.

Except when one is a patient.

Se-hyun raised his hands to embrace Shin Tae-oh, but his gaze fell on the bandage on his wrist. It wasn’t that he shouldn’t strain his own wrist that mattered. He naturally remembered that Shin Tae-oh had surgery, and it bothered him.

Reading Se-hyun’s hesitation, Shin Tae-oh told him what to do.

“Quickly put that awkwardly outstretched hand around my neck.”

And as he tilted his head to suggest for a kiss, Se-hyun’s gaze shifted elsewhere. To the bandage revealed as Shin Tae-oh’s hair moved.

Se-hyun pushed Shin Tae-oh’s chest away. Fearing his lingering regret might show at his fingertips, he quickly put his hands behind his back.

“We should take it slow.”

Kisses and beyond…

At the very least, he wanted to embrace Tae-oh comfortably after he had fully recovered.

Se-hyun, adjusting Tae-oh’s hair to expose the bandage more clearly, quelled the growing warmth inside him.

Don’t get excited over a patient.

“Aren’t you hungry?”

The excuse was quite natural.

“You’re not planning to split this up over 12 months too, are you?”

He ignored Shin Tae-oh’s anxious muttering.

The 12 months was ultimately a period calculated for after the original story had more or less concluded. But now, such a grace period had lost its meaning in front of Shin Tae-oh.

⍣⍣⍣

Se-hyun opened the refrigerator and took out food to heat up. Thanks to his advance notice, it was mostly soft foods, so there didn’t seem to be anything special to choose, but Se-hyun couldn’t erase the serious look in his eyes.

He had been in the hospital for over a week. He craved something a bit more stimulating.

“You can eat it later.”

He gave up quickly since he wasn’t going to eat alone right now, but before closing the refrigerator door, something caught his eye.

The refrigerator alarm was ringing because he had left the door open for a long time, but Se-hyun couldn’t take his eyes off the beer sitting deep inside.

Just one would be okay, right?

After all, he only had bruises and was almost fully recovered…

“No.”

Shin Tae-oh, who had been watching for who knows how long, crossed his arms and wore a disapproving look.

“No alcohol is basic for patients.”

Who’s more of a patient here… Though Tae-oh wasn’t wrong, Se-hyun felt that if he had backed down now, he wouldn’t have gotten a chance to drink. He decided to protest.

“I’m almost fully recovered.”

“A wound isn’t just when it’s oozing and bleeding.”

Shin Tae-oh was right. But being on the receiving end of the nagging for once felt absurd, given that he was usually the one dishing it out.

“You shouldn’t try to hold a beer with a wrist that needs to be used more carefully than usual.”

Should he just open it?

It’s not like it’s a dumbbell, it’s just beer, so if I drink it all…

“I understand.”

He put aside his rebellious thoughts for a moment and followed Shin Tae-oh’s wishes.

It’s not like he was craving alcohol enough to argue about it, so he could endure it this once.

He closed the refrigerator door and was about to open the lid to heat up the food he had taken out. This time, Shin Tae-oh openly snatched the container from him.

“I’ll do it.”

“Why are you doing this? My wrist is really fine.”

“Because I’m better.”

Shin Tae-oh tapped his own head.

“I injured my head, so I’m better, right?”

What exactly is better?

“Or should we split the task? I’ll do the moving, and you give the instructions.”

“What kind of suggestion is that?”

“I’m drawing a clear line.”

Shin Tae-oh stepped in, completely blocking Se-hyun from touching anything, and met his eyes.

“If we divide into a person with a body injury and a person with a head injury, we can see what each should do, right?”

Unlike Shin Tae-oh’s neat summary, Se-hyun’s mind became more complicated.

“I’ve been taking care of you all this time, sir.”

While Se-hyun meant that he could do what he had been doing all along, Shin Tae-oh countered as if he had been waiting for this.

“That was me giving you a chance to care for me.”

Was this what he meant by drawing a line? At the hospital, he had accepted everything Se-hyun did, but now he was setting boundaries.

Shin Tae-oh had given him a chance to alleviate the guilt clinging to his heart.

“I’m fine. I can do it.”

“No, you can’t.”

“Why not?”

What was he thinking?

“I know you can’t sleep in one position for long at night, so how much more do you intend to do?”

So that’s what it was.

Se-hyun knew well that Shin Tae-oh had been observing his movements, but he didn’t expect him to use this to stop him.

“But if you suddenly stop me from doing it…”

“I’m not stopping you, I’m changing things. I told you to give directions, didn’t I? Should I heat this up?”

“…Yes.”

“Sit down.”

As Shin Tae-oh gestured towards the dining chair with his eyes, Se-hyun had no choice but to comply.

He felt strongly that this wasn’t right, but…

“It feels good to move around after so long.”

Shin Tae-oh’s voice had regained its energy, perhaps because he had been bored lying in bed for so long.

Alright, go ahead and heat things up as much as you want.

Se-hyun pulled the chair back in resignation. He seemed to have made every effort not to show that he flinched slightly when sitting down, probably due to a large bruise on his back.

“You’re trying to do more when you can’t even sit properly.”

But he hadn’t hidden it well.

⍣⍣⍣

Se-hyun, who ended up sitting on a soft sofa instead of a chair to eat, idly stirring the spoon in his hand.

Perhaps Shin Tae-oh had observed him more closely than he thought. He seemed to know exactly where it hurt, even though Se-hyun had never changed clothes in front of him.

Still, wasn’t it a bit of an exaggeration to move seats just because he flinched once when sitting on the chair?

He couldn’t complain since the sofa, which was soft yet firm enough not to disturb his balance, was much more comfortable.

As he carefully ate the nutritious rice to avoid spilling on the floor, he could feel Shin Tae-oh laughing.

“Why are you laughing?”

“How did you know?”

Did he think Se-hyun wouldn’t notice when their shoulders were touching and he could feel him shaking as they sat side by side?

“Do you know what I’m thinking right now?”

It was a question with a predetermined answer, so he pondered a bit longer. If he had to name the most memorable thing today, it would be his confession… but maybe Shin Tae-oh was about to express frustration over not being able to do anything since then.

“I wish every day could be like this.”

Shin Tae-oh’s answer was so innocently bright that Se-hyun gazed intently at his profile. It was a more positive statement than he had expected. Seeing that he was truly accepting this moment comfortably, as evidenced by his relaxed gaze and carefree smile, Se-hyun felt his own strength leaving him.

Not becoming powerless, but relaxed… Shin Tae-oh’s words seemed to embed themselves in his heart like a spell, dissolving all the thoughts he had been having until just now.

Although he felt comfortable with a full stomach, he hadn’t been drinking. It was a moment of uncharacteristic carelessness. Due to letting his guard down, his pheromones began to flow out, and before he could contain them again, Shin Tae-oh caught on.

“This kind of seduction isn’t allowed.”

He hadn’t intended to flirt, but it seems that revealing the pheromones he had kept tightly hidden came across differently to Shin Tae-oh.

“If you give me a moment, I’ll try to control it.”

There was no benefit in stimulating him. It wasn’t just about the kiss they might share right now, but Shin Tae-oh’s condition worried him.

He didn’t think it was good to let a sick person smell pheromones…

“What if there’s no need for that?”

“Huh.”

As the Alpha’s pheromones wafted thickly, Se-hyun’s entire body tensed up. Even without closing his eyes, his vision blurred and returned, and he felt the embers he had tried to extinguish being rekindled.

“You can relax a little, can’t you? It’s just the two of us here.”

“That’s not the issue…”

When cold sweat dripped onto his eyelashes, he couldn’t continue speaking. This wasn’t what he had intended, but nothing was going according to plan.

Even his pheromones, which he was used to hiding, seemed happy to be released today, making his blood flow faster.

“If you’re worried about me being sick, just give directions.”

Shin Tae-oh had completely turned towards him and met his eyes.

“I’ll do the moving.”

“How is this… anything like setting the table?”

He tried to turn the situation around somehow, but he couldn’t pull back the pendulum that had already swung toward Shin Tae-oh.

Se-hyun, who had been leaning back as much as Shin Tae-oh approached, raised both hands as if giving up entirely.

“I’m a patient. If you can’t see the band on the back of your head, please look at my bandage.”

“Alright.”

“Don’t just brush it off.”

“Just a kiss…”

“What about my wrist?”

“Kissing is done with the mouth.”

While saying that, he grabbed Se-hyun’s wrists, spread them wide apart, and pressed his body against the exposed chest.

Se-hyun recalled that their last kiss had been in the car, but now, even though the setting had changed, the suffocating feeling remained.

Pressed under Shin Tae-oh’s weight, both physically and emotionally, Se-hyun stared at him and finally spoke.

“Kiss me.”

To the big cat waiting for instructions.

The moment Se-hyun gave permission, Shin Tae-oh’s lips crashed into his, flooding Se-hyun with his scent and pheromones like a tidal wave.

Having done it once before, Se-hyun quickly opened his mouth to receive Shin Tae-oh’s breath. Except for the occasional overwhelming surge of pheromones, it was manageable — though layers of excitement continued to build inside him.

When this excitement reached his head, he wondered if he might go further with Shin Tae-oh.

“Se-hyun.”

At the sound of his name being called while their lips were pressed together, Se-hyun opened his eyes.

“I’ll start with just a kiss for now.”

“Mmph.”

“If you say you want more than this, I’ll give you that too.”

Unlike his forcefully pressing lips, Shin Tae-oh made it clear that he would respect Se-hyun’s opinion regarding sex.

How considerate of him to be so patient while brimming with desire…

‘This sly wolf…’

Shin Tae-oh was pushing Se-hyun’s excitement to the limit with these kisses, trying to make him say the words that would take them even further.