HWAMB — Chapter 31

My eyelids grew heavy.

A little disappointed, but still greatly comforted, I hugged the very first shirt he’d given me tightly and closed my eyes.

I felt a warm, soft touch press against my forehead, then lift away—but that sensation quickly dissolved into deep sleep.

* * *

Slowly, I opened my eyes and rubbed them against the familiar high ceiling.

“What time is it…”

8 p.m. About six hours must have passed.

My throat was still heavy from sleep, but unlike earlier when my whole body had felt weighed down, I was much better now—except that my eyes were a little swollen.

“When did I change into pajamas…”

Puzzled, I sat up. My hand brushed against the pile of Hyun-woo’s clothes scattered all over the bed.

And then it all came back. The events from just a few hours ago replayed vividly in my mind.

I groaned and grabbed my head. From the taxi ride to all the misunderstandings, to letting my emotions run wild—I couldn’t stop cringing at myself.

“This is the worst, seriously…”

Even if people said that during heat emotions get shaken and reason dulls, I had acted like I was filming some melodrama all by myself.

If I had stayed calm and rational, I would have realized right away that Hyun-woo would never suddenly hate me.

And on top of that, the shame of bawling my eyes out—and then smiling like an idiot while raiding his suitcase for clothes to build myself a nest—came crashing down all over again.

“Just play it natural. Act natural…”

I shook my head and told myself that. In times like this, brazen confidence was the only way to feel less embarrassed.

When I opened the door, I saw Hyun-woo sprawled on the sofa. My chest tightened for a moment, but as soon as I saw what he was wearing, my steps froze.

“…Huh?”

They were my clothes.

The fit was so tight on him that it looked pitiful, straining awkwardly around his body. It felt like someone had smacked me on the head with a blunt weapon.

As I gaped in shock, Hyun-woo stirred at the sound, rubbing his eyes as he sat up groggily.

With a huge yawn and a stretch, he wrapped an arm casually around my waist and greeted me in a sleepy voice.

“Mmm… you’re awake?”

I had been ready to walk in confidently, only to be ambushed instead.

If Hyun-woo had a tail, it would’ve been a fox’s. And me? I was the foolish squirrel, tricked into following right behind him.

Still stiff, I awkwardly hugged him back. Unlike earlier when he had been flustered, he looked refreshed now—but I didn’t bother asking how he had managed it.

Resting his cheek against my stomach, Hyun-woo mumbled,

“Feeling better?”

“Ah, yeah… thanks to you.”

Not knowing where to look, I stared at the ceiling for a while before finally speaking carefully.

“Uh… those are my clothes, right?”

“Hm? Ah… yeah.”

The casual way he said it only made me more nervous.

“Why are you wearing them…? Aren’t they uncomfortable?”

“…Don’t you remember?”

At that, I shut my eyes tight.

The worst possible thing to hear.

What had I done? What the hell had I done to make him wear clothes so tight they looked ready to burst?

And of course, Hyun-woo, catching on instantly, smiled slyly.

“You really don’t remember?”

When I avoided his eyes, he chuckled as if enjoying the moment.

What the hell, seriously, what!

Unable to bear the tension, I smacked his back repeatedly. Hyun-woo just smiled brightly, brushing it off as if it were nothing.

“It’s nothing. You just stole what I was wearing.”

“Stole? By force?”

“Kang Eun-jae, you were a total macho man.”

His mischievous laughter made it clear he wasn’t lying.

God, what had I done.

According to Hyun-woo, he had been checking on me throughout the day in case the suppressant side effects made me sick.

And when he thought I was doing better, he had woken me from my nap, helped me wash up, and even laid out my pajamas.

That was when, apparently, I had bullied him into stripping and handed over every last piece of clothing he was wearing.

Then I had hugged those spoils like treasure, carefully stacking them on the nest I’d made, before going right back to sleep.

Left with nothing to wear, Hyun-woo had no choice but to dig through my closet for clothes—ending up in my ridiculously tight ones.

I was speechless.

“You liked them that much?”

“…What?”

“My clothes. You stole them like a savage beast, then stacked them up like a squirrel hoarding acorns.”

“You’re dead, seriously…”

The humiliation was too much. I felt like I was going to die of shame right then and there. My head throbbed as if the headache had returned.

Holding my forehead, I asked,

“…By the way, who told you about that trick?”

“My brother.”

“….”

He used to call him “that bastard,” but suddenly now it was “brother.”

As if reading my mind, Hyun-woo laughed lightly and said,

“Don’t worry. You’re the only one I’ve ever given my clothes to.”

“…I didn’t even ask that.”

Watching me grumble, Hyun-woo laughed openly.

Then, as if deciding to stop teasing, he soothed me gently with words until my mood lightened again.

I brought Hyun-woo back to my room, and together we neatly folded and packed all his clothes back into the suitcase.

The ones I had hugged and wrinkled badly, I decided I’d wash properly before returning them.

“You don’t have to wash them first.”

“Don’t be gross. Just go change already.”

Hyun-woo agreed without complaint and went into the bathroom to change.

When the door closed completely, I let out a short sigh and started the washing machine.

* * *

“It’s your first heat.”

At the doctor’s words, my brother, sitting beside me, looked at me with a face full of concern.

The doctor explained that sometimes, as people grow, their constitution changes. Especially during the first heat, it’s not uncommon for the usual suppressants to stop working.

In those cases, retesting and prescribing a new medication usually resolves it.

“For now, there’s nothing seriously wrong with your body, so you don’t need to worry, guardian.”

With the prescription from the hospital, we went to the pharmacy, picked up the new medicine, and got into the car.

As I buckled my seatbelt in the passenger seat, I felt my brother’s gaze on me, piercing as if it could drill a hole through me. I sighed and said,

“I could’ve come alone, you know…”

“You? Alone? That’d only make me anxious. No way.”

“I’m fine, really. Nothing happened to me.”

“Nothing at all? Nobody tried anything weird?”

“I told you, no. If anything, Hyun-woo had a harder time. I was fine.”

Far from doing anything strange, Hyun-woo had even thought of alternatives and left the room to give me space.

Thinking back to him sleeping awkwardly on the sofa in clothes that didn’t even fit his frame made me feel even more guilty.

He hadn’t even gone home—just kept checking on me to see if I was alright.

I’d have to buy him something good to eat tomorrow.

At my answer, my brother frowned, looking dissatisfied, and turned the steering wheel slowly.

While sneaking glances at him, I opened my phone and started replying to the messages I had left unanswered.

[Did you go to the hospital?]

It was a message from Hyun-woo, sent thirty minutes ago. I quickly typed back.

[Yeah]

[What did they say, are you okay?]

Almost instantly, the “read” sign disappeared and his reply came.

My heart thudded wildly, and I hurried to reply.

[Yeah, I just had a recheck with my brother and got new meds. They said nothing’s wrong with my body.]

[Good. That’s a relief.]

Right after that, Hyun-woo’s storm of nagging filled the chat window. Make sure to mark your calendar carefully, don’t overdo it today since you had an exam, rest plenty, don’t forget to hydrate, and so on.

Normally, I would have run for the hills at such nagging, but strangely today, I wanted to hear it all.

While forcing down the upward curl of my lips as I stared at the screen, my brother casually asked me,

“…So, how many days has it been with Shim Hyun-woo?”

“Now… nine days…”

For a moment, I almost kept chatting naturally, but I froze too late.

The critical word had already slipped out.

My pupils shook like there was an earthquake. When I turned my head stiffly, like a guilty man, my brother was driving with the calmest face in the world.

Aside from muttering curses at cars cutting in without their turn signals, he looked no different from usual.

“W-wait, you knew?”

“Yeah.”

“Since when?!”

“Since you kept coming home with a lovestruck grin every time after meeting Shim Hyun-woo.”

I almost bit my tongue.

Was it really that obvious…

I didn’t want to admit it, but there had been so many of those days that I couldn’t even tell when it had started.

When I lowered my head and covered my forehead, my brother’s lips curved with a faint smile.

Somehow, it seemed like he was a little angry too.