VDN Ch 103

They couldn’t take their eyes off each other for a while. After some time, Seo-oh grabbed Nam-woon’s hand and guided it to his neck.

“Hyung… Do I still have a fever?”

Nam-woon’s palm touched the smooth, contoured skin. Thump, thump—a small but strong pulse was felt through his fingertips. Unconsciously, Nam-woon slightly moved his fingers. It was a very subtle movement, but Seo-oh didn’t miss it. He slowly rubbed his face against Nam-woon’s hand and closed his eyes. As if entranced by the action, Nam-woon’s face leaned towards Seo-oh.

Just before their shadows overlapped, the sudden sound of light footsteps was heard. Nam-woon quickly removed his hand from Seo-oh’s neck and straightened up. His heart raced as if he had been caught doing something wrong.

Se-han, unaware of the situation, appeared with flushed cheeks and pressed a damp towel onto his older brother’s face.

“Ugh.”

Seo-oh, whose nose and mouth were blocked, made a suffocating sound. Se-han, not noticing, continued to move busily. Nam-woon eventually folded the towel into a square and placed it back on Seo-oh’s forehead. Meanwhile, Se-han took something out of the plastic drawer with a rustling sound and knelt beside his brother.

“Ah.”

Se-han opened his mouth and said, and Seo-oh, following his brother’s lead, obediently opened his mouth. A yellow jelly slipped into his mouth. It was a “fatigue relief jelly” that Nam-woon had tried before. Afterward, Se-han placed a jelly in his own mouth and then in Nam-woon’s before putting on a sad expression.

“Shall I give you a massage?”

“Sure, just use your hands today.”

“Okay.”

Watching Se-han grabbed one of Seo-oh’s hands and started gently massaging it, while Nam-woon stood up and opened the wardrobe drawer. His throat felt dry. Even though it was just a simple touch, the atmosphere made Seo-oh’s actions feel incredibly provocative.

“Rut, I want to spend it with you. Not just this time, but every time in the future.”

The words from earlier kept echoing in his mind. Nam-woon, whose palms were now sweaty, rubbed them against his pants and thought to himself.

Get a grip. Kwon Seo-oh is a patient right now. He’s acting like this because he’s sick and out of his mind.

Hiding his restless thoughts, he turned around and spoke as if nothing had happened.

“Just get a five-minute massage and then get up. We’re going to the hospital.”

“I’m telling you, I’m not sick.”

“Hey, I’m worried about you. So just listen to me.”

Seo-oh looked at Nam-woon silently for a while before whispering, “Thank you.” Nam-woon chuckled at the response and pulled out a thick shirt from the wardrobe, tossing it onto the blanket. While Se-han was busy packing the remaining vitamin jellies into his pocket, Seo-oh slowly got up and wrapped the shirt around his waist.

After thoroughly locking the door, the three of them went out to the main road and caught a taxi to head to the hospital. It took less than ten minutes to arrive at a nearby hospital, where they sat side by side in the waiting chairs. Nam-woon, Seo-oh, and Se-han sat in that order, with Se-han clinging closely to his brother and holding his hand.

As Nam-woon’s legs shook with nervousness, a familiar notification sound and a chat window appeared with a hopeful message, different from anything he’d seen before.

[A method exists to alleviate pheromone dysregulation. Do you need a hint about it?]

[▶Yes]

If there was something like this, you should have told me earlier. Nam-woon muttered a curse under his breath and quickly pressed the “yes” button.

[Would you like to experience the new features added through the update?]

[▶Yes]

Isn’t this the same message I saw in front of the convenience store? This feels like I’m being scammed, no joke. Feeling uneasy, Nam-woon raised his hand again.

[Congratulations! The “Pheromone Free Control” feature has been added!]

What is this, some kind of free pass? Seo-oh gets a pheromone dysregulation and now I get this “Pheromone Free Control” feature? Nam-woon quietly recalled the system’s behavior up to this point. This damn thing always pops up in shady situations. It seemed like he’d been well and truly tricked.

Nam-woon glanced sideways at the man sitting next to him. Seo-oh was leaning against the backrest, his red lips tightly pressed together. Nam-woon, being a man himself, could understand. He knew how painful it was to be unable to satisfy one’s desires freely.

With a younger sibling around, he probably couldn’t even go to the bathroom as often as he needed and just buried himself under a thick blanket.

For now, once they got back home, he would make sure Seo-oh could go to the bathroom as many times as necessary, even if it was five or ten times. If that didn’t help, then he would have to use what the system gave him.

“Kwon Seo-oh, please come to the examination room.”

Nam-woon’s train of thought was interrupted by the call.

“I’ll be back.”

As soon as they arrived at the hospital, Seo-oh stubbornly refused to let Nam-woon into the examination room with him. Nam-woon had asked why, but he never got an answer. There was a certain desperation in Seo-oh’s voice that made Nam-woon relent and drop the issue.

There shouldn’t be anything wrong. Nam-woon anxiously watched the large figure heading towards the examination room.

“Hmm…”

The director, whose hair was slightly thinning, stared at the monitor with some concern.

“You don’t have any underlying health issues, do you? Particularly related to pheromones?”

“…I have pheromone insensitivity.”

“When was the last time you had a detailed examination?”

“When I was a freshman in high school.”

The doctor frowned at that and muttered, “It’s been too long.” He then looked back at the monitor and continued speaking.

“Based on the symptoms you’re currently experiencing, it seems you might be suffering from pheromone dysregulation. Simply put, this condition occurs when stress or other complex factors cause issues with the circulation of pheromones, making it difficult to control them properly.”

Seo-oh’s face stiffened at the unexpected diagnosis. The doctor continued speaking in a monotone.

While it’s hard to say for certain, in your case, it could be the result of having lived with pheromone insensitivity. for a long time. As you know, pheromone functions are interconnected. If one function has a problem, it can affect others as well.”

Seo-oh asked a few questions before finally addressing his main concern.

“Does this have anything to do with a rut? The symptoms seem similar.”

The doctor nodded and explained.

“There are so many symptoms that are indeed very similar, which is why it’s often difficult to distinguish between the two. Your body feels hot, and your libido increases. However, they are distinctly different. During a rut, a large amount of pheromones is released freely into the environment. But with pheromone dysregulation, while a large amount of pheromones is produced, they aren’t released properly, leading to issues. This causes abnormal reactions because the pheromones stay inside the body for too long.”

The doctor added that it’s actually common for pheromone dysregulation to progress into a rut or heat once it improves, and this is a natural phenomenon. He then recommended that Seo-oh get additional tests for pheromone desensitization at a university hospital and offered to write a referral.

Seo-oh had initially thought it was just a simple rut, but apparently it wasn’t. He had been somewhat excited, thinking his first rut was approaching. Up until a few days ago, he had been fine with not having a rut. In fact, he found it convenient. He didn’t need to buy suppressants, which saved him money, and having a rut would have only been a hassle when it came to studying and working.

But after meeting Nam-woon and realizing that Nam-woon was on the verge of manifesting as an Omega, Seo-oh’s perspective changed. He began to feel anxious, wondering why his rut hadn’t started.

An Alpha who doesn’t experience a rut. If Nam-woon decided to settle down with an Alpha, he probably wouldn’t choose one with a flaw like that. That’s why Seo-oh had been getting impatient waiting for his rut to come…

As soon as Seo-oh stepped out of the examination room, Nam-woon approached him immediately.

“What did the doctor say?”

His face looked anxious.

At that moment, Seo-oh made a decision. He wouldn’t tell Nam-woon about needing to go to the university hospital.

***

When the three of them returned home, they were exhausted. Even Se-han, who was usually full of energy, had dozed off in the taxi on the way back. Even after they arrived, he couldn’t open his eyes, so Seo-oh had to carry him up to their home.

Since it was late, the two of them quickly laid out the blankets, put Se-han to bed, and then quickly washed up and got into bed. But neither Nam-woon nor Seo-oh could sleep, each for their own reasons.

Eventually, Seo-oh quietly opened his eyes in the middle of the night. His body felt like it was boiling, making it impossible to sleep. Despite getting an injection and taking medicine at the hospital, it didn’t work well.

When he turned slightly to his side, he could see the small back of Nam-woon’s head. Nam-woon had been making strange hand gestures into the air for a while now, and Seo-oh could occasionally hear him sigh, but he didn’t seem to fall asleep either.

Seo-oh stared at Nam-woon’s back, observing everything—the shape of his head, the curve of his ear, the nape of his neck, and the slight protrusion of the bone beneath it.

…I want to touch it.

Seo-oh couldn’t hold back any longer and moved closer, pressing his body against Nam-woon’s.Unlike his impatient feelings, it was a slow movement. He carefully wrapped his arms around Nam-woon’s waist and immediately felt the body in his embrace tense up. As Nam-woon started to turn around, Seo-oh quickly closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep. He could feel Nam-woon’s gaze on his closed eyelids.

“…Aren’t you going to sleep?”

Sleep? His center swelled at the words. Each of his words sounded so erotic. He immediately fought back the urge to press their lips together and s*ck his tongue greedily, so he continued to pretend to sleep. He felt him turn his head around, Nam-woon wriggled forward trying to move away from him.

But Seo-oh followed, holding Nam-woon tightly and pressing his lips lightly against the spot just below his ear. At that moment he heard Nam-woon gasp. Nam-woon’s hand gripped Seo-oh’s forearm tightly. His grip was strong, making it even more stimulating and pleasurable.

“Haa…”

Seo-oh let out a wet breath without realizing it and he heard Nam-woon let out a soft groan. Soon, Nam-woon whispered,

“Did you not take your medicine earlier?”

Even the anxious whispering in Nam-woon’s voice seemed to provoke Seo-oh further. Slowly lowering his lips, Seo-oh stuck out his tongue and licked the beginning of Nam-woon’s neck, dragging his tongue slowly. Then he started to s*ck on the spot, making a wet, slurping sound. Nam-woon shuddered and slapped Seo-oh’s arm harshly.

“Hey, hey, get up.”

When Nam-woon tried to sit up, Seo-oh used his strength to stop him. He tightened his hold around Nam-woon’s waist and chest with both arms and lifted one leg to drape it over Nam-woon’s lower body. As he did this, his erect shaft was pressed firmly against Nam-woon’s buttc*cks.

Seo-oh brought his tongue to Nam-woon’s ear, slowly licking up along the curve. He could see goosebumps rise along the nape of Nam-woon’s neck. Ignoring it, Seo-oh continued to lick and tease the ridges and lobe of Nam-woon’s ear. Meanwhile, his large hand gently rubbed over Nam-woon’s short-sleeved shirt, feeling the small, hard nub beneath the fabric.

So cute. He rubbed and continued to touch the area around his nipple, for a long, long time, and at some point, Nam-woon squirmed. A gasp of excitement escaped his mouth. Seo-oh slowly rubbed his swollen center against Nam-woon’s buttc*cks, whispering in a low voice,

“Hyung… I took the medicine, but I keep getting hard.”

What should I do? He murmured as he slipped his thick thigh between Nam-woon’s legs, pressing upward with little force. Nam-woon, who was stimulated by it, let out a “Hngh…” moan.