TATMFL - 11

After receiving a call from Hye-sung, when she arrived, he was lying there all alone, wrapped in a blanket, groaning in pain. 

Next to him was the empty medicine container she had given him earlier that day, and his phone lay sprawled beside it, as if making the call to her had fulfilled its purpose. 

Later, she learned that he had turned on his phone to call 119, but found it so difficult to press even a single number that he ended up holding it down until it automatically dialed the speed dial. Speed dial number one was Yoo Ra-on—her. Apparently, she had set it up long ago, and he had never changed it. 

“Hye-sung?” 

When Ra-on called out again, tilting her head slightly after getting no response, Hye-sung finally reacted. He looked away from her gaze, his face tinged with awkwardness. 

Could it be? Ra-on’s eyes sharpened as something clicked in her mind. 

Hye-sung winced, letting out a long groan. 

“Ji Hye-sung.” 

He finally spoke after Ra-on called his name in a clipped tone. 

Hye-sung licked his dry lips before exhaling a sigh-like breath. 

“They’re gone.” 

“...What?” 

“A few days ago, I came home and found that they had taken some luggage, along with the emergency cash I had saved up... and disappeared.” 

Hye-sung recounted how his father had left behind only debts and vanished when he returned from leave. His demeanor remained eerily calm, almost as if he had been expecting this outcome. A faint smile lingered on his lips, as though he were resigned to fate. 

“...” 

Ra-on sat there dumbfounded, wondering if she had heard correctly. After a moment of silence, she rubbed her face, her expression tight as if her throat had closed up. 

After a long pause, Ra-on opened her mouth several times, but all that escaped were ragged breaths. 

It was an all-too-familiar story. Hye-sung’s father would take out bad guarantees, disappear from home, and Hye-sung would suffer in his place. 

And it wasn’t just the guarantees. His father, who lacked any real ability, had also started gambling and accumulated debt. 

“Hah.” 

As Ra-on let out a frustrated breath, her brow furrowed, Hye-sung spoke with a nonchalant expression. 

“To be honest, I think it’s better that he’s not at home right now.” 

“...What?” 

“He doesn’t know that I’m an Omega, despite being the eldest son.” 

What on earth was he talking about? 

Ra-on stared at him in bewilderment as Hye-sung calmly recounted his situation. His unfocused eyes remained fixed on the floor. 

“If he finds out that I’m an Omega, considering he already used me as collateral for loans—” 

“What?” 

“...!” 

Though the suppressants had helped him recover, Hye-sung, still feverish and disoriented, realized his slip of the tongue and quickly clamped his hand over his mouth. 

Ra-on tapped her ear as if trying to clear it. 

“...I must have misheard you, Hye-sung.” 

“...” 

“Your father... used you as collateral for what?” 

“Ra, Ra-on...” 

“So all this time, the debts you’ve been paying off weren’t from your dad’s guarantees or gambling... but loans where you were the collateral?” 

She had wondered how someone so incapable kept racking up debts. Ra-on muttered darkly under her breath before letting out a sharp, bitter laugh.

Ra-on tightly shut her eyes. Her protruding jawbone twitched continuously. 

“Ah.” 

Ra-on, who had been anxiously shaking her leg, suddenly wrapped her arms around her head, curling her back as she let out a sigh that sounded like a groan. Her trembling shoulders showed just how hard she was biting down and holding herself together. 

At least, it was to avoid showing such intense emotion in front of Hye-sung. 

How much time had passed? Hye-sung’s hand touched Ra-on’s back. Her shoulders flinched noticeably. 

“I’m really okay, Ra-on. At first, I was so pessimistic, wondering why this was happening to me... but now, I don’t know if it’s because I’ve gotten used to it or if it’s resignation, but I’ve started to feel calmer about it.” 

“...That’s not being okay.” 

Hye-sung shrugged his shoulders and gave an awkward laugh. “Haha.” 

But Ra-on, instead of responding, clenched her lips tightly shut as she looked at Hye-sung, who was trying so hard to console her. 

You idiot. 

You naive fool. 

Ji Hye-sung had always been like that. 

He had never once shown any sign of hardship or frustration. Not when his father’s bad guarantees left them buried in debt, nor when they were chased out of their home by creditors and forced to wander from place to place. 

And now, even after revealing that he had been used as collateral for those debts, he still carried himself the same way. 

Her trembling fingertips curled into a fist, and a warm touch gently settled over the back of her hand. 

A voice tinged with bitterness fell onto the crown of her bowed head. 

“That’s why I can’t confess to Ji-an, Ra-on.” 

“...” 

“You already knew, didn’t you? That I like Ji-an.” 

She didn’t ask why he was bringing this up so suddenly. 

Instead, she straightened her back and quietly faced him. The anger that had surged to the tips of her hair had transformed into sorrow and pity at the sound of his calm voice. 

How could she not know? 

That was the problem—she knew all too well. 

She knew that Hye-sung’s father had always been an obstacle in his life. She understood that the darkness she saw on young Hye-sung’s face all stemmed from that man, his father. 

Since high school, Hye-sung had been juggling part-time jobs every day outside of school hours. All to pay off the debts his father had incurred. 

After graduation, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say she barely saw his face. 

If it hadn’t been for the full four-year scholarship, university would have been nothing more than a luxury for him. 

And yet, he had never once revealed his inner struggles. On the surface, he appeared completely fine. 

Even Ra-on and Ji-an, who practically saw him every day, had no idea about his situation. 

Ra-on only learned about Hye-sung’s circumstances when they had just entered high school. 

One day, she noticed that the number of times she saw him outside of school began to dwindle. Worried by how gaunt his face was becoming day by day, she decided to visit his house. 

Skipping evening self-study, she went to his home, only to witness three burly men in black pounding on his front gate as if they intended to break it down. Naturally, they were loan sharks chasing after the debts Hye-sung’s father had left behind. 

[Don’t tell Ji-an, Ra-on.] 

When she caught him in this situation, his desperate expression left her speechless. She could only stare at him. 

[This situation of mine… I don’t want Ji-an to know about it. Even you knowing is already too much for me right now… too much...] 

Seeing Hye-sung’s face flush with shame for the first time, Ra-on could do nothing but nod in understanding. And so, to this day, Ji-an remained unaware of Hye-sung’s struggles.

After that, he continued to act as though there were no problems on the surface. There was no trace of his struggles. 

But there was one time—just once—that he had spoken pessimistically about his situation. 

It was during some forgotten moment, at a gathering without Ji-an. 

He had said that no matter how much he repaid, the debt never seemed to end. 

That he was grateful just to have been able to befriend people like Ra-on and Ji-an, despite believing he could never live an ordinary life. And because of that, he didn’t wish for anything more. 

Ra-on hadn’t missed the implication that his feelings for Ji-an were included in that “anything more.” 

Until then, she had thought Hye-sung’s hesitation to confess to Ji-an stemmed from the barrier posed by their different traits. But after that conversation, she realized it wasn’t just that. 

There was a more fundamental reason. 

‘How… How could someone use their own child as collateral…!’ 

Unable to voice her indignation, Ra-on swallowed her bitterness and shut her eyes tightly in despair. 

It was then. 

“Ra-on.” 

Suddenly, Hye-sung grabbed her hand tightly. His drooping eyes were filled with desperation. The calm demeanor he had shown earlier while recounting his plight was completely gone. 

Sweat dripped down his anxious face as he bowed his head deeply. Then, he spoke the familiar words: 

“You can’t tell Ji-an about this. Promise me, Ra-on.” 

“...Even now, you’re still thinking about…!” 

Ra-on gasped, her face frozen in disbelief. 

Hye-sung laughed, as if on the verge of tears. 

* * * 

That afternoon, before entering the house, Ra-on doused herself thoroughly with deodorant. 

She had always used it to mask her Alpha pheromones, but today she was using it to erase Hye-sung’s lingering Omega pheromones. 

Thinking of Ji-an’s flushed face, which hadn’t had time to hide his reaction to Hye-sung’s scent, Ra-on sighed. She would have to keep doing this until Hye-sung became better at controlling his pheromones. 

After emptying an entire bottle of deodorant and shaking out her damp bangs, Ra-on stepped inside. Ji-an, who had been waiting on the couch, immediately sprang up. 

“How’s Hye-sung? Is he okay?” 

Before even greeting her, Ji-an asked about Hye-sung. Ra-on answered as she took off her coat. 

It seemed her efforts with the deodorant had paid off, as Ji-an showed no reaction. 

“He’s fine. Thankfully, he seemed okay. He didn’t seem to have any particular aversion to manifesting as an Omega.” 

“If you say so, then I’m sure he’s really okay.” 

Ra-on, who had always been adept at detecting subtle changes in Hye-sung’s expressions to gauge his emotions, felt confident in her assessment this time as well. 

Ji-an finally relaxed, exhaling deeply. 

Then he flopped back onto the couch. The tension that had weighed heavily on his shoulders seemed to dissipate all at once, and his eyes were half-closed with drowsiness. His voice, murmured like a sigh, carried a lazy fatigue. 

“I seriously couldn’t sleep at all after hearing about Hye-sung early this morning.” 

“Get some rest.” 

At Ra-on’s words, Ji-an forced his heavy eyelids open and asked, 

“What about your café shift?” 

“I already told the boss I can’t make it today.” 

Ra-on glanced at the clock as she headed toward her room. The hands were already moving toward 7. After accompanying Hye-sung to the hospital at dawn and returning home, an entire day had slipped away. 

“Is that so? That’s good. You should get some sleep too. Let’s grab something to eat later after we wake up. Right now, I’m more tired than hungry.”

“……I don’t know. I’m not sure if I can sleep.” 

Ra-on muttered bitterly under her breath, so softly that Ji-an, nearly drifting off to sleep, couldn’t hear. Her gaze fell heavy with sorrow.