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“Until when exactly do you plan to keep this up?”
At Ra-on’s irritated question, Do-kyung burst into laughter as he started the car at the hotel entrance.
“Why? Are you tired of it already?”
“Do you think I’d enjoy this?”
“I’ve heard women like being chauffeured around—picked up and dropped off. Seems our underclassman isn’t into that sort of thing?”
The retort that such preferences depended on the person lingered teasingly on her tongue.
Heh… Ra-on turned her head toward the car window, pressing firmly against her temples. The cause of her persistent migraines over the past few days was all too clear.
Humans were creatures of adaptation, weren’t they? She almost felt proud of herself for managing to brush off Do-kyung’s obnoxious behavior with practiced indifference. If she hadn’t, she might have ended up hospitalized from stress by now.
Watching Ra-on’s half-resigned expression, Do-kyung chuckled smugly before suddenly feigning realization.
“Oh, speaking of which…”
“...”
Ra-on glanced indifferently at Do-kyung’s reflection in the car window, bracing herself for whatever he was about to say next. By now, she thought she could handle anything he threw at her with composure.
But what came out of his mouth next wasn’t something even someone accustomed to his antics like Ra-on could react to calmly.
“Ji Hye-sung’s heat is coming soon.”
“…?!”
Ra-on’s head whipped sharply toward Do-kyung.
“How do you know that?”
Do-kyung smirked arrogantly.
“What makes you think there’s something I don’t know?”
“This isn’t the time for jokes.”
“No, I agree. It’s not.”
Still grinning mischievously, Do-kyung stopped the car at a red light.
“How I know isn’t the important part, is it? What matters is why I’m telling you this, underclassman.”
Leaning his cheek against the steering wheel, he turned to look at her.
Meeting his gleaming, mischievous eyes, Ra-on clenched her teeth tightly before asking carefully:
“…What are you trying to say? What does Hye-sung’s heat have to do with you?”
She couldn’t bring herself to ask if he was planning to take advantage of Hye-sung’s first heat but glared at him instead.
Do-kyung sat up straight, widening his eyes innocently.
“Eh? Don’t look at me like I’m some shameless scoundrel. I’m just worried about him.”
He let out an exaggerated sigh.
“Lately, I’ve been feeling so unappreciated.”
As he poked at the furrow between Ra-on’s frowning brows with his finger, Do-kyung smirked.
“Lately, I’ve been doing so many considerate things. Like giving you updates on Hye-sung and warning you to be careful. You won’t find anyone else doing that, right?”
Proud of himself, Do-kyung shrugged nonchalantly.
Shaking off his hand, Ra-on let out a hollow laugh. Her heart thudded loudly in her ears, echoing like a drumbeat.
“Thanks for your concern.”
By the time they arrived at her house, Ra-on opened the car door and shot a glance back at Do-kyung’s shameless face.
“It would probably benefit both you and Hye-sung if you spent less time sticking to him and more time minding your own business.”
With that, Ra-on stepped out of the car and slammed the door shut behind her. Watching her retreating figure, Do-kyung chuckled softly.
Lowering the car window, he leaned toward the passenger seat side.
“Ra-on-ah.”
With an exasperated look, Ra-on turned to face him.
“You should take this seriously if you don’t want to regret it later.”
“...”
“It was a piece of advice I gave after much thought, all for the sake of our underclassman.”
Though it doesn’t sound like it. Do-kyung swallowed the rest of his words and leaned back into his seat.
Then, as if he had said everything he needed to say, he started the car and waved through the open window.
“See you again tomorrow?”
“...”
Watching the taillights of the car fade into the distance, leaving behind only unease, Ra-on furrowed her brows.
”If you don’t want to regret it later,” huh?
There was no need to wonder how Do-kyung knew about Hye-sung’s heat. Despite claiming to follow the law, it seemed he had obtained Hye-sung’s medical records through illegal means—typical of a loan shark.
Ra-on clenched her fists tightly and lowered her gaze.
Do-kyung’s words had been deliberately vague, but she could sense they were both advice and a warning about something that would happen during Hye-sung’s heat.
Suddenly, a conversation she had tried hard to forget resurfaced in her mind:
[The repayment period being sufficient isn’t a valid excuse to them. They’ll use every dirty trick in the book to take him away.]
Surely not…
Do-kyung’s earlier claim that those thugs would come for Hye-sung at any moment had already proven false once. Thinking about how she had spent nearly a month on edge because of his words made her temples throb. This time, she wouldn’t fall for his cryptic remarks. It was likely just another one of his manipulative tactics to instill fear and serve his own interests.
“...”
Ra-on let out a low groan through gritted teeth and rubbed her face in frustration.
With an irritated flick of her eyes, she pulled out her phone and pressed speed dial number three to call Hye-sung. As she turned to look back, her gaze hardened on the road where Do-kyung’s car had disappeared.
When the call connected and she heard “Hello?” on the other end, she spoke:
“When are you done, Hye-sung-ah?”
────────────
“Hye-sung-ah. You don’t look well.”
A few days later, Ra-on sat across from Hye-sung in the campus cafeteria, finally enjoying a rare lunch without Do-kyung around. Concerned, she reached out to check on him.
The warmth radiating from his forehead met her palm.
“You have a fever.”
Hye-sung’s face was so lethargic it made anyone looking at him feel tired. He weakly touched his own cheek, his pale complexion and trembling voice betraying his exhaustion. His lips, reddened by the rising heat, cracked as he murmured weakly:
“I took some medicine, but it’s still not helping…”
“Medicine?”
“Yeah. I’ve been feeling like my heat is coming soon, so I took suppressants in advance... but it’s still tough.”
“...Heat?”
Ra-on echoed his words blankly, her eyes narrowing sharply.
At that moment, Do-kyung’s earlier words—his knowledge of Hye-sung’s heat cycle and his ominous warning to be careful—flashed through her mind.
Inhaling and exhaling carefully to conceal her tension, Ra-on said:
“Go home early today and rest.”
“Hmm. But today’s my workday, so...”
“How can you even think about going to work when you don’t know when your heat might hit?”
At Ra-on’s scolding, Hye-sung let out a weak, empty laugh. Struggling visibly, he forced himself to take another spoonful of food and said:
“I’ll try taking another suppressant first. If it still feels unbearable, I’ll rest, okay?”
The shop owner wasn’t unreasonable, so seeing Hye-sung push himself unnecessarily made Ra-on sigh deeply.
“If you feel the slightest bit unwell while you’re there, call me. I’m not working at the café today, so I’ll be staying on campus. Let’s head home together.”
Ra-on had been spending all her free time in the studio preparing for graduation and working on her submission piece. It had become routine for her to hole up in the studio, where an air mattress and other essentials were already stacked neatly in the adjacent room.
“That’s really not necessary, Ra-on-ah.”
Hye-sung gave her a soft, reassuring smile. Though meant to comfort her, it only made him look more fragile.
“Seriously, your stubbornness is something else…”
But Ra-on knew there was no way to overcome his stubborn streak. Swallowing her unease whole, she reluctantly nodded.
Then, despite knowing better about pheromones, she urged him with misplaced optimism:
“Eat quickly. You need to eat well before taking suppressants or heading to work.”
────────────
It was past 10 p.m., and Ra-on finally set down her brush after massaging her stiff neck. She had been intensely focused on her underpainting.
“Taking a break?”
When her classmate, who had been sharing the studio with her, asked, Ra-on stood up and waved her phone.
“I’m just going to make a quick call.”
Though Hye-sung’s shift wouldn’t end for another three hours, anxiety gnawed at her, making it impossible to concentrate on her work. She needed to check if he was feeling okay and managing his tasks before she could proceed.
Stepping into the hallway, Ra-on leaned against the wall and pressed speed dial number three. Knowing that Hye-sung always answered his calls during work, she expected him to pick up soon.
But...
“Hmm...?”
After the ringing ended, instead of Hye-sung’s voice, a familiar automated message greeted her.
She tried again. And again. After three attempts, Ra-on bit her lip and dialed another number.
―Hello, this is Aroundge.
Recognizing the voice, Ra-on quickly spoke:
“Boss, it’s me, Ra-on.”
―Oh! Ra-on!
“Is Hye-sung there?”
Her abrupt question elicited a surprised “Eh?” from the other end.
―He left early today because he wasn’t feeling well.
Caught off guard, Ra-on immediately turned toward the studio.
“...When was this?”
―About thirty minutes ago?
Thirty minutes. That was enough time for him to have reached home by now.
Tossing her apron aside carelessly, Ra-on exchanged a hurried nod with her puzzled classmate as she ended the call. Without wasting a moment, she rushed outside and dialed Hye-sung’s number again. Her classmate called out to her from behind, but she had no time to look back.
At the end of the line, there was only the same automated message. No response came.
Ra-on bit down hard on her lip.
It was the first time she and Hye-sung hadn’t been able to connect over the phone like this. That fact alone made her worry spike. How unwell must he be to not even answer his phone?
But at the same time…
[“That’s no excuse for them. They’ll use every dirty trick in the book to take him away.”]
Do-kyung’s words echoed loudly in her ears, making her stomach churn with unease.
She muttered to herself that it couldn’t possibly be true, but her anxiety only grew stronger.
Her steps quickened, and before she knew it, she was sprinting across the campus grounds.