TATMFL - 78

The early summer sunlight was intense.

Having finished her last exam, Raon stepped out of the building and squinted against the blinding brightness.

At that moment—

“Raon.”

She turned her head at the sound of her name. Hye-sung, seated on a bench beneath the shade of a tree, waved at her.

“Did you wait long?”

“No, I just got here myself.”

Hye-sung, who had an exam around the same time, shook his head as he stood up.

“Have you decided on a gift for your father’s birthday?”

Raon smiled awkwardly at the mention of their plan to visit the department store together.

“No.”

Her father wasn’t someone with many material desires, so choosing a gift every year was always a challenge. This year was no different. She briefly considered giving him cash but dismissed the idea, knowing he would only save it for her sake.

Watching her sigh deeply in thought, Hye-sung chuckled.

“Last year, it was a foot massager, right? Did he like it?”

“Well, he seemed to use it for a while…”

Though Raon didn’t say it outright, Hye-sung understood the unspoken implication: she wasn’t sure if he still used it now. Smiling warmly, he suggested,

“Shall we go take a look?”

________________________________________

“…Why are there so many people?”

Raon exhaled tiredly as she collapsed onto a chair. Her calves, overworked from this rare outing, throbbed painfully as soon as she sat down.

Instead of rubbing her sore calves, she absentmindedly patted her thigh while watching Hye-sung walk off to order drinks.

Despite insisting on paying for everything today—from lunch to drinks—Hye-sung still owed her plenty. Yet, thanks to a change in creditors, he appeared noticeably more relaxed than before.

Watching him with a faint smile, Raon’s eyelids grew heavy.

She muttered under her breath,

“That creditor disappears without a trace, and now I don’t know where he is or what he’s doing.”

Do-kyung, who had insisted they eat together, left her alone at the Korean restaurant that day and hadn’t contacted her since.

During the first two days of silence, Raon felt disheartened by how often she checked her phone, hoping for a message. The vague sense of waiting for him made her uneasy.

But as one day passed, then two more, and finally a full week went by without any word from Do-kyung, curiosity—and a touch of worry—began to creep in. Should she reach out first?

Scrolling through their chat history, which had abruptly stopped after that night, Raon stared at the endless stream of daily messages he used to send. Now, there was nothing.

Lost in thought, she repeatedly tapped and untapped his default profile picture when—

“What’s with that gloomy expression?”

Hye-sung laughed as he placed two drinks on the table, watching Raon glare at her phone with a sulky face.

“It’s not about your father’s gift, is it?”

They had wandered the department store for two hours without finding anything suitable. But Hye-sung knew Raon wasn’t upset because of that.

‘There’s no mystery here…’

Glancing sideways at Raon, who hesitated to speak, Hye-sung sighed inwardly.

Finally, breaking the silence himself, he said,

“By the way, Senior Han hasn’t shown up at school again today.”

“Huh?”

Seeing Raon’s startled expression, Hye-sung chuckled lightly and teased,

“The professors were complaining to me earlier. They’re worried he might get expelled again if this keeps up. Maybe it’s because I’m technically his mentor?”

“…You knew?”

Raon asked tentatively, wondering if Hye-sung realized the person weighing on her mind was Do-kyung. Humming briefly, he shrugged.

“These days, even Ji-an could tell at a glance that you’ve been preoccupied with Senior Han.”

Had she really been that obvious? Reflecting on how often she’d thought of Do-kyung lately, Raon groaned softly and rubbed her face.

After a deep sigh, she asked,

“He’s skipped school all through exams, hasn’t he?”

“Yes. The professors are really worried. He’s not answering calls either.”

Just as Hye-sung finished speaking, he casually glanced away and suddenly froze, eyes widening.

“…? What’s wrong?”

Before Raon could turn her head to follow his gaze, she felt herself being pulled backward.

And then—

“Raon.”

Warmth enveloped her back along with shallow pants. Startled, Raon froze, her eyes wide open.

The soft strands of hair brushing against her earlobe, the ticklish breath on her shoulder, and the desperate embrace holding her tightly—all of it overwhelmed her senses.

Her pupils wavered aimlessly. Finally, barely audible words escaped her trembling lips—the name of the person whose well-being Hye-sung had just mentioned.

“…Han Do-kyung?”

“Yes.”

His voice, rough as though waking from sleep, rumbled against her shoulder.

As his nose pressed into her nape, inhaling deeply, a shiver ran down her spine. Then came his sigh, warm and intimate, causing Raon to swallow hard involuntarily.

Pulling her closer, Do-kyung murmured,

“I feel alive again…”

Only when Raon’s bewildered eyes landed on Hye-sung—staring dumbfounded at Do-kyung clinging desperately to her—did she snap out of her daze.

“Hey, Han Do-kyung! Let go!”

Flustered, Raon tried to pry his arms off her shoulders.

But instead of letting go, Do-kyung lifted her clean off the chair, cradling her as if she weighed nothing. Panicked, Raon gasped.

It wasn’t until Joon appeared, parting the growing crowd, that Do-kyung finally released her.

Only then did Raon notice the gawkers gathered around them. Her face flushed red, while Hye-sung had already buried his in embarrassment.

“Good grief!”

Joon, who had rushed over expecting chaos, let out a helpless laugh.

“So this is where you were running off to.”

“…Can someone please get him off me?”

“I’m so sorry.”

Watching Raon, drained and flustered, Joon bowed apologetically. As he moved to pull Do-kyung away, a sharp command stopped him.

“Leave.”

“…Master Han, Raon seems very uncomfortable.”

“Tch.”

Just as Joon heard an irritated sigh, Do-kyung reluctantly let go, stepping back.

Mentioning Raon’s discomfort was indeed the key.

As Joon internally noted this, Do-kyung glared menacingly at the surrounding crowd, smoothing his tousled hair.

Watching people instinctively step back upon meeting his gaze, Joon clicked his tongue. Even now, despite the tension, Do-kyung managed to suppress his pheromones—a testament to his incredible self-control.

‘Then again, Professor Yang was astonished too.’

During rut—the peak of instinctual urges—Do-kyung had barely released any pheromones, even while unconscious, driving those around him frantic.

While it seemed like the rut had ended, his body, deprived of releasing its pheromones fully, remained in a precarious state. Essentially, Do-kyung was a ticking time bomb, liable to enter rut again at any moment.

Amidst all this, Han Tae-joo’s birthday was just two days away.

Normally, Do-kyung would have instructed Joon to prepare a gift. But today, his visit to the department store was entirely for Raon.

Upon hearing that she was there with Hye-sung, Do-kyung swallowed a pheromone suppressant and searched tirelessly. After wandering aimlessly for a while, he suddenly bolted, leading to this moment.

‘Not even a dog…’

Though he followed her scent, Raon was on the third floor, far from where they started on the first.

Even comparing him to a dog—with their heightened sense of smell—they wouldn’t detect such faint traces across such a distance.

Joon stared at Do-kyung in disbelief.

Meanwhile, Do-kyung, who had been glaring fiercely moments ago, now smiled brightly as if nothing had happened.

‘Not even hellspawn changes expressions this fast,’ Joon muttered, folding his arms behind his back.

“Raon.”

Gone was the haggard appearance caused by rut; Do-kyung looked perfectly fine. If not for the subtle signs, no one would believe he’d been ill.

All because he finally saw Raon.

Each passing day made Do-kyung seem stranger to her.

As Joon marveled at Do-kyung’s rapid recovery, a softened voice reached his ears.

“…Were you sick?”

Startled, Joon looked at Raon, who frowned slightly as she examined Do-kyung.

He had visibly lost weight since she last saw him. Dark circles shadowed his eyes, and overall, he looked gaunt.

“Yes, I was very sick, Raon.”

At her concerned tone, Do-kyung’s eyes widened momentarily before softening into a breathtaking smile.

It was devastatingly beautiful.

Both Joon and Hye-sung winced at the collective gasps from bystanders, watching Raon squeeze her eyes shut, her ears blazing red.

“Hmm.”

When Raon reopened her eyes, they swirled with emotions she couldn’t yet contain.

After a long pause, she finally asked, her gaze fixed on his shoulder.

“Was it rut?”

Recalling the pheromones she’d sensed at the restaurant and seeing his emaciated state after nearly a week, she concluded it must have been rut.

“Yes.”

Do-kyung confirmed with a short hum, leaning closer.

Instinctively, Raon leaned back slightly, turning her head to the side.

Following her movements, Do-kyung chuckled softly.

“Raon.”

He asked,

“Why do you keep avoiding my gaze?”

Raon’s pupils trembled faintly, having skillfully dodged his eyes since their encounter.