Hyunseok lowered his head, his eyes clouded with guilt.
"I don't want that."
Jeewon's expression immediately darkened. He looked at Hyunseok in disbelief before raising his voice.
"Hyun, what are you saying?"
"Yes..." Hyunseok answered quietly without lifting his head. "I don't want him to become normal again. I don't want him to remember everything that happened to him."
He slowly looked toward Yihan's room before continuing.
"I'm not happy about what's happening now... but I wasn't happy in the past either. If he remembers everything... I'm sure he'll leave me. But for now... I just want to stay beside him. I want to remain by his side, Jeewon."
As he finished speaking, he looked straight into Jeewon's eyes.
Jeewon remained silent for a few moments before letting out a long sigh.
"...Okay. For now, let's run a few tests on him. At least we'll know what happened. Come on, let's go inside."
Without saying another word, the two of them walked back toward Yihan's hospital room.
Meanwhile, after thinking about everything that had happened, Heesung sat quietly on the hospital bed. The moment the door opened, his eyes immediately landed on Hyunseok.
Ahhh... I bet he's the one who made this guy like this.
He's so big...
His shoulders are huge.
He looks so intimidating.
Even from this far away, he almost looks like a monster.
Seriously... he looks like he's about to eat me.
Fuck... he looked into my eyes.
Trying to avoid Hyunseok's gaze, Heesung immediately looked toward Jeewon instead.
Jeewon smiled warmly.
"Hi, Yihan... Oh, sorry... Heesung. How are you feeling?"
Heesung smiled awkwardly before waving his hand.
"That's fine. You can call me Yihan if you want. I don't mind."
Jeewon blinked in confusion.
"Hm? Didn't you tell us your name was Kim Heesung? Then why did you suddenly agree to being called Yihan?"
Heesung scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed smile.
"Well... this guy's name is Yihan, right? So you can just call me Yihan."
Jeewon tilted his head.
"...This guy?"
Heesung pointed at himself with a completely serious expression.
"Yeah. This guy means me."
He let out a small laugh.
"I'm not talking about someone else."
Jeewon couldn't help but smile.
"I... see."
He glanced at Hyunseok for a brief moment before looking back at Heesung.
"That's fine then. Before we discharge you, we'd like to run a few more tests, okay?"
"Hmm... okay. I don't mind."
Jeewon clapped his hands once with a smile.
"Good. Then let's go."
As they were about to leave, Jeewon turned toward Hyunseok.
"Hyun, are you coming with us, or are you staying here?"
Hyunseok glanced at the phone in his hand before shaking his head.
"No. You take him."
"I've been getting several calls from the office since this morning."
"I'll finish those first."
"You stay with Yihan and let me know what the reports say afterward."
Jeewon nodded.
"Alright."
Soon, Jeewon and Heesung walked toward the examination room together.
Hyunseok stood where he was, silently watching Yihan's back.
He didn't move.
He simply stood there, his eyes following Yihan until he completely disappeared around the corner.
Only then did Hyunseok slowly turn around.
A few minutes later, he walked outside the hospital and sat alone on a bench near the entrance. He reached into his pocket, took out a cigarette, and lit it.
He quietly inhaled the smoke before slowly exhaling.
His eyes remained fixed on the gray smoke drifting through the cold afternoon air.
"...When a rope is already on the verge of breaking..."
"...Even if you keep holding onto it..."
"...One day..."
"...It will still snap."
He lowered his eyes.
"But until that day comes..."
"I still want to hold onto it."
"I don't want that rope to break."
After a long silence, another bitter smile appeared on his lips.
"I want to give him a bouquet of flowers..."
"...but every flower I'm holding is covered in poison."
Just then, his phone suddenly rang.
Hyunseok looked at the caller ID before answering.
"Hello?"
Jeewon's voice came from the other side.
"Hyun, where are you?"
"The reports are ready."
"Come to my office."
Before Hyunseok could reply, the call ended.
He quietly put out his cigarette and walked back into the hospital.
A few moments later, he entered Jeewon's office and sat down across from him.
His first question came immediately.
"...Where's Yihan?"
Jeewon placed the report file on the table.
"I told him to rest in his room."
Hyunseok nodded.
"...Okay."
Jeewon slowly opened the file.
"Hyun... listen carefully."
"We performed a full neurological examination, a mental status examination, brain imaging, an EEG, several cognitive tests, and a number of additional examinations."
He looked up.
"But every single report came back normal."
"There isn't a single physical abnormality."
Hyunseok frowned.
"Then... what happened to him?"
Jeewon took a deep breath.
"That's the strange part."
"He has lost all of his memories..."
"Everything from his childhood until the present."
"But instead of simply forgetting everything..."
"...his mind has replaced those memories with someone else's."
"That's why he keeps insisting that his name is Kim Heesung."
He looked directly into Hyunseok's eyes.
"Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"
Hyunseok remained silent for several seconds before asking,
"But... how is that even possible?"
"How can someone forget all of their memories..."
"...and remember another person's life instead?"
Jeewon slowly leaned back in his chair.
"We don't know."
"Maybe he met someone."
"Maybe he created those memories through repeated dreams."
"Or maybe..."
"His brain created an entirely different identity to escape the trauma."
"He locked himself inside that room for months."
"He isolated himself."
"He was severely depressed."
"The human brain sometimes does unbelievable things to protect itself."
Hyunseok slowly lowered his head.
"So..."
"You're saying..."
"He forgot everything."
Jeewon nodded.
"Yes."
"That's exactly what I'm saying."
A heavy silence filled the room.
After several moments, Hyunseok finally asked the question he had been afraid to hear.
"...Will his memories ever come back?"
Jeewon sighed.
"We honestly don't know."
"They might return tomorrow..."
"They might return years from now..."
"...or they might never return."
"If something triggers those memories..."
"Then there's a chance they'll come back."
He closed the report before looking at Hyunseok again.
"And by the way..."
"I wanted to ask you something."
"When is your next rut?"
Hyunseok leaned back in his chair.
"Actually... after everything happened..."
"I've been taking rut-suppressant injections."
"About five or ten days before every rut."
"I've been suppressing it for the past six months."
Jeewon's expression immediately darkened.
"I already told you not to do that."
"How long did you say you've been taking them?"
"It's been six months."
Jeewon rubbed his forehead before speaking seriously.
"Hyun... after suppressing your rut for this long, it won't follow its normal cycle anymore."
"It could be triggered at any time."
"Anywhere."
"Without any warning."
He took a prescription pad and wrote something down.
"I'm prescribing you a few tablets."
"Make sure you take them exactly as instructed."
"And one more thing..."
"Yihan is already a recessive omega."
"Right now, his body is even weaker than that."
"If you release your pheromones anywhere near him again..."
"...it could kill him."
"So be careful."
Hyunseok quietly took the prescription from the table.
"...Okay."
"Then let's discharge him."
After making their decision, both of them left Jeewon's office and headed toward Yihan's hospital room.
The hallway was unusually quiet. The only sounds were the faint footsteps of nurses and the distant beeping of medical equipment echoing through the corridors.
When they entered the room, they found Yihan sitting on the hospital bed, quietly staring out the window beside him. The warm afternoon sunlight streamed through the glass, gently illuminating his face as he silently watched the people walking outside.
Jeewon smiled faintly.
"Enjoying the view?"
Yihan turned his head and looked at him before smiling awkwardly.
"Yeah... a little."
Jeewon walked over to the bed and glanced at the reports in his hand before looking back at Yihan.
"Well, we got all your test results."
"There's nothing wrong with your body, so there's no need for you to stay in the hospital any longer."
He closed the file and smiled.
"So... let's get you discharged."
"Hyun will take you home."
"Is that okay with you?"
Yihan scratched the back of his head and let out an awkward laugh.
"Yeah... that's fine."
"But..."
"I don't have a house."
Jeewon stared at him for a second before bringing his hand to his lips, unable to hold back a small laugh.
"You do have a house, Yihan."
He pointed his thumb toward the tall man standing silently beside him.
"You live with this big guy."
Yihan slowly turned his head toward Hyunseok.
He looked him up and down for a few seconds before blinking in confusion.
"Oh..."
"By the way..."
"Who is he?"
For a brief moment...
Silence filled the room.
Jeewon looked at Hyunseok before looking back at Yihan.
Then he chuckled softly.
"Haha..."
"He's your husband."
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