IRPT 19

Chapter: 19

Pink sleep socks with slippers, slightly cropped gym clothes, and a black survival-style long padding jacket.

Hadam stood in front of the infirmary, glancing at her outfit for a moment.

Had she come out looking too shabby?

Come to think of it, the voice she heard from Inhwa over the phone hadn’t been that serious.

The normally composed kid had suddenly canceled plans, couldn’t be reached, and now was at the infirmary—so she’d panicked and dashed out.

“…Whatever. I’m not going somewhere for fun anyway.”

Hadam muttered to herself.

Was now really the time to worry about clothes?

No, why was she worrying about clothes in the first place?

The thought made her chuckle at herself.

What would Do I-gyeol say…?

Shaking her head, Hadam entered the infirmary. The sparsely lit fluorescent lights cast long shadows.

“Come to the second floor. The room at the very back.”

She climbed the stairs, her breath misting in the cold air.

Even though it was the infirmary, she wondered if it had to be this cold—but the empty hallways, not a soul in sight, made it understandable.

As she approached the room Inhwa had mentioned, the door opened first.

“Auntie!”

“Shhh―.”

Inhwa appeared in the hallway wearing a white coat, bringing her index finger to her lips as she approached Hadam.

“The kid already passed out and is sleeping.”

Hadam lowered her voice, following Inhwa’s quiet whisper.

“Is Do I-gyeol in a lot of pain?”

“Not much. Just like a body ache.”

“Stress from coming to the main building?”

“Could be. Hadam, I’m going to the medicine room for a bit, so watch over I-gyeol for me. About thirty minutes.”

“Okay, got it.”

Inhwa disappeared down the hallway at a brisk pace.

Left alone, Hadam carefully opened the room door.

Unlike the cold outside, the air inside was thick and warm on her skin.

At the very back of the dark room, a humidifier at the head of the bed was puffing out steam.

She tiptoed, careful not to make a sound, and moved to the side of the bed.

Only after settling onto the small chair that Inhwa must have placed did she get a full view of I-gyeol, lying as if dead.

The only light came from the moon filtering through the window and the overhead indirect lighting, but it was enough to check on him.

Hadam quietly observed I-gyeol. Tilting her head slightly, she wondered:

Is he really sick?

His face had color, his skin was soft and dry without a drop of sweat, and even his lips were moist.

Not the cracked or parched state typical of someone who is sick.

He just looked like he was sleeping.

Unconsciously, Hadam leaned forward slightly. There was a faint trace of the scent of soap from last time. Somehow, it calmed her heart.

She propped her feet on the support of the chair, rested her elbows on her knees, and supported her chin.

Settling into a stable position, she could look at I-gyeol’s face more closely.

Thick, full eyelashes casting a shadow under his eyes, a straight nose, and a neatly curved mouth.

On the serene face, mischievous dark eyes overlapped.

Eyes full of goodwill and kindness.

Suddenly, her chest felt ticklish.

It seemed like her temperature was rising slightly.

Why so kind…?

Beep. Whirrr.

[122♡ Lower your heart rate.]

[135♡ Danger! Take deep breaths.]

Hadam curled into herself, hiding her left arm, and quickly switched the warning to silent, burying her face in her knees and taking rapid breaths.

What? Kind? Are you insane?

Coming to visit a sick person and staring at their face—what did you expect?

Stop overthinking, Sun Hadam!

She scolded herself while watching her heart rate. But the heart icon continued to blink nonstop.

Hadam squeezed her eyes shut and tried to recall sad thoughts. But unfortunately, her mind went blank.

This is dangerous.

Better to leave.

She needed to be ready for any unexpected situation until her heart rate returned to normal.

Just as she was about to straighten up, a voice stopped her.

“What are you doing?”

“Ahk!”

Startled, she lifted her head. I-gyeol had half-sat up, watching her.

“Ha… hey! You scared me.”

“Ah. Sorry. Didn’t mean to.”

“When you move, at least make a sound! What were you—”

But Hadam couldn’t bring herself to get mad.

Beep. Beep.

The watch ignored silent mode and began blaring, signaling extreme danger.

Realizing this, tension gripped her body instantly.

No.

Not here.

Feeling stiff, she stood up immediately.

But I-gyeol’s hand was faster.

Without hesitation, he grabbed Hadam’s hand and gently pulled her toward him.

Her body tilted toward him in an instant.

Was it because everything happened so suddenly?

Hadam couldn’t resist the small pull at all.

Her heightened senses made the surroundings feel like slow motion.

A wildly beating heart, the noisy watch, the touch of their palms, the warmth, and I-gyeol’s face right in front of her.

“Going?”

“Ah, well―”

“Why leave when you came all this way? Stay.”

Perhaps because he was so close, she couldn’t speak.

Her mind went completely blank.

All thought circuits frozen; not a finger could move.

Beep. Beep.

Beep. Beep.

The warning sounds signaled she had reached her limit.

And then.

Thud.

The clothes she was wearing fell to the floor.

The blaring watch suddenly went silent.

I-gyeol tried to comprehend what had just happened, forgetting even to breathe.

Sun Hadam, who had been in his hands moments ago, the flustered Hadam watching him, had disappeared.

No stimulants, no pained screams, no animalistic sounds—just calm.

The only traces she left behind were a small mound of clothes and the subtle change in air density.

I-gyeol took a deep breath.

The pheromones from the rabbit were on a completely different level from when Hadam was human.

Concentrated, yet brilliantly pure.

It felt like every suppressed cell in his body was awakening.

The constant discomfort caused by pheromone imbalance disappeared.

The pressure on his temples melted away, and his chronic tinnitus vanished.

Perfect silence, the likes of which he had never experienced in his life.

“Ha…”

A hollow laugh escaped.

When he first met Hadam, he thought her pheromones were perfectly balanced—but it could be even more perfect.

If human Hadam’s pheromones were a calm river, rabbit Hadam’s were a massive tidal wave.

Under the enormous influence of her pheromones, the perfectly synchronized balance felt like… salvation.

Was this what “dying without regrets” meant?

It felt like all worries could disappear.

If he could end this harsh life like this, without pain or suffering, just quietly…

The thought alone filled him with immense satisfaction.

Simultaneously, a desire of the same magnitude arose.

Something he hadn’t known he needed, hadn’t even searched for, but had been unconsciously seeking his whole life.

He didn’t want to lose this antidote-like presence.

Do you even know…

How your pheromones make me feel?

Am I the only one affected this way?

And right now, in your unbalanced state, are you really okay?

There were so many questions he wanted to ask.

I-gyeol stepped off the bed, feeling the cold floor beneath his bare feet.

The rabbit showed no sign of emerging, only subtle movement.

“Sun Hadam.”

He quietly called her name, kneeling on one knee.

Is the padding heavy?

“I’ll get you out.”

He carefully grasped the top layer of the padding to lift it.

The padding seemed to move on its own, then stopped.

To be precise, something inside was pulling back on it.

“What the—”

I-gyeol tried again, harder this time.

But the padding resisted. Or rather, the rabbit resisted.

He couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity.

“You think you and I can compete?”

Grasping the padding firmly with both hands, he tugged it open in one motion.

“…Wow.”

He couldn’t help but exclaim.

A small, white, round ball of fur.

Eyes looking up at him, lost and trembling like an earthquake.

Rabbit Hadam was much smaller than he had imagined, and much—

 “Cute.”