Good Night, Brother! - Chapter 8.10

When he finally came back to his senses, his entire body ached, as though he’d been struck by a boulder. Slowly lifting his heavy eyelids, Eunhyun realized the room was now bathed in the reddish glow of the setting sun. As he stirred, a sudden, alarming thought struck him.

“What is it? Company! Company! Company!” Eunhyun exclaimed in panic.

Forgetting his aches, he shot up quickly, fumbling for his phone on the nightstand. Groaning, he dragged his sore, limp body toward the living room.

In the kitchen, Yi Hyeon stood casually, wearing an apron and cooking with practiced ease. Hearing the door creak open, he turned and greeted Eunhyun with a dimpled smile.

“Hyung, you’re up? I’m hungry,” Yi Hyeon said playfully.

“Hey, why didn’t you wake me up?” Eunhyun snapped, still groggy and panicked.

“Oh, I tried a few times, but you wouldn’t budge,” Yi Hyeon replied nonchalantly.

“Have you seen my phone?” Eunhyun asked frantically.

“It’s over there on the living room table.”

“Oh my God, what am I going to do? I called in sick yesterday, and now I’m AWOL today… It’s crazy, really…” Eunhyun muttered, picking up his phone from the table with trembling hands.

Yi Hyeon wiped his hands on his apron and walked over, his expression calm. “Hyung, Eunsoo called me this morning. I told her everything.”

“What? What did you say?”

Eunhyun asked, a flicker of relief mixed with unease at his brother’s words.

“At first, I just asked her to mark you down for sick leave…” Yi Hyeon began casually.

“And… she did?”

“Well, not exactly. She told me there’s a special type of leave designated for Omegas during their heat cycle.”

“…What?”

“So, I told her to register it as that,” Yi Hyeon finished, flashing a wide smile, clearly expecting praise. “I did good, didn’t I?”

But instead of the approval he anticipated, Eunhyun glared at him as though he were an enemy. As Yi Hyeon beamed with pride, Eunhyun’s chest heaved with a deep breath, and he suddenly shouted:

“You’re not so good! Do you even think before you act?”

“…Eh? What’s wrong…?” Yi Hyeon asked, blinking in confusion, startled by the outburst.

“Are you planning to announce to the entire office that I was in heat?”

“…Uh…”

“Hmph… What am I supposed to do now?” Eunhyun muttered, his shoulders slumping as he crossed his arms and sank onto the sofa. “How am I supposed to look Deputy Eun in the eye tomorrow? I’ll die of embarrassment!”

Yi Hyeon frowned slightly. “Hyung, there’s a system for this, and it’s there to be used…”

“I’d rather quit than use it!” Eunhyun snapped, burying his face in his hands. “This is so humiliating. How can I even go back to work?”

As Eunhyun muttered angrily to himself, Yi Hyeon tried to comfort him.

“Don’t worry so much. Everyone knows about Alpha and Omega dynamics—it’s natural, hyung.”

“Hah… Maybe for you, but still…”

“Eunsoo-ah said she sometimes uses the leave when her inhibitors stop working,” Yi Hyeon added nonchalantly.

At the mention of Eunsoo’s name, a glimmer of understanding lit up Eunhyun’s previously dazed eyes.

“…Eunsoo-ah… really said that?”

His lips, which had been pouting dramatically, softened slightly. His demeanor changed so abruptly that Yi Hyeon couldn’t help but shake his head.

My brother has such thin ears… If someone sweet-talked him, he’d get scammed in no time, Yi Hyeon thought with amusement as he lazily patted Eunhyun’s shoulder.

“Yeah. So let’s eat first. We didn’t have anything yesterday… except sex,” Yi Hyeon teased, his breath tickling Eunhyun’s ear.

Eunhyun’s face turned beet red at the whisper, and he pulled away quickly, heading toward the kitchen.

The air was filled with the rich aroma of food, and on the table was Eunhyun’s favorite dish: creamy risotto. His stomach growled loudly, reminding him that he hadn’t eaten properly for days. Though he often skipped meals, he rarely went more than a day without eating at least something. He vaguely remembered reading that the appetite and sex drive centers in the brain were closely linked—stimulating one could sometimes suppress the other. It made sense now; yesterday’s feverish indulgence in lust had likely masked his hunger.

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