Good Night, Brother! - Chapter 8.11

Eunhyun hurriedly emptied the bowl of risotto, afraid that if he mistook hunger for desire again, he might repeat the events of the previous day. He sat at the kitchen table afterward, watching Yi Hyeon’s back as he washed the dishes.

As he stared, memories of the previous day replayed in his mind—the heat fever, the way he had succumbed to instincts, even begging Yi Hyeon to take him. The shame burned bright in his chest. It was the kind of memory he wished he could erase from his mind entirely.

What is a heat cycle, anyway? he thought bitterly. It’s just an excuse for losing control like an animal.

Yesterday, Eunhyun and Yi Hyeon had spent the entire day more as beasts than as humans. Caught in the throes of their respective instincts, they had released pheromones that drove them together, mating in a frenzy that left little room for reason.

The thought weighed heavily on Eunhyun as he sighed, resting his head on the table.

It had been so long ago—back when only a handful of humans had even given the mutant traits the names Alpha and Omega. The majority of society hailed them as the pinnacle of human evolution.

Alphas, with their superior intellectual and physical capabilities, and Omegas, designed to optimize reproduction, were seen as the answer to humanity’s population crisis. Even now, among prominent scholars, debates persist, but the prevailing view is that Alphas and Omegas represent an advanced stage of evolution.

Eunhyun had vaguely shared that belief when he was a Beta. Alphas and Omegas are a step above me, he’d thought.

But after his first heat cycle, that belief crumbled. Eunhyun could no longer see it as an evolution; instead, he had to accept that he’d stepped into a primal world of pheromones, estrus, and beasts communicating through instinct rather than reason.

“What are you thinking about, hyung?”

By the time the dishes were done, Yi Hyeon had wrapped his arms around Eunhyun’s shoulders from behind, his voice soft as he asked.

“Huh? Oh, nothing… really,” Eunhyun replied, startled from his thoughts.

“Nothing, huh?”

Yi Hyeon leaned in naturally, nibbling on Eunhyun’s earlobe and exhaling warm breath into his ear. Startled by the sultry sensation, Eunhyun’s shoulders jerked reflexively.

“Ah…”

“Ha… Hyung, I’m still in a rut, you know…” Yi Hyeon’s voice, low and dripping with excitement, resonated in Eunhyun’s ear as his lips trailed down the line of his neck. The faint suction of Yi Hyeon’s mouth on his skin sent shivers through Eunhyun, who narrowed his eyes in protest.

“Hngh, don’t lie! Your pheromones are different now,” Eunhyun retorted.

The once turbulent, storm-like waves of Yi Hyeon’s pheromones, which had felt like they might swallow him whole, were now calm—like a serene lake.

Pausing momentarily at Eunhyun’s observation, Yi Hyeon let out a low whistle of admiration.

“Wow, you can feel that now? Hyung, you’re amazing,” he said, his voice tinged with amusement.

As he spoke, his hand slid slyly under Eunhyun’s shirt, his fingers grazing his flat stomach.

“Yi Hyeon. Move your hand. Now.”

“Hmm… I’m just touching. Is that not okay?”

The overly suggestive tone in Yi Hyeon’s voice made Eunhyun uneasy, his mind racing as he tried to predict how far the situation might escalate.

“No, it’s not okay. Seriously, do you think about anything else besides that?”

“Hmm, nope. Didn’t you know? That’s the only thing I think about,” Yi Hyeon answered shamelessly, not even hesitating.

Eunhyun’s jaw dropped in disbelief.

“I wish we could just eat and do that every day. Forget school, forget work,” Yi Hyeon added with a sigh.

“…”

“Sigh… I really just want to do it…”

Yi Hyeon buried his face against Eunhyun’s shoulder, exhaling deeply. The warm, humid breath seeped through the fabric, heating Eunhyun’s skin underneath.

“…Yi Hyeon.”

“Yeah? Did you start wanting to do it too?”

“Not today!”

“Ah, so we’ll do it tomorrow?” Yi Hyeon teased with a sly grin.

“No! That’s not what I mean…” Eunhyun huffed, flustered.

At his refusal, Yi Hyeon rested his chin on Eunhyun’s shoulder, his tone turning noticeably more sullen.

“…If not that, then what?”

“I saw an article the other day. It said recessive Omegas have irregular heat cycles—maybe once a year, if that.”

“Ah…” Yi Hyeon’s eyes gleamed as he let out a small exclamation, his expression softening into something alluring.

“But the doctor said you’re stabilized because you’re bonded to me, remember? You can’t think in terms of a typical recessive Omega. Your heat cycle will come back every three months, like clockwork.”

Yi Hyeon pressed gentle kisses onto Eunhyun’s cheek, his voice filled with eager anticipation.

“Ah, I hope your next heat cycle comes soon.”

The thought of having to endure that every three months drained the color from Eunhyun’s face.

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