Reunion pt.7

His own voice calling out the still unfamiliar name felt strange. But the awkwardness quickly disappeared. Right now, he just desperately needed Radel’s presence. As In-woo was shouting angrily, he sensed a faint presence from inside the room. In-woo immediately ran into that room.

“Radel! You bastard…”

In-woo who was about to yell asking what he was doing in the room was struck speechless seeing Radel collapsed on the floor. Radel had collapsed face down in front of the bathroom door. His body was wet as if he had washed in the bathroom attached to the room but collapsed before properly drying off. He had at least put on a robe but since he couldn’t properly tie it, the fabric had fallen to the side revealing his taut bare body.

In-woo wanted to tell him to stop messing around but his body felt burning hot to the touch. It seemed well over 40 degrees Celsius.

“…H-hey.”

Not even realizing what he had called Radel just moments ago, In-woo panicked while examining him. In-woo’s voice that had turned pale, and his touch, trembled terribly. His weakly shaking hands barely managed to hold onto Radel’s collapsed body.

Unconsciousness accompanied by high fever. Normally one would call 911 but the subject is an alien. Could doctors who treat humans treat aliens too? For a very brief moment, In-woo imagined Radel being taken by NASA or such and himself being interrogated. Anyway, the hospital wasn’t an option. Then…

In-woo jumped up and ran to the living room. Then flung open the wide window. And after taking a deep breath, he grabbed the railing and leaned his body downward.

“Stop.”

A calm voice emerged from thin air. An arm extending from a small spherical metal object pushed In-woo back inside the house. Soon after, a familiar android entered In-woo’s living room.

“What’s going on with Radel-nim?”

He was Kim Cheol-soo, the android who had lived with In-woo for a while. Of course, he supposedly had a different original name but when coming to Earth, Radel named him Kim Cheol-soo. While it was a representative name, considering it’s not commonly used these days, it felt very much like a name carelessly chosen by Radel who had no particular interest in anything besides In-woo.

The ordinary face, indistinguishable from a human’s, twisted slightly as if it was displeased. Though a manufactured android, he wasn’t without emotions. If expressing the android’s current emotion, it would be something like annoyance at having to clean up after his weird master.

But what could he do when the android was the only reliable option? In-woo pointed to inside the room.

“Radel is collapsed in there right now… His fever, his fever is high.”

“…And?”

“What do you mean ‘and’? He’s your master.”

“He told me not to intervene with him.”

“How can you be so nonchalant…!”

In-woo who had snapped and shouted bit his lip hard. This wasn’t the time to get emotional.

“He’s collapsed and causing trouble in my house right now. Do something about it.”

There was no point in responding emotionally to an android who follows orders. When he changed the direction of the conversation by presenting a plausible reason, the android frowned and fell into brief contemplation. Finally, the android sighed and entered the room.

The android who immediately took Radel’s temperature turned to look at In-woo.

“Arkeans have higher body temperatures than humans. Though it’s hot even by Arkean standards, it’s not very serious. It may be somewhat painful but there won’t be major physical effects so you can leave him be.”

Not serious? When he collapsed unconscious… In-woo immediately grabbed the android who was trying to get up without hesitation.

“At least give him some medicine…”

“Taking medicine carelessly during a rut can cause serious hormonal imbalances.”

“…Really?”

They have technology to fly across space from unimaginably far in just days but can’t suppress a mere heat? To the suspicious look, the android calmly replied.

“It’s generally possible but Radel-nim’s condition isn’t good.”

“Why…”

In-woo who was about to ask why he wasn’t well stopped short. A fierce battle raged inside In-woo between his reason saying there was no need to unnecessarily increase information about Radel and his honest worry. After hesitating, In-woo finally finished his question.

“Why isn’t he well?”

“Due to worsening depression, he’s been on long-term medication. Portable medicine with mild effects won’t do much, and strong medications can cause side effects when taken together.”

Having finished explaining, the android tried to leave this time for sure. In-woo grabbed him again this time too. A hint of annoyance briefly crossed the android’s face.

“I cannot take Radel-nim with me.”

“Fine, at least help me get him onto the bed… How am I supposed to move this bastard.”

“…”

“He’s in the way of walking…”

In-woo spoke harshly with a worried voice. The android who was thinking for a moment soon nodded.

“Alright. That much I can do.”

Radel is very heavy given his tall height and muscular build. It would be difficult for In-woo to move Radel even if he tried hard. But the mechanically built android lifted Radel without difficulty. Then somewhat carelessly dropped Radel onto the bed with a thud.

In-woo who was about to tell him to move him more carefully barely swallowed his words. To the frozen In-woo, the android Kim Cheol-soo gave a polite bow and this time truly left the room.

In-woo glared hard at Radel who was lying on the bed before sighing.

“Heat period, he said…”

As if to prove those words, Radel’s member was standing incredibly stiff. It made his earlier ej*culation seem meaningless. Moreover, it twitched slightly as if responding each time In-woo spoke.

“…”

Looking at that sight made his head throb.

Just a few hours ago, he had been depressed enough to want to die. Every breakup song in the world felt like his story, and even seeing leaves rolling in the wind felt like his situation.

But looking at Radel before him now makes all the worrying he’s done until now feel meaningless. Not Lee Sun-ho who he dated for several years, nor the alien who had kept Kim In-woo as a pet… A strange appearance.

It’s beyond just strange. He’d never heard of a pervert who gets aroused considering it contact when someone touches his eyeballs or steps on his face with their foot. Why had he been so sad about not seeing such a pervert for a year? That really was a completely useless worry.

Seeing this pathetic appearance makes his fear somewhat diluted too. Like feeling relief when seeing an actor in scary makeup from a horror movie eating ice cream and giggling behind the scenes. Of course, there was too much built up to completely let his guard down but…

In-woo side-eyed the annoying pervert. Even excluding his ill-fated connection with Radel, it was a mess.