ATGRA 13

Contrary to what I told Jung Pureum about not being sick, I fell ill right after the shoot. In truth, it felt partly like stress-induced illness.

Taking so much herbal medicine and still not managing my internal heat. The world is truly messed up. I’m not even a Taeyangin, so why is my body so full of heat?

Still, after confirming that the TV interview aired successfully, my condition improved quickly. Ms. Kim Miyoung marveled at me getting up after just a day and a half.

“Our doctor is such a mood-driven person.”

I wish my health wasn’t tied to my mood… I grinned and rewatched my TV appearance about three times.

The influence of public broadcasting was incredible. I could see why restaurants pay extra to get featured on food shows even once.

Our clinic’s revenue skyrocketed several dozen times in just three days. It was so much that Ms. Kim Miyoung suggested we start selling online.

But selling medicine online feels off. I’ve seen diet pills sold online sometimes. Selling mass-produced factory medicine without checking a patient’s pulse could cause problems, turning the cart before the horse.

I really want to succeed, but I can’t just tell people to buy medicine without a consultation or pulse check just to make money. That’s not being a doctor; that’s being a thug. Then the oriental medicine association would sue me.

Still, when opportunity knocks, you row.

Even while bedridden, I switched the clinic’s appointment system to online and hired a deputy director to help Ms. Kim Miyoung with various tasks.

“Sunbae, you’re finally looking lively.”

“How’s the deputy director job treating you?”

“Great. Except for running into Baek Wonhee on my way home, everything’s good. It’s really great that you’re doing well, Yeonghwa sunbae.”

The deputy director I hired, Nam Jungyoon, was my university junior. We weren’t close, but we had one thing in common that inevitably brought us together: we both disliked Baek Wonhee.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend, right? I didn’t know exactly why Nam Jungyoon hated Baek Wonhee, but as long as we shared the goal of “Down with Baek Wonhee!” he was no less than my comrade.

Hiring a recessive Alpha as deputy director was a bit concerning. I worried I might trigger his traits with my pheromones, so I asked him several times if it was okay.

To my question, he coolly replied, “We’re both recessive, so what could happen?” He was as laid-back as his appearance suggested.

“So, why do you hate Baek Wonhee so much?”

“Sunbae, you were really an outsider, huh.”

“What? Hey, why are you suddenly attacking an innocent person?”

“It was kind of a big deal. I broke Baek Wonhee’s molar.”

“…For real?”

“Yeah. He kept picking fights because I’m an Alpha. Saying I should live like a beast, not try to be a doctor. Told me to grab an Omega and play house husband.”

Oh…

As expected, discriminators don’t stop at one group. In a way, Baek Wonhee might be considered upright.

Many people hate Omegas and love Alphas, but Baek Wonhee equally despised both Omegas and Alphas. In a sense, he practiced equality through hate. It’s not easy to hate so evenly.

“You could’ve just ignored him. You know how fiery my temper is, sunbae.”

“Are you a Taeyangin?”

“Asking about constitution like it’s MBTI…”

“Fiery temper means a lot of internal heat.”

“Weird. But I’m actually a Taeyangin.”

As expected, oriental medicine deserves anthropological reevaluation. It’s more accurate than MBTI.

In fact, Alphas are often Taeyangin. Our ancestors, talking about yin-yang harmony, were surprisingly on point.

Still, being a recessive Alpha, Nam Jungyoon’s pheromones were barely noticeable. He probably controlled them well. In that regard, he was clearly different from Jung Pureum, who let his pheromones flow freely around me.

Since I had an Alpha nearby, I decided to make full use of Nam Jungyoon. Deputy directors in small businesses handle all sorts of tasks anyway.

Alpha-related issues would now be his to solve. Since we’d be selling Alpha-making Gongjindan, having an Alpha in the clinic was beneficial.

“By the way, I was surprised you contacted me first, sunbae.”

“I was surprised you came here instead of a university hospital.”

“Come on, deputy directors earn more than university hospitals.”

“If our clinic takes off, I’ll renegotiate your salary.”

“Haha, reliable. It’s good for my career too. I also wanted to work with you, sunbae.”

“With me?”

“Yeah. You were secretly popular in college.”

“Me?”

“You didn’t know? Even though people said you had a bad temper, a lot wanted to get close to you.”

“Were there that many freeloaders wanting a ride on my group project bus?”

“Maybe some of that, but a lot just liked you. You worked so hard, sunbae…”

First I’m hearing of it. I often heard I had a bad temper. I don’t recall anyone actively showing interest. I only clearly remember the jerks who picked fights with me.

I looked at Nam Jungyoon with a bewildered expression.

His thick eyebrows, sharp nose, and dimples that appeared when he smiled felt unfamiliarly striking.

“I liked you for about three days, sunbae.”

“Three days?”

With that, the bell at the clinic entrance jingled. Perfect timing.

Unlike me, who had my back to the door, Nam Jungyoon, standing at the reception desk, suddenly changed his demeanor for some reason.

“First time here?”

“No.”

It was Jung Pureum’s voice. For some reason, Nam Jungyoon, usually adept at service, didn’t follow up with his next line.

Were they exchanging some kind of signal? I slowly turned to greet Jung Pureum.

“You’re here.”

Jung Pureum looked as familiar as ever, but Nam Jungyoon still seemed bewildered.

Regardless, I introduced them. They’d see each other often, so it’d be good if they got along like hyung and dongsaeng. Being Alphas, they might have something in common.

Nam Jungyoon looked back and forth between me and Jung Pureum, then turned toward the deputy director’s office, newly made from the herb storage. Ms. Kim Miyoung, coming out of the decoction room, took a step back too.

…What? Both of them acted like they sensed some crisis, leaving me out.

Thanks to Ms. Kim Miyoung and Nam Jungyoon quietly slipping away, I was left alone with Jung Pureum in no time. What’s this? I get Nam Jungyoon, but why’s Ms. Kim Miyoung fleeing?

“Hyung, you were really popular in college, huh.”

“No, not really.”

“Maybe you just didn’t know?”

“Nah. Nobody talked to me.”

Though I might’ve ignored them for studying. It hasn’t been long since graduation, but college already feels hazy.

Unless they were pests like Baek Wonhee, I barely remember my classmates’ faces. I was an outsider, as Nam Jungyoon said. I studied hard but never joined things like college festivals.

I skipped MTs with all sorts of excuses, and the few times I showed up were mandatory freshman welcome events. After that, I dodged everything with constitution excuses.

So what popularity? Honestly, I probably graduated without a single conversation with most classmates.

The department might’ve talked about an Omega being there, but the only person I could say was “close” was a major professor.

Even with Nam Jungyoon, we only talked briefly before graduation because we both disliked Baek Wonhee. Since he was a diligent junior, we exchanged contacts for sharing exam notes.

“…Who’s that guy?”

“Our deputy director. Just hired him.”

“…”

“With patients suddenly increasing, I hired a junior from college as deputy.”

Looking at Jung Pureum’s sulky face, I felt oddly guilty. I was about to say he should get along with him since he’s a recessive Alpha, but the words didn’t come easily.

It was all because Jung Pureum looked like an abandoned puppy. Does a close hyung normally get jealous over a new junior?

Well, kids can be like that. I reached out to Jung Pureum’s head. He’s grown tall, but he still rubbed his head against my palm like a kid.

I let out a deep sigh.

“You didn’t skip practice to come here, did you?”

“I did it properly.”

“Your hair’s not wet.”

“…”

“Your coach will throw a fit again. Stop coming to me and handle your own stuff first.”

“Hyung.”

“Yeah.”

“Are you okay?”

He dodged my nagging about training hard like that. I was about to say I’m fine, but Jung Pureum’s dark eyes staring at me made me speechless again.

Jung Pureum always grinned around me, but sometimes he looked this serious. Like that time at the barbecue place when Alphas picked a fight.

“I’m fine. It was just stress.”

“…You’re not well, so is it okay to have an Alpha as deputy?”

I burst out laughing. If I can’t have Alphas around because I’m unwell, you’d be the first to get kicked out.

When I laughed, Jung Pureum turned away, looking sulky again. He clearly knew I’d like it when he acted cute like that.

“No need to worry about me, punk.”

“…”

“Worry about yourself first. A young kid worrying about a grown hyung.”

At the mention of being young, Jung Pureum slightly furrowed his brow. He’s an adult now, huh. In your early twenties, you do feel grown-up.

I used to argue with my parents not to treat me like a kid back then too. Alright, that’s fair.

“Hyung…”

“Yeah?”

“You’re… the worst…”

Did I hear that right?

What did I do… I was instantly branded the worst hyung. What’s that about?

With that, Jung Pureum left the clinic with a sad face. As the bell on the door jingled, Ms. Kim Miyoung, who’d been hiding in the decoction room, came up behind me and whispered.

“He’s upset.”

The sound of her sipping barley tea was loud.

I turned to Ms. Kim Miyoung with a face still full of disbelief.

“Am I really that bad?”

“Well, you’re probably not the best.”

Ms. Kim Miyoung’s harsh judgment somehow stung my heart. Why? I’m the hyung who even buys beef, so why am I the worst?