AOA 112

Whether Baek Mugyeong was watching or not, I practiced with the soccer ball. More trapping and lifting than dribbling.

I bounced the ball using my head, shoulder, chest, thigh, instep, inside of the foot, and side of the foot. It was something I used to do every day, but after a break, my skills had rusted. The ball flew off in unintended directions several times.

Part of it was because I was nervous under Baek Mugyeong’s gaze. But as my body gradually loosened, my old skill began to show little by little. When the ball started to move the way I wanted, Baek Mugyeong’s presence vanished from my mind, and I could focus only on the ball.

I flicked the ball up with my toe, caught it with my hand, and grinned. Moving my body definitely lifted my mood.

Only then did I remember Baek Mugyeong. I turned quickly and saw him smiling with satisfaction. The halo I had seen earlier wasn’t there this time. Instead, he looked like a principal happy with his students’ performance.

Too young and too handsome to be a principal, though.

The ridiculous thought made me laugh to myself as I walked toward him. I was thirsty after moving so much.

“You handle the ball well.”

I was reaching for the water bottle I had prepared when Baek Mugyeong spoke. It sounded like a compliment, which made me a little embarrassed. I was good at soccer, but not to the level of “handling the ball well.”

“I played with the ball every lunch break.”

“You like soccer?”

“Of course. What about you, Mr. Baek? What sport do you like?”

“Nothing in particular, but I often went to watch basketball.”

“NBA?”

“Yes.”

I wasn’t interested in basketball, but I knew the NBA was the American professional league, hugely popular in the US.

Baek Mugyeong was tall with long arms and legs, so he looked like he’d be good at it.

“Are you good at basketball?”

“I only like watching. I mostly watch New York Knicks games. I wouldn’t say I’m a fan, but I check the results.”

If he was checking results, that already made him a fan. But since Baek Mugyeong said otherwise, I let it pass without comment.

I had learned one more thing he liked. To get to know each other meant sharing what we liked, were good at, disliked, or couldn’t do. It felt special, softening a part of my chest.

I told him my mother had been a fan of a soccer player who played in England, so I had often watched Premier League games. Then I deliberately shifted the subject.

“You may know this, but I get tested every two months. Not a health checkup, a blood test. To know right away if I’m pregnant. This time, apparently, contraceptive components showed up at a meaningful level. I was so shocked when I heard it. I broke out in cold sweat. It turned out to be nothing serious. But my biological father thinks Vice Chairman Baek Jaehan gave me birth control pills without me knowing. Mixed into food or something.”

Baek Mugyeong needed to know what had happened today when I met my biological father. The reason I let him watch my rusty soccer skills was to bring this up.

Even though I said it was nothing, Baek Mugyeong’s face instantly grew serious.

“Surely not… Is there any incident that made him suspect that?”

“It wasn’t about food. Before, I mean before marriage, Vice Chairman Baek Jaehan sent me to the hospital for a checkup, and without me knowing I was injected with a manifestation delay drug. At that time I had already been receiving stimulation drugs for quite a while. According to the doctor, mixing a delay drug with a stimulant can cause severe side effects. That’s why my father is on guard.”

I seized the chance to expose Baek Jaehan’s misdeeds. Thinking about how I had suffered from drug side effects before regression made me want to beat him up. But I wouldn’t dare punch the Vice Chairman of Daesong Group, so the best I could do was report the truth and call him a bastard.

I had brought it up so we could chew on Baek Jaehan together. But Baek Mugyeong’s reaction was unusual. His eyes narrowed and his face turned grave.

“What kind of side effects?”

“From mild nausea or fever, to severe issues like heart function problems, decline in cognition, reasoning, and judgment.”

The side effects had been so shocking that I had memorized them all. The probability was very low, but if I’d been truly unlucky, I could have died of cardiac arrest.

“So that’s why…”

The surroundings were not as bright as day and fairly dark, but it was not hard to notice that Baek Mugyeong’s face had stiffened.

There were times when the man looked like a beast. With his body tense as if he was about to leap out, Baek Mugyeong gave off a dangerous aura. Watching his eyes gleam sharply even now made me shiver.

It seemed like he might plant his fist into Baek Jaehan’s face at any moment. Because it felt like he was getting angry for me, I felt pleased.

“It’s fine. There’s no real problem. Even if something were slipped into food, since I get tested regularly, it would be found right away.”

In truth, before regression, Baek Jaehan had not tampered with food. Probably because I kept receiving delay injections and never manifested as an omega.

Just in case, I had asked questions to a doctor, one of my biological father’s golf friends. He said drugs with immediate effects usually had a terrible taste, so even if mixed into food, they could be distinguished. He also said nearly all drugs that could affect pheromones could be found through blood tests.

So without much worry, I had eaten the food Kim Juhyeon made. Today too, I had eaten the braised seafood and grilled eel with appetite.

I explained earnestly that there was no problem, but Baek Mugyeong’s face did not ease. A thought crossed my mind.

“Wait, Baek Mugyeong-ssi. Is something wrong? Did you get injected with something strange?”

If it was Baek Jaehan, he might have made Baek Mugyeong take harmful injections. If that was why he was shocked now, his reaction was understandable.

“No, no. Nothing like that. It’s just…”

“Yes…?”

“There’s something I’ve wondered for a long time, and I just learned the answer.”

Baek Mugyeong’s gaze turned cold. He looked fierce now that he wasn’t smiling.

I wanted to know what he had wondered about, but I didn’t ask. I had the feeling Baek Mugyeong wouldn’t answer anyway. Maybe he recalled some wrongdoing of Baek Jaehan.

It was best to avoid touching another’s wound. Better to focus on practical matters.

“May I keep talking? There’s something important left.”

“Is it serious?”

“Somewhat serious. Ah, don’t misunderstand. It’s not dangerous. I was injected with an enhancer to offset the contraceptive components. Before I came home. So for a while we’ll have to, ahem, remember to use condoms.”

When I said the word condom, my voice broke, and I had to clear my throat. We had seen everything of each other, so there was nothing to be embarrassed about, but my cheeks still grew hot.

When I had sex with Baek Mugyeong before, we hadn’t been in a position to use condoms. Either I had manifested, or Baek Mugyeong had gone into rut, or afterward I had gone into heat. We had been too caught up in excitement to think of condoms.

Then, when I began to have sex with Baek Mugyeong regularly, we used them. But even then, when our eyes locked and we pounced on each other, we sometimes forgot. There were only a few times when we used a condom from start to finish.

After sex, I had taken contraceptive pills to prevent pregnancy. But since I had been injected with an enhancer, the pills might not work.

To prevent an unexpected pregnancy, condoms were now essential. Before that, we also had to restrain ourselves from rushing in recklessly when aroused.

“Using contraceptives and enhancers together will cause side effects.”

“That… I asked the doctor. He said as long as it’s not long-term, it’s fine. When I got the delay injection before, there was no problem either. And once the levels drop, there’s no reason to use the enhancer. So as long as we use condoms properly, it will be fine.”

Baek Mugyeong looked too serious, so I quickly added explanation. Unless acute, pheromone-related drug side effects usually appeared only with long-term use. It had only been once so far, so I wasn’t that worried.

Even so, Baek Mugyeong’s hardened expression did not ease. I couldn’t tell if he was angry or worried. Maybe both.

“Understood. I’ll be careful.”

“One more thing. This isn’t serious. I think Ms. Kim Juhyeon stole my wedding gift. No, she did steal it.”

Baek Mugyeong’s face began to grow serious again, so I quickly added explanation.

Before regression, I had suffered much because of Kim Juhyeon. So this time, I installed a motion-detecting home camera in the dressing room. At first, I checked the recordings diligently, but after making money with stocks and when Jeong Guhyeon was driven off to the US, I relaxed.

I hadn’t paid attention for a while, then last night I watched the backlog of footage. Kim Juhyeon was caught stealing from the dressing room.

It had been about ten days ago. She casually slipped into her pants pocket a cufflink and tie pin set case I had hidden in a corner.

Apart from the thrill of thinking, finally, Kim Juhyeon had dug her own grave, I worried over what to do with her. She could make the same excuse as before regression, that I had handed it to her myself, telling her to sell it.