PO 31

Woojeong was receiving a proper examination at the pheromone center for the first time. The only thing he had done before was a brief test when he was hospitalized as a child, so he felt nervous.

“What are you looking around for? Hurry and come.”

Lee Doyoung, who had gotten on the elevator, pressed the floor where the VIP ward was. When the door opened, a staff member who had been waiting in front stepped forward and greeted them politely.

The two of them were guided to a private consultation room. A wide space decorated luxuriously held a faint aroma scent. The staff member kindly explained the examination procedure and contents that would take place today.

Soon they began with basic blood collection, and then they underwent systematic and precise tests.

After all the examinations ended, the two of them rested briefly and then each had an individual consultation with their own doctor.

Woojeong’s doctor had a young and neat impression. He seemed used to dealing with VIP patients, and he greeted Woojeong with a manner that was both polite and friendly.

“Hello. I am your doctor, Kim Junghyun.”

“Yes, hello.”

The doctor, who gave his greeting kindly, carefully set down in front of Woojeong the test result sheet that had been organized neatly like a booklet.

“Since you said you haven’t had a separate examination after becoming an adult, this time I expanded the items a little and looked closely. The examination process wasn’t too hard for you, right?”

“Yes.”

“That is fortunate. The test results are overall good with no particular abnormality. But there are a few items that stand out, so may I ask you some questions related to that?”

There was no reason to refuse. When Woojeong nodded, Kim Junghyun smiled and continued.

“Thank you. First, if you look here at the sensitivity item, the level is quite high compared to the average. Excuse me, but is there someone you are seeing separately?”

“There isn’t.”

“Ah, I see. But it is a little rare for the sensitivity level to rise this much. Usually it appears when you have been exposed to a specific partner’s pheromone for a long period and repeatedly.” The doctor tilted his head, he was puzzled.

“If the level is high, does it become a problem?”

“When this level goes above a certain point, it becomes a little problematic in that you start to react sensitively only to one person’s pheromone. This is often called imprinting, have you ever heard of it?”

Woojeong had heard the word before. But it wasn’t easy for him to understand why his level had come out so high.

“Since you said there is no one you are seeing separately, it might be a temporary phenomenon. It will be good to check again at the next examination.”

The doctor explained step by step and smiled gently. Woojeong didn’t have anyone he was meeting.

But there had been one alpha with whom he could say he had been close.

He was a dominant alpha, and they met more often than expected, so maybe he had influenced him without his realizing it. Even if the level had only gone up temporarily, after hearing the word imprinting he couldn’t help but feel bothered.

“If the level goes up further here… what happens?”

“There can be cases where you cannot relieve your heat cycle except with a certain person’s pheromone, or where even medication cannot control it well.”

“What do I have to do so that it doesn’t become like that?” When he asked seriously, the doctor showed a briefly flustered expression, then chose his words carefully and answered.

“Ha ha. Well. That isn’t only a medical problem, so it is hard for me to say something definite. Depending on the situation, the outcome can change in many ways.” The doctor answered vaguely, and he added that it wasn’t to the point of needing medication, so he shouldn’t worry. He showed the test results and asked several questions, then after hearing Woojeong’s answers he carefully recorded something.

“If we organize like this, it should be enough. For now I will change your suppressant prescription. When you take the changed suppressant, you may have side effects at first, like nausea, headache, or fever. If you feel the side effects are too severe, please come back.”

After finishing the consultation with the doctor and coming outside, Lee Doyoung was waiting in the hallway. When Woojeong received his prescription, Doyoung, who had been standing aside, approached and asked.

“What did the doctor say?”

“There is nothing particularly wrong. He said the suppressant needs to be changed, so he wrote a prescription.”

“Suppressant?”

Lee Doyoung snatched the paper from Woojeong’s hand. He skimmed through the contents, then folded the paper and shook it.

“I have to get my own medicine anyway, so while I am at it, I will pick up yours too.”

“Let’s go together, hyung.”

“Forget it. I will get the medicine and go straight down to the underground parking lot. You should go out to the first floor and take the bus.” Lee Doyoung said he was late for his appointment, and he went to the elevator first. Woojeong, who was left alone in the hallway, rummaged through his pocket and took out the memo.

He had been wondering how he should make contact, but it was fortunate that Lee Doyoung said he would go first. Woojeong borrowed the nurse station phone and pressed the number written on the memo that Han Jaegang had given him.

“Yes, this is Joo Yeongmo.”

“Hello, Secretary Joo. This is Woojeong.”

“Ah, Lee Woojeong-ssi. I was waiting for your call. Where are you now?”

“I just finished the examination, so I am still in front of the consultation room.”

“I will come to meet you right away. Please wait a moment.”

•••

It was a clear sunny weekend morning. Woojeong didn’t realize that winter had retreated and spring was in full swing. The fresh scenery of the outer garden that was visible beyond the hallway window glass caught Woojeong’s gaze.

Han Jaegang had said he would be here. Woojeong opened the entrance and walked into the outer garden. The sunlight felt pleasantly warm.

He thought Han Jaegang would already be there, but no one could be seen in the garden.

Woojeong walked along the path that had been arranged like a trail toward the end of the garden. When he grabbed the glass railing and stood, an unobstructed sky spread wide before his eyes. When he breathed in deeply while looking far out, he felt the burden on his chest clear.

At the sound of an ambulance passing by, Woojeong lowered his head unconsciously and gazed down blankly. The people passing and the cars moving nonstop looked as small as toys.

He felt like if he reached out he could catch them, so he extended his hand carefully. But everything felt like an illusion that he couldn’t touch no matter what.

“If you lean out like that, a security guard might come.” Someone suddenly spoke to him. Woojeong, who had checked while walking that no one was around, turned in surprise.

“Step back. Come this way.”

Inside the flower bed, in a place Woojeong had not noticed, Han Jaegang was sitting. From the man’s lips who gave the brief instruction, white smoke drifted out slowly.

“……Hello.”

As he approached and gave a greeting, Woojeong trailed off. It was because of Han Jaegang’s appearance. A patient gown was visible through his cardigan m, and next to him stood a stand holding several IV bags.

Han Jaegang, in the appearance of someone hospitalized due to illness, smoked calmly and then pressed the shortened cigarette butt into a paper cup.

“Ha……”

When he tried to rise from his seat, he grabbed the IV stand and sat back on the bench. His brow twisted as he bowed his head.

He held his left chest and breathed slowly. The event at the Snow Reflection Residence suddenly came to his mind, but fortunately it didn’t seem as serious as that day.

Woojeong also didn’t panic like that time. It was because of the relief that came from being in a hospital where he could get help at any time.

“Are you alright? Should I call someone?”

The man shook his head, he didn’t look good. Because of that, he couldn’t control his pheromone.

Woojeong faltered at the pheromone wave that grew suffocatingly strong and then thinned so much that he could barely feel it.

Woojeong suddenly felt his heartbeat speed up and his breath become ragged. The doctor had said he reacted sensitively to a specific person’s pheromone. That specific person the doctor mentioned was sitting right in front of him now.

Even though his body reacted on its own to Han Jaegang’s pheromone, the strange relief he felt in this situation was something he couldn’t understand.

Fortunately the symptoms seemed to have calmed down, and Han Jaegang’s breathing returned to normal. Leaning back against the bench, he asked Woojeong in his usual voice.

“Did the examination go well?”

“Yes.”

“What did the doctor say?”

“He said there was no problem. Thank you.”

“There is no need to thank me that much.”

Han Jaegang answered indifferently, and he lifted the shopping bag beside the bench. He took out a new phone from a small box and pressed the power button.

“It was only an excuse to get you to come out of the house. I didn’t expect to meet you like this while being hospitalized.”

“What are you trying to say…?”

Woojeong deliberately pretended not to hear his words. His head grew complicated at the mention that he had tried to get him out of the house, but all he wanted now was to finish the conversation quickly.

Han Jaegang turned off the phone screen that he had been touching and held it out to Woojeong.

“Take it.”

“Why are you giving me this?”

“You still don’t have a phone.”

“I am fine. I have no reason to take this.”

“I am frustrated, so take it.”

He brushed back his hair, and he reached out and grabbed Woojeong’s wrist. The contact on his skin felt not just warm but hot.

Whenever he held his hand like this, something he couldn’t handle followed. Woojeong instinctively tried to pull his wrist free and put strength into it.

But despite the hospital gown he wore, the weighty strength in his grasp couldn’t be overcome.

In the end, Woojeong couldn’t pull free, and only a red mark remained on his wrist from his own effort.

Han Jaegang finally pushed the phone deep into Woojeong’s outer pocket as he wished.

“I already saved my number.”

Han Jaegang’s words ended abruptly. Just like that unfamiliar tone, his gaze and the atmosphere around him also felt different from before.

It felt as if the thin layer that surrounded him had been stripped away and another side of Han Jaegang had been revealed.

“Lee Woojeong.”

Woojeong tensed up at the low voice calling his name. Han Jaegang pulled Woojeong’s wrist and drew him closer to himself. With only one step between them, their eyes met.

“That day, you told me not to cross the line. Do you still think the same?”

“……”

“Have you ever regretted it?”

To say he had never regretted it would be a lie. After saying that to Han Jaegang, Woojeong had gone back and forth countless times between thinking he had done well and feeling regret.

“I don’t know.”

“Right. That can happen. But if you think about it, isn’t it an incredible coincidence? The fact that you and I first met, and the fact that you happen to be Lee Doyoung’s younger brother.”

Woojeong exhaled a trembling breath. He couldn’t even guess what Han Jaegang was trying to say. On top of that, it was hard to hide that his breath grew ragged because of the pheromone that grew denser and denser.

“At first I didn’t think it would become a problem. You must have been the same. But now we have reached the point where words like ‘don’t cross the line’ are coming out of your mouth.” Even while listening to these words, Woojeong wondered if he should be hearing them. When he tried to step back, Han Jaegang gripped his wrist.

“You drew the line at a certain point. Thanks to that, I also thought about it.”

It wasn’t true that he had been the one to draw the line first. Perhaps the one who had first crossed the line wasn’t Han Jaegang but Woojeong himself.

Just as he had unknowingly grown more sensitive to his pheromone, Woojeong had already come to carry him in his heart.

Only after he grew distant from him and spent countless sleepless nights did he realize that.

“Whatever the reason, it was my fault for being ambiguous with your brother…”

“Brother I mean, my brotherlikes you very much. You know that.”

Woojeong, who had kept his mouth shut all along, spoke urgently. The flutter of liking someone lasted only briefly, and every time he thought of Lee Doyoung, his chest felt crushed with pain. He was the family he had spent his whole life with, and Han Jaegang was his person.

“He likes you, Executive Director….”

He shouldn’t have harbored such feelings for Han Jaegang. The emotions that had made his heart race turned at some point into guilt and weighted heavily on his shoulders.

For Woojeong, this situation was too unbearable, and he only wanted to run away. As if nothing had happened, as if he had done nothing wrong.

“So, would you prefer that I just marry Lee Doyoung?”

“……”

Han Jaegang smiled and slowly rose. Looking down at Woojeong in silence, he lifted his hand and carefully brushed away the hair that had fallen over his forehead. Then he gently swept his thumb under his eyes.

“Even if you struggle to take care of Lee Doyoung with a face like this, it is useless. You won’t understand, but Lee Doyoung doesn’t want me with that kind of heart.”

“Executive Director….”

“Do you really need to go this far for Lee Doyoung? He wasn’t a very good brother to you anyway.”

“Even so, to me… he is family.”

“Family? That is too generous a word to use for people like that.” To make him focus on his words, Han Jaegang rubbed Woojeong’s wrist that he was holding and made him lift his head.

“I am sorry, but I cannot grant your request. I have to take responsibility for crossing the line.” Han Jaegang released Woojeong’s wrist that he had been holding tightly and put his hand in his cardigan pocket. He took something out and opened his palm in front of Woojeong’s eyes.

“How did you… Executive Director…”

What he held out was the keyring Woojeong had made himself at the workshop. He thought he had lost it at the whiskey bar, but how it ended up in his hand was impossible to know. Han Jaegang indifferently placed it into Woojeong’s hand.

“I am glad you seem to like it.”

When Woojeong grasped the keyring tightly in his hand, Han Jaegang exhaled leisurely and grabbed the IV stand.

“I won’t force you as I please. Think about it. And if you ever want to contact me, call me. Whenever that may be, don’t hesitate.”