By Zephyria 
The hospital, reached after a 40-minute drive, was a general hospital operated by the wife of Jeong-min’s eldest brother, and it was famous for its active research on Alphas and Omegas and its top-tier medical facilities. Although Jeong-min was an internist here, he had recently been called to the Alpha department frequently.
“Young Master.”
At the sound of a woman’s voice—high-toned yet dignified—Jeong-min turned his head as he was leaving the consultation room. Sure enough, an elegant lady. That is, his sister-in-law, the owner of this hospital, was approaching Jeong-min with a bright smile.
“Sister-in-law. Hello. You look beautiful today as well.”
“Oh, my. You’re becoming quite the smooth talker, Young Master.”
“I suppose this is how I age.”
“Indeed. You are aging, Young Master. So hurry up and get married.”
“I’ll do it if there’s a good person. I’m already prepared.”
“Oh my. Then perhaps you’ll like the gift he has prepared for tomorrow?”
Hmm, so it is prepared.
“More than that, I think I’ll like the reason you called me more.”
“I can call you without any particular reason. Do I always need a purpose to call you?”
“Really?”
“Goodness, I really can’t beat you, Young Master. Here.”
She handed a document to Jeong-min. The document, written in French, contained the academic conference schedule and various related information. And that conference was the one Jeong-min had wanted to attend. While the theme of the conference was simply Alphas and Omegas, it would not be an exaggeration to say that all the research, history, and directions regarding Alphas and Omegas to date had their starting point at this conference.
In other words, a place where one could glimpse the future. The conditions for attending this conference were extremely strict, making it as difficult as plucking a star from the sky for those in Asia. Jeong-min had been trying for three years but had failed every time; this was his fourth attempt, and the invitation had finally arrived.
“I pulled a few strings.”
“Ha, Sister-in-law. Really… thank you so much.”
“Go and learn a lot. And be of some help to our hospital.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Jeong-min happily gripped the conference documents. There were still three months before departure, and he had to prepare documents and write a thesis that all attendees were required to submit, but an overwhelming sense of happiness washed over him. He felt so joyful that if someone were to propose to him now, he would accept immediately, even if it were an old grandfather. Of course, fortunately or not, there was no chance of an old grandfather proposing to Jeong-min.
After working busily for a long time and returning home exhausted, Jeong-min frowned upon seeing the car in front of his house.
It was the car of that young Alpha from yesterday. He thought it was serious. He worried that Yeong-min might have attracted a stalker. Feeling that he had to say something, Jeong-min parked his car in front of the main gate instead of in the garage.
When he knocked on the car window, the young Alpha stepped out hesitantly. He wondered if the man had been here all day, but that wasn’t the case. His clothes were different from what he wore yesterday—and this morning. He hadn’t noticed because the man was wearing a suit yesterday, but he seemed even younger than expected. He looked exactly like a college student.
“If you keep staying here, I will report you.”
As Jeong-min spoke firmly and only of the matter at hand, the young Alpha looked at him in surprise and then quickly turned his head away.
Look at this? No matter how much he had the same face as Yeong-min—actually, they were already very different—he wondered if there was a need to avoid him like this.
“I-I’m sorry.”
“If you’re sorry, it would be best to leave quickly. Or should I call Yeong-min for you?”
He must have been a one-night stand. If that were the case, Yeong-min wouldn’t even remember him and wouldn’t want to deal with him, so calling him out to be rejected would be the best thing for this pitiful young Alpha.
“Yeong-Yeong-min? …Who is that?”
The young Alpha’s words were unexpected. Jeong-min looked at him with a bewildered expression. He realized that this young brat also played around quite a bit.
“The person I brought home yesterday. The one who has the same face as me.”
Irritation flared up. Jeong-min took out a cigarette from his pocket and put it in his mouth.
“What? Same face… No. Absolutely not. To me, you are more! Ha-handsome.”
Before he could light it, the cigarette dropped from his mouth and rolled on the ground due to the young Alpha’s absurd words. Meanwhile, the young Alpha’s face had turned red as a carrot. He was so flushed that the color was clearly visible even though it was night.
“U-Um—this might be very embarrassing to hear, but it was love at first sight!! Please date me!!”
He had considered a proposal from an old grandfather… but he hadn’t even imagined a proposal from a young Alpha…? Jeong-min shrugged, thinking this was quite a new experience. He picked up the cigarette from the ground, dusted off the end, and put it back in his mouth.
After exhaling a puff of smoke, Jeong-min looked down at the young Alpha who had gathered the courage to speak and slowly released his Alpha pheromones. These were pheromones he had kept carefully tucked away and hidden. As Jeong-min’s pheromones became more apparent, the young Alpha’s face began to freeze like stone.
“You guessed wrong. I’m an Alpha…. Don’t I look exactly like an Alpha? My height is similar to yours. I’ve never been treated as an Omega anywhere, but I’m experiencing it today.”
The Omega was the brother he had brought in yesterday. After saying that much, Jeong-min took another deep drag of the cigarette and blew out the smoke. Under the streetlight, he looked like a quintessential Alpha, but there was something peculiar about him, and the young Alpha swallowed hard while looking at Jeong-min.
Was it too weak? Seeing the young Alpha’s eyes, which showed no sign of giving up, Jeong-min leaned his head down. The Alpha’s nose touched the tip of Jeong-min’s nose.
“If you want to be embraced by me, then think about it.”
“I-I… I’m sorry!”
The young Alpha fled in a panic and got into his car. Watching the car drive away, Jeong-min laughed and looked down at the ground. The alleyway where the car had departed quickly became silent. Jeong-min dropped his cigarette and leaned against the streetlight. Bad memories he had forgotten suddenly surged up and momentarily stirred in his mind.
“No. Let’s forget it. It’s completely unrelated.”
If there was even a small shred of a trigger, the sealed box of memories would rattle. And they were memories that were absolutely not pleasant. Just then, a text arrived. The Omega he had met yesterday sent a furious message asking when on earth they would set the next appointment. Thanks to that, his head cooled down. The rattling box of memories became quiet again. It seemed he really did need to settle down now. Jeong-min sighed deeply and sent a text to the Omega: ‘Let’s stop seeing each other now.’
✽✽✽
After that day, Jeong-min spent the night with many Omegas. In terms of numbers, it was likely more than the number of Alphas Shin Yeong-min had slept with. However, while Yeong-min spent his nights with Alphas boisterously, Jeong-min spent his quietly.
The reason he had so many relationships with Omegas was to do his best with his trait as an Alpha. Also, perhaps he thought he might actually meet the Omega who was his true match….
That was why he acted kindly toward the Omegas he met. They were beings who deserved to be loved, and as an Alpha, he was a being who should love them. However, he never felt any emotion beyond that. He was simply pretending.
“I heard you’ve been meeting Omegas lately, so I tried to hold onto hope… but seeing that no good news has come yet, it seems you aren’t in a deep relationship.”
His eldest brother, whose hair had turned white before he knew it, set down his coffee cup and spoke first. He had talked about other things throughout the meal, as if he had been waiting for this moment.
“Indeed, Young Master. It’s time you settled down.”
“It’s not as if you lack skill as a doctor, you work well, and your appearance is decent enough.”
“Honey. Young Master’s appearance isn’t just ‘decent’; he could give actors a run for their money. What are you talking about?”
The sisters-in-law and brothers each chimed in.
“You don’t have to flatter me so much. You’ve already chosen a partner, haven’t you?”
When Jeong-min asked with a smile, his eldest brother cleared his throat a couple of times.
“The second son of Heonjae Materials is a twenty-seven-year-old Omega… He has a great personality and is a doctor, so I thought he would be a good match for you.”
“Could it be Park Seong-jin?”
“How do you know that name?”
“I believe he is the doctor assigned to my department, starting next week.”
Ah… I wondered why an offer suddenly came out of nowhere, and this was why. If it’s Heonjae Materials, it would be helpful for the company’s business… there was nothing bad about it. He must have chosen the person after various calculations.
“I understand. I’ll do my best.”
At Jeong-min’s words, the whole family breathed a sigh of relief. Among them, his mother was naturally the happiest.
“Yes, Jeong-min. You need to find some stability now.”
Though he personally felt that he was at his most stable right now.
“Oh, did you young masters hear the news?”
Young-min and Jeong-min, who were diligently eating fruit beside them, looked at their second sister-in-law.
“What news?”
“The son of HAP Corporation. He was close with you two. Yu Shin-woo. Ah, right. The one who was even engaged to Young-min.”