By Zephyria 
“Ah, Doctor Jang.”
“Ah, I’m really sorry for interrupting your conversation. My apologies.”
The fellow doctor apologized to Shin-woo, saying it was an urgent matter and that he had called for Jeong-min. Considering the profession, it wasn’t an incomprehensible situation, so Shin-woo smiled and said it was fine.
“Is there an emergency?”
“No, no. That’s not it… by any chance, do you have ‘Tetton T’?”
‘Tetton T’ was a powdered suppressant for Alphas. Since Jeong-min always carried some for emergencies, he took it out of his pocket and asked for confirmation before giving it to his colleague.
“Ah, but didn’t you get your suppressant injection not long ago?”
Doctors with Alpha or Omega traits had to receive 12-month or 6-month suppressants. This was for the protection of the patients, but also to protect the doctors who encountered and experienced many trait pheromones.
Since the suppressant was in injection form, once administered, they would not be affected by other traits for 12 months. However, those who had imprinted on a partner wouldn’t be affected by pheromones anyway, so they didn’t need suppressants. If they needed to go through a rut or heat cycle for family planning, they could take a neutralizer in the middle to align that period for about a week.
Well, taking suppressants didn’t mean their sexual desire decreased, so they could still do everything. That’s why Jeong-min was able to have one-night stands and make arrangements with Park Seong-jin to align their rut and heat cycles.
“I did. But I’ve been staying up for the past few days, so maybe my immunity dropped… I feel like pheromones keep leaking out, and I’m not sure if it’s just temporary.”
Truly, the monk cannot shave his own head.
“That drug does depend a bit on your condition.”
And there is no such thing as a perfect drug in the world. Because every human body is different and varies depending on the situation, a single drug cannot account for everything.
“Right, so I’ll take this as a temporary measure, and if it’s still not okay, I’ll have to get a check-up.”
“Take this drug and check your pheromone levels within two hours. If it’s still not okay, you must go to the Alpha department immediately for an examination.”
When Jeong-min spoke firmly, the fellow doctor chuckled.
“Yes, Doctor.”
“I’m not joking. And since the drug might not be working for you, it’s best to report these symptoms.”
“Ugh, alright. I get it. You’re really a nag.”
The fellow doctor held out both hands, saying that enough was enough and to just give him the drug, and Jeong-min handed it over. After the colleague left the cafe, Jeong-min looked back at Shin-woo.
“Sorry, Hyung. Uh… Hyung?”
But once again, he couldn’t continue. Shin-woo’s complexion had turned pale.
“Hyung, are you sick?”
Shin-woo’s hands were trembling violently. He quickly pulled a mask from his pocket and put it on, but as if that weren’t enough, he covered his mouth with both hands and suddenly bolted upright from his seat. However, after taking only a couple of steps, he collapsed flat on the floor. The entire process felt like a nightmare to Jeong-min.
As if struck by lightning, he suddenly snapped awake. Blinking his eyes wide open, Yu Shin-woo looked around and let out a deep sigh at the familiar hospital scent.
“Why that face…”
Then he saw Jeong-min beside him, looking like he had seen a ghost.
“Shin-woo hyung…”
“How long was I out?”
“About 3 hours now…”
“Ha…”
Yu Shin-woo sighed and brushed back his hair. He wanted to get up, but his head was still foggy and dizzy, and his body wouldn’t move as he wished, so he had no choice but to remain lying down.
“I’m sorry for showing you such a pathetic side of me.”
“Hyung, what’s wrong? The professor you met earlier came by, but he only gave a prescription and didn’t say anything. He said he couldn’t talk about the patient unless it was the person themselves or their family. But…”
Jeong-min looked at the IV drip. At that gaze, Yu Shin-woo sighed. Indeed, if he knew the type of IV or the drug inside it, he would roughly know the situation. Since he was a doctor.
“It’s pheromone hypersensitivity.”
“What?”
“It’s like a pheromone allergy… or something. It’s more complicated than that, but if I encounter even a tiny bit of a pheromone that doesn’t match me, hypersensitivity occurs immediately. The symptoms are similar to an allergy… but since it’s a rare disease, it’s not well-known.”
Jeong-min’s hands trembled at what he had just heard.
“What are you talking about? You didn’t have anything like that, Hyung.”
“While attending university in the States, I participated in some drug trials being developed at a research institute.”
“What drug?”
Shin-woo smiled at Jeong-min’s question. Come to think of it, that was it. He… had said he would go to America to cure his ‘disease.’ Jeong-min’s hands shook.
“I told you. That wasn’t a disease. It was just an unavoidable force majeure! I told you!!”
Jeong-min bolted upright. The chair he knocked over rolled across the floor.
“I know… Still, I wanted to fix it.”
“Why!”
“Because I wanted to do what the person I love wanted.”
Jeong-min was speechless at Shin-woo’s words.
“But because I couldn’t do it… that was the most painful part.”
Because he knew that feeling better than anyone. He had wanted to become an Omega. He wanted to make him happy, but he couldn’t.
“Though I failed miserably.”
“Hyung…”
Jeong-min clenched his fists and looked at Shin-woo, then eventually lowered his head.
“I couldn’t handle the failure… and I acted weakly. I even turned to drugs. Thanks to that, I couldn’t even become a doctor.”
Yu Shin-woo slowly raised his hand. His hand was shaking incessantly.
“I have to take medication three times a day, and if I miss the timing, this happens.”
“Shin-woo hyung. Just… Hyung!”
Jeong-min sank to the floor and tightly gripped Shin-woo’s trembling hand. He prayed for the shaking to stop. Please… let him not be in pain anymore.
“I didn’t want to show you this side of me. Because in your memory, I must be a cool person. I hoped to remain that way… but even that was my greed. I’m sorry, Jeong-min.”
Don’t say things like that. Jeong-min wanted to say. But he couldn’t. Only tears fell.
After Yu Shin-woo finished his IV and was discharged, Jeong-min sat alone at a bar and drank. Should he have told him not to go back then? Should he have said he would go to America instead, so Hyung could stay here? Countless belated regrets washed over him. If he could only change the past, he felt he would do anything. Why was he so weak that he couldn’t save that one man he loved so much? Why…
✽✽✽
“My goodness, Jeong-hyun.”
A guest had come to the house. It was Yu Shin-woo’s mother. And behind her was Yu Shin-woo. He looked at Jeong-min and smiled bitterly. And fortunately, Young-min was not home.
The mother wept upon seeing her old friend, and since the two women seemed to have much to discuss, Jeong-min and Yu Shin-woo went up to the second floor, to Jeong-min’s room.
“It’s been a while. It’s exactly the same.”
Yu Shin-woo smiled as he spoke. He never thought the day would come when he would see him in his room again. The way he slowly looked around the room was just like before… and just like in the old days, Jeong-min gazed back at him.
“Where’s Young-min?”
Still the same. Asking about Young-min. Jeong-min let out a small laugh. It felt like he had returned to high school.
“He went on a trip. A trip to Europe.”
He probably went with some unknown Alpha, but Jeong-min didn’t mention that.
“That guy is still the same.”
Yu Shin-woo sat in the chair he always used to sit in whenever he entered this room.
“I guess so.”
“I heard you got divorced.”
Jeong-min nodded and sat in the opposite chair. Shin-woo smiled and reached out to stroke Jeong-min’s hair. Everything was truly exactly the same as in the old days. As if they had regressed in time.
“Don’t make that face. I don’t have any feelings left for Young-min now.”
Only then did Jeong-min lock eyes with Yu Shin-woo. Shin-woo began to speak seriously.
“After clashing and breaking so many times, I got exhausted. And once my body became like this… I woke up to the realization that my greed was ruining me and the people around me. It was hard… but now I have no thoughts. That’s why I was able to return to Korea.”
“…Is your body… okay?”
Only then could Jeong-min ask after Shin-woo’s well-being. After that day at the hospital, Jeong-min hadn’t been able to contact Shin-woo. Everything was just too sad, hard… and scary. He felt a sense of helplessness because he could do nothing, and his heart was too heavy.
From the next day, clutching his head which felt like it would split from a hangover, he collected all the information in the world regarding pheromone hypersensitivity. And after researching for several days, the result was nothing but ‘despair.’ Because it was such a rare case and as long as one possessed a trait, pheromone hypersensitivity was practically a death sentence.