By Zephyria 
“Ah, do you know where my phone is?”
At Jeong-min’s question, Kim Ju-hwan brought Jeong-min’s phone out from another room.
“Why was it in there? I never went into that room.”
“I had it charging.”
The phone had been off. Well, it made sense for the battery to have run out. As soon as Jeong-min took the phone, he pressed the power button. An overwhelming flood of messages and missed call notifications appeared immediately. They were all from Shin-woo. I’ve worried him again.
“I need to make a call.”
Jeong-min quickly stood up, went into the bedroom, closed the door, and pressed the call button. After only a few rings, Shin-woo answered.
─ Jeong-min!
“Ah, Hyung! I’m sorry. I didn’t realize my phone was off.”
─ I almost went to your house!!
That could have been a real disaster. On the other hand, he felt sorry. He felt like he was deceiving Shin-woo… and that he had caused him too much worry.
And yet, the fact that he enjoyed this kind of worry… made him feel sorry for him.
“Sorry, sorry. I fell into such a deep sleep…”
─ Sleeping is fine, but… please stay in touch. There were no messages all day yesterday… I thought you had abandoned me.
“How could that be? That will never happen.”
─ Then let’s meet right now.
“Huh? Now?”
─ Yes. It’s not impossible, is it?
“Of course not. All right. Hyung, decide on a place and text me. I’ll wash up quickly and head out.”
─ Okay. Let’s talk when we meet.
“Yeah.”
It seemed Shin-woo was quite angry. He would definitely ask what he had been doing yesterday; he needed to come up with a solid alibi.
“I’m going to wash up.”
“Yes.”
Jeong-min told Kim Ju-hwan and quickly entered the bathroom to wash his body. Fortunately, since he had washed before falling asleep, he wasn’t particularly dirty. The cleanup had already been done… and there were no marks on his body.
“Huh?”
When he came out after washing, a casual suit that looked like new clothes was hanging in front of the door. Surely, he didn’t hang this here for him to wear. No. It could be Kim Ju-hwan’s clothes.
Jeong-min came out wearing a robe and looked for his own clothes, but they were nowhere to be seen. He had no choice but to ask the owner of the house.
“Kim Ju-hwan.”
“Yes.”
He was still working on his laptop.
“Do you know where my clothes are?”
“Wear what I hung in front of the bathroom.”
“What?”
“I laundered your clothes, Sunbae. They were a mess, all wrinkled and stained with semen; were you planning to meet Yu Shin-woo Sunbae wearing those?”
That may be true, but… Jeong-min glanced at the clothes hanging by the bathroom. The style was one he usually wore, so it was actually quite good… but he wondered where the clothes came from.
“Does the size not fit?”
“Huh? No, no. I’ll wear them.”
Jeong-min closed the door and put on the prepared clothes. The size was a perfect fit. It was as if they had been prepared specifically for him. Could it be…
“Is this mine, by any chance?”
Jeong-min opened the door a crack and asked Kim Ju-hwan. Kim Ju-hwan said nothing. Seeing him pretend not to hear while continuing to work on his laptop, Jeong-min let out a deflated “Hah.”
They were mine. Thinking that made him feel slightly strange. To receive clothes as a gift from Kim Ju-hwan. Ah, come to think of it, he remembered receiving a gift at a party some time ago. He had forgotten because the memory of that time was so filthy.
Still, he should say thank you. Jeong-min absentmindedly stroked the fabric and stepped out of the room.
“Th-thank— huh?”
It happened then. The moment he stepped out of the room and into the living room, the strength left his legs, and Jeong-min collapsed onto the floor.
With a loud thud, Kim Ju-hwan, who had been looking only at his laptop, looked up at Jeong-min. He could see Jeong-min slumped on the floor beyond the sofa.
“Did you fall?”
“Uh…”
“Get up quickly.”
Kim Ju-hwan spoke nonchalantly, but then sensing something strange, he stood up. He approached the still-dazed Jeong-min and reached out his hand.
“Do you have a cramp in your leg?”
“Uh… no… it’s not that.”
“What’s wrong?”
It seemed Jeong-min couldn’t find the words. Kim Ju-hwan watched him silently, then withdrew his hand and lowered himself to Jeong-min’s level to look at him.
“What is it? Where is it strange?”
Looking at Jeong-min’s pale face, Kim Ju-hwan felt his own heart thumping.
“Shin Jeong-min. What is this?”
“Kim Ju-hwan.”
“Yes.”
“What do I do?”
“About what?”
“I can’t put any strength into my legs…”
“What?”
“I can’t stand up.”
Wondering what on earth he was talking about, Kim Ju-hwan grabbed Jeong-min’s arm and tried to pull him up. However, just as he said, Jeong-min only staggered, unable to maintain his balance like someone who had forgotten how to stand. No, he couldn’t even straighten his legs.
“Why, why is this happening?”
“Stay calm.”
Kim Ju-hwan grabbed Jeong-min’s shoulders. He calmed him down as Jeong-min seemed slightly panicked. Seeing Jeong-min’s hands begin to shake again, Kim Ju-hwan suspected it was related to the drug and quickly called the research institute. Not long after, an ambulance arrived and transported Jeong-min to the institute.
Researchers rushed over to examine Jeong-min’s condition. He could speak, think, and recognize people; everything was normal, but it seemed his body alone could not move properly.
Kim Ju-hwan clenched his fists and watched the entire examination process. The researchers asked what had happened the previous night, and both Ju-hwan and Jeong-min answered honestly.
As some time passed, the anxiety on Jeong-min’s face gradually faded into a sense of detachment. As if prepared to accept everything, he calmly complied with all the tests. And in less than three hours, the test results came out.
“Fortunately, it’s not paralysis. All nerves are normal. However… muscle mass is rapidly decreasing. At a very fast rate.”
Jeong-min sighed at the doctor’s words. It was a complex feeling. He was relieved it wasn’t immediate paralysis, but… for a human to lose muscle was ultimately as serious as paralysis.
“That’s why your body couldn’t accept it and moving has become difficult for a while. You’ll adapt soon. I’ll quickly prepare a related drug for you. We should be able to slow down the rate of loss to some extent.”
“Slow it down?”
Kim Ju-hwan frowned while looking at Kim Ari.
“Yes, for now, we can only slow it down. We can’t stop it. You must stop the administration of the drug.”
“Why are these symptoms appearing?”
“Because it’s one of the side effects. There is no clear cause. In fact, since the drug to slow it down is being manufactured in haste, other side effects may occur.”
“Hah… Researcher Kim, are you serious?”
“It’s okay. I was prepared.”
Jeong-min quickly intervened, feeling that Kim Ju-hwan was about to tear the researchers apart.
“I’ve even prepared myself to die, so this is… fine. Rather, I’m grateful that you’re manufacturing a new drug despite being busy. I wonder if I’ve caused too much trouble.”
When Jeong-min spoke with a smile, Kim Ari sighed.
“Mr. Shin. I’m sorry, but your current condition is not that good. Why don’t you stop now? To give you some discouraging news… your Alpha levels haven’t changed.”
I see. I’m still an Alpha.
Jeong-min felt a slight resentment toward heaven. But it couldn’t be helped. After heaven went through the trouble of shaping him as an Alpha, how could it find a child who wants to become an Omega endearing?
“It’s okay. I didn’t think it would happen that quickly. I don’t want to give up yet.”
“Understood.”
Kim Ari nodded and left the hospital room. Jeong-min tried wiggling his fingers. Fortunately, his hands moved more smoothly than before. Aside from the lack of strength in his body, his condition was otherwise okay.
“Ah, my muscle loss… I’m going to lose a lot of weight. The clothes you bought me probably won’t fit.”
“Muscles don’t develop well once you become an Omega anyway. And we can just buy new clothes.”
“Forget it. Why bother? What a waste.”
Jeong-min hummed a tune while looking at the ceiling. Just as Kim Ju-hwan was about to say something, feeling that Jeong-min was forcing himself to act okay, Jeong-min’s phone rang loudly. The sound startled Jeong-min. He was supposed to meet Shin-woo. As Jeong-min flailed his hand toward the phone, Kim Ju-hwan handed it to him.
“Ah, Hyung.”
─ Jeong-min! What on earth!!
“I’m sorry. Hyung, I was so sleepy that I fell asleep again.”
I’m sorry. I have no choice but to lie like this.
─ I’m in front of your house right now. Can you come out for a moment?
“Huh? Uh…”
─ Shin Jeong-min.
“Hyung.”
─ Where are you? Tell me honestly. Only then can I trust you. Only then can I continue to trust you in the future.
Jeong-min gripped the blanket tightly and told him where he was. Yu Shin-woo seemed surprised, but he soon calmly said he would come immediately and hung up. Jeong-min looked at Kim Ju-hwan.
“Kim Ju-hwan.”
“Yes.”
“Can I tell Hyung that I’m getting Omega injections?”
“Would Yu Shin-woo Sunbae accept it? This thing you’re doing?”
“I don’t know. But I think it’s a better option than continuing to lie.”
“…And what is it you want to ask of me?”
“How did you know?”
“Otherwise, you wouldn’t call my name and bring up this topic. Do I not know you, Sunbae?”
“I’m not going to tell him about sleeping with you. Not yet.”
“You want to keep the fact that we’re screwing each other a secret? Ha, so you intend to deceive Yu Shin-woo Sunbae.”
“There’s no guarantee this won’t happen a second time. Then I’d have to keep lying to Hyung… That’s why I think I should tell him. But… I don’t want to talk about sleeping with you. That doesn’t mean I plan to lie forever. I’ll tell him that when the time comes.”
“Do whatever you want. I don’t want Yu Shin-woo Sunbae to know about that part either. There’s nothing good for either of us if it’s discovered that we slept with an Alpha, right? Let’s just make the nuisance disappear for now.”
Kim Ju-hwan left the room, and only the ticking sound of an unfamiliar watch remained in the hospital room. Wondering what that sound was, Jeong-min lifted his wrist. The watch Kim Ju-hwan had fastened had become a part of him, quietly marking the passage of time.