By Zephyria 
Side Story 1
Sometimes, while walking down the street, he would stop at the beautiful song of a small bird and look up at the bird perched on a low branch. Seeing the small bird, which had been beautifully showing off to the world, look at him and stop singing before flying away into the sky, he thought: such a tiny, tiny creature was not a match for him.
✽✽✽
“Dr. Shin!”
At the cute voice characteristic of a child, Jeong-min turned around while walking. A young girl with her hair neatly braided ran up with a bright smile and hugged Jeong-min tightly.
“Akini, I told you that you shouldn’t run yet.”
“Ah! That’s right!”
A few months ago, this little girl had fallen into a pit and injured her leg while helping her mother work. Because it was a small village, there was no hospital, let alone proper medicine, and the child suffered for several days. When the villagers concluded that the leg had to be amputated, fortunately, the volunteer medical team, including Jeong-min, arrived in the village, and the injury could be treated with just a cast.
Since then, this little young lady would run and hug Jeong-min whenever she saw him, like a puppy.
“Are you on your way to the hospital?”
“Yes, you are too, right?”
“Yes! Let’s go together!”
“Want me to carry you?”
“I’m heavy.”
Jeong-min smiled and picked the child up in both arms. Heavy, indeed… Because she hadn’t been able to eat properly, despite being 10 years old, she had the build of a 7-year-old, and her weight was like a feather.
“The princess isn’t heavy.”
“Hehe.”
The child hugged Jeong-min tightly and waved toward his mother, who was leaving for work. The Omega woman, who looked somewhat old and thin for her age, repeatedly thanked Jeong-min as she walked away with a slight stagger. Watching her, Jeong-min felt pathetic for having come here with such a light heart.
He had volunteered for this position, viewing it merely as a stepping stone for his return. Until he arrived at this village called Oyu-gi, located in the middle of nowhere, he hadn’t realized how desolate it was. In this village, where there were no medical facilities and not even a single decent house, Omegas lived as nothing more than tools for bearing children—slaves.
Most Alphas left the village to work elsewhere, meaning they barely returned once a month. Even then, whatever they brought back as wages—hardly enough to feed a single family for a week—consisted of nothing more than coarse grains and root vegetables.
When Jeong-min first saw this, he was so shocked he couldn’t think straight. What was more shocking was that the Omegas and children viewed the Alphas with gratitude and revered them; on those nights, the entire village was filled with the moans of Omegas.
After observing for several months, he realized they only returned to the village during an Omega’s heat cycle or their own rut. Perhaps it was a blessing that they were all imprinted, so they didn’t mess around outside.
“Teacher, my father is coming soon.”
“Oh, really?”
“He said he’s bringing more potatoes and corn than last time. And he said he’d buy me clothes too!”
Akini had been wearing the same clothes for months. Even those were short and frayed at the sleeves and hems, looking as though they would tear at the slightest touch. Jeong-min wanted to give the child proper clothes before winter arrived, but since there was a limit to the supplies that could be brought in, urgent medical equipment had to take priority, and daily necessities were being pushed back day after day.
“I hope they’re pretty clothes.”
“Yes!”
Jeong-min stroked the child’s hair and hugged him tight. After walking for about 15 minutes, they arrived at the temporary clinic, which was simply five containers stacked and connected—hardly something that could be called a hospital. Nevertheless, three skilled doctors and five nurses had come together to treat the villagers.
Jeong-min dropped the child off with the orthopedic surgeon and entered his own consultation room. People complaining of abnormal symptoms were already waiting anxiously for him at the entrance.
“Did you carry Akini here again today?”
The nurse asked, looking at Jeong-min’s soiled clothes. Jeong-min smiled as he changed.
“Dr. Shin, you really do love children.”
“Haha, that’s not necessarily true.”
It was true. He had never properly hugged or played with his own cute, small nephews. Part of it was that he didn’t feel a strong bond with the children who looked exactly like Young-min, but honestly, he just didn’t know how to handle them, so he had only watched from a distance. Because of that, he felt his nephews found him difficult, making their relationship even more awkward. But thanks to Akini, he felt that once he returned to Korea, he could at least try starting a conversation with them.
“By the way, the suppressants should arrive tomorrow.”
“Sigh, thank goodness.”
“Seriously. I mean, what is with the Alphas here? Just how strong is their sperm…?”
The nurse trailed off, but since Jeong-min was thinking the exact same thing, he just laughed awkwardly. Whenever an Alpha visited once a month, the Omegas in their fertile period in this village invariably became pregnant. There was even an Omega who became pregnant again only three months after giving birth. In this village, Omegas’ bellies grew round almost daily, and eventually, their bodies broke down to the point where they could no longer conceive.
As a result, the average household had more than five children, and poverty only accelerated.
The Alphas, who should have taken responsibility, neglected their families under the pretext of earning money, while the Omegas bore all the burdens, breaking their backs raising children. Among the doctors who came, there was a psychiatrist who reported that almost every Omega complained of extreme pain and wanted to escape their current situation. Some even wished to have their wombs removed to prevent further heat cycles… But that was impossible. Due to the religious issues of this country, doing such a thing would inevitably lead to great disaster.
That was why they thought of suppressants. There were suppressants here, of course, but their effect was minimal, and contraception didn’t seem to work well. Because suppressants could only be used by minors, unmarried individuals, or couples who had already given birth once—this was a country with a dog-like law stating that suppressants could not be used from the time of marriage until a child was born—Jeong-min had asked Kim Ju-hwan for help after much deliberation, and he had readily agreed.
‘I can just get the money for the suppressants from Sunbae, right?’
He had added that line, sounding like a sly middle-aged man.
Regardless, there had been no contact from Kim Ju-hwan for two days. The guy, who usually called or texted to an annoying degree every day, had suddenly gone quiet. Jeong-min wondered if something had happened, but then thought, he’s not a child; he takes better care of himself than anyone, so why worry? However, as time passed, it started to bother him slightly.
He felt he should at least try calling Kim Ju-hwan after finishing work today.
“I’ll start the consultations.”
As soon as Jeong-min sat down, the nurse began bringing in patients one by one. Among them were quite a few elderly people or those with disabilities who needed help moving. Despite treating many patients during his three months here, the line of people waiting for treatment still seemed endless.
✽✽✽
“Please call the next patient.”
“Dr. Shin, please take a break.”
At the nurse’s words, Jeong-min checked his watch. It was already 3 PM. When did it get so late?
“You haven’t even had lunch.”
“A patient gave me something earlier, so I’m eating it now.”
When Jeong-min held up and shook a piece of dry bread, the nurse sighed.
“That is not lunch.”
“It’s fine.”
“You’re a real workaholic. I bet you heard that a lot in Korea too, didn’t you?”
“Haha.”
Jeong-min laughed awkwardly and took a bite of the hard bread. The nurse kept telling him that he couldn’t survive on just that, but there was no choice. This was truly the only thing available to eat here.
“Dr. Shin!!”
A voice calling Jeong-min was heard from outside. It was one of the doctors volunteering with him. Sensing an urgent situation, Jeong-min hurried outside.
“What’s going on, Dr. Park?”
“Look over there. Over there!”
Where he pointed, several trucks were speeding toward them, kicking up dust. There were more than five large trucks—the kind never seen in this neighborhood—visible right now.
“Are they coming here?”
“It looks like it.”
If trucks that large were coming here… there could only be one reason. The requested supplies. But even so, the scale was enormous. It couldn’t be just that. The amount should have fit in a 1-ton truck at most… Jeong-min stared at the trucks. The writing on the trucks didn’t look unfamiliar. Unconsciously, he furrowed his brow and tried to read the text clearly.
“Cal… Cal Front…”
Wondering if he had seen it wrong, he rubbed his eyes and looked again. Thanks to the trucks getting closer, he could see more clearly. It was indeed Cal Front.