By Zephyria 
Is he talking about my current situation?
The man’s emotions becoming volatile and my body suddenly feeling unwell should have absolutely nothing to do with each other, yet the man spoke as if they were deeply connected.
Is he saying he intended this? Did he grab and hit me with something invisible? Was he some kind of psychic?
Unable to close my mouth in shock, I could only let my eyes dart around. The man reached out and lightly brushed away a stray lock of hair falling over my forehead.
“So, if you knew how fucking miserable it feels, you’d stop leaking pheromones like a cheap Omega and manage yourself better. Don’t regret it after something terrible happens to you.”
It sounded like a mix of a warning and a threat, but I couldn’t make head or tail of what he meant.
It was clear the man had done something to me for a reason I didn’t understand, but since I didn’t know what he had done, I couldn’t exactly demand an explanation.
The man strode away, leaving the smoking area, and I could only stare at his retreating back with a stunned expression.
“Are you alright?”
As I finally composed myself and staggered out of the smoking area, the security guards standing near the entrance approached and asked. It seemed my condition didn’t look great to them either.
“I’m… not feeling very well. Here, your cigarette.”
I replied in a trembling voice, returning the remaining cigarette to its owner.
“Smoking is not good for a patient. And the night breeze is getting colder.”
“Yes, yes.”
That wasn’t exactly the reason, but since the actual cause was a phenomenon I couldn’t even understand myself, I just nodded vaguely.
∞ ∞ ∞
“Today’s session will focus on the patient getting to know himself. Please do not get agitated, and the guardian must not get angry about things the patient cannot remember. You must keep in mind that the patient’s memory is currently incomplete.”
The consultation began with the man, the doctor, and me sitting in a triangle. The man still looked displeased and dissatisfied with the situation, but he seemed to be suppressing his irritation in accordance with the doctor’s request.
“First, please tell the guardian what you know and remember about yourself. Then, the patient may ask the guardian any questions he has. The guardian must answer the patient’s questions as kindly and detailedly as possible.”
Kindly and detailedly. Very favorable terms. I nodded with satisfaction, and the man’s face crumpled even further.
“Hmm, first, my name is Cha Soo-kyung, and my blood type is A. My emotions were swinging wildly like a crazy person. My personality was fucking timid. My family tried to force me into a marriage, and I was terrified and hated it. But I was so fucking stifled that I couldn’t even say I hated it. I tried to commit suicide, but it failed. I have two Hyungs; there’s an age gap, we don’t seem to get along, and both of them have shitty personalities. Something like that?”
“So you staged a suicide show just because you didn’t want to get married?”
“Look here. A person almost died, and you call it a show? Is that any way to talk?”
“Now, please calm down. Still, the patient remembers more than expected. This is a very good start.”
The doctor was positive and hopeful today as well. It’s nice to live life with that kind of attitude. Though it’s infuriating for the people around them.
“Before we continue the conversation, there is something we must do first. We need to establish a respectful attitude and organize how you address each other. The guardian must call the patient by his name when speaking, and the patient must use an appropriate title for the guardian. Since you are family, it is not right to address each other like strangers.”
The man nodded with a frown, and I pondered for a moment, unsure of what to call him.
“You said you gave birth to me, right? This is driving me crazy. Fine, I guess that’s possible if you’re an Omega. I can’t wrap my head around it, but whatever. Then what should I call you? What did I used to call you? Mom? Mother?”
“Father!”
“If you’re Father, is the other parent—the hospital director—Mother? If you’re an Omega, the director must be the Alpha.”
“The director is also Father. And I’m begging you, can’t you stop with the casual speech? You need to fix that low-class way of talking first.”
“I’ll fix my tone in due time, so mind your own business. If you’re both Father, how am I supposed to tell you apart?”
“We are both parents, so what is there to distinguish? That is an incomprehensible question.”
“This is hard. So hard. Fine, Father. Then tell me about my beloved family. Who lives with me? I need to know who I’ll be facing if I go home right now.”
“Go where? You’re staying in the hospital until you return to your right mind.”
“What are you talking about? Are you saying I’m crazy? I lost my memories. How does a hospital fix that? Right, Doctor? You say something. Tell this stifling man who calls himself Father.”
The doctor, caught in the middle of the war of words between the man and me, could only struggle, unable to find a gap to intervene. Finally catching a timing after my prompt, the doctor cleared his throat.
“Looking at the chart, the patient has no external or internal injuries. If the only problem is unstable memory, as the patient says, returning home and being discharged would be more helpful for the patient’s current recovery.”
“I can’t take him home in this wild, unrefined state. What would the director say if he saw him? Just thinking about what the employees would whisper about gives me a headache.”
The man practically screamed at the doctor’s words. Forget the employees; the man’s voice alone was about to give me a headache.
“What a lovely family. He’s not worried about his son who lost his memory, only about the eyes of the employees? Since the father who birthed me is like this, I can imagine what the other family members are like. Yes, I can imagine it very clearly.”
“Please, for the love of god, can’t you do something about that tone!”
“Stop, stop. Such emotional attitudes are not helpful to the situation at all. What did I say? I told you to call the patient by his name first. And it would be better if the patient showed a more respectful attitude when speaking to the guardian.”
In this situation, attitude isn’t the problem at all. The doctor seemed to ignore the fact that an outward appearance different from one’s inner thoughts is meaningless. Just because I show a respectful attitude on the outside while swearing like a sailor on the inside doesn’t mean we actually have a respectful relationship.
“Soo-kyung. You need to stay at the hospital.”
“Father, I think I should be discharged.”
See? Just because we use names and call him Father doesn’t mean a conversation is happening. We’re making completely different claims and the gap isn’t closing at all, so what does the title matter? The titles were helping nothing.
“Father, hurry up and tell me about the family relations. Unless you really want to see me act like a wild animal once I get home.”
At the threatening tone, the man clutched his head with a groan.
“The father who birthed me seems to be unemployed, and the other father is a great hospital director. What are my Hyungs doing? Do they work at a company? Are they married?”
“Do I have to answer these questions right now?”
“Of course. Now, please answer the patient as kindly and detailedly as possible.”
The man turned toward the doctor as if he didn’t want to speak with me, and the doctor nodded with a quiet smile. The doctor seemed satisfied that the situation appeared, on the surface, to have calmed down.
“This is private. I do not wish to discuss my family matters in the presence of a third party.”
“But I am the doctor in charge of the patient. I can guarantee that whatever you say here will not leak out.”
Since the doctor went that far, the man seemed to have run out of excuses. He hesitated for a moment before reluctantly speaking.
“…Before other things, I must tell you that your grandfather is still with us. You don’t live together, but you’ll visit him once a month for a meal. He is the chairman of Hosan Hospital; he is a strict man, so if you show this kind of attitude, you’ll be dealt with severely. Your other father is the director of Hosan Hospital, and I… I am not unemployed as you think, but I run an art gallery. I don’t know if you saw the works exhibited in the hospital lobby, but our gallery rotates those exhibitions.”
“Wow, Grandfather is still alive. Rich old folks really do have long lifespans. Since he runs a hospital, he probably won’t die of illness. He’ll probably live until he’s shitting his pants.”
“Cha Soo-kyung!”
At my mutter, the man’s face turned pale and he shouted.
“What’s the big deal? It’s not like I’m insulting someone here. Fine, fine. Then besides Grandfather, are the two parents the only ones living at home?”