#25

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It was 8:00 AM by the time he returned home from his flight. Feeling a fever rising in his body, Jung-hyun lay down in bed as soon as he finished showering.

It was the usual change-of-season cold he tended to suffer whenever the seasons shifted. Seeing as it felt a bit more severe than usual, it seemed this one would last a little longer.

It was likely the aftermath of doing something as ill-suited for him as serving as the representative of a sports team. Did he have any medicine at home? He thought he might have run out of everything.

He wondered if he should pull himself up to check, but he lacked any motivation. Since it was just a recurring bout of body aches anyway, he figured it would be fine to just leave it be.

He must have drifted off to sleep. The sound of continuous vibrations finally forced his heavy eyes open. Fumbling for his phone, he saw it was a call from his mother.

He snapped awake instantly. He cleared his throat a couple of times so it wouldn’t be too obvious that his voice was hoarse before pressing the call button.

“Yes, Mother.”

─Jung-hyun. Today is the day for your injection, right?

Was it already today? His sense of time had grown dull due to the jet lag and the fever. When he gave an affirmative answer, a bright voice came through.

─Right, 11 o’clock, right? I should head to the temple to pray around that time.

“Ah… that temple you’ve been attending lately?”

─Yes. This temple is truly wonderful, Jung-hyun. Do you know what the head monk told me yesterday? He said that thanks to me, the Buddha would be beaming with a wide smile. I should have prayed here long ago. If I had, our son would have manifested by now.

Jung-hyun paused for a moment before replying, “I suppose so.”

His mother had attended a cathedral for a very long time. She was a cradle Catholic. The point at which she began attending a temple was shortly after Jung-hyun had been sent off to study in the United States, almost as if he were being exiled.

She had fallen ill in her heart to the point of abandoning her faith because the son she had devoted her entire life to had failed to meet her expectations. At the time, his mother needed something to lean on.

That was why Jung-hyun was sincerely grateful, whether it was a temple, a cathedral, or a cult, as long as it brought some temporary stability to his mother’s mind.

─When you suddenly said you wanted to put together a sports team, your father and everyone around us were so worried.

His mother spoke as if she were humming a song, seemingly in a rare good mood.

─Do you know why I didn’t oppose it back then?

“No.”

─The head monk here told me. He said you absolutely had to take that representative position; only then would the things you want, and the things I want, be achieved. Do you remember? How the head monk informed us in advance during Ki-hyuk’s investigation last time?

“Ah…”

─And look at this. As if the Buddha had arranged it, there is a Dominant Alpha player on your team. I heard he even readily agreed to the pheromone extraction. He will truly be blessed. Please make sure to tell him that I am very grateful.

Jung-hyun gave a bitter smile.

He couldn’t possibly tell his mother, who lived only for her son, the truth: that the presence of a Dominant Alpha on that team was not the Buddha’s arrangement but the result of his own wretched obsession and filthy desire, and that the pheromone extraction had been flatly rejected.

“I will.”

─Right, Jung-hyun. Get your injection well today. And you, too, give thanks to the Buddha whenever you have a moment.

“Yes.”

With those words, his mother hung up. Jung-hyun exhaled a hot, feverish breath slowly and forced his reluctant body up.

The cycle for Kwon Jung-hyun’s visits to the pheromone clinic was once a week.

The sole reason Jung-hyun, a Beta, visited this place was to receive Alpha pheromone injections.

Upon arriving at the clinic, Jung-hyun exchanged a nod of greeting with a familiar employee at the reception desk.

“Hello. I have an 11 AM appointment.”

“Ah… you’re here.”

The employee, who always greeted him with a smile, looked somewhat dark. When there was no guidance even after he approached the desk, a puzzled Jung-hyun asked.

“Is there a problem?”

“…The lady is currently inside.”

“My mother?”

The employee nodded, her expression not very good. She had clearly said she was going to the temple. Why was she here? A bad premonition flashed through him. Jung-hyun headed in the direction the employee gestured.

Just then, a hysterical voice rang out through the hallway.

“Where does this woman get the nerve to talk back so unculturedly!? Do you know how much I pay this hospital?”

“I was only answering because you asked me…”

“This vulgar woman, really…!”

As soon as he turned the corner, he saw his mother’s back. Jung-hyun quickly called out to her.

“Mother.”

The face she turned back with looked exactly like a Yaksha.

Jung-hyun glanced at the dark-featured nurse standing before his mother and then turned his gaze back to her. First, he had to separate the employee from his mother.

“Didn’t you say you were going to the temple today?”

“The head monk wasn’t in today, so I came here. To see you.”

“You did the right thing. Shall we go outside and talk?”

Jung-hyun gently wrapped his arm around his mother’s shoulder and led her outside. After seating his mother in a quiet space, Jung-hyun offered her a cup of warm tea prepared for guests.

As if her anger had not yet subsided, his mother breathed heavily, yet she took a sip of the black tea Jung-hyun offered.

Waiting for her to calm down even slightly, Jung-hyun slowly spoke.

“What were you talking about?”

“No, Jung-hyun. I just wanted to check the pheromones my son is receiving, but that bitch insisted it wasn’t allowed.”

“Mother. You shouldn’t speak that way.”

“Do you think I’m the kind of person to do that to just anyone? It’s because that woman acted that way. Another nurse confirmed it, and she said what my son is receiving isn’t a dominant pheromone!”

Jung-hyun let out a small groan.

“…There must have been some mistake.”

“Yes. I’m sure. But that woman shamelessly insisted that there is no dominant pheromone coming in! For what reason did my son put together a sports team!”

Jung-hyun simply opened the lid of the sugar cube container in silence following his mother’s gesture. The sharp edges of the sugar cube dropped into the black tea crumbled bit by bit every time the teaspoon drew a circle.

After taking another sip of the tea where the sugar had completely dissolved, his mother let out a much more stable breath.

“Jung-hyun, now that you’re being called Representative, you should keep this in mind. When subordinates make a mistake, you must show them a clear example. Otherwise, they’ll see you as an easy target and climb over your head without end. That is the nature of the uneducated and vulgar.”

“…Yes. You’ve told me often. Even when my brother caused that assault incident on the plane.”

“Right. That time, too. Ki-hyuk was just too unlucky. He got caught up with some crazy person and even had to be investigated by the local police. It’s truly absurd. Whose money do they think their salaries come from? Uneducated brats.”

“….”

“My poor Jung-hyun. If only that hadn’t happened…”

His mother stroked Jung-hyun’s face with her small hand as if she felt pity for him. Habitually, Jung-hyun pulled up the corners of his mouth.

“I should contact Director Kim before I leave. How can Director Kim have such poor judgment in people? I should tell him to fire an employee like that immediately.”

“I’ll tell him. Please don’t worry about it anymore and go home to rest.”

“Right, shall I? No. Still, it’s better if I’m the one to say it.”

“I’m just worried you might collapse like last time, Mother.”

“…My kind son. Right, then I’ll leave first. You finish things up well.”

“Yes.”

Jung-hyun contacted the driver and escorted his mother out of the building. His mother returned to her benevolent and graceful face, smiling as she was seen off by Jung-hyun.

“Whew.”

Only after the car was completely out of sight did Jung-hyun return to the hospital building. He asked the reception staff and found where the employee from earlier was.

“You must have been very surprised because of my mother.”

The woman looked slightly surprised to see Jung-hyun.

“I should have apologized immediately, but I was flustered earlier. I’m sorry.”

The woman glanced up at Jung-hyun and cautiously spoke again.

“Um… earlier, you mentioned telling the Director…”

“Ah, you don’t need to worry about that. I’ll make sure nothing is reported.”

“…Yes. Then, shall I set up the one you usually receive today?”

“Please do.”

She nodded silently and began setting up the Alpha pheromones for administration.

“….”

Jung-hyun watched her for a moment and then let out a light sigh.

He felt sorry for the employee, but his first thought was that it was a relief his mother left with a smile.

His mother had changed at some point.

She wanted to be treated as the perfect mistress of Myeong-jeong, and she wanted to prove that by ignoring and trampling over people who had less than she did.

Yet, paradoxically, such behavior likely stemmed from the fact that she herself didn’t believe she was the true mistress of Myeong-jeong.

Because the social ascent she so desperately desired could only be achieved through a son who was an Alpha.

Therefore, the reason his mother had changed was entirely because he had ultimately failed to manifest as an Alpha.

“Please check the pheromone label.”

Snapping out of his thoughts at the employee’s words, Jung-hyun smiled—lifting only the corners of his mouth, his eyes not smiling, as was his habit.

This useless charade will finally end in a year.

Perhaps because it was something he had done his entire life, he felt a sense of bitterness rather than relief.

“Yes.”

“Starting the administration.”

The needle pierced in with a sharp sting. Jung-hyun slowly closed both eyes.

26 – Puck Drop