By Zephyria 
“Director, you know where the venue is. It’s supposed to be a press conference, but it’s wide open on all sides.”
His aides were alarmed and tried to dissuade Seo Baek-han. Knowing his temper, they couldn’t dare to do anything directly, just circled around him anxiously.
He understood their apprehension. The press conference venue Joo Tae-hyun’s side had notified them of was in front of the Pyongyang Grand Ferris Wheel. To be precise, it was one of the parking lots at the entrance, but it certainly wasn’t a safe place.
Seo Baek-han didn’t show it, but he couldn’t understand what Joo Guk-won was thinking, allowing a press conference in such a location. There’s a limit to being indulgent; how could he let a child have his way with something like this?
“It hasn’t been long since that unfortunate incident. Director, you should refrain from-.”
“Precisely because it was right after that ‘unfortunate incident,’ the guys targeting me or Joo Tae-hyun will find it difficult to act rashly. And because it’s wide open, it’ll be hard for any attacker to hide.”
“Director!”
“It’s not like I’m deliberately trying to get stabbed; why are you all making such a fuss?”
If something similar to the last attack were to happen again, he was willing to endure it as long as his life wasn’t in danger. Who would dare to say anything bad about him if he got stabbed again?
Since the press conference was being broadcast live, Joo Tae-hyun’s calm response would also be revealed without filtering. There wouldn’t be any more of that nonsense about him hiding behind him or not even flinching while watching him get stabbed. And Joo Tae-hyun wouldn’t be able to bring up divorce for a while after seeing him get stabbed either.
…Come to think of it, I have nothing to lose, do I? Maybe I should have used someone on my side this time.
“Director, just a moment! Just a moment, please!”
Seo Baek-han ignored them and strode out of the hospital room. Secretary Nam and Chief Hwang were standing right by the door, even though there were benches for waiting. As if ready to carry out Seo Baek-han’s orders without any delay.
A faint smile touched Seo Baek-han’s lips. Even amidst all the bullshit, he was satisfied with how his people handled themselves.
“Secretary Nam, where’s the car?”
“I’ll escort you, sir. Let’s head to the parking lot.”
It seemed he knew the destination without being asked. Or perhaps he had overheard the argument in the hospital room. Either way, Secretary Nam didn’t add unnecessary comments like his father’s aides and moved quickly.
“Chief Hwang, get rid of my father’s people appropriately. I know they’ll follow along under the guise of security, and I won’t stop them, but I don’t have the patience to put up with them getting in my way like this.”
“Yes, Director.”
When Seo Baek-han, who seemed to be quietly holed up in his hospital room, moved so decisively, his aides looked momentarily bewildered, then glanced back and forth between Seo Baek-han and Chief Hwang.
Leaving Chief Hwang to deal with the aides who were about to start their futile nagging, Seo Baek-han gestured to Secretary Nam.
As they rode the elevator to the parking lot, his phone rang incessantly. It was probably his father. He cleanly ignored it and got into the back seat, and as if waiting for it, a long, massive panel lowered to eye level.
Seo Baek-han crossed his arms and played any news channel, and Secretary Nam silently drove the car.
『Furthermore, there are continuous testimonies that Joo Tae-hyun was quite negligent in his studies.』
A shrill voice grated on Seo Baek-han’s nerves. Of all the channels he could have chosen, it had to be a broadcasting station that wasn’t very favorable to the DH Group and Joo Tae-hyun.
“…Secretary Nam. Since when have the Royal Guard been in charge of security for the entire hospital?”
“Pardon? The Royal Guard… Oh, could those people be members of the Royal Guard? I didn’t realize because they were wearing suits.”
Only after exiting the parking lot did Seo Baek-han realize how absent-minded he had been. Since Joo Tae-hyun was holding a press conference, there should have been annoying people following him. But Seo Baek-han hadn’t been disturbed by anyone from the hospital room to the parking lot.
This was because the Royal Guard of Lotus Flower Palace were waiting in a place where reporters would likely be stationed. Although they weren’t wearing traditional Royal Guard attire, he recognized several familiar faces. It was Prince Lee’s consideration.
“I apologize. Assemblyman Seo sent a large number of aides and security personnel, so I assumed they were from that side.”
“No, it seems Second Prince took advantage of that to quietly send people like this.”
He felt he should offer his thanks now, so he reached for the phone in his pocket, but the news screen suddenly became noisy.
『We’ll connect to the press conference site. Reporter Park Min-hee?』
『Yes, this is Reporter Park Min-hee. This is the parking lot near the Pyongyang Grand Ferris Wheel, where Joo Tae-hyun has announced he will hold a press conference.』
Here he comes, here he comes! The microphone volume was turned up so high that even the reporters’ murmurs were being transmitted clearly through the camera. He could sense a persistent and malicious intent to not miss even Joo Tae-hyun’s breathing.
『Mr. Joo Tae-hyun! Look over here! Mr. Joo Tae-hyun!』
With a burst of blinding white flashes, Joo Tae-hyun appeared.
The bright white light filled the screen and flickered repeatedly. He was curious what kind of face Joo Tae-hyun would make, how he would lead a show he had never done before, but he couldn’t even see his face for the time being.
…I know all the media outlets are out for Joo Tae-hyun’s blood, but still. Was it really necessary to use this many flashes?
“Oh, Director! Suddenly the navigation system…”
“Yes, this screen is also down. Let’s wait a moment.”
Were the Royal Guard of Lotus Flower Palace sending out jamming signals? The screen only came back on after a brief stutter, probably due to poor communication.
“What is he doing now…”
Secretary Nam carefully asked what was wrong at Seo Baek-han’s frosty tone.
“We have our people waiting at the scene, right?”
“Yes, we do.”
“Please find out what just happened to Joo Tae-hyun.”
“Ah, yes. Then just a moment…”
The partition separating the front and back seats came down. Only then did Seo Baek-han let out a long, curse-like sigh.
『Everyone, please calm down and maintain order!』
『Camera on the left in row C! Yes, stay behind the line there!』
Joo Tae-hyun, standing near the makeshift platform, had been hit by an egg someone had thrown, and his shoulder and arm were a mess. He was wiping his face with a handkerchief, so it seemed he had been hit in several places.
Joo Tae-hyun, was this the best DH could do? What was Joo Guk-won doing while all this was happening? To display Joo Tae-hyun getting undeservedly cursed and pelted with raw eggs in front of everyone, is this what they call taking care of it?
『Hello, this is Joo Tae-hyun. First of all, I sincerely apologize for causing concern.』
As Joo Tae-hyun bowed deeply, the viscous liquid from the egg clinging to his suit slid down. Without realizing it, his empty fist clenched tightly.
If they were trying to evoke cheap sympathy in such a way, the DH Group’s PR team should all be fired. What era is this?
Joo Tae-hyun was someone who would be standing in front of the public endlessly in the future. The photos and videos taken now would become a meme and be ridiculed forever.
Above all, it wasn’t good for him either that Joo Tae-hyun was being treated like this. Joo Tae-hyun’s spouse was Seo Baek-han. Even now, articles with titles that included his name alongside photos of Joo Tae-hyun covered in eggs were probably popping up like mushrooms.
Yes, because I’m Joo Tae-hyun’s spouse.
If people treat Joo Tae-hyun insignificantly, it’s the same as disrespecting me.
That was how Seo Baek-han defined his state, where he kept losing his reason and feeling rage building up. The fact that Joo Tae-hyun’s expressionless face on the platform, the long curve of his eyes, kept pricking at his heart, must be for the same reason.
『However, there are many inaccuracies in the reported content, so I have inevitably arranged this meeting to clarify them.』
Jeers immediately followed, but Joo Tae-hyun remained calm.
Come to think of it, Joo Guk-won, the DH Group’s legal team, and the lawyer Chairman Joo kept by his side were nowhere to be seen. Only Joo Tae-hyun stood silently amidst the pouring camera flashes and people’s jeers.
It was truly a tacky production that Seo Baek-han hated. He would never entrust work to the DH Group’s PR team again.
『This is a pregnancy test kit for Omegas. As you can see, it’s a new product that hasn’t even been opened. The reason I’m suddenly showing you this is…』
As the reporters’ murmurs grew louder, the security personnel waiting in the camera’s blind spots jumped out and restrained the commotion. Seo Baek-han tossed the annoyingly ringing phone onto the seat next to him and stared only at Joo Tae-hyun on the screen.
─ Director. I’ve notified our people that you’re expected to arrive. The news will be delivered to the reporters on the scene soon.
Secretary Nam conveyed the situation through the intercom installed in the partition.
─ Also, the call keeps getting cut off, probably because there are too many people-.
『I am an Omega, and I am currently pregnant. Of course, the child is my spouse, Director Seo Baek-han of Royal Hospital.』
“…What?”
Just then, the car stopped abruptly. The light must have changed.
─ …….
Secretary Nam, who must have been playing the news in the driver’s seat, didn’t say anything either. Only the unique white noise that could be heard when the intercom was on filled the car.
『Mr. Joo Tae-hyun! Is that true?』
『Are you saying you’ve been hiding your secondary sex characteristics until now?』
The scene was silent for a moment, as if everyone was surprised, but then it became chaotic as if a torrent had been unleashed. People started barking like a pack of dogs to the point that even the bodyguards couldn’t control them.
Only Joo Tae-hyun remained calm amidst all this commotion.
『My levels have been very unstable since I was seriously ill as a child, and as a result, my secondary sex characteristics have even changed. The reason I haven’t said anything until now is that specialists still haven’t been able to definitively conclude what is causing this phenomenon. I will arrange an opportunity to explain this in detail later. Today… my priority is to clarify the absurd rumors surrounding me.』
It was the first time.
A piercing, irritating ringing kept circling his ears.
Joo Tae-hyun is what, doing?
Having a child…?
『This Omega pregnancy test kit is a method that allows for a simple blood test… Yes, it shows two lines. It’s true that I’m pregnant. It’s still very early.』
Silence fell over the press conference, and Joo Tae-hyun held up the test kit and showed it to the camera as he continued to speak. Without the slightest bit of nervousness, as if he had done this dozens of times, very skillfully.
『I know that Switch is a drug to help facilitate smooth sexual relations between those of the same secondary sex characteristics. However, since my secondary sex characteristics have been gradually changing to Omega since I suffered a severe fever of heat as a child, there is no need for me to take drugs like Switch separately. My condition is so rare worldwide that my doctors are constantly anxious, so there is no reason to add variables by taking drugs that have not been approved in Korea.』
『Just a moment! Mr. Joo Tae-hyun, but what about the drug and affair allegations…!』
『Does that make sense? Then what about the fact that you submitted the results of your secondary sex characteristics test to various organizations during the last clarification?』
『Mr. Joo Tae-hyun, please show us the test kit over here too!』
『Okay, everyone, please keep order!』
Flashes burst as they had when he first stood there. Yet Joo Tae-hyun didn’t even blink and accepted all the violent light pouring down on him.
In that parking lot where he had buried his face in the gown he used to wear. Joo Tae-hyun was rattling off lies that even shocked him.
『It’s already well known that I was seriously ill as a child, and that I have occasionally collapsed in front of people for unknown reasons, so you can check that separately.』
Yes, it’s a lie.
He knew better than anyone that Joo Tae-hyun was an Alpha, an undeniable Alpha until he touched the Dirty Switch he had given him.
Not only the various tests he had done before and after the wedding, but his own senses as an Alpha shouted that it was true. Senses and instincts. It was absurd that he had to rely on such things, not even accurate figures, but there was no more certain evidence than this.
When he encountered him at the age of twenty, when they lived in the same house and even mingled their bodies, his secondary sex characteristics engraved in every cell shouted. That this unpleasant Pheromone belonged to another Alpha. That Joo Tae-hyun was a fellow Alpha whom he had never even considered as a spouse.
『The drug and affair allegations… I am extremely dismayed that I even have to clarify such malicious and flimsy fabrications. I will be tested for drug use immediately and announce the results, so please wait. The affair allegations… I’m really embarrassed that I even have to explain things like this one by one. How does the fact that people come and go from my house, that I spend leisure time with close friends, become evidence of an affair?』
He had tried hard to hold it in, but it must not have been easy, as Joo Tae-hyun let out a hollow laugh. Perhaps even that action was a pre-arranged matter…
『This isn’t the first time I’ve heard such rumors, and they’re such absurd speculations that I’ve always tried to ignore them as I’ve always done, but as the situation has grown, it’s become difficult for me to endure, so I’ve inevitably arranged this meeting today. Of course, regardless of my own unfairness, I sincerely apologize to everyone who has felt fatigued by the unpleasant topics day after day.』
His short nails, unable to withstand the constant force on his tightly clenched fist, cracked with an unpleasant sound.
In any case, the Joo Tae-hyun standing on the platform now was not the Joo Tae-hyun that Seo Baek-han knew. It was a familiar expressionless face, a familiar low voice, but not that kid whose insides he could read so easily.
『I am also sorry to my spouse, Director Seo Baek-han of Royal Hospital, who has been troubled by me.』
With that, Joo Tae-hyun bowed deeply once again. The raw egg that had stained his suit was now flowing down his sleeves and dripping.
『I’m not trying to appeal to emotions. However, I am very tired of this repeated situation… and I don’t want to cause any more trouble to those around me.』
So, Joo Tae-hyun bit his lip for a moment.
It was a bad habit that Seo Baek-han hated so much and had told him countless times to fix.
『Therefore, I plan to take a break from my graduate school classes, as well as various group activities including Guardian Lion, and also…』
Perhaps he sensed that it was an important moment. The camera zoomed in on Joo Tae-hyun’s face. Thanks to that, every time he bit his lip, the small mole on his lower lip repeatedly appeared and disappeared.
“He’s not listening again.”
Why is he showing that face in front of the camera? Just as he was about to blurt out the words without realizing it.
『I want to divorce, because I don’t want to cause any more trouble to Baek-han Hyung, whom I love so much.』
Unbelievable words flowed from Joo Tae-hyun’s mouth.