And then, at fifteen, in the summer.
“Hey, Noona. Doesn’t my hair look a little weird today?”
“No? It looks nice, why?”
Joo Tae-hyun had a rare opportunity to run into Seo Baek-han.
Today was the founding day of the 〈Haechi〉, a gathering of descendants of independence activists that he had mentioned before.
Although a specific member of the Imperial Family was at the center, 〈Haechi〉 received broad support from all walks of life even before its founding, perhaps because of the cause of ‘descendants of independence activists.’ DH Group also showed its support by donating a large sum of money. The amount was so large that Second Prince even called the main family directly and sent a handwritten letter. It was only natural that he and the Crown Prince would become irrevocably estranged.
In fact, it was a result that had been foreseen since Joo Tae-hyun was born. As long as their beloved youngest son was an Alpha, they were destined to be at odds with the Crown Prince, who would be furious at anyone with a Trait/Phenotype. His parents and other family members probably calculated that it would be more comfortable to support Second Prince wholeheartedly.
Well… Joo Tae-hyun didn’t know the detailed internal affairs. No, even if he did, he chose to pretend not to know. It wasn’t his place to interfere.
His parents were capable enough that there was no need to feel sorry for narrowing their options because of his Trait. If they had judged that the Crown Prince was better, they would have followed him regardless. Joo Tae-hyun trusted his family’s judgment and was grateful for their love. Because they actually thought that was enough.
In addition to this, a small gain was that Seo Baek-han had also called him.
‘He… hello?’
He stared at the name on the screen, unable to believe it, and answered hesitantly. Seo Baek-han chuckled softly, asking why he was so surprised.
‘By the way, do you know that you’re the youngest high-value donor?’
His voice, which Joo Tae-hyun couldn’t tell if he was teasing or admiring, was much lower than Joo Tae-hyun remembered. Perhaps due to the time difference, his voice cracked slightly at the end whenever he laughed. It was like, a distinctly adult male voice… Joo Tae-hyun couldn’t keep his fingers still throughout the short call with him. He had only talked to Seo Baek-han, but he felt like he was doing something wrong.
Was it because they had always exchanged short conversations with smiling emoticons? Perhaps the disconnect made Seo Baek-han’s actual voice even harder to get used to.
…Maybe that was why. After hanging up, his heart raced for no reason, and he couldn’t fall asleep.
“I think my hair is a little weird… It looks too flat.”
“No, you have a pretty head shape and distinct features, so that hairstyle suits you well. But why is our baby acting like this all of a sudden?”
Joo Yun-woo glanced at Joo Tae-hyun with a puzzled look, and her eyes suddenly curved slyly.
“Why, is your baby’s crush coming today?”
“N-No? I just… I just thought there would be a lot of pictures taken…”
“Ah.”
Joo Yun-woo bit her lip, remembering the time a few years ago when someone took a picture of Joo Tae-hyun and it became a big meme on the internet.
“Oh… but baby, Second Prince His Highness is coming anyway, so everyone will be flocking to him. Don’t worry too much. And you look really pretty today.”
“…Okay. Thank you, Noona.”
“Okay, did you read all the Trait information?”
“Of course.”
“Since Second Prince His Highness is coming, there will be more Trait than ever before. You need to be even more careful.”
“Okay.”
Although still only fifteen, Joo Tae-hyun, who was in high school, had taken a class called 〈Trait Sex Education for High School Students〉.
Nothing had changed much compared to what he already knew, but there were some added concepts. It felt like he was experiencing the same sense of déjà vu and betrayal as when he was told in math class that there were only positive integers, but then he found out there were fractions and negative numbers too!
Joo Tae-hyun took out his phone and quickly scanned the summarized document.
〈Trait Sex Education for High School Students〉
– Concept Summary –
● The Pheromone scent of a Trait who has gone through puberty may change from before.
A Trait who has been steadily taking Suppressants since childhood can choose the concentration of the medication themselves when they reach their heat or rut cycle after becoming a legal adult.
At this time, if they have sexual relations with a partner, their Pheromone scent may change slightly depending on the person and the medication they are taking.
This is not uncommon, so it is best to refrain from asking Trait about it.
● Imprinting accidents of unknown cause may occur.
Even after becoming a legal adult, you should carefully consider how you will spend your heat cycle.
This is because there is a phenomenon called ‘imprinting’ for which the cause and solution have not yet been identified.
If you imprint on a partner, you must spend your heat cycle with that person until you die.
Otherwise, serious abnormalities will occur, such as the complete collapse of the autoimmune system.
Currently, it is only known to occur between ‘Alpha-Omega’ pairs.
…So, they wrote a long explanation telling you not to be nosy if someone you know’s Pheromone scent changes.
“Hmm, I think we’re here?”
“Yes, Miss. I heard there’s no separate parking lot, so please call me when you come down, and I’ll park the car in front.”
“Yes, thank you.”
The area near the high-rise building in Jongno, overlooking Bosingak, was already crowded.
“Ugh, I really hate these kinds of events. So annoying. I just want to sleep at home.”
“Why, Sojin Noona is coming today, right?”
“Cha Sojin? …She’s coming? I thought she said she might not be able to make the flight?”
“Yeah, Hyungs said so?”
The older generation had all agreed not to attend today’s founding ceremony, saying that it wouldn’t be right for old people to join a gathering of young friends. The eldest Hyung and the second Hyung said that if they had gotten married earlier, they would have had a son as old as Tae-hyun, and declined to attend. The third Hyung was on a business trip abroad, so Joo Yun-woo and Joo Tae-hyun were the only ones left from DH Group.
Wasn’t this the adults’ plan to push the fourth and youngest children for these kinds of external activities? Well… Joo Tae-hyun felt much more comfortable than awkwardly being stuck at a grand event like a gathering of businessmen. It definitely wasn’t because Seo Baek-han had called him directly.
“Let’s just see the people we need to see and leave. We’ve already donated a lot of money, we don’t need to clean up after them, right?”
“Why? Did you fight with Sojin Noona? You were the closest.”
“…It’s not like that, but I don’t really want to see her face. We didn’t fight, so don’t worry. Don’t tell Oppas, they’ll just worry. Got it?”
“Okay.”
Joo Tae-hyun, whose mind was already elsewhere, vaguely listened to Joo Yun-woo’s request.
…Again, it definitely wasn’t because he could see Seo Baek-han.
Even if the main force of the gathering was the younger generation, the founding ceremony itself was bound to be boring. Especially with a member of the Imperial Family in attendance.
“With that, we will conclude the founding ceremony of 〈Haechi〉. Thank you once again to all the distinguished guests who have taken the time to join us.”
As soon as Seo Baek-han, who was the emcee of the ceremony, finished his remarks, Joo Yun-woo stretched, saying she was bored to death.
The ceremony lasted about 30 minutes, including the national pledge, singing the national anthem, singing the independence memorial song, listening to the congratulatory speech from Second Prince His Highness, who had made a special visit, watching a video about the significance of the organization’s founding, and endless introductions of guests…
After that, it was time for guests to mingle and greet each other while eating refreshments. In fact, this was the real start of the event.
“Let’s go, baby. Secretly, naturally.”
Joo Tae-hyun had no choice but to reluctantly get up from his seat, following Joo Yun-woo. Were they really going home like this? But…
Noona would be furious if she heard, but there was someone he wanted to greet, even if only briefly.