“If you were going to replace Baek-han, you should have stayed by his side until the end, or come to the hospital with him from the start if you couldn’t bring yourself to do that.”
Assemblyman Seo gave a sharp rebuke, saying that Joo Tae-hyun’s disoriented and helpless appearance might have at least earned him some sympathy.
Seeing him here, Hyung’s condition must not be too bad… No. He’s a man who shows no mercy even to his own son, so he might have come to point out what he didn’t like first.
Knowing that any response would only prolong the nagging, Joo Tae-hyun remained silent. He was aware that Assemblyman Seo’s mood was growing increasingly displeased with his indifferent attitude, but he pretended not to notice, as he no longer had any desire to impress him.
A marriage thoroughly calculated based on conditions. A show-window couple who tacitly condoned each other’s affairs. In other words, a dysfunctional family.
Assemblyman Seo and Director Ahn were a perfect example of all the negative aspects associated with a ‘political marriage.’
In the early days of the marriage, Joo Tae-hyun had tried to be affable to Assemblyman Seo and his wife, just as he had been with his own family. But just because he had grown up with plenty of love didn’t mean he had thrown his common sense to the dogs.
He quickly grasped the atmosphere of Seo Baek-han’s family, and Seo Baek-han himself even relieved him of any burden by saying that there was no need to get along with his family. After that, he gave up trying to get along with the adults.
If it weren’t for his feelings for Seo Baek-han, Joo Tae-hyun would have had nothing to lose in this household. His arrogant question of whether they could find an Alpha better than him when only considering conditions was by no means a bluff.
So, Assemblyman Seo also watched and waited, without crossing the final line, even while disapproving of his actions.
“I heard that Kang Bu-nam led this affair.”
“…Kang Bu-nam, you say.”
“Why? Do you have any idea why this happened?”
“No, not really.”
He was just a little surprised. It was a name he didn’t expect to hear from Assemblyman Seo right now.
Kang Bu-nam was hardly a relative, almost a stranger by kinship.
Yet, Kang Bu-nam coveted the wealth of the main family in every matter, and after Tae-hyun, the late child, was born, he even stormed into the company lobby and raged, he heard.
He made outrageous remarks, such as whether they deliberately had a child late because they were reluctant to share a few pennies with the collateral relatives, and whether that child was really their own.
In any case, it was a name that the main family never welcomed hearing.
“Of course, he didn’t do it alone. There are some old men who are in tune with Kang Bu-nam, figures who hated to see DH Group doing well, and some young guys centered around Poongjin Industries… Even the anti-Prince Lee faction must have played a part, though they hid their tails.”
He had guessed that it was the work of those hostile to Shifters, as they had been busy controlling the reporters without properly examining the collapsed Seo Baek-han.
While gritting his teeth to avoid losing his mind and waiting for the ambulance, he vaguely suspected that Kim Seung-jun might be involved in this incident, without any basis.
But he never dreamed that the name of his distant relative would be dragged out here.
“Now is not the time to sigh. You need to think about how to resolve this. It wasn’t you who got stabbed and went under the knife, Tae-hyun. Are you going to lie around so lazily?”
“…Yes, I think we need to confirm whether that information is accurate first.”
“Haha, wouldn’t everyone who needs to know already know? Has your family not said anything?”
“…”
“DH Group still seems to treat you like a preschooler. Seeing how worried they are that you can’t handle something of this scale.”
“…”
“You take the lead in cleaning this up. That’s the only way to create a good image.”
“…Yes.”
“It seems that the goal was to incite doubts about your Shifter status and drug use in front of people, so this time, prepare a way to clearly resolve the suspicions and let our side know. I’ll talk to your father-in-law separately… But you’re not just a child anymore either.”
“…I understand.”
“I don’t want any more noise over this issue. Neither you nor Baek-han.”
With those words, which were not a request or an order, Assemblyman Seo rose from his seat. The way he lightly stopped him with his palm when he tried to get out of bed to see him off was similar to Seo Baek-han, yet completely different, evoking a strange feeling.
The angle of his gestures and the way he turned his head were quite similar, but the overall feeling was completely different… Even in the midst of all this, the fact that he was thinking about this meant that he must be seriously ill.
“Oh, go straight to the Pyeongyang City Hall.”
Were his aides waiting outside? The hospital room door opened smoothly as Assemblyman Seo’s footsteps grew closer, even before he grabbed the doorknob.
Joo Tae-hyun stared blankly at Assemblyman Seo’s retreating figure, who left without acknowledging their bows, and somehow had a premonition that he might not even stop by Seo Baek-han’s room and was just leaving after unloading his business on him. Seo Baek-han was hospitalized in the room right next to his.
He had been so out of it from meeting Assemblyman Seo as soon as he opened his eyes that he hadn’t even thought about bringing up other matters, but from his perspective, wouldn’t it be natural to ask about this and that? His own son had collapsed before his eyes, so what exactly was the situation at the time, what was his condition like, and were there any other suspicious aspects…?
The hospital room door closed very smoothly as Assemblyman Seo moved away. Suddenly, the alcohol scent unique to hospital rooms that wafted in from outside was irritating, and Joo Tae-hyun roughly washed his face with his dry hands. Every time his breath touched his hands, Seo Baek-han’s Pheromone also permeated, providing some relief.
Joo Tae-hyun swallowed a sigh and lay his creaking body back down. Come to think of it, had his family been contacted? Of course, they had. They must have been very surprised again… Where was his phone? Thoughts chased after thoughts, but he didn’t want to move a single finger.
First, he would finish this IV drip and go check on Seo Baek-han’s condition. His family would come to see him, but it seemed like there was no one to look after him. Of course, he knew very well that Seo Baek-han wasn’t the type to miss or be upset by such things…
As he was lying there, limp as a waterlogged cotton ball, the hospital room door opened again without warning.
“…Hyung?”
Hearing the sound of the door sliding open and wheels rolling, Joo Tae-hyun quickly sat up, wondering if Seo Baek-han had moved. No, how long had it been since the surgery for him to be moving already?
But what appeared beyond the sliding door was not a pole and a patient gown, but a flashy-colored padding and a carrier plastered with logos.
“Ugh, damn it! That Hyung, Hyung, Hyung.”
Cheon Seung-pil, who was dragging the huge carrier into the hospital room, glared fiercely at Joo Tae-hyun and made a silent gesture of disapproval. Fortunately, it was a hospital, and he was holding back because of his condition, but he was still spewing out curses while lowering the decibel level as much as possible.
“Why are you… here?”
He was so flustered that a foolish reaction came out without him realizing it. It was Cheon Seung-pil, after all. Why was the guy who should be in the United States at Pyeongyang University Hospital?
“Why does your face look like that? And why are you so thin?”
“Why are you here, no. Who let you in? It should be under access control right now?”
“I caused such a big accident, so I came running to beg for forgiveness!”
“What? Without saying anything to me?”
“I discussed it with Yoon-woo Noona. To do, what was it. A surprise? I was going to do that. But damn it, as soon as I landed at Pyeongyang Airport, my Hyungs, Noona, and even your parents called like crazy. I wondered what was going on, so I looked up, and there was a huge TV news flash at the airport, and…”
Cheon Seung-pil pushed the carrier he had brought to the side and examined Joo Tae-hyun’s complexion.
Suddenly, he felt twice as tired. He was sorry, but he was going to continue the conversation lying down, but he couldn’t. It was because Cheon Seung-pil was touching Joo Tae-hyun here and there without any sense.
“Are you really okay? No, Seo was the one who got stabbed, so why is your face like this?”
Even though he was visiting a patient, Cheon Seung-pil grabbed Joo Tae-hyun’s cheeks and stretched them out without hesitation, without even washing his hands.
“…Your family must have been very surprised?”
“Damn it, how can you say that? Your Hyungs, Noona, parents, nanny, butler, and who else. Oh, Doctor Woo even said he couldn’t go right away, so he was crying and begging me to check on our baby’s condition and let him know… How can I say anything like this?”
He was kneading the person as he pleased, as if adding glutinosity to a glutinous rice cake, and every time his palm stuck to and fell off his skin, he felt increasingly strange. To be exact… It became a little difficult to bear every time it brushed his nose and mouth.
“…Hey.”
“Huh?”
“Hands, get your hands, ugh!”
What was this smell? Joo Tae-hyun frowned without realizing it at the disgusting scent that suddenly brushed past his nasal cavity, no, seemed to stab through it. He even felt a slight urge to vomit.
“Huh, what’s wrong? Should I call a doctor?”
“No, I’m okay. Suddenly, a strange, um, probably the smell of the carrier handle, but anyway, a metallic smell suddenly hit me.”
“Huh? Really? I should call a doctor.”
“No, it was really momentary.”
“Whether it was momentary or continuous, you should see your face? Your condition is not good.”
“I’ll take care of it, so get out. Go wash your hands, you stink.”
“Ugh, damn it. You’re so picky. If you weren’t an Alpha, I would have thought you were pregnant!”
Cheon Seung-pil headed to the bathroom, looking dumbfounded at Joo Tae-hyun, who was making a fuss about the smell. It seemed that he belatedly realized that he should wash his hands.
Joo Tae-hyun, who was unknowingly burying his nose in various parts of his arm and groping for Seo Baek-han’s traces left on his body, suddenly stiffened at a certain speculation that flashed through his mind like lightning.
Wait a minute.
‘If you weren’t an Alpha, I would have thought you were pregnant!’
Come to think of it, he had been particularly sensitive to the smell when Assemblyman Seo came in and out earlier.
If his body had changed like an Omega beyond Pheromone abnormalities, and he had even unilaterally Imprinted on Seo Baek-han…
Then, if they had sex without a condom, wouldn’t he be able to get pregnant…?