Of course, he was not certain.
However, considering that Cheon Seung-pil’s trip to Pyongyang was extremely rushed, that he went to the pharmacy to buy all sorts of pregnancy tests as soon as he arrived, and that the two of them have been suspiciously close for a while now… He didn’t think it was something to laugh off.
Even on the day he visited Joo Tae-hyun’s hospital room, he could smell a faint trace of Joo Tae-hyun’s Pheromone on Cheon Seung-pil as he passed him.
What was even more puzzling was that his own Pheromone, which had been on Joo Tae-hyun, had noticeably diminished. It was as if his scent was disappearing, sucked into somewhere like smoke. This phenomenon usually occurred when Pheromones were shared with another partner.
Realistically, Beta’s trait transformation is more likely than Alpha’s pregnancy, and above all, the Yoonra Foundation was quietly trying to clean up this situation.
They couldn’t stand the rumor that their troublemaking son had gone to buy a pregnancy test as soon as he returned home. Considering how carelessly Cheon Seung-pil had been leaving his traces, the tail was cut off very cleanly.
Also-
“Gasp. Did you see the group chat? Joo Tae-hyun was attacked a little while ago? Some grandpa on the first floor beat him with a cane.”
…What?
Seo Baek-han, who had been reorganizing the various hypotheses that had been tormenting him for days and was looking for the right moment for people to naturally leave, snapped his head up.
Who, what happened?
“You’re just finding out now? It was a complete mess. As soon as he ran into Joo Tae-hyun, he started yelling and hit him several times with his cane. He said, ‘You made our baby, born from the hearts of Pyongyang citizens, get stabbed!'”
“Damn. Seriously, the elders really hate Joo Tae-hyun, don’t they? I heard he studied hard and lived quietly.”
“You believe that? It’s all viral marketing. He’s just… gloomy. Have you seen the video of Joo Tae-hyun’s photos? He only smiles when he’s in Seoul with his family. In Pyongyang, he always looks like he’s about to die and doesn’t go out. It’s like he’s been forcibly brought here.”
“That’s right, only our idol got cursed at for marrying a young kid.”
“Idol? Ah… Seo Baek-han?”
“If you go around calling those family members’ names, you’ll get stoned.”
As he listened to the murmuring group, his phone vibrated quietly.
010-0000-0000
Director, approximately 19 minutes ago, an elderly civilian approached Young Master at the hospital entrance, arguing about the recent attack and wielding a cane.
The civilian was immediately taken into custody and is being investigated, but considering that he is the representative of the merchants’ association that promised cooperation in the Neungra Market development project, it seems that there was no intention of terrorism.
“…Hah.”
It was a message sent by his father’s aide, not Secretary Nam or Chief Hwang.
It was only a week ago that there was an attack at Pyongyang University.
However, it didn’t make sense that no one stopped a stranger from approaching Joo Tae-hyun and wielding a cane… Perhaps his father had deliberately orchestrated it. No, Assemblyman Seo must have instigated it.
“Anyway, that grandpa was yelling at Joo Tae-hyun to let Director Seo go-“
“So, no one stopped the outsider from approaching Tae-hyun?”
When Seo Baek-han suddenly appeared, small and large screams erupted from here and there. Unlike when they were criticizing Joo Tae-hyun as if they wanted everyone to hear, there was a mixture of admiration and cheers, which made Seo Baek-han feel even worse.
“Director, well… there were guards, of course, but an elderly patient suddenly jumped in-“
Whether they thought he was accepting their excuses because he was just staring silently, people began to make all sorts of excuses. If it had been Joo Tae-hyun, he would have recognized my condition like a ghost and shut his mouth instead.
“Last time, an outsider came in without permission, and I politely asked the teacher in charge.”
It’s embarrassing that this kind of thing keeps happening at Pyongyang University Hospital, which has a close cooperative relationship with Royal Hospital. His tone was polite, but the coldness in each syllable could not be hidden.
The nurses hesitated, slyly covered the name tags on their chests, and hurriedly left the scene. It was ridiculous that they couldn’t even say a clear “sorry” in the midst of all this. They were so talkative earlier.
The veins on the back of his clenched fist stood out as if they would burst.
Yes, primarily, it was his father’s fault for inducing this situation. But can this incident be entirely blamed on him?
It’s certain that Assemblyman Seo instigated the security personnel to act somewhat loosely. However, his father couldn’t have instructed the nurses to react the way they did a moment ago.
In contrast to Seo Baek-han, who was standing still, trying to control his misplaced anger, Joo Tae-hyun, leaning against the terrace railing and looking at the outside scenery, was extremely carefree.
As always, a straight posture, gloomy eyes, and tightly closed lips.
Seo Baek-han looked at Joo Tae-hyun’s face as if it were something new. He had always thought that his unique, indifferent expression, which made it difficult to guess his inner thoughts, was his strength… but he had never felt this way before. Was he isolating himself from the world to this extent?
“…?”
Joo Tae-hyun, who had been looking ahead as if bored, belatedly discovered me and turned completely in this direction. Judging by the short shape of his lips, he probably said Hyung, or something like that.
Seo Baek-han moved towards the terrace with a strange feeling.
The closer he got to him, the clearer the scent of wood and the smell of wildflowers became. At the same time, Joo Tae-hyun’s Pheromone wrapped around him so carefully that it felt as if it knew something and was comforting me.
He was annoyed with Joo Tae-hyun for not only deceiving me but also glossing over his relationship with Cheon Seung-pil. Yes. He wasn’t angry or disappointed in him. He was just childishly annoyed with the current situation.
He was annoyed that he had been helplessly swayed by the Pheromone abnormality and had imprinted on him like an idiot, that Cheon Seung-pil was trying to take care of him after receiving separate calls from the DH family, that he had witnessed the two of them clinging to each other on the bed, and that he couldn’t understand why he felt bad about seeing it.
So, he admit that he impulsively cornered Joo Tae-hyun that day, unlike his usual self.
But, even so.
“Hyung.”
It didn’t mean that anyone could treat Joo Tae-hyun badly.
Even if it was my father.
“How’s your body?”
“…I’m fine. What about you?”
“I’m fine… I rested well at home, so I’m perfectly fine.”
Even if it’s just a facade, “Seo Baek-han’s spouse” is “Joo Tae-hyun.” If he had unfortunately died on the day of the attack, everything he owned would have been transferred to Joo Tae-hyun as the first priority.
It’s the sentence as it is, without adding any dirty interpretations. Joo Tae-hyun is his only family recognized by the laws of this country.
Pheromones, Imprinting, traits… Putting all that aside, isn’t that the objective fact?
Rumors and gossip are like an unavoidable fate for those who live with their faces exposed, so if Joo Tae-hyun had complained about this issue every time, Seo Baek-han would have ignored him coldly.
However, he didn’t know that the level would be this high. There had never been a threat to his safety like this time, so there was no need to investigate deeply.
“By the way, what’s going on?”
Joo Tae-hyun, brushing back his hair fluttering in the wind, looked as calm as if nothing had happened.
The sudden attack, my warning that I wouldn’t tolerate any more lies, and even being beaten by strangers just a moment ago for telling him to divorce me.
“I still have things to do, and you should rest more, so I’ll just say what I need to say briefly.”
As he brought up the story he had prepared, Seo Baek-han stared intently at Joo Tae-hyun. To the point that he might feel somewhat burdened.
Even though I knew that Joo Tae-hyun wouldn’t talk about being beaten up a moment ago just because I did that.
“I’m going to spend this Rut with someone else.”
Even with the somewhat sudden declaration, Joo Tae-hyun just blinked his eyes silently. It was as if he didn’t realize what he had heard.
“I did a heat prediction test, and it’s been delayed a bit. I think it’s probably due to the surgery… Anyway, just be aware of that.”
“Why suddenly…? Hyung, your body isn’t in good condition right now, so there’s no need to-“
“I want to see if others show similar symptoms to you under similar conditions.”
“…”
“That way, we can quickly fix your Pheromone and your body’s abnormal reactions.”
It was a lie. He was planning to find out about a procedure to break the Imprinting under the pretext of rut. Whether he poured in drugs or stuck a needle in my head… Anyway, Joo Tae-hyun just shouldn’t know.
“…”
He didn’t know if he had heard me, but Joo Tae-hyun didn’t show any reaction. However, when he turned his gaze from somewhere on the terrace to him, he could read the unmanaged melancholy on his seemingly indifferent face.
Well, it’s the first time since the marriage that he had notified him that he was going to sleep with someone else, so he might be heartbroken.
I could have made another excuse and left, but why? Is this also a trick of Imprinting? I was aware that I was doing something childish, unlike myself, but that didn’t mean I felt sorry for him. Joo Tae-hyun was the one who lied about the sex partner issue first.
“…Hyung, have you ever met someone else during your previous Ruts? When you went on business trips for conferences, you said you took Suppressants when your Rut overlapped.”
“…”
“I’m not trying to argue with you, Hyung. As you said, I haven’t done well either… I’m just curious, that’s all.”
“…Yeah. That’s right. Not every time, but sometimes when I felt like it.”
Of course, this was also a lie.
“After all, wasn’t having separate Heat Partners a mutually agreed-upon matter? Ah, are you upset that I didn’t share it with you in advance? I’m sorry about that. But Tae-hyun.”
“…”
“Let’s get our cause-and-effect relationship straight. You started the lies first.”
…That’s not to say I was planning to corner Joo Tae-hyun to this extent. Why do I keep wanting to wield a knife at a kid who’s obviously been hurt here and there, even if it’s not outwardly visible?
It was an unfamiliar experience for Seo Baek-han. It’s that his tongue doesn’t roll as intended.
Why? Is it because I don’t like Joo Tae-hyun’s reaction?
I don’t know when it started, but all my exceptions were coming from Joo Tae-hyun.
“…I understand. But anyway, Rut isn’t this week, right?”
After being silent for a while, Joo Tae-hyun nodded indifferently, as always.
Seo Baek-han involuntarily took a half step back at the intense Pheromone that suddenly hit him. It was, how should he put it, a scent that was so bitter and sad that it made his insides ache.
“So, let’s… have a date on Friday.”
Even if it’s in the hospital room, Joo Tae-hyun’s voice, adding that, was pleasantly low. Whether it was a misunderstanding or not, his Pheromone was also as subtle as usual.
Yes. He’s the ordinary Joo Tae-hyun that I know. But why does he look so precarious, as if he’ll break if I touch him?
And why do I feel so down when I see that?
He knew Joo Tae-hyun would be hurt, so he deliberately said it strongly.
Ah, right. He wanted to repeatedly confirm it in this base and childish way. Ever since he found Cheon Seung-pil in Joo Tae-hyun’s hospital room. He wanted to see Joo Tae-hyun being influenced and swayed only by him, and no one else.
Yes, Imprinting is Imprinting, after all.
He know, he know why unfamiliar impulses that he had never experienced before keep raising their heads.
He had already achieved his goal. Right now, Joo Tae-hyun has forgotten everything that happened with other people and is only looking at him, but why does he feel down when he see that?
Has there ever been a time when questions have been asked one after another like this? And that, too, with Joo Tae-hyun, repeating speculations such as because of Pheromones, because of Imprinting.
“If it’s this kind of talk, it would have been enough to convey it by phone or message… Ah, that’s right, there might be records left, so it would have been safer to talk face to face.”
Even though he knew Seo Baek-han’s dagger being thrown on purpose, Joo Tae-hyun acted submissively as if everything was his share to bear.
“Then, um. See you on Friday, Hyung.”
“…”
“If Hyung’s body isn’t in good condition, or even if it’s not good… even if it’s just for 30 minutes. Even if it’s just drinking vending machine coffee in the hospital lounge-“
…Let’s have a date.
Joo Tae-hyun’s voice, adding quietly, was so small that it was difficult to understand.
“…Okay.”
Again, his tongue moved on its own.
He should be telling him to report to him properly at the time of mentioning a date, to tell him everything he’s been hiding so far.
But Seo Baek-han unknowingly gave the answer he wanted because Joo Tae-hyun, who had been unfazed by anything he had said to him so far, seemed as if he would disappear at any moment.