#100

“My son inherited Myeong-jeong’s blood, so he was special from a young age. Whenever he had a pheromone test, his Alpha and Omega levels were equally high. The teachers praised him so much, saying they had never seen levels like that before.”

The mother, who had been speaking with a faint smile, suddenly changed her demeanor and grabbed Jung-hyun’s arm firmly.

“But there was a problem. As it stood, the probability of manifesting as either an Alpha or an Omega was fifty-fifty. My son had to become an Alpha.”

“…….”

“So, every quarter, I scraped together every penny I had to give him Alpha pheromone injections. Whenever we measured his levels right after an injection, the Alpha manifestation rate more than doubled. That’s why I saved a month’s income separately every time. Pheromones were so expensive back then.”

The mother spoke as if humming a song, as if she were recounting a precious and proud memory.

“Nowadays, anyone and everyone gets Alpha pheromones, but back then, no one but me knew about that method. My son was probably the only one getting pheromones to become an Alpha.”

Jung-hyun stared blankly, mouth agape at the unbelievable story.

Memories of his childhood resurfaced. His mother had made him undergo manifestation rate tests every quarter. He remembered that, unlike the tests at school, these took an unusually long time.

It wasn’t because they were simply drawing a small amount of blood to measure levels; it was because they injected Alpha pheromones first and then drew blood again, which is why the tests always took so long.

And almost without fail, he would run a severe fever on the night after the tests.

Because his mother told him that her son suffered from colds every time the seasons changed, he had simply believed that was the case.

Whenever Jung-hyun suffered from these ‘seasonal colds,’ his mother was exceptionally tender and kind. Even while his mind was hazy with illness, he liked it. His mother, who worked without rest even on weekends, would skip work on those days just to stay by his side.

When his fever spiked in the middle of the night after the clinics had closed, his mother often told him she was sorry that she didn’t have the money to take him to the emergency room.

In those moments, Jung-hyun would just smile faintly. He didn’t understand why not going to the emergency room was something to be sorry about. He much preferred being with his mom over being in a cold hospital. He would say so and burrow into her embrace.

It required a lot of money to attend a private elementary school far from home. Since it was a period of rapid growth, he had to buy custom uniforms every year, and when adding up the tuition, class fees, school bus fees, and meal costs, the total was staggering.

It wasn’t an amount a woman working as a bookkeeper in a small factory could afford on her own. Therefore, his mother did any job that paid, sleeping only three hours a night. Even then, to save every single penny, she spent all four seasons in a single worn-out wool coat and often skipped meals.

However, she always dressed Jung-hyun in the best clothes and fed him the best food. At the time, the things he enjoyed, built upon his mother’s sacrifice, felt natural. His mother had always taught him, as if it were a mantra, that he had to wear and eat such things to become an Alpha.

Thinking back on it now, it was nothing short of foolish and senseless.

“……Why did you do such a thing?”

Since it was going to end up like this anyway.

Perhaps there was never any probability of him manifesting as an Alpha from the start.

If that were the case, she should have used the money for pheromones to eat the foods she loved or buy plenty of the pretty clothes she liked.

The mother smiled gently and stroked Jung-hyun’s cheek.

“Why indeed? It was all for the sake of our Jung-hyun’s success.”

Yes, that’s right. She had always said that. That everything was done for his own good. Jung-hyun smiled faintly. His mother continued to stroke his cheek softly, just as she had when he was a child, and spoke quietly.

“Jung-hyun. Go and get rid of the baby immediately.”

Jung-hyun blinked slowly.

“Becoming an Omega was just bad luck. Yes, let’s just think of it that way and move on. If it’s something Ki-hyuk did… Father won’t be able to say anything either.”

“…….”

“We just have to make sure Writer Kyung doesn’t find out. Then Mom will take care of the rest.”

The mother asked urgently.

“Do you understand? Jung-hyun.”

“…….”

“Say you understand. Please, don’t ruin anything else….”

Even knowing that his mother had been deceiving him for almost his entire life, the fact that he was her son remained unchanged. What he had to protect remained the same.

What Jung-hyun had to protect, just as it was when he accepted the role of Kwon Ki-hyuk’s shadow ten years ago, was his mother—and her alone.

Looking at her face, Jung-hyun slowly opened his mouth.

“……I understand, Mother.”

“Yes, that’s my son.”

A sliver of hope finally appeared on the mother’s face.

* * *

“You insolent little brat!”

Yoo Gu-hwan fumed and threw a punch at Shin Ho-jae. With a dull thud, Ho-jae’s chin snapped up before returning to its position.

As the league progressed, the conflict between acting coach Yoo Gu-hwan and Shin Ho-jae only deepened. It seemed that the method Yoo Gu-hwan chose after summoning Shin Ho-jae ahead of tomorrow’s playoff deciding match was, in the end, physical violence.

Shin Ho-jae remained motionless, his face showing no surprise. He had been sick and tired of this kind of corporal punishment long before he went to Canada.

“Shin Ho-jae, you are always the problem. Because you don’t listen to a word the coach says and run wild as you please, the other guys stop listening to the coach and start acting out too! Huh?!”

As if that wasn’t enough to vent his anger, Yoo Gu-hwan shouted, breathing heavily.

“…Coach Park Nam-woong also said that the players’ decisions should take priority on the ice. I do not believe that my actions were wrong.”

“What, you little shit? Do you still not get the point of what I’m saying?”

“…….”

“Try running wild on your own one more time. I’ll pull you from the starting lineup immediately.”

Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps was heard approaching the coach’s room. After a frantic knock, Moon Seung-yeol poked his head in.

“Coach, we have a big problem! Our equipment that we didn’t receive at the Sakhalin airport! The airline just contacted us and said it’s been lost and they don’t even know where it is!”

“What?!”

“They say they’ll try to find it as quickly as possible, but there’s no guarantee. If we don’t get the equipment, what do we do about tomorrow’s game?”

“God damn it…! Give me the airline’s contact info! What the hell is the front office doing?!”

“The other players can just borrow unused equipment, but Alexei is the problem. There are no spares for goalie gear….”

“I know that, you idiot! That’s why I’m trying to call them right now!”

Yoo Gu-hwan began making a call on his phone. Seung-yeol locked eyes with Ho-jae and made a desperate expression.

Ever since Kwon Ki-hyuk became the new owner of the Blue Wolves, the support they had previously taken for granted began to be cut off one by one. The reason given was that the club’s operations were in the red.

The first things to disappear were the away game supports from Korean Air and MJ Transport.

Instead of the expensive Korean Air, the players had to use cheaper low-cost carriers and connecting flights. Not only were they downgraded to economy seats, but the players had to check their equipment, which weighed over 25kg, as luggage themselves.

Since they had enjoyed such perks before, everyone felt bitter, but they considered it inevitable. That was until some of the players’ equipment was lost in Sakhalin.

“Ho-jae, you said yours hasn’t arrived yet either, right?”

Ho-jae nodded with a stiff face. Seven equipment bags, including those of Shin Ho-jae, Alexei, and Lee Sang-gon, were drifting somewhere in an airport.

The call must have connected, as Yoo Gu-hwan began shouting curses. Everyone present knew that cursing at lost luggage wouldn’t bring it back, so Yoo Gu-hwan’s phone call was merely a vent for his frustration.

“This is driving me crazy. We have a ticket to the playoffs on the line….”

Moon Seung-yeol, scratching his short hair in frustration, muttered to himself like a sigh.

“Sigh…. If it were the old owner, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“…….”

Feeling Ho-jae’s gaze, Moon Seung-yeol thought it was a reproach and lightly tapped his shoulder.

Shin Ho-jae quietly lowered his gaze. He hadn’t looked at Seung-yeol for that reason. It was just that the sudden mention of Jung-hyun made him feel as if something sharp had momentarily pierced his chest.

Since acting coach Yoo Gu-hwan’s call was taking a long time, the two left the coach’s room. In the middle of the hallway leading to the locker room, the players were gathered and buzzing. They had heard the news, and Ji Min-chul and Yuk Du-min had reportedly rushed to borrow protective gear from an amateur hockey team.

“Ugh. This is covered in mold.”

“And the smell of sweat.”

“Is this the time to be picky about cold or hot water? Be glad there’s something that fits. I don’t think there’s anything for me….”

“I hope I don’t actually lose my gear forever.”

“But if there’s this much mold, shouldn’t we doubt the durability too?”

“To think I have to play the playoff deciding match wearing someone else’s gear….”

Naturally, worries and complaints poured from everyone’s mouths. It was a situation that could not be viewed optimistically, so even Yuk Du-min’s expression was grim.

“Ho-jae, Ho-jae. Could you possibly ask the new owner for a favor? I heard you went to that hundred-day party or something before.”

At Du-min’s words, all the players looked at Shin Ho-jae.

“The new owner is the Vice President of Korean Air. We didn’t use Korean Air this time, but if he’s the VP of the national carrier, wouldn’t he be on good terms with airport officials in other countries?”

In other words, they wanted him to request help somehow. Thinking it was a reasonable point, Ho-jae nodded slowly.

* * *

The waiting area in front of the Vice President’s office at the Korean Air headquarters.

Shin Ho-jae had been waiting there for three hours. He was extremely anxious since the game was tomorrow, but that was his own circumstance. The cold-faced secretaries only repeated like robots that he should wait until the schedule was finished.

Out of habit, Ho-jae tapped his knees with his fists and let out a faint sigh.

He had forgotten that it was difficult for a mere player to meet the owner. Because not only he, but Du-min and the other players had forgotten as well, they had pushed him, saying, ‘Let’s just try asking.’

It was because everyone was thinking of the time with Kwon Jung-hyun. Back then, not only Peter and the General Manager, but the staff and players could freely enter and exit the representative’s office.

In the first place, if Jung-hyun had been the owner, the loss of equipment before an important match like the playoff deciding game would never have happened.

Before long, the surroundings grew dark, and the office staff began to leave one by one. Because he had been staring intently at the information desk in frustration, he was able to confirm that the employee guarding the desk had stepped away for a moment.

Ho-jae stood up and approached the door of the Vice President’s office. He couldn’t just keep waiting indefinitely. If there was a meeting in progress, he wanted to ask for a moment’s understanding and at least deliver his message before leaving. Just as he was thinking this and listening at the door, he heard something.

A small, giggling laugh came from inside. And Kwon Ki-hyuk’s low voice.

He couldn’t hear the words clearly, but it certainly wasn’t a serious atmosphere. Rather, it felt like they were playing some trivial prank. He had thought they were having an important meeting since he was told he could only meet after the schedule ended, but….

Without warning, the door swung open. Startled, Ho-jae stepped back. The person who came out was a man who looked to be around his own age. He glanced up at Shin Ho-jae and then strode away down the hallway.

Shin Ho-jae narrowed his eyes, staring at the spot where the man had been.

He was a man who strangely resembled Jung-hyun, exuding a somewhat negligent impression. While he was dressed in a full suit including a vest, the front of the vest and his shirt were disheveled, as if he had dressed in a hurry.

And the pheromone clinging to those disheveled clothes.

It was an Alpha’s pheromone that smelled very smoky, almost like burning rubber.

101 – PUCK DROP