Correction Chapter 31

“Ugh….”

Shinwoo’s body felt heavy. Yet, at the same time, he felt refreshed, allowing him to lightly lift his eyelids. Sitting up and looking around, he could roughly grasp the current situation. Empty bottles rolled around between the door cracks, and his drunken sunbaes (seniors) were sprawled unconscious. Among them, he could even see a classmate with his face buried in vomit.

“My head….”

It seemed he too had collapsed here after being pressured to drink by his sunbaes.

Fortunately, perhaps due to securing a spot early, Shinwoo was alone in the room. A thin blanket was draped over him, and his clothes were the same as last night. He looked around to see if he’d made any mistakes, but the room was quiet and empty.

“Sigh….”

Even though it was the alcohol offered by his sunbaes, he felt like he’d drunk too much. Despite not being a good drinker, the alcohol went down surprisingly smoothly yesterday. He knew the reason without having to say it.

To forget….

In this place where he had come to leave everything behind, he had once again confirmed how pathetically attached he was to Youngmin…. When he realized that he could never let go of those feelings, he tried to manage his frustration with alcohol before crumbling under the despair. Whether that was a mistake or not, a part of his memory was blank.

Clutching his throbbing head and taking a deep breath, Shinwoo suddenly stopped breathing.

Youngmin’s pheromones were on him—that subtle scent mixed with his own, intertwined in a disturbing way. And a broken piece of film replayed in his mind. A scene he’d never even dreamt of, so unfamiliar, made Shinwoo jump up from his spot. No way…!

He ran out of the room, searching for the owner of the pheromones. But Youngmin was nowhere to be seen. Desperately, he shook off his classmates and sunbaes who tried to stop him, searching here and there for Youngmin. Then, he spotted Jungmin cleaning up the trash.

“Jungmin!”

“Oh, hyung (older brother). Did you sleep well?”

Jungmin greeted Shinwoo with a smile. Shinwoo grabbed Jungmin’s shoulders. The smile vanished from Jungmin’s face.

“Have you seen Youngmin?”

“Ah, Young… Youngmin…. Youngmin…ah, last night, I called a cab and sent him home. He was in heat….”

“L-Last night?”

“Yeah, I stayed with him the whole time. He was so disobedient. That guy is really going to get into big trouble someday. I need to tell him something before that happens.”

“So, so I didn’t meet Youngmin?”

“No. I told you, I was with him the whole time.”

“Right….”

Shinwoo let out a breath, unsure whether it was one of relief or not, and ran a hand through his hair. Watching him, Jungmin offered Shinwoo a glass of cold water he had set aside for himself.

“Thanks.”

“Hyung, you seem to have drunk a lot yesterday. Rest. I’ll finish cleaning up and come in.”

“Okay….”

Jungmin quietly watched Shinwoo trudge back to the accommodation. His hands began to tremble, and as soon as Shinwoo was out of sight, he rushed to the bathroom, threw open the toilet lid, and bent over.

“Ugh, ugh.”

Nausea rose. Even though he hadn’t eaten anything, his whole body reacted in revulsion. The act of an alpha submitting to another alpha brought significant physiological disgust, but there was also psychological damage.

Even though it was someone he liked, he had been mounted by an ‘alpha’ and become the one underneath. The disgust and psychological factors associated with this tormented Jungmin.

After vomiting for a while, Jungmin suddenly felt a dampness. Carefully pulling down his pants, he saw streaks of red blood. Due to Shinwoo’s knotting, he must have been injured somewhere internally, causing a small amount of bleeding. He had laid down some tissue, but it seemed he needed to change it.

“…No.”

Tears welled up as he tore off more tissue. He resolved in his mind several times not to cry, but it was beyond his control.

He was glad Shinwoo didn’t remember. No, he was in agony because Shinwoo didn’t remember. These two emotions fiercely battled within Jungmin. But if Shinwoo did remember and reacted with the same revulsion as he did, it would be even more painful. It was better that he didn’t remember.

Jungmin tried to think positively as he flushed the toilet. He wished everything could disappear as if it had never happened.

҈
✽✽✽

Time flowed quietly after the MT. Like the calm before a storm.

“Do you know Mom and Dad are looking for someone for you to get engaged to?”

“What?”

“Never mind. I should say they’re reviewing candidates. Apparently, people who want to get engaged to you are lining up. That’s why they haven’t been paying attention to me.”

Was it really the calm before the storm? Jungmin sighed and closed the book he was reading.

“They said they’ll have you engaged right after graduation.”

“…That won’t happen. And I’ll talk to Mom and Dad. I’ll ask them to pay more attention to you than me.”

Seemingly pleased with Jungmin’s answer, Youngmin smiled brightly, shouted “Hyung is the best!”, and hugged him. The sweet, pleasant pheromones of an omega enveloped Jungmin.

For Jungmin, even if it was his brother’s, it was enviable, enviable… truly enviable…. Such a small emotion was holding him captive and controlling him. And it would probably be like this for the rest of his life.

“Oh?”

He was heading downstairs to tell his parents that he had no intention of getting engaged for the time being and to ask them to stop looking for candidates, when he found an unexpected guest.

“Isn’t that Kim Joohwan?”

Youngmin, who had been following behind, peeked his head out and, recognizing the unwelcome guest, trotted down the stairs to greet him. It was astonishing that they could exchange such ordinary greetings after what had happened—in the nurse’s office.

Jungmin considered returning to his room, but his mother beckoned him, forcing him to go downstairs.

“What are you doing here?”

It was a weekend, and even if it wasn’t, there was no reason for Kim Joohwan to be at their house. He might understand if his parents had come along, but it seemed he was alone today, making it even more perplexing.

“Why are you talking like that when Joohwan has come to visit? You should at least greet him first.”

At his mother’s scolding, Jungmin sighed deeply.

“Mom, Jungmin is not in a good mood right now.”

“Oh? Why?”

“Because Mom and Dad are looking for a marriage partner for him, he’s upset. He came down here to argue about it.”

While it was true, why was Youngmin phrasing it that way? Jungmin sighed deeply.

“Oh, don’t worry. Mom and Dad will find you a good person. And we’re not telling you to get married right away. Just meet them, and if they’re a good person, get engaged, and if not, we’ll look for someone else. It’s not forced at all. It’s because you’re not even dating. We’re worried.”

His mother held Jungmin’s hand tightly. Come to think of it, his mother and father didn’t know that he had met and dated a few omegas. There was no need to tell them, and the relationships hadn’t progressed enough to warrant disclosure.

More than that, having this conversation right now… specifically with Kim Joohwan present, was subtly uncomfortable. Was it because of Kim Joohwan’s gaze?

“Let’s talk about that later, Mother. I think it’s better to greet our guest first.”

“Oh my, I’m so scatterbrained. I’m sorry, Joohwan.”

“It’s alright. I happened to overhear the conversation, but perhaps this will alleviate your worries.”

Kim Joohwan held out an envelope.

“I came to deliver this.”

And the envelope was positioned precisely in front of Jungmin.

“What is it?”

It was Youngmin standing next to him who was curious about the contents of the envelope.

“It’s embarrassing, but my father is belatedly preparing an entrance ceremony and birthday party for me. It will be held in a private room at the Callas Hotel.”

“Wow, awesome.”

The Callas Hotel’s private rooms were part of a foreign-affiliated hotel chain, and lodging or rental was impossible for anyone other than political and business figures from various countries. Even most insiders didn’t know what happened inside, or who came and went. It was even said that the land the hotel occupied belonged to the US, its headquarters, rather than South Korea.

“I’ve invited many people. Perhaps some of the sunbaes might meet their destined partners.”

Since he had sent out invitations, it meant everyone would be either an omega or an alpha. Jungmin had a strange feeling about it and hadn’t accepted the invitation.

“Can I go too?”

Youngmin asked, his eyes sparkling.

“Of course.”

“Yay! Jungmin! Let’s go!”

Youngmin tugged at Jungmin’s arm, pleading with him. Still, Jungmin couldn’t accept it. He didn’t want to celebrate Kim Joohwan’s birthday, nor did he want to attend that party.

“I wonder if your father received what my father sent to the Chairman.”

Joohwan casually remarked, looking at the twins’ mother. She thought about what he meant, and her face suddenly brightened.

“Of course! Thanks to your father’s help, the Chairman received a lot of support. It could have been dangerous this time.”

“That’s a relief.”

Kim Joohwan was smiling at their mother, but his gaze was fixed on Jungmin.

‘Ha, so that’s how you’re going to play it?’

Jungmin gritted his teeth, snatched the envelope from Joohwan’s hand, gripped it tightly, and returned to his room.