Correction Chapter 53

How much time had passed like that? Just as the moon seen through the window disappeared towards a higher place, the sound of Youngmin’s sniffling breaths on Jungmin’s chest evened out.

Jungmin laid Youngmin down properly and was about to get up for a glass of water when the phone he had left on the desk rang. Worried that Youngmin might wake up, he quickly pressed the call button without even looking at the screen.

“Who….”

─Sunbae.

What a surprise. How could he never forget this guy’s voice? Jungmin sighed and looked at the clock. 1 AM….

“Kim Joohwan, are you crazy? Calling at this hou-”

─I should be the one saying that.

This bastard is dropping formalities again; he must be peeved about something. Concerned his voice would get loud, Jungmin quietly left the room and headed to the balcony.

“What do you mean by that?”

─Did you not block my number?

Jungmin’s mind snapped to attention at those words. Come to think of it, he had blocked Kim Joohwan’s number a while ago. But then—how was this call possible? Jungmin quickly looked at the screen. It was an unknown number.

─It seems it was true.

What? Was he just messing with me?

─You wouldn’t answer my calls, and you wouldn’t look at my messages, so I thought maybe, but I see.

His voice is getting lower. This isn’t good. When Kim Joohwan gets truly angry, there’s no telling what he might do. That said, he didn’t feel like apologizing here either. So Jungmin chose silence. From across the receiver, he could hear the sound of a finger tapping on a table—tok, tok, tok.

─Well, whatever. Sunbae, where are you right now?

Is he just letting it go?

“Home… of course.”

─Can we meet for a moment?

“Why? Is it urgent? If not, let’s see each other tomorrow.”

─As if you’d meet me tomorrow. After blocking me and everything.

“Kim Joohwan. I’ve been letting it slide, but you’re getting more and more informal, aren’t you?”

─It’s not like it’s the first time, so what are you talking about? Didn’t you block me knowing I’m this kind of bastard?

Seeing how he keeps emphasizing the word ‘blocked,’ it seems I really got under his skin.

─Sunbae, why don’t you at least make an excuse? That’ll make me feel better, won’t it?

He had nothing to say. And he didn’t want to. Jungmin thought he should block this number now, too.

─……

The silence from the other end of the line was heavy. Jungmin also remained silent before saying, ‘I’m hanging up,’ and ending the call first.

The silence at the end was a bit unsettling. He wondered if something was wrong, but if it were urgent, he would have thrown a bigger fit. Since he hadn’t, Jungmin decided not to worry about it. He was about to go back to the room when his phone rang. The caller was Soohan.

“Yes, Soohan hyung.”

─Oh? You answered? You weren’t asleep?

“If you thought I was asleep, you shouldn’t have called at this hour.”

─So cold…. By any chance, can you come out for a bit?

“What? Come out? Now…? Where are you?”

─In front of your house.

“What? Wait, why? Didn’t you go home?”

─I did, but then I started thinking of you and came over. You can just go to sleep. I’m not saying you have to come out. I’ll stay here for about 10 more minutes and then head back. The choice is yours.

With that, Soohan hung up. Jungmin was dumbfounded. While wondering what this person was trying to do, he let out a dry laugh as he saw himself already fumbling to get dressed and ready to go outside.

“So childish.”

Carefully closing the door so as not to wake Youngmin, Jungmin came down to the first floor. This time, he carefully opened and closed the main door so his parents wouldn’t wake up, and went outside. Soohan was standing pathetically in front of the large gate.

“You look like a thief.”

As Jungmin grumbled and opened the gate, Soohan smiled brightly and hugged him.

“Let go. What’s going on this late at night?”

Despite his snappy words, Jungmin didn’t push Soohan away, instead shifting his posture to allow for a tighter hug. Soohan thought he would die from how lovely Jungmin was.

“I suddenly wanted to see you.”

“Still, this isn’t right.”

“Jungmin-ah.”

“What?”

“Can I kiss you?”

“…Of course not. We’re in front of my house.”

“So what. No one’s watching.”

“Don’t.”

“…Hmm… I can’t. I’ll just do as I please.”

Soohan held Jungmin’s chin and lightly pressed his lips against his before pulling away. When Jungmin stood still, he gathered his courage and pressed their lips together again, quickly pushing forward lest he miss the slightly parted gap. Feeling Soohan wanting him so desperately, Jungmin closed his eyes.

Little by little, his frozen heart began to thaw. Thump-thump- like a quickening, some emotion began to beat, and it was unfamiliar yet painful and warm, causing tears to well up slightly in Jungmin’s eyes.

Maybe, just maybe, this person could truly love him as an Alpha. Shin Jungmin, the Alpha… ‘me’ as I am….

✽✽✽

RRRRR-

─The customer you have called is unavailable….

Jungmin sighed and pressed the end call button. It had already been two days. Soohan and Sooeun hadn’t come to work at the hospital.

Even when he asked the other doctors, they only said the two were on leave and wouldn’t tell him the reason. Usually, if the two of them were taking a day off, they would have told Jungmin or at least explained the reason later, but now there was no answer at all. They just maintained their silence.

“Haa….”

He’d gone to Ji Soohan’s house yesterday, but no one was there, so they must have gone to their family home…. What on earth happened? The chairman had said he wasn’t feeling well; did his health get worse? No. If that were the case, he would have come to this hospital where his personal physician is. Then why….

“Soohan hyung….”

Jungmin sent a text to Soohan for what felt like the umpteenth time.

‘Please contact me.’ 

There was nothing more he could do.

But even after that, for two more days… there was no contact from the two of them, and they didn’t answer their phones.

With no reply to his texts, Jungmin’s growing anxiety made it hard to concentrate on work, and he couldn’t sleep well. Should he file a missing person’s report? Just as he was pondering this.

“Dr. Shin!”

From afar, another doctor who was Ji Soohan’s colleague called out to Jungmin.

“Ah, yes. Dr. Kim.”

“I heard from the professor earlier. Soohan and Sooeun are both at their family home for a bit.”

“Did Dr. Ji contact you?”

“I’m not sure about that. I just heard about it. I’m just letting you know because I thought Dr. Shin might be worried.”

“Yes…. Thank you.”

It wasn’t a clear answer, but at least he confirmed that he was safe and sound. Jungmin swept a hand down his chest, then suddenly felt a surge of anger. What on earth did he think of him? Couldn’t he have sent a simple message like that? Just you wait until you show up for work, I’ll give you a piece of my mind-!

“Shin Jungmin sunbae.”

As he was walking, fuming and muttering curses-that-weren’t-curses at Ji Soohan, a spine-chilling voice called out to him, and Jungmin slowly turned around. As expected, it was Kim Joohwan.

“Oh…. It’s been a while.”

“So you do know that it’s been a while?”

Joohwan said sarcastically. Normally, Jungmin would have shot back a retort, but right now his mind was entirely focused on Soohan.

“Sunbae.”

“Yeah.”

Ugh, so annoying. When is this guy leaving?

“Shin Jungmin.”

“Yeah.”

When I see Soohan hyung, I’ll tell him if he makes me worry like this again, we’re breaking up. I wonder what face he’ll make.

“…Shin. Jung. Min.”

“Yeah.”

His gaze was already elsewhere, his thoughts even further away—Joohwan smiled, watching Jungmin answer so half-heartedly.

“Sunbae, you are truly…. an interesting person no matter when I see you.”

“Yeah.”

“Reeking of another Alpha’s pheromones like this. Why? Does that man say he loves you, an Alpha?”

What?

Jungmin looked up in surprise. But Joohwan was already gone from in front of him.

“Kim Joohwan….”

He had vanished without a trace, as if he was never there. But he could feel his frighteningly subdued pheromones, sharp enough to sting, so he knew he had really been there.

‘Where on earth did he go?’

Just as he was debating whether he should look for Kim Joohwan, his phone rang. But it wasn’t the call he was waiting for; it was from his mother.

“Yes, Mother.”

─Jungmin-ah…. What should we do?

─Mom! Let me talk!!

“What is it? Did something happen to Youngmin?”

─Jungmin-ah….

─Mom! Just say it!

Youngmin’s voice came from behind. He sounded extremely agitated. He finally snatched the phone from his mother and yelled.

─Shin Jungmin! Your fiancée is in that kind of relationship with another Omega, a man just like him?!

Thud–

Jungmin’s heart dropped to the floor.

“What… are you talking about?”

─What do you mean, what am I talking about! Your engagement has been called off! Stupidly!!

“Wait… I’m coming home now.”

He didn’t know what was said or how. When he came to his senses, Jungmin was at home. His mother, shocked, was gulping down glass after glass of cold water, and Youngmin was next to her, fuming and cursing Sooeun.

Jungmin calmly approached his mother and sat in front of her. She stroked her son’s face once, then pulled him into a tight hug.

He could tell how shocked she was, but Jungmin was more curious and desperate to know how they found out. But asking his mother seemed difficult, so he calmed her down and quietly took Youngmin upstairs to the second floor.