Correction Chapter 72

It felt ironic seeing a man who looked like he’d be chugging hard liquor gulping down ginseng liquor instead. Or perhaps that image suited him better.

“So what did that sunbae tell you?”

At Kim Joohwan’s question, Jungmin told him everything he had heard. In the meantime, Kim Joohwan finished one bottle of ginseng liquor and ordered another. The story ended just then.

“Hmm….”

He showed no sign of being drunk. He was completely sober. He just seemed deep in thought. Jungmin felt a little tense. What if Shinwoo hyung had told him confidential information? If so, it would be no different from him, Jungmin, having made a slip of the tongue. Thinking that, he felt he had been rash. To have moved so hastily just out of curiosity.

“sunbae, you think too much.”

Kim Joohwan said with a faint smile as he poured ginseng liquor into Jungmin’s empty glass.

“Drink up. It’s smooth and refreshing.”

“No, I’m good on the alcohol.”

“Why. Do you have to go back to the hospital?”

“No, it’s not that….”

“Then drink. You won’t be able to hear my story until you do.”

“You petty bastard.”

“I’ve always been petty. You know that. It’s nothing new.”

He said slyly with an even more relaxed expression. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to be in a bad mood. When Jungmin downed the ginseng liquor in one go, Kim Joohwan filled his empty glass again.

“Just as expected of Yoo Shinwoo sunbae. Don’t worry, he didn’t say a single thing he wasn’t supposed to. And even if he had, what, am I going to kill Yoo Shinwoo sunbae? What are you so scared of? If that’s the case, you shouldn’t have called me here today.”

“…I was just thinking the same thing.”

“Once you’ve made a decision, push through with it. Even if you’re wrong, act confidently like you’re right. It’s hard to live in this world otherwise.”

“Kim Joohwan, I think you forget sometimes. You’re younger than me.”

“What’s the big deal with just a one-year difference….”

That’s true. After entering the workforce, there were times when people ten years older felt young, and times when people five years younger felt mature. As a result, the boundaries of age were gradually becoming blurred.

“So what is it you want to say? The thing you’re so curious about that you’re willing to meet my demands. You have one, don’t you.”

Jungmin’s lips parted and closed, then he downed the ginseng liquor in one go again. He slammed the glass down with a ‘thud’ before carefully asking Kim Joohwan.

“Can… can hyung be cured?”

“Yes.”

Surprisingly, the ‘desired’ answer came out simply. Jungmin’s head snapped up.

“Really?”

“Yes, that’s why we came to Korea. And why we’re throwing all this money around. If the method we’re thinking of is correct, we’ll accumulate wealth beyond imagination, so it’s not a waste. But you know this too, sunbae. For a corporation of this size to make a move, it means there’s that much ‘certainty’.”

Kim Joohwan’s eyes were serious. He didn’t seem to be lying. This time, Jungmin took the bottle of ginseng liquor and poured it into his own glass. He took another gulp and exhaled.

What a relief. It’s not like there was no way. Even if the probability is low, there’s a difference between having a chance and having none at all. And as Kim Joohwan said, they must have made their move because they were truly certain.

“There are five patients with pheromone hypersensitivity in Korea. It was only discovered recently, and we are supposed to be exclusively researching and treating them. But Shinwoo sunbae’s case is different. Because Shinwoo sunbae’s condition is acquired, the symptoms are just so varied. At one point, you know, he smelled a certain pheromone and his breathing stopped. In just one minute.”

At those words, Jungmin’s heart sank.

“You mean… hyung almost died?”

“Yes, at that time, the drugs hadn’t left his system yet, so we think that could have caused a more severe symptom…. He hasn’t had a seizure that severe since, but there have been a few other dangerous incidents on a similar level…. There were times he had to wear an oxygen mask the whole time.”

“Was there really no treatment for it to get that bad? For it to go on like that?”

“Of course, we did a lot of research on our end. You must have looked into it too, sunbae, so you’ll know. For congenital hypersensitivity, we’ve already developed a drug and are in clinical trials. We’ve made quite a lot of progress. But Shinwoo sunbae is different. We’re also having a major headache trying to figure out what on earth he did with what kind of drugs to cause such symptoms. Ironically, a person with symptoms like Shinwoo sunbae is a very good test subject for researchers and scholars, so they are actively helping. We’ve tried all sorts of methods. But we couldn’t do it even with every method at our disposal.”

“You said there was a way.”

“Yes, it was a method we tried with a ‘maybe…?’ attitude, and it worked out very well. But unfortunately, it was a method that couldn’t be sustained in London. We thought it might be possible in Korea.”

“Possible in Korea? How.”

Kim Joohwan swirled his empty liquor glass. Looking at the glass with nothing in it, he smirked again. Now the stone will be thrown. But who will that stone ultimately hit?

Kim Joohwan remained silent for a while, but Jungmin waited calmly. He knew better than anyone that to get the information he wanted, all he could do now was wait.

“Do you really want to hear it?”

“Yes.”

“It’s going to hurt you, sunbae.”

“What? Me?”

“Yes. Shin Jungmin sunbae. It will hurt you. You might have to bring out something you’ve buried deep in your heart.”

Kim Joohwan pointed a finger at Jungmin’s chest.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. And judging that… is my job, not yours.”

“Then again, that’s the kind of person you were, sunbae.”

Kim Joohwan carefully looked at the man and prepared to throw the stone.

“Imprinting.”

“Imprinting?”

“He has to imprint. On one person.”

“That… how is that a method?”

Imprinting was an act easily done by omegas and alphas today after they marry and vow to be mates. So how could that be a cure?

“It’s such an easy and common method that it’s hard to believe it’s a cure, right?”

“Of course.”

“Yes, you’re right. That’s why we didn’t believe it either. But it turned out the answer was right under our noses. It’s a method that worked for Yoo Shinwoo sunbae. At the European research institute, we conducted an imprinting test with an omega to see what would happen if he was linked to one person.”

Hyung… was going to imprint with some omega. A sudden chill ran through Jungmin’s chest. No, all the strength drained from his body.

“The imprinting actually happened, and Shinwoo sunbae’s symptoms improved a lot. We thought everything would go smoothly after that, but soon after, he had a seizure due to hypersensitivity to that omega’s pheromones. Then, when we tried to break the imprint, we found it had strangely already been broken.”

That doesn’t make sense. There are various symptoms of imprinting, and it’s not without side effects. Occasionally, an imprint wouldn’t break… or there were side effects where one could smell other people’s pheromones even after imprinting…. But it doesn’t break naturally unless the other person dies.

To imprint, an omega and alpha have to spend their heat and rut together and look into each other’s eyes. Breaking it is the same. Even without sex, they had to look into each other’s eyes, get consent, and then break it. But for it to break on its own…. It can be broken by force. But that comes with enormous side effects.

“The side effects?”

“There were none. It was as clean as if he had never been imprinted. His imprint level was also 0. The other omega’s level was 0 as well. After that, Shinwoo sunbae conducted imprinting tests with three more omegas, and in less than a month, the imprints vanished with the same symptoms. The cause of that became a new research topic for us. Why on earth was this happening? Then we came up with another method. What if there was a pheromone that matched Shinwoo sunbae… what if a pheromone that he didn’t have a hypersensitive reaction to existed? What would happen if he imprinted with the owner of that pheromone? Wouldn’t he be ‘saved,’ at least for the rest of his life?”

Kim Joohwan tipped the bottle, letting the last drop of ginseng liquor fall.

Meanwhile, Jungmin’s mind was a mess. Imprinting… omega… Korea… salvation….

The signs were clear. He didn’t need to hear any more. But he wanted to confirm it. The reason Shinwoo hyung came here, to Korea. About that method of treatment.

“That means… you have to find sunbae’s omega.”

Kim Joohwan slowly swirled the glass again. This time, the glass was full with that last drop.

“Yes, that’s right. We have to find Yoo Shinwoo’s omega. And an omega with pheromones that are a 100% match for Shinwoo sunbae, at that.”