Correction Chapter 87

“Dr. Shin! It’s been a while!”

“Hello.”

“Shin! Are you feeling okay now?”

“Yes, I’m sorry for making you worry.”

“Don’t push yourself too hard.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Returning to the hospital for the first time in a while, Jungmin was warmly greeted by many colleagues and patients. He felt grateful to the patients who had waited for him, but also sorry, so he treated them with the utmost sincerity.

Working after such a long time made him feel as if all the worries and anxieties of the world were melting away. That’s how much Jungmin loved and took pride in his job. The one thing he considered the best decision of his life was becoming a doctor.

When he was struggling and lonely, it was everything about the hospital that comforted him. There were times he couldn’t go home due to endless night shifts and a hellish schedule, but he enjoyed even that. However—

“Ah….”

After taking the second dose of the drug, a sudden side effect appeared. His hands began to tremble.

✽✽✽

The second dose was administered two weeks after his discharge. The location was the same hospital room at the research institute where he had been admitted before. The medicine had been slightly altered, and since it was the second time, Dr. Kim Ari suggested he take it at the institute in case any problems arose, to which Jungmin and Joohwan agreed.

They didn’t have sex after he took it. There was nothing wrong with his body, nor did he feel exhausted, but it was at Dr. Kim’s request to test if it was possible with just pheromones alone. Kim Joohwan kept his mouth firmly shut and did as they told him.

Sitting next to the lying Jungmin, he gave his pheromones to him, and Jungmin felt his consciousness gradually fading as he closed his eyes. Then, he woke up a couple of hours later. His body felt heavy, but there were no noticeable side effects. Reassured, he went to work… but three days later, his hands began to tremble violently.

“Your hands are trembling?”

“Yes.”

Sensing that something was seriously wrong, Jungmin left work immediately and went to the institute. Dr. Kim looked at Jungmin’s hand with a grave expression. It was trembling faintly but intermittently.

“Let’s run some tests first.”

She said they would have to run tests to know if it was the drug or another issue. He cooperated with all the tests, and he was able to get the results that very night.

“There’s nothing particularly abnormal. However, your Alpha factor is very unstable. Your pheromones are also being released.”

“So it’s highly likely a side effect.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

This was fatal for a doctor. Especially for Jungmin, who performed surgeries, he could no longer continue his career with these hands.

“You’ll be fine if you take a neutralizer now. Should I prepare one?”

It was a moment of choice. He had thought, ‘What if….’ He knew something like this might happen. But he didn’t expect it to be so soon. Right, the world is fair when it comes to misfortune. To gain something, you must sacrifice something else. To have something precious… you must lose something else precious for it to be fair.

Jungmin clenched his trembling hand tightly.

“No.”

“Dr. Shin. Even now… it’s not too late.”

“Dr. Kim. You promised me. That you would help me. I am not giving up. So please don’t say such things.”

“You might find it difficult to return to work.”

“Yes, but that’s okay.”

He said it calmly. He said that since this was the path he had chosen, he would not blame anyone, but he would also not consider failure, and with that, Jungmin left the institute.

The next day, Jungmin told his parents he would be taking a break from being a doctor. His parents didn’t try to stop him. It was true that he had worked tirelessly until now, and they figured their always-prudent son must have a reason for such a decision, so they understood and let it go.

However, his eldest sister-in-law, the hospital director, tried to stop him. She was worried that Jungmin’s career would be interrupted at its peak. Jungmin knew how much his sister-in-law cherished and worried about him, which only made him feel more sorry. Leaving behind his sister-in-law who couldn’t bring herself to let him go, Jungmin submitted his resignation to the hospital. He could have taken a leave of absence, but considering the worst-case scenario, it was right to get his affairs in order.

Jungmin sipped his coffee and looked at his trembling hand. If it gets better, he will of course return to his original place. But if he could choose, he would, of course, choose to become an Omega without hesitation.

Forcefully suppressing the depression rising from the depths of his heart, he looked up at the clear sky and drank his coffee. Just as he was thinking he should enjoy this long-overdue leisure, he got a call from Yoo Shinwoo.

“Shinwoo hyung.”

─Jungmin.

“Are you done with your tests?”

Yoo Shinwoo had been undergoing matching tests daily recently. It wasn’t just the Omegas who had their pheromones tested; if the result of the first pheromone test was over 60%, they had to be tested again with the Alpha, Yoo Shinwoo, so he was practically living at the research institute.

─Yeah, just now.

“And the res…ults?”

He should have asked straightforwardly, but he had to be pathetic again…. Jungmin felt a sense of self-loathing, banged his forehead on the table, and then lifted his head again.

─It didn’t work out.

“Ah….”

Was it a relief? Or not? Hearing the dejected tone in Shinwoo’s voice, he felt like he should console him, but a sense of relief came first, making him feel sorry towards Shinwoo.

─Where are you?

“Ah, I’m in Gangnam right now.”

─Huh? Not at the hospital?

Right. I have to tell hyung, too. What should I say?

“Yeah.”

─So you’re free from now on?

“Yeah.”

─Great. Let’s go for a drink today.

“Hyung, are you allowed to drink?”

─That’s why I’m asking you to drink with me. Can you spare some time for me?

“Of course. What do you want to drink?”

─Pork belly and soju. I’ll come to where you are, so send me the address.

“Haha, alright. I’ll find a barbecue place too.”

While waiting for Shinwoo, Jungmin was able to shake off his heavy mood, even if just for a moment. He happily found a delicious barbecue restaurant and made a reservation, and after a short wait, Shinwoo appeared before him. They took a seat at a cafe near the designated restaurant.

“Isn’t it a bit much to drink in the middle of the day?”

At Shinwoo’s words, he unconsciously looked out the window. The sun was still up. But looking at the other tables, he saw that each had a bottle or two of beer or soju on them.

“Isn’t it fine? It’s almost 5 o’clock.”

“Right. Who cares what others think. If we want to drink, we drink. Excuse me!”

Soon, the soju they ordered came out first. They each poured a glass, clinked them together, and downed it in one gulp. The sharp taste flowed down their throats. The long-forgotten feeling lifted Jungmin’s spirits as well.

“By the way, do you have the day off today?”

“No, I quit the hospital.”

Shinwoo’s movements, who was grilling the meat, stopped.

“What? Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Why? Are you opening your own clinic?”

“No, I’m just trying to get some rest. I ran without a break for years and got burnt out.”

This was the line he had used several times already with his family and those around him. For most people who knew how hard Jungmin had lived, this one sentence was enough. And it was the same for Yoo Shinwoo. He didn’t ask for any further reason. He just…

“Right, if you chose it, then it’s the right choice. That’s the right path. So don’t hesitate! Jungmin. You’ll do great. But still. Don’t push yourself too hard, and go your own way at your own pace.”

He reached out and stroked Jungmin’s hair. How much comfort that brought him… how much strength it gave him, he would never know. The tip of his nose tingled. In case the tears he had been holding back were about to fall, he quickly raised his glass and proposed a toast to Shinwoo, who readily clinked his glass against Jungmin’s.

“By the way, hyung, is it okay for you to be out in a crowded place like this?”

“I told you I’m fine. This new drug is really effective. It used to be once every three hours, right? Now I think I’m good for half a day. Kal Front really does make good medicine.”

Jungmin felt the same way. Of course, they had become a one-of-a-kind company worldwide because they make good drugs, but even the medicine Jungmin was taking had no major side effects, despite still being in the pre-clinical trial stage. Even drugs that had gone through clinical trials often had all sorts of side effects… what’s more, they quickly developed better drugs even with little data, so he thought Kal Front might release the new drug sooner than expected. Thinking about it that way, the side effect of his trembling hands seemed like nothing.

They even gave him medicine to calm the hand tremors to some extent, and after taking it, his hands no longer shook. But he quit the hospital because he was anxious.

Jungmin felt relieved at Shinwoo’s words and nodded.