Correction Chapter 92

“Jungmin!”

I had never once imagined that I could have the pleasant experience of being called by name by someone I had a crush on in a bustling downtown area in broad daylight. Perhaps because the past where such a thing might have happened had ended before it even began.

“Shinwoo hyung.”

Jungmin smiled brightly and approached Shinwoo, who was running toward him with a matching smile. Dressed in light casual wear, Shinwoo was still dazzlingly handsome.

“Wow, Shin Jungmin looks so cool today.”

Jungmin, who had been staring blankly at Shinwoo, was taken aback by the sudden compliment and looked at Shinwoo, bewildered.

“Aren’t you the one who looks cool, hyung?”

“What are you talking about? You’re cooler than me. People kept staring at you. Didn’t you know?”

Did they? While waiting for Shinwoo, I was only looking at the text messages we’d exchanged, so there was no way I would have felt anyone’s gaze. Jungmin felt unnecessarily embarrassed and scratched his cheek.

“You’ve really grown up well.”

“Ah, why are you the one feeling proud, hyung? Even my mom isn’t this proud.”

“No. I’m sure your mother is proud too. Did you get some rest?”

“Yeah, I slept in for the first time in a while. It was nice.”

“Haha, right? Once you get a taste of it, you can’t escape. So sleep in moderation.”

“I should. I’m trying not to let myself go.”

Jungmin continued the everyday conversation while walking with Shinwoo. It was truly unbelievable. All of this felt like a dream. Shinwoo might not think so, but to Jungmin, this moment felt like a date between lovers, and he was happy.

After booking the tickets, there were about 30 minutes left until the movie started. Shinwoo suggested they grab a quick bite at the food court on the same floor, but Jungmin wanted to have a leisurely meal with Shinwoo.

“Hyung, let’s eat after the movie. How about some popcorn for now?”

“Ah, should we? They sell sausages and nachos too. Let’s get that.”

Shinwoo, excited like a child, ordered this and that. With their hands full of snacks, it was difficult to show their tickets to the staff when entering the theater, but everything was just enjoyable and made him laugh.

The movie was an action film that had recently surpassed ten million viewers, but Jungmin couldn’t see the content or hear the dialogue. His entire focus was solely on the man sitting next to him. Even while thinking he shouldn’t be like this, a smile spread across his face, and his heart kept pounding.

“Jungmin.”

“Huh?”

“What are you doing? Was it that fun? It’s over.”

It was true. White text was diligently scrolling up a black screen, and half the audience was already gone.

I was sure Shinwoo would notice, so I had tried hard to just look straight ahead and zone out, and I didn’t even realize the movie had ended.

“Get a grip, you punk.”

Shinwoo lightly tapped Jungmin’s forehead and then stood up.

“Let’s go eat.”

“Ah, okay.”

He looked at the back of Shinwoo, who was walking ahead. Then he casually stood beside him. His reflection, standing next to Shinwoo, was visible on the elevator door. Their heights were about the same. He hadn’t been working out much recently, but no matter how you looked at it, he was an alpha… The thought was bitter, but he decided he needed to be confident and quickly pulled himself together. Shinwoo had definitely said he would try. That meant he would try for the person he was now. Let’s just not become a more shameful person, Jungmin thought.

“How was the movie?”

“It was okay.”

“Liar.”

They sat in a private room at the Korean set-menu restaurant they arrived at and chatted intimately. As expected, the topic of the movie came up. Jungmin, with a cold sweat running down his back, chose the most neutral answer, but Yoo Shinwoo smiled as if he didn’t believe him.

“You were just staring at my face the whole time. How did you watch the movie? Do you even remember who the main character was?”

Jungmin dropped the chopsticks he was holding.

“Uh… um, sorry. Did it bother you?”

“What’s there to be sorry about? It’s not the first or second time you’ve stared at my face. You’ve looked at me like that since we first met, Jungmin. So I’m used to your gaze, don’t worry about it. I enjoyed the movie.”

“Uh-huh…”

What a relief. Jungmin picked up his chopsticks again and smiled. Yoo Shinwoo was always this gentle, smoothing over situations that could be embarrassing for the other person.

“Oh, hyung. Were you okay in the theater?”

“I was fine. The medicine seems to be working well for sure.”

“That’s a relief.”

“I’m even thinking, maybe I should just live with this medicine.”

At Shinwoo’s words, Jungmin stopped eating and looked at him. Shinwoo was looking at Jungmin with a bitter smile. So very seriously.

“Then I wouldn’t have to be forcibly paired with an omega I don’t know… Well, Kallfront would probably raise hell since they’ve invested in me, but that… I think I can resolve it to some extent. Taking medicine is a hassle, but I’m used to it now, so it’s not like I’d forget to take it. And I feel like you’d make sure I take it. Wouldn’t you?”

“Shinwoo hyung…”

“I think I shouldn’t give you too much hope, but strangely, whenever I see your gaze, my ego soars. I get the feeling that you, Shin Jungmin, would do anything for me.”

I can do anything. Anything… For you, hyung, I could throw my body on the line, I could even become an omega.

But if he said that now, Shinwoo would definitely feel burdened. He wanted to pull him into an embrace right now, beg him to accept him, and kiss him, but now… was not yet the time.

“If it’s what you want, hyung, I can do anything for you. I have a lot of money, too. If Kallfront demands a penalty fee, I can pay it, and if they sue, I can hire the best law firm in the country. But this is a matter of your life, hyung. I can’t put you in danger because of my own selfishness. So let’s continue the treatment. Don’t give up, hyung.”

“Yeah, I knew you’d say that.”

Shinwoo smiled and placed the last piece of rolled omelet, Jungmin’s favorite, on top of Jungmin’s rice.

“Actually, the omega I was matched with yesterday came out to be 86%.”

“Ah…”

His heart sank. And regret immediately flooded in.

I should have just pleaded with him. I should have accepted it right away. Why did I act so understanding and generous…

The hand that had just calmed down began to tremble again. Jungmin put down his chopsticks and hid his hands below the table.

“They said since it’s the highest number so far, I should try imprinting. But honestly, anything less than 90% is all the same, so I told them let’s just watch for a little longer. If an omega with a higher compatibility rate doesn’t appear within three months… I’ll probably imprint with the omega I was matched with yesterday.”

“I see. Yeah… I guess that would happen.”

If I can’t become an omega within three months… is this the end?

The time frame was much shorter than he thought. He had already received the drug three times, yet he felt no changes in his body. The trembling was supposed to get better, but it was starting again. Nothing was going right.

“Jungmin.”

“Yeah?”

“Should we meet every day? Since we’re unemployed. We can meet every day, right?”

“Every day?”

“Yeah. Let’s meet every day. And wander around more. Let’s do all the things we haven’t been able to do to our heart’s content.”

There was no future in those words. Not a suggestion to date, nor words of wanting to be together. Nothing was defined. It was just like a mirage. Shinwoo was suggesting they start a relationship that could not be defined in any way.

He’s a bad person. A truly selfish person. And yet, he felt he had to take that hand. Jungmin quietly nodded his head, and a large hand, as always, reached out and stroked Jungmin’s hair.

✽✽✽

After that, he met Shinwoo every day. Without missing a single day. They drank a lot, went to an amusement park, and even went down to the countryside for a short trip. But they never had a single moment of physical contact. It seemed they did most of the things even friends could do. They ignored all their anxieties about the future, thinking only of the time the two of them had together. Until a text message came from Kim Joohwan.

The fourth dose of medicine has arrived. Please come tomorrow.

It was the first contact in almost two weeks. He hadn’t exchanged any messages with Kim Joohwan during that time. That was how he had been able to barely ignore everything… Kim Joohwan’s text was like a ticket back to reality.

“What are you looking at so intently?”

Shinwoo asked Jungmin as he cut his steak.

“Ah, hyung. I don’t think I can meet you tomorrow.”

“Hm? Why? Are we in a slump already?”

“What are you talking about? It’s not that… something urgent came up.”

“Cheating on me?”

“I said no. It’s not that…”

“I know, I know. You don’t have to tell me. Okay, then I should take a rest tomorrow for the first time in a while, too. It’s finally a holiday.”

“Hyung, what was that remark? As if meeting me was like going to work?”

“Haha, it pretty much was.”

“You were the one who suggested we meet every day, hyung.”

“I did go a bit too far. Let’s do a five-day week. I think we need some time to ourselves occasionally.”

“Wow… people can change like this.”

When Jungmin made a fed-up face, Shinwoo apologized and quickly swapped his plate, which held the steak he had cut so nicely, with Jungmin’s steak plate. Jungmin smiled and took a bite of the steak. Staring at the night view that looked like it would rain at any moment, he tried his best not to face the reality that awaited him tomorrow.