Correction Chapter 95

“Ah, do you know where my phone is?”

At Jungmin’s question, Kim Joohwan came out from another room with Jungmin’s phone.

“Why is it in there? I never even went into that room.”

“I charged it for you.”

The phone was turned off. Well, it made sense that the battery was dead. As soon as he received the phone, Jungmin pressed the power button. A flood of messages and missed call notifications came in right away. They were all from Shinwoo. I made him worry again.

“I need to make a call.”

Jungmin quickly got up, went into the bedroom, closed the door, and pressed the call button. The line didn’t ring for long before Shinwoo answered.

─Jungmin!

“Ah, hyung! I’m sorry. I didn’t know my phone was off.”

─I almost went to your house!!

That would have been a real disaster. On one hand, he felt sorry. It felt like he was deceiving Shinwoo… and also for making him worry so much.

And also for feeling good about this kind of worry…. He felt sorry toward him for that.

“Sorry, sorry. I was sleeping so soundly….”

─Sleeping is fine, but… you should at least stay in touch. I didn’t get any messages all day yesterday… I thought you’d abandoned me.

“How could I? That will never happen.”

─Then let’s meet right now.

“Huh? Right now?”

─Yes. It’s not like you can’t, right?

“Of course not. Okay. Hyung, you decide on a place and text me. I’ll wash up quickly and head out.”

─Okay. Let’s talk when we meet.

“Yeah.”

It seemed Shinwoo was seriously angry. He would definitely ask what he did yesterday, so what should he say? It seemed he needed to come up with a solid alibi.

“I’m going to go wash up.”

“Yes.”

Jungmin told Kim Joohwan and hurried into the bathroom to wash himself. Fortunately, since he had showered before falling asleep, he wasn’t particularly dirty. The cleanup had already been taken care of… and there were no marks on his body either.

“Huh?”

After he finished washing and came out, a casual suit that looked like new clothes was hanging in front of the door. Surely, this wasn’t hung up for him to wear, right? No. It could be Kim Joohwan’s.

Jungmin, wearing a robe, came out and looked for his own clothes, but they were nowhere to be seen. He had no choice but to ask the owner of the house.

“Kim Joohwan.”

“Yes.”

He was still working on his laptop.

“Do you know where my clothes are?”

“Please wear the ones hanging in front of the bathroom.”

“What?”

“I washed sunbae’s clothes. They were all wrinkled and a mess with semen on them. Were you planning to meet Yoo Shinwoo sunbae wearing that?”

That was true, but… Jungmin glanced at the clothes hanging by the bathroom. The style was one he wore often, so it was actually nice… but he was curious about the origin of those clothes.

“Is the size wrong?”

“Huh? No, no. I’ll wear them.”

Jungmin closed the door and put on the prepared clothes. The size was a perfect fit. As if they had been prepared just for him. No way….

“Are these… mine, by any chance?”

Jungmin peeked the door open and asked Kim Joohwan. Kim Joohwan said nothing. Seeing him pretend not to hear and focus on his laptop, Jungmin let out a deflated sound, “Heh.”

They were mine. The thought made him feel a little strange. To think he was receiving a gift of clothes from Kim Joohwan. Ah, now that he thought about it, he remembered receiving a gift at that party one day. The memory of that time was so dirty that he had forgotten.

Still, he should probably say thank you for this. Jungmin needlessly smoothed down the clothes once and came out of the room.

“Th-thanks—huh?”

It was at that moment. The instant he stepped out of the room and into the living room, his legs gave out, and Jungmin collapsed right onto the floor.

Thud—hearing the sound, even Kim Joohwan, who had been looking only at his laptop, lifted his head to look at Jungmin. Over the sofa, he could see Jungmin collapsed on the floor.

“Did you fall?”

“Uh….”

“Hurry and get up.”

Kim Joohwan spoke nonchalantly, but then he sensed something was wrong and rose from his seat. He approached the still-dazed Jungmin and held out a hand.

“Did you get a cramp in your leg?”

“Uh…. No… it’s not that.”

“What’s wrong?”

It seemed like Jungmin couldn’t find the words to say. Kim Joohwan watched Jungmin silently for a moment, then withdrew his outstretched hand, lowered himself to Jungmin’s eye level, and looked at him.

“What is it, what’s wrong?”

Seeing Jungmin’s pale face, Kim Joohwan also felt his own heart pounding.

“Shin Jungmin. What is it.”

“Kim Joohwan.”

“Yes.”

“What do I do?”

“What about?”

“There’s no strength in my legs….”

“What?”

“I can’t get up.”

What on earth was he talking about? Kim Joohwan grabbed Jungmin’s arm and pulled him up. But just as he said, Jungmin only staggered, unable to find his balance like a person who had forgotten how to stand. No, he couldn’t even straighten his legs.

“Why, why is this happening?”

“Calm down.”

Kim Joohwan gripped Jungmin’s shoulders. He looked a little anxious, so he calmed him down. Seeing Jungmin’s hands start to tremble again, Kim Joohwan thought it might be related to the drug and quickly made a call to the lab. And not long after, an ambulance arrived and took Jungmin to the lab.

Researchers rushed over to observe Jungmin’s condition. He could talk, use his head, recognize people—everything was normal, but it seemed his body alone couldn’t move properly.

Kim Joohwan clenched his fists tightly and watched the entire process of Jungmin’s examination. The researchers asked what had happened during the night, and both Joohwan and Jungmin answered diligently.

After a little time had passed, Jungmin’s anxious face gradually became serene. As if he were ready to accept everything, he calmly complied with all the tests. And in less than three hours, the test results were out.

“Fortunately, it’s not paralysis. All his nerves are normal. However… his muscles are rapidly deteriorating. At a very fast rate.”

Jungmin sighed at the doctor’s words. It was complicated. It was a relief that it wasn’t immediate paralysis, but… for a person to lose muscle was, in the end, as serious as paralysis.

“That’s likely why his body couldn’t accept it and he had temporary difficulty moving. He will adapt soon. I will quickly make the related medication and give it to you. We should be able to slow down the rate of deterioration to some extent.”

“Slow it down?”

Kim Joohwan frowned as he looked at Kim Ari.

“Yes, at present, we can only slow it down. We can’t stop it. He has to stop the drug for that.”

“Why is this symptom appearing?”

“Because it’s one of the side effects. We don’t know the clear cause. In fact, since the medication to slow it down is also being prepared in a hurry, it could cause other side effects.”

“Ha… Researcher Kim, how can you say that right now.”

“It’s okay. I was prepared for this.”

Feeling like Kim Joohwan was about to tear into the researchers, Jungmin quickly intervened.

“I was even prepared to die, so something like this is… fine. Rather, I’m grateful that you are making a new drug for me when you’re so busy. I hope I haven’t caused too much trouble.”

As Jungmin spoke with a smile, Kim Ari sighed.

“Mr. Shin. I’m sorry, but your condition right now isn’t that good. Why don’t you stop now? To tell you something a little discouraging… there’s been no change in your alpha level.”

I see. I’m still an alpha.

Jungmin felt a little resentful of the heavens. But it couldn’t be helped. Why would the heavens find a child pretty who, after being painstakingly made into an alpha, now says he wants to become an omega?

“It’s okay. I didn’t think it would happen so quickly. I don’t want to give up yet.”

“I understand.”

Kim Ari nodded and left the hospital room. Jungmin tried wiggling his hands. Fortunately, his hands moved more smoothly than before. Aside from having no strength in his body, his condition was otherwise fine.

“Ah, my muscle loss…. I’m going to lose a ton of weight, too. The clothes you bought for me won’t fit, which is a shame.”

“Omegas don’t build muscle easily anyway. And we can just buy new clothes.”

“Forget it. What for? It’s a waste.”

Jungmin looked at the ceiling and hummed a tune. He seemed to be forcing himself to act fine, and just as Kim Joohwan was about to say something, Jungmin’s phone rang loudly. The sound startled Jungmin. He was supposed to meet Shinwoo. As Jungmin fumbled his hand toward the phone, Kim Joohwan handed it to him.

“Ah, hyung.”

─Jungmin! You, really!!

“I’m sorry. Hyung, I was so sleepy I fell asleep again.”

I’m sorry. I have no choice but to lie like this.

─I’m in front of your house right now. You can come out for a bit, can’t you?

“Huh? Uh….”

─Shin Jungmin.

“Hyung.”

─Where are you? Tell me honestly. That’s the only way I can trust you. The only way I can keep trusting you in the future.

Jungmin gripped the blanket tightly and told him where he was. Yoo Shinwoo sounded surprised, but he soon calmed down, said he would come right away, and hung up. Jungmin looked at Kim Joohwan.

“Kim Joohwan.”

“Yes.”

“Can I… tell hyung that I’m taking the omega shots?”

“Do you think Yoo Shinwoo sunbae will accept it? This thing that sunbae is doing?”

“I don’t know. But I think it’s a better option than continuing to lie.”

“…What is it you want to ask of me?”

“How did you know?”

“You wouldn’t be saying my name and talking about this otherwise. Do you think I don’t know sunbae?”

“I’m not going to tell him about sleeping with you. Not yet.”

“You want me to keep the fact that you’re messing around with me a secret? Ha, so you plan on deceiving Yoo Shinwoo sunbae.”

“There’s no guarantee that something like this won’t happen a second time. Then I’d have to keep lying to hyung…. So I feel like I have to tell him. But… I don’t want to tell him about sleeping with you. That’s not to say I plan on lying forever. I’ll tell him that too, when the time is right.”

“Do as you please. It’s not like I want to inform Yoo Shinwoo sunbae about that part either. It does neither of us any good if he finds out I’m sleeping with an alpha, right? The meddler will take his leave now.”

After Kim Joohwan left the room, only the unfamiliar ticking of a clock could be heard inside. Wondering what on earth that sound was, Jungmin lifted his wrist. The watch that Kim Joohwan had put on him had, at some point, become one with his body, quietly marking the passage of time.