Salt Society Chapter 54

“…….”

Kihyun turned his gaze away from Cho Yeonoh. He hadn’t wanted to go as far as saying these things, but something inside had burst, and he couldn’t endure it without speaking out.

“You were shitty even when we were just friends.”

With that, he turned his body around. He brushed past the man, who was looking this way before turning his head in a startle, and headed straight for the driver’s seat as if it were nothing.

Getting into the car, Kihyun moved the gears and started the vehicle as soon as the man climbed in. Through the rearview mirror, he could see Cho Yeonoh standing there, watching this way.

Kihyun shifted his eyes and stared straight ahead. There was nothing he had left behind at that hospital.

“So, why did you say you broke up?”

“Personality differences.”

At those words, Bumhee spat out the beer she was drinking and sent him a look that said, ‘Stop bullshitting.’ After pulling out some tissues for her, Kihyun shrugged his shoulders.

“I get it, but why did you come here with Damon Kim earlier?”

The man had followed along without a word even though Kihyun had grabbed the steering wheel without even mentioning a destination. Kihyun had simply driven the car straight to the front of Bumhee’s house.

Since he wasn’t in the mood to speak, he knew it was a sufficiently rude action, but he couldn’t help it. However, the man didn’t ask Kihyun anything. Grateful for that, he had bowed to the man several times after getting out of the car.

Bumhee, who had come down to the luxury officetel to go to the convenience store, had discovered them like that. Kihyun signaled to Bumhee with his eyes not to act like she knew him, and then bowed to the man once more.

—I owe you a lot.

—Ah, no. I was the one who was sorry.

The man, who replied in a stuttering tone, seemed to hesitate for a moment before asking for his contact information. After debating what to do, Kihyun gave him the number. Since he was planning to change his number anyway, it didn’t seem to matter.

The man was staring at the phone where Kihyun’s number was displayed. He gave him a nod and turned his back toward Bumhee, who was standing there blankly watching the scene.

Damon. So that was his name, Kihyun thought, and as he didn’t respond, Bumhee shook her head as if giving up on hearing an answer. Then, she crushed the beer can she had finished in two gulps with her grip and spoke while opening a new one.

“But seriously, you’re not drinking? What’s gotten into a drunkard like you?”

“Because I’m pregnant.”

“Who’s pregnant that even you aren’t drinking? Are you cheering for a safe delivery by abstaining? Is So Kihyun’s loyalty that grand?”

Feeling as though the same conversation pattern was repeating, Kihyun kept his mouth shut and sipped the apple juice Bumhee had brought out instead of beer.

She asked once more, who is pregnant. Even for the clever Lee Bumhee, it seemed she couldn’t associate So Kihyun with pregnancy. Kihyun glanced at her and, after confirming she had swallowed all her beer, replied.

“I did, the pregnancy.”

“What kind of dog-talk is that. I did too, a pregnancy. I’ve been eating so much lately, why is my lower belly sticking out like this. You took nutrition class too, right? Work out a diet program for me, Mr. So.”

He thought she would be surprised, but she treated it entirely as a joke. Kihyun also thought it was a joke-like situation.

However, the more he thought about it step by step, all the reactions he’d had over the past few weeks fit perfectly with the signs of pregnancy. Eating fruit he never sought out before, or the way he reacted to Cho Yeonoh’s pheromones in the resort room. It was almost a wonder he hadn’t noticed himself when the symptoms were everywhere.

Since leaving the hospital, as he continuously recalled himself over the last few weeks, he had no choice but to believe the fact of the pregnancy. But for Bumhee, it would be hard to believe. He added with a sigh.

“They say I’ve undergone a trait transformation into an omega.”

“……What mega?”

Only then did she seem to understand. Kihyun pushed the beer can aside in case Bumhee spilled it and continued his explanation.

“They say that if you’re continuously exposed to dominant alpha pheromones, that kind of thing happens from time to time. Since dominant types are rare, they said cases themselves are few. Do you know anything about it?”

“What kind of nonsense…… No, wait. Since Cho Yeonoh is a dominant alpha, it doesn’t seem like such a nonsense story…… I don’t know the details since it wasn’t my major.”

Bumhee, looking distressed herself, grabbed Kihyun’s shoulders and shook him hard. Kihyun let her shake him as she pleased. Soon, she clutched her head and agonized over it alone.

Kihyun didn’t even look at Bumhee as he picked up the cup again and drank the apple juice. Because it was fruit juice, the sweet and sour taste went down exceptionally well. No wonder he had specifically wanted to eat fruit lately. It was fascinating that apple juice, which he never used to touch, tasted so good. As he sipped away, he asked with regret as he saw the bottom of the cup.

“Is there any more of this?”

“Wait, then the pregnancy—! Argh, So Kihyun! Tell me the truth! Which son of a bitch’s kid are you carrying—!”

“The baby can hear you.”

Bumhee’s jaw dropped as far as it could go. She even looked like she was about to cry from disbelief.

“It makes no sense, my poor guy, how did you end up as a single father with such a story— No, wait, seriously, whose kid is it.”

Kihyun didn’t answer and looked back at Bumhee. He had a face that said, whose kid do you think it is. Bumhee’s expression distorted strangely.

“……That piece of shit Yeonoh’s kid……?”

“In my position, who else would there be but him.”

Really, in So Kihyun’s position, who else would he have slept with? In the position of So Kihyun, who had devoted himself to a one-sided love for over a decade and has no intention of even telling him even after becoming pregnant with that crush’s child.

No, rather, that’s why he isn’t telling him. This child will simply be his own. To Cho Yeonoh, who loathed relationships with betas, he couldn’t possibly say now that he had become an omega and conceived a child after sleeping with him.

Funny enough, Kihyun loved him up until the moment he spat those harsh words at Cho Yeonoh. He would probably love Cho Yeonoh for a long time to come.

But So Kihyun no longer draws a future with Cho Yeonoh. Love is love, and life is life. Kihyun had succeeded in separating Cho Yeonoh from his life. All that remained for him was reality.

Keeping a composed face, Kihyun asked the thing he had been thinking about while coming to Bumhee’s house.

“So, about that, let me know of a good OB-GYN and a pheromone internal medicine clinic. Keep it a secret from Cho Yeonoh.”

As if she had guessed his entire history from that one sentence, Bumhee replied with a sigh.

“……You’re not going to tell him?”

“Why would I. That guy doesn’t even know I became an omega.”

Kihyun answered nonchalantly. A few tears almost came out but went back in. His heart was in a state of supreme calmness. It was different from when he was pouring out curses at Cho Yeonoh in front of the hospital. It felt as though being wronged, resentful, and sad had all ended a long time ago.

Kihyun brainwashed himself into thinking that only reality remained from now on. It was true to some extent. Because he now had more things to be responsible for.

It was different from the old days when he was all alone and free to go anywhere. The difference between yesterday and today was enormous. Having a heavy heart didn’t feel bad, but that didn’t mean he had no worries at all.

At least the silver lining was that he didn’t have to worry about money. The inheritance his mother left behind might be trivial in the eyes of the chaebols, but it was more than enough for an ordinary person to make a living.

Kihyun thought of a villa in Ilsan among the real estate his mother had left him. There was a university hospital nearby, and it would be a good place to raise a child. He had also heard from a colleague who had worked in Ilsan that it was a quiet and good neighborhood to live in.

He figured if he moved there and rented out the house he’s living in now, there would be no shortage in living with a child. The problem was his personality, which gets depressed easily if he doesn’t work consistently.

Thinking of that, he went onto the physical therapist association website and searched for Ilsan, finding quite a few positions with good conditions. Kihyun muttered as he scrolled down.

“They’re only looking for female therapists, though. No, maybe it won’t matter since I’m an omega now?”

Watching that, Bumhee clicked her tongue as if she were appalled.

“You’ve adapted to being an omega already? You’re the kind of bastard who would pick and eat a coconut within an hour of being dropped on a deserted island. Your ability to adapt is killer, huh?”

“A person needs at least this kind of talent.”

Kihyun replied indifferently. Becoming an omega was ridiculous, but the reality right in front of him came first. Kihyun asked the thing he had been curious about.

“Hey, but I think I learned in physiology class that if you become an omega, your genitals shrink. Is that true?”

“Stop talking shit, Mr. So. Is the size of your dick the problem right now? I get so scared every time you’re like this. Please, act flustered for once. I’m doing all the flustering for you.”

“I appreciate that, but genital shrinkage is a fairly big problem in its own right. A man’s pride is at stake.”

“Ah, you crazy bastard, stop with the bullshit—!”

Bumhee frowned and shouted in annoyance. At times like this, it was beneficial for Kihyun to shut up, so he closed his mouth. Without smoothing out her frown, she drained the rest of the beer in the can. Then, she spoke with a somber tone.

“I’ll contact a senior I know tomorrow. Let’s start by going to a pheromone internal medicine clinic. After that, we’ll go to the OB-GYN and get a final diagnosis.”

Kihyun nodded quietly and then stood up.

“I’m going now.”

“……Are you really not going to tell Cho Yeonoh until the very end? That bastard is the one who made you an omega.”

“Do you think he did it knowing that?”