Salt Society Chapter 68

So Kihyun nodded readily. And so, after nodding off repeatedly in the car, the place he arrived at was here.

—How did you end up coming down here while leaving even your cell phone behind? Ah, forget it. Explain the situation later. Let’s have a drink then. I’m too busy right now.

After saying that, Yang Jisu tossed a cell phone registered under his own name to Kihyun and, after dropping him off at the rented room he had described, left immediately. Kihyun, left with the door lock password, turned on the phone and searched the surrounding area. He was then able to see that this place was closer to Haenam than Mokpo. He thought to himself that he had come quite far while he was asleep.

Since then, Kihyun helped with Yang Jisu’s work every single day. Because Yang Jisu was such a busy person, Kihyun had to learn the work from the bank clerk rather than Yang Jisu from the very beginning.

The hours Kihyun looked after the work were from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. It was until the time the bank closed. Kihyun found that fascinating. Since Yang Jisu was nowhere to be seen, he wondered exactly when the bank clerk ever rested.

However, the man had too exhausted an impression to be asked anything. Because it didn’t seem like he would answer no matter what was asked, Kihyun always had to suppress his curiosity internally.

Even if he did ask, if he were hit with a counter-question like, “Then why did you drift all the way down here?” it would actually be a loss for this side, so he simply kept his mouth shut.

Like that, a full month passed while working under Yang Jisu. During that time, he had been busy eating and sleeping outside of work hours, but now that he was used to the job, the worries he had pushed aside were slowly creeping up. He was in a bind regarding what to do about pheromones.

He had never forgotten the fact that a child needs the Alpha pheromones of the biological father to grow stably. Even as he fled all the way down here, that was the only point that weighed on Kihyun.

…Should I try asking another Alpha for help. However, as Kihyun felt it, Alphas had aspects that were slightly out of sync with a Beta’s common sense. For instance, like a cultural difference or a generation gap, there were points that could not be understood from his perspective.

Therefore, he was cautious about blindly asking another Alpha to release pheromones for him. He didn’t know how that request would feel to them.

The other person might feel offended by Kihyun’s request, or they might actually misunderstand his intentions. If that happened, he was in a bind as to how he, who was not alone and not in a stable period, should defend himself.

It was better not to do anything dangerous at all. However, it was also dangerous to return to Cho Yeonoh.

Dealing with Cho Yeonoh himself was fine. He didn’t want to show consideration alone for the guy who had moved into the next building while ignoring his own declaration of breaking off the friendship. Furthermore, if he said he had a child after they broke up, there would be nothing to be bothered about.

Thinking of Cho Yeonoh, who used to act extremely sensitive toward his partner’s or his own infidelity, he thought that a child conceived after breaking up with him shouldn’t matter.

…In any case, since Cho Yeonoh has never loved So Kihyun, there would be no reason for him to feel a sense of betrayal. Wasn’t the relationship they had maintained for several years not even a game of playing house, to an embarrassing degree? Even if he is flabbergasted at first, it will be better than when the words about breaking off the friendship were brought up.

Counting it that way, the most stable option at present was Cho Yeonoh. While the guy thinks the child in Kihyun’s womb is not his own, he might even be able to deceive Cho Gyudeok for a while. Though he might intrude and take away a substance containing the child’s genetic information like last time.

However, if worse comes to worst, he can just go abroad entirely. Of course it won’t be easy, but it would be much better than living in Korea after everything is discovered.

Kihyun chose the dinner menu while thinking about various possibilities. Since making braised spicy chicken seemed like it would be difficult, he chose spicy chicken stew. He washed the prepared chicken well, put it in a pot, added plenty of onions, potatoes, and green onions, then circled it once with soy sauce. After mixing in red pepper powder, garlic, sugar, and a bit of MSG, he closed the pot lid and let it boil vigorously.

He did not add water separately. It was the method Cho Yeonoh had taught him. Lately, Kihyun occasionally craved the food the guy had made for him. He could follow the recipes he had overheard while hovering around, but it was difficult to reproduce the dishes where he hadn’t done so.

At those times, a strange feeling arose for no reason. He couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was, but it felt almost like being hurt. It was a strange thing. Because there was no reason for So Kihyun to feel hurt by Cho Yeonoh.

On the contrary, if his action of coming down here without a word made the other person feel that way, that would be one thing. But Kihyun wanted to organize his heart while he was here. He had spoken of breaking off the friendship, but seeing the guy’s reaction, it didn’t seem like he would listen, so he also wanted to prepare to act as the friend Cho Yeonoh wanted as much as possible.

Regardless, the two had been together since they were very young. As someone whose life is currently half-built upon Cho Yeonoh, he didn’t think he could completely cut him out. Furthermore, even the child in his womb is connected to Cho Yeonoh, isn’t it?

When he spoke of breaking off the friendship, he had certainly made up his mind to leave the guy in earnest. However, having left, he was in the middle of experiencing that a quite large part of himself is made up of time spent with Cho Yeonoh.

So Kihyun thought it wouldn’t be bad to try preparing to go back to being friends as Cho Yeonoh wished. If he fails at that, he can really break off the friendship as he said, and if he succeeds, he gains a friend who will last a lifetime.

Before, he thought everything that made him up would collapse if the guy wasn’t there. And for good reason, because So Kihyun was so very intimate with Cho Yeonoh.

But all of that is not something to be put into action right now. Kihyun had his own ally made of his own flesh and blood.

Because of that, he tried his best not to think negative thoughts. It was for the sake of the child, too, but because as a human being, the more one thinks of negative things, the more one is bound to be buried by them.

Kihyun tried to think only good thoughts. Was it thanks to that? A few days later, he was able to hear helpful information from Yang Jisu.

“If it’s because of a pheromone problem, there are things like supplements.”

“Are there such things?”

Yang Jisu, who finally showed up for work, said he was dying and drank two bottles of Bacchus in a row, then nodded while biting into a peach that hadn’t even been peeled.

He said he got them from an acquaintance’s farm, but when Kihyun ate the fruit well, he brought a whole box, telling him to take it home and eat it. Even looking at the peaches piled up like a mountain, Kihyun was internally counting the number of remaining peaches. It was because Yang Jisu had already eaten three.

Yang Jisu, who had just reacted with an “Ah, is that so?” even when Kihyun confessed that he had transformed into an Omega and become pregnant, spat out the pit and continued his words.

“For Seoul guys, medical facilities are well-equipped and there are many OB-GYNs, but in the countryside, there aren’t things like that.”

It was a statement that because they couldn’t go to the hospital easily, they conversely applied themselves even more to finding solutions.

“Since there are pheromone stabilizers eaten by recessive Omegas who have a hard time getting pregnant but succeeded, why don’t you try holding out with those.”

Yang Jisu spoke as if it wouldn’t be a problem.

“I don’t know well myself, but the countryside usually does it that way, and seeing the kids that have come out, they were all fine. They have all ten fingers and no major illnesses.”

“Is that so…”

Kihyun nodded cautiously. However, if a medical record remains, this location might be easily discovered. Because he was lost in such thoughts, he didn’t even notice Yang Jisu staring intently at his face. He had read the hesitation in Kihyun’s expression.

“I have forged IDs, so don’t worry.”

Then he opened a drawer and found several IDs that were stained or faded. Kihyun was about to ask why he had such things but kept his mouth shut. It didn’t seem like it would be beneficial even if he heard the answer.

In any case, Kihyun was able to go to the OB-GYN Yang Jisu had introduced. It was a place in a larger town that he had to travel 40 minutes to by car, but it wasn’t bad. Since Yang Jisu had given Kihyun a scooter to use for grocery shopping, it didn’t feel that far when he rode it.

Carrying a forged ID and riding a scooter that had no insurance or anything guaranteed, the way to the town hospital was more peaceful than expected. It might have been even more so because no matter where he looked, the world was entirely green.

He wondered what he would do if the forged identity was discovered, but the assistant at the reception desk asked him to state his date of birth and name with a face that looked completely uninterested in Kihyun. After giving the name of someone he didn’t know and the resident registration number of a person he was not acquainted with, he sat in a chair and waited quietly until it was his turn for the consultation.

“Mr. An Dangchan, please come in.”

Kihyun, who was sitting blankly because he didn’t know whose name that was, only then realized it was his new name, jumped up, and headed for the consultation room. The assistant seemed briefly surprised to see Kihyun, who was significantly larger than typical Omegas and had a grand physique, but quickly suppressed the expression.

…I should have come wearing a hat. Since he had a lot weighing on his conscience for no reason, he felt like he was being caught.

The consultation with the doctor was simpler than expected. He did take an ultrasound, but compared to the consultations he had in Seoul, the time was considerably short for a first visit. The doctor was elderly and perhaps because he was experienced, he treated Kihyun’s case as if it were no big deal.

“You’re in an unstable state, but you can just watch the situation while taking supplements for this kind of thing. It should be fine for now, so don’t worry too much and come for another visit next week.”