My Alpha Era Began with Gongjindan Chapter 102

I was only able to join my staff on the day of departure. Nam Jungyoon, whom I met again at the airport, gave me a rather nasty grin as soon as he saw me.

“You got marked, didn’t you?”

“…Does it show?”

“You’re wearing a ring on your finger, and I can’t feel any pheromones at all, so it totally shows. You look exactly like a married man at first glance.”

As if they’d made some kind of bet, Kim Miyoung and Nam Jungyoon whispered among themselves and then started exchanging money.

It seemed Nam Jungyoon had won against Kim Miyoung this time.

“…Ha, what a waste. I thought that given the director’s personality, he wouldn’t get marked abroad.”

“I could feel the vibe from the moment he didn’t return to the lodging without any contact. The vibe of marking.”

“If you two are going to keep betting on me, then give me money too.”

“Just think of it as employee welfare.”

“That’s right. If we didn’t have bets like this, where would we find our excitement?”

Why on earth are you looking for excitement in places like that….

I was dumbfounded, but I couldn’t press the matter further. By then, it was already time to board the plane.

After returning to Korea, things were constantly hectic. I never thought I’d experience firsthand how karma piles up when you put off work and go abroad.

Thanks to Hong Seonghyeon’s efforts, but also because the identity of ‘Yeonghwa hyung’ had spread here and there across various online communities, our Korean medicine clinic was packed to the brim. Half the people came to get herbal medicine, and the other half came to see ‘Yeonghwa hyung,’ the one Jung Pureum had proposed to.

The YouTubers I’d barely managed to chase away with a broom were also slowly creeping back. It was foresight that I’d switched to an expensive security company early on, thanks to Minjun TV.

I wondered if I should just post a police officer next to me and hold up a sign that said, “I am not a zoo monkey. Please stop coming to gawk at me.” I felt like I was getting neurosis because every patient who came for treatment kept asking what my relationship was with Jung Pureum.

“There must be something in the director’s fortune. A fortune where you get attention even though you don’t want it, something like that.”

“I’ve been thinking the same thing lately.”

“Seeing how well the clinic is doing, it means the director has a fortune where you make a lot of money but it’s exhausting.”

But I already have a lot of money….

Still, Kim Miyoung was right. Even though I was being hounded by all sorts of people, thanks to Gongjindan, I could now buy an entire building with cash in one go. I’m no longer afraid of real estate.

Among Korean medicine clinics, ours could probably rank in the top 10 in sales. Even the Korean Medicine Association, which had been quiet, started calling me to attend conferences, probably because of the Jung Pureum aftermath. As they say, you only really experience things once you become famous.

Objectively speaking, it was a good thing. Although unintended, I’d become a case of drawing attention and succeeding in business.

But subjectively, I was completely drained. I don’t even use SNS, but my information was spreading far and wide on the internet as ‘Jung Pureum’s proposal target.’

Because of that, every patient who came in looked at my left ring finger. Like the pilot who drew a square box for the little prince and told him the sheep he wanted was inside, I willingly offered them my left hand.

Most people supported my relationship with Jung Pureum, but on the other hand, as I’d feared, a full-blown bashing party was underway elsewhere.

Compared to Jung Pureum, I’m older, and not a dominant omega either—for these reasons, so-called cyber in-laws were throwing a fit, vehemently opposing the marriage, and it left me feeling dazed at times.

Still, I wasn’t as anxious as before.

Because no matter how much those people talked, the future of me marrying Jung Pureum wouldn’t change. I just had to think of it as the trials of an older omega with a younger, talented national representative boyfriend.

“It might be better not to rush the marriage….”

Hong Seonghyeon approached from behind Kim Miyoung and me without making a sound and muttered.

“Startled me. Senior, make some noise when you move. You almost gave me a heart attack.”

“…A heart attack? [literally: almost dropped the baby]”

“Oh, seriously! It’s a figure of speech, a figure of speech.”

Both Kim Miyoung and Hong Seonghyeon gave me a suspicious look for a moment. What on earth is everyone expecting?

Having run the clinic alone for the few days I was in Japan, Hong Seonghyeon looked noticeably haggard. Compared to Nam Jungyoon, whose complexion had improved, he looked like someone whose vitality had been unilaterally drained.

Hong Seonghyeon never missed an opportunity to tell me that marriage was crazy every time he saw me. He said being single was the happiest, and I’d heard him tell me to reconsider dozens of times over several days. Every time Hong Seonghyeon did that, Kim Miyoung and Nam Jungyoon would appear from somewhere, cover his mouth, and kidnap him away.

I had no idea when the three of them had become so close. Seeing them become so chummy and whispering among themselves made me feel a little left out.

What on earth were Kim Miyoung and Nam Jungyoon doing, periodically cornering Hong Seonghyeon like sixth-graders extorting money from lower-grade students, and chatting him up? I wanted to be included too.

“…Even if marriage is unavoidable, if you absolutely must live together, it’s better to be DINKs.”

“Anyone would think Vice Director Hong is the director’s guardian. We haven’t even had the ceremony yet, and you’re already talking about kids.”

“Besides, I’m infertile, so having a kid isn’t likely for me.”

“Still, you never know. These days, being child-free is happy.”

“Listening to that makes those of us with children sad.”

Kim Miyoung grabbed Hong Seonghyeon and shook him, asking if he had a problem with her having a kid. I turned away from Hong Seonghyeon, who was being shaken like a paper doll.

Unlike Kim Miyoung, who is a beta female, I am an omega male, and an infertile one at that, so my chances of pregnancy aren’t that high.

Unlike beta males, pregnancy is possible, but the probability is lower compared to dominant omegas. Since Jung Pureum is a dominant alpha, though, you never know.

Thinking that far, Lee Seolwoo suddenly came to mind. It had been several days since I returned to Korea, but Lee Seolwoo, a regular patient at our clinic, hadn’t shown up.

I asked Hong Seonghyeon about Lee Seolwoo. At the mention of Lee Seolwoo, Hong Seonghyeon let out a small sigh.

“You’re talking about the patient you asked me to look after, right?”

“Yes.”

“He came a couple of times while you were gone. I took his pulse too, and it does seem like he’s pregnant.”

“…Oh dear, what’s to become of him. He’s still a student.”

Kim Miyoung lamented. I felt much the same. Conceiving a new life is certainly something to celebrate, but it bothered me that Lee Seolwoo was still a college student who hadn’t graduated yet.

I wonder if he made up with his partner?

Just try running away and leaving Seolwoo behind. I burned with resolve towards the team doctor, whose face I didn’t even know. If something like that happened, I was determined to find that bastard and stab him with a long needle in the acupoint that would make him impotent.

∞ ∞ ∞

Before Jung Pureum returned to Korea, I visited the jewelry store where I’d ordered the ring again.

As I entered the store, the staff looked at me with expressions that said, “Classic Modern Elegance is here again.” They quickly changed their attitudes to “Welcome, customer!” though.

True to professional service workers, they immediately helped me fill out a remake order form when I told them the ring size didn’t fit. My saying that money was no object seemed to have pleased them greatly.

Thanks to that, I was now able to put a ring perfectly fitted to Jung Pureum’s left ring finger. It was an achievement I’d reached after two attempts.

“You can just throw away the one that doesn’t fit.”

“Can’t I just wear them both on two fingers and walk around?”

“Hey. Don’t be greedy about the wedding ring again.”

“…Okay. Then I’ll keep this one as a collector’s edition wedding ring.”

Jung Pureum muttered that one should have about three wedding rings. One for actual wear, one for collection, one for display….

“Because you were saying weird things, I missed my turn.”

I glared at the navigation system that was declaring I was off-route, gripping the steering wheel tightly. I was supposed to turn left one block later, but I’d turned too early.

“It’s okay. We left two hours early precisely anticipating this kind of situation.”

“Do you trust my driving skills?”

“Even if you were a driver from hell, I’d still ride with you.”

“No, if I were a driver from hell, don’t get in the car….”

You only have one life, so save it.

If I were him, I wouldn’t get in a car I’m driving on a long trip. I had such a hard time even going to Incheon. Jung Pureum seemed to have forgotten that I almost ended up in Busan back then too.

This was the first time I was driving down to my parents’ house myself. Since my license had been half a closet license all this time, even though I had a car, I’d just been diligently paying insurance and taking express buses everywhere.

Riding in a car someone else drives is much safer and more comfortable. You can sleep the whole way, and there’s no disaster of missing the rest stop because you took the wrong road.

But taking an express bus to go to my parents’ house with Jung Pureum felt a bit off. These days, finding someone in Korea who doesn’t know Jung Pureum’s face was about as difficult as picking stars out of the sky.

Unlike me, whose personal information had been leaked but whose face hadn’t been sold, Jung Pureum was a triple gold medalist who’d enhanced national prestige, so even standing still, everyone recognized him. It was truly a “Do you know Jung Pureum?” state.

There’s no way I could put someone like that on an express bus to take him to my parents’ house. It would turn into a forced Jung Pureum bus fan meeting. I could picture a future where secretly taken certification photos would haunt online communities like ghosts.

In the end, to avoid various mishaps, I chose to drive long-distance. To rapidly improve my driving skills, I’d taken Jung Pureum along for a few days of driving practice. It was only called driving practice; in reality, it was closer to extreme, life-or-death driving training.

But thanks to driving back and forth across Seoul for a long time, I’d now grown into a semi-best driver who doesn’t get flustered by cars abruptly cutting in. Though I still occasionally went off-route, because I was semi-best.

“Hyung, say ah.”

“I’m full. You just fed me fruit earlier.”

“That was just a few cherry tomatoes.”

Jung Pureum, sitting in the passenger seat, kept shoving food into my mouth periodically.

The nagging about needing to build up stamina continued. I let Jung Pureum’s nagging go in one ear and out the other. Among pitiful modern people, I’m about average.

Chewing on the jelly that had been put in my mouth, I finally managed to enter the highway safely this time. Once I got out of the complicated city center, my tension finally eased a little.