My Alpha Era Began with Gongjindan Chapter 111

My anxiety consists of about 70% external factors and 30% internal factors.

No matter how much I tried to tell myself it was nothing, YouTube was flooded with cropped clips of Catchman on every channel, and the comment sections were full of chatter about Kim Soyoung and Jung Pureum’s love line.

There were plenty of people who viewed Kim Soyoung negatively for supposedly making advances on Jung Pureum, who had proposed during an interview, but many were intrigued by Kim Soyoung’s proactive attitude.

Either way, other people’s love lives were always an entertaining topic.

[Soyoung athlete… she’s always had that proactive charm… always cheering for her… I guess that’s what they mean by the fated pull between alphas and omegas? Hope they work out…]

└[Work out what… When clips of Jung Pureum athlete’s proposal are all over YouTube Shorts, if those two get together, it’s an affair]

└[It’s not like they’re actually married yet, is it? Jung Pureum athlete is still young, shouldn’t he have more opportunities…]

└[Opportunities? Please look at Jung athlete’s left ring finger before you talk…^^]

[The chemistry between the gold medalists is good, why is the reaction so cold? This is a show meant to be fun, and people are acting like it’s life or death]

└[How can you view that favorably when he’s acting like that toward someone about to get married?]

└[Do you think that’s sincere? It’s just a show… It’s obviously bait to get attention and buzz]

└[For real, Kim Soyoung even promoted herself with that femme fatale charm on her solo appearance—it’s just a concept]

[Kim Soyoung is good at archery, but she seems too attention-seeking]

└[That’s what happens when you’re an omega living among alphas lol How much must she have been treated like a princess]

└[She’s an athlete and an omega—say no more]

[I support the relationship between medalists. I’m sure they’ll have a great athlete if they get married.]

[Is Kim Soyoung a dominant omega?]

└[Nope, recessive]

└[Hmm then she’s not that different from his current marriage partner anyway]

└[This comment has been deleted by administrator authority.]

└[Ugh wtf stop talking about an athlete like a breeding horse reporting]

Overall, all the comments were bad, but the one saying that if Kim Soyoung and Jung Pureum got married and had a child, a great athlete would be born—that was the most shocking.

Seeing that kind of comment even in English-speaking spaces made it clear that treating people of certain traits like breeding stock is the same everywhere.

If Kim Soyoung had been a dominant omega instead of a recessive one, every community would have been buzzing with talk that she suited Jung Pureum better than I did.

I deleted the YouTube app to avoid seeing reactions like this, but that only worked for a moment. No matter how hard I tried not to think about it, the anxiety that had taken root refused to die as easily as my conscience.

Leaning my forehead against Jung Pureum’s chest, I chose my words carefully, wondering how to explain the unease I was feeling. I had no intention of staying silent now, but I couldn’t figure out what to say or how to start.

Sometimes I worry about what people say about you and me, and whenever another omega shows interest in you, I wonder if I really am the best for you.

You could meet someone better than me, and I’m anxious that I might have held onto you—this opportunity—in the name of love.

Those thoughts piled up and tangled inside my chest.

Even though I knew rationally that I just had to trust Jung Pureum no matter what anyone said, the fact that the wedding had been delayed by two whole months didn’t reduce that anxiety—it only amplified it.

“I guess my self-esteem is lower than I thought.”

“….”

“I know you like me, and I like you too. That should mean there’s no problem at all, but even after the imprint, I still get anxious that someone better might show up for you. Strange, isn’t it?”

“Someone better?”

“Yeah, like Kim Soyoung, who was on Catchman with you. Anyone could see she was interested in you.”

“Oh….”

“Lee Seolwoo had feelings for you too until he got a partner. I know it’s a stupid thought, but sometimes I can’t help it. Am I really the best for you?”

At my question, Jung Pureum lowered his head to look at me. Then he gently bumped his forehead against mine.

“What if I’m not the best?”

“If not….”

“If not, would you break up with me?”

“…No.”

“Then why do you think like this? You think too much. Even if I were the worst man for you, I have no intention of letting you go now.”

“Hey, how could you ever be the worst?”

“Exactly. How could you ever not be the best?”

“….”

“I said I like you.”

The anxiety I hadn’t been able to kill and had been carrying around for days surrendered to Jung Pureum’s few words. If being articulate were an award, he’d deserve a presidential citation.

It was as if someone had suddenly plunged me into warm water—all the tension drained from my body. There was no need to care what others said in the first place.

Even if Kim Soyoung performed a courtship dance right in front of Jung Pureum, he would never fall for it. The fact that he still liked me after all those years, when there must have been thousands of chances to give up on his one-sided love, proved that.

His past eight years guaranteed me a lot. No matter how much love has an expiration date, Jung Pureum would probably just say “I’ve never had one” and keep going. He was always the exception everywhere.

It was never Jung Pureum who wavered—it was always me. I lost my center like this sometimes. If I didn’t keep my head straight, I’d get anxious easily.

No matter how much I tried to change my mindset, not being shaken by external factors wasn’t easy.

“Even if I tell you not to be anxious, you’ll keep being anxious, right?”

But before I could think any further, Jung Pureum kissed me.

It was a light kiss, like a bird pecking. I instinctively closed my eyes. By now, I had grown fairly accustomed to this kind of physical affection.

At first, even holding hands felt awkward, but now hugging or leaning against each other was just part of daily life. And then we’d rub our lips together like this naturally.

“But that’s okay.”

“Even if I keep being anxious?”

“Because I’m always anxious too.”

“You are?”

“Of course. You don’t realize how popular you are, you don’t fully grasp what a good person you are, and you run your body into the ground like it’s nothing. How much I worry and agonize over you—probably only you don’t know.”

“….”

“So let’s keep being anxious together, and when a moment comes when we’re really worried about something, like now, let’s talk to each other like this.”

“…Even if it’s anxiety over something really trivial?”

“Even if it’s anxiety over something really trivial.”

I nodded reflexively.

There was an irresistible power in Jung Pureum when he spoke with a smile. Everything he said sounded like the right answer.

But not even a few days after Jung Pureum had driven a blade into my anxiety, the very person who had planted that anxiety walked casually into our Korean medicine clinic.

“Oh my, isn’t that Kim Soyoung?”

“That’s right, it is! Go say hi!”

…I’m having déjà vu.

It wasn’t as chaotic as when Jung Pureum first showed up at our clinic, but patients who recognized Kim Soyoung gathered around her one by one.

Kim Soyoung, seeming quite used to this kind of situation, took off her hat, smiled, and obliged everyone’s requests for autographs and photos. She also made sure to mention, in between, that she had come for a personal consultation and would need to go into the exam room when it was her turn. The attitude of a true sports star.

Kim Miyoung, who had been observing the situation with another nurse, approached me.

“Should I bring her straight to the director’s office?”

“That might be difficult since there are people waiting ahead.”

“The people ahead are all alphas anyway, so we need to send them to the vice director. They came to get Gongjindan.”

“Is that so? Then let’s call Kim Soyoung in first. At this rate, the clinic is going to turn into a autograph signing event.”

Kim Miyoung nodded at my words. Who would have thought our clinic would become the kind of place that sports stars visit with suspicious frequency…

Come to think of it, it seemed like YouTubers and undercover broadcasting station staff came and went more often than actual patients.

I began to suspect our clinic had set up shop in the wrong location. That fake monk Mu Jeong—he must have given my grandfather bad advice about the site.

While I was seriously questioning the authenticity of Mu Jeong, Kim Soyoung entered the director’s office, guided by Kim Miyoung.

“You moved me up in the queue, right? Thank you.”

Kim Soyoung came across as more spirited than I had expected. Maybe because she’d been an athlete for so long, her posture was straight and her demeanor seemed bright and amiable.

I recalled the YouTube comments saying she must have been treated like a princess as an omega among alphas. Kim Soyoung was less of a princess and more of a prince on a white horse, though…

“What brings you here?”

“I heard this place makes really good herbal medicine that clears up heat cycles.”

“You found the right place. Are your heat cycles regular?”

“A bit irregular.”

“Let me take your pulse first.”

It’s true that Kim Soyoung had become a bit of a sensitive topic because of Jung Pureum, but when it comes to an omega looking for medicine to clear up heat cycles, I’m willing to prescribe to the mortal enemy of my parents.

As I took her pulse casually, Kim Soyoung watched me with an intrigued expression.

“Aren’t you mad at me?”

“Excuse me?”

“Or have you not seen the show yet? Catchman?”

I was quite taken aback. My surprise was probably written all over my face.

“Most people dislike me at first.”

“Oh, I see….”

“I thought you’d be the same, Director. Doesn’t it bother you? I’m pretty forward for an omega.”

Saying that about herself out loud. Her confidence left me speechless.

…What is this? Could this be what they call a face-to-face showdown I’ve only heard about? Some kind of event where whoever wins in a fair fight gets Jung Pureum?

But that kind of event would be way too unfavorable for me.

The opponent is an archer and I’m a Korean medicine doctor. Besides, I have no intention of fighting over Jung Pureum in the first place. Jung Pureum is mine—why would I do something like that?

“Don’t be so on guard. I just came to see for myself who this ‘Yeonghwa hyung’ was that Jung Pureum kept going on about at the training camp.”

“….”

“I also heard through the grapevine that the herbal medicine here is really effective.”

I had no idea how far Lee Seolwoo’s word-of-mouth had spread. I was once again reminded of Lee Seolwoo’s influence.

“Now that I see you in person, I like you too.”

“Don’t… say strange things. I need to take your pulse, so please give me your right arm again.”

“How about we omegas hang out sometime?”

I was so dumbfounded I couldn’t speak. How about omegas hanging out? It’s not impossible… But I was about to be married.

“I’m getting married in a few months, so that’s difficult.”

“Having a goalkeeper doesn’t mean you can’t score.”

“….”

“Between omegas, there probably wouldn’t be much trouble, right?”

Truly a shocking statement.

Kim Soyoung was simply more than I could handle. I never knew such an omega existed in the world. I was dazed by Kim Soyoung, who was opening up new horizons for omegas.