My Alpha Era Began with Gongjindan Chapter 116

Actually, Jung Pureum was really good at cooking. Not just cooking—he was also good at cleaning and doing laundry… There was no better heaven-sent groom candidate.

I sipped the beef seaweed soup Jung Pureum had prepared. Was seaweed soup always this flavorful? Why does it taste so good?

Sorry to my mother, but it was even better than the seaweed soup she used to make. The aftertaste was clean and refreshing—what on earth did he put in it?

When I, who had been whining that I didn’t need to eat breakfast, finished an entire bowl of rice, Jung Pureum looked genuinely delighted. I eyed him suspiciously. It was truly strange. Why did I sense the aura of a master homemaker from him?

“Do athletes usually do this kind of thing well?”

“Wouldn’t it depend on the person?”

“Why are you good at everything…”

“I’ve been striving since I was young to become the best groom so I could marry you.”

When he said things like that now, they didn’t even sound like jokes anymore. Even his words about how he would spend his whole life with his hands in the water as a swimmer, but he’d make sure I never had to—those sounded sincere.

As expected, no matter how I thought about it, this marriage was one-sidedly disadvantageous for Jung Pureum. Now I really had no choice but to become the breadwinner and support Jung Pureum financially.

“Pureum.”

“Yes.”

“Hyung will earn a lot of money.”

“Suddenly?”

“Yes, and I’ll build you your own private swimming pool.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“No, I have to. Only then can my conscience be resurrected…”

No matter how many times I reconsidered, the only areas where I had an advantage over Jung Pureum were academics and money.

Whether I was objectively assessing myself or not, Jung Pureum, like a devoted wife feeding rice to her ox, even brought me fruit cut into pretty shapes.

Is it really okay for me to have such a wonderful spouse?

I shoved a rabbit-shaped apple slice into my mouth. I must have saved the nation quite a few times in my past life.

∞ ∞ ∞

Our clinic did well as the year-end approached. In a way, it was only natural. There was nothing quite like herbal medicine for year-end and New Year’s gifts.

“Kyungokgo is popular among beta athletes.”

“The herbal medicine here is worth the price, isn’t it?”

“Absolutely. Actually, our clinic isn’t even that expensive. Compared to the quality of ingredients we use, it’s a steal, a real steal. I gave some to my acquaintances this time—the married ones especially loved it. After feeding it to their husbands, you know… you get it, right?”

“Got it, got it.”

Kim Soyoung and Lee Seolwoo continued to show up at our clinic regularly after that.

It was one thing for Kim Soyoung, who came to get medicine to clear up her heat cycles, but Lee Seolwoo just showed up at our clinic for no reason every now and then to hang out.

Sometimes, like today, Kim Soyoung and Lee Seolwoo came together.

The two had now gone beyond brotherly friendship and devolved into something like sworn siblings sharing drinks under a peach tree—Kim Soyoung was Guan Yu and Lee Seolwoo was Zhang Fei.

I sipped my yulmucha tea and watched the two chatter away. Entrusting viral marketing to these two was far more effective than any tailored web-sending event.

Lee Seolwoo, who was known by everyone from in-laws to distant relatives, and Kim Soyoung, who frequently promoted our clinic through her own social media… Wait, am I Liu Bei? Given that I was benefiting from these two, it was a possibility.

After learning that influencer marketing costs anywhere from a few hundred thousand to several million per post, I decided never to kick these two out of the clinic again. Yes, I need to earn a lot of money… so I can build Jung Pureum that swimming pool.

“Those two are here again?”

Just then, Nam Jungyoon approached me with a disgusted look. She was also holding yulmucha tea, clearly poured by Kim Miyoung.

“Do they think this clinic is some neighborhood cafe? Kim Soyoung I can understand, but why does Lee Seolwoo come here every single day?”

“He said he’s bored.”

“Honestly!”

I watched Nam Jungyoon hopping around saying they should at least get acupuncture if they’re going to come, and I felt a sense of stability. She really never changes. Not that Nam Jungyoon’s complaints bothered Kim Soyoung or Lee Seolwoo at all.

“Director, come here and try some of this.”

“Soyoung unnie brought tteokbokki.”

It seemed Kim Soyoung had bought something again, timed perfectly for lunch. Every time Kim Soyoung came to our clinic, she always brought food from places where you had to wait in line. I was genuinely grateful that she consistently brought takeout, saying food like this tastes better when shared.

At this point, Kim Soyoung and Lee Seolwoo felt like clinic staff too. I shoved some of Kim Soyoung’s fried squid into Nam Jungyoon’s mouth as she kept grumbling.

Kim Miyoung and Hong Seonghyeon, who had been about to go out for lunch, also gathered around the snack food Kim Soyoung had brought. Kim Soyoung briefly lamented that it was hard to wait in line in the winter.

“This place is a truly top-tier popular spot. They use wheat flour rice cakes so they’re chewy and…”

“I think I have some kind of connection with you, unnie. I’ve been craving tteokbokki since last night.”

Kim Miyoung brought wooden chopsticks and paper cups from the break room, one for each person. At this rate, it felt like some kind of year-end party.

A little strange but good people, a clinic that attracted massive attention at the slightest provocation, and weather that looked pretty despite the heavy snow falling even though it was a bit cold…

None of it was bad. Compared to when I first opened the clinic, it was actually amazing.

“This is really good?”

“Right?”

“I normally don’t like tteokbokki, but this is really delici… blegh.”

That was, until I gagged while eating the tteokbokki.

A long silence fell among the people who had been happily eating tteokbokki together. Everyone’s pupils began to tremble like aspen leaves.

The first to come to his senses was Lee Seolwoo. With tteokbokki sauce still on his lips, he jumped up from his seat.

“This is it, right?”

“It?”

“Morning sickness!”

“Ah, don’t say it so loudly. I’ll lose the baby.”

“What baby could you possibly lose, Nam Jungyoon?”

“Why are you like this? I’m a delicate person too.”

I looked at the people who had quickly become as noisy as a marketplace, leaving me standing there. I take back what I said about them being a little strange but good people. They’re truly strange and only slightly good people.

In the midst of this, Hong Seonghyeon grabbed my wrist, saying he’d at least take my pulse. Seeing this, Nam Jungyoon jumped up from her seat.

“Wait! Vice Director Hong, step three paces away from the Director.”

“Why only me…”

“The nurse will take the pulse.”

“Me?”

“The safest person here is the nurse.”

“Even though I’m not a Korean medicine doctor?”

Because of Nam Jungyoon’s stubbornness, Kim Miyoung took my pulse instead of Hong Seonghyeon. With two Korean medicine doctors right in front, what a thing to do.

“Hmm, though I’m not a doctor, in my expert opinion from working at a Korean medicine clinic for over 30 years…”

To build suspense, Kim Miyoung picked up a piece of leftover fried seaweed roll. Once again, my emotional proxy Nam Jungyoon snapped at her to hurry up and say it.

“It’d be best to go to an OB-GYN first. Korean medicine can do a lot, but for this kind of thing, an ultrasound is more reliable.”

And so I was dragged to an OB-GYN right in the middle of eating tteokbokki. Truly absurd. I hadn’t even had a single sip of the fish cake broth yet…

Somehow, Jung Pureum, who had heard the news, came running in a panic, looking like a drowned rat soaked from head to toe. He must have been in the pool and rushed out in a frenzy.

“I mean… why did you come so urgently?”

“Hyung…”

“It’s just everyone around me overreacting. As you know, I’m recessive.”

“….”

“You don’t need to be that surprised. I’m telling you, it might not even be anything.”

Even at my words of “it might not be anything,” Jung Pureum didn’t say yes or no—he just pulled me into a tight embrace.

Honestly, I was feeling a bit unsettled myself.

I was born an omega, but I had never really thought much about pregnancy in my life. Since I never planned to get married, there was no reason to think about pregnancy.

Since I thought I’d never have an alpha partner, I had considered my chances of pregnancy to be about the same as a beta male’s. Isn’t that only natural? If crops grow without seeds being sown, that’s the Virgin Mary.

But suddenly, Jung Pureum had burst into my life. That adorable little kid from next door had grown up, turned into an alpha at some point, and even claimed my spouse position.

Thanks to that, my 0% pregnancy chance had suddenly started jumping around. I reflected on my recent sex life. …If the chances were so abundant and I really was pregnant, I had no idea when or what had been fertilized.

“You must be pretty shocked too…”

“I’m not shocked.”

“The person who says he’s not shocked came without even properly drying his hair? You drove safely, right?”

“I might have gotten a few tickets, but I didn’t get into an accident.”

So you didn’t drive properly?

I stroked Jung Pureum’s wet hair. Holding me tightly, Jung Pureum whispered that if I was okay with it, he would be truly happy.

“But still, if you’re not comfortable with it…”

“Hey, nothing’s even confirmed yet!”

Everyone was drinking their kimchi broth a bit too early.

With all the recent stress, it could just be stress-induced gastritis or something. With a serious face, I covered Jung Pureum’s mouth as he mumbled that if there was any risk to my body, he’d tie himself down from now on.

“Ugh, fine. It’s plausible to have a baby before marriage. You two are stuck together like a pair of cicadas anyway.”

Kim Miyoung, who had come as my guardian, clicked her tongue at Jung Pureum, who wouldn’t let go of me. I felt a little embarrassed.

After barely peeling Jung Pureum off me like a piece of chewing gum, my turn for the examination finally came. Why was I nervous about this?

I wiped my sweaty hands on Jung Pureum’s back.