My Alpha Era Began with Gongjindan Chapter 35

…What do you mean disappear.

I resented my past self who had been so confident. I kept thinking about Jung Pureum. Well, to be more precise, Jung Pureum’s pheromones and his sturdy body… and, well, things like that.

I really feel wronged.

Until I slept with Jung Pureum, I hadn’t been particularly interested in alphas. Even when I felt like I was dying from my heat cycle, I had endured with herbal medicine for over ten years.

But they say late-blooming thieves are the most fearsome—after sleeping with an amazing alpha once, I felt like a lecherous demon had taken up residence in my head. If my rationality stepped out for even a moment, I felt like I’d place my hand on the chest of Jung Pureum, who would come running to me with an innocent face calling “Hyung!”

Why on earth was this happening?

My mind became so unsettled that I just kept chugging herbal medicine that suppressed my heat cycle.

After sleeping with an alpha once, my heat cycle noticeably stabilized. Thanks to that, I thought I wouldn’t suddenly collapse anymore.

But given my current state of mind, I think a sudden fainting spell would actually be better. For several days now, it’s been hard to act comfortably around Jung Pureum. I’ve been taking my herbal medicine religiously, so my heat cycle is still far off, but the problem is that my body still reacts.

How is this any different from the lewd omega image that the media spreads? My heart trembles at the thought that one day I might devour Jung Pureum whole and then face social ostracism.

That absolutely cannot happen. Not only would I die socially, but the neighbor lady would literally kill me.

I kept recalling the neighbor uncle who was constantly getting beaten in the middle of the living room. That made my thoughts of Jung Pureum subside a little. Fortunately, my survival instinct was still ahead of my sexual desire.

“Hyung?”

The problem was Jung Pureum, who had no idea about my condition and kept showing up at the clinic faithfully.

Peeking through the door of the director’s office, asking through the small gap if I was busy—Jung Pureum was quite cute. For a guy that big to look cute—this was surely the work of pheromones.

I pretended to be out of breath and busy, but Jung Pureum was already inside the director’s office.

“Don’t you have lectures today?”

“It’s midterm period, so no.”

“What? It’s exam period, so why are you here?”

“To see you, hyung. We’ve missed a ton of our dates.”

Ah, right. The contract… I recalled the crumpled contract carefully stored in my desk drawer.

Recently, I had filed criminal complaints against Baek Wonhee and the broadcast PD. It would take time, but my legal counsel said there was a high probability of winning.

After filing a lawsuit once, I strangely felt more confident. I started imagining just breaking the contract and going to court with Jung Pureum, never mind the dates. It seemed safer to go to court than to face retaliation from a former shot-put athlete.

“Hyung, you’re thinking weird things again.”

While I was calculating attorney fees in my head, Jung Pureum suddenly approached and clasped my head in both hands.

“No? I wasn’t thinking anything weird at all.”

“What were you thinking then?”

“About going to court…”

“Yep, weird thoughts.”

Because Jung Pureum, who had been able to read me like a book since I was young whenever I was thinking about something else, my daydream about going to court didn’t last long. Filing lawsuits and stirring up controversy—I’d done that once and it was fine, but I felt like Jung Pureum would be upset if I pulled something like that.

“It’s best not to go to court too often, you know.”

In the end, I decided not to tear up the contract.

Something had gone wrong, but I didn’t want to casually break a promise I’d made with Jung Pureum. No matter how much my life was at risk, thinking of Jung Pureum whimpering made me hesitate.

“Do you want to go to the department store together today? Hyung, last time you said you didn’t have summer clothes…”

“Pureum.”

“Yes?”

“I’ve been thinking, and no matter how much you’re a phys ed student who needs practical skills and a freshman who can afford to slack off, dating during midterm exams? That just doesn’t make sense.”

“….”

“A student should be studying during exam period, not dating. You’ll bomb your midterms. Think you can make up for it in finals? Not a chance. You should always do well in your studies; you can’t just cram your way through at the end.”

But lawsuits and midterms are separate things. Even if I can’t go to court, school attendance is important.

Even if the world ends, dating during midterms is not allowed. It’s a difficult world if you don’t take care of your grades from your first year. In this era of cutthroat competition, I couldn’t just stand by and watch Jung Pureum become a grade padding sacrifice.

To be honest, midterms were just the most convenient excuse to kick Jung Pureum out. Being cooped up in a closed room with Jung Pureum made all sorts of random thoughts flood in again.

Starting with the thought that he seemed to have grown a bit taller in the meantime, to the impression that his faint soap-scented pheromones were amazing… Staying in the same space with Jung Pureum was no longer a good choice.

And yet, dating at a time like this? Haha, nonsense. Who knows what I might do to Jung Pureum? I didn’t even trust myself anymore.

I didn’t know it either, but apparently I wasn’t a person but a beast.

“Hyung….”

“Even if you call me plaintively, no means no. As your neighborly older brother, I have the right to stop you from letting your GPA drop below 3.5.”

“I don’t have theory exams…”

…What? Why don’t you have theory exams?

I was devastated. Phys ed doesn’t have theory exams? That can’t be! No matter how much practical skills matter, theory is so important.

I wanted to call the university administration right away and suggest that the physical education department should also have theory exams.

“At least general education courses have exams, right?”

“Freshmen have mandatory schedules, so I can’t take general ed.”

“Ha, you university bastards. You gobble up tuition fees and don’t even provide anything useful for life.”

My grand plan to use midterms as an excuse to drive Jung Pureum away was completely thwarted by the single phrase “I don’t have exams.” It was also infuriating that they had canceled classes during midterm period even though there were no theory exams. Where was all that tuition money going?

While I was venting my fury at a virtual university president, Jung Pureum naturally settled into the seat across from me.

Having Jung Pureum in the seat where patients usually sat during consultations felt a bit strange. It felt like my personal life was deeply intruding into my professional workspace.

Jung Pureum, as if he had noticed that I was trying to kick him out, carefully took my hand. His touch was ticklish, like he was handling a fragile item.

I froze, unable to even think of shaking off his hand.

“Do you take the pulse like this?”

Jung Pureum, who had no idea what his neighborly older brother of many years was thinking about his body, asked while holding my wrist.

The hand touching my wrist was hot. They say even a dog in a Confucian school for three years learns poetry—this guy, who didn’t even know the ‘han’ (Korean medicine) character, sure knew how to take a pulse.

I slowly nodded. Even to my own senses, my pulse seemed to be beating a bit faster than usual.

“They said you have low blood pressure, but your pulse is fast.”

“…That’s because you’re holding it too tight.”

“I’m holding it gently. Does it hurt?”

What am I even doing in the director’s office?

I fixed my gaze on Jung Pureum, who was staring intently at my wrist. Because his head was bowed, his curly hair covered his eyes.

I couldn’t see his eyes properly, so I couldn’t tell what expression he was making, but it was clear that he was massaging my wrist with an excited face.

The fingertips brushing against my skin were ticklish. Even though it was just taking a pulse, it felt strange. With my other free hand, I grabbed Jung Pureum’s hand and pulled my captured wrist free.

“About that date or whatever, let’s do it tomorrow. I’m busy today.”

Actually, I wasn’t busy, but I needed to kick him out quickly. I was starting to feel like my rationality was about to run away because of Jung Pureum’s faint pheromones.

Otherwise, it made no sense to be this flustered just from having my wrist held. Unless I was having a heart attack at this age, this was definitely the fault of a body that had lost its chastity.

“You’ll be busy tomorrow too.”

…Ha, this is why I dislike perceptive Jung Pureum.

I slowly rose from my seat. If Jung Pureum wouldn’t leave the director’s office, I had to escape first. Emergency escape!

But once again, the emergency escape button malfunctioned. Because Jung Pureum stood up to follow me. He naturally grabbed my arm and pulled me into a back hug with his other arm.

“Hey, are you going to let go?”

“The assistant told me you have no work today and you’re leaving soon.”

…Kim Miyoung!

I screamed internally. Kim Miyoung definitely liked Jung Pureum more than she liked me, the director. I’m the one paying her salary! She even buys barley tea with the clinic’s corporate card! This was betrayal.

Any further resistance was futile. I let all the strength drain from my body and leaned my back against Jung Pureum’s chest. Touching with hands is harassment, but leaning your back is skinship. This much is fine between us.

“Let’s go out together.”

Jung Pureum whispered in my ear like a devil. He probably said it in a normal tone, but to me, it sounded like the whisper of Mephistopheles.

When he spoke in that kind, gentle tone, it was so hard to refuse anything. Jung Pureum always gave in to me, but I had never won against him either. Whenever Jung Pureum insisted, I ended up getting swept along.

“You’re really… sometimes you’re so sly.”

“Me?”

“Yeah.”

“For you to notice that, hyung, that’s quite something.”

His grinning face suddenly came closer, and he placed a brief kiss on my cheek.

Startled, I quickly pulled away from Jung Pureum. Before I could even scold him for what he was doing in a sacred oriental medicine clinic, Jung Pureum, looking noticeably excited, dragged me out.

Kim Miyoung, sitting at the reception desk, waved at me as I was being dragged out. It wasn’t even quitting time yet, so why was she so cool about letting me go….