My Alpha Era Began with Gongjindan Chapter 54

On the bus back to Seoul, I slept the entire way. I had no choice. I’d been hounded by my mom right up until I boarded the bus. I felt completely drained, down to my very soul.

My mom had shown tremendous interest in Jung Pureum. No matter how many times I said no, she seemed to have decided that Jung Pureum and I were in some kind of relationship.

I felt sorry that Jung Pureum kept getting these misunderstandings because of me. He was the one who’d ended up dragged into unscheduled training because his coach mistakenly thought he had an omega girlfriend or something.

Still, there’s such a thing as filial affection, and my mom kept her promise to stay quiet about Jung Pureum. She said she wanted to keep the fun to herself for now, so she’d keep it a secret from the rest of the family.

…Honestly, I was uneasy because I didn’t know what my mom meant by “for now.” I didn’t mind for myself, but I was worried that Jung Pureum might get into trouble because of me.

I’d joked that if we didn’t have anyone when we got old, we could just marry each other, but of course I didn’t mean it seriously.

After being cornered by my grandfather and mom for days on end listening to marriage talk, I’d gone crazy along with them and made a dark joke. Marriage, what marriage? I’m a clinic director married to my Korean medicine clinic, like a queen married to her country.

More than anything, Jung Pureum should meet someone better. He should become a handsome alpha swimmer and national team gold medalist, so foreigners would say “Do you know Jung Pureum?”

For idols and sports stars, it’s best to marry as late as possible. There are many fans who welcome marriage because they think having a family improves performance, but being unmarried is more advantageous for attracting a fanbase.

Aside from being hounded by my mom, there was a lot on my mind. The drama <The Alpha Who Was a Beta Is Too Much!> kept bothering me.

I went to the KBC website and checked the synopsis—the detailed settings were different, but there were clear signs that my developed tonic had been used without permission in the drama’s plot. Even Kim Miyoung, upon hearing this, said it might be better to talk to the drama PD side.

Contacting the broadcasting station itself wasn’t difficult. The contact email addresses were all listed on the website.

But even after sending emails, no replies came back.

It was the broadcasting station’s signature ignoring of messages. With hundreds of inquiries coming in every day, there was no way they’d check them properly. Later, when it became a major issue, they’d make excuses like “the inquiry was lost due to a system error.”

In the end, I reached out to a PD I knew—PD Kim, who had recently left <I Want to Know Everything>. PD Kim called me less than an hour after I left a message.

―…What brings you?

His greeting was quite prickly from the start. Still, since he seemed to have something on his conscience, he was cautiously feeling me out. Anyone watching would think I had dirt on this guy.

Actually, I didn’t hold much of a grudge against PD Kim. It was true that he’d screwed me over, but in the end, he’d done a complete 357-degree turn and aired a correction.

I still don’t understand why they aired a correction in the style of “The PD has gone crazy!” Though I suppose whatever works, but there were many questionable points.

At first I thought it was because Baek Wonhee and I had become mortal enemies and cut ties, but seeing that the PD of <I Want to Know Everything> was eventually replaced, it seemed PD Kim had managed to cut off a rotten connection after all.

“You’ve been well, I hope?”

―….

“It’s nothing major—I was wondering if you could connect me with a drama PD.”

There’s no rule that says I can’t be petty just because I don’t hold a grudge.

I shamelessly asked someone who obviously hadn’t been doing well if they’d been well. Can you feel it, PD Kim? This same uncomfortable feeling you gave me when you kept pestering me to join your company dinners?

I’d blocked him all this time, and now that I needed him, I was reaching out—it was obvious he wouldn’t be happy. If PD Kim could laugh at this kind of contact, he wouldn’t be sane.

Judging by the sound of teeth grinding I could hear through the high-performance phone, thankfully PD Kim was still in his right mind.

―We’re a variety broadcast station, so even if you ask me to connect you, I don’t know everyone at the station….

“Ah, so you’re saying you don’t have any connections at the station, PD Kim.”

―…It’s not that I know every single PD.

“I see.”

When I quickly agreed and didn’t add anything more, PD Kim spoke again.

―The drama station side… who is it?

I’d expected an immediate refusal, but perhaps my silence was interpreted as something else, because a reluctant reply came back. I’d thought he’d curse me out and hang up, but it seemed he was actually going to help.

I could feel his voice trembling with anger in the receiver, so I couldn’t understand why he’d want to help me. Wait, did I unknowingly have some kind of leverage on this guy?

“PD Lee Minsoo. I heard he’s doing <The Alpha Who Was a Beta Is Too Much!> this time. Do you know him?”

―I think I can at least give you his contact info. I’ll read you his direct number.

I got the drama PD’s contact info more easily than expected.

Do people normally give out others’ contact info this easily? I was struck anew by how lightly personal information is treated. PD Lee Minsoo, your number has just been sold to me for free….

―…How long are you going to keep threatening people like this?

I was about to jot down the number he gave me and hang up, but PD Kim said something strange. He’d coolly given me the info, and now he was calling it a threat—it was absurd.

“What are you talking about?”

―Don’t play dumb. Aren’t you in cahoots with that kid right now?

…What kid?

I was genuinely confused. I wanted to go find PD Kim right then and demand to know what he meant by that. What was I supposedly conspiring about? Why was I the only one who didn’t know?

When I fell silent, PD Kim let out a small curse and hung up first. My head was full of question marks. Because of that, I couldn’t even contact PD Lee Minsoo right away—my mind was too cluttered.

Hearing the words “threat” and “kid,” something did come to mind.

I immediately thought of Jung Pureum. But how on earth could Jung Pureum have threatened PD Kim? Jung Pureum isn’t a chaebol heir, nor does he have the kind of sneaky personality to scheme. He’s just a physical education major swimmer with the national team qualifiers coming up.

Given the circumstances, PD Kim had aired a correction about the tonic because someone threatened him, and perhaps because of that, he thought I had leverage over him. I had no idea what his weakness was.

I had no intention of clearing up that misconception. Having been scared by a snake after seeing a rope, and having accumulated plenty of karma from my own actions, my heart was already pounding just from keeping my mouth shut.

There were many unresolved questions, but agonizing over them alone wouldn’t yield answers.

I decided to just meet Jung Pureum and ask him directly about PD Kim’s remarks. I trusted that if it was something I absolutely needed to know, Jung Pureum would tell me on his own.

When the bus arrived at the Seoul Express Bus Terminal, the final stop, people rose from their seats in a rush. I also squeezed through the narrow bus aisle and managed to get off safely.

My luggage had been simple when I went down to the main house, but now both my hands were heavy. Even after shipping the herbal medicine my grandfather had prepared via courier, it was still like this.

As I staggered while carrying the suitcase my mom had packed for me, someone snatched my luggage from behind and lifted it.

“Hyung, what’s all this? Two suitcases….”

It was the voice I’d really wanted to hear. Hearing Jung Pureum’s voice made me feel like I was truly back in Seoul. The main house really had been a hell of nagging.

I made sure to show how exhausted I was and handed over the rest of my luggage to Jung Pureum. Unlike me, who’d been dragged along by the bags, Jung Pureum lifted my things with ease.

“You know how extreme my grandfather can be. He packed all kinds of herbs, supplements, and even clothes made of ramie fabric—it’s a whole bundle.”

“If I hadn’t come to pick you up, you’d have been in big trouble.”

“If you hadn’t been here, I’d have collapsed trying to catch a taxi.”

After all, talking face to face was so much better than over the phone.

I took a deep breath. My energy was a bit depleted, but I felt my mind settling. The headache I’d gotten because of the broadcasting station PD cleared up the moment I saw Jung Pureum.

“Hm?”

But there was something a little strange.

I could smell cologne on Jung Pureum. A typical men’s cologne scent. I stopped in my tracks and looked at Jung Pureum’s back.

Since he said he’d succeeded in controlling his pheromones, it made sense that I couldn’t sense his pheromones. He’d finally done his part as an alpha, so it wasn’t surprising—rather, it was something to celebrate.

But the unfamiliar cologne scent was a bit subtle. Did he always wear this kind of cologne? It didn’t even seem like a scent that suited him well….

“Pureum.”

“Yes.”

“Did you put on cologne?”

Jung Pureum nodded at my question. He looked a little embarrassed.

I guess he wanted to look sharp. I could have let it go with that thought, but something felt off. Even though the cologne scent wasn’t that bad, it bothered me.

A faint sense of something mixed in among the refreshing scent. I’d never been this sensitive to someone else’s body scent before, but suddenly it felt like all my senses were being forcibly heightened.

“That cologne doesn’t suit you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It’s subtle. I’m usually not that sensitive to other people’s cologne.”

I leaned my body against Jung Pureum, all my energy drained out. I wanted to ask why he’d bothered to put on cologne, but the words wouldn’t come easily.