My Alpha Era Began with Gongjindan Chapter 56

After the Liri-tang incident, our Korean medicine clinic lost quite a few regular patients. Some people came back after the correction was aired, but there were far more cases where we simply lost track of them.

Lee Seolwoo was one of them. An early customer who had consistently visited our clinic when it was practically deserted, but who stopped coming once the clinic became embroiled in controversy.

Even if I were in his shoes, I probably wouldn’t keep going to a clinic that had been caught up in a scandal. There are so many Korean medicine clinics in the world. Even if you search for omega-specialized clinics, dozens come up.

So I didn’t feel particularly disappointed about Lee Seolwoo, a regular who had left. After all, even if it was because of Baek Wonhee, losing regulars was ultimately due to my poor management.

Still, hearing that a regular who had left had returned put me in a good mood. It’s not even autumn yet, and here you are coming back like a seasonal fish….

“Should we send out some clinic promotional texts through web-based messaging?”

“What are you trying to do now?”

“I swear, anyone would think I’m about to cause trouble. I’m just trying to do some marketing.”

“You were all depressed about losing regulars and now….”

“Why? I think it’s a good idea. It’s about time we did something like a special discount event for the tonic.”

Kim Miyoung, who had approached without making a sound, naturally joined the conversation. She suggested that since most people who would buy at full price had already bought, we should offer about a 10 percent discount to boost sales.

Kim Miyoung is truly a wonderful employee. I listened attentively to Kim Miyoung’s detailed strategies for bundle sales of the tonic and additional deer antler options.

Nam Jungyoon, who actually prescribes the tonic, strongly opposed expanding marketing, but as Kim Miyoung said, it was time for an active sales strategy.

“You’re both just trying to get the regulars back, aren’t you….”

I pretended not to see Nam Jungyoon, whose workload wasn’t decreasing. What are you talking about? I’m absolutely not buying a web-based messaging site subscription just to contact regulars.

But Lee Seolwoo wasn’t one to be outdone. Before I could even finalize the content of the web-based promotional text, Lee Seolwoo revisited the clinic faster than that.

“Director, long time no see.”

Lee Seolwoo, somehow knowing that I’d returned, came to the clinic carrying a box of vitamin drinks.

“I came by once before but you weren’t here. I thought something might have happened, but I’m relieved to see you looking healthy.”

“You too, Lee Seolwoo. You came to get your prescription today, right?”

“Yes. I’ve tried other clinics, but none of their herbal medicine is as good as here.”

Well, other clinic directors are most likely betas. You’d have to go to an omega-specialized clinic to find an omega Korean medicine doctor.

Of course, even if they’re omega-specialized, they probably can’t brew herbal medicine as amazing as mine. Herbal medicine that suppresses heat cycles isn’t exactly common.

I laughed silently to myself. I was so happy that Lee Seolwoo had eventually come back to our clinic. It felt like recognition of my Korean medicine skills.

Lee Seolwoo said that while he was at it getting his prescription, he’d also get acupuncture. That’s right, our clinic is also the best at acupuncture. We have expertise not just in herbal medicine but also in acupuncture. Feeling quite proud of myself, I took Lee Seolwoo to the acupuncture room.

Lee Seolwoo, lying on the bed in the acupuncture room, stared intently at me. Was it because we hadn’t seen each other in a while? Lee Seolwoo seemed to have changed a bit too. He was still a beauty, but the way he looked at me was peculiar.

“The wrist area is bothering you, right?”

“Yes. I sprained it carrying luggage last time, and it’s been hurting ever since.”

I decided to just ignore Lee Seolwoo’s gaze. In life, it happens that a regular patient who hasn’t visited in a while might look at you somewhat meaningfully.

I skillfully inserted the needles and turned on a heat pad over his wrist. After telling Lee Seolwoo to rest comfortably, I was about to leave the acupuncture room when Lee Seolwoo stopped me.

“Director.”

“Yes?”

“Did Jung Pureum happen to mention me?”

“…Pardon?”

My perfectly functioning thought circuits declared a strike. Unable to hide my flustered expression, I looked at Lee Seolwoo.

This is strange. I clearly inserted needles in his wrist, so why is he saying strange things? No matter how I looked, I hadn’t inserted needles in Lee Seolwoo’s head or the back of his neck.

“I didn’t know, but we go to the same school.”

Lee Seolwoo said he’d run into Jung Pureum in front of the physical education department. It was unsolicited information, yet for some reason I didn’t feel like just saying “Oh, I see!” and walking away. The pleasant mood I’d been in just moments ago quickly sank.

Lee Seolwoo had shown interest in Jung Pureum before. He’d been put off by Nam Jungyoon, a moderately good-looking latent alpha, but he’d liked the handsome Jung Pureum. And back then, I’d thought it would be good for Jung Pureum to know a dominant omega, so I’d wanted to introduce Lee Seolwoo to him.

A dominant omega, if handled well, could be helpful to Jung Pureum in many ways. I’d judged that even without marking, they could help with pheromone control and stabilization. As a latent omega, I couldn’t help with that at all.

Moreover, the two were similar in age. Lee Seolwoo was older than Jung Pureum, but at most by only three or four years.

Just a few months ago, I’d hoped that Lee Seolwoo and Jung Pureum would get along, as a way to take care of the contract leftovers with Jung Pureum too. But now, Lee Seolwoo’s interest felt uncomfortable to a degree I couldn’t rationally understand.

On top of that, the fact that Lee Seolwoo still showed interest in Jung Pureum bothered me excessively. Was it really so unpleasant that the two people I’d tried to connect now had a point of contact? Even I was struggling to keep up with my own feelings.

“If you go to the same school… it might be best to be a little careful. Pureum has a competition coming up soon, so it’d be problematic if he becomes unstable in various ways.”

Surely I’m feeling this way because Jung Pureum’s pheromone instability is on my mind. It’s only been a short while since he stabilized.

Jung Pureum would handle it well on his own, but the thought of the two suddenly becoming close made me uneasy. Perhaps it was because school was a space I couldn’t meddle in.

“That’s right. He was a bit unstable until a few days ago. His pheromones were….”

“….”

“I was worried, so I tried to calm him with my pheromones a few times, but he avoided me like crazy.”

My mood, which had been on a downward slope, plummeted straight to rock bottom. At least the fact that Jung Pureum had avoided Lee Seolwoo was good to hear.

Why does this bother me so much? I wanted to grab Lee Seolwoo right then and lecture him: “Unsolicited pheromone showers are sexual harassment!”

“But what exactly is your relationship? I thought you two were lovers, but when I asked, they said no.”

“Pureum did?”

“Yes. He said they’ve never dated….”

It was a true statement, but my rock-bottom mood started drilling straight into the inner core. I plastered a small business owner’s smile across my face so my feelings wouldn’t show in my attitude.

“We’re just… somewhat special neighbors.”

I unconsciously emphasized the word “special” a bit, but Jung Pureum and I were literally just neighbors and childhood friends as I’d said.

Sometimes closer than family, sometimes sleeping while holding each other… but the word “dating” didn’t fit us. Because we really weren’t dating. We were just really close hyung-dongsaeng neighbors.

But it was absurd that Lee Seolwoo had properly recognized this fact. He couldn’t properly explain it to his coach and got dragged into closed training, but he’d told Lee Seolwoo clearly?

“Then rest. I’ll come back to remove the needles in a bit.”

I couldn’t maintain my small business owner’s smile any longer, so I quickly turned my back. In a sacred clinic, I couldn’t afford to mix personal and professional and ruin the business.

“Director, is something wrong?”

“Huh? No? Nothing’s wrong at all. Everything is perfect and I’m in a perfectly fine state.”

“…Someone in that state wouldn’t have that expression on their face. Your face is even pale.”

Kim Miyoung, who was sitting at the reception desk, spoke to me as soon as I came out of the acupuncture room.

When I checked with Kim Miyoung’s hand mirror, my face really had turned pale. I looked like someone who’d just received shocking news.

I brushed it off as nothing. When I said it was because the fatigue from recuperating at the main house hadn’t gone away, Kim Miyoung worriedly suggested I rest more.

As soon as I returned to the director’s office, I slumped into my chair. Even I couldn’t understand my current state.

When I opened the desk drawer, I saw a crumpled, stained contract. Looking back now, Jung Pureum and I had also done something called a “contract,” just like in those cliché romance dramas.

It was only a few months ago, but writing that contract already felt like a past life.

I carefully examined the contract with a fresh perspective. Looking at it again, the contract’s contents were a bit strange. There was nothing beneficial to me, but there was also nothing particularly beneficial to Jung Pureum either.

How would dating me help him understand alphas and omegas better? It’d be faster to just take an educational sex education lecture.

Back then, I was desperately trying to appease Jung Pureum to avoid a lawsuit, so even if the contract had said we had to dance the Macarena together every month, I would have signed it without a second thought.

But now, the situation was different. Jung Pureum clearly showed no intention of suing me. His family was still friendly toward me too.

Reading the contract coldly after the situation had improved, everything seemed strange. Anyone could see this contract was the typical kind of trick you’d see in a romance drama.

In my head, it was as if my mom was whispering like a devil: “You’ve watched dozens of romance dramas with me, and you’re just realizing this now?” A huge mental “ding” rang out loudly in my head.

“Wait… does he like me?”

No wonder he’d said he liked me about 3,977 times.

“And do I… like him?”

Holy moly.

For a while, I held my head in both hands, desperately denying my suspicion. I really need to stop watching romance dramas.