My Alpha Era Began with Gongjindan Chapter 64

Nam Jungyoon was now at the point of grabbing the back of his neck and about to lose it. This is why a Taeyangin type shouldn’t have so much anger. All of that leads to heart disease and brain disease.

“Is this how you treat someone you know?”

Anyone would think he’s Jung Pureum’s spokesperson. I found myself thinking once again how remarkable Jung Pureum was. He’s a vice-director I hired, so why is this kid on Jung Pureum’s side?

I couldn’t tell if it was because I lacked virtue or if Jung Pureum was just that popular.

I clicked my tongue and stood up from my seat.

“That’s why I’m doing this.”

“….”

“Pureum is now a national athlete, right? He’s a kid who could win a gold medal and raise the nation’s prestige. He has a bright future ahead of him, that’s what I’m saying.”

So why would I want to leave a stain on his life? If Jung Pureum were my arch-enemy, that’d be one thing, but I like him too.

What if I just mindlessly stick around and his pheromones destabilize again like before? What if he gets destabilized right before the Olympics and gets banned from competing? And there are problems after that too. What if a scandal breaks out right when he’s supposed to be flooded with endorsement offers after winning a gold medal?

They say people are more lenient toward sports stars’ scandals these days, but Korea is still conservative in that regard. At least a few ads would get cut. That means losses in the hundreds of millions of won.

I don’t mind taking losses myself. I’m used to that kind of loss, and I can just brush off anyone’s criticism by saying, ‘Yes, next discriminator please!’

But Jung Pureum shouldn’t have to take losses.

He’s already been through so much hardship because of me. From presenting as an Alpha in the middle of the CSAT exam hall, to being dragged into training he didn’t need to attend, and even getting banned from the qualifying trials.

“Jungyoon, you’re an Alpha too, so you know.”

“….”

“I may not be able to help him in life, but I shouldn’t become an obstacle. It hurts my pride, but I could make things difficult for Jung Pureum just by going to the wrong school once.”

After spitting that out with my own mouth, I felt miserable too. Ah! What is this trait thing that’s separating me and Jung Pureum!

“…Fine, if that’s how you feel, senior, there’s nothing I can do.”

Nam Jungyoon seemed somewhat persuaded by my words too. Since Nam Jungyoon had also been getting off work thirty minutes late because of me and Jung Pureum, I could understand him being this meddlesome. If work kept getting delayed, it would naturally be frustrating.

I looked at Nam Jungyoon with a pleased heart, embracing everything.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I don’t know, man. I’m just proud of you.”

“Forget it, just looking at you makes me frustrated.”

Nam Jungyoon, his face crumpled like a squashed PET bottle, pounded his own chest. He really did seem frustrated.

“To think my senior is the kind of person who’d burn down a whole house to get rid of a flea….”

Hey, this kid? I was just feeling proud of him, and he ruins it all at the end. He wouldn’t even give me a chance to end things on a warm note.

And so, I started round two of our childish bickering with Nam Jungyoon. A fierce back-and-forth of ‘What do you know!’ and ‘What don’t I know?’ ensued. It was like the clash of a spear that pierces everything and a shield that blocks everything.

“Probably only you, senior, would go on a blind date thinking you’d rather ruin another Alpha’s life than ruin Jung Pureum’s….”

“I’m pretty impressive, aren’t I.”

“That wasn’t a compliment.”

“This is why raising a vice-director is useless.”

Of course, the final winner of this meaningless and childish argument was me. I waved my hand at Nam Jungyoon, who was listlessly leaving the director’s office.

∞ ∞ ∞

The blind date my mom set up was with literally her ‘friend’s son.’

He’d been famous for being handsome since childhood, had a good personality, deep filial piety, and he even studied well enough to get into medical school. He was older than me, but he’d already opened his own private practice at a young age.

On top of that, his specialty was dermatology…. As long as K-beauty doesn’t collapse, his livelihood is secure. It’s far from the medical romance my mom dreams of, but anyone can see he has excellent qualifications.

First of all, just the fact that the dermatology clinic is in the heart of Gangnam is impressive. The building rent there must be no joke. I have specs that wouldn’t embarrass me anywhere either, but I felt a little intimidated.

Bright morning sunlight poured through the café’s floor-to-ceiling windows. As I sipped today’s eight-thousand-won coffee, I started to feel a creeping sense of doubt about this blind date.

It was a doubt I hadn’t felt even when Nam Jungyoon tried to stop me. But now that I was actually here, everything was unsettling. Especially whenever I remembered that the other person was a Western medicine doctor. A Western medicine doctor in our family….

I have no intention of getting married myself, but my grandfather and mom don’t seem to mind that my blind date is a Western medicine doctor. How can they be okay with that? A Western medicine doctor entering a Korean medicine family is like introducing an invasive fish species into the Han River.

“Moon Yeonghwa?”

A pleasant mid-low voice called my name, cutting off my train of thought. I lifted my head and looked at the person who had called me.

…Invasive species, but handsome?

For a moment, I doubted my own eyes. A guy as good-looking as Jung Pureum was looking at me.

Not only was my mom’s friend’s son the director of a dermatology clinic in the heart of Gangnam, but he was also handsome. His skin had a glossy sheen, and I thought I understood why dermatology clinics did well. Crazy. If the director’s skin looks like this, of course clients would trust him.

I recalled the dermatology clinic Lee Seolwoo had introduced me to before. That place was also good, but the director’s face didn’t inspire this much confidence.

While I was internally thinking, ‘Isn’t this mom’s friend’s son a scam?’ the handsome invasive species extended his hand to me.

“Park Seongjin. You came early? I thought I’d be the first one here.”

Fortunately, his name was ordinary. If the handsome invasive species had a flashy name on top of everything else, I would have been horrified. I exchanged a formal handshake with Park Seongjin.

I had come about an hour early, but Park Seongjin had also arrived about thirty minutes early. An Alpha who looks like that, is a dermatology clinic director, and even has manners. I was a bit confused. What? Isn’t this guy an Alpha?

“Ah, I should have bought the coffee.”

“No, I came early myself.”

“Please let me buy dinner. I should have come a little earlier. Sorry for making you wait.”

Park Seongjin sat in front of me with practiced ease and took the lead in the conversation.

I had expected him to show his face, check my condition, and then say something like ‘Oh no, an emergency patient came in? How could that happen!’ and leave. But contrary to my expectations, the blind date wasn’t particularly uncomfortable.

It wasn’t as comfortable as when I was with Jung Pureum, but Park Seongjin seemed like a pretty good person. Well, he was his mom’s friend’s son, so he was a guaranteed decent human being.

“You said you’re a Korean medicine doctor, right? I saw that broadcast about the Gongjindan too.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Even watching the broadcast, I thought it was amazing. I’ve always been quite interested in Korean medicine… it was really impressive that you developed that kind of Gongjindan.”

“I see.”

“It’s an honor to meet you like this.”

Park Seongjin was even sociable. Thanks to that, I grew more and more confused. The appearance of a decent Alpha connecting Jung Pureum and Nam Jungyoon. Are there really three unicorns in the world? This was a sign of the apocalypse. Has global warming gotten so severe that Alphas have come to their senses?

The more I recognized that Park Seongjin was a decent person, the more uncomfortable I felt in this seat. Even though all the conditions were good, I didn’t feel any romantic attraction toward Park Seongjin.

Even with Park Seongjin right in front of me, Jung Pureum’s face came to mind. Looking closely, I thought Jung Pureum was still better-looking.

“By the way, did I make you uncomfortable?”

When I unconsciously started shaking my leg, Park Seongjin quickly noticed my state. I hurriedly shook my head. Since Park Seongjin was my mom’s friend’s son, I couldn’t embarrass my mother.

“It’s not that… it’s just my first time in a situation like this. I’m sorry.”

“Not at all. It’s my first time too.”

Looking at Park Seongjin smiling kindly made my chest feel tight.

Just then, as if sensing my inner turmoil, the phone I’d placed on the café table vibrated. On the screen, three characters appeared: ‘Jung Pureum.’

I pressed the decline button. The fact that he was calling me outright at this hour meant he must have found out about my blind date after all. There’s no way Kim Miyoung or Nam Jungyoon kept this a secret from Jung Pureum.

“If it’s an urgent call, you can take it.”

“No, it’s just a younger guy I know.”

After that, I kept creaking like a broken robot. If Park Seongjin had been even a little passive, this blind date would have fallen apart because of me.

But Park Seongjin noticeably liked me. It was a strange thing. I’m not a dominant Omega, nor do I have a personality that immediately draws favor. Yet he was kind to me throughout.

It’s true that I resemble my mom and have a delicate look, but compared to other Omegas who rival idols, I’m about average. Objectively speaking, if you put Park Seongjin and me on the same level for comparison, I fall short.

“By the way, you have a really nice scent.”

“Pardon?”

“…Ah, it’s not that strong, but it seems like your pheromones are a bit unstable. Sitting across from you like this, I can smell it. Is it sandalwood?”

On top of that, it seemed I was still clumsy at controlling my pheromones. Or maybe it was a side effect of overdosing on the herbal medicine that suppresses heat cycles.

I smiled awkwardly and subtly pulled my chair back. Whether I did that or not, Park Seongjin still wore a smiling face.

“Should we move to another place now? I wasn’t sure what you’d like, so I made a reservation at a restaurant I frequent. Is a Korean set meal okay?”

“Yes….”

When Jung Pureum told me I smelled like sandalwood, I didn’t think much of it. But when Park Seongjin mentioned my pheromones, my mood soured rapidly.

Thanks to that, as time passed, everything became clear.

…I think I’m screwed.

Seeing it like this, it became certain. I didn’t like Jung Pureum just because he suddenly turned into an Alpha. Even with a good-looking, well-off, dominant Alpha with decent manners right in front of me, I felt no flutter. I didn’t feel any attraction due to traits or hierarchy either.

I liked Jung Pureum simply because he was Jung Pureum. Of all things, this happens.