My Alpha Era Began with Gongjindan Chapter 65

Once I realized that fact, I found it even harder to focus on the blind date.

I can’t say for sure since we’d just met, but Park Seongjin seemed like a pretty decent person. At the very least, it was certain that he was good at socializing, judging by his polished outward appearance. His skill at steering conversation toward topics that wouldn’t make the other person uncomfortable was also impressive.

Even at the Korean set meal restaurant, Park Seongjin led almost the entire conversation. I picked at my food and answered his questions like a machine.

“I heard you turned this down once, this meeting.”

Around the time dessert came out, Park Seongjin brought up the blind date itself. I awkwardly scratched my cheek.

“Well, Yeonghwa is still young to be thinking about marriage.”

“That’s part of it, but I just don’t have any intention of getting married.”

“That makes us the same. I’m not keen on marriage either.”

Park Seongjin was thirty-two. Still young on his side too. My grandfather thinks it’s a disaster if you don’t have children by the time you’re over thirty, but these days, even getting married at that age is considered early.

Still, it was on the late side for someone with a trait. Alphas and Omegas tend to rush into marriage more than Betas. It’s not just about other things—it’s because many try to avoid heats and ruts through imprinting.

How are you supposed to live in this harsh modern society with a body that needs three to seven days off at a time? These days, some places offer paid leave for cycles, but generally, unless you’re at a large corporation or a public company, such benefits are hard to come by.

“Is running the clinic going well for you?”

“For me, I have a lot of staff. There’s another director too.”

I’m genuinely envious. I should hire a few more employees soon too. Now that Baek Wonhee is in jail, it was time to hire full-time staff instead of just part-timers.

Because Kim Miyoung handled things so well alone, I hadn’t even realized we were understaffed. I pay her enough, but now it was time to hire more people and take responsibility for Kim Miyoung and Nam Jungyoon’s welfare.

“I feel like I should be asking you that instead. Is running the Korean medicine clinic going well? Doesn’t the Omega side have longer cycles?”

“I’m fine. I have herbal medicine that suppresses the heat cycle completely.”

“There’s such herbal medicine?”

“I made it myself. It sells pretty well too. I’m still developing the one that suppresses rut cycles, though.”

“That’s amazing. When the medicine comes out, give me a little hint. I’d like to try taking it too.”

He seems quite open to Korean medicine for a Western medicine doctor, doesn’t he? I internally reassessed Park Seongjin.

Not just Western medicine doctors, but many people think of Korean medicine as baseless folk remedies. They have no idea how scientific and great this field is!

Of course, it’s true that Korean medicine can’t cure cancer or tumors. It can alleviate pain, but beyond that, it’s difficult without the power of modern medicine.

Still, I don’t think Korean medicine is merely a folk remedy. It’s a… vast body of knowledge with tradition and history.

I sipped the sujeonggwa that came out as dessert and went on about how great Korean medicine is. When I suddenly became talkative, Park Seongjin started responding to my words with a slightly bewildered expression.

I don’t know about other things, but he’s definitely someone who’s good at social life. Every time Park Seongjin echoed me, I got excited and talked at length about the herbal medicines I’d made.

“That’s fascinating. I thought only the Gongjindan was impressive.”

“That’s just the one that got the most attention.”

“Haha, well, everyone is a bit more generous toward Alphas.”

Until a little while ago, I’d planned to just have lunch and part ways, but once I started connecting with Park Seongjin, my mood lifted.

For someone like me, who hadn’t made many friends my age since middle school, Park Seongjin was a fairly interesting counterpart. I still didn’t feel any romantic attraction, but I thought I might develop the kind of platonic fondness I’d felt for Lee Seolwoo.

“Ah, I already reserved movie tickets in advance. Time flew by while we were talking.”

“Movies?”

“Yes. Do you like romance?”

On top of that, Park Seongjin and I had matching movie tastes. The moment I heard he liked big-corporation tearjerker romances, a revelation struck me like lightning. What? Maybe I could become good friends with this person?

Different schools of medicine aside, we’re both doctors, and since our mothers are friends, he’s someone who’s been vetted to some extent. Plus, our tastes are similar. It felt like someone had meticulously matched us up.

I decided to just watch the movie with Park Seongjin. Because among people who like tearjerker romance movies, there are no bad people.

The movie theater was packed. It seemed even more crowded than when I’d come here with Jung Pureum under the pretext of a date.

“This movie that just came out has pretty good reviews.”

It’s not easy for Korean-style tearjerkers to get good reviews. Looking at the poster with a famous actor’s face plastered front and center made my expectations soar. By now, Park Seongjin felt so comfortable that it was hard to believe we’d just met today.

“Are you a couple? If you’re a couple, I’ll upsize your popcorn for free.”

But regardless of all my expectations and comfort, I couldn’t help but think of Jung Pureum.

The problem was that I’d used the pretext of dating Jung Pureum to go around too many places. Everywhere I went, memories with him came to mind first. Even with Park Seongjin beside me, I kept thinking about Jung Pureum.

“We’re not a couple.”

That was also why I’d spoken up before Park Seongjin. He might be my blind date, but we weren’t a couple.

“Oh, saying it so flatly makes me a little sad, you know.”

“It’s just a fact that we’re not a couple.”

“Still, isn’t there a possibility?”

“….”

“Haha, just kidding.”

I’d thought he was proper and polite, but unexpectedly, he had a sly side. I revised my evaluation of Park Seongjin once more. I’d thought he wasn’t interested in me since he said he didn’t want to get married.

For someone who said he liked tearjerker romance, Park Seongjin didn’t cry at all throughout the movie. I was the only one sobbing at the scenes where the big corporation forced you to cry.

Still, at least he didn’t miss the entire runtime staring at someone else’s face like Jung Pureum did. He looked bored throughout the movie, but the moment it ended, he said it was fun, which left me feeling a bit unsettled.

After leaving the theater, I kept observing Park Seongjin’s expression. He mostly wore a smiling face, but there was something about him that seemed regretful.

“You cry really well.”

“I tend to easily succumb to the tearjerker scenes that big corporations force on you.”

“You must have a rich emotional sensibility.”

I got into Park Seongjin’s car without much suspicion because he offered to drive me home. Fearing that Park Seongjin might sentimentally try to fasten my seatbelt for me, I quickly buckled it myself the moment I got in.

“I really enjoyed today.”

And I threw in a preemptive farewell line too.

The blind date itself went smoothly, but the goal I’d hoped to achieve through it had been shattered early on. Even after meeting a decent person, I’d ended up thinking about Jung Pureum anyway.

It wasn’t that I was drawn to Jung Pureum because there were no Alphas around. I was simply drawn to Jung Pureum. It just so happened that he’d gone from Beta to Alpha.

Spending a day with Park Seongjin made that fact hit me strongly. If I’d really been drawn to Jung Pureum because of a lack of Alphas around, I should have felt some romantic attraction to Park Seongjin too.

But unfortunately, I didn’t feel any sort of emotion toward Park Seongjin. Even when he subtly released pheromones at the theater, I only felt displeasure. When Jung Pureum couldn’t control his, I’d been fine.

“You can just drop me off at the station entrance, and I’ll walk from there.”

“We’re parting already? That’s a shame.”

“Haha, ending early means we get at least a little rest.”

As fellow self-employed people, let’s be flexible and salvage even a bit of the weekend. Park Seongjin would understand my meaning well enough.

But contrary to my expectations, Park Seongjin didn’t seem to have any intention of dropping me off in front of the station.

“Then, shall we meet again next week?”

“Pardon?”

“I’m asking for a follow-up date right now.”

…Why?

If I’d known this would happen, I should have just walked to the station. I’d gotten a ride because I didn’t want to push through the crowds in this packed Gangnam, even if it meant moving like a turtle.

With an awkward face, I vaguely said that a follow-up date was a bit much. It wasn’t that I disliked Park Seongjin, but if we met multiple times after the blind date, I didn’t know what kind of talk would circulate among the adults.

Park Seongjin probably knew that too, so I didn’t understand why he was insisting on a follow-up. Why would a guy who said he didn’t want to get married do something as risky as asking for a follow-up? It was like carrying kindling and jumping into a fire.

“I like you, Yeonghwa. I thought we had a good atmosphere today, don’t you think?”

“Ah… well, I… I’m not interested in dating either.”

“Really?”

“Yes, I’m really sorry.”

We’d already passed Gangnam Station, so I’d have to ask him to drop me off somewhere else.

I rolled my eyes and observed Park Seongjin. In this situation, suggesting we just be friends would definitely be a negative, right? Since this was my first blind date, I had no idea how to gracefully end the meeting.

“Oh, by the way, people can be so shameless.”

Just as I was pondering something like ‘108 Ways to Part Healthily and Properly with Your Blind Date,’ Park Seongjin opened his mouth again.

“Do you have any idea how much time and money I’ve spent on you today? It’s a bit problematic for you to brush me off like this.”

It was an absurd thing to say. I’d paid for my own coffee with my own money, and I’d bought the meal myself, so what costs was he talking about? Acting like he’d done me a favor just for booking movie tickets—there’s no such thing as that kind of favor.

Instantly, in my head, the Omega god started mashing the red button. Warning! This bastard, I think he might be a total piece of shit!