My Alpha Era Began with Gongjindan Chapter 70

Anyway, the Olympics are next year.

I decided to leave everything to my future self. Even if my future self resents me, there’s nothing I can do. Sorry! The present me has no problem-solving skills!

“But still, at my age, dating you is….”

“What about your age, hyung?”

“Honestly, I’m old.”

“Twenty-eight? I don’t think every twenty-eight-year-old in the world thinks they’re old.”

“….”

“I think that comment just now was something you need to apologize to all twenty-eight-year-olds around the world for.”

Jung Pureum had no logic.

It’s impossible to win a verbal argument against someone with no logic. It’d be easier to argue with TV station producers.

“Hurry up and say sorry to all twenty-eight-year-olds around the world.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Fine… I’m sorry, everyone.”

I ended up waving the white flag.

“I really don’t know anymore. Let’s talk again after you win a gold medal.”

“If I win one gold medal, date me. Two, imprint with me. Three, marry me.”

“Where do you think you’re selling drugs?”

“Is that not okay?”

Looking at him staring at me with clear, bright eyes, I couldn’t easily say no.

In the first place, it’s not easy for one person to win three gold medals at the Olympics. It’s not even archery, Korea’s main event—winning three golds in swimming is next to impossible. Swimming powerhouses like the US and China wouldn’t leave Korea alone.

I did the math in my head.

It’s true that I think Jung Pureum is incredibly impressive, but it’s extremely difficult for an 185-centimeter Asian to win three gold medals in swimming.

But I couldn’t outright ask, “Isn’t three gold medals a bit hard?” Even a grown kid needs to have dreams and hope instilled in them.

“Alright, let’s talk again if you win three gold medals.”

Surely that won’t actually happen, right?

I shut Jung Pureum’s mouth as he chattered on about where we should have the wedding. The Jung Pureum dreaming of an impossible feat looked quite adorable.

Even after three days of rolling around with him like that, the fact that I still found him cute proved I wasn’t in my right mind either. I decided to admit that I’d reached the point of no return.

∞ ∞ ∞

As soon as I got home, I called my mom. I needed to deliver the news that Park Seongjin was trash as soon as possible. Mom! Your friend’s son wasn’t in his right mind!

―Yeonghwa? What have you been up to that you’re calling only now?

It wasn’t intentional, but I’d ended up being someone who’d gone radio silent for the past three days. Even in college, when my heat cycle hit, I’d do online attendance and then collapse….

“Mom, I’ve had so much going on….”

―Speaking of which, Mijin called me all furious, demanding to know how I raised my son. I was worried sick thinking something had happened to you.

“Is Mijin Park Seongjin’s mother?”

Ms. Mijin! Your son isn’t in his right mind either!

But Park Seongjin had made me out to be the crazy one first. I’d expected this. If there hadn’t been other people in that underground parking garage, Park Seongjin wouldn’t have backed down so easily.

There’s no way the guy who only backed off because there were too many witnesses went home and said nice things about me. I could roughly guess what Park Seongjin had been saying about me.

―Don’t even get me started. Mijin and I got into a huge fight, and the group savings club I was in with her fell apart.

“…Really?”

―Of course. Sure, Mijin and I had joked about becoming in-laws, but how could I stand by while her son badmouthed mine? And besides, Mijin and I weren’t even that close to begin with.

If they weren’t even that close, why did they talk about becoming in-laws?

I felt like I’d ruined my mom’s friendship for no reason by going to that blind date, and my heart sank. The background music for a fateful wrong encounter played in my head. Mom had trusted Mijin, and by extension Park Seongjin, so she’d introduced him to me without any suspicion….

Then I felt a little wronged. No, Park Seongjin was the one at fault, so why did Mijin and my mom have to break apart? This was too unfair.

I tried to recount all the nasty things about Park Seongjin in detail, but I just shut my mouth.

Mijin probably thought Park Seongjin was a proper and upright son. My mom knows I’m hot-tempered, but she thinks I speak politely and properly outside.

Surely Mijin doesn’t know that her son goes to blind dates to hunt down Omegas who’ve established themselves in society to some degree. No matter how crazy Park Seongjin is, he’d be a gentle little lamb in front of his own mother.

So if I went on and on about Park Seongjin’s faults here, it could ruin not just the savings club but my mom’s other relationships too. If it were just Mijin and her alone, that’d be one thing, but it’s a ‘savings club’—other friends are clearly involved.

―Anyway, all that matters to me is that you’re okay.

“I’m fine. Honestly, nothing much happened.”

―You said a lot happened, though? Whatever, forget it. I didn’t want to be friends with someone like Mijin’s son who subtly looks down on Omegas anyway. The way she bragged about giving birth to an Alpha.

“….”

―We were just connected by money through the club anyway. Yeonghwa, don’t go keeping things a secret just because you’re worried about my social life, okay?

“I told you, nothing really happened.”

When I muttered that I’d never go on a blind date again, my mom laughed brightly on the other end of the line.

―Of course you shouldn’t. Yeonghwa, you already have a lover.

“…Pardon?”

―Mijin’s son already told me everything. That your lover crashed your blind date. Oh my, I should have been there to see such a dramatic scene.

“No, he didn’t exactly crash the blind date….”

To be precise, he intervened at the hotel underground parking garage Park Seongjin had dragged me to. In terms of genre, it wasn’t a romance drama—it was closer to a crime investigation show.

―It’s Pureum, isn’t it?

“….”

―Bring him down sometime. You kept saying no, but I had a gut feeling. A son-in-law like that won’t come again….

I was so dumbfounded I was speechless. Why on earth would she get a gut feeling that a son-in-law like that won’t come again….

Jung Pureum was far from all the dramatic elements my mom loves. He wasn’t a born Alpha, nor was he a Western medicine doctor who could fulfill a medical romance.

But my mom, who’d never even seen Jung Pureum’s face once, was already incredibly fond of him. If she ever met Jung Pureum in person, she’d evolve into something even more intense than she is now. Because my mom is just as susceptible to good looks and bodies as I am.

After that, I listened to a bit more of my mom’s worried nagging. By the time she’d told me that this Wednesday was the premiere of <The Alpha Who Was a Beta Is Too Much!>, the call had easily exceeded an hour.

―Oh, I almost forgot the most important thing.

“What is it?”

―Nothing big. Your dad heard that your blind date was a disaster, and he said Alphas can’t be trusted after all, and that you don’t need to get married.

As expected, my extremely dad. Just a while ago he was making such a fuss about how I needed to get married, and now he’s done a complete one-eighty.

This was good news for me. I had no intention of getting married anyway. Unless Jung Pureum performs the miracle of winning three Olympic gold medals, I’ll live single with my Korean medicine clinic as my partner.

Liking someone, imprinting, and marriage are all completely different things. No matter how amazing a groom Jung Pureum might be, this can’t be helped. Someone as self-righteous as me is better off as a confirmed bachelor.

So having even my dad in the family say ‘don’t get married’ was a huge relief. My grandfather and mom aren’t as extreme as my dad, so they likely won’t change their views on marriage easily. At least Dad should be on my side.

―And your grandfather said he’s coming up to Seoul to see you this weekend.

“What? Why are you telling me this now?”

―I completely forgot while we were talking about the drama.

“….”

―Hmm, son. Listen without getting angry?

My mom started with an ominous tone.

―Somehow, I ended up telling your grandfather about Pureum.

Middle-aged women who promise to keep secrets cannot be trusted. They’re all liars. No one keeps their promise to keep a secret.

My mom soothed me, saying it couldn’t be helped because the topic of the disastrous blind date came up. Since I’d already had a secret leaked by Kim Miyoung once, I was more dumbfounded than angry, and words failed me.

While I was stammering, my mom rattled off a list of recommended dramas and quickly hung up. I hate to say this about my family, but my family members are… a little strange sometimes.

I put down my overheated phone, lay down on the bed, and closed my eyes.

I was worried about <The Alpha Who Was a Beta Is Too Much!>, which was about to premiere soon, and I was also anxious about my grandfather coming up this weekend.

To be precise, I wasn’t anxious about my grandfather—I was anxious about Jung Pureum, who would have to face him. My grandfather isn’t a former shot-put athlete, but as a master of martial arts novels, there was a possibility he’d challenge Jung Pureum to a sparring match on the spot.

How dare you lay a hand on my grandson? I shall punish you with Shaolin fist techniques! My grandfather’s roar automatically replayed in my head.

By the way, does Jung Pureum even know how to play baduk….

[Pureum]

[Do you know how to play baduk?]

I ended up sending Jung Pureum a message, unable to overcome my worry. Jung Pureum is part of today’s younger generation, so he probably doesn’t know things like baduk.

[Baduk?]

[I know a little]

…Is Jung Pureum not part of today’s younger generation?

It was a relief he knew even a little. I told Jung Pureum that my grandfather was coming this weekend. No matter how much I tried to stop him, my grandfather was determined to see Jung Pureum before leaving.

Even if Jung Pureum and I aren’t dating, we are in a slightly complicated entanglement, so I couldn’t avoid a face-off with my grandfather forever.

[Is this perhaps a mini family meeting?]

[From now on, I’ll become Master Baduk King]

I received Jung Pureum’s message and laughed without resistance. What on earth is Master Baduk King?

There were mountains of unresolved issues, and my relationship with Jung Pureum still remained a difficult assignment for me. But I was able to fall asleep in a fairly comfortable state.

Laughing and feeling at ease over such a trivial thing—it was truly strange.