My Alpha Era Began with Gongjindan Chapter 91

However, I could not bring myself to kick Lee Seolwoo out as I had resolved to do.

This was because Lee Seolwoo’s physical condition was worse than I had thought. I am a doctor, after all, and it is not right to give a sick person their marching orders.

I concentrated carefully and inserted acupuncture needles into his knotted abdomen. Contrary to his complaint of an upset stomach, Lee Seolwoo was gaunter than he appeared—it seemed he had not been eating properly at all.

“Your ribs are showing. Even if your stomach is bad, you absolutely must not skip meals. Please have at least some rice gruel.”

“These days, I throw up almost anything I eat.”

“Is it that bad? Did you eat anything unusual before your stomach started acting up?”

“Nothing in particular. It just started a few days ago. It’s not even a burning pain in my gut, but it’s like morning sickness or something….”

…Wait, morning sickness?

Startled, I took Lee Seolwoo’s pulse again. The pulse was weak, so I could not be certain, but when I focused, I noticed something subtly catching my attention.

“Um, Lee Seolwoo.”

“Yes?”

“Please listen without being alarmed.”

I withdrew the needles I had placed on Lee Seolwoo’s abdomen. That could have been a disaster—moxibustion or acupuncture is not good for an early-term pregnant woman.

“I think you might be pregnant.”

At my words, Lee Seolwoo sprang up in shock. Since I had not yet removed all the needles, I was equally startled. What if he got hurt!

“Pr-pregnant? That can’t be….”

I pushed Lee Seolwoo back down and retrieved the needles. Even while I was doing so, Lee Seolwoo asked me over and over again, unable to believe what I had said.

“We used proper contraception, and it wasn’t even my heat cycle.”

Well, I am not a walking ultrasound machine, so it might not be pregnancy. The pulse can fluctuate depending on a person’s physical state.

Still, judging from Lee Seolwoo’s overall condition and the double-layered pulse I detected, the likelihood of pregnancy was high. To confirm accurately, he should go to an obstetrics and gynecology clinic, not a Korean medicine clinic. As capable as traditional Korean medicine may be, it does not yield results as definitively as modern medicine.

“I think it would be a good idea for you to visit an OB-GYN.”

“But….”

“You know that even with proper contraception and outside your heat cycle, pregnancy is still possible.”

“….”

“I understand you’re shocked, since you said you’re still young and a university student. Still, if your body keeps feeling off, it’s best to get tested. If you’re reluctant to go to an OB-GYN, you could at least buy a test kit and check.”

Lee Seolwoo reluctantly nodded.

Since he was a dominant omega, even as a male, the probability of pregnancy was high. Even with contraceptive devices, contraception is never one hundred percent effective. The moment one engages in intercourse, the possibility is always open.

Still, I was worried.

Lee Seolwoo was in his final year but still a university student. He seemed sociable and to have many things he wanted to do, but if he became pregnant, he would inevitably face many restrictions.

“Our clinic will be closed for about a week around the end of July.”

“Yes….”

“Apart from that period, feel free to come to the clinic whenever you need—I’ll see you anytime. If you run into something difficult to handle on your own, contact me. Even during the closure, our deputy director will be here.”

“You mean that alpha?”

“No, starting next week, we have another beta deputy director joining. Since that person is a beta, you can receive care comfortably even when I’m not around.”

To be honest, even I thought this was being overly meddlesome. If it turned out Lee Seolwoo was not pregnant, I would be branded a quack by a regular patient.

Still, as an omega who had lived a few more years, it was hard to simply turn a blind eye to Lee Seolwoo. He already seemed to have had a fight with his partner, and if he really was pregnant, things could become difficult.

I gently patted Lee Seolwoo on the back; his expression was grim. Probably, like me, he thought life was truly hard-mode content.

A week later, as scheduled, Hong Seonghyeon appeared at our clinic as the new deputy director.

Kim Miyoung’s impeccable eye had not failed. Hong Seonghyeon was thoroughly satisfied with just one fact: our clinic had no ex-wife. He worked so diligently that I, as his employer, found myself smiling involuntarily.

Nam Jungyoon, who had seemed somewhat disgruntled with Hong Seonghyeon for reasons unknown, completely changed his attitude once he saw Hong Seonghyeon’s work performance. The way he muttered that regardless of whom Hong Seonghyeon liked, he had to look out for himself first, was quite suspicious.

“Is the work manageable?”

“Yeah. Since most patients come just to pick up herbal medicine, even with a lot of patients, it’s not too tiring.”

“And the appointment management is handled by the nurse assistant, so that helps. Combined, all the Korean medicine doctors here probably don’t even match the experience of our nurse assistant.”

Not only Kim Miyoung but also the nurse assistants sent by my grandfather were all veterans. Having worked alongside my grandfather for over a decade, they could probably pinpoint acupoints better than I, a Korean medicine doctor.

At my words, Hong Seonghyeon nodded with an awkward expression, saying he would work even harder. Ah, how admirable! After Kim Miyoung and Nam Jungyoon, hiring an employee had finally been satisfying. I thought I would never find such staff again!

“Yeonghwa.”

Since I am not the type to be particular about titles, Hong Seonghyeon also addressed me by my first name. I, too, mentally called him “Hong Seonghyeon,” so I did not bother pointing it out.

As long as he did his job well, that was all that mattered!

Besides, Hong Seonghyeon was a university senior seven years my senior, so I could not even imagine him calling me “Director” and using formal speech.

If we had met through work like Kim Miyoung, it would be different, but since we had met at university, it would actually feel awkward if he spoke formally to me.

Nam Jungyoon also just called me “senior,” so what did it matter. I put on a benign expression as I looked at Hong Seonghyeon, determined not to act like a rigid boss.

Hong Seonghyeon hesitated for a long while, as if he had something to say.

“Senior!”

“Huh?”

“Is Pureum doing well?”

But before Hong Seonghyeon could say anything to me, Nam Jungyoon abruptly cut between us. Asking after Jung Pureum’s well-being out of the blue was also suspicious. Had he eaten something strange lately?

“Nam Jungyoon, did you do something wrong to me?”

“No?”

“Then why have you been acting like this lately?”

“I’m just protecting my senior’s future and loyalty.”

“What are you talking about?”

With that, Nam Jungyoon crossed between me and Hong Seonghyeon and returned to the deputy director’s office. That brat had been staying quietly in his office, then suddenly popped out and acted that way—why? Surely he was not really trying to stake a territorial claim?

“What were you about to say? Jungyoon isn’t usually like that—he’s been strange lately.”

“…Huh? No, it was nothing important.”

“Really? Then I’ll head back to the director’s office too. If you come across anything you don’t understand during work, feel free to ask me or Kim Miyoung.”

“Will do. Oh, and I’ve been curious about something since before….”

“Yes.”

“Who is Pureum?”

Come to think of it, Hong Seonghyeon did not know Jung Pureum. Normally, Jung Pureum would have been the first person he got to know, given how frequently he wore down our clinic’s doorstep.

I felt Jung Pureum’s absence more keenly than ever. Still, the Olympics were coming soon… if I could just endure July, I would have Jung Pureum back in triumph by my side.

“Pureum is the director’s partner.”

“…You startled me. Nurse assistant, when did you get behind me again?”

“I’m always watching the director’s back.”

“What, that’s really touching.”

“…You have a partner? You?”

Hong Seonghyeon looked at me with a bewildered expression.

Was it really that surprising? Apparently, even in Hong Seonghyeon’s eyes, I seemed like someone who could not date.

It was true that Jung Pureum had not won a medal yet, but I no longer intended to deny that he was something like my partner? A being? Even if I did not keep him, Jung Pureum would be in high demand, but the only person who could put up with me was Jung Pureum.

Though it was somewhat unscrupulous, since we had, in our own way, made some kind of future? promise? between us, I decided to act confidently.

“He’s about 98 percent my partner.”

“He’s your partner, plain and simple.”

But Kim Miyoung was even more confident than I was.

“That rare younger partner of yours. You should brag about Pureum more. What’s this 98 percent? Where did you sell off the other 2 percent?”

“That’s my last remaining conscience. And bragging? People would just talk behind my back.”

“Hmph, talk behind your back? They’d be envious. I’m dying of envy myself. I want to meet a young man too, not my old man.”

At that, Hong Seonghyeon’s pupils trembled slightly.

He seemed to have difficulty readily accepting that I had a younger partner. Well, since we had not been in contact from my freshman year until his hiring, it was probably surprising from Hong Seonghyeon’s perspective. I had been the biggest loner in the university.

“Alright, enough curiosity about the director’s partner. Seonghyeon, get back to work. Director, stop chatting.”

“Chatting? I was just looking after the new employee.”

“Tsk, that’s my job. Director, go decoct some medicine.”

“Ha, am I the director or a decocting machine….”

Though I said that, I was truly relieved that Kim Miyoung was taking charge of Hong Seonghyeon. With Kim Miyoung around, I had no doubt she would skillfully keep Hong Seonghyeon from escaping, without my worrying.

∞ ∞ ∞

Finally! At last! For real! It’s Olympic season.

It had been such a long, long few months. I stuffed clothes into a travel suitcase. How long had it been since my last overseas trip? Since I was only going to watch the Olympics, calling it a trip was a bit ambiguous. Still, I could not help feeling excited at the thought of boarding a plane.

Honestly, I had been dying to see Jung Pureum for months. More than anything, the heat cycle was the biggest problem. Because the device that had been assisting my heat cycle as best it could for the past few years was no longer helpful.

…This was all Jung Pureum’s fault. No, why did he make my body like this? I blamed Jung Pureum, who was not even beside me, without a shred of conscience.

Suppressing the heat cycle with herbal medicine also had its limits, so I had endured it miserably for over a week. Throughout that period, afraid that Jung Pureum would worry, I made up some academic conference schedule and avoided contact.

Fortunately, Hong Seonghyeon was such an excellent worker that even without me, Nam Jungyoon would not drop dead. In fact, after Hong Seonghyeon joined the clinic, Nam Jungyoon had gained a full three kilograms. That meant he was finally making a living.

In that sense, Hong Seonghyeon was truly a precious asset. I felt a bit sorry leaving only Kim Miyoung and Nam Jungyoon behind to go to Japan, but having Hong Seonghyeon at least meant the clinic could avoid a prolonged closure.

If he had been even slightly incompetent or struggling himself, I would not have worked him so hard.

Hong Seonghyeon was a truly excellent slave… no, deputy director. I felt sorry for him, but I was almost grateful for his divorce. Thank you for getting divorced! Thank you for changing jobs!

While I was busy pondering Hong Seonghyeon’s value, my phone rang. Checking the time, it was already ten at night. It was time for Jung Pureum to have finished training and be wrapping up.

I raised myself to answer the call. Having crouched for a long while packing, a groan escaped me involuntarily. It seemed my body kept creaking, probably because my heat cycle had only just ended.