#46
“It’s no big deal.”
“…Should I help you wash?”
Instead of answering, Eunhong stared at Jaeha with his mouth open stupidly. His innocent gaze seemed to mutter, “I might slip.” He thought that Jaeha’s words sounded strange only because he had just had a weird dream. Eunhong shook his head, chased Jaeha away, and entered the bathroom.
As he sprayed water on his body and mechanically scrubbed with a soapy shower towel, Eunhong’s mind was filled with the dream he had just had.
‘It must have been during the manifestation.’
It was definitely a hotel he had never been to before. Moreover, he woke up completely naked… The reflection he saw in the mirror was similar to his physical condition when he came to Jaeha’s house from the hospital. It felt too vivid to be a product of imagination, and he had a strange certainty that it was an actual memory.
‘What should I do….’
Eunhong stopped washing and slumped down. As soon as he thought that his memories might be coming back, he became scared and his legs lost strength. What had seemed like someone else’s problem was actually his own. And as soon as a piece of memory surfaced, Eunhong precisely understood his own feelings that he hadn’t known before.
‘I don’t want to know.’
Yes, he didn’t want to know. He had hoped that if his memories never returned, it would be as if nothing had happened. That was his true feeling, which he only now recognized clearly. He really wanted to just cover it up as if it never happened. So he wished for the image fragments that kept appearing in his mind to leave.
“Eunhong, are you okay?”
“Oh! Yes, I’m fine!”
Startled by the sound of knocking on the bathroom door and Jaeha’s worried voice, Eunhong hurriedly replied. He also stopped banging his head against the shower wall. Realizing that the thumping sound must have been heard outside, he felt embarrassed.
“If it’s hard, just say so. I’ll close my eyes and come in.”
“Are you stupid… What are you going to do coming in with your eyes closed…?”
“Even with my eyes closed, I can pick you up and move you to the bedroom.”
Eunhong’s tense expression softened at the cheeky response from beyond the door. He felt drained but a laugh escaped him.
“I’ll finish washing and come out soon. Go away and don’t stick to the door.”
Eunhong pretended to be brave as he chased Jaeha away and finished his shower. As he wiped off the water and put on a robe, his reflection in the mirror looked unfamiliar. Even forcing a smile felt awkward. Ban Eunhong. Omega. Who was a beta until last month.
Eunhong looked down at his body pensively. The fragments of memory he wanted to fold up tightly and shove away seemed to become clearer the more he tried. He shuddered slightly, feeling as if he could sense the touch of hands on his skin.
What was even more maddening was that the hands touching his body, that voice, seemed to overlap with Lee Jaeha.
It was truly severe. He wasn’t even sure of his own feelings, having just turned down a friend’s confession. Yet here he was, mere hours later, his brain superimposing his friend onto these vivid red memories.
And the fact that Jaeha’s filter made the memories feel less painful only added to his guilt. Even if Jaeha easily gave him anything, this wasn’t something to be used like this.
‘And if I even say it feels good….’
You crazy fool…. Eunhong muttered, looking at himself in the mirror.
***
Eunhong awkwardly fiddled with the smartwatch on his wrist. Given his profession, he had never been in the habit of wearing anything on his hands. After tapping on keyboards and wielding pens for long hours, even a thin leather band would start to feel bothersome at some point. But apparently, he had to wear this at all times.
‘In addition to basic functions like detecting pulse and blood pressure, it also detects the wearer’s pheromones, so make sure to wear it at all times. If you feel you can’t control it, take the emergency medication I gave you in the blue container.’
‘Wow, this is amazing. Do you have one too, Jaeha?’
‘I don’t need one.’
‘Are there any other functions? Like emergency communication or hacking. Maybe a poison dart launcher.’
‘You’ve watched too many movies. What poison dart launcher….’
When he first received the new medication and this watch from Professor Choi, he laughed and joked around, but the feeling of going out into the world for the first time with his changed body wasn’t as light as those words. Even just crossing one crosswalk, Eunhong was reminded once again that he had become an omega. The air was filled with pheromone scents everywhere.
Eunhong stood in front of the familiar company building. Before entering, he looked back one more time to calm his anxious heart. As he cast his gaze across the street, the window of a car with dark tinted windows rolled down as if it had been waiting. Lee Jaeha, who had insisted on driving him despite Eunhong’s desire to take the subway, stuck his face out of the window.
“What if you had taken the subway?”
I might have thrown up…. Eunhong muttered, suddenly feeling grateful.
Jaeha, who had revealed himself, seemed to be saying something as his mouth moved, but there was no way Eunhong could hear from this distance. As Eunhong tilted his head in confusion, his phone rang immediately after.
– I told you to quit.
It was an expected statement, but it was amusing.
“You should get to your company quickly. If you stay there any longer, you’ll get a parking ticket.”
– Are you worried about my wallet situation, Bunhong? That’s cute.
Chuckling, Eunhong waved his hand once and was about to hang up when someone tapped his shoulder. At the same time, Jaeha seemed to say something through the speaker, but Eunhong couldn’t hear it.
“Well, look who it is. If it isn’t Ban Eunhong.”
Happy to see Shim AD after a long time, Eunhong covered the microphone of his phone with his hand and bowed in greeting.
“Hello, AD. Has everything been okay with the team?”
“We’re the same as always. Did you rest well? Have you recovered?”
“Yes, thanks to you.”
As Eunhong looked back at his phone, intending to say goodbye to Jaeha and enter the company, the call had already ended. Unconsciously, his gaze went to Jaeha’s car. Jaeha had gotten out of the car and was looking at him. Eunhong raised his hand and waved it around.
“Who’s that? That friend from before?”
“Yes. He drove me here, telling me not to take the subway.”
“That’s reassuring.”
Eunhong nodded at Shim AD’s words.
The subtle discomfort he felt when swiping his ID card at the gate in the lobby grew significantly when he got into the elevator. Eunhong unknowingly frowned. His skin tingled from the pheromones that were hard to describe as simply a scent… they had an unpleasant texture. Having never experienced this situation before, Eunhong found it difficult to breathe. The principle was simple. As the space became smaller, the concentration increased, and the discomfort rose along with it.
“Just to be clear, it’s not me.”
Eunhong, who had been rubbing his face, turned his head at the quiet voice. Shim AD was smiling awkwardly. Was it that obvious? I need to be careful. Smiling sheepishly, Eunhong noticed Shim AD pressing the button for the 4th floor, saying they should stop by the HR team first.
“AD Shim Kiyoung. Team Leader Ban Eunhong. This way, please.”
Eunhong peeked around from behind Shim AD, taking in the surroundings. The HR team, which he had only visited once for his first interview and once to sign his employment contract, felt somewhat unfamiliar. It looked more like a typical office than the 8th floor where Eunhong’s project team was located. Such bleakness without even a single figurine…. As Eunhong looked around, the HR team leader invited him to sit down.
“You need to sign the amended employment contract and the consent form for applying for government subsidies. Of course, please read them carefully first.”
As he received the contract and sat down, it hit him once again that he had transformed into a different phenotype.
The contract explicitly mentioned special situations related to Eunhong’s phenotype, specifically heat leave. It was appreciated that they were considerate of heats, which vary in timing for each individual and don’t have set dates. However….
“It’s unpaid leave?”
“…Yes. Since the cycle and duration vary depending on the constitution, some people take a week off, while others only need a day or two, so to be fair…”
The HR team leader made a troubled expression. Sigh…. How sad. Eunhong turned his head for a moment to wipe away tears.
The consent form for government subsidies was for the state to provide support to companies employing 2-star phenotype individuals. This document required the signature of a superior. It was a kind of employment verification guarantor to prevent false hiring for the purpose of obtaining compensation. Eunhong finally understood why Shim AD had come with him.
“There won’t be any… notifications to the team or anything about my phenotype change, right?”
The HR team leader’s eyes widened at Eunhong’s question, then let out an “Ah!” before smiling as if looking at the world’s biggest fool. He said that nowadays, doing something like that would put the company name on the front page of the news. After chuckling for a while, he cleared his throat and put on a friendly expression again when Shim AD glared at him.
“If you ever experience any phenotype-related issues in the company, although we haven’t had any cases yet, if you do, please let me know separately.”
“Okay.”
“Also, you need to take a new version of workplace sexual harassment prevention training. Since we need to maintain confidentiality, I’ll send you the online training video link to your personal email later.”
“Training completion?”
“Yes. It’s a mandatory training that you must take. Whether alpha or omega, 2-star phenotype individuals must take it for their own protection.”
“Eunhong, don’t you watch the news? You seem to have no interest in what’s going on in the world.”
Eunhong shrugged at Shim AD’s criticism. After signing all the documents and leaving the HR team’s floor, Shim AD led Eunhong to the cafe. Even during the short distance, Eunhong faintly sensed numerous residual pheromones. He realized for the first time that there were quite a few phenotype individuals in the company. Perhaps even among the colleagues he had known as betas, there might be 2-star phenotype individuals.
