# 39
“Yes, gender is divided differently there. People who have pheromones are called Alpha and Omega, and those without pheromones are called Beta.”
“Oh… So Alphas and Omegas influence each other through pheromones?”
“Yes. They can sense each other, and it seems to affect power dynamics as well. It appeared that a strong Alpha could make a weaker Alpha kneel.”
Jin-ha explained more about the genders and pheromones of that world to Jo Sung-hyun. This information would eventually reach Jo Sung-hyun anyway, so sharing it a bit early wouldn’t cause any problems.
“…I want to go too!”
After listening to the explanation for a while, Jo Sung-hyun jumped up and shouted.
“I want to go to that world and research too, Jin-ha! Isn’t there any way?”
“No, there isn’t.”
“What if I ask the Deputy Director nicely?”
“What we’re doing now is already stretching our capabilities. Besides, Alphas and Omegas aren’t the kind of class that would allow themselves to be research subjects.”
At those words, Jo Sung-hyun sat back down in his chair, looking disappointed. In a place like this world, where egalitarian ideals prevailed, one could propose light experiments in exchange for monetary benefits, but in a land with clear class distinctions, the situation was entirely different. Those called ‘nobles’ would consider such proposals not just rude, but a challenge to their authority.
And Jo Sung-hyun wasn’t the type of person who could adapt flexibly in such a class-conscious society. He had somewhat of an arrogant side to him. Jo Sung-hyun knew this well, and truthfully, he didn’t want to leave his laboratory filled with expensive research tools and equipment.
If he could bring the entire laboratory with him, that would be a different matter.
“Well, can’t be helped then…”
“If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going now.”
Fully dressed, Jin-ha picked up the document bag he had set aside and headed for the door. He had a lot to do. First, he needed to return to the Anomaly Management Agency to digitize and organize his report, meet with the Deputy Director, and then research magic…
And above all, he needed to buy a gift for the man.
“Ah, Lee Jin-ha.”
Jo Sung-hyun stopped Jin-ha just as he was about to leave. Twirling a pen in his hand, Jo Sung-hyun said:
“You know, in nature there are fish that change their sex due to hormonal influences when certain conditions are met.”
After a brief pause, as if expecting a reaction, Jo Sung-hyun tilted his head and smiled.
“The effect that pheromones from that world might have on people from this world is unknown. So be careful, Jin-ha.”
There was no time to deal with such tasteless jokes. Jin-ha shook his head and left.
* * *
“Jin-ha!”
As soon as Jin-ha arrived at the Anomaly Management Agency office, Section Chief Nam rushed over to greet him.
“Are you alright? What did Dr. Jo say?”
“He said there’s no health problem.”
“Thank goodness. I was worried when I heard you collapsed… I’m sorry I couldn’t help you when you were dragged into such dangerous work, Jin-ha.”
Section Chief Nam apologized, hanging his head. This matter had clearly been orchestrated by the Deputy Director. There was no part of it that involved the Section Chief’s decision, so his self-blame was unnecessary.
“…It was my choice. And it’s not without benefits.”
“Still, you’re my responsibility, so I should have protected you.”
Section Chief Nam added glumly.
“If only the Director had been here, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“…Indeed, if the Director were here, perhaps things wouldn’t have proceeded so recklessly.”
“Right? I wonder when the Director will return.”
Since he was someone who frequently disappeared and reappeared, there was no way to estimate. The reason such a person still held the position of Director of the Anomaly Management Agency was that the reasons for his disappearances were always due to problems during gate operations, and whenever he returned, he always had fairly decent acquisitions in hand.
Anyway, he was miraculously lucky, so he probably wasn’t dead.
“Are you getting back to work right away?”
“I need to write a report and see the Deputy Director.”
“Hmm, that might be difficult.”
“What do you mean?”
When Jin-ha asked, Section Chief Nam shrugged awkwardly.
“The Deputy Director is currently absent. He went on a business trip to the United States, but didn’t exactly say what he went for. Maybe there’s some kind of secret meeting?”
The Deputy Director was a cautious person. With about half a year left until he could assume the Director’s position if the Director didn’t return, Jin-ha had expected him to be more careful…
He had an uneasy feeling.
“I hope he doesn’t come back until the Director returns. Deputy Directors can go missing too, right?”
That was quite an extreme wish for a subordinate. When Jin-ha didn’t respond, Section Chief Nam cleared his throat and said:
“If you need to document that, I’ll do it. You can handle other things, Jin-ha. You can rest too. I’m sure you have plenty of other things to take care of.”
“…Then I’ll leave it to you.”
Though somewhat tactless, he wasn’t a bad person at heart. Jin-ha realized that the Section Chief was trying to cheer him up by badmouthing the Deputy Director, so he just smiled gently.
* * *
Fortunately, the news of his collapse had been kept confidential.
Section Chief Nam told him this with great apology, but Jin-ha thought it was for the best. Otherwise, he would surely have been lying in Mrs. Cha’s house like a patient by now.
Thanks to Section Chief Nam keeping it a secret, he was now heading to a jewelry store, using Cha Ki-young as his driver. After probing Jin-ha about what had happened in the other world, Ki-young offered this opinion:
“No matter how I look at it, he’s hitting on you.”
When Jin-ha looked at him with unconcealed contempt, Ki-young added as if making an excuse:
“No, really. Even though his behavior is a bit childish, it still seems like he’s showing interest. Getting upset because you didn’t ask his name and all that.”
“Childish…”
While Riyekan’s behavior did have somewhat childlike aspects, wasn’t that description a bit harsh?
Until now, Jin-ha had told Ki-young all about the pranks and mischief that man had inflicted on him since his business trip to the other world. Except for their recent agreement.
“……”
It wasn’t strange for Ki-young to use such language when he only knew about what had happened without knowing that their relationship had been somewhat settled.
Jin-ha changed the subject, not understanding why he felt hurt.
“About the investigation…”
“Ah, there’s been some progress.”
“There has?”
He hadn’t been expecting anything since the last time when an employee had called whining about being caught by the police. Jin-ha skeptically took out a stack of papers from the glove box that Ki-young had gestured toward and read them.
“…My father was American?”
“Yes. Your grandmother was a Korean-American and your grandfather was American. Apparently, he spent his childhood in California.”
Jin-ha was stunned as he hurriedly flipped through the documents. There was a color printout of a clear childhood photo of his father. Unlike the previous documents, it showed a black-haired child with blue eyes.
It didn’t make sense. Actually, today he had intended to tell Ki-young to stop the investigation. Now that he knew Abon was in the other world, he thought all the secrets about his father would be solved with the unredacted documents he would get from the Deputy Director and the information about Abon he would learn from Riyekan.
But suddenly, evidence of him being born in America?
“Is this certain?”
“Of course. Seok-ho went to America to find it. See there? The middle school graduation photo. He interviewed thirteen graduates from that time, and they confirmed he was a graduate. By the time he graduated, his grandparents were already gone, and your father enlisted in the military immediately, which is when contact was lost.”
“……”
Jin-ha briefly ran his fingertips over his father’s photo, then quickly composed himself and asked:
“Did you check with the military too?”
“We couldn’t do that. But it wasn’t because we didn’t want to…”
Ki-young made a U-turn with the car and groaned as if troubled.
“Seok-ho tried to check through someone he knows, but as soon as they accessed the data of the recruits from that year, they were tracked. Ah, don’t worry about being caught—they escaped well mid-way. Anyway, it seems like they had set up alerts in advance to guard against data leaks. Strange, isn’t it?”
“……”
“My guess is this: Your father definitely took something and ran from America. Something that Korea acquired in exchange for creating a new identity for your father and guaranteeing him a quiet life.”
Jin-ha could somewhat guess what kind of ‘something’ it might be. It wouldn’t have been possible with just an expensive gate by-product. Some technology, or a recipe. Something that would bring long-term benefits.
Combining the information Jin-ha had, the result was roughly this: His father was born in Abon, came to America through a portal in America when he was young, then was adopted and raised until he enlisted in the military. Later, for some unknown reason, he betrayed America, came to Korea, lived under a new identity, met Jin-ha’s mother, and started a family.
Was it kidnapping? Or was it a rescue?
Jin-ha’s face looked troubled as he scanned the documents from the beginning once more.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
