# Chapter 11
He placed his cell phone down on the table as he spoke.
“I’ve already informed the household staff. About the unclear memory situation.”
The doctor had said Hwiseo’s symptoms appeared to be partial memory loss due to extreme stress. Of course, Hwiseo wasn’t actually experiencing memory loss, so he wasn’t worried. The problem was his relationship with Je Wooseung—he had followed him because he had nowhere else to go at the moment, but he couldn’t live with him as a spouse. That part needed to be clarified.
“As you heard, I don’t produce pheromones anymore. And I have no memories. So, I don’t think we should be continuing as a married couple.”
Je Wooseung’s brow furrowed deeper as he listened to Hwiseo’s concerns. He hadn’t expected Hwiseo to forget even that much, and he sighed involuntarily, wondering where to begin explaining. He drank the bottled water that had been brought out without pouring it into a cup.
“I heard you watched the educational videos.”
“If you mean the Alpha-Omega trait videos, yes. That Alphas need Omegas’ pheromones.”
“There was certainly a time when Omega pheromones were absolutely essential to Alphas. But humans evolve, and we’re living in the 21st century now. Alphas no longer want to become beasts controlled by pheromones, and Omegas no longer wish to lose their freedom under the pretext of absolute protection from Alphas.”
It seemed the material Hwiseo had watched was theoretical educational content that didn’t reflect current changes. Wooseung sighed and briefly observed Hwiseo, who was rolling his eyes around nervously. He knew he needed to explain things simply since Hwiseo didn’t understand, but at the same time, he found it annoying. Wooseung took out a pill packaged in aluminum from his inner pocket and shook it slightly to show him. Then he took out one capsule and swallowed it with water.
“One pill, and there’s no need to become an animal. The downside is that effectiveness decreases when tolerance builds up, but there are plenty of suppressants available.”
“So if you take that medicine, you can live normally? Like a Beta?”
“That’s an interesting thought.”
Je Wooseung smirked. Then he added, “Well, I suppose it would be possible if someone naturally regressed like you, Lee Hwiseo-ssi.”
“These suppressants aren’t a cure-all. Humanity has been influenced by pheromones for over a thousand years, so it’s impossible to break free from that influence overnight. Simply put, suppressants are like taking painkillers for a headache. Ruts and heat cycles have their periods and prodromal symptoms. That’s when you take them.”
Wooseung looked somewhat unfamiliar at Hwiseo, who was listening attentively as if taking notes on his explanation. When he first met Lee Hwiseo, he thought he had exceptional looks worthy of being a celebrity, but his personality ruined it all. He was timid yet had twisted thoughts. He never seemed to accept things at face value, always questioning, “What’s the intention behind this?” and overthinking everything.
But the current Lee Hwiseo was different. Despite their distant relationship, he could speak clearly enough. The hostility that had built walls wasn’t there, and his expressions were more vivid, making him look younger.
Wooseung had been appointed as the president of JG Industries at a young age two years ago. Naturally, criticism disguised as concern followed. He had no choice but to prove his abilities through results. Subsequently, he achieved performance growth in all sectors including resorts, fashion, and construction. Among them, he personally oversaw the eco-friendly resort construction project that was their first contract.
The person he met then was Hwiseo’s maternal grandfather. As the landowner of that area, he was a self-made man with the typical stubbornness of such people. During their third meeting, which was their first drinking session together, he suggested that Je Wooseung meet his grandson. If it benefited his business, that wasn’t difficult at all.
“But headaches and colds can sometimes hit suddenly, can’t they?”
“That’s right.”
“Pheromone reactions can also be exceptional at times. That’s the kind of accident that happened to you and me. Our marriage was a contract. We wanted to live freely without causing serious harm to each other. Of course, I agreed to it too. So you can just live your life as you did before.”
Wooseung had no interest in the whole process of feeling attracted to someone, developing it into love, dating, and getting married. But the people around him were more concerned about Wooseung’s marriage issues. It just so happened that he had a meeting with Lee Hwiseo at that time, and their interests aligned—Hwiseo wanting to escape from his current worries—so they chose marriage. That was all.
But they failed to cope with the exceptional special situation. Like a typhoon sweeping away man-made structures, nature mocked them, overwhelming those who believed they could control everything. Wooseung could never forget the morning after they spent the night together during their heat cycle and rut. That was the first time he became an inerasable mistake in someone else’s life. And he didn’t want to pass such an experience down to his son.
“And I promised to grant whatever you want. That’s still valid, so think about it carefully.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Je Wooseung disappeared, leaving only a faint scent of cologne behind.
* * *
Hwiseo had many questions he wanted to ask Wooseung. But he thought it might seem strange, even with memory loss, if he kept asking about things that might be very basic in this world. And since Wooseung had vanished as soon as he finished speaking, Hwiseo couldn’t ask anything more. It seemed like his immediate living situation was resolved, at least for now. Since Wooseung had promised to grant whatever he wanted, divorce also seemed possible, which was fortunate.
Even if it was just a contractual relationship, he couldn’t maintain this marriage. But the most important thing for Hwiseo right now was to quickly adapt to this world. If Wooseung gave him time to think, he could proceed with divorce or independence gradually. Even though he had guessed that they weren’t in a normal marital relationship, there was something bitter about being treated like a stranger. After all, Je Wooseung was one of the pieces of trash that man had discarded in this world.
* * *
The second floor, which Hwiseo was informed was his space, had three rooms plus a living room, a kitchen with basic facilities, and a private whirlpool bath with glass walls. Entering a room with a beam projector and speakers, he noticed an acoustic guitar. It was a somewhat niche brand in Korea. He had been planning to buy it as a birthday gift for his father, and it was strange that his and that man’s tastes were similar in this regard. Smiling, Hwiseo sat on the spacious sofa and was about to pick up the guitar when—
“Hwiseo-nim.”
The person who appeared after knocking was the middle-aged woman who had introduced herself as Manager Oh.
“Your manager has come to see you.”
“Oh, really? Should I go downstairs?”
“If you’d like to meet him, I can guide him here. Shall we do that?”
“Yes, please do that for me.”
Hwiseo was massaging the nape of his neck when he cleared his throat softly, looking at the closed door. “Hwiseo-nim” felt somewhat awkward. As for the manager, he seemed to visit persistently.
The manager who appeared shortly afterward scolded him for leaving the hospital without saying anything. When Manager Oh said she would bring drinks, Hwiseo asked for water. The manager mentioned that the snacks they’d had before were delicious. Hwiseo made an incredulous expression, but the man ignored it and changed the subject.
“By the way, have you watched the videos a bit?”
The man had visited Hwiseo’s hospital room even on the weekend. He had left a tablet with various explanations. He had bookmarked concert videos, variety shows, radio appearances, and short videos edited by fans, saying they might help with Hwiseo’s memory of his idol activities. He had especially recommended watching live broadcasts on an app called Q-app. However, Hwiseo had quickly lost interest and only watched Lee Sunwoo’s fan-attracting videos extensively.
“No.”
“Why didn’t you watch them! I told you to practice a bit.”
Hwiseo’s personal Q-app had only two videos. One was for his birthday celebration, and the other was for his comeback. Other members interacted with fans, danced, and even cooked ramen for what they called “mukbang.” In contrast, that man had just two videos—interview videos of about 10 minutes each that seemed like he was reading from a script.
“Practice? You just said to watch them to see if they would help my memory.”
“It’s killing two birds with one stone—monitoring yourself too. Finding areas that need improvement, complementing them, and developing further. That’s how you need to work hard, Hwiseo.”
“Why should I?”
“Because you have to—you’re an idol.”
Hwiseo said nothing while Manager Oh placed a three-tier dessert tray and left.
“I heard that CEO person got a cast because of me. Wasn’t I fired?”
It seemed like an overreaction for just a minor cut on his hand, but according to the manager, his finger had been fractured when he fell and braced his hand against the floor.
“That was because you weren’t in your right mind then. I explained it well to him. Besides, we have a signed contract—he can’t just fire you as he pleases!”
“Though he still doesn’t seem to have calmed down.” The manager muttered while picking up and eating a macaron. Hwiseo had no interest in being an idol. When he first moved to Seoul, he’d received a business card from an idol casting agent. When he told his classmates, “I guess I look like idol material,” they showed him their own collection of similar cards in response. Together, they had thrown all the cards into the trash. For Hwiseo, that was the extent of his idol-related experiences.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
