4) A Short Play
Lee Ha-jin sat on a chair in the hospital ward’s hallway, the walls covered in a soft cream-colored wallpaper. As he picked up the waiting ticket he had dropped on the floor, the person next to him was called in and entered the examination room. Ha-jin was next.
The phone in his hand buzzed softly.
[Yushin ate a bit more today. He almost finished a whole bowl of rice. I guess he liked the kimchi. I’ll keep an eye on him like he’s my own grandson this afternoon, so don’t worry.]
Ha-jin quickly typed out a reply.
[Thank you. I’ll see you after work.]
The message was from the oldest of the caregivers. Among the six caregivers, some were strictly business, doing only what was required, while others—like this one—cared for Yushin as if he were their own grandchild.
Which approach was better was hard to say. After all, when someone gave you their heart, it meant you had to give yours in return. Still, the latter felt a little warmer.
Buzz—
[Don’t go back to the office after the exam]
“……”
[Come home instead.]
Cheon Tae-seong had split his message into two parts, sending them with a slight pause between. Ha-jin had, for a brief moment before the second message arrived, let himself hope for something. But when he read the follow-up, his lips tightened.
And then came the third message, as if teasing him.
[Were you hoping for some time off? You’re slow to respond.]
“Lee Ha-jin, please go into Exam Room 3.”
Still glaring at the screen, stung by the dead-on guess, Ha-jin’s name was called. Time for the pheromone brainwave response test. He firmly typed back, [No, I’ll head home, as you said,] and sprang up from his seat.
Buzz— Just as he was about to lock his phone, another message arrived. Ha-jin paused with his hand on the exam room door.
[The test results don’t matter. That’s not what’s important.]
What I need is you, Lee Ha-jin.
He’d expected another line to follow—but nothing came. It was obvious that Tae-seong hadn’t bothered to send it because he knew Ha-jin would think of it on his own anyway.
“Mr. Ha-jin? Are you not feeling well? Or maybe you’re nervous? Your face looks really dark.”
Ahn Se-hyung, seated in front of the exam room monitor, turned her head and asked. Ha-jin quickly forced a smile.
“No, I’m fine. I just lie down on this bed, right?”
“Yes. Lie down with your head over here and get comfortable.”
Once Ha-jin was lying down, a nurse approached with a metal tray holding a syringe.
“This will sting a little.”
The pheromone brainwave test began with a stimulant injection. It wasn’t strong enough to induce a rut, but it did elevate his physical state to one where his pheromones were more active than usual.
The main part of the test involved attaching around thirty electrodes to his head after the stimulant was administered, then measuring brainwaves for about an hour. Electrodes coated in cool, sticky cream were affixed from his forehead to his temples, then across his entire scalp. A separate device to monitor heart activity was also attached to his bare chest.
A typical Omega would feel the effects of the stimulant keenly, their pheromones roused into activity. But Ha-jin was different. Though he was sensitive to Alpha pheromones, he was remarkably dull when it came to his own.
Staring blankly at the ceiling, Ha-jin lay still as Ahn Se-hyung approached and smiled gently.
“Are you feeling okay? We need to start the test with a calm mind. If you need a moment, we can wait.”
“I’m fine. I feel like a perfectly still lake right now.”
“Good. I’ll turn off the lights, then.”
Darkness settled over the exam room, and as instructed, Ha-jin closed his eyes. With only the sound of his own breathing echoing in his ears, Ahn Se-hyung guided him through the necessary steps.
Close your eyes and exhale deeply ten times. Now inhale ten times. Remain still, as if you’re asleep. I’m going to shine a light now—just focus on the waves of sensation with your eyes closed. Don’t fall asleep; stay alert…
During the long stretch of brainwave recording—
“Now I want you to think of something you like.”
“Something I like?”
Ha-jin frowned slightly. This part was different from the tests he’d done before.
“Yes, please close your eyes again. No peeking, no talking—just think quietly.”
“……”
“Try recalling smell, sound, touch, taste, and visuals one by one.”
“……”
Something I like. It was a harder prompt than he’d expected. Ha-jin wasn’t the type to have strong preferences about clothes or food—he simply took care of what he needed to survive. Now that he thought about it, aside from making money, he didn’t really have any hobbies.
What could he say he liked?
If he had to pick something…
“……”
“Mr. Ha-jin? You can’t move.”
And then, something flashed through his mind—completely uninvited. Ha-jin flinched, surprised, and all the electrodes on his head shook violently.
The images on the brainwave monitor distorted, and Ahn Se-hyung called out in alarm.
Despite repeated instructions to stay still with his eyes closed, Ha-jin couldn’t calm himself down.
No.
No, no! Why the hell did he come to mind here—?
The sensation was like a tickle crawling up from his toes, making his body twitch involuntarily. Eventually, even Ahn Se-hyung stood up from her seat, clearly seeing the test would take longer than expected.
***
Was he losing control because of Cheon Tae-seong?
Ha-jin was almost scared to see what Ahn Se-hyung might’ve captured on the monitor.
“All done. You did well.”
Finally, Ahn Se-hyung announced the test was complete, and the lights in the room brightened. Freed from the electrodes stuck all over his head, Ha-jin stepped down from the bed.
The test had originally been expected to take about an hour, but because Ha-jin had trouble focusing, it had ended up taking nearly two.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
Rubbing his awkward expression with the back of his hand, Ha-jin gave a polite nod to Ahn Se-hyung. She stretched her arms with a yawn and smiled. After staring at monitors for so long, it was no wonder her body felt stiff.
“Oh, no worries! You’ve done all the other tests, right?”
“Yes. I finished all six beforehand. This brainwave test was the last.”
“Then you just need to wait for the results. Phew, you really went through a lot today.”
Nodding in shared exhaustion, Ha-jin suddenly remembered Tae-seong’s words: The results don’t matter. The man who had plagued his thoughts throughout the entire exam now smirked mockingly inside his mind.
Ahn Se-hyung suggested they grab a canned coffee, and the two of them stepped out into the hallway.
“Um, Doctor.”
“Yes?”
“When a secondary-gendered person starts obsessing over their partner and behaving strangely because of pheromone issues… that usually means…”
“Pregnancy.”
She cut him off without hesitation.
“Ah… right. Yeah. Pregnancy. That would do it…”
“When someone gets pregnant, the baby inside throws off their own pheromone balance, which makes them crave their partner’s pheromones. That can look like obsession or cause all kinds of physical symptoms—sometimes severe enough to seem like abnormal behavior.”
“But if it’s not about needing pheromones… and if it’s biologically impossible? Say, for instance, if it’s an Alpha…?”
“If they’re acting like that but couldn’t possibly be pregnant? Hmm, I wonder if that happens…?”
Ha-jin walked ahead of her and got two canned coffees from the vending machine. He even opened the lids before handing one over, which made Ahn Se-hyung widen her eyes with surprise.
“There’s imprinting. People who’ve imprinted on their partners can feel a deep discomfort when they’re apart. But honestly, it’s nowhere near as intense as pregnancy. Plus, imprinting cases are rare these days, so it’s something we hardly ever see in hospitals anymore.”
“Ah. That actually sounds even more far-fetched.”
“But why the sudden curiosity?”
“Oh, just… I saw a weird character in a drama.”
Ha-jin laughed awkwardly and dodged the question.
Both he and his brother were Omegas, but pregnancy was still something far removed from their reality. That’s why Ahn Se-hyung remained light-hearted and didn’t pry further. She simply thought, Oh, Ha-jin watches dramas too, huh.
After downing the rest of her coffee, she checked her watch.
“The stimulant should have worn off by now. You can go to the first floor and schedule your next appointment.”
Ha-jin nodded, said goodbye, and exited the hospital wing where the exam room was located. He started walking toward the shuttle stop that went to the subway station—but turned in a different direction halfway.
He headed for the inpatient wing for secondary-gendered patients and got into the elevator, pressing the floor number for Yushin’s room.
Tae-seong told me to head home right after the test, but… the test already went overtime anyway…
Unlike in his previous life, Yushin’s surgery had gone well this time. That didn’t mean Ha-jin could let his guard down. The hospital bills and surgery costs had been temporarily taken care of thanks to Tae-seong’s loan, but even someone like his grandfather wouldn’t be able to fix things when it came to the experimental drug.
Ha-jin’s heart was so raw with worry for his brother, it felt like it could start bleeding at any moment.
I’m already here—just a quick look at his face, then I’ll go.
The elevator reached the top floor. Ha-jin, trying to put on a good face for his brother, kept loosening his expression as he walked.
But less than a minute later, all that effort was in vain.
Why is he here…?
A shadow lingered in the hallway outside Yushin’s room. Ha-jin’s face instantly hardened.
It was a face he had never forgotten. The man in the perfectly tailored black suit was the same one who had handed him the pheromone disruptor and a briefcase with 500 million won in it in his previous life.
