Seeming to realize that he indeed hadn’t had enough time to study, he even took time off from his part-time job to focus on studying.
Though Suhwan didn’t show it, he felt a bit lonely. It was the first time in just over a month that he spent the weekend alone without Seunghyun. But he had no intention of telling Seunghyun this.
Enduring it, he went to work on Monday. Then, using his lunch break, he visited the hospital.
“Hello.”
“Yes, hello.”
The doctor with a calm demeanor took out the questionnaire Suhwan had filled out. Then he moved his mouse and opened a file. Soon something appeared on the computer screen. It seemed to be the results of Suhwan’s tests. Suhwan, feeling a bit tense, alternately looked at the questionnaire, the screen, and the doctor’s face.
“We have your test results. First…”
“Yes?”
“There are a few things I’d like to ask, if that’s okay.”
“Ah, yes.”
The doctor, who had asked questions without hesitation last time, seemed to hesitate a bit today as he added:
“The questions might be sexually sensitive.”
“…?”
Suhwan was slightly puzzled but nodded again. He thought the doctor wouldn’t ask anything irrelevant.
And Suhwan somewhat regretted that decision.
“Have you ever… had sexual relations with another alpha?”
“What?”
“I mean… as the receiving partner.”
“…”
It took Suhwan a moment to understand the doctor’s words. The doctor’s question slowly registered in his buffering mind.
So… he’s asking if I’ve had sex with another alpha? And moreover, my position…
Once Suhwan understood the doctor’s meaning, he jumped up.
“No!”
“I see.”
“I, I’ve only… with an omega…”
As he stammered through his response, Suhwan paused.
Of course, since manifesting in this world, he had only been intimate with Seunghyun. He hadn’t been with anyone else.
But what about the real Jin Suhwan? Had he been the same?
He pondered for a moment but then shook his head. That alpha, so full of pride, couldn’t have been sexually interested in another alpha. And to be on the receiving end? Impossible. Suhwan shook his head with even more certainty.
“Really, never.”
“I understand.”
The doctor nodded with a deliberately impassive face. Suhwan watched him nervously. He was anxious about what the doctor might say next.
Eventually, the doctor’s lips parted again.
“The reason I asked is because Jin Suhwan’s pheromone levels are unusually low.”
“My pheromone levels?”
“Yes.”
The doctor nodded and continued while displaying data on the screen.
“For reference, your partner, Lee Seunghyun, conversely has excessively high pheromone measurements.”
Suhwan’s eyes turned to the screen. There were the names of Suhwan and Seunghyun, and below them were graph shapes. The graph was blue on the left side and became increasingly red toward the right. Suhwan’s graph leaned toward the blue side, while Seunghyun’s was at the red extreme.
“Typically, pheromone levels should be between 40 and 60 to be considered stable. Below 40 is considered recessive, above 60 is dominant. But…”
Suhwan thought he understood what the doctor was saying. Looking at the numbers below the graph, his was close to 10, while Seunghyun’s was near 90.
“It’s my first time seeing such extreme opposite pheromone levels. Even individually, these readings are concerning. In foreign countries, such levels are termed ‘extremely dominant’ and ‘extremely recessive,’ but there have been no confirmed cases in our country yet.”
“Ah.”
“That’s why I asked if you two were in a relationship with a dominant alpha. But it seems that’s not the case.”
The doctor’s quiet words penetrated Suhwan’s ears. The doctor’s voice was calm as he spoke of foreign cases. He gave examples of extremely dominant omegas and extremely recessive alphas. One extremely dominant omega’s pheromone levels had risen abnormally high after relations with a dominant alpha, while a person who became an extremely recessive alpha, with abnormal sexual desires, had a dramatic drop in pheromone levels after having relations with another alpha.
That’s why the doctor had asked such questions to him and Seunghyun. Since both denied it, he was puzzled. Suhwan nodded with a blank face.
“There’s only one remaining explanation, but I’d appreciate an honest answer.”
“Yes.”
Suhwan unconsciously squeezed his eyes shut. He found it difficult to meet the doctor’s gaze calmly. A composed voice flowed from the doctor’s lips.
“When you two have relations, do you switch positions?”
“…”
Unable to answer verbally, Suhwan slightly nodded his head. The doctor continued his questioning without any particular gesture, emotionlessly.
“What’s the ratio of such encounters?”
“That…”
But this was a question that couldn’t be answered without speaking. Suhwan, breaking into a cold sweat, barely managed to reply.
“We’ve always done it that way. Consistently.”
“For how long has this been going on?”
“A little over a month… Including rut and heat cycles…”
“I see.”
The doctor nodded as if finally understanding. He muttered to himself:
“Indeed, it’s no wonder the levels are like this.”
Suhwan’s face flushed hot. The doctor’s tone was neutral, not sounding like he was criticizing or scolding them, but Suhwan still felt strangely unsettled. His heart pounded heavily, just like a child caught doing something wrong.
He had boldly declared to Seunghyun that he had no regrets, but now that their fears were becoming reality, he couldn’t calm himself down at all. Suhwan asked with a pale face:
“Are we in… a serious condition? I haven’t felt sick or anything.”
“Changes in pheromones aren’t immediately reflected in the body. Of course, some people experience this, but others don’t.”
The doctor pushed up his glasses and flipped through the chart on the desk. Then, picking up a pen to write something, he continued:
“For now, the tests show no particular abnormalities in either of you. However, I can’t predict what might happen if you continue this type of relationship.”
“Ah.”
“First, I’ll prescribe pheromone regulation medication for both of you. And I recommend that you maintain a more normal relationship from now on.”
“Yes.”
Suhwan just nodded blankly. That was all he could do. The doctor’s words weren’t wrong at all.
A normal relationship.
With that one phrase, he felt like his entire relationship with Seunghyun was being invalidated. It felt as if they were being punished for doing something wrong.
Suhwan hardly remembered how he thanked the doctor, received the prescription, and left the hospital. When he came to his senses, he had arrived at the company just as lunch break was ending and had entered his office.
“Oh? Mr. Suhwan, did your hospital visit go well?”
“…”
“Did you eat lunch? Why did you go during lunch hour instead of taking a half day off…”
Yunhyun, who had been speaking in a bright tone, looked curiously at Suhwan, who wasn’t responding. Seeing his poor complexion, Yunhyun’s eyes widened.
“Did something happen? What did they say at the hospital?”
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
Suhwan, who had been listening to Yunhyun in a daze, shook his head. His reaction was unusually intense. Before Yunhyun could say anything, Suhwan said he would get something to drink and headed to the pantry almost like he was escaping.
“Haah.”
There was no one in the pantry as lunch break was almost over. As soon as he entered, he suddenly felt nauseous. Suhwan hurriedly approached the sink.
“Ugh, urk.”
Maybe because he hadn’t eaten anything since morning, only bitter stomach acid came out. Suhwan clutched his chest in distress.
And at that moment, his pocket vibrated.
“Haah, ha.”
Breathing heavily, he took out his phone. His heart sank when he saw the name on the screen.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
