Chapter 98
Naturally, he couldn’t stay awake for long. Having not slept properly at night, he spent most of his waking hours during the day in a sleepy state.
One might think he’d find his condition strange, but the person in question showed no interest in his own symptoms. There were many times when he lay awake with his eyes open. The increase in sleep wasn’t a problem for Hyeon-woo. Watching him, Tae-geon felt a pang in his heart.
As time passed, the daytime Hyeon-woo became smaller, while the nighttime Hyeon-woo began to grow in presence. A misguided desire began to creep into Tae-geon’s heart.
If only it could stay like this forever…
Tae-geon shuddered at the fleeting thought that crossed his mind. The horrific assumption he had momentarily entertained made him feel nauseous. Nevertheless, Tae-geon couldn’t easily push away the nighttime Hyeon-woo who burrowed into his arms.
He held Hyeon-woo in his arms, cherishing him like in the afterglow of sex. He showered kisses on his exposed forehead and the bridge of his nose, stroking his fine hair. Hyeon-woo would purr like a cat and nuzzle his head against Tae-geon’s chest.
“It feels good when you touch me like that.”
“…”
“It makes me feel loved.”
Tae-geon, who had been stroking Hyeon-woo’s hair, laughed self-deprecatingly. Had he ever caressed Hyeon-woo so tenderly as himself, not as K?
All he could remember was thrusting, shaking, and ejaculating. He had been so focused on trampling Hyeon-woo with vulgar words and claiming his body as his own. He had been obsessed with forcibly penetrating, conquering, and extorting that body.
It was a violent sex without any emotional connection. Regardless of the emotions with which Hyeon-woo came to him, he had no interest in those feelings. He had no expectations from Hyeon-woo other than his body, especially when Hyeon-woo said that the time he spent away from him was the happiest.
I don’t need your heart. As long as your body is by my side, that’s enough.
He hadn’t cherished him for even a moment. He couldn’t even remember the night he had knotted inside Hyeon-woo.
Why couldn’t he have treasured those moments they were together?
These might be moments that would never come again.
Tae-geon, who had been looking at the dawn breaking through the curtains, closed his eyes.
It didn’t matter if Hyeon-woo wasn’t by his side.
As long as Hyeon-woo could be happy.
Even if it led him to a fate worse than death, Tae-geon opened his eyes with the resolve to endure everything if only Hyeon-woo could be happy.
*
Ju-on’s face, which appeared after more than two weeks, looked as haggard as Tae-geon’s. Responding to Tae-geon’s call, Ju-on had come to the officetel with reluctant steps. Sitting across from Tae-geon at the table, he conversed in a low voice so as not to wake Hyeon-woo sleeping in the room.
When Tae-geon asked if he knew about the recent illegal suppressant controversy reported in the media, Ju-on raised one eyebrow.
“Is there anyone in Korea who doesn’t know about that incident?”
Although he was a layman in biotechnology, thanks to his doctor father and second older brother, Ju-on had learned a lot secondhand and wasn’t having difficulty understanding Tae-geon’s story. However, the unbelievable content made Ju-on doubt his ears several times.
He got goosebumps at the fact that the illegal suppressant incident that had turned the whole country upside down was actually Tae-geon’s strategy.
Recently, news had broken out about an illegal suppressant with narcotic properties that left severe after-effects on the bodies of those who consumed it. When it became known that Pianin, a component of Taeryeong Pharmaceuticals, was included, it caused a huge controversy. Moreover, as the side effects of Pianin were revealed, a bill was proposed to prohibit the distribution and sale of drugs containing this component.
Kim Chang-sik, the chairman of the main opposition party, held Taeryeong Pharmaceuticals entirely responsible. Public interest surged as the leader of the conservative party, who had been the least concerned about Omega rights, confronted the indomitable Taeryeong. In the midst of this, it was revealed that the family of a recently deceased Omega was related by marriage to Congressman Kim, and that illegal suppressant addiction was an indirect cause of death, causing a great stir in political and business circles.
A reinvestigation was conducted, and soon, the bizarre criminal acts that had been taking place in establishments dealing with the drug were made public. When it was revealed that not only were Omega rights being violated, but Alpha pheromones, especially those of dominant Alphas, had been illegally exploited in the process of making the drug, even the upper class, who had been observing the situation, united in indignation.
Voices demanding accountability from the government, society, and corporations gained strength. The need for stronger social regulations and the development of more effective suppressants was urged to prevent dominant Alphas from being sacrificed again.
Only when the situation had ripened did Tae-geon connect the hotline with Biobak.
Biobak was also on high alert about this matter. They couldn’t have anticipated that the drug would flow into political circles and even be involved in a death case.
Greeting David, the CEO of Biobak, with a flawless aristocratic accent, Tae-geon got straight to the point.
‘As shared in writing, it seems that handling Pianin will no longer be possible in Korea.’
-I am aware. We are calculating the penalty for that. Separately, we cannot help but hold Taeryeong Pharmaceuticals, which is in charge of distribution in Korea, responsible for negligent management regarding this incident.
‘If it’s the responsibility for negligent management, does that mean the Pianin used in the illegal suppressant leaked from Taeryeong Pharmaceuticals’ distribution network?’
And a penalty on top of that. Tae-geon twisted the corner of his mouth at David’s brazenness.
‘David, let me ask you one thing. Are you certain that the illegal suppressant was manufactured in Korea?’
-…
‘There are no flaws in Taeryeong Pharmaceuticals’ distribution network. If you doubt this, we will stop at nothing to correct that misunderstanding.’
-…
From David’s long silence that followed, Tae-geon detected a tension that he hadn’t felt until just now. It seemed he was calculating the possibility that if Taeryeong Group were to dig into the illegal suppressant to prove their innocence, the unethical human experiments carried out over several years and their backers might be exposed.
Sensing that the tide was turning in his favor, Tae-geon spoke in a fluent voice.
‘David, you must be well aware that our Taeryeong Pharmaceuticals’ reputation has been tarnished due to the side effects of Pianin coming to light through this illegal suppressant incident. The reason we didn’t actively emphasize the fact that the manufacturer of Pianin is Biobak, not Taeryeong, is because we didn’t want to drag Biobak into this turmoil and damage our precious partnership.’
-…
‘The reason I connected the hotline to David today is not to question the responsibility for this incident. It’s to seek understanding about the current situation where the handling of Pianin has been banned in Korea, making the development of a new suppressant inevitable. Taeryeong wishes to continue our friendly cooperative relationship with Biobak.’
After wrapping up the call with David like that, shortly after, Tae-geon received a contract termination notice from Biobak.
Penalty: 0
It was a result that implied two meanings.
Both the request for understanding about the development of the suppressant and the desire to continue a friendly relationship seemed to have been accepted. With this clear signal, the development of the new drug progressed rapidly, and they were approaching the final stage of extracting pheromones from dominant Alphas.
Along with Taeryeong Group’s statement that they would devote themselves to developing a high-quality suppressant, articles poured out saying that the government would fully support the research and development. As a result, Taeryeong Pharmaceuticals’ stock price closed at the upper limit for days in a row, soaring to astronomical heights.
The plan was to finish everything within a year by just changing the mechanism of action of the patented unreleased new drug.
Ju-on couldn’t believe his ears even after hearing that this series of controversies was Tae-geon’s strategy to manipulate Biobak.
He had thought it strange that while all sorts of media were explosively driving the issue, Taeryeong itself was quiet. Was this what they called “flesh-carving bone-drilling”? It was merely a process of giving up flesh to take the opponent’s bones. No, looking at the results, Taeryeong hadn’t lost anything at all.
He’s not an ordinary human being, anyway.
Moreover, what shocked Ju-on was something else. He found it hard to accept the fact that Tae-geon was leading the development of a high-quality suppressant for Omegas.
It seemed somewhat ironic that a person who had despised Omegas so much was now at the forefront of developing a suppressant to protect their rights.
The dignity of Omegas, who hadn’t even been properly guaranteed the freedom of body enshrined in the constitution and had been despised, would completely change its texture with the emergence of the new drug.
Who could have imagined that this historical leap of humanity, advancing hundreds of years, would be because of one person, Han Hyeon-woo?
Ju-on, who had been looking at Tae-geon with disgusted eyes, opened his mouth.
“So when are you going to the hospital?”
“Tomorrow.”
“When will you be back?”
“A week later.”
“Wow, it takes a whole week? What if your balls shrink to the size of beans? Are you going to become impotent?”
Ignoring Ju-on’s sarcastic provocation, Tae-geon replied in a calm voice.
“The extraction period is only 3 days, and 3 days won’t make me impotent. After the pheromones are antibodied, they’ll be managed by a self-proliferation system, so no additional extraction will be needed.”
“…Is that so? That’s a shame.”
