YHP 32
by Cherry“…Then I’ll explain it again from the beginning.”
Doctor Kwon, who started by saying “or not,” hesitated for a moment as she looked at Ho-jin, and then took out a notepad.
“There are less than twenty Omegas in Korea who have LGS right now. Based on what has been revealed so far, these people have no definite commonalities or patterns. The symptoms are too different from person to person.”
Ho-jin stared blankly at the simple shapes being drawn on the paper. She drew a line under two circles and continued.
“First, to explain the principle easily, it’s this. They are born with the cells that are the key to manifestation hidden.”
“…”
“It hasn’t been fully revealed yet, but the most likely hypothesis is that if the mother feels a serious threat to their life in early pregnancy, or eats something wrong… anyway, the fetus instinctively senses that the mother might die if it reveals its trait, and activates its own defense system. Isn’t it a bit sad that the cells, which don’t even know they’re human yet, are trying to save the person who carries them?”
Doctor Kwon added.
“What happens when they’re born in that state? The manifestation factor is hidden, so no matter how many tests you do, it will never show up.”
The tip of her pen then pointed to a small circle that was separated from the two circles below.
“Of course, even if all these conditions are met, most people don’t manifest. Then they’ll live a normal Beta life without any disabilities, but those who are unlucky enough to manifest are diagnosed with LGS. Even then, if they’re Alphas, it doesn’t matter because they don’t have many ruts during their lives, but if they’re Omegas, it’s a bit…”
“…What’s it like?”
“Because what has been suppressed for their entire lives bursts out at once, their pheromone sensitivity from the time of manifestation is several times higher than that of the average person.”
“…”
“Basically, because it’s a hormone disorder, the heat cycle itself is bound to be irregular, and for these people, the heat cycle is just hell. It’s not just a feeling of excitement, but every time it bursts out randomly, they feel tremendous pain. Because it’s a hormone problem, painkillers don’t work well either.”
Then a check mark was drawn on the small circle.
“It’s not a well-known story, but the third generation of TH Group is also in this case? That’s why Samhan Medical Center and Hano Pharmaceutical have been working with professors from Johns Hopkins and doctors from Harvard for years, but there’s still no medicine other than suppressants, let alone surgery.”
Even the third generation of a leading conglomerate couldn’t overcome the situation, so it was a much more serious story than he had thought. The last thing he saw was Jeong-in’s face, and his heart sank heavily.
“But there’s a problem with using suppressants. The problem is already with the condensed pheromones, so what happens if you take a medicine that artificially lowers the pheromone level?”
“…Are there side effects?”
Doctor Kwon nodded.
“If you take it in moderation, you might not know, but because the pain is so severe, most LGS patients tend to overdose.”
“…”
“But if you take more than the recommended dose of medication for the pain, it accumulates and makes you hurt even more during the next heat cycle. Then you take more medicine, and then you hurt even more… It’s a chain reaction of side effects. In these cases, research shows that having an alpha partner and maintaining a long-term relationship is the best way to alleviate the pain. Most patients know this themselves.”
“…Relationship, you mean.”
“Of course, a sexual relationship.”
Thump. His heart dropped.
“If you’re an adult, you should have at least one or two alpha partners for regular sexual relations, even if they’re not your lover. It’s not about gossiping about promiscuity; you have to survive first, so you really have no choice.”
“……”
“That’s why I asked if you had a lover earlier.”
Doctor Kwon’s tone was quite definitive.
So, does Jeong-in already have someone else in such a deep relationship? It wasn’t entirely impossible. Who wouldn’t be attracted to someone so beautiful?
“It’s not like that. It’s just…”
He thought they were cautiously getting closer. Even if it was slow, he thought that slowly scraping away the layers of his shell would eventually lead him to the core.
But maybe it was all a delusion. Maybe there was no room for Ho-jin in his life from the start.
“Just?”
“…Just someone I know.”
It felt like being splashed with ice-cold water. It was like making a big wound in his chest and grinding sand into it.
“That’s strange. Even if the traits are different, if you’re an alpha, they’d welcome you with open arms. And aren’t you R1 type?”
“Yes.”
“R1 is compatible with almost every type. But they didn’t say anything?”
“…It’s not like that, Doctor.”
Ho-jin forced a smile, trying to manage his expression.
“We’re really not like that.”
“……”
“Thank you for your time. I really appreciate the information you gave me.”
He bowed his head and left the consultation room. It felt like the ground was sinking beneath his feet. Ho-jin slumped into a chair in the lobby and began to skim through the papers Doctor Kwon had given him, one by one. Then, at some point, it hit him.
‘Ho-jin, please help me.’
He suddenly remembered when Jeong-in had called him.
Was that really his name?
“…”
Jeong-in had never called Ho-jin by his name without the surname. The voice, filled with pain, replayed in his head.
Ho-jin, Hyo-jin, Hyo-jun, Hyo-jun.
“…Hyo-jun.”
Ho-jin realized that he wasn’t the one Jeong-in had been calling for.
The pain didn’t subside even as the night deepened.
Jeong-in, who had hesitated until the last moment, finally swallowed another suppressant. He couldn’t even count how many he’d taken already. If he kept taking medicine at this pace throughout the heat cycle, he might really have to be hospitalized next time. But he couldn’t bear it sober, so he kept reaching for the pills.
The last time he had a heat cycle was a few weeks before he boarded the plane to Korea. So, it had been at least three or four months.
The drastic change in his living environment had kept him still for three months, and now it was hitting him in the back of the head like this. It would be easier to endure if the cycle came more often and the hormones circulated quickly, but Jeong-in couldn’t control the flow of hormones as he pleased. All Jeong-in could do was tremble and hope that everything would pass quickly.
Aside from the unusually intense pain, the medicine didn’t seem to be working this time, perhaps because it had been so long since his last cycle. After the first suppressant that Ho-jin had given him wore off, no matter how much medicine he took, he didn’t feel any better.
“Hngh…”
It felt like every muscle under his skin was being torn apart. Eventually, he couldn’t even straighten his back properly. It was so hard that he desperately wished he could just pass out and wake up when it was all over.
Curled up on the floor, Jeong-in shed tears and pressed his forehead against the floor, trying to find even a little bit of coolness. But the smooth linoleum was no match for marble. It didn’t help at all and only made him look pathetic.
He gasped for breath during a brief lull in the pain. He had unconsciously tensed his body every time the pain surged, and now he really didn’t have the strength to lift a finger.
He thought he might really die like this, and then he thought that if it was going to hurt this much, it might be better to just die now.
Then, thinking of Jeong-hoon and Won-kyung, he felt guilty for having such thoughts.
“…Ah, ugh.”
The pain that had stopped surged back with renewed intensity. His teeth ground together. It felt like he was slowly exceeding the range of pain he could endure.
There was absolutely nothing he could do. As he curled up tightly and swallowed his groans, his tightly clenched lips burst open, and the bitter smell of blood rose. He squeezed his eyes shut, watching the drops of blood that had fallen stain the floor.
The moment of respite that had allowed him to reflect on himself was over. Completely losing his mind, Jeong-in gasped and instinctively began to call out for his dads.
“Hngh, Dad…”
But no matter how much he called, no answer came back from the empty room. Now he was really too tired and sad, and tears streamed down his face. Unable to even make a sound, Jeong-in clung to the last thought remaining in his mind.
I can’t do this anymore. I really want to quit now. I’m so sorry to everyone for being only this good.
I was always sorry, actually.
“…Hngh.”
It was the moment he repeated those words in his mind. He thought he heard the sound of the front door passcode being entered, and then someone suddenly entered the room. The sound of a plastic bag rustling faded into the distance.
“Hyung!”
And as Jeong-in lost consciousness, Ho-jin, who had thrown everything he was holding to the ground, rushed to Jeong-in.
“Hyung, wake up. Okay?”
Jeong-in, who hadn’t answered after he had knocked for a long time, was lying on the floor in a very miserable state. His face was pale blue from crying so much, and only his eyes were red. His lips, which had been bitten hard, were a mess, and blood was streaming out.
Tremendous regret washed over Ho-jin. He shouldn’t have really left when he was told to go. He should have stayed with him, no matter what he said.
It felt like it was all his fault that Jeong-in had ended up like this. At the same time, he hated that Hyo-jun so much. Jeong-in had been looking for that person until the last moment, but where on earth was that person doing, that he hadn’t shown up even as the night was ending?
Ho-jin gathered Jeong-in in his arms and immediately called an ambulance. After explaining the situation roughly, the operator asked about the patient’s condition.
“He lost consciousness a little while ago, and his breathing is very weak. Please come as soon as possible, the address is… Hanmir Road…”
“…Hang up the phone.”
It was then. A faint voice came from his arms. Surprised, Ho-jin quickly looked up at Jeong-in’s face.
“Hyung…”
“Hurry.”
Ho-jin shook his head.
“No, Hyung. It’s really not going to work this time.”
“I’ll never… see you again.”
Jeong-in said, as if he was being stubborn. Painful breaths filled the spaces between the syllables. The operator on the other end of the phone could be heard asking, “Hello?”
“…I’ll resent you… forever.”
Tears that he hadn’t been able to shed welled up in his beautiful eyes and fell. Watching him, Ho-jin slowly lowered his hand. As he hung up the phone, all sound ceased.
“Then please let me stay by your side.”
It felt like his heart was shattering. Ho-jin slowly wrapped his arms around Jeong-in’s shoulders.
“Please let me at least watch over you.”
Please. He buried his face in his frail body, as if offering a prayer to God.