DFLT 47

As if mocking the chaos of the night before, morning still arrived. After a busy morning with work, it was time to take a little breather and sit down at his desk.

“Mr. Yeonoh.”

Manager Kim Jinwhan called Yeonoh in a small voice.

“Ah, yes. What is it, Manager?”

“Come over here for a moment.”

The place Jinwhan brought Yeonoh to was a conference room. The blinds were drawn, making it impossible for anyone outside to see the two of them. Jinwhan, holding a file, had Yeonoh sit down and opened the cover. Yeonoh had no idea what was going on.

[Non-Competition and Confidentiality Agreement]

“…Manager, am I being fired?”

After reading the document and being lost in thought for a moment, Manager Kim Jinwhan waved his hands frantically at the first words Yeonoh uttered.

“No, no! Mr. Yeonoh getting fired! You do not need to worry about that at all!”

“…Then why the non-compete clause all of a sudden….”

“Well, you see…. The secretarial position isn’t on the business side, so it’s not subject to non-competition, but the Executive Director suddenly told me to get one from you.”

Jinwhan, unable to give a clear answer himself, just scratched the back of his neck awkwardly and mumbled. On top of that, Seo Heonyoung had specifically ordered it? No matter how much he racked his brain, the only scenario that came to mind was Seo Heonyoung getting rid of him.

“Could it be that you know some kind of classified information, Mr. Yeonoh?”

Jinwhan’s joke, thrown out in passing, became a hint. Ah, it’s because the smartwatch is a new product that hasn’t been released yet. Yeonoh, whose tension was momentarily released, replied with an awkward laugh instead of words, signed the end of the contract, and then opened his mouth.

“Ah, Manager. I’m planning to go to the hospital for a bit during lunch.”

“Really? That’s soon. The Executive Director doesn’t have any special schedule anyway, so leave a bit early. The wait can be long if you go when it’s crowded at lunchtime.”

“Is that all right? Thank you.”

Thanks to Jinwhan’s consideration, he was able to leave with some time to spare and arrived at a hospital near the company. Yeonoh, who was filling out a medical questionnaire, hesitated for a moment, then asked the employee at the reception desk.

“Um, for the manifestation test, what is the difference between the standard test and the detailed test?”

“The standard test only measures the pheromone level in the blood, so it takes about 30 minutes. The detailed test is a genetic test, so it takes a week, but most people usually get the standard one. The doctor sees you first, and if they think it is necessary, then you proceed with the additional test.”

Yeonoh, who was short on time and decided to hear the doctor’s opinion first, checked the box for the standard test. After giving blood, he waited for a moment to hear the results of the standard pheromone level test, and was soon facing the doctor, who said the results were out.

“Mr. Ji Yeonoh, the blood test came back as beta.”

The doctor’s tone as he stared at the monitor was formal, as if dealing with one of the dozens of patients he saw every day.

“When was your last test?”

“Last year’s health checkup.”

“Is it different from the previous test results?”

“No. The result has always been beta.”

“It’s been less than a year and you have no particular symptoms, is there a reason you took the test again?”

Unable to bring himself to mention the watch’s pheromone level, Yeonoh rolled his eyes and changed the subject.

“Um, so no pheromones were detected at all, right?”

“Yes, you can look here.”

The doctor turned the monitor towards Yeonoh and pointed to a number with his finger.

“The pheromone level says ‘N/A’, which means it wasn’t detected at all. This is a pattern seen in betas.”

Once he saw the actual results of the pheromone level he had been most worried about with his own eyes, he was able to breathe a sigh of relief.

“Um, I have something to ask.”

He debated over and over whether it was right to ask such a question, but decided it would be better to ask and resolve it, even if he looked strange, rather than letting it bother him to the end.

“If a beta were to take omega suppressants, what kind of side effects would there be?”

“Pardon me?”

Even to him, it was an abnormal question, but the doctor, who had been impassive all along, furrowed his brow and showed something like contempt for a very brief moment.

“Well, let’s see. There have been cases where a manifested person confused and mistakenly took their manifested spouse’s suppressants…. But it is not common for a non-manifested person to take suppressants under the delusion that they are manifested. There is no way to get them prescribed either.”

“What happens if a manifested person mistakenly takes another type’s suppressants?”

“Usually in such cases, the drug has little effect. Because the pheromones themselves are different.”

“…I see.”

“However, if I were to explain under the premise that the situation you mentioned occurred, suppressants act on the organs that regulate pheromones, but the theory is that the drug is practically useless for a beta who does not have pheromone-secreting endocrine glands.”

Just as Do Sehyun had said, it was the doctor’s opinion that suppressants would not cause any reaction in a beta. After being told that a detailed test would not be necessary, he left the hospital, and a pharmacy suddenly caught his eye. Yeonoh, who was fiddling with the medicine bottle Sehyun had given him, entered the pharmacy.

“One fatigue reliever, please. Ah, and um, I’m sorry but….”

Yeonoh took a pill out of the bottle and showed it to the pharmacist.

“By any chance, is this medicine an omega pheromone suppressant?”

At Yeonoh’s question, the pharmacist examined it carefully from front and back, then soon nodded his head.

“Yes, this is an omega suppressant. It’s the lowest dosage, and it’s from JM Medio.”

His mind was in turmoil after also getting information about the unidentified drug. As the doctor said, even if there were no side effects from the suppressants, he did not want to take the medicine knowing Do Sehyun’s intentions. And so he had resolved to refuse.

‘You were not interested in a grand cause, so you liked your boss?’

Those words kept scratching at his nerves like a thorn stuck in his solar plexus. Unable to stop the sigh that burst out, he was slightly loosening his suffocating necktie when, speak of the devil, he received a call from Do Sehyun.

“Yes, Managing Director.”

—Did you get the results?

“Yes, it came out as beta.”

Sehyun was silent for a moment. Yeonoh nervously waited for his next words, wondering what his reaction would be.

—I will have our side look into whether there is a flaw in the logic as well.

“Understood.”

—You too, Mr. Yeonoh, please take the suppressant once a day, at the same time if possible.

“Pardon me? Wait, just a moment, Managing Director.”

Yeonoh was flustered by the nuance that he would naturally take the medicine, and he stuttered as he cut Sehyun off.

“No pheromone level was detected at all, but I still have to take the medicine?”

—As I said, I already knew you were a beta, Mr. Yeonoh.

Hearing the voice filled to the brim with irritation, it seemed Do Sehyun was in a very bad mood. It appeared he had never imagined the scenario where his prospective fiancé’s secretary would talk back to him. Yeonoh, too, was gradually reaching the limit of his patience and responded in a slightly stiff tone.

“I do not understand what kind of result you are expecting from me, a beta according to the test results, taking an omega suppressant.”

—If there is a reaction in the watch’s pheromone level after taking the suppressant, then that means you, Mr. Ji Yeonoh, are—.

Do Sehyun suddenly cut his sentence short and paused. Yeonoh was extremely curious about what he was about to say, but he couldn’t just let down his guard and ask what he was going to say.

—Ha, that’s right. You are right, Mr. Ji Yeonoh. Since threats don’t seem to work, I will try to persuade you. Tell me if there is something you want.

Do Sehyun was now resorting to persuasion, of all things. Was this something that needed to be done with so much coaxing and placating? He even began to suspect that the watch was an excuse and there was some other ulterior motive.

“If you give me fifty million won, I will think about it.”

—…Ha.

In the midst of it all, Kwon Jonghyuk’s ridiculous threat came to mind and he used it just like that, causing Do Sehyun to laugh in disbelief, at a loss for words.

“Then I will consider my intentions conveyed. I am hanging up.”

He waited for a moment before hanging up, having essentially conveyed his refusal in a roundabout way, but Sehyun still did not answer. Yeonoh pressed the end call button without delay. He returned to the company immediately after, and Seo Heonyoung was leaning against his desk partition, arms crossed, staring at him with a displeased look.

“Where have you been.”

“I went to the hospital.”

He had arrived on time, so had something urgent come up? Yeonoh answered, showing the paper bag with the hospital logo on it. At the words that he had been to the hospital, Seo Heonyoung seemed to have nothing more to say, as no reply came back. Fortunately, it seemed it was not an urgent matter. Still, Yeonoh, who felt a little awkward, asked in a voice that was barely audible.

“Is there something you need….”

“What hurts.”

It clearly seemed to be a question of curiosity, yet his tone was stiff again. Why on earth would Seo Heonyoung, who couldn’t care less about other people’s trivial matters, ask such a question? He answered while mulling over the weather news, wondering if the sun had risen in the west today.

“I just got a simple blood test.”

He did not bother to add that he had received a manifestation test. Not only was it unnecessary, but there were also employees around who did not yet know about the new pheromone level-related product.

“Ah, I am fine. You do not need to worry.”

“I get it, so aren’t you going to get ready? It looks like we’ll be late for the 1 o’clock meeting.”

Only then did Yeonoh realize the reason why Seo Heonyoung had personally come all the way here to find him. For a moment, he had almost fallen under the illusion that he was worried about him.