PUCKD Ch 9
by soapa“Yes. Have you ever donated blood? It’s similar to that. To be precise, we’ll separate only the pheromone component from the blood and return the blood to you.”
“…….”
“Please let me know when you’re ready. It takes about two hours in total, from the examination to the collection.”
As he stared at the man with a bewildered expression, the man, perhaps thinking that he was doubting his expertise, introduced himself as an employee working at the pheromone center. Then he began busily taking out items, saying there were many things to prepare.
Just in case, he took out his phone, and there was a message that had arrived five minutes ago.
+82 10-XXXX-XXXX
Shin Hojae habitually deleted the message and put his phone back in his pocket.
He couldn’t help but be quite nervous before the first day of fulfilling his contract today. It was because he had no idea what he would be doing for two hours. It was an unpleasant feeling for Shin Hojae, who rarely got nervous even before important games.
Because of what happened last time, he naturally only imagined things in that direction. He said he didn’t have the hobby of forcing himself on others, but he could do something similar. As expected, the meeting place was a hotel room.
But pheromone collection…?
It was something he had never imagined.
Shin Hojae asked the man who was busy setting up syringes and other things.
“What is the collected pheromone used for?”
“Generally, it’s used for treatment purposes for trait-carrying patients who experience pheromone problems.”
Treatment? But Kwon Junghyun was a beta.
“Are there cases where betas, who don’t have traits, need it?”
“There are no such cases.”
At the definitive answer, Shin Hojae frowned slightly.
Did he have a close acquaintance who was a patient in urgent need of alpha pheromones? Like needing blood.
But that was strange too. If that were the case, asking the players who were at the banquet hall earlier would be a way to secure a larger quantity in a shorter time. All but two of the players were alphas.
Then the pheromone center employee said, “Ah, there is one,” as if he had remembered something belatedly.
“It’s not medically proven, but there’s a rumor going around that if you inject pheromones into growing children whose externally secreted substance levels fall ambiguously between beta and trait-carrying, they will manifest the corresponding trait.”
Shin Hojae frowned and looked at the center employee. It was the first time he had heard of such a thing.
“Using pheromones for that purpose is incredibly expensive because it’s not covered by health insurance. Well, for rich people, what wouldn’t they do to make their children manifest as alphas?”
Shin Hojae paused for a moment before asking.
“Does CEO Kwon Junghyun have children?”
“Uh… I don’t think so? I understand he’s unmarried. If you’re ready, I’ll take your blood pressure first. Could you sit here and give me one arm?”
Shin Hojae slowly replayed the man’s words in his head.
The rumor that injecting pheromones can manifest traits.
Kwon Junghyun’s trait…
A hypothesis flashed through his mind, but Shin Hojae immediately shook his head. Kwon Junghyun injecting himself with alpha pheromones because he wants to become an alpha. It was a preposterous thought.
What would a third-generation chaebol lack that would make him want to become an alpha? He was already born with everything.
“Mr. Shin Hojae?”
The center employee called Hojae’s name again. Shin Hojae, who had been standing in the same spot since he entered the room, made up his mind and raised his head.
“I don’t think I can do the pheromone collection.”
“Yes? You can’t? Didn’t you discuss it with the CEO?”
“No. I heard about it for the first time today.”
“Oh, I see… But this is nothing. Although it varies from person to person, the lost pheromones are quickly regenerated.”
“No.”
Shin Hojae interrupted the employee.
“I want to know exactly why my pheromones are needed. I want to decide on the collection after that.”
He couldn’t hand over his personal pheromones without knowing anything. Pheromones contained too much personal information.
Besides, the syringe used for collection was also a problem. During the season, he was careful even with cold medicine, so he was sensitive to drugs, and the thought of a needle entering his body in a place that wasn’t a hospital was naturally off-putting.
The employee made a very bewildered expression and then left the room with his phone. Judging from him saying, “Yes, CEO?”, he seemed to be calling Kwon Junghyun.
Shin Hojae then slowly looked around the room. It was a slightly larger room than last time. There was a small living room separate from the bedroom, and the table in the living room was filled with various equipment that the man had set up.
Shin Hojae narrowed his brows and stared intently at the equipment.
“Um… The CEO told me to leave now. He said if you stay here, he’ll be up soon.”
The man said as he came out to the living room. He thought he would try to persuade him to do the collection, but he seemed to have given up quite easily. Hojae nodded slightly.
After the employee packed his things and left the room, it wasn’t long before Junghyun opened the door and came in.
Shin Hojae, who was sitting on the living room sofa, stood up awkwardly. Kwon Junghyun nodded at Shin Hojae and took off his suit jacket. He tossed the jacket carelessly on the back of the sofa and picked up a water bottle provided in the room.
“My conversation with Coach Park went a little long. Did you wait long?”
“No.”
As he watched him pour water into a glass and drink, Shin Hojae spoke.
“I want to know exactly why you need my pheromones.”
“I heard that the pheromones of a dominant alpha are more concentrated than those of ordinary alphas. A tenfold, or even twentyfold difference.”
“…….”
“If you’re going to inject pheromones, of course dominant pheromones would be more effective, right? There’s no reason not to use them when there’s a dominant alpha nearby. That’s why I asked, there’s no other meaning.”
Shin Hojae’s eyes twitched at the word inject that came out so casually.
“…Yourself?”
Kwon Junghyun simply shrugged. He didn’t directly confirm it, but he didn’t deny it either.
Traits are determined by genetic factors. If a trait manifested through pheromone injection, the child must have been born with that trait in the first place. Kwon Junghyun couldn’t possibly not know that.
“…Are you saying you believe the rumor that injecting alpha pheromones makes you an alpha?”
“It might sound like a rumor to a dominant alpha like Player Shin, but there are people in the world who would grasp at straws.”
Grasping at straws, wasn’t it too desperate an expression for the heir of Myungjeong, who grew up more affluent than others, to use?
“…Do you really want to become an alpha?”
“What do you think if I do?”
“…….”
Shin Hojae frowned silently. He was supposed to manage his expressions, but it wasn’t working well.
A grown man trying to extract an alpha’s pheromones and inject them into his own body just because he wants to become an alpha.
It’s creepy.
Perhaps his alpha-like appearance and his habit of molesting only alpha secretaries were also due to a complex.
Shin Hojae knew these types of betas very well. They were the kind of people who had always been around him ever since he manifested as a dominant alpha.
It started with the hockey coach he met in middle school. During the time when traits were just manifesting, what group would have more alphas than a middle school sports team? That coach used to inflict excessive violence only on the players whose traits were confirmed as alpha.
Including Shin Hojae, Dumin, Mincheol, and other alpha players had to endure harsh punishments without knowing why. They were powerless children, unable to do anything for fear of disadvantages in their athletic careers if they talked back or resisted.
Thinking about it now, it was just a way for betas with inferiority complexes to express their feelings of inadequacy.
Betas seem to think that alphas gain some kind of superpower, but well. Trait-carrying people are also just ordinary people, nothing special. The only difference from betas is that they produce externally secreted substances called pheromones.
“Shall I guess what Player Shin is thinking right now?”
It was Kwon Junghyun who broke the awkward silence.
“You must have thought it was disgusting and creepy that a grown man would inject someone else’s pheromones into his body just because he wants to become an alpha, right?”
Looking up, he saw him looking at him with a light smile.
“You must have also thought he was stupid enough to believe such a rumor.”
“…….”
“Everything shows on Player Shin’s face. So much so that I wonder if you’re doing it on purpose.”
Shin Hojae hardened his face and stared at him. There was nothing he could say in reply. Because it was exactly as he said. He wasn’t the type to skillfully hide such feelings and flatter him.
“Why don’t you just say what you want to say? I’m curious now.”
“…….”
“Or do you need alcohol to be honest?”