* * *
He met the doctor right after finishing his meal.
“Hello, Mr. Gil Wookyung. I’m LLim Haeran, Choi Saheon’s primary physician. Please, just call me Dr. Lim.”
“Yes, nice to meet you. I’m Gil Wookyung.”
Primary physician, huh?
Come to think of it, Saheon did say he spent his teens and twenties in the U.S.
Wookyung, realizing this anew, took a moment to observe the doctor before him.
She looked to be around the same age, wearing a gray two-piece suit, her brown hair tied back neatly—giving off a calm yet intellectual aura.
Is she an Alpha? Or an Omega?
There was a faint scent, but he couldn’t tell if it was perfume or pheromones.
Well, it’s not like he’d ever been good at detecting pheromones anyway.
“I’m a Beta, so you don’t need to worry.”
Had she noticed him trying to sniff?
It didn’t seem that obvious…
A little embarrassed, Wookyung assumed it was just a doctor’s sharp instinct.
Then he realized why she might’ve brought it up.
“Did you already know I’m an Omega?”
“No. But I specialize in genetics and secondary traits.”
“Ah…”
That explained enough.
Still, having to confirm it out loud made Wookyung a bit self-conscious, and he rubbed the back of his neck.
“I went to school with Woohyun. Did you know that too?”
Dr. Lim gave a small smile and spoke in a casual tone.
“Oh? So you know my brother?”
“Of course. It was Woohyun who introduced me to Choi Saheon in the first place.”
“Oh…”
That part was news to him.
Come to think of it, his brother hadn’t told him much about Saheon.
Not even whether he’d shown him a picture.
‘He hasn’t contacted me either…’
Now that he was in the U.S., wouldn’t it make sense to at least meet up?
Sure, the cities they were in were far apart, but still—that was Woohyun’s problem.
“Well, shall we get started with the check-up?”
“Yes.”
Dr. Lim smoothly redirected the conversation.
“I heard you haven’t been feeling well for a few days. When did it start? What symptoms have you noticed?”
Wookyung thought carefully about how he’d been feeling recently.
He only became aware of his condition the day after going through rut with Saheon.
‘But back then I just thought it was from overexertion…’
He’d never been so physically intense with someone before.
He barely moved his body in daily life, let alone… like that.
And it had gone on for two whole days.
It’d be stranger if he didn’t catch something like the flu.
Recalling those events made him feel awkward, and Wookyung stole a glance at the doctor.
She was just calmly looking back at him.
“I started feeling a low-grade fever about a month ago. Not constantly—comes and goes.”
He hadn’t felt persistent fatigue or drowsiness either.
That’s probably why he hadn’t noticed anything unusual himself.
“Do you usually have regular heat cycles?”
She asked the question suddenly.
“Uh… no, never.”
Should he mention his pheromone glands were underdeveloped compared to most Omegas?
Even though she was Saheon’s doctor and knew his brother, it was their first time meeting.
“I see. So this is your first time experiencing symptoms like these?”
“Yes.”
“Hm… okay. Any other symptoms since then?”
Wookyung started to respond but suddenly paused.
Then, without realizing it, he covered his mouth with his hand.
Heat flushed to his face, and he quickly looked away, unable to face her directly.
Why was she bringing up heat cycles out of the blue?
‘Obviously—because my symptoms match up!’
Just moments ago, he hadn’t even considered that possibility.
But now, he couldn’t unsee it.
Bzz. Bzz. Bzzzz.
The sudden vibration snapped Wookyung out of his thoughts.
His phone, left on the table, was buzzing.
The name on the screen: Saheon.
“You can take the call. I’ll just step out to the restroom,” said Dr. Lim, starting to rise.
She seemed to be giving him space on purpose.
“It’s fine. Just a moment, please.”
Wookyung waved her off and quickly answered the call.
“Saheon, sorry. I’m in the middle of a conversation. Can we talk later?”
—Sure. I won’t keep you. I heard the doctor entered your room a little while ago. Are you in the middle of the check-up?
“Yes, right now.”
—Good. Just talk to her for a bit. I’m almost there.
He sounded like an overbearing parent.
Wookyung couldn’t help but laugh.
“Okay, just be careful getting here.”
He was aware his voice had softened, but he couldn’t help it.
This was Saheon, after all.
—I will.
Still, the call didn’t end.
Wookyung had to be the one to hang up, conscious of the doctor sitting nearby.
“When you first contacted me, I wasn’t sure what it was about…”
Dr. Lim raised an eyebrow, then gave Wookyung a fresh look, as if reevaluating him.
“Just to check—are you two dating?”
“…Yes.”
“Wow, I see. That makes sense. I mean, if Choi Saheon went out of his way to call me over here, it’s no ordinary relationship. Still, it’s a surprise. Does Woohyun know? That you two are seeing each other?”
Her questions were starting to drift from the professional realm, but Wookyung didn’t bother resisting. He shook his head.
“No. I haven’t told him yet.”
Woohyun had only encouraged them to get along.
Their dad had just wanted him to take care of Saheon so he wouldn’t feel lonely or out of place.
He hadn’t mentioned that things had gotten this far.
“I see… Then I’m probably the first one around you to know?”
“Well, yeah.”
Saheon’s assistant knew.
So did the company director, and even the chairman.
Come to think of it, the whole Choi family seemed to be in the loop.
But none of his people knew a thing.
Realizing that made Wookyung chuckle to himself.
He nodded again.
“Hm, then do you mind if I tell Woohyun first?”
She had given off a rather aloof vibe at first, but she actually seemed playful, like a peer.
Technically, she was his brother’s friend.
That didn’t matter though.
What mattered was the opportunity he suddenly saw.
“Go ahead.”
Yes. If Woohyun heard it from someone else, he’d be furious.
With his personality, he’d be deeply disappointed.
He might even jump on the next plane to demand the whole story in person.
Not a bad outcome, honestly.
Wookyung was starting to think that’d be kind of fun.
Dr. Lim, seeing the look on his face, chuckled.
“You know, Mr. Gil, I think you’re my type. How do you say things like that with such a straight face? I could fall for you.”
“That’d be a problem.”
Before she could finish laughing, a sharp voice cut through the air.
Wookyung didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.
“Wow. What timing. It’s like he was waiting for this exact moment.”
“I didn’t expect Dr. Lim to be hitting on my partner, but I’m glad I got here when I did. What would’ve happened if I’d been just a little later?”
The presence that strode confidently toward them carried a familiar, fresh scent.
Somehow, Wookyung could always catch his Alpha’s pheromones, even without trying.
“Hitting on? I was just doing a medical consultation. So, Mr. Gil, shall we pick up where we left off?”
“…Sorry, what?”
“What am I supposed to say?”
Where had their conversation left off again?
When Wookyung couldn’t immediately respond and just stared, Dr. Lim Haeran spoke up slyly.
“I mean the abnormal symptoms. From what I can tell, it looks like a reaction caused by that beastly dominant alpha. You two… something happened, didn’t it?”
She threw a pointed look at Saheon as she asked.
Wookyung’s face immediately flushed a soft red.
It wasn’t hard to figure out why—hadn’t they just been talking about the heat cycle a few minutes ago?
“Uh, well… that is…”
“Wookyung, did you tell Dr. Im what we did last night?”
While Wookyung was awkwardly fumbling for a way to explain it without being too explicit, Saheon suddenly cut in.
Wookyung jerked his head up to look at him in shock.
But in Saheon’s eyes, all he could see was a casual “what’s the big deal?”
Does this alpha not feel a shred of embarrassment?!
“How much did you tell her?”
How much? What does that even mean, how much?!
Wookyung’s face turned so red it looked like it might explode.
Saheon, watching Wookyung’s expressionless but rapidly reddening face with something like affection, opened his mouth again.
“If I’m remembering correctly, Wookyung’s symptoms started after we went through my rut together.”
That was directed at Dr. Im.
“Ah, so you two spent the rut together,” she replied, clearly entertained.
Wookyung just wanted to disappear into the floor.
And why did she have to say that with such a knowing look in her eyes?!
He tried to hide his burning red ears and cheeks with his hands.
* * *
