* * *
“This is the first I’ve heard of such a side effect…”
The doctor, who had hurried over, looked down at Seunghyun with a grave expression.
The doctor, elderly with a warm and fatherly appearance, now had sharp eyes filled with concern.
“Do you remember your name?”
Seunghyun nodded.
He still couldn’t tell if this was reality or a dream, but it was better to feign ignorance than to explain what had truly happened.
Telling the truth wasn’t an option.
Who would believe that he had traveled three years into the past and entered someone else’s body?
He didn’t want to be treated like a lunatic.
“Joo Seunghyun.”
“And your age?”
“I… don’t know.”
“What do you remember?”
“Just my name…”
Trailing off, Seunghyun noticed the doctor’s expression becoming even more serious.
After a deep sigh, the doctor began explaining Seunghyun’s condition.
“You’re 24 years old right now. Three months ago, you suddenly presented as an omega. According to your guardian, you were on vacation at the time and couldn’t be contacted for about four days, which led to a delay in treatment. By the time you were brought to the hospital, your body had already suffered significant damage.”
“…”
The doctor continued his explanation in a tone so detached it could almost be called cruel, a stark contrast to the nurse who had tried to reassure him.
“Since then, you’ve been receiving treatment here. However, there hasn’t been much improvement, so your pheromone regulator was changed two days ago. You experienced some shock, but your pheromone levels are now almost back to normal.”
Seunghyun quickly organized his thoughts.
“For now, the new regulator seems to be working well, so let’s monitor the situation.”
Late manifestations like his often made pheromone regulation difficult.
But Seunghyun was experienced.
He had already gone through a delayed manifestation as an alpha before, so controlling pheromones was second nature to him.
A sigh of relief escaped him naturally.
He had narrowly avoided a death sentence.
The timing of the new regulator couldn’t have been better.
“How do you feel physically?”
Seunghyun answered honestly.
His condition was far from good.
“I feel weak and heavy. It’s hot, but I feel cold, and breathing is a bit difficult.”
“Hmm, that’s been the case all along,” the doctor replied nonchalantly while flipping through the chart.
“As for your memory, let’s wait and see. It doesn’t seem to be a side effect of the regulator. Considering how weak your body is and the shock you experienced, it might just be temporary.”
The doctor left shortly after.
Moments later, the commotion outside the room grew, and two men walked in.
Their strikingly glamorous appearances made it clear they were idols.
Seunghyun had expected his guardian to be a parent or family member, so this was unexpected.
Though they seemed to be suppressing their pheromones, Seunghyun’s keen senses caught traces of their lingering scent.
Both were undoubtedly alphas.
Instinctively, a sense of wariness surged, and Seunghyun tried to sit up.
But before he could, the two men simultaneously moved to stop him.
One of them, a man with bright curly hair, sat down beside his bed and carefully placed his hand over Seunghyun’s.
“Hyung, do you remember me?”
As Seunghyun stared blankly, the man’s face briefly twisted with emotion.
He then forced a bright smile, his lips curving upward in a strange expression.
Despite the darkness surrounding him, his presence shone with an almost blinding brilliance.
Not just handsome—his appearance had an inexplicable magnetism.
Come to think of it, hadn’t he seen this man in the center of the group photo of Halo, the idol group he’d just looked up online?
“I’m Yooju. Kwon Yooju.”
Even his name was as unique as his face.
Seunghyun vaguely remembered that there was someone by that name in the group.
Blinking awkwardly, Seunghyun couldn’t hide his discomfort.
After some hesitation, he managed a weak greeting.
“…Hello.”
“…”
Yooju’s face crumpled instantly.
“Patient, you’re experiencing memory loss. It’s going to be very confusing, so please don’t show too much surprise.”
The brief revelation that he had lost his memory was likely a source of overwhelming fear for him.
It was difficult to imagine the depth of that terror.
Yet, the way Seunghyun looked at him, as though the person inside had entirely changed, felt profoundly alien.
Facing a leader like that filled Yooju with an acute sense of dissonance.
Still, Yooju smiled in front of Seunghyun.
He couldn’t show it.
Seunghyun himself must be more anxious than anyone else.
After all, he was already dealing with the delayed manifestation of his abilities, and now he’d lost his memory.
How chaotic it must feel.
Yooju suddenly recalled a comment he’d once seen in the fan community:
“Isn’t Joo Seunghyun like a good-luck charm for Halo? 😂 Everyone leans on him before a big event, hoping to absorb some of his energy.”
Seunghyun had always seemed larger than life.
He wasn’t just the leader of Halo; he was their emotional anchor.
He was the epitome of composure and maturity, someone all the members relied on.
If you had to pick a flawless idol, every member would choose him without hesitation.
But perfection crumbles with even the tiniest flaw.
“Hyung!”
When Seunghyun’s abilities suddenly manifested in an abnormal way, the idol they all knew shattered.
The cause was prolonged exposure to alpha pheromones.
It was the fault of everyone in Halo.
Yooju was no exception.
For the past three months, they’d endured hell.
“Hyung, you’ll be okay. Please, no more dark thoughts… I beg you…”
No words could comfort him.
Seunghyun seemed consumed by the fear of losing control over his own body.
Watching him teeter on the edge, Yooju and the others felt helpless.
Burdened with guilt over their role in Seunghyun’s condition, they avoided speaking carelessly, and Seunghyun grew increasingly isolated.
Now, even thinking of Seunghyun filled Yooju with an unnameable sense of guilt that left his hands and feet tingling.
Suppressing the surge of emotions, he clenched his jaw.
Was he showing his inner turmoil?
Chiyoon, standing right behind him, placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
The eldest’s firm grip was both comforting and cautionary.
Regaining his composure, Yooju forced himself to speak.
His face maintained its usual calm expression.
“You can talk casually. I’m a year younger than him.”
His hand tightened around Seunghyun’s, though it trembled slightly.
Despite trying to hide his gloom, the somber air leaked out, leaving Seunghyun looking up at him, visibly uneasy.
‘This is insane.’
Unfortunately for Seunghyun, it seemed he had gotten along very well with the members.
In this atmosphere, there was no way he could say, ‘I’m not Joo Seunghyun.’
Even he couldn’t believe it.
After all…
‘Does this make sense?’
Possession?
* * *
