The daily routine that began with a small commotion flowed differently from what Siwoo had expected.
By the time he came out after washing up, Yechan and Chan had already left for their schedules.
Siwoo slowly looked around where he was now, and finally rested his gaze outside the window. When he regressed, it had been summer, full of lush greenery. Back then, it seemed like the frustrating and suffocating days would continue endlessly without end.
But time had steadily flowed on. He became close with the members, participated in an album under the name Ocean, did rehearsals, and stood on stage.
When they first got 1st place, he couldn’t even cry. He was just dazed.
He couldn’t believe any of it. Shouting Ocean’s cheer, doing countless interviews.
Appearing on variety shows, becoming accustomed to seeing fans cheering for him.
For a long time, everything he had wished for was becoming reality. If he regressed again, he felt like he wouldn’t need to look in this direction anymore.
Now the autumn leaves that had been dyed in brilliant colors had almost all fallen, and only a few leaves remained on the bare branches. At that moment, a single leaf fluttered, drifting through the air. Watching the leaf fall helplessly, a melancholic feeling washed over him, and Siwoo quickly lowered his head.
All of this feels meaningless.
Why am I at an oriental medicine clinic right now?
They said it was an evening schedule, but the reason they woke him up just past noon was to come to this place.
It was both absurd and laughable.
To get some herbal medicine made to handle the packed schedule remaining ahead.
That must mean they’d work him to the bone to make a profit.
What’s with herbal medicine at this age of twenty when I could chew through iron? Come to think of it, he didn’t have any memories of taking herbal medicine from birth until now.
The oriental medicine clinic wasn’t a flashy, pristine place in the middle of a bustling district. It was located in a quiet suburb. The moment Siwoo saw what appeared to be a renovated old hanok-style oriental medicine clinic, his eyes widened.
The neatly arranged small garden, the main wooden floor—it was all fascinating, and the subtle scent of herbal medicine permeating the entire house fit the place perfectly. Rather than an oriental medicine clinic, it gave off a strong feeling of a nobleman’s house from a historical drama.
In a room filled with wooden herbal medicine cabinets worn smooth from long use, Siwoo was looking at the cozy inner courtyard beyond the latticed window.
Beyond the low writing desk sat an elderly oriental medicine doctor wearing hanbok.
Sangjun hyung, who had been examined first, seemed to come out quickly, but several minutes had already passed without any conversation. With one wrist entrusted to the oriental medicine doctor, Siwoo had been sitting quietly when he quickly looked at him at the sound of a small sigh.
“Is there anywhere uncomfortable?”
“I have insomnia.”
Still taking his pulse at the wrist, the doctor asked a question, so he quickly answered.
“How bad?”
“If I can’t sleep properly for several days, I sometimes take sleep aids.”
“Anything else?”
“……Being tired and my body feeling heavy—isn’t that all because I’m busy?”
If he were full of vitality and his body felt light while handling such a murderous schedule, wouldn’t that be stranger? Watching him write something in Chinese characters on paper, Siwoo tilted his head.
“Your hands and feet are cold, and your body is cold too.”
It wasn’t a question. Since what he was saying was correct, Siwoo just nodded. Of course my hands and feet would be cold since the weather’s getting cold, my body too.
“Hmm……”
After moving his pen for quite a while, the oriental medicine doctor’s gaze touched Siwoo’s face. And when he held out the hand that had just been holding the pen, Siwoo somewhat bewilderedly held out his other hand as well. Then both his wrists were immediately grasped by the oriental medicine doctor.
It was awkward to ask any questions about his behavior of holding both wrists and closing his eyes.
Since this was his first time at an oriental medicine clinic, how would he know what order the treatment followed?
As he entrusted his wrists to the oriental medicine doctor like that and looked outside the window again, which clearly showed the end of autumn, Siwoo turned his head toward the door at the presence of someone along with the sound of a small door.
He smiled slightly seeing the tall Evan ducking his head as he crossed the threshold. He had thought there was an individual schedule, but Yechan and Chan said they would come to the filming site after getting pheromone tests at the hospital. Evan, who said he would have medicine sent from England, had come to the oriental medicine clinic with Siwoo and Sangjun.
“Now it seems to fit.”
While making eye contact with Evan and grinning, Siwoo’s eyes widened at the voice heard simultaneously as Evan sat down next to him.
“Is that so?”
What kind of conversation is this? The oriental medicine doctor was looking at Evan, not at himself.
“I thought something seemed strange.”
Siwoo looked once at the doctor who let go of his wrist, roughly crossed out what he had written down, and wrote something with his pen again, then looked at Evan sitting beside him.
“What? What is it?”
What’s happening right now? Siwoo tapped Evan’s leg and asked in a small voice. He had clearly been getting his pulse taken, so why were those two having a conversation?
“I heard you’re Hayoung’s son, but you don’t resemble your mother one bit.”
“Does it seem that way?”
“You’re a carbon copy of your father. Hayoung asked me, so I’ll make good medicine for your friends.”
What is this really? Judging by the atmosphere, it seemed the oriental medicine doctor and Evan’s mother had some connection. They were close enough to casually call each other by name, and it appeared some words had been exchanged before coming here.
“You have insomnia, your hands and feet are cold, and your body is weak overall. So you’ll need to take medicine steadily for longer than the person examined earlier.”
At the oriental medicine doctor’s words as he turned his gaze to Siwoo after looking at Evan just moments ago, Siwoo quickly nodded. Is the examination over?
“You may leave now.”
At the clear dismissal, Siwoo quickly bowed in greeting and stood up from his seat. Then he left the room with careful steps and closed the door.
“How did you know?”
Once Evan confirmed the door was closed, he spoke.
“How could I not know when the pulse changed drastically the moment you came in? I thought it was strange that it was almost graspable but not quite.”
“I didn’t know it could be confirmed this easily. If we’d gone to the hospital, it would have taken days with all sorts of tests.”
“When the pulse itself is completely different, how could I not know? By the way, shouldn’t that child know too? I didn’t say anything because you told me beforehand.”
Evan sighed deeply. Yes, Siwoo should know too.
More than anyone, it was something he should know best. Because it was happening to him.
“I didn’t know you had a connection with my mother.”
When the oriental medicine doctor brought up the uncomfortable topic, Evan subtly changed the subject.
“I couldn’t see her often after she met your father and went to a distant place. Hayoung also appeared late like that child and suffered a lot.”
“Can you keep this fact a secret?”
He wanted to tell him all these facts himself, not through someone else’s mouth.
“Even if I don’t say it, it’s not like it won’t appear, and it’ll properly appear before too long anyway, so why bother?”
Evan smiled faintly. The moment he saw Siwoo, he had recognized that he was a hidden omega.
But even he was just feeling it that way and couldn’t be certain that he was definitely an omega. From the emotional synchronization to his pheromones that only he could sense, all these things brought to mind the word “hidden,” but all of it might be his own delusion.
Still, he couldn’t take Siwoo to a hospital to confirm whether he was an omega, and a hidden omega at that. No matter how much he tried to silence people, the moment Siwoo took an omega test, that fact would spread quickly.
Moreover, if it was revealed that he was a hidden omega to the extent that even Fayden, who was said to be deeply knowledgeable about alphas and omegas, would make a fuss, the ripple effects that would follow were unimaginable. People would talk without even knowing properly, and the medical community would also take interest and come rushing in.
The title of famous idol, plus omega, and a mixed group of alphas, betas. It was literally like jumping into a storm.
“I want to be ordinary, even just a little. Though I guess that ship has already sailed.”
At Evan’s words, he also nodded. Their conversation had grown long. A moment later, Evan’s expression as he left the examination room wasn’t very bright.
“Where did you go?”
Following Daehwan who had been waiting outside the door into the treatment room, Evan stopped in his tracks at the sight of Sangjun who spoke to him the moment he saw him. Seeing the dense acupuncture needles stuck in his back as he lay face down with his top off, something felt dizzying.
Don’t tell me Siwoo too…….
Evan’s gaze urgently scanned the surroundings.
He soon found Siwoo lying on a bed near the window, not far from Sangjun.
“The oriental medicine doctor knows my mother, so I passed along some greetings in between.”
“I see……”
Evan’s footsteps stopped in front of Siwoo after answering Sangjun’s question perfunctorily. With earphones in his ears looking at the garden, Siwoo didn’t know yet that he had come. He had his lower abdomen slightly exposed with something small placed on top of it.
The end was red and it seemed to be emitting a bit of smoke too…… Should he be glad that having a small ember placed on his stomach was better than being stripped bare and turned into a hedgehog like Sangjun? Or was it the opposite?
Anyway, he had no idea when or how to tell Siwoo about this fact. It wasn’t easy to create quiet time where just the two of them could be alone because of the busy schedule. Even if time became available, putting the exhausted Siwoo to sleep would come first before such a serious conversation.
Sitting on the edge of the bed where Siwoo was lying, Evan took one of the wireless earphones plugged into his ear and put it in his own ear. Not even someone else’s song, but why is he listening to Ocean’s 1st album?
“Isn’t it hot?”
To Siwoo who was now looking at him, Evan asked in a light voice. How nice would it be if he weren’t an idol? Then whether he was an omega or a hidden omega, at least he wouldn’t be harassed by the media.
“It’s warm. I thought it would be hot too, but it’s better than I expected. At least I didn’t become a hedgehog like Sangjun hyung.”
“Hey! A hedgehog! It doesn’t hurt for me either.”
Sangjun immediately snapped at Siwoo’s words.
“No. When I came in earlier, Sangjun hyung was getting acupuncture, and he was bleeding from several spots.”
“Don’t say it! Kim Siwoo. Don’t say things like that.”
Sangjun, who disliked blood, vehemently denied it.
“They say spots that aren’t good originally can bleed a bit.”
When even Daehwan chimed in at Siwoo’s words, the quiet treatment room where only they had been quickly became noisy.
“Ah, I should post this on SNS. The fans will love it so much.”
Evan, who received the least restrictions on his actions here, stood up.
“Well…… Even though naturalness is good, let’s still set a concept and take the photo.”
At his words, Sangjun and Siwoo, who had been comfortable just moments ago, moved busily.
