“I go around fine by myself. But gaunt……”
Stroking his face roughly and repeatedly, Muyoung looked out the window. He shouldn’t become a burden to grateful people even if he couldn’t repay them. The facts he was hiding already pressed on his chest stuffily.
The samgyetang restaurant they arrived at was spacious enough to have a separate inner room where they could eat past the hall. It was a structure made by remodeling an old house this way and that, so customers could eat without making eye contact with each other. Although it was an unfamiliar store he was coming to for the first time based on Section Manager Kim’s recommendation, his heart was comfortable.
“It’ll come out soon, so if you clean it all out, I’ll escort you straight home.”
“Thank you for the meal. I should be the one buying for you.”
“Is it my money? It’s company money. Actor-nim, don’t worry about such things and just eat well.”
As soon as Section Manager Kim’s words ended, bubbling earthenware pots were placed in front of each of them. The smell of sesame powder and finely cut green onions sprinkled over the white broth was whetting the appetite. He split open the chicken inside and dissolved the rice grains inside into the broth, putting a spoonful in his mouth. The chicken broth, not salty, flowed down his esophagus into his stomach.
“This place is really delicious, Section Manager.”
“Right? Eat a lot. Eat with the mindset of eating one more bowl if it’s not enough.”
“Oh my……”
At the caring words said with banter, he let out an empty laugh and nodded. Even if he ate diligently, emptying more than half the pot was eating well. Muyoung thought he himself wasn’t the type with a poor appetite, but recently it had particularly been difficult to empty his bowl. He often forgot meals when alone.
He tried to be careful not to look different from before even if he had to force it, as it was a profession where he had to manage himself. But it seemed to show quickly in the eyes of the person working with him.
“Ugh, there are still such wicked bastards like that.”
“Huh?”
While eating diligently, he turned to look at the screen Section Manager Kim was pointing at with his chopsticks. On the news showing on the TV hung high on the wall, a case about alpha-committed omega abuse and neglect was being reported.
『……The perpetrator who mutually imprinted to make an omega subordinate to himself, committed dating violence for a long period, and as if that wasn’t enough, unilaterally removed it without notice has been caught. This case, where the truth was belatedly revealed by the omega’s report, is facing fierce criticism for the perpetrator alpha’s inhumane attitude.』
The content continued to the reporter’s coverage that the anchor had passed on. Along with a dark room, a case summary passed, and evidence used in the assault appeared on the screen. It was even more creepy because they were things commonly seen at home like brooms, rope, and tennis rackets.
『……Using the alpha trait, targeting omegas and using the weakness of imprinting, it’s a planned crime, and aggravated punishment is being demanded for its wickedness. Moreover, because measures for the victim omega were very delayed, their life could be in danger……』
He lowered his gaze at the ICU sign and hospital room scenery shown as reference footage and stirred the bowl with his spoon. The broth he mechanically pushed into his mouth was gritty.
“No, imprinting isn’t even an ordinary thing, and if you remove it as you please and don’t even notify them, isn’t the remaining side told to die? That person is sick and dying too. Don’t they arrest you for doing something like that? Now there’s even that… what’s it called, a protection law.”
“……That’s right.”
“Do alphas think they’re everything? Not even seeing people as people. Tsk.”
“Not even seeing them… as people……?”
News showing various cases of damage caused by alphas’ selfish attitudes and tendencies that could even develop into violence, and their prevention measures, continued in order. Glancing at the TV screen, Section Manager Kim passionately spoke, and Muyoung felt strangely chilled inside even though he knew it wasn’t a story directed at him.
“Otherwise, how could they try to do as they please with another person? They say special traits make you smart and handsome and pretty and all good, but what’s the use if it causes harm to yourself and others? For us, it’s fortunate we’re betas.”
“That’s right……”
Alphas said to be born possessing all abilities in superior ways. Omegas who have pheromones that such alphas obsess over. They were traits living in a realm that betas, who were the majority of people, could absolutely never understand.
Moreover, alphas and omegas regularly experienced rut and heat cycles known as heat, and influenced each other with pheromones. Then when alphas and omegas were tied together, there was even imprinting that bound them for some unidentified reason. The trait holders who hovered around 10% or less of the total population were, strictly speaking, not ordinary existences.
With the development of medicine that could control cycles, it was rare to suddenly affect citizens. Recently, even procedures to remove imprinting had emerged, so alpha crimes and unilateral omega damage that had been chronically occurring were also decreasing. Even regarding imprint removal, the side whose health was greatly harmed if they missed the timing was omegas, so institutional devices existed.
However, public perception toward special traits wasn’t very good. Especially omegas didn’t have superior abilities prominently revealed like alphas, and because of the nature of pheromones occurring during the heat cycles they regularly experienced strongly calling alphas’ lust, they were often looked down upon regardless of whether they were alphas or betas.
“They should just date well and break up cleanly. To go and imprint……”
“……That’s right.”
At times like this, he felt fortunate that Section Manager Kim didn’t know his trait. CEO Choi knew Muyoung’s trait, but agreed with Muyoung’s opinion not wanting to reveal it to others, so he had been able to hide it well and live until now.
Muyoung didn’t have any instances where his pheromones were accidentally exposed to others because he imprinted at the same time as manifesting. It was the same now even after being unilaterally given imprint removal by Jinho.
He was only guessing it might be because of his constitution of being recessive, but it seemed he should take measures before it gradually started showing outside too. Before an incident like being carried to the hospital like last year occurred, which might be after committing an unforgivable sin to the company, to CEO Choi and Section Manager Kim.
Each time he consciously chewed and swallowed food with effort, he also crushed the guilt that pressed down heavily. While thinking he should take digestive medicine first upon entering the house.
* * *
“Rest well and sleep well. Got it?”
“Don’t worry and Section Manager-nim should go in quickly. You’re even busier than me. If there are any schedule changes, text me.”
“Okay. Go in quickly.”
At Section Manager Kim’s greeting waving his hands repeatedly even after stopping the car in front of his house, he bowed his head and entered the apartment. It wasn’t spacious, but it was a house he had been living in for several years through the company’s recommendation. Even if a small studio would be enough, CEO Choi insisted that a home should be safe and comfortable, so it was a place contracted.
As Muyoung entered through the entrance, his eyes caught on the mailbox. Something was stuck in a place that was usually almost empty. He carelessly approached and picked up an envelope with the address of a trait management agency and an official notice delivery stamp on it. Come to think of it, he remembered that after his relationship with Jinho ended, he had barely only continued work without organizing anything.
He didn’t examine the contents while bringing it and only gnawed at the edge of the envelope with his fingernail. With complicated feelings, even after entering the front door, he only opened it after quite a while passed.
It was a matching arrangement notice for a trait holder whose regular report hadn’t been made.
He hadn’t even thought about matching.
No matter how hard he tried now, there was no way he could recall the content of the mandatory lecture he had to take after manifesting. He took out the items regarding manifestation, matters to observe, matching notices, and other agency promotional materials from the envelope and began reading carefully.
Trait holders are supposed to visit a hospital simultaneously with manifestation. Checking physical condition is basic, and there were also disadvantages for not visiting. Because it’s mostly for trait holders’ health issues and to receive protection from the agency’s system, examinations are conducted when visiting the hospital, and trait registration with the agency is automatically done through the hospital. It was similar to birth registration.
It was adding a trait classification to identification already registered with the country, but because direct notation often received disadvantages, it was set not to be privately exposed except to the person and medical institutions. Guardian registration was also mandatory. In Muyoung’s case, the guardian contact was initially the school, and after that, CEO Choi. The problem was what came next.
After a trait is registered with the agency, if regular reports aren’t made for a certain period, you meet the other person decided through automatic matching. It was a policy with the gist of preparing for suddenly occurring cycles, but in fact, such matching didn’t have much meaning.
“I forgot about the report……”
Scratching his head and sitting while looking at the documents, Muyoung suddenly became tired.
Most trait holders made regular reports even just to receive protection from government agencies. Even if they unavoidably received matching arrangements, it wasn’t a restriction policy related to pregnancy, so it was also often just a formality. If you received confirmation at the agency visited for the meeting, it was recognized as report completion and there were no particular sanctions. When trait holders sometimes complained that they had to go to the agency and it was annoying, in most cases it was because they didn’t properly process such reports and were going to receive matching.
Matching wasn’t compulsory but a choice. Just initially, visiting the agency on the set date and time and receiving identification verification was essential for both.
However, if not completed, a notice to secure the person of that trait holder went to the guardian who that trait holder must register. In Muyoung’s case, to avoid having the notice go to the company, he had to comply with the matching attendance already set.
With an embarrassed feeling, he read the documents to see if there was any way not to go, but after matching had already been done, there was no such method. Thinking it couldn’t be helped, he folded the documents he had been holding.
In fact, although Muyoung had been imprinted with Jinho, he hadn’t registered the imprint. Since there weren’t many trait holders who got imprinted anyway, and imprint registration wasn’t mandatory either, he hadn’t thought much about it.
Moreover, more than that, he disliked having notifications go to the company regarding traits. There was the possibility it might become an obstacle to working as an actor, but it was because of a vague anxiety that CEO Choi might find out about the imprint.
