From that moment, Haneul’s vision swayed like waves, and his entire body blazed with heat. He tried opening the car window to disperse the pheromones growing thicker by the second, but it was no use at all.
The man too felt his heart racing and his fingertips trembling from Haneul’s pheromones spreading throughout the car. He desperately needed the cool outside air to calm the heat building in his lower body.
The man pulled over to the side of the road, drew in a long breath, and quietly studied Haneul. Haneul felt his face grow hot under that persistent gaze and slowly turned away.
Without a word, the man got out of the car and put a cigarette between his lips.
“Ah…… what am I even doing.”
He muttered as though irritated, then leaned against the car and began calling someone. Only then did Haneul start to grow a little suspicious of the man.
That man…… what is he doing?
Growing increasingly uneasy, Haneul thought he should leave while there were still plenty of people around. Just then, the man climbed back into the car and started driving without a word of explanation.
“U-um, excuse me. Where are we going?”
The man didn’t answer Haneul’s question and drove off in a hurry. After about ten minutes of driving, he pulled over again and said in a low, clipped voice.
“Get out.”
“Sorry?”
“I said get out.”
The place they had arrived at was the front of the Incheon Police Agency. Haneul hesitated for a moment, then stepped out of the car — and the man drove away without a backward glance.
Even after dropping Haneul off and driving away, the man felt irritation flare up in him again. He pulled over to the side of the road, stopped the car briefly, and put another cigarette between his lips. Then he flicked it away, unlit, and spoke in a low voice, chewing on the words.
“Ah…… why did I even.”
Anyone would have helped in that situation. There’s no point in getting involved in useless things.
The man concluded that it was simply his own meddlesome nature making him uncomfortable, and drove off again.
As the day gradually brightened, more and more people filled the streets. Haneul, who had been dozing in the back of a police car, stretched and lifted his head to look out the window. Until just a few hours ago he had been in danger — so the peaceful early-morning scenery felt somehow unfamiliar.
“Um…… I’m sorry, but could you drop me off at the nearest subway station instead of my house?”
“I need to report to my superiors after dropping you off at your home. Where are you headed — school?”
The officer who had brought Haneul to Seoul asked carefully, looking a little at a loss.
“Hangang Hospital.”
“Hangang Hospital? What for?”
“My younger sibling is admitted there — I wanted to stop by.”
“Ah, I see. Then let me report to the inspector and take you to the hospital.”
“You don’t have to——”
“I have orders from above as well.”
“Ah…… thank you.”
After a brief back-and-forth with the officer who had brought him, Haneul was able to get out at the crosswalk across from Hangang Hospital. The officer pulled over to the curb, handed Haneul his bag, and said:
“Oh — you took a strong suppressant in a hurry yesterday. Is your stomach alright?”
“Yes, I think so.”
The officer fussed over Haneul, saying it had been a close call, then asked again as though to make sure:
“We found the victims’ bags at the scene. Please check that nothing is missing.”
“Ah…… it’s all here. Thank you so much.”
Only after watching Haneul safely enter Hangang Hospital did the officer leave. Haneul also watched him go from the hospital lobby before making his way to the ward where his sister was admitted.
“Garam, how are you feeling today?”
Dressed in a sterile gown and gloves along with the other protective gear, Haneul stepped into the clean room with a deliberately bright smile. Garam, who had been lying lifelessly pale against the pillow, couldn’t hide her joy at seeing him and tried to push herself upright — so Haneul hurried over and raised the back of the bed halfway for her.
“What are you doing here at this hour, Oppa? Didn’t you go to school?”
“First semester’s almost over — there are only a few classes left.”
A rush of emotion welled up in Haneul at the sight of her.
“Oppa…… but why do you look like you haven’t slept a wink?”
“Do I? I slept fine though…….”
Haneul put on an exaggerated smile as Garam studied him closely. He swallowed back the words about what had happened the night before and let the sentence trail off vaguely.
“By the way, Oppa.”
“Yeah.”
“I had such a good dream last night.”
“What?”
Haneul felt proud of Garam for always being bright, even through such difficult treatment. He checked to make sure she wasn’t running low on anything she needed, and listened to her chatter all the way to the end.
“You were in my dream last night.”
“Really?”
“Yes — two big tigers appeared and were growling ferociously at you.”
“Seriously? That must have been terrifying.”
“But then one enormous white tiger appeared and settled itself right behind you. With this look in its eyes, like a clear warning not to touch you. And when the white tiger fixed those fierce eyes on them, all those vicious tigers tucked their tails and ran away.”
“I’m not sure what it means, but it sounds like a really good dream.”
“Right, right?”
“Yeah.”
Garam kept chattering away without end after that. Haneul listened to every word without a single flicker of impatience. Then, glancing at the clock on the wall, he said to Garam:
“Looks like it’s breakfast time. Wait just a moment — I’ll go get your food.”
“Thank you, Oppa.”
Returning to the ward with the meal tray, Haneul still couldn’t bring himself to believe what had happened the night before. But one thing was certain. How precious it was to have his ordinary life back. He made up his mind to pull himself together and find another job.
Jaehyeok stopped by the police agency on his way to his Incheon business site. The man he had dropped off there the previous night kept nagging at his thoughts. Jaehyeok didn’t like the reason for it either — but he couldn’t help where his feet were taking him.
“Executive Director Kwon Jaehyeok, welcome. I am Jeong Dogyun, Chief of the Incheon Police Agency.”
“Hello. I’m Kwon Jaehyeok.”
Not just the chief, but the entire staff of the police agency came out to receive Jaehyeok. He gave a brief nod, exchanged a few words of greeting with the chief, and then entered the building. He found it absurd that so many eyes were fixed on him, and once again questioned why he had come here at all.
The previous night, Jaehyeok had rescued a young man who hadn’t quite shed the last traces of boyhood. At the man’s frantic insistence that he needed to go to the police station, Jaehyeok had, before he even knew what he was doing, gone so far as to contact the nearest Incheon Police Agency for him.
After delivering the man to the police station, Jaehyeok had tried to put the whole matter out of his mind. But the following day, police agency officials contacted him directly and gave him a detailed account of everything that had transpired.
An omega trafficking ring, they said.
Right…… this is a serious crime — too serious to just let pass. That’s why I’m concerned. That’s all.
Jaehyeok followed behind the police chief, rationalizing his own actions to himself like a self-imposed hypnosis.
“Right this way.”
“Ah…… yes.”
Jaehyeok was led all the way into the chief’s private office. He had to sit and talk with the chief for a long time, covering many subjects. As was always the case, every conversation eventually circled back to the other person’s self-praise. But as the chief’s dull monologue dragged on, Jaehyeok found his thoughts drifting elsewhere.
That was the first time a pheromone didn’t repulse me.
