If You Want Me - Episode 58
<Episode 58>
It was a sharp question, laden with intent: “Are you abnormal like that guy too?” At that, Do-gyeom furrowed his brows.
“Why are you suddenly going in that direction?”
“You’re not?”
“No, I’m not.”
Do-gyeom drew a firm line. How could that possibly be the case?
As he looked at him coldly, the image of Yoon Seo-won, a close friend from Korea, suddenly came to mind.
After coming to study abroad, he often thought of Seo-won’s youthful face, the times they spent together in his small room, and the kiss they shared, just like now. It seemed to happen more often because the last time he saw his face was when they impulsively kissed.
There was no way he could like Seo-won, but he agonized a lot over kissing him that day. Wondering if he had really come to like him.
But then he realized that Seo-won had manifested as a recessive omega that day, and concluded that he had been drawn in by pheromones to kiss him. He tried to cover it up as an accident, but that day’s events kept appearing in his dreams and while studying, tormenting Do-gyeom.
But he still didn’t want to admit it. There was no way he could like a guy who was the son of a housekeeper and a recessive omega. So he decided to study abroad, which wasn’t even planned, to avoid seeing the guy as much as possible. He could have kicked Seo-won out of the mansion, but the young kid didn’t make him feel like making such a cold decision.
Fortunately, it didn’t seem like he liked him, because after coming to the US, the frequency of thinking about Yoon Seo-won gradually decreased. He was able to live well without seeing him…
…So why was he thinking of that time now? Why now of all times?
Now that it came to mind, it really seemed like he liked Yoon Seo-won.
The timing wasn’t good. As Do-gyeom furrowed his brows, Jay looked at him, raised one corner of his mouth, and patted his shoulder.
“Even if you like him, don’t show it. That becomes a weakness.”
“Fuck off, I said I don’t like him. Are your ears clogged?”
“Oh my, if you don’t, then you don’t. Why are you even cursing at me? Suspicious much?”
Jay smiled annoyingly like someone who had caught a weakness. He felt like punching him, but seeing that he would be scolded more for getting angry, he swallowed his anger.
A few weeks after having that conversation with Jay, news arrived of the recessive omega’s death. The cause was suicide.
The college Do-gyeom attended was so expensive that only the children of the elite or challengers could afford it. So both of them were probably well-off, and furthermore, they were undergoing successor training, so they couldn’t be easily disregarded.
But for some reason, the one who was more criticized and driven into a corner was the recessive omega. He chose suicide, not dropping out.
Since Do-gyeom had never even exchanged greetings with him, he couldn’t presume to know how much he had agonized before making that choice. He felt that way when he heard the news of his death, but seeing the dominant alpha he was supposedly dating graduate from school as if nothing happened made him think something was strange.
He had said recessive and dominant types weren’t attracted to each other. That both guys were equally abnormal. So why did only the recessive omega have to suffer so much?
If he had hastily concluded that he liked Yoon Seo-won before going to study abroad, would he have struggled like that too?
If that had been the case, it seemed Seo-won would have been more harshly criticized and bullied, since his family background wasn’t good either. His mother would have been the only one he could rely on.
Thinking that way, he felt he had made the right choice in not defining his feelings and deciding to study abroad. Because in the end, he didn’t like him.
But until he was twenty-five and finished his studies abroad, memories of Yoon Seo-won occasionally came to mind. At this point, he wondered if he really did like him, but he stubbornly denied it, thinking there was no way he was abnormal and it was inevitable to think of Seo-won, with whom he shared childhood memories.
That continued to the present.
* * *
“Do-gyeom!”
A few days after receiving a confession from Yoon Seo-won.
As Do-gyeom lay resting on the temporary hospital bed, he heard a familiar female voice. It was his mother.
He hadn’t said anything about coming to the hospital, so how did she know…? Did Secretary Bae tell her? He was thinking of confronting Secretary Bae, but he had stepped out for a moment. The timing was good too.
He was tired and had a headache even without her prying, but it seemed his mother’s arrival would make it worse. As Do-gyeom sat up, swallowing his irritation, she sat on the edge of the bed and looked down at him with a worried gaze.
“My son, what is this all of a sudden? Why are you in the hospital?”
“It’s nothing much.”
“Nothing much, but you collapsed?”
“…I didn’t collapse, I walked here on my own two feet. I just came to get an IV drip. Don’t people get IV drips when they’re not feeling well?”
Do-gyeom said, pointedly showing the IV drip. The familiar yellow liquid was dripping from above.
If someone heard, they might think he collapsed on the street, but Do-gyeom had come to the hospital voluntarily. The reason was the imprint pain.
Even after taking the prescribed medication, the imprint pain wouldn’t get better. Rather, the situation gradually worsened. Both the pain and insomnia intensified, so he had probably only slept for one or two hours total over the past few days.
One-sided imprinting was such a rare case, and the imprint pain medication didn’t work either, so the only prescription available was a vitamin shot. The lack of treatment was serious, but it wasn’t serious enough for her to come rushing over like this.
As Do-gyeom shrugged and answered, Mi-ae stammered.
“But you’re usually so healthy… Are you really just getting an IV drip because you’re tired? There’s no other problem? Do you need to get tested?”
When Do-gyeom made excuses, his mother seemed slightly relieved but couldn’t completely put her mind at ease. As a dominant alpha who didn’t even get minor illnesses and had outstanding physical strength, she seemed worried that there might be a problem somewhere else.
Her reaction was excessive, but fortunately, she didn’t seem to know that he was suffering from imprint pain due to a one-sided imprint. If she found out, it was clear she would make a fuss asking who the omega he imprinted on was, so it seemed he had to hide it. Do-gyeom changed the subject, acting as if nothing was wrong.
“If it was serious, I would have contacted you first. Work has been a bit hectic these days. Have you eaten, Mother?”
“Huh? No?”
“Then shall we have a meal nearby?”
“Oh my, really?”
Mi-ae blushed and showed delight at the rare meal invitation.
She had completely forgotten that she was just asking if he was sick somewhere else or needed further tests. It was unusual for her cold son to suggest a meal first.
“Yes, let’s go after I finish this. I’ll tell my secretary to reserve a nice restaurant nearby.”
“Great, great. How long has it been since our last date?”
When Do-gyeom answered kindly, Mi-ae smiled, humming happily as she took out a mirror from her purse.
Watching her touch up her makeup, Do-gyeom gave a faint smile. He was glad this matter was glossed over well this time, but he probably couldn’t come to the hospital anymore now. Next time, he would have to get an IV drip at home, he thought, slightly raising the corners of his mouth.
* * *
Getting the IV drip made his condition a bit better. The pain squeezing his head was still there, but the fatigue was less.
Do-gyeom and Mi-ae headed to the restaurant Secretary Bae had reserved in advance. The place he booked was a high-end Japanese restaurant. For a hastily arranged lunch appointment, he hadn’t expected much, but it was a luxurious restaurant with private rooms.
The two entered a private room and ordered food. Before long, an ample meal was served. She ate a piece of the sushi that came out and raised the corners of her mouth in satisfaction.
“I told you Secretary Bae has good sense. How did he find such a restaurant in that short time?”
“That’s why I keep him by my side.”
“Right, only the best can stay by our son’s side.”
Mi-ae praised that Secretary Bae’s excellent abilities were also because her son was great.
Do-gyeom didn’t bother answering. Only the light clinking sound of chopsticks against bowls continued, and then Mi-ae took a gulp of water and opened her mouth.
“Oh right, Do-gyeom. Remember what I told you before? About the only daughter of H Department Store.”
“Who’s that?”
“Why, there was an omega you were too busy to meet last time. I set up a new meal appointment, so go see her this time.”
Do-gyeom asked without much thought, then let out a small sigh at her answer. The soft grains of rice he was chewing suddenly felt as rough as pebbles.
Feeling his appetite disappear, Do-gyeom put down the chopsticks he was holding on the table and answered firmly.
“I thought I told you I’m not going. I don’t need any blind dates.”
“It’s not that kind of appointment. I’m telling you it’s just a meal.”
“Cancel it.”
When Do-gyeom answered without hesitation, Mi-ae opened her eyes and mouth wide as if dumbfounded.
“How can you cancel an appointment I made?”
“You can’t? Then I’ll cancel it.”
“Do-gyeom!”
As Do-gyeom took out his cell phone to contact them right away, Mi-ae slammed the table and raised her voice.
Even at the sudden loudness, Do-gyeom didn’t blink an eye. Far from being scared or surprised, he met her eyes as if he was used to it, and she sighed heavily as if frustrated and asked in a lamenting tone.
“Why do you hate these appointments? Is it old-fashioned? Your dad and I met that way too and we live happily.”
“……”
At her words, Do-gyeom barely suppressed a wry laugh that threatened to come out.
She had made excuses earlier saying it wasn’t a blind date, but in the end she admitted it, which was amusing. She should have denied it to the end.
And what? Happy? Even a passing dog would snort and walk past hearing that story. He couldn’t even remember the last time he saw the two of them together, yet how could she so boldly say the word “happy”?
His father was terribly indifferent to the family. He was confident his father probably didn’t even know his age.
When he was young, he thought his father, as the head of the household and leader of a large company, had no time to come home, but after he grew up, he realized that wasn’t the case. His father was busy fooling around with other young female omegas. And his mother knew that fact but pretended not to know, afraid to let go of what she was holding onto.
There was no love at all in their family. Yet living like that, she said they were happy. He had no intention of denying it since she said so herself, but it wasn’t the future he wanted for himself.
“What does your happiness have to do with me?”
“Because that’s the only way you can be happy too.”
There was conviction in his mother’s eyes that he faced.
The conviction that Do-gyeom could only become happy if he moved according to what she wanted.