Pig Government Official

-12-

Jeonggwan’s expression also dropped by -10 degrees. Is that possible…? Is that even human…? I would eat a tart made by a Tokyo Confectionery School professor! I’d live the rest of my life with that satisfaction and ecstasy… Jeonggwan muttered.

“But why did he tell you to come in…?”

“That’s what I’m wondering. Surely… Is he trying to take over the hotel too…?”

“Hotel? What hotel?”

“It’s just something.”

Jihoon, cutting off Jeonggwan’s curiosity cleanly, put on a stern expression towards Jeonggwan.

“Anyway, you. If by any chance, though it’s unlikely, Won Junjae comes to the cafe, hide your body first. Got it? Don’t be seen.”

Though it’s unlikely he’d come to such a place, if Jeonggwan were to catch his eye, he might really berate Jeonggwan harshly this time.

Although Jeonggwan looked white, chubby, and extremely gentle, he was actually tough on the inside. However, there were times when he selectively became soft both inside and out. If his friend got hurt and left, he would have no real friends left. To prevent such an unfortunate event, Jihoon advised, and advised again.

* * *

A dignified woman with neat bobbed hair, wearing a black two-piece suit and holding a take-out cup with the star cafe logo, was squinting her eyes, trying to gauge the intentions of the man sitting across from her.

“I only drink this franchise coffee. Isn’t this too much?”

“……”

“What if you suddenly push it out? Do you know how shocked I was when I heard from your aunt?”

“…I see.”

“Why Jihoon all of a sudden? Is there something going on with your father’s hotel too?”

“It’s not like that,” Junjae denied in a low voice. Well, if her husband was going to take over the hotel, he would have completely ruined Jihoon rather than making him his son’s person, preventing him from even getting a foothold in hotel management.

“And you broke it off with Im Seri, right? That’s good.”

“……”

“Oh my. She’s pretty, but that girl had a fierce look in her eyes.”

“I know it’s just a short-term thing, but still, I’d like you to meet a cheerful and virtuous girl. How about the daughter of Minister Kim who often comes to our gallery? Why don’t you meet her once?”

The woman carefully brought up the suggestion while watching her son’s reaction. However, Junjae seemed lost in thought again without answering.

It wasn’t anything special, just that the pronunciation of “Minister Kim” that his mother uttered… It just sounded similar to that pig’s name. Just that kind of thought.

Annoyed at himself for having such thoughts, Junjae closed his eyes tightly. For the past few days, he had been sighing in frustration and anger whenever he had time, regretting his hasty decision.

That day. The day the party ended. He thought it would be over once he satisfied his urge, but…

‘Let’s stop.’

‘Pardon?’

He stopped in the middle.

‘The pheromones… ah…’

‘Do you have a headache…?’

‘Get out.’

‘What??’

He stopped in the middle of the act.

It was a first for him. Stopping midway. In fact, for Won Junjae, this act was nothing more than physically releasing pheromones. That’s why he couldn’t empathize with the idea that this act was also called “making love.” Still, he had never stopped midway even once.

He ordered Im Seri, who looked at him with a bewildered face, to leave and returned home himself, but the most bewildered was Won Junjae himself. He thought everything would be over once he satisfied his urge, but in the middle, instead of getting excited by the other person’s pheromones, he became even colder. He was dumbfounded by his own physical state.

In fact, the most ridiculous thing was that the pig’s face kept appearing in his mind. That pig who looked like he would roll around if kicked. This was the most irritating and ridiculous thing, so Won Junjae immediately called his attending physician.

No matter how he thought about it, he seemed to have developed pheromone addiction symptoms. Although the scent was good, what on earth did he do with that pig… They had only exchanged a few words, but that scent seemed to be imprinted in his mind and wouldn’t leave.

Sometimes there were alphas who developed pheromone addiction to a specific omega’s scent. Especially alphas sensitive to pheromones were prone to this, a condition where the brain judges the pheromone to be a perfect match.

Some alphas called it love and made a fuss about it, but it was nothing more than a disease.

And there was no incurable disease in this world.

‘Yes, it seems to be pheromone addiction.’

‘So if I completely avoid meeting that omega, will it get better?’

If avoiding contact would cure it, he thought he should immediately remove that pig from his sight, either by sending him abroad for a few years under the pretext of studying or burying him somewhere.

‘No. That could worsen the symptoms. From minor hand tremors to potentially losing consciousness suddenly when exposed to other omegas’ pheromones.’

However, the doctor’s prescription was not that.

‘You need to meet with that omega frequently.’

‘…Then won’t the addiction symptoms persist?’

‘They’ll become dull. You’ll develop a tolerance.’

…Develop a tolerance?

For most diseases, the treatment involves avoiding foods or behaviors that are harmful to the condition, taking medication, or if that doesn’t work, surgically removing the problem.

But treating pheromone addiction by developing a tolerance… It seemed to work on the same principle as ancient royalty consuming small amounts of poison from childhood to build immunity against assassination attempts.

‘Is there no other method besides meeting?’

‘Since pheromones are perceived in the brain, there’s currently no other method besides direct exposure.’

‘How often should the exposure occur?’

‘Based on average treatment cases so far, it takes about a year. It could be faster depending on the amount of exposure.’

So, in the end, there’s only one treatment method. And that’s frequent exposure to that pig’s pheromones until tolerance develops?

But how? Suddenly go and say, “I need your pheromones, so meet me regularly”? That was absurd. To act like he was desperate and seek out that pig? It would be better to endure and endure, and then kidnap him once when it felt truly unbearable, smell his pheromones, and let him go.

He had never, not once in his life, begged or pleaded with anyone, omega or otherwise. There was nothing in this world he couldn’t have or obtain.

Moreover, that pig was literally a pig. All the omegas he had seen in his life, even if not exceptionally beautiful, maintained slender bodies. So much so that he thought omegas naturally didn’t gain weight easily. All the omegas he had seen until now were like that.

That pig had not a single redeeming physical feature, no matter how hard you looked. Maybe his fair, clear skin. Maybe his clear eyes.

That was really it.

Even if he were to make such a request to an omega universally acknowledged as beautiful, some might have agreed. But to go to that pig and ask him to emit pheromones? Him?

It was absurd, so he immediately tried folk remedies. He even tried unverified, nonsensical methods like trying to addict himself to another omega’s pheromones on top of it.

As expected, all attempts failed. In fact, the more he tried, the worse the side effects became. He felt nauseous and lost his appetite. As his headaches worsened, he quickly abandoned this approach.

“The interior construction will take a week. It seems it will take about two weeks until opening.”

The method he chose might seem somewhat extreme and impulsive, almost reckless. But in the long run, it was the most rational way that didn’t require separate private meetings.

“…That’s faster than I expected.”

“Yes, it was possible because the existing cafe agreed to leave quickly due to favorable conditions.”

It was too slow.

In fact, pushing out a large franchise cafe, renovating, and opening a new cafe in just three weeks was considered very fast, but even the remaining two weeks felt too long for him. His head was already throbbing. Especially when he brushed past omegas in the company, the headache worsened.

But he had to endure.

If he were to seek him out now just because of a headache, asking to smell his pheromones, he would look pathetic to himself.

And no matter what reason he gave, his pride was hurt. The idea of making up reasons to meet the pig just because of pheromones was incredibly irritating.

In any case, he would see him every day in two weeks.

* * *

Jihoon entered the cafe interior, which was in the midst of renovation.

Truthfully, he was somewhat taken aback by how quickly things were progressing, but since it was being done under his name, he wanted to ensure everything from start to finish was perfect.

“The lighting matches better than I thought, so we could go slightly more natural than the original interior design.”

“Hyung, you’re really hitting my taste in this area. I thought exactly the same thing when I came in.”

Jihoon handed over the packaged coffees to the interior designer. This designer was the CEO of the currently most successful interior design company in South Korea, and Jihoon had casually met him during the early days of his studies abroad. Now that he was a married man with two children, Jihoon could comfortably ask him to handle the interior design.

In truth, he could have just left this to the professionals and stepped back, but true to his meticulous nature, Jihoon needed to see and confirm everything from A to Z himself. Be it the interior or the taste.

“Wow-!”

And judging by Jeonggwan’s reaction, who had followed Jihoon, the interior seemed to be a success.