The Country Life Diary of a Gangster’s Secretary

This chapter is paid for by Nemuru!

Hyeseong’s gaze naturally turned to the living room window. Maybe he had already left for work. Even though he had decided to keep his distance, there was still no way to stop the thoughts of Ihyeok that kept popping up.

“Dohyun. Just in case, let’s save some seaweed soup.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Well… In case the CEO comes over for breakfast.”

“Ah, right!”

Then Dohyun clapped his hands as if remembering something.

“The CEO said he won’t be able to come home for a few days.”

“What? When did he say that?”

“Huh? He said earlier that he has an urgent schedule in Seoul, so he’ll be commuting from his main house for the time being.”

Hyeseong, surprised, was about to take a bite of the rolled omelet but put it back down. He wasn’t surprised that Ihyeok had an urgent schedule and would be away from this house. He knew best, having been his secretary for a while, that of course there could be important schedules like shareholder meetings. The problem was this.

“How do you know that?”

It was amazing that Dohyun knew something he didn’t know.

“I woke up early today to take out the trash, and I ran into the CEO in front! He told me then. He said to tell you too.”

Ah, Hyeseong let out a low groan. Well, it was an understandable situation if that was the case, but was there any reason to convey it through Dohyun? He could have just contacted him directly.

“Hyeseong, he said to tell you because it seemed like you wouldn’t check his messages well.”

When Dohyun added that, Hyeseong, feeling a bit guilty, gave a fake cough. Well, it wasn’t untrue. Trying to somehow forget Ihyeok, avoiding his contact had become a kind of habit.

“Okay. Thanks for letting me know. Let’s eat.”

Somehow, after that, the piping hot rice seemed a little less tasty.

* * *

After that, Hyeseong cleaned with Dohyun and got into his car. Coincidentally, today Hyeseong also had a schedule in Seoul. It was the day for his regular check-up and for Dohyun to pick up Bokshil.

“But why are you going to the hospital? Are you still sick?”

When Dohyun started the car and asked, Hyeseong answered without hesitation, reciting what he had thought of in advance. He had no intention of telling anyone about his trait for now. Of course, he would have to confess to Dohyun, his closest friend, someday, but for now, he wanted to keep it a secret.

Due to an accident ahead that caused a bit of a traffic jam, it took quite a while to get to Seoul. Dohyun said they should move together, but Hyeseong said why waste time doing that, and got off in front of the hospital with the words that they would contact each other and meet when their respective schedules were over.

“Call me when you find Bokshil.”

“Okay. Hyeseong, you call me too when you’re done hearing the results!”

After parting with Dohyun, Hyeseong went straight to the floor with the trait department and registered. Upon being told that he would have to wait a bit because he had moved up his appointment, he took a short breather in the waiting area. While sitting there idly like that, his cell phone rang briefly. It was none other than a text from Ihyeok.

[Did you eat?]

For someone who said he wouldn’t contact him well and didn’t even tell him about an important schedule, it was a very innocent message. Hyeseong was going to ignore it but eventually sent a reply.

[Yes.]

He wanted to write a complete one-word answer, but he couldn’t bring himself to because it seemed a bit childish.

[Why don’t you ask if I ate?]

At that reply, Hyeseong couldn’t help but let out a short laugh. At times like this, he couldn’t erase the feeling that Ihyeok was like a child. Then he quickly composed his expression and held his phone properly.

[At your age, you should take care of your own meals well.]

As soon as he wrote that, a call came in from Ihyeok right away. Startled, Hyeseong almost dropped his phone. He contemplated whether to answer or not, but since they had just been texting each other, not answering seemed too deliberate, so he took the call for now.

“Yes.”

– You’re replying well to texts today.

“Is that what you called to say?”

– Hmm, not just that, this and that. But Hyeseong, where are you right now?

He must have heard the noisy sounds around. Hyeseong hesitated for a moment. Then, thinking there was nothing much to hide, he answered honestly.

“I came up to Seoul with Dohyun today because I had something to take care of.”

– …I see.

A delayed answer. But Hyeseong didn’t bother to find it strange.

– What do you have to take care of? It’s loud around you.

“I don’t have a reason to report my schedule to you, CEO.”

– Okay. I got it. Go straight home after you’re done. Don’t go on a date with that guy.

When he said it like this, Hyeseong thought he would surely say things like he was disappointed or grab onto his words in a strange place, but unexpectedly, Ihyeok was obedient. As if he wasn’t curious at all. On top of that, he was only talking nonsense about a date.

“Cheon Hyeseong-nim, please come into the examination room.”

Just then, a nurse came out and called Hyeseong’s name.

“Then I’ll hang up.”

Startled by the call, Hyeseong quickly ended the call and followed the nurse into the examination room. Ihyeok couldn’t have heard that just now, right? Trying hard to calm his anxious heart, Hyeseong successfully completed a simple examination and headed to the consultation room.

“Hello, Doctor.”

“Hyeseong-ssi, have a seat. How have you been these days? I heard you moved up your check-update too.”

The doctor, who had become familiar like a friend, greeted Hyeseong with a smile. Hyeseong greeted him and sat in the chair.

“I actually had a fever and collapsed once recently. It had never been so severe before, so I came just in case.”

“Hmm, let’s look at the test results first.”

The doctor moved his gaze to the computer, looked at Hyeseong’s test report, and soon nodded.

“The reason you recently had a fever and collapsed is probably because Hyeseong-ssi’s pheromone levels have officially increased. Comparing it to the last check-up, the levels have definitely gone up.”

The doctor turned the computer screen and showed Hyeseong the report. The levels checked last time and today’s results were displayed together for easy comparison. And there was a clear difference in the pheromone levels.

“Ah, then…”

“If this trend continues, the time will probably come soon when omega pheromones will properly flow out of Hyeseong-ssi as well.”

At the expected words, Hyeseong let out a deep sigh. Up until now, since it hadn’t been long since he had fully manifested as an omega, he had been able to hide his pheromones. But as expected, his body seemed to be slowly adjusting completely to being an omega.

“Doctor. If I take suppressants, can I stop the pheromones from flowing out even when they officially start to?”

“Hmm, Hyeseong-ssi, as a doctor, my advice is that it’s better not to take suppressants anymore. I had been prescribing them to you until now because your pheromone gland activity was weak, but it’s a very strong drug. Moreover, overly taking suppressants when your pheromone gland is about to become fully active can cause problems. Appropriately releasing pheromones will probably help Hyeseong-ssi’s body fully adapt to the changed trait.”

With that, the doctor repeatedly advised that it was best to stop taking them as much as possible unless it was absolutely necessary.

“Excuse me, Hyeseong-ssi, but is it perhaps because you don’t want to let those around you know that your trait has changed?”

The doctor, who had formed a rapport with Hyeseong to some extent, threw out a cautious question. Hyeseong raised the corners of his mouth bitterly without answering.

“I don’t know if I can dare to say this about Hyeseong-ssi’s personal matters, but a trait is just a trait. It’s wrong to judge and discriminate against people based on that. Hyeseong-ssi doesn’t need to hide it to the point of hurting your body. To be honest, you can’t hide it forever, so it’s important to get used to it.”

The doctor seemed to think that Hyeseong was trying to hide it because he feared the discriminatory gaze toward omegas. But that wasn’t it. To be honest, Hyeseong had no major prejudice or interest in traits like omega or alpha. As the doctor said, it was just a trait. It was just that the form of the body one was born with differed, like how blood types were divided.

It’s just that the reason Hyeseong asked such a question was simply because he didn’t want to reveal himself, who had manifested as an omega, and moreover, the trait that had changed because of that incident, in front of Ihyeok.

Somehow, it felt like Ihyeok’s voice from the phone call earlier was lingering in his ears.

“Thank you for your words, Doctor.”

For now, Hyeseong left the hospital after being prescribed only emergency stabilizers to take in case he got a fever again.

This chapter is paid for by Nemuru!