“If you have time, let’s have a drink sometime.”

I had plenty of time, but the problem was that Jung Inhyuk wouldn’t allow a meeting like this. And recently, he had started taking medication in order to match my heat cycle schedule. It wasn’t possible to take three days of leave every time we each had a cycle, so it was unavoidable. Because of that, he had become more sensitive than usual.

“I’ll contact you when I have time.”

The moment I sent Dongjin a reply and was about to set my phone down, the phone in my hand vibrated briefly.

“Come to the hospital.”

It was Kang Jigyu. After checking his message, I suddenly remembered something I had almost forgotten. A few days ago, Jung Inhyuk had said he was assigning Kang Jigyu as my attending physician and that I should consult Jigyu whenever there were problems with my body. The moment I heard it, I had thought, why Kang Jigyu?

Come to think of it, the relationship between those two was a little strange. Jung Inhyuk disliked Kang Jigyu, and Kang Jigyu also disliked Jung Inhyuk. But weirdly enough, they only seemed to keep each other at arm’s length without drawing any clear line.

It was also strange that Jung Inhyuk, who was ruthless toward everyone around me, would tolerate Kang Jigyu. No matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t find an answer.

I pushed the thought away and brought up Jung Inhyuk’s number on the screen. After the call connected, his voice came through not long after.

[Speak.]

“I’m going to meet Dr. Kang… no, Mr. Kang for a bit.”

[Why.]

“I’m not sure. He just told me to come over first.”

[All right, go.]

Before I could even answer, the call ended. I covered my eyes with my arm and let out a sigh. Having to report where I was going and who I was meeting, then ask for permission, was suffocating.

Even if being an actor was the leash around my neck, I felt grateful to have at least this. If I didn’t even have this, I would have gone insane.

Soon there was a knock, and the staff came back into the waiting room. I quickly stood up and lightly shook out my flattened hair with my fingers.

The staff seemed to have come from a meeting rather than a break, because they were matching outfits with even more enthusiasm than before. I was tormented for another two hours before I was finally released. I dragged my exhausted body into the car.

“Hyung, should I take you home?”

“Please take me to Sunil University Hospital.”

“You’re going to see Dr. Kang, I guess.”

I answered with only a faint smile and opened the script. While Changseok focused on driving, I put on headphones playing rain ASMR and memorized my lines. Since the role was a prosecutor, there was far too much to memorize. Kim Jaei clashed with everyone except Kang Inhye, played by Seo Jimin, so I had to keep my emotions from overflowing.

I loved this time when I could focus entirely on the script. It was painful to immerse myself fully in a character and then pull back out again, but because I loved this moment, I always wanted to act.

I was concentrating on the script when I idly lifted my head. At some point, rain had started falling outside the window. I took off my headphones and cracked the window slightly to listen to the sound of the rain. I liked rainy days.

When I was young, my mom always made pan-fried pancakes when it rained. I missed her, blowing on the steaming pancakes and putting them in my mouth. Her smile, the nutty smell of oil, the rich flavor filling my mouth. I wished she had lived just a little longer. My chest ached with how much I wanted to see her.

Cold air seeped into the car. If I had been alone, I would have savored this sad atmosphere, but I quickly closed the window in case Changseok, who was driving, got cold.

“We’re almost there.”

“Yes.”

I put the script into my bag and pulled my ball cap down. I was wearing a thick padded jacket instead of a coat, and I waited for the car to stop. When the car stopped in the hospital parking lot, I hurriedly opened the door. Changseok turned and held out an umbrella.

“Hyung, take this.”

“…You only have one umbrella.”

“I can just run, so don’t worry and take it.”

“Still.”

“If you get soaked, you’ll catch a cold, and if you catch a cold, it’ll affect filming. You know that.”

Convinced by Changseok’s words, I took the umbrella from him. I carefully closed the car door and slung my large backpack over one shoulder. I walked toward the hospital entrance under the umbrella.

The sound of rain hitting the umbrella was pleasant. It was only a short walk from the parking lot to the entrance. Still, I was a little bothered by having to bring the umbrella with me.

I shook the umbrella in the water remover, then folded it neatly. After that, I passed through the busy hospital lobby and walked quickly toward Kang Jigyu’s consultation room. A sign saying the doctor was in was hanging on the door.

After sitting in a chair and waiting for a bit, the consultation room door soon opened and a man came out with a nurse.

Then the man who looked like an alpha seated across from me stood up and approached the patient who seemed to be an omega. The alpha wrapped an arm around the omega’s shoulder affectionately and met his eyes. When the omega said something to the alpha, the corners of the alpha’s eyes softened. I stared at the scene, somewhat dazed.

“What are you standing outside for? Get in.”

Kang Jigyu, who had been waiting for me inside, came out of the consultation room and nudged me. Then he turned his head following my gaze.

“Hyung, what does it feel like to be in a relationship?”

“What?”

“Are you really happy?”

“Of course. Why ask something so obvious? Do you know how low the odds are that the person I like will like me back? I broke through those odds and fell in love, so of course I’m happy.”

“I see.”

My mood settled into a quiet calm. I had experienced unrequited love, but never dating. So I had always been curious about that feeling. I had indirect experience while filming dramas and movies, but those emotions were created by the script, so I couldn’t say they were real. If you truly loved someone, would you smile as if just being together made you happy?

“Hurry up and get up. I’ve got a meeting in an hour.”

“Ah… sorry.”

I hurriedly stood and went into the consultation room. Kang Jigyu turned on the coffee pot on one side and tore open a stick coffee packet, shaking it into a paper cup.

“How are you feeling?”

“…Not bad. But what do you mean you’re my attending physician now?”

“Exactly what it sounds like. I agreed to be your dedicated doctor.”

“Why.”

“Why? You’re comfortable with me, aren’t you? I went out of my way for you, even though it was such a hassle. Should I quit right now?”

I shook my head. Kang Jigyu laughed as if it were absurd and poured boiling water into the paper cup. He brought the coffee over, set it in front of me, and tapped my head.

I rubbed my head and shot him a look.

“Cut the crap and let’s get to the point. Manager Jung came by a few days ago. He was here to get the results from your hearing test last time.”

“Ah… and?”

“Nothing wrong with the results. That’s not the problem. The issue is what Manager Jung said. He said you have plans to get pregnant.”

Was that really the right word, plans? A snort of disbelief slipped out. Well, if you called it a plan, maybe it was a plan. It would be my best and final method of escaping Jung Inhyuk.

“Then he said your body didn’t open during this heat cycle. An omega’s body can’t fail to open during heat. Opening the body is instinct, not something controlled by will.”

I was sipping my coffee when my hand paused. Honestly, that had been a question for me too. In the relationship we had before the heat cycle, Jung Inhyuk had clearly inserted himself into the channel leading to the uterus.

But during the heat cycle, he hadn’t touched that place even once. I had assumed it was because there was no chance of pregnancy during the first heat cycle, but to say the problem was my body made me a little flustered.

“Since you said I’d be your dedicated doctor from now on, I’ll just speak comfortably. Before the heat cycle, I had relations with Jung Inhyuk, and my body opened then.”

“…Really? Then what is it?”

“And during the heat cycle, Jung Inhyuk knotted me even though my body hadn’t opened.”

“What? How could he knot you if your body hadn’t opened?”

When I studied alphas and omegas, I had clearly read that knotting only happened through the intimate opening after the body opened. But Jung Inhyuk had knotted me while my body was still closed. As I thought about that time, the sensation of being split open as if the hole would tear returned, and I got chills for no reason.

“First let’s check whether the cause is on your side. We’ll do an ultrasound, so go change and come out.”

“…Wait, you’re the one doing it?”

“Lee Shinjae, are you out of your mind? Jung Inhyuk came to me because he didn’t want anyone to know you had mutated into an omega. Then who else would do it?”

“Ah…”

“Please think of me as a doctor, okay? We don’t have time to be squabbling like this. Stop talking and go change in the dressing room right now.”

I couldn’t move right away and hesitated in my seat. No matter how much Kang Jigyu was a doctor, it had been so long since anyone had seen me like this.

Scratching my head, I forced myself to get up. The fewer people who knew I had mutated into an omega, the better. Rather than dragging someone else in and revealing my secret, it was better to just close my eyes tight and get examined.

During the examination, I was so stiff I could barely breathe. Once the ultrasound machine, which had gone deep inside my body, was pulled back out, I quickly straightened my clothes.

Kang Jigyu looked serious as he displayed the ultrasound image on the screen. Worried there might be something wrong with my body, I held my breath and waited for his words.

“Fortunately, there’s no problem on the ultrasound. The inner wall is just a little worn.”

“Then you’re saying the cause isn’t on my side, but on Jung Inhyuk’s?”

Kang Jigyu folded his hands in front of him and shook his head. Well, he wasn’t just any alpha, he was an alpha of superior stock, so there was no way the problem would be with him.

“But look here. The lower pheromone gland is a little strange. This area should be somewhat open, right? But it’s a perfect circle. That means it’s in a closed state.”