"Ah? Why are you here?" - leaving the smoking room, Jihong bumped into his colleague.

"I have a lot of work to do today

"What about Kwon Jaekyung?"

"Mine with him

Assistant Manager Nam opened his eyes wide when Jihong mentioned the youngest member of the management team to join the company this year.

"Alone?" Isn't he an intern?

Jihong shrugged, showing that there weren't many options given the lack of staff.

"Well, I guess it's okay, he's just driving Kwon Jaekyung

The man nodded, as if he was quickly convinced.

"But Mr. Jeong, it's a waste of time that you're here now

Jihon preferred to smile instead of answering.

"Come on, come on in

When he opened the door, Mr. Nam walked inside after exchanging pleasantries.

"Oh, let's have lunch together later

— Of course

Back at the office, Jihong checked his cell phone first. A message from Minwoo was waiting for him.

[Mr. Jeong, Kwon Jaekyung has finished his morning workout and is about to have lunch.]

"Probably McDonald's again," he thought, smiling slightly, and began typing: [At McDonald's? Offer him ice cream or a smoothie. Since it's hot enough, let him take both.] However, after a moment's thought, he deleted and typed the following: [Good job. Keep up the good work.]

And before Minu could answer, he hid the cell phone in a drawer. Previously, he had already done this, constantly typing, then canceling:

[How is Kwon Jaekyung?]

[Did the training go smoothly?]

[Did Kwon Jaekyung mention anything else?]

At first glance, it seemed that he was just worried about the athlete's condition, but Jihon did not like it. After all, he saw well that the reason was completely different.

"Let's not, please," Jihon sighed, rubbing his face with his palm, and turned to himself

"Kwon Jaekyung is just another athlete in our agency, and I'm part of an exclusive management team. What is the difference between him and Song Youngho? I can pretend not to notice when drawing the line, but it worked with Song Young-ho. It's not complicated, right?" He said this to himself at work, at home, and even before bed. Otherwise, he won't be able to meet Jaekyung. However, eventually, as soon as he showed up at the office, Jihong called Ming and handed him the car keys. His explanation for being overwhelmed with work is a common excuse, because his thought control wasn't working properly. He doesn't have the determination to face Kwon Jaekyung again. Perhaps Jaekyung foresaw this. Because yesterday, as he got out of the car, he said, "See you tomorrow, hyung."

First of all, he never said goodbye. He always silently got in and out of the car. But yesterday, it was as if he had some arrogance, as if Jaekyung had challenged him.

"What was he thinking?" Did he really believe that he would not be able to see me if he did not utter these uncharacteristically polite words? Or is he on purpose?

Perhaps he knows Jihon too well, or is simply mistaken. Jihong grinned, closing his eyes. Jaekyung acts like he has it in the palm of his hand.

But Jaekyung was wrong.

"No, no, no. It's not like that. Absolutely," Jihon whispered quietly. During lunch, he left the office with a friend. For lunch, they stopped at fried fish. As they entered the restaurant, news of the Pan-Pacific Swimming Championships in Incheon flooded the hall.

"Oh, it seems that the athletes have arrived," Mr. Nam commented, deliberately choosing a table with a good view. The report showed the participants of the upcoming games.

"Almost everyone made it. Our national team has also settled in a training camp today.

"Oh, really?" And when does Kwon Jae-kyung plan?

"On Saturday

"Really?" Isn't it too late?

The expression on my colleague's face actually asked if everything was okay.

"He won't have to deal with jet lag because he's in Incheon. It will be better for him to comfortably prepare for the championship here and come directly to the competition.

"Oh, that's logical. One way or another, he does not train with the national team

Over the past few years, Jaekyung's individual training has become a matter of course.

"Oh, that swimmer, the Australian who is close to Kwon Jaekyung

At his friend's words, Jihong looked up at the screen. Noah Kenny was seen walking through the gate and playfully blowing kisses to reporters at the airport.

"That's right, his name is Noah Kenny

"Wow, he... Anyone can understand that he is an Australian alpha

In the comments of the interlocutor, there were notes of admiration.

"Australian alpha?"

Jihong involuntarily laughed, "Are you talking about kangaroos now?"

"Well, you can see from the vibe that he's an alpha. There is no other way to express it.

Assistant Manager Nam mumbled in displeasure, but Jihong could not refute. After all, Noah, with a height of more than 2 meters, a strong build, curly blonde hair and a smile bright as the sun, is actually an alpha. Since it was lunch hours, the restaurant was filled with visitors. As a result, the grilled fish dish they ordered was not cooked until 20 minutes later.

"Have you heard anything about the effect of imprinting?" asked Jihong as he poured lemon juice over the mackerel.

"Hm?" Isn't that literally imprinting? How to describe... It is like when a bird, when hatching from an egg, recognizes its mother in the first object it sees.

— Yes. But it seems that this term is also used when it comes to susceptibility to certain elements in secretion.

"Really?" I haven't heard of anything like this, you need to study the topic

Mr. Nam immediately picked up his mobile phone. Soon, he began to scroll down the page, as if he had instantly found the information he needed.

— It turns out that this only happens to alphas. Based on a rough description... I guess this refers to those with hypersensitivity to the pheromone they encountered for the first time? Even decades or two later, they will also react to it.

— Yes, I am aware, but I wonder if this is common

The man, still engrossed in reading, said, "Well, that's a tough question. These days, alphas have almost no contact with the pheromones of others, unless it is done intentionally between lovers. Because everyone uses chips these days... Well, but I suppose it's not uncommon then? If you look at the Wiki, you can see that the concept of 'partner' may have arisen precisely because of this effect."

Assistant Manager We seemed to want to study the full article, but he immediately put down his smartphone.

"But why did you mention it all of a sudden?"

"For no particular reason

Jihong took the chopsticks and continued, "A friend of mine shared his story. I'm curious if there's any solution to this problem."

"Is it necessary?" As long as the alpha avoids this particular component, nothing will happen.

— Well... yes, I suppose.

When Jihong nodded, his colleague decided to intervene.

"Tell him to take his medication

"They are already on drugs. But even tiny traces are easily caught

Involuntarily, a sigh escaped from Jihon.

"Well, there are times when pheromones are still released in tiny amounts, even with a chip.

— Yes, but the amount is scanty, but the effect is still there

"God," Assistant Manager Nam muttered with a hint of regret, but quickly changed his tone to playful.

"Well, then there's not much they can change. Let the "irritant" then take responsibility.

"Hmm... But the omega didn't know either...

"I was joking.

"Both of them were unlucky, but there is nothing left but to put up with it or take responsibility. Hahahahaha, I'm kidding, I'm kidding

"Oh, that's how

Jihon really believed that it was a joke, or wanted to believe it.

Something inside me still clenched: "Why can't I just ignore this?"

Thinking that he shouldn't be so obsessed with it, Jihong calmly continued, "Either way, both of them were out of luck. They probably communicated unaware of their secondary sex, which led to this result."

— Probably

Jihong continued to explain, "The omega has increased the dosage, so there is little to no secretion."

"Ah, they both did their best.

Instead of answering, Jihon pulled out a large bone from his tail, which he deftly removed from the fish the thorns on both sides. And then he added: "There was a little misunderstanding between them."

"What is it?"

"In fact, this is a normal reaction of the body, but the alpha interprets what happened as something emotional.

"Oh, you mean love?"

"I can't say for sure if it's love

"yes, anyway, the alpha mistook it for sympathy?"

"Yes

Jihong nodded, and Assistant Manager Nam did the same before taking a bite of the peeled mackerel.

"But you can't be sure that this is just a misunderstanding, and not sincere feelings?"

— Well, at first glance everything becomes clear

"What makes you think so?" Only those who are directly involved know.

"Well...

"By the way. Mr. Nam, putting down his chopsticks, asked, "Is your friend an alpha or an omega?"

— Omega

After watching Jihon for a while, he lowered his voice.

"I'm sorry, of course, but is that you?"