Secretary Gwanggong's Survival Diary-Chapter 41

“...Pregnancy...?”

I kept my mouth shut for a long while before finally asking the question. It was so absurd that it felt embarrassing to even say it out loud.

“Oh, I just thought I’d mention it, just in case. Your pheromone levels are extremely unstable. Even considering the suppressants... See here? The graph isn’t consistent, right? This kind of fluctuation can occur in the early stages of pregnancy.”

The doctor explained while showing me the test results directly. Before the consultation, they had done a quick blood test and a pheromone test. It was a standard procedure when a phenotype visited the clinic. Of course, it wasn’t something that could be definitively diagnosed just by looking, but as the doctor said, the fluctuations in the graph were sharp, as if it were swinging like a pendulum. Even to my untrained eye, it didn’t look normal.

“That can’t be right...”

In my memory—and in Baek Sieon’s memory—nothing like that had ever happened. I could say that with absolute certainty.

“Yes, it could still be something else even if it’s not pregnancy.”

Haa... Thank god. If the doctor had drawn this out any longer, I really would’ve lost it. Why did he have to drop the pregnancy bomb first instead of leading with that?

“You seem to have had quite a bit of contact with an Alpha recently... If that’s the case, there’s probably no need to worry too much.”

“...What...? What kind of contact...?”

Today, I feel like my brain has been reduced to mush. Either that or this bastard of a doctor is just screwing with me, making it impossible to understand what he’s saying in one go.

“Well... sexual contact.”

Th-this insane bastard!

“There hasn’t been any!”

“Pardon?”

“I haven’t...! No, anyway, I haven’t done anything like that recently!”

I left out the part about never having had any experience at all because that was too embarrassing to admit. But for some reason, my face felt like it was about to explode. It was as if my chastity had been denied, and yet that very chastity didn’t feel entirely like a good thing. Anyway, I felt weird.

“Oh... Then, could it be that there’s a dominant Alpha nearby...? No, normally, just from the pherotype alone, it shouldn’t cause this kind of reaction...”

Hearing his words, a certain face popped into my mind.

“There is. A completely extreme dominant Alpha. I don’t know the exact percentile, but in terms of pherotype, he’d definitely be in the top 1%.”

Only then did the doctor’s expression shift as if he had found the answer. The only monster with such an extreme pherotype around me was Yoon Taeo. And among the already rare phenotypes, those with such dominant traits were even more exceptionally rare.

“Well, in that case, it does make sense... You two must be... really close, huh?”

“...What?”

“Oh, nothing. Anyway, if that’s the case, there shouldn’t be any major issues. You’ll continue with the same suppressants as before, correct?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

What the hell. Why did he stop talking halfway through? Now I’m even more curious.

“Then, just come back in two weeks.”

I stood up, feeling irritated at the doctor’s smug face, as if he had just solved the whole issue on his own. Something about this still felt incredibly unsettling.

“Oh, patient.”

Just as I was about to step out of the examination room, he called out to me again.

“Be careful. Judging by the current levels, it wouldn’t be strange if your heat cycle hits at any moment.”

“...What...?”

The doctor bid me farewell with a calm, gentle smile. As if he hadn’t just thrown a bombshell and walked away without a care.

❖ ❖ ❖

The doctor had kept it vague. He only reiterated that my pheromone levels were unstable to the point where a heat cycle could strike at any moment, yet it was still possible to mask them with suppressants. Nothing more. No further explanation.

“Why are you so late! Do you know how flustered I was when the CEO called?”

“I’m sorry. The appointment got backed up.”

After carefully concealing the medication and making my way back to the parking lot, Kang Seokho greeted me with a face that looked like he was about to burst into tears.

“Haa... We’re late. Get in.”

“Late for what...?”

“How the hell would I know? You and the CEO made the plans.”

What the hell is he even talking about? Kang Seokho kept spewing things that made no sense as he hastily started the car.

“But, Chief Baek... Don’t you think you’ve really pissed off the CEO this time...?”

“What...?”

Kang Seokho’s tone was different from usual—devoid of any playful sarcasm. The brief glance he shot me through the rearview mirror wasn’t a joke either.

“Haa... To be honest, the CEO is currently digging up any evidence that you tried to run away.”

He was investigating everything—ports, immigration offices, brokers who forged fake identities, and organizations that specialized in smuggling people out. If I had genuinely planned to run, there was no way I wouldn’t get caught.

“I think he’s really out to get you, trying to find concrete proof and completely destroy you. What are you going to do?”

I never had any plans to run away, but hearing that made me feel a little queasy. If even a single false rumor surfaced somewhere, my neck would be on the line. Just like the ones in the Secretary Team who had tried to run away before.

“...You started all this mess, and now you’re pretending to be worried...?”

“No, I was just... I was only joking when I said it! I didn’t think the CEO would take it so seriously... And to be fair, it did kind of look that way.”

Honestly, the situation had been a little suspicious. Before my first day off in ages, I had cleaned out my desk, thinking I wouldn’t be back for a while. I left my name tag on the center of the desk to avoid losing it, packed some clothes, and headed back to my apartment to sleep there for the first time in forever. And to top it off, I missed several calls while chatting with Gyuil.

And most crucially... yeah, my mood had been pretty terrible lately. All because of Yoon Taeo.

“We’re here. Get out.”

“...Why are we here?”

“How the hell would I know? Get out. I’ve got places to be.”

Under Kang Seokho’s urging, I got out of the car. Despite being outside, the lobby had several heaters strategically placed, radiating enough warmth to keep out the chill. Kang Seokho parked the car and came to stand right beside me.

Before I could even ask what the hell was going on, a familiar SUV pulled up in front of us.

“...What brings the CEO here...?”

Yoon Taeo stepped out of the car, wearing a thin black coat. The sun had just set, and it was still during business hours. Running into him here, at this unexpected place, felt off.

“Where’s your name tag?”

Ah, right.

“Oh... I-I couldn’t wear it to the hospital...”

I fumbled through my pockets and took out the name tag, fastening it around my neck.

“I’m pretty sure I told you not to take it off without my permission.”

Ignoring my question, Yoon Taeo grabbed my wrist and led me inside the building. Kang Seokho naturally fell a few steps behind, maintaining a careful distance.

“Well, it’s just... If I’d known you’d be here, I wouldn’t have taken it off... But can I please just take it off for a moment?”

I put it on as soon as I heard Taeo’s voice, but honestly, I wanted to rip it off immediately. It was the middle of a weekday afternoon at a Gangnam department store, and the childish name tag made me feel like every eye was on me. My neck was burning.

“If you don’t like it, I could make you one as a necklace. I think I said that before.”

“No! No, it’s fine... Seriously.”

If it’s Taeo, he’d do it. I wouldn’t put it past him to give me a name tag necklace that I could never take off for the rest of my life.

“You came out of the hospital pretty late.”

“Oh... There were a lot of people.”

The word “hospital” fell from his lips, and my heart plummeted. Was he implying something? Did he know something? But from the way he said it, it didn’t seem like he was aware of anything specific.

“Well, they said I’m almost fully recovered. They said I’m fine...”

You know how they say that when you lie, you tend to over-explain? That’s exactly what was happening. My mouth just kept running with details no one asked for.

“Why do you get sick so often? Were you always this frail?”

...To be honest, the only time I was genuinely sick was that one time I caught a cold. Every other time had been a lie or an excuse.

“Yeah... I’m kind of... weak like that.”

Well, since it’s already come to this, might as well play the sympathy card and milk it for what it’s worth, right?

“So you’re just lying to my face now, huh, Sieon?”

“...I’m sorry. Actually, I’m pretty healthy...”

His hand landed on my shoulder with a firm grip, and I had no choice but to confess the truth. Sometimes, Yoon Taeo was clueless as a brick. But other times, it was like he could see right through me. Unfortunately, this was the ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) latter.

“So... why are you here?”

“Are you seriously asking because you don’t know?”

I must still be way off the mark. Even as he pulled me into the basement food court of the department store, I had no idea what he was up to. What the hell... What is he trying to say...? I glanced up and caught sight of Yoon Taeo’s eyebrow twitching at a sharp angle. That was a bad sign. Crisis mode. I needed to get my brain in gear.

“Oh! Of course, I know! Why wouldn’t I know...?”

“Then what?”

Phew. Maybe it was because I’d had a rare day off to relax, but my mind suddenly sparked with the right answer.

“We’re here to buy dinner ingredients for our CEO! Let’s hurry and get what we need and head home!”

“...Our...?”

“I wonder if they have venison...?”

“...Whatever.”

The nonsense I blurted out just happened to be the correct answer. But did I say something wrong again? Why did his expression get even weirder...?

Relieved to have avoided a bullet, I started to grab a shopping basket and place it in the cart.

“Let go.”

“What...?”

Before I could even ask what he was doing, the cart went flying to the side. Taeo had pushed it away carelessly, yet it just so happened to roll smoothly and stop right in front of Kang Seokho.

Seokho stood there, dumbfounded, before catching on and awkwardly started pushing the cart towards us.

“Let’s go.”

And just like that, Kang Seokho became our porter.