The Truth Behind the Document

“……What time do you finish?”

“What? Oh, my lecture?”

They were on their way to school after finishing off the four packs of ramen Yoon Dae-eon had quickly whipped up. After a brief stop at Yoon Dae-eon’s place, they arrived at the back gate. Only then was Seon Ji-ha able to ask the question he had been holding onto.

“I should be done around lunchtime. Ah, but I can’t hang out with you afterward.”

“Why?”

The “Why?” came out faster than usual for Seon Ji-ha. Yoon Dae-eon found the reaction somewhat funny and chuckled as he replied.

“I have somewhere to go. Family business.”

“……I see…….”

A look of disappointment didn’t just flicker in Seon Ji-ha’s eyes; it practically dripped from them. When you looked closely, he wasn’t exactly a master at hiding his emotions. Yoon Dae-eon turned away from him.

As soon as he turned, Seon Ji-ha, looking desperate with regret, instinctively tried to catch him.

“Dae-eon, then…….”

“Let’s have dinner together instead!”

However, as if sensing Seon Ji-ha’s feelings, Yoon Dae-eon cut in abruptly. Then, shouting, “Yikes, I’m going to be late!” he dashed away.

Left alone, Seon Ji-ha stood still, watching until Yoon Dae-eon’s back disappeared. Only when not a single strand of hair was visible did he finally turn around. Having seen him off, his posture suggested he no longer had any business at the school himself.

Too busy running to notice Seon Ji-ha’s behavior, Yoon Dae-eon slid into the lecture hall. He naturally scanned for the face of the friend who shared his exact timetable.

“Yoon Dae-eon, over here!”

It was the other side that spotted him first. Oh Dong-cheol was waving his hand, sitting next to an empty seat he had clearly saved for him.

Beyond him, as always, Kim Ye-jun was facedown on the desk. Yoon Dae-eon wondered what time that guy went to bed to be sleeping through every single lecture. Sitting down next to them, Yoon Dae-eon asked:

“How was the hospital?”

“I got the suppressors through an IV, so it was over quickly. Good thing it hit me at the hospital; I would have been totally screwed otherwise.”

“Why?”

Yoon Dae-eon asked in a casual tone while unpacking his bag. Oh Dong-cheol turned his entire body toward him.

“What do you mean ‘why’?! It was an Omega hospital. If it had hit me outside, who knows what would’ve happened? Even the doctor said I was lucky.”

“I told you we should go together. Ah, my back.”

“Kim Ye-jun, shut up. If you want to skip class, go to your own hospital!”

Kim Ye-jun lifted his head from the desk to join the conversation. Come to think of it, Kim Ye-jun had casually ditched class yesterday as soon as Oh Dong-cheol missed it for the hospital, without even telling Yoon Dae-eon beforehand.

“And why would you go to an Omega hospital? You’re an Alpha!”

“You saw me as an Alpha? Since when?”

“Are you actually insane?”

Oh Dong-cheol’s face flushed bright red. Kim Ye-jun was busy snickering and teasing him. Sitting beside them, Yoon Dae-eon watched the two of them quietly.

What is up with these guys?

As soon as the thought occurred, he spoke without a filter.

“Are you two dating?”

“What?!”

“What is he even saying?”

Oh Dong-cheol practically jumped out of his seat as if struck by lightning, while Kim Ye-jun muttered a short response and buried his face back into his arms. Yoon Dae-eon’s eyes narrowed as he watched them.

“Don’t lump me in with a guy like that! It’s gross, seriously.”

“Hey. I’m the one who should feel bad.”

“No, I’m the one who feels worse!!”

Kim Ye-jun and Oh Dong-cheol denied it vehemently. They say strong denial is a strong affirmation, Yoon Dae-eon thought as he shrugged and looked forward. The professor had entered the room.

Even after class started, the two continued to whisper. Mostly, it was them getting angry at each other.

“You said a Recessive Alpha isn’t even an Alpha.”

“That’s because you keep saying annoying things……! Ugh, whatever.”

“You students over there. Stop chatting.”

Only after being singled out by the professor did they finally stop talking. Yoon Dae-eon rested his chin on his hand, watching them.

After the morning lecture ended, Yoon Dae-eon declined Oh Dong-cheol’s offer to grab lunch and hopped on a bus. It wasn’t a lie when he told Seon Ji-ha he had somewhere to go, nor that it was family business.

He stared out the window of the rattling bus for a long time. Soon, the bus stopped, and he got off. It was a journey that took a little over an hour.

The sound of a stream greeted his ears as soon as he stepped off.

In front of him stood an old nursing hospital. It was a place nestled deep in the mountains, often catering to patients with dementia. Yoon Dae-eon entered with a practiced air.

“Oh, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“Hello.”

Yoon Dae-eon gave a bright smile and a polite bow to the nurse who recognized him. He had been worried about how to explain himself this time, so he was relieved someone remembered him.

Instead of asking questions, the nurse quickly stood up and guided him inside.

“Dr. Do is still having lunch. If you wait inside, he’ll be with you shortly.”

“Thank you. Have you eaten yet, Nurse?”

“Of course. Ah, here we are.”

The nurse led him to a room labeled ‘Do Jeong-min.’ Left alone, Yoon Dae-eon naturally sat on the leather sofa in the corner. The sofa, which was peeling in several places, was surprisingly comfortable.

After some time spent observing the sunlit room, a sound reached his ears.

Knock, knock.

Before he could say “come in,” the door creaked open. A man with a mischievous grin entered, wearing glasses that gave him quite an intellectual look.

“Look at you, knocking before entering your own room.”

“Why? Judging by the way you’re sitting on that sofa, you’re the owner here, Dae-eon.”

Just as Do Jeong-min said, Yoon Dae-eon was sitting much too comfortably. In fact, even if he had been lying down with his shoes on and legs stretched out, Do Jeong-min probably wouldn’t have said a word.

“Uncle, you really work here, right?”

“Are you doubting me?”

“You look like a total unemployed bum.”

Do Jeong-min let out a hollow laugh.

“You don’t know the ‘Kind Dr. Do’? I’m quite famous in this hospital!”

“Everyone says that to your face.”

“You really are…….”

Do Jeong-min took off his white coat and set it on his desk. He slumped into the chair behind the desk, which let out a sharp creak.

“So, what brings you here? You didn’t even call.”

“Just because. I missed you, Uncle.”

“Don’t give me that. You used to tell me to stop acting like your real uncle.”

“That was back then……!”

Yoon Dae-eon flared up at the comment, but soon pressed his lips together and ended it weakly with a “……Sorry.” Do Jeong-min smirked.

“Can’t even take a joke, can you?”

“When I was a kid, I really thought you were my real uncle…….”

“Good thing I’m not. If you got mixed up with a dangerous guy like me, you’d be in real trouble.”

Do Jeong-min laughed heartily and rolled up his long sleeves, seemingly feeling the heat. In the approaching May heat, wearing a long-sleeved shirt under a doctor’s gown was bound to be sweltering.

What was revealed was a black-and-white tattoo coiling around his entire arm—what people call irezumi.

“I’m dying of heat.”

“I bet. Why does a doctor have tattoos anyway?”

“You think your uncle wanted to do this?”

The man called the “Kind Dr. Do” was actually someone hiding intimidating tattoos across his entire upper body. Probably no one at the hospital knew.

Yoon Dae-eon had known him since he was a child, so young he barely remembered.

When his parents first introduced him, they called him “Uncle,” so Yoon Dae-eon firmly believed it. He only realized the truth when he noticed that the surname “Do” didn’t match either of his parents.

Do Jeong-min was the broker who allowed Yoon Dae-eon’s family to live as a normal Alpha-Omega family. He said he used to be involved in dangerous places, but Yoon Dae-eon still found it hard to believe. Looking at his face—which looked like the personification of a “kind church oppa“—it was hard to imagine why a doctor would have been in such a place.

But looking at the tattoos, one had to accept it, even if they didn’t want to. Yoon Dae-eon often teased him, saying his glasses were just a disguise.

“Ah, your parents’ memorial is coming up, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. Are you coming too, Uncle?”

“Of course. I need to request the day off in advance. Did our Dae-eon come all this way just to tell his uncle that?”

The way he raised his tone at the end was no different from how one treats a toddler. Having known Yoon Dae-eon since he was very small, Do Jeong-min had always been like this, so Yoon Dae-eon simply ignored the nasal tone.

“No. I need to renew my Imprint Certificate.”

“Already? Time flies. I’ll mail it to you.”

“Can’t you do it right now?”

“Hey kid, that’s illegal, too. It’s not like you can just pull it up on a government portal whenever you want.”

Do Jeong-min lamented that the little squirt knew nothing of how the world worked. Since he was the one who had made it possible for Yoon Dae-eon to live as a Recessive Omega instead of a Beta, such a comment was expected.

“But tell me, have you ever actually used it?”

Having settled into his desk, Do Jeong-min asked casually while tapping on his phone. Yoon Dae-eon shrugged.

“No way.”

“Really? Not even once?”

“There’s no need to go as far as an Imprint Certificate. People just buy it when I say I’m an Extreme Recessive Omega.”

“Still, you’d think at least one person would be suspicious.”

“People aren’t that interested in me, Uncle.”

“Hmm,” Do Jeong-min hummed, sliding his glasses up.

“I don’t know. Someone around you must have suspected it. The fact that no one asked means…….”

“……Means?”

“They’ve already reached their own conclusion, or……”

They saw something.