The Missing “1” and the Doctor’s Question

Yoon Dae-eon, spending his first day without Seon Ji-ha in a while, was feeling more lonely than liberated.

“Hey, are you seriously not coming? I’m telling you, this place is worth a two-hour wait!”

“I’m not refusing because of the wait, Dong-cheol. I’m refusing because I don’t want to third-wheel on your date.”

“This isn’t a date!”

Despite already being in a relationship, Oh Dong-cheol’s face turned beet-red the moment the word “date” was mentioned. Even more amusing was Kim Ye-jun, who watched the display with a smirking, affectionate expression.

Dae-eon simply shook his head.

“We’re really just going to eat…….”

“When two people who like each other gather, that’s called a date. Got it, Dong-cheol?”

After class ended, Dong-cheol and Ye-jun had been following Dae-eon around, likely feeling guilty about leaving him behind. They claimed they had extra time, but it was obvious they didn’t want to leave him alone.

Because Dong-cheol hated being left alone himself, he couldn’t stand seeing others in that position. Dae-eon let out a short sigh.

“I have other friends besides you guys. Plenty.”

“We know you’re Mr. Popular. But lately, you’ve only been stuck to Seon Ji-ha Sunbae. Is he not coming?”

“He just texted me saying it’ll take a while longer. I don’t think we can have dinner together tonight.”

“Ah…….”

The three of them were walking slowly toward the university’s main gate—an unusual direction for Dae-eon, who lived near the back gate.

“So please, just go on your date! Stop worrying about me.”

“No, I just feel bad…….”

“Kim Ye-jun, take Oh Dong-cheol away. Please, man.”

“Why? He’s cute like this.”

Ye-jun didn’t even bother hiding it anymore. Dae-eon grimaced at the man’s shameless face.

While it was true he was bored without Ji-ha, he actually did have a promise to meet someone else. But these two wouldn’t stop following him, seemingly convinced that his “other appointment” was a lie to make them feel better.

Just as a fed-up Dae-eon was about to show Dong-cheol his phone as proof…

“Yoon Dae-eon!”

A loud voice called out to him. Simultaneously, all three heads turned.

Standing right in front of the main gate, where the foot traffic was heaviest, was Yoon Ju-myeong. Or rather, he was leaning halfway against his motorcycle. The moment he caught Dae-eon’s eye, Ju-myeong waved his hand vigorously.

“What? You really did have plans?”

“Do I look like you, Dong-cheol? Why would I lie about that?”

“I’ve never lied either! I just worried because I thought you were alone.”

“Right, so please just go, the two of you. I don’t want to wait two hours for a table.”

Dong-cheol grumbled that a two-hour wait was actually short for that place, but he finally let Dae-eon go. A liberated Dae-eon quickly ran toward Ju-myeong.

Suddenly, Kim Ye-jun narrowed his eyes, watching the scene. He nudged Dong-cheol.

“Hey, isn’t that a date too?”

“Huh?”

Dae-eon’s expression in front of Ju-myeong was different from when he was with Dong-cheol or Ye-jun.

Unlike the two he’d met in college, Dae-eon looked completely relaxed around Ju-myeong, even playfully hitting him. Dong-cheol watched with a slightly pained face.

“What the, I’m jealous.”

“Are you seriously jealous of his friend now? How are you going to survive with that much jealousy?”

“But I can’t help it! I don’t have any friends from high school.”

Dong-cheol, who had cut ties with all his old friends due to a certain incident, cherished his one and only friend, Yoon Dae-eon, deeply. But that wasn’t the only reason.

“You can just make new friends, why be like that?”

“Do you think I’m like you? Becoming friends after a few rounds of games? Yoon Dae-eon is different.”

“How is he different?”

“He’s…… kind. To everyone.”

Dong-cheol gazed at Dae-eon with a look of genuine fondness. For the shy and timid Dong-cheol, Dae-eon was the first person to approach him in college.

He never discriminated against him for being a Recessive Omega, nor was he filled with inferiority. Yoon Dae-eon had constantly pulled a discouraged Dong-cheol along.

That was why Dong-cheol had felt so bad about leaving him alone today. But now that he’d confirmed Dae-eon was indeed meeting a friend, he was at peace.

“Anyway, isn’t there someone else who’d be more upset seeing that?”

“Huh? Who?”

“Who else? Seon Ji-ha Sunbae.”

“Look at that.” Ye-jun gestured with his chin toward Dae-eon and Ju-myeong.

The two had finished their conversation and were about to leave. Ju-myeong climbed onto the front seat and put on his helmet, handing a spare one to Dae-eon. Dae-eon donned the black helmet and climbed on behind Ju-myeong.

Dae-eon reached out to grip Ju-myeong’s shoulders politely. However, with an annoyed gesture, Ju-myeong swiped Dae-eon’s hands down to his waist.

Suddenly forced to wrap his arms around the Alpha’s waist, Dae-eon looked flustered, but there was no turning back as the bike started. Dong-cheol muttered blankly:

“……Isn’t that cheating?”

“You’re really uptight sometimes. Just like how you check your messages every minute.”

“He’s hugging another Alpha’s waist! That’s cheating! I have to take a picture.”

“It’s a motorcycle, it’s a special circumstance.”

Ye-jun defended Dae-eon, yet he looked at Dong-cheol as if he were the cutest thing in the world. Click, click, click. Dong-cheol determinedly snapped photos of Dae-eon’s receding back.

“I’m going to tell Sunbae everything.”

“Yeah, let’s snitch. Yoon Dae-eon is a total player.”

“This is why I hate ‘kind’ bastards,” Ye-jun added shortly.

————-

“The ‘1’ isn’t disappearing…….”

Seon Ji-ha stared at his phone with an anxious face. On the blue chat screen was the last message he had sent.

‘Are you eating dinner alone?’ was the end of it. Next to it, the yellow number ‘1’ remained stubbornly still.

Ji-ha was trying his best to suppress his anxiety and wait patiently. It wasn’t the first time Dae-eon was slow to reply; if he was in a lecture or busy, the chat would pause.

But class should be over by now.

After hesitating in silence, Ji-ha decided to call exactly ten minutes after his last text. But just as he raised his phone…

“Seon Ji-ha-nim! Blood! You’re bleeding!”

A passing nurse gasped and rushed toward him, grabbing his arm which was now messy with blood.

Just as she said, blood was trickling down his forearm, staining his rolled-up shirt. It made sense; he had just finished a blood draw for his tests.

The technician had told him to keep pressure on the cotton ball, but he had been too focused on his phone to care about his own arm. Consequently, the cotton had fallen and was now rolling on the floor.

Ji-ha looked down at the nurse—who was much shorter than him—with an annoyed expression. Because she was holding his arm, he couldn’t call Dae-eon. He thought about shaking her off, but he remembered Yeon-jeong’s warning.

Yeon-jeong had told him to go to Dr. Nam’s lab, promising that if he behaved during the check-up, she’d overlook him ordering Secretary Park around.

Their parents had previously assigned personal secretaries to the three siblings, assuming they’d need help managing their vast holdings. Only Ji-ha, who hated people, had refused. Thus, the elite Secretary Park had ended up working for Yeon-jeong.

Now, Ji-ha regretted his choice. Being around Dae-eon required delegating tasks frequently, especially since he couldn’t be by Dae-eon’s side 24 hours a day.

“I’ll put a gauze on it, so please, just don’t take it off. Okay?”

“…….”

Instead of answering, Ji-ha gave a slow, curt nod.

Because Dr. Nam’s lab also operated as a VIP hospital, there were more staff than patients. Every nurse was keeping an eye on Ji-ha.

He was enduring the tests because of Yeon-jeong, but being the center of attention for strangers was incredibly irritating. Just as his temper was reaching its limit…

“Seon Ji-ha-nim, the Doctor will see you now.”

Ji-ha tucked his phone into his pocket and headed inside. The massive Alpha in the checkered shirt walked slowly into the office.

The nurses thought he didn’t look like the typical VIP patient, but Ji-ha didn’t care what they thought. He just wanted to hear the results and get back to Dae-eon.

“Ah, Ji-ha-kun. It’s been a while. I told you that you needed to get checked at least once.”

“…….”

“Haha! Still as silent as ever, I see!”

Dr. Nam, sitting at his desk, didn’t mind the silence. He was used to seeing the most eccentric cases of Dominant traits.

Even among them, Seon Ji-ha was an outlier…… but Dr. Nam kept that thought to himself.

“The blood results will be out in ten minutes, so wait just a moment. I’ll be able to give you the details then. But before that, shall we discuss the pheromone results?……”

Ahem. Dr. Nam cleared his throat while scanning the computer screen. He tapped the desk as if debating how to phrase his next thought. Finally, he spoke.

“Have you…… had sexual intercourse?”

Having monitored the Seon family’s health for a long time, Dr. Nam knew Ji-ha’s age. He also knew that Ji-ha was a man who, until now, had been physically unable to have s*x.

And so, Dr. Nam was asking:

Did you finally lose your virginity?