CHAPTER 176: GIVE AND TAKE

GARAM was tempted to accept Cho Dongpyo’s offer.

If I pay for my medicine with my own pheromones, then I won’t be indebted to Sihyuk Hyung anymore.

However...

Cho Dongpyo is making it hard for me to trust him.

"I’m curious, Garam-ssi," Cho Dongpyo said, leaning against his seat while crossing his arms over his chest. "Out of all the Betas who had taken the miracle pills, only you have been turned into an Omega successfully."

Ah.

Dr. Seong said it was probably because of Sihyuk Hyung’s pheromones as a Hyper-Dominant Alpha. But since Cho Dongpyo doesn’t need to know what class Sihyuk Hyung truly is, I should just keep my mouth shut.

"I want to know what makes you special, Garam-ssi."

"When I took my Secondary Gender test in elementary school, the doctor noticed that I had dormant pheromones. But the level isn’t enough to call me an Omega, so they decided to label me as a Beta instead," Garam said. It wasn’t like he was lying. Even if Cho Dongpyo went on his way to verify what he had just said, then Cho Dongpyo would know that he was speaking the truth. "Maybe I’ve always been an Omega. And the miracle pills just helped increase my pheromone level."

Wow, that sounded plausible.

And it’s not a complete lie either.

"I already know that, Garam-ssi."

Garam clenched his hands tightly once again. "You ran a background check on me?"

"Like I said, I was curious about you," Cho Dongpyo said unapologetically. "Don’t worry, Garam-ssi. I wasn’t able to dig much. After all, Sihyuk is protecting your private life."

Oh.

This was one of the reasons Garam would often feel like a hypocrite.

I hate that Sihyuk Hyung is a chaebol because you can’t be that rich ethically. And, yet, I benefit greatly from his wealth and power.

Haaah.

"I’ll stop bothering Sihyuk for his pheromones if you give me yours, Garam-ssi," Cho Dongpyo said. "Just once— I’ll give you one more bottle of your medicine after you give me your pheromones. After that, we’ll call it quits."

"The offer is too good to be true."

"I’m already risking my life by making a deal with you, Garam-ssi. If I become greedier than this, Sihyuk will surely kill me. He already sent me to jail as a warning five years ago. If I make him angry again, I’m sure he won’t let me live this time."

Ah, that made sense.

And Garam would put it past Song Sihyuk to kill someone who touched him.

Sihyuk Hyung might not do it directly, but he can always ask someone to kill Cho Dongpyo.

It was a scary thought.

I don’t want my son to have a murderer father.

"What will be the side-effect if I ’donate’ my pheromones to you?"

"Sihyuk, who’s already a strong Alpha, fell sick the first time he donated his pheromones," Cho Dongpyo said. "Since you’re a weak Omega, you’ll probably be very sick and weak. Is it scary?"

"It’s not that I’m scared. But I have an important party to organize this weekend, so I can’t get sick until then."

Yeah, Garam and his Omega father-in-law decided to hold the party this weekend.

They only had four days to organize the party for Gunwoo and his friends, but that wouldn’t be a problem since there were many people working for them.

We just need to invite the kids and their guardians.

"Give me time to think," Garam said firmly. He didn’t want Cho Dongpyo to set the pace, after all. "Let’s see each other again next week, Dongpyo-ssi. I’ll give you my final answer by then."

"Very well," Cho Dongpyo said while nodding. "I’ll wait for your next call, Garam-ssi."

***

"GARAM-AH, I heard your conversation with Cho Dongpyo-ssi."

Oh.

Garam was in the backseat of the car Shin Geon was driving when Shin Geon broke the silence.

He’s calling me fondly, so that means he’s talking as a hyung and not as a bodyguard.

"Please keep it a secret from everyone, Hyung."

"I will, of course," Shin Geon said while nodding. "But please think about it carefully. You know we can’t trust Cho Dongpyo-ssi. Moreover, you’re in the process of returning to being a Beta again. What if donating your pheromones hinders your transition?"

It wasn’t like the thought didn’t cross his mind.

However...

"I can’t let Dongpyo-ssi continue treating Sihyuk Hyung like a pushover," Garam said. "Hyung is acting like that because of me, so I should be the one to end it. I don’t want to feel indebted to Sihyuk Hyung anymore."

"Yes, I understand that part. Having said that, I still want you to think this over, Garam-ah," Shin Geon said carefully. "I don’t want you to give your pheromones to that person."

***

"DAAAD!"

Aigooya.

Garam didn’t know whether to laugh of be worried when he saw Gunwoo ’driving’ his own kiddie 2-seater golf cart.

So, this is why they asked me to walk to the front yard.

Anyway, for a ’kiddie’ golf cart, Gunwoo’s toy car seemed pretty big.

His grandparents got my baby another expensive toy...

Lee Wonjae and Song Seokju, his (former) in-laws, were driving a real golf cart behind.

Yes, my in-laws’ ’yard’ was big enough for golf carts to roam around.

"Dad, come here!" Gunwoo said when he stopped in front of Garam, and then the child patted the space next to him. "I’ll drive you home!"

Aigooya.

Fortunately, Garam could fit it in the kiddie golf cart since he was lean.

He just had to bend his knees uncomfortably.

But it wasn’t a problem.

"I’ll drive carefully, Dad," Gunwoo said proudly. "Granddad and Grandpa taught me how to drive safely!"

Garam chuckled while patting his son’s head. "I trust you, baby."

***

20 KIDDIE golf carts.

Garam was shocked when he found out that Lee Wonjae bought at least 20 kiddie golf carts just for Gunwoo’s classmates.

There are only 14 kids in my son’s class!

There were at least 10 4-seater golf carts as well.

"Appa, you went all out."

"No, not really." Lee Wonjae said while shaking his head. "I bought the kiddie golf carts, but I only borrowed some of the golf carts from the Whimsical Rock Golf Club."

Ah, it was the exclusive golf club that was run by his Omega father-in-law.

"It’s hard to purchase golf carts on such short notice since we order them overseas, so I just borrowed the extra units we have from the golf club," Lee Wonjae added. "The kids can take home the kiddie golf carts after the party. Those kiddie golf carts will be our souvenir gifts for them."

Garam gasped, surprised. "Is that really okay, Appa? Those kiddie golf carts are expensive."

"Dear, you know this much won’t put a dent in our wealth."

Oh, right.

I still can’t get used to how rich this family is.

"Oh, you’re okay with golf being the theme of the party, right?" Lee Wonjae asked excitedly. "We can’t throw a huge party because my father-in-law just passed away recently, but I’ll make sure Gunwoo can brag about the party to his friends."

"Yes, Appa," Garam said, pausing for a moment. "Appa, I invited my former group members. They wanted to perform for the kids. Is that alright?"

"Of course, dear. I’ll tell the organizers about your group’s performance. We can totally put a make-shift stage in the garden."

"Can we really do that when we only have a few days left, Appa?"

"Dear, you’ll be surprised by how many can move things fast and efficiently."

Right.

"Have you told Sihyuk about your friends’ performance?" Lee Wonjae asked worriedly. "I know you don’t need my son’s permission. But you know how jealous he can get. We don’t want him throwing a tantrum during Gunwoo’s party."

"I’ll reach out to Sihyuk Hyung before the party, Appa," Garam assured his Omega father-in-law. "Sihyuk Hyung is sick, so I don’t want to stress him out."

***

"SIHYUK-AH, you’re exhibiting symptoms like what Mr. Ward had experienced after losing his Omega."

Song Sihyuk scoffed at what Seong Kyungmin said.

After three days of resting and drowning himself in rut suppressants, he finally felt better. He wouldn’t say he had completely recovered.

Hence, he called the only doctor and friend that he trusted with his life.

And, yet, Seong Kyungmin said that bullshit as soon as he arrived at Song Sihyuk’s penthouse.

"Seong Kyungmin, are you jinxing me?"

"No, I’m serious."

"You said Joseph Ward started being sick after his Omega died. Lim Garam is still alive."

"Yes, but what do you and Joseph Ward have in common?"

"What?"

"Lack of intimacy with your bonded pair," Seong Kyungmin said sternly. "Mr. Ward refused to sleep with someone else after his Omega died. You haven’t been intimate with Lim Garam for the past five years."

"Hey, no Alpha has died from abstinence."

"There isn’t a record yet," the doctor said firmly. "Song Sihyuk, I’m being serious here. Hyper-Dominant Alphas like you and Mr. Ward have a different kind of bond with your Omegas. It seems like you’ll literally die without them."

"Are you saying that I need to sleep with Lim Garam to get better?"

"I don’t want to be vulgar, but yes, that’s exactly what I want to say."

"Then I’d rather die. Fortunately, I’ve already written my will."

"Yah."

"I’m serious, Seong Kyungmin. I’d rather die than make Lim Garam do something that he absolutely hates."

Lim Garam would rather die than sleep with me again. I know that much.

"Is there no hope for you and Lim Garam to get back together?"

"I don’t even deserve to be forgiven."

"Have you begged enough?" Seong Kyungmin asked, scoffing. "Even if you don’t deserve the kid’s forgiveness, you still should be groveling in front of Lim Garam instead of locking yourself up in your penthouse."

Oh.

Oh.

"You’re right," Song Sihyuk admitted weakly, closing his eyes when he suddenly felt tired again. "I need to beg for Lim Garam’s forgiveness, even if I don’t deserve it."

***

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