Chapter 160: THE CAUSE
"HAVE you really recovered your memories, Sihyuk-ah?"
"How many times are you going to ask?" Song Sihyuk snapped at Seong Kyungmin because his friend kept asking the same question. "I even remember the fact that you gave my wife birth control pills disguised as vitamins. We fought physically because of that."
"Ah, so you’ve really recovered your memories," Seong Kyungmin said while nodding. "We better call your neurosurgeon, then."
"No."
"What do you mean ’no?’"
"I don’t want Lim Garam to know that I’ve recovered my memories already."
"If you weren’t hurt, I would have punched you," Seong Kyungmin said. "Lim Garam already hates you. Why would you do something that would make him hate you more?"
"Tsk."
"Don’t click your tongue on me. I won’t let you lie to Lim Garam. If you don’t tell him yourself, I’m going to snitch."
Haaah.
It was frustrating how Seong Kyungmin never took his side at times like this.
But he couldn’t really get mad at his friend either.
After all, I’m glad that he cares about Lim Garam.
"Fine, I’ll tell Lim Garam. But give me time."
"No more than a week, Song Sihyuk."
"Are you really my friend, Seong Kyungmin?"
"What do you think?"
"Tsk."
Song Sihyuk’s banter with Seong Kyungmin was interrupted when they heard a knock on the door.
When the door opened, his Alpha father entered the room with Seong Jungho.
"Abeoji."
"Appa."
Song Sihyuk and Seong Kyungmin greeted their fathers, respectively.
"I’ve already taken care of the aftermath of your car accident, Sihyuk-ah," his Alpha father said when he stood next to the bed. "How are you feeling, son?"
"I’m feeling better now, Abeoji," Seong Sihyuk assured his Alpha father. "But I want to see my wife and my son. Are they here?"
"Yes. Your appa is with Garam and Gunwoo right now. But you should see them later," his Alpha father said, and then he pointed at Seong Jungho. "Your Uncle Jungho needs to talk to you urgently."
***
GARAM still hated Song Sihyuk.
That much hadn’t changed.
However, he felt his heart drop to the floor after hearing that Song Sihyuk had gotten into a car accident.
Worse, the Alpha had to undergo surgery for internal bleeding.
Hyung, you can’t die— not when you haven’t asked for my forgiveness yet.
"Dad, why is Daddy in the hospital, too?" Gunwoo asked worriedly. "Are we going to start living here?"
Pfft.
Hearing his son’s innocent question made Garam smile for the first time ever since he had heard about Song Sihyuk’s accident.
To be honest, it could have sounded sarcastic.
But I know that my son is being serious.
"No, we’re not going to live here, baby," Garam said, smiling while cupping his son’s face between his hands. "Your daddy just needs to sleep here for a few days. Once your daddy is well again, we’re going to come home."
"Dad, too?"
"Of course— the three of us are going home."
Only then did Gunwoo look relieved.
As if the kid wasn’t sulking a moment ago, his son immediately left Garam’s side and played with Jina and Mija.
Yes, the kids were there.
And so was Lee Wonjae.
My friends left after my Omega father-in-law, the kids, Geon Hyung, and Junho Hyung arrived.
He felt sad that he didn’t get to spend more time with his former group members.
But he was relieved that his family was there for him this time.
"Don’t worry too much, Garam-ah," Lee Wonjae said after checking his phone. "My husband sent me a text. Apparently, Sihyuk is already awake."
Oh.
Garam let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. Can we see Hyung now?"
"My husband says the doctor is still talking to my son. Seong Kyungmin is there, too. I don’t know exactly what’s happening, but it seems like Sihyuk’s pheromone level is not normal."
Sihyuk Hyung’s pheromone level has always been unstable.
"I hope it’s not too bad."
"My husband didn’t sound worried, so I think it’s safe to assume that the problem isn’t too serious."
Garam could only nod, hoping that his Omega father-in-law was right.
Hyung and I can’t be sick or too injured at the same time.
"I’ll call my husband," Lee Wonjae said while holding the phone in his hand. "I’ll ask him about Sihyuk’s condition."
Garam nodded politely. "Thank you, Appa."
And, as soon as the kid shaman left Garam’s side...
"Oppa, I made you tea that’s good for your health," Mija said when the kid shaman approached him, and then she handed him a flask. "This should help you recover quicker."
Garam accepted the flask with a grateful heart. "Thank you, Mija-ya."
To be honest, the tea that Mija would make for him looked like an ordinary tea.
However, Garam could feel that it was different in a way that he would feel his body getting stronger and better every time he drank the tea.
It’s probably because Mija includes some type of prayer when making it.
"Oppa, I can’t see it clearly because the god I serve told me it’s not something a child like me should see, but they said you’ll have to make a tough choice soon."
Oh.
Mija sounded serious.
To be fair, Mija is already a teenager. But, yes, she’s still a child to me. That’s why I get why the god she serves is being protective.
"You saw another vision?"
Mija nodded, and then she added: "According to the god I serve, it has something to do with the nature of your relationship with Sihyuk Ahjussi."
Nature of my relationship with Hyung... oh.
Garam felt his cheeks flush when he realized what Mija could probably mean by that.
Does it mean my physical relationship with Sihyuk Hyung?
Ah.
Now I know why the god she serves didn’t want Mija to see that part.
Thankfully, the kid shaman remained clueless.
"Oppa, your cheeks are flushed," Mija said worriedly. "Are you hot? Should we increase the AC?"
"No, it’s actually cold. I’m fine, Mija-ya," Garam said, fanning his hands on his face. "Thank you for telling me."
***
"SIHYUK-AH, Lim Garam-ssi wasn’t originally an Omega, right?"
Oh.
Song Sihyuk was wondering why Seong Jungho, Seong Kyungmin’s father, wanted to talk with him in private.
So, this is what Uncle Jungho wanted to talk about.
"That’s right, Uncle Jungho," Song Sihyuk admitted. He trusted Seong Jungho because like Seong Kyungmin, this person was tight-lipped. "My wife was originally a Beta. But when he took the Secondary Gender test when he was young, the doctors who did the test found out that he had pheromones. The level isn’t high enough for Lim Garam to manifest as an Omega, but his pheromones have always been there."
"Then you used those miracle pills to turn Lim Garam into an Omega?"
"How did you know, Uncle? I’m sure Seong Kyungmin didn’t tell you."
"My son doesn’t have to tell me anything. I figured it out on my own," Seong Jungho said bluntly. "You were close with the Cho Triplets a few years ago. I’ve heard about the little experiment you call ’miracle pills.’ It’s still circulating in the black market. However, they don’t work on everyone. In fact, it seems like only Lim Garam has been the successful, pardon my ack of a better term, ’test subject’ so far."
"Uncle, it’s not nice to call my wife a test subject."
"I know. That’s why I apologized."
Song Sihyuk nodded, and then he sighed. "Seong Kyungmin believes I turned Lim Garam into an Omega. Apparently, my pheromones as a Hyper-Dominant Alpha can do that."
It was okay to reveal that since Seong Jungho was one of the few people who knew about Seong Kyungmin being a Hyper-Dominant Alpha.
"What does it have to do with what you want to say about my wife, Uncle?"
"I believe I’ve figured out what is making Lim Garam sick."
Song Sihyuk furrowed his brows, confused. "It’s not Hailey Syndrome?"
"Something else is making Lim Garam sick," Seong Jungho said, pausing for a moment. "Sihyuk-ah, I need to conduct a few tests to be sure. But I have reasons to believe that Lim Garam’s body is reverting to its original state."
"Original state? You mean..."
"Yes, Sihyuk-ah. Lim Garam seems to be reverting to his original state as a Beta."
Song Sihyuk’s eyes widened a bit. "That’s possible?"
"It’s been a while since you’ve been intimate with each other, correct?"
Ahem.
Uncle Jungho is really as blunt as Seong Kyungmin.
"Yes, Uncle. My wife and I haven’t been intimate for the last five years."
"That seems to be the cause," Seong Jungho said. "Sihyuk-ah, Lim Garam became an Omega because of your pheromones. But since Lim Garam hasn’t been showered by your pheromones for the last five years, his body seems to be reverting to its original state as a Beta."
Song Sihyuk raised an eyebrow. "So, to stop that from happening, Lim Garam and I have to be intimate again?"
"Yes, but that’s not up to you, Sihyuk-ah," Seong Jungho said bluntly. "You should ask Lim Garam first if he wants to stay an Omega or go back to being a Beta."
***
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