At the End of That Memory

Chapter 4

We had to wait quite a bit longer than expected. Probably because we left the home too early, my father had instructed me to stay in the waiting room until I was called. Still, I should at least greet the other person. I didn’t even get a chance to see his face, let alone have a conversation.

“Director.”

Unlike me, who was locked in the waiting room, Chief Kim busily went in and out to convey what my father said. Once, he told me how the meal would be ordered, another time, he brought me something to eat, and another time, he showed Kwon Yido’s information on a laptop. This time, what he held out was a small lipstick-sized empty bottle.

“It was given by the President.”

“…”

Even without opening it, I could guess the contents inside. As I awkwardly patted my body, I heard an expected description.

“It’s a pheromone perfume.”

It was a pheromone perfume. Those things didn’t work very well as I had previously informed my father on several occasions.

“They will call us soon so the President told you to spray this before attending the ceremony.”

Chief Kim was talking calmly but somehow wore an awkward expression. As if he was apologetic and understanding, he let out a sigh. I opened the lid, smelled it, and pursed my lips into a thin line.

“It seems they contemplated hard while picking one for me.”

The scent was of a natural pheromone. It was a product artificially designed for Betas. I had so many pheromones before and it seemed this surpassed a lot of them in terms of plausibility.

“Did Chief Kim choose this one for me?”

“…”

Chief Kim fixed his glasses without a word. He had this habit of fixing his glasses whenever he was in trouble. Ignorance was bliss, yet it was clear Chief Kim took the extra step after following my father’s orders.

“I like it. I will use it well.”

Of course, I said it out of politeness but it wasn’t that the scent wasn’t decent. Well, given that he was a Beta, he wouldn’t be affected by the pheromones whatsoever.

I pulled down the watch from my wrist and sprayed perfume on the upper part where my veins ran. While gently rubbing both of my wrists, Chief Kim silently watched what I was doing. I asked Chief Kim as I applied the remaining scent to my nape.

“Shall I spray some more?”

“…No. That should be enough.”

For some reason, I felt Chief Kim looking at me with an inexplicable gaze. It was the same expression he was making throughout last week. I would have understood why if I dug deep enough but I couldn’t find the chance to do so.

“Well…”

Chief Kim hem and hawed while avoiding my eyes. When I raised my eyes, implying to him to speak, he said awkwardly.

“Doing this…does this have any meaning?”

“…”

The scent was so thick. My senses felt stifled at the unfamiliar scent. For an Omega like me, the gentle and pleasant smell never felt like a pheromone to me.

“I am not sure.”

There was a fleeting glance. There should be effort, but nothing more or less than what I had been doing.

“Spraying perfume on a scentless flower will not attract butterflies.”

A knock was heard right then, so the conversation between us ended there. Chief Kim clamped his mouth shut, and I got up from my seat, leaving him behind.