Free Web NovelChapter 263: KYUNGHO’S CONTEMPLATION
KYUNGHO felt like he’d just been punched in the gut. So the only options were to either keep Haneul isolated in the hospital for a week or let an Alpha give him a temporary mark? It was like choosing between a rock and a hard place. He pinched the bridge of his nose, the headache behind his eyes now pounding even harder. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
"Is there really no other way?" he asked again in a tight voice.
Another stretch of silence followed before the staff’s voice came through again, barely above a whisper. "...No."
He took a deep breath, forcing himself to focus. There was something he needed to clarify before dealing with the bigger problem. "Did the doctor tell you what caused Haneul-ssi’s sudden heat?"
"According to the results, it was caused by a drug called Veltherin," the staff said. "I didn’t fully understand the doctor’s explanation, but apparently it’s a drug used by Omegas who have irregular heat cycles. If an Omega who doesn’t have that problem drinks it, the drug triggers a sudden heat." She paused again, like she was unsure how to continue. "And the drug was also found in the blood sample Baek Eunwoo-ssi gave. He wasn’t affected because the drug doesn’t really do anything to Betas, especially if it’s their first time being exposed to it."
Kyungho squeezed his eyes shut. Shit. That was all the confirmation he needed to know that there’s a high chance Jeon Hyunsik was really behind this. At least now they had enough to start a proper investigation into him. What the hell had that kid been thinking? Was he even in his right mind?
No, there was definitely something wrong with him. No normal person would do something like this. Did he even want to debut? Obviously not, if this was how he acted. Was his brain so clogged with pheromones that he couldn’t think straight? And more importantly, how did he even get his hands on that drug in the first place?
He shook his head. He’d deal with Jeon Hyunsik later. Right now, Haneul’s condition was the priority.
"I’ll call you back later," he said. "Just focus on taking care of Haneul-ssi for now."
"Yes, sir."
Then, he ended the call.
There were too many things running through his head, but he knew the first thing he had to do was contact Haneul’s parents. This wasn’t a decision he could make on his own. One wrong move, and this could turn into a major lawsuit. He and this show couldn’t afford that. He should probably also contact JH Entertainment. And then, there was Vnet’s management.
As he tried to figure out what to do next, he remembered that Baek Eunwoo and Lim Suho were still sitting in his office. He did his best to look calm as he turned to them. "You two can head out now. I’ll call you back if we need anything else. Thank you."
The two of them stood up, gave a small bow, and walked out of the office.
Once he was alone, Kyungho decided to contact Haneul’s parents first. He wanted them to hear the truth from him, the full and unaltered version. He had a feeling that Vnet, and maybe JH Entertainment too, would try to downplay what happened just to soften the backlash. He was probably the only one who would give them the actual story, with no filtering.
He turned to his computer and pulled up Haneul’s file. He scrolled down until he found the emergency contact section. The name listed there was Park Eunji, and the relationship was marked as mother. He typed the number into his phone, took a breath, and pressed call.
It took a few rings before the call connected. A woman’s voice came through on the other end. "Hello? Who’s this?" she asked, sounding cautious.
Kyungho cleared his throat. "Good afternoon, Park Eunji-ssi. This is Song Kyungho, the PD of Boys Odyssey. I’m calling about an... incident involving your son, Kang Haneul-ssi."
There was a pause on the other end. Then Kyungho heard the sound of a chair scraping against the floor, followed by a door opening and then closing. When Eunji spoke again, her voice was sharper. "What do you mean? What happened to my son? Is Haneul alright?"
He closed his eyes for a bit. This was it. He took a deep breath and answered as best as he could.
"Earlier today, during a team activity, Haneul-ssi suddenly went into a heat," Kyungho said. He heard a sharp gasp on the other end but forced himself not to dwell on it. The sooner he got through everything, the faster they could move on to the decision they would have to make. "The doctors confirmed it wasn’t natural. He was given a drug called Veltherin. It’s mostly used to help Omegas with irregular heat cycles, but if someone without that issue takes it, it triggers a sudden heat. We believe someone in his team put it in his drink. We’re still looking into it, but we have a suspect. Right now, Haneul-ssi is in the hospital. His body is having trouble stabilizing. The doctors said he needs to stay in isolation for about a week."
"How could you let something like this happen?" Park Eunji’s voice came out shaking after she heard what he said. But he could also hear the sharp edge of anger cutting through the panic. "Don’t you have any rules in place to protect the Omegas on your show? What kind of production are you running over there?" Her breathing was now uneven. "What’s going to happen to my son now? If he needs to be in isolation for his health, then put him there. His health comes first. I’m flying there right now. Where are you? Which hospital? Tell me." Her voice trembled again, but her anger still simmered underneath. "And the competition... does this mean he has to drop out? He worked so hard for this. He wanted this so badly. Oh god, my poor baby."
Kyungho felt a wave of guilt wash over him. He knew the program was partly to blame, so he couldn’t offer much of a defense. But that wasn’t what mattered right now. He needed to focus on calming Haneul’s mother first.
