Seo Yujin blinked. "Huh? Your fake lover? Why?"
He was stunned.
"My parents keep pestering me to bring home a lover. And they're threatening to cut ties with me if I don't bring someone to them this weekend or so." The doctor was plain with his words.
Yujin blinked. "And what does any of that have to do with me?"
"Not really. It doesn't have anything to do with you..." The doctor leaned backward.
"So why are you telling me?"
"So you can consider me and go with me," the doctor said. "And in turn, I can help you fully without accepting any pay."
Seo Yujin stared at him. His mind was running through the offer, which he believed was a decent one. He would be gaining a lot from it without even losing anything.
But still, he had always known to be wary of Alphas. Especially those whom he didn't know much about at all.
"Why me?" Seo Yujin asked. "Why do you pick me to do it? I'm an omega. And a guy. Shouldn't you introduce a lady to your parents?"
"I told them I'm gay." The doctor was plain with his words. Too plain, that Yujin wondered if being gay had suddenly become that casual.
Because as long as he could remember, it was "right" in the eyes of all for a male to be with a female—regardless of secondary gender [Alpha, Beta, Omega].
Although the strict stance was already getting loose with some couples breaking the norms, the homophobia was still there somehow.
"Oh. Congratulations for accepting yourself then." Seo Yujin folded his arms. "But why me? I'm pretty sure they'd prefer you bringing a male Alpha or a male Beta home. Other than me, an Omega."
"I don't care," the doctor insisted. "I prefer you, and that's all that matters. Besides, they should be cool with anyone I bring."
Seo Yujin doubted it. No one would even want their gay Alpha son bringing home a male Omega as a partner. The internalized bias was already there.
"So why me then? Do you like me?" Yujin was direct with his question.
"It's just a business proposal. You're the perfect description I gave them for my lover. So that makes you right. Besides, you'll also benefit heavily from it. I'll be your personal doctor to help you disguise all you need, for free."
Seo Yujin stared at him. Even though he believed he was good at telling people's real intentions, he didn't think he could read through this doctor.
It was a good deal after all. He was only pretending to be his lover for a night or so. So he wouldn't lose anything. But he'd gain a lot for free.
"I'm a high-schooler, so if you try anything nasty, I'll be reporting you for abuse," Seo Yujin said as a reminder, even though he knew the law didn't really provide much fair protection for Omegas.
"Don't worry. I'm not that untamed," he explained.
"Okay." Yujin's arms were still folded. "I agree. Let's keep our own part of the deal. And I hope we do it well."
The doctor smiled. "Sure." He went through Yujin's file before him. "The name's TaeHyun. Kim TaeHyun."
Seo Yujin stared at him. He didn't ask for the name, but he gave it regardless. "Oh. The name's Seo—"
"Yujin. Seo Yujin," TaeHyun interrupted him.
"How did you know?" Yujin stared at him.
"Your name tag," TaeHyun said, gesturing to his breastpocket.
"Oh." Yujin now leaned forward. "Since that's finalized, let's discuss in detail how it's going to go. How we're going to play our part."
---
Seo Yujin had taken his time to speak to his mother about him joining a survival show soon.
He had explained that he was taking a leap to finally pursue his dream in the industry. And his mother didn't object. She supported him.
Yujin didn't tell her he was disguising as an Alpha. He knew his mother wouldn't let him take such risks if he told her. It was extremely risky.
And since she wanted to protect him by all means, she wouldn't let him at all.
So he didn't tell her that part of the detail. Rather, he said some Omegas were given the special privilege to get onto the show, and that he had gotten into the show with his skills.
His mother wasn't too interested in the modern entertainment world. She never really checked them up, so Yujin knew she wouldn't really bother looking into it.
His mother was glad to hear that. She was glad that the discrimination against male Omegas was declining, as they even got the privilege to get into such an elite show.
"Then I can only wish you well. I pray you make it successfully," his mother prayed.
And having cleared that ground with his mother, Seo Yujin began making preparations to leave for the show.
He packed his stuff and took the necessary medications granted to him by TaeHyun, with the right dosage.
And he also took his time to prepare himself mentally to begin living amongst male Alphas. It was pretty much like a girl living in an all-boys hostel.
He was taking a big and wild step for his dream. And this time, he wasn't going to stop at anything until he had made it to the top.
---
The day arrived, and Yujin got ready to leave with his stuff.
That day wasn't only the day of the audition, but it was also the day he was going to get a hostel room.
The first 40 selected trainees had already gotten their hostel rooms and had already packed in for a while now.
They had also been shooting promotional content like introduction videos.
While the other 10 that were selected last would be joining the hostel room tonight after the shooting that day.
They were pretty much late since they didn't have any online presence at all. They didn't have any introduction videos yet. And Yujin was sure that they didn't even have much exposure to gain a reasonable fandom.
And it didn't come as any surprise to Yujin because he was sure the show really didn't care about them. They were just there for filling up the numbers and would obviously be eliminated in the first rank after voting.