Endemic Love Chapter 16: Be Good, hm?

"Do you rember the day we first t, dear Le An?"

Did Mr. Qui really summon him to the GAC just to stroll down mory lane? Le An t his gaze without flinching.

"Back then, you couldn’t even look in the eye. So much has changed since then. Wouldn’t you agree?"

"Yes, sir," Le An replied, keeping things as simple as possible. He knew that no matter what he said, Mr. Qui would steer the conversation wherever he pleased. The quickest way out of this room was to shut up and listen.

"I’ve been told you’ve been keeping up with your daily routine. Even yesterday..." Mr. Qui checked the screen in front of him, then smiled. "You guided 701 espers. You’re truly exceptional. As always."

"But your lawyers and that health assistant of yours... What was his na again?"

"Erald, sir."

"Right. That one. They’ve been pestering us a little too much lately. Apparently, your people think we’re overdoing it with your workload."

"They’re just concerned, sir. As you can see from my recent health records, there’s been a slight deterio-"

"But you look fine to ," Mr. Qui cut in with a fake, innocent smile, pretending not to know what was coming next. "You’ve always had health ups and downs, and yet you keep performing brilliantly. I wonder if you’ve done a good job conveying just how scientifically important our final goal is to your people."

"I’ve tried my best, sir." Le An forced a smile. His people were, indeed, well inford about just how fraudulent this entire ’experint’ was. He continued, knowing just how dangerous Mr. Qui could be once he fixated on soone. "I’ll handle it, sir. I’ll manage my side. With how everything escalated recently, my health, my routine-"

"Personally, I don’t give a damn about your health or your routine." Mr. Qui’s voice dropped, sharp and cold as he glared over the screen. "I don’t care if you wake up with a headache or so useless fever. What I care about, Le An, is my shareholders, and the endless expectations tied to their investnt in this experint. And before you speak again, I don’t care about your so-called cooperation or your precious ideas either. So, behave yourself and spare the whining."

Le An opened his mouth to respond, then closed it again, defeated. "Hah." He sighed and watched Mr. Qui scroll through his phone. He turned the screen for Le An to see.

"Look at this. First thing in the morning, I wake up to a flood of notifications. And in the middle of all this chaos, soone from your team has the audacity to ssage , saying what I’m doing to you is illegal and inhumane. That you woke up with a fever. That if this continues, blah, blah, blah... You get what I’m saying?"

Le An listened in silence, his chest tightening. The cruelty wasn’t surprising; he’d seen it too often, but it still stung. These n, all of them, wanted sothing from him. And they’d stop at nothing to get it. They’d gaslight him until he doubted his own exhaustion.

"You have constant headaches and pain? You’re overworked and drained? My shareholders are giving you a golden opportunity to escape all of that. If you’d just shut up and go along with this experint, you could retire. Retire, Le An. And without this experint, trust - you wouldn’t even be close to retiring. Did you see that recent street interview? People want you to serve this country for as long as you can. They believe in you. So, stop whining and let us try cloning you. Otherwise, there is no exit, sweetheart."

"I’ve never tried to run from the people’s expectations, sir. I hold every one of their hopes dear."

"Good." Mr. Qui didn’t even pause. "That sounds like the old Le An I used to know."

Le An had seen that street interview. It had shaken him. For a while, it had motivated him to stop complaining and push through. And he had tried—he always did. But no matter how much he tried to et people’s expectations, it always ended the sa way: with illness, burnout, or collapse. He was weak. A weak oga.

"Since that incident with the alpha, my dear..." Mr. Qui studied Le An’s face as if he were reading an open book. He noticed imdiately—the flicker of sorrow when Le An heard the word alpha. "You’re still haunted by it. I know. But you must understand, sacrifices had to be made for your sake. It wasn’t sothing you were ever ant to know. So, forget about it. But... rember, more sacrifices will be necessary eventually."

"I won’t be accepting any more alphas from now on, Mr. Qui. If that’s what this eting is about-"

"No, no. God, no. I understand. Don’t be so tense," Mr. Qui waved a hand dismissively. "That matter is... suspended for now."

"It’s closed, as far as I’m concerned," Le An said sharply. He would never again let soone be sacrificed just because they shared a night and a secret with him.

Mr. Qui sighed, visibly annoyed. "You’ve beco grumpy, you know that? Even the doctor we assigned to you ntioned it. Said you complain like a child. About how the dicines sll."

"That doctor was the grumpy one, actually, sir," Le An replied coolly. "And I know you don’t care about that relationship either."

Mr. Qui closed the screen in front of him and laced his fingers together. "When we first t, you were like a happy little child, thrilled just to help people. That wasn’t the real you, was it?"

That child was long gone. After being used and drained for so long, how could he keep smiling about helping others while his own body fell apart?

Mr. Qui seed to read his thoughts. "Who you are... how you were born... It’s a miracle for the country, but a curse for you. Accept it and move on, Le An. Don’t make life harder for yourself or for those around you. Just give us what we need. Let us unlock the secret behind this miracle with the experint and... Retire? Just retire. Go live in so remote place. Raise a thousand plants. Be good. Hm?"

Le An t his eyes, and for a brief mont, he did go back to that first day. He saw that younger version of himself, eager, amazed, and terrified. He nodded just like he had back then. "Yes, sir."

"Good." Mr. Qui leaned back. "My secretary will send you a separate schedule for so etings. The shareholders want to see you again. They’d like to have dinner before the experint begins. Contact your manager, Sora, and coordinate with my secretary. Let’s set a date soon, alright?"

"Yes, sir. I’ll take care of it." Le An stood and moved toward the door.

But then- "Actually, Le An?"

"Yes, sir?" He turned back.

"There’s a charity banquet tonight at the Central Ceremonial Garden. After that, there’ll be so private gatherings at the hotels, as usual. Our shareholders will be attending."

"Wouldn’t that draw too much attention, sir? It’s rare for to attend those events, especially with shareholders involved. People might assu things."

Le An’s face scread no. Mr. Qui smiled, delighted by the resistance. "Exactly. That curiosity and attention will be useful. You’re a public figure, Le An. You’ve been hiding in your house for too long. Silence breeds more suspicion. So... tonight?"

There was no real choice.

"Yes, sir," Le An murmured and turned again.

"One last thing, my dear."

"Yes," Le An sighed. Of course, he wasn’t done yet. It was like Mr. Qui enjoyed dragging this out just to ruin his day.

"Your manager... is she an oga?"

Disgust boiled up in Le An’s throat. He saw the curiosity in Mr. Qui’s eyes—hungry and wrong.

"No, sir. She’s a beta," he replied quickly. It was true.

"What a sha... such wasted potential," Mr. Qui muttered, eyes already losing interest. "She was just my type."

"Unfortunately," Le An replied, his tone icy, and walked out.