Test Subject (2)
"The Alpha Factor…?"
"That's right. The Alpha Factor."
"What is that?"
She let out a long sigh. The serious expression she'd worn earlier vanished, replaced once again by that tired, worn-out face.
"It's a genetic code that can only be detected in people we commonly refer to as Alphas."
"Why would something like that show up in me?"
"Because you are an Alpha."
I'm an Alpha?
No way.
I was born to two Grade 3 parents. I grew up in a state facility after being born to them, and I'd lived my entire life knowing I was also Grade 3.
And now she was telling me I was an Alpha?
"Um… I think there might be some kind of misunderstanding. I'm Grade 3."
I pointed at the name tag attached to my school uniform.
After looking at the tag, she spoke again as if she'd forgotten something.
"Ah, I explained it wrong."
"See? How could I possibly be an Alp—"
"To be precise, your Alpha Factor simply hasn't been activated yet."
"Huh…?"
She picked up the documents she'd set on the desk and continued.
"Let's see… One of your very distant ancestors was an Alpha, and that person's gene has been passed down to you. Of course, only a very small amount."
"Uh… Even so, why would that make me an Alpha?"
"Even a tiny amount of the Alpha Factor is enough. Once it's activated, you become an Alpha."
"…!"
My heart began pounding wildly at her words.
I can become an Alpha?
Reaching the status that every man, woman, and child dreamed of was supposed to be impossible no matter what you did.
Wasn't becoming an Alpha the number one future aspiration for elementary school kids, after all?
That's how much everyone wanted it, yet how utterly unattainable the rank of Alpha truly was.
"Is… is that really true?!"
"Of course. The process to activate it is difficult, though."
"Ah…"
"Still, it's not like there are no methods."
She stood up, pulled something like a remote control from inside her coat, and pressed a button toward the reinforced glass.
The thick barrier that had separated us sank into the wall, opening a path to her side.
"Follow me. We'll talk on the way."
"…"
In the end, I had no choice but to follow her.
When I followed her out through the door she'd entered, an entirely different space unfolded before me—one completely unlike the hallway I'd come through.
As we walked down a long corridor that felt exactly like a research facility, she spoke.
"How much do you know about Alphas?"
"Uh, pretty much everything that comes up in middle school textbooks."
"Then I can skip the background explanation."
She reached into her coat pocket, pulled out a fruit-flavored lollipop, peeled off the wrapper, and popped it into her mouth.
"Want one?"
"No… I'm fine."
The sharp click of her heels and my shoes echoed through the quiet hallway.
"Have you seen the article about Korea's first Alpha being born?"
"Yes, I saw it about six months ago."
It had been such a massive event, with the entire country going wild from the media coverage, that even someone like me who usually avoided the news knew about it.
"Then you must also know that the Alpha was a female."
"Yeah, I guess."
I'd seen the female Alpha's face in the newspaper photo.
Honestly, she was more beautiful than any woman I'd ever seen in my life.
And…
Her chest and hips were insane…
The higher the genetic grade of a woman, the more their bodies evolved with wider hips to birth more children easily, and larger breasts to provide nutrient-rich breast milk from infancy.
Not to mention, the woman walking beside me was no slouch in that department either.
She's at least Grade 1, easy…
"By the way, what should I call you?"
"Me?"
"Yes. I thought we should at least settle on a title…"
"Hmm."
She crunched down on the lollipop in her mouth, looking like she was thinking.
"Just call me Doctor."
"Yes, Doctor."
"So why did you bring up that female Alpha?"
"Because you're connected to her."
"What?! Me?"
"We're here."
She completely ignored my question and announced that we'd reached our destination.
When she placed her finger on the sensor beside the door we were standing in front of, it opened with a heavy metallic groan.
"Where are we?"
"My personal laboratory."
Once the door was fully open, her lab came into view.
It was the kind of space you'd legitimately call a pigsty.
Following the Doctor inside, I saw things that hadn't been visible from the entrance.
Piles of papers scattered haphazardly or stacked into mountains, and coffee stains pressed into the floor.
"Sit here."
She pulled over a wheeled office chair and placed it in front of her own seat.
The cushion looked incredibly plush—it was probably from a pretty expensive brand.
She turned to me with the air of someone finally ready to get to the real story.
"Have you ever seen a female Alpha pregnant?"
"Uh, no."
Since most of them avoided going outside, even paparazzi struggled to get photos of anything more than their backs, let alone catch them pregnant.
"That makes sense. Female Alphas can only get pregnant from Alpha semen."
"Excuse me?"
Today was turning into a day of learning one shocking fact after another.
"And our country didn't know about that either. After all, we were the first to produce an Alpha."
She rolled the shrinking lollipop around with her tongue as she spoke.
"The other countries that already had Alphas were hiding this fact, so there was no way for us to find out."
"It was about two weeks after the news broke that they couldn't get pregnant from Grade 1 men, right?"
She stretched her legs out under the desk as if reminiscing.
"When we asked other Alpha-possessing nations for male Alpha sperm donations, they played dumb and said their Alphas were national strategic assets."
"So we decided to find a male Alpha within our own country."
She pulled the lollipop stick—now all that remained—from her mouth and pointed the end at me.
"And what we found… was you."
"I… see…"
She stuck the bare stick back into her mouth and savored what little flavor remained.
"But how did you find me?"
She tapped the side of her neck with her finger, looking completely unbothered.
"The injection you received this morning. That's how."
"Wait, wasn't that a genetic mutation test kit or something?"
"Obviously that was a lie."
"Then what was it?"
"Cutting-edge AI nanobots made by pouring two years' worth of our lab's budget into the project."
If they'd used two years of the national genetic research institute's budget—the second-largest after the Ministry of National Defense—then it had to be something absurdly advanced.
"You just injected something like that into students? Aren't you worried about technology leaks or anything?"
"Don't worry. They're remotely controlled, so if they don't detect the Alpha Factor, they automatically dissolve and disappear inside the body."
"Then in my case…"
"Correct. The nanobots are still inside you. That's how we were able to find you."
I felt a strange mix of emotions as I barely managed to steady my trembling legs.
"Shall we get to the main topic now?"
"Wasn't everything you just told me the main topic?"
"That was barely the introduction."
She looked at me with a face that was both bold and somehow dazed.
"I'll be direct. Become an Alpha for us."
"…"
"We need an Alpha who will listen to us properly. The others are all too busy living for their own egos."
"Do I really look that easy to you…"
"Yep. Extremely."
To be honest, even I had to admit there wasn't anyone easier to push around than me. I had a baby face, a small build, and a timid personality.
"If I agree… what do I get out of it?"
"We'll make sure you enjoy everything an Alpha is entitled to—and more."
"…"
"So? Deal?"
She held out another lollipop—I had no idea when she'd taken it out—and offered it to me.
From my position, it was a choice with nothing to lose.
If I rejected this offer, I'd live my whole life as a Grade 3. It was better than being Unranked, but I'd still face discrimination and hateful looks everywhere I went.
But if I accepted?
If the Doctor was telling the truth, I'd live a life free of envy, receiving admiring gazes instead of hateful ones.
In short, there was only one real choice for me.
"Sure. Let's give it a shot."
I snatched the candy from her hand, immediately peeled off the wrapper, and popped it into my mouth.
It was the same grape flavor you could find anywhere.
But… how should I put it.
There was a slightly bitter aftertaste, like medicine…
-Thud.
"Nice. Success."
The only thing left in the room was the Doctor smiling with pure satisfaction.
"Ugh… my head hurts…"
> Oh, you woke up faster than I expected.
"Ugh, what?"
> Congratulations on becoming the first and last test subject of the AF Project.
"What? What project?"
> First, let's activate the nanobots.
Right after her short reply, a low humming sound rang through my head.
The headache only lasted a moment before several mechanical voices pierced directly into my mind.
System update complete. AI program now activating.
"D-Doctor… what is this?"
> What do you think? I'm turning on the nanobots inside your body.
A constant humming sound, like a computer fan spinning, continued inside my head.
At the same time, I looked around the room I was in.
It was completely different from the Doctor's office where I'd collapsed. This place felt more like a psychiatric ward.
"Doctor, can't you do something about this noise?"
> Just wait. It's almost done.
Before long, just as she'd said, the humming disappeared. Instead, a different voice rang clearly in my head.
Program activation complete. Greetings, User.
"Whoa…"
A screen that looked like something straight out of a game had appeared before my eyes.
"I can even click on it?"
The moment the status window-like screen from an RPG appeared, the instincts of every Korean male student kicked in.
"Does this thing not have a name?"
> Hmm. The lab team just calls it by its model number or Nano.
"Nano…"
Whoever named it clearly hadn't put much thought into it.
As I was examining the screen from various angles, I discovered a particularly strange section.
"Huh? Alpha Factor Activation Rate? What is this?"
It literally refers to the activation index of the Alpha Factor present within the User's body.
"Whoa!"
I fell backward, landing hard on my butt.
"Ow… that hurt…"
Impact detected near the User's coccyx. Confirmed that the force was not strong enough to cause fractures or injury.
"…This thing is really smart."
> Good. It seems to be working properly.
Through the transparent window on the other side of the room, I could hear the sound of the Doctor typing on a keyboard through her microphone.
> Then shall we begin the real data collection?
"…Pardon?"