December

The question came lightly. A jumper with a hat, jeans, and sneakers. There was no emotion on his face. So, Sungkyun looked up at him with bewildered eyes.

“What are you…Ugh!”

Before Sungkyun could say two words, a loud noise like a gunshot rang in his ears.

Bang!

It was the sound of his head being caught in a large grip and smashed into the table. Kim Shin’s hand, which lifted Omega like a doll, handled Alpha’s body very easily. Before Sungkyun could come to his senses, his big hand grabbed Sungkyun’s hair again and threw him to the floor.

Thanks to the carpet, there was no thump, but the shock of hitting the floor again spread through Sungkyun’s body. Fuck…What the fuck is happening? A swear word came out, but he couldn’t properly resist the shock that suddenly hit his head.

Unable to contain his curiosity at the loud sound, Kangho raised his head and breathed in silently. Kim Shin, who was holding Sungkyun by the scruff of his neck, suddenly turned his eyes to him. Kangho gulped, feeling his heart sink in fear. Could it be that you didn’t see me? Why are you doing this to Sungkyun? No matter how much I thought about it, there was only one reason why Kim Shin came all this way and messed with him like that. It was because of the Omega that awakened him. But what does Sungkyun have to do with that Omega?

Mixed with confusion and curiosity, as he pondered whether he would pop his head out again, he heard people screaming. His eyes went up on their own. Kangho saw what Kim Shin did to Sung Kyun. Sungkyun was on his knees facing the sofa, his head tilted back. Kim Shin opened Sungkyun’s mouth and put something in it.

No, that was a momentary illusion but what happened was rather the opposite. He pulled something out of his mouth. In Kim Shin’s hand was a pair of pliers holding teeth covered in blood. Kim Shin brushed off his teeth as lightly as dust, then put the pliers back into Sungkyun’s mouth. Of course, he rebelled, but Kim Shin, like a man accustomed to this, easily overcame his resistance and pulled out his teeth again.

His white teeth were pulled out, and bright red blood flowed down his chin. Sungkyun’s gums were covered in red blood in an instant. His screams echoed through the club. Kangho also trembled, barely restraining himself from wanting to scream.

He couldn’t find the slightest bit of anger in Kim Shin. That made his actions even more terrifying. Fortunately, he seemed to be content with two teeth and threw his pliers to the floor and pushed Sungkyun to the floor. But he didn’t let go. He put his foot on his chest and pulled out his cell phone. Sungkyun pushed his foot away with his hand, but when it didn’t work, he bit it with his bleeding mouth.

“Ugh!… Who are you? Why the fuck are you doing this to me?Ugh…!!”

Kim Shin, on the other hand, did not respond since he was checking the message he had just received. He stared at the screen for a long time before placing it in his pocket for some reason. Kangho noticed his face showing emotion for the first time. Kangho’s body swelled with shivers as he sensed something major was about to happen to Sungkyun. Kim Shin moved his leg at the same time. He lowered his gaze to Sungkyun and placed his foot on his chest. Sungkyun’s horrible cry drowned out the crunch of a broken breastbone.

“Aagh!!! Ahh!!”

Sungkyun only stopped screaming when he couldn’t breathe, so Kim Shin put his foot down. As he was going to leave, he took up pliers and said his farewell to everyone. His voice was unimpressive.

“Get it checked. There are still many left to pluck out.”

Sent date: December 9

Sender: Song Yeonwoo

Hello, Kim Shin Hoobae-nim. I don’t think I’ll be able to go to the library from now on due to personal reasons. I’m sorry I couldn’t help you until the end

* * *

I haven’t been feeling well for several days. In the end, I couldn’t erase the sense of shame about how I had solved the problem by running away again. Even though I tried hard to attach a reason that this method was the best, that feeling did not go away easily. While I was able to completely blame the other person when I ran away before, this time I was feeling this way because it was my fault.

Kim Shin did nothing wrong. He was just trying to build a friendship with his senior at school, but I was attracted to him because I was imagining crude things about him. Yeah, I was infatuated. After days of not seeing him, I finally admitted it. A few days ago, I sent a text message saying that I wouldn’t go to the library anymore, and after a while, I got a reply from him.

[It’s okay. See you later, Yeonwoo Sunbae-nim.]

Kim Shin must have replied without thinking. Since we shared the same school, there was a possibility that we would meet. Maybe he was like that with the text I sent as well, and he would ignore it and consider it unimportant. Even so, I couldn’t help but feel my heart pounding and anticipation welling up at the words ‘See you later’.

Even though it was pitiful for me to react like this after I put my distance first, I saw that text message several times a day and couldn’t stop. I was also dumbfounded by this. We didn’t break up after dating each other over harsh words, and we didn’t flirt, but we only met at the library for a few days.

So I was confused as to why I kept thinking of him. Could this just be because of his pheromones? Confusion did not subside easily because I had the pride that I could choose to look over pheromones if I liked someone. It would be embarrassing if they were attracted to you just because of their pheromones.

Still, it was a relief that I didn’t see myself going back to the library. However, I had to feel all kinds of expectations, frustration, and shame over that one text message for several days. In the dark room with the lights off, I tried not to think of him.

Maybe it was because I was trying so hard to clear my head, but I suddenly lost my motivation to do other things, so even reaching for my phone was annoying. I couldn’t sleep easily either. I was not the type to worry too much, but because of Kim Shin, I kept holding on to his smile and text as if it were a difficult math problem. I was embarrassed because I was unfamiliar with this feeling.

I forcibly closed my eyes. Out of sight, out of mind. Perhaps it was the effect of the brainwashing, my head emptied and I fell asleep soon after, but strangely, I didn’t feel refreshed at all. The next day, on my way to work, I got a call from my maternal aunt. How was the crab? I‘ll send you more and after a brief conversation, my aunt asked cautiously.

[I heard you befriended a dominant Alpha?]

I realized right away that this was the purpose of my aunt’s phone call.

“No. He’s just my junior at university. I won’t be meeting him anymore.”

[Why?]

Her question was unexpected, so I couldn’t immediately come up with an answer. Why? I assumed that she, like my uncle, would be against it.

[Did your uncle say something? Is it because of that?]

“No. He didn’t say anything.”

[He did, didn’t he?]

My aunt recognized my lie at once. But it wasn’t a lie. Yes, my uncle advised against it, but I was the one who made the decision.

“Auntie…Uncle didn’t say much but I…”

[Not all dominant Alphas are bad people, okay? Of course, some scums only consider Omega to be some kind of tool, but that doesn’t mean they’re all scum. There must be someone good enough to take your hand.]

My aunt’s voice trembled a little, and she was unable to say more. My aunt was traumatized by Alphas. She must have had the courage to give such advice.

[I’m worried that you might be throwing away that opportunity to meet a decent person.]

My aunt laughed, but she was still scared. My family and my uncle always encouraged me to build the wall, telling me to be careful, but she, being the same victim, wanted me to go beyond the wall. She was an odd one. I tried my best to say that it wasn’t a big deal.

“It wasn’t even an opportunity. Just a junior at school.”

[Really? Your uncle said he was dapper and tall. Wasn’t he?]

“Ah, that’s right…”

[Then it’s an opportunity.]

“…Really?”

[Hm.]

Listening to my aunt, the strange feeling that was there a second ago disappeared like the wind. I admit, my uncle was handsome as well. So after I finished the call, I was confused by the word opportunity, but the announcement on the bus brought me to reality.

‘This stop is in front of xx library, in front of xx library.’

I couldn’t see out the bus windows since they were fogged and wet from the steamy inside. Still, I had a general notion of how it would look. I mistakenly wiped the dew and reached out to check the weather, but as I realized what I was doing, I lowered my hand. I tried not to glance out the window as the bus drove away from the stop.

After a week of starting the part-time job, I became accustomed to it and established a pattern. During my break, one of them was to go to a convenience store and have a cup of noodles. Perhaps it was because I went there at the same time every time that I got to know the regulars who also came at the same time.

But, of course, we never greeted each other in a friendly way, and I pretended to know him and kept it to myself, saying, “Oh, there’s that person again.” So I was taken aback when I went to the convenience store that day. The old man who had always stood in front of the window with his digestive drink was not there.

I looked around as soon as I walked in, and today, the store manager made eye contact with me and gestured to the inside of the display stand with his chin. I suppose we created a friendship within ourselves without saying anything. Sure enough, the old man was standing at the cup ramen display stand, where I went every time. I looked at him and reached for the small cup of noodles I typically ate.

“Is this good enough to eat?”

I picked up the cup of noodles and looked back at him nervously. You’re not suggesting that we drink digestive drinks again, right?

“The serving is small…So I’m not easily bloated by the end of it. Plus, I can digest it quickly”

I emphasized digestion, but he looked at numerous products again as if he didn’t care about what I said.

“What do kids like these days?”