December

“Oh, that was odd to me too.”

Deokjin nodded his head quickly with a surprised face. Minah chewed the giblets in her mouth and moved the chopsticks again.

“In the video, he said it was all true with his mouth. He smiled and boasted. He said that no one could find an Omega who had as good specs as him. Sunbae-nim always touted that a dominant Omega could succeed in society by following normal steps, but who knew that he was climbing up a stairway made for prostitutes? It’s funny when you think about it…Why was he making a fuss by adding the word ‘woman’ to bad things when he was a man? Anyway, it was embarrassing.”

The thing that surprised me the most was how Minah sounded like she was having fun seeing someone else suffer. I wasn’t very close with Minah, so I was a bit surprised when she said she was coming out to meet us today. So I didn’t think she had a grudge against him because of me.

“Do you hate that senior?”

“That senior got you wrapped up in awful things. ”

It was true, but I was still puzzled, so Minah stopped flipping her giblets and looked back at me.

“He is shameless. At that time, the girls from the department were all pissed off hearing your story.”

“Why were they? Even though they were not an Omega.”

When Deokjin intervened, Mina smiled and looked at him.

“We’re not Omegas, but we’ve been through so many nasty things because of Beta guys who couldn’t control their dicks. It seemed like something we could go through, so we were angry.”

Silently, Deokjin closed his eyes and consumed the leftovers. I lowered my head, too, being a man myself, but Mina put something into my glass without any indication.

“People are saying that Sunbae-nim would most probably be fired. I guess good always prevails. Everything will be fine for you too, Yeonwoo.”

The blunt consolation of a friend made my body warmer than soju.

All’s well that ends well. I didn’t have any big goals or big dreams that I wanted to achieve. I had many dreams when I entered school, but I forgot all about the future after living a hectic life doing physical work for three years. Overcoming the past came first to me.

I so stopped daring to hold hopes for the future at a certain point. All I wanted was for the best to avoid happening to me. I prioritized safety, exercised caution, and hoped that nothing would interfere with my day-to-day activities. I wouldn’t approach a dominating Alpha and flee if I came across one.

Maybe it was because I drank a bottle of soju while talking with my friends, but the name I had ignored for a week popped up. Kim Shin. Recalling the name reminded me of meeting him at the library. The way he stretched out his arm and wrote in my notebook with his big hand.

My body felt pretty warm from the bus’s heat and the hangover from drinking. It took me some time to feel refreshed when I got off and encountered the chilly air. Naturally, the chill vanished in an instant. The brisk breeze pricked my nose as I crossed the main road from the bus station.

A cold wind hit me in the face, but I walked quickly with one purpose in mind. I wanted to go home and quickly open the notebook. I just wanted to see his handwriting. Using the excuse of alcohol, I subtly ignored how ridiculous this was.

I should quickly return home. Keeping that in mind, I moved towards the building where the wind was not as strong. Turning towards the middle of the street as I got to the alley I was supposed to enter, I just so happened to notice what was going on across the street. I simply stopped. My heart responded first, sinking, Thump.

A tall man was standing in front of his car looking this way. I didn’t know why, at that moment, he looked like Kim Shin. It was so dark where he was standing, I couldn’t even see his face. He couldn’t even be in my town. In a daze, I stood there looking across the street, then turned around in embarrassment when I belatedly realized that it couldn’t be him.

I must be crazy, I mistook the person for Kim Shin because I saw a tall person. I was suddenly sober. I sprinted to my house and sat down on the floor as soon as I opened the door. I thought that person was Kim Shin. After that, my heart kept beating.

On Monday, I arrived at the store where I work 20 minutes earlier than usual. The reason was that the boss texted me to come a little earlier. However, the text message showed how excited he was, so I wondered if the owner of the building, for whom our boss was waiting for, had come. However, looking at Kijoon’s expression while he was standing in front of the store, it seemed that was not the case. His face was trembling as he greeted me. What’s the matter? When I asked, Ki Joon pointed inward.

“A new part-timer has arrived.”

As soon as I went inside, I knew why he was acting this way. The first thing I saw were the faces of the female part-timers. They were all bright..Very bright. Did someone handsome join us? The thoughts soon stopped as I froze in my steps.

“Oh, Yeonwoo. Come on.”

The manager called for me to hurry and waved his hands like a duck. But I found it difficult to move.

“A new part-timer joined us. He’s a W University student like you.”

I couldn’t hear the excitement in the president’s voice properly. The new part-timer looked at me and smiled.

“Hello, Yeonwoo Sunbae.”

It was Kim Shin.

“It’s a conspiracy.”

I woke up to the strong voice of Kijoon. He had been saying something for a long time, but my head was so frozen that I couldn’t hear him properly. The fact that I saw Kim Shin here shocked me. How did he get a part-time job here? What in the world? I still stared at him in a state of shock.

“Otherwise, why would a proud Alpha like him work here unless he was crazy?”

Proud Alpha. I came to my senses as if I had realized his existence again. Yes, he was a proud dominant Alpha. I swallowed heavily as if to push away the shock. Looking around at the female part-timers whom Kijoon recalled and emphasized.

“He wouldn’t come to a place like this without some ulterior motive.”

“What kind of motive?”

Yes, what type of…? Kijoon was unable to speak. Kim Shin’s arrival here shocked me as well and I knew he would not benefit from working here. As though in a fit of wrath, Kijoon inquired again, unable to come up with a response.

“But, come on, think about it: why would a haughty Alpha like him, a W college student, and someone dressed like this, work a part-time job here?”

“To make money?”

“How naive you are. Hey, attending W University automatically entitles you to a high income, so who would want to work here part-time?

“… Me.”

Kijoon hesitated while looking at me, but shook his head resolutely.

“If he was that cool, he would have been tutoring people. Not working at a place like this.”

I was about to say this however I ended up telling him the truth.

“Kim Shin says he can’t take tutoring because of the way he teaches.”

“What way?”

“He hits them.”

Kijun looked at me for a while and asked blankly.

“Only men?”

“…He will only hit men.”

Ki Joon, who was 100% male, closed his eyes tightly as if frustrated. However, he asked again as if he did not understand. His voice lowered as if he was whispering.

“No, then why the hell was he working here? Does he want to flirt with someone he likes?”

No way. I looked around without realizing it and my eyes landed on Kim Shin who was talking to the boss. He stood across from the boss, so his body was covered, but because of his height, he could make eye contact with me over the boss’s head. He caught my gaze as if he had been watching me all along.

I involuntarily stopped breathing. His gaze was so intriguing that I dared not turn away. It was as if the boss was talking to himself, he kept looking at me. His black eyes stared right at me. Even in front of me, Kijoon was blabbering about something, but I couldn’t hear him properly as if his eyes deafened my surroundings.

I felt my heart skip a beat simply by looking at him. I looked away in shame, as though someone might notice how I was reacting. However, I could still feel him staring at me, and the tension in my skin made my skin sensitive. However, I must have made a mistake. Why do I react this way, even after only a quick look? I doubt he would find it really significant.

“But there shouldn’t be a woman here who caught his eyes.”

After Kijoon concluded, he stopped looking at me. Trying to ignore my stinging skin, I asked ‘Why?’, but he shook his head and smiled.

“Ah, there can’t be.”

What? I asked again, but I couldn’t hear Kijoon. I repeated the same words and turned around. When the person I was talking to disappeared, it felt like my shield was gone. It was enough for me to turn around and leave that spot, but I couldn’t suppress my desire and looked back at the place where my eyes had landed a moment ago. He wasn’t looking at me anymore.

As if the boss was trying to guide him, he took him and disappeared inside the restaurant. The boss was next to him, but only the tall figure came into my view. The pounding of my heart continued to linger like remnants of vibration throughout the whole time the boss was guiding him through and did not easily disappear. I pried my eyes away and turned around.

“Can you do anything?”

The chef repeatedly questioned Kim Shin, the person in charge of the kitchen. Next to him was the sous chef standing with a disapproving expression.

“Do it right if you are at it. This is not a place for dominant Alphas to learn by experience.”

The voice of the sous chef was sharp. It was not that I didn’t understand how the chef reacted to him. But Kim Shin was not the right person for this place. The kitchen, which had previously been considered spacious, felt cramped, perhaps because of the dominant Alpha energy he exuded.

The chef was the one in charge here, but he gave off the vibe that he owned the establishment. It was clear that this aura gave a sense of alienation, whether it was awe or admiration. Besides, even though he only glanced back at the sous chef, everyone in the kitchen stiffened with tension.

“I will do my best.”