December

“Yeah. When Cho Sungkyun said that he was a dominant Alpha, and if he met a recessive Omega, he would marry him but you didn’t believe him. You don’t remember?”

Ah, that. It was like that. I used to say something like that. A newly emerged piece of the past swam in my mind like a fish. Even on the way back after breaking up with Deokjin, those words kept ringing in my mind. At the time, I was confident that I knew how to guard myself against dominant Alphas and look after others.

So, when I said that to Deokjin about Cho Sungkyun at the time, I intended to show off my good sixth sense. I wasn’t wrong, but it was a mistake in the end. Maybe that was why I became more cautious after that. I consoled myself like this when I ran away to Pohang three years ago.

I would forget over time. If I held on until the wound healed, I could return to my old self. I had always been like this. Most things were easy to forget after thinking about them for a while. However, I did not know at the time that there were also wounds that exceeded that time limit.

Even though it became blurry with time, it remained unforgettable and intercepted my thinking. I was angry. The memory of Sungkyun Cho still haunted me. I looked out the bus window blankly before unconsciously rummaging through my bag. Only after confirming with my own eyes that the inhibitors were in place did I feel relieved and look out the window again.

The reason I arrived 10 minutes earlier than usual was because I wanted to talk to Shin. It was my first time doing something like that with someone kind to me, selflessly. I thought about many things all night but decided to simply put aside all my misunderstandings and delusions.

Kim Shin was altruistic and simply helped me. When I concluded this, I felt much at ease, even though I felt pitiful. However, when the restaurant started to appear in the distance, my composure collapsed. My heart was already pounding just by looking at the sign. What should I say first when I see your face?

Should I say I was thankful that the first penis I touched was yours? No, I should say I was sorry. The fact that I was thankful shouldn’t be obvious. I cheered myself up and organized what I wanted to say again. Thank you for helping me, but I’m so sorry I ejaculated in your hand twice. …Yeah, I did it twice. I immediately remembered the feeling of those hot, firm hands that held mine in the warehouse.

I stopped walking and placed my hand on my forehead. While I was thinking of how to thank Shin, I started heating up. After spending 10 minutes hesitating in front of the store, I finally arrived on time. My face was frozen from the cold, but I had no time to rejoice in the warmth as I nervously looked inside.

“Yeonwoo oppa, are you here?”

After greeting the cute hall worker, I looked around again and asked.

“Has Shin come yet?”

“Hm, I thought he couldn’t come today?”

Couldn’t come? I was dazed for a moment by the unexpected answer, but the cute part-timer suddenly called our boss.

“Boss, you said Kim Shin would be late today, right?”

The boss looked at something on the counter and nodded his head.

“Hm…his maternal grandfather fell sick and so they went to the hospital.”

Thinking about how it was his grandfather, the person must be very old. Was he in a critical situation? I was worried.

“How sick is his grandfather?”

“Well…he tripped while running on the streets last night.”

…This.

“Why did the old man suddenly run in the middle of the night? Was he so embarrassed that he ran away from something?”

As I headed to the locker room listening to the boss’s speculations, I somehow felt drained. After preparing a lot of things to say and being nervous, I suddenly relaxed, so I put down my bag and took off my coat, and then I found a text message on my phone. It was Shin.

[I will be late today. I’m definitely coming, so just wait for me. I have something to say]

The cells of my body, which had been lethargic, stood up again with tension. I continued to look at the text message for several minutes before coming to my senses and quickly heading to the kitchen.

“Yeonwoo, please bring me some wine.”

The hall employee seemed to be in a hurry, so he almost threw me a piece of paper with the wine list on it and then disappeared. The hall was unusually busy today, so the chef motioned for me to go quickly.

“We are okay here, so go help in the hall.”

“Yes,” I answered, dragged the cart to the wine refrigerator, and took out five bottles of wine. I thought, ‘They are drinking more wine than usual,’ but I wondered who would drink too much wine until they were full.

“Oh, yes, please bring the two bottles on the left to the special room.”

The employee quickly took three bottles and left alone. I took the remaining two bottles and went down the hall to the special room. Seunghee, the cute part-time worker in charge of the special area, was in the hallway, so she handed me the cart while frowning.

“What’s the matter?”

“The customer inside is a little drunk.”

I looked at the closed door and grabbed the cart again.

“Then I’ll take it in.”

“No.”

She shook her head, smiled, and added as if it was no big deal.

“He’s a lawyer who is a regular at our store. He’s always polite, so he’ll be fine.”

Seunghee smiled brightly and entered the special room. I glanced inside through the closed door, and it seemed like there was only one customer. Just in case, I stayed for a while to wait for Seunghee to come out. I didn’t hear anything, so I tried to turn around but stopped for a moment. What is this? There was a faint scent of pheromones.

It was the smell of an aroused Alpha. Why was an Alpha in a rut here? In an instant, the blood in my entire body cooled. I didn’t know if this was due to fear or a sixth sense that something big was happening. My feet just moved without me realizing it. I knocked and opened the door right away without waiting for an answer. I would be sorry if nothing happened. I was planning on apologizing and immediately grabbing the handle to close it, but I couldn’t.

“Fuck, what?”

A well-built man who looked to be in his early 40s looked at me and swore. His arm was wrapped around Seunghee’s back as if he was strangling her neck, and his other hand was covering her mouth. My mind froze for a moment due to the unexpected situation, but Seunghee’s fear-filled eyes awakened something inside me. I moved my body without even thinking. I grabbed the handle of the wine glass that was on the table and slammed the cup against the table. With that sound, the wine glass turned into a sharp weapon.

“Let go.”

Unlike when I broke a wine glass out of curiosity, my voice was quiet and my hands were shaking slightly. Fortunately, I didn’t think they thought I was scared. No, the lawyer’s attention was focused elsewhere. He let go of Seunghee as if he was pushing her away and looked at me. I had to help Seunghee, who was pushed to the point of falling, but my body froze under the lawyer’s gaze and I couldn’t move properly. The eyes were filled with heat. He grinned at me like a killer in a horror movie.

“Are you an Omega?”

Unable to answer, I took a step back and stretched out my hand to quickly push Seunghee behind me.

“Call the boss! Quick!”

Fortunately, Seunghee left and called out to the boss with a scream. I didn’t know why this person suddenly had his rut, but looking at those eyes, he wasn’t in his right mind. At that level, I suspected he entered the restaurant while knowing he was in a rut. He was like an animal who came hunting to a familiar place to grab someone and relieve its heat.

I could hear people hurrying down the corridor, but all I saw was the lawyer approaching me. It was terrifying. I was still clutching the shattered glass, but it appeared that any resistance I might have had would be neutralized by a single motion from the powerful Alpha. In the past, the thought of being unable to accomplish anything gave me goosebumps that extended throughout my body.

“Hey, you smell good.”

The lawyer’s eyes shone akin to a hungry animal looking at their food. I had to run away, but I couldn’t move quickly, as if my feet were numb. At least I could barely move my hands and raise them. The lawyer smiled and quickly approached me, and I tightened my grip. I thought I heard the footsteps of several people running and a loud noise, but I couldn’t check behind me. My five senses were focused only on the Alpha who was targeting me as prey.

Bang!

To avoid the lawyer, my body moved on its own, knocking over the chair and making a loud noise. The lawyer was trapped in his chair for a time, but his eyes shone even brighter.

“Ha, fuck, that’s cute.”

He jumped over the chair in one go and came in front of me again in an instant. Ah! His hands barely grazed the air as I ducked under the wall. The shock spread through my body as it hit the wall, but I didn’t feel it. I was scared at the thought that I almost got caught. I knew that I wouldn’t be so lucky next time. Still, all I could do was run away.

Clang!

I believe I moved instinctively. The chair tumbled over again, and as I tried to rush towards the door, his demon-like hand seized my shoulder. I waved my hand without realizing it. I was still clutching my broken wine glass. Let go! A cry that could not be uttered came out like a scream from inside. I felt like something was caught in the wine glass I was swinging, and the hand holding my shoulder fell away.

During the short chase that lasted less than a minute, my heart was pounding as if it was going to explode. However, this sound was like a drumbeat counting down to the tragedy to come. I was still clutching my broken wine glass and was already feeling defeated even though nothing had happened to me. I gritted my teeth because I was so pitiful, that I could barely avoid being overwhelmed by Alpha’s energy.

Of course, I was really planning on stabbing the lawyer if he approached. Even though I was shaking on the inside, I was planning on resisting that much no matter what. Nevertheless, the tremors spread to the hand holding the wine glass. Before I could catch his breath, the lawyer moved and my whole body tensed, but suddenly he stopped moving. Why?

I was so startled that I forgot that I had to run away while he stopped, and suddenly someone grabbed my wrist from behind. I screamed inwardly again, startled. Huh, what?! Instead of my body being frozen in shock, I could barely turn my head. Meanwhile, the person grabbing my arm tried to take the glass out of my hand. As I did not relax my hand, I heard a word.

“Sunbae, you’re hurt.”

It was Shin’s voice, and I could see him in my field of vision. He stared at the stopped lawyer, took the glass from my now relaxed hand, and stepped forward as if to block my path. uh? When…When did you come? I was looking at his back blankly when Kijun called out to me from behind and pulled me.

“Yeonwoo, escape quickly.”

But both Kijun, who was calling me, and I, who was trying to back away from the pulling force, stopped moving. Shin walked straight to the lawyer.

He lifted my foot without hesitation. It was an instant. He kicked the lawyer hard in a familiar motion as if he had done this every day. It was a quick and clean move that left no time for the lawyer to counterattack.

Clang! Bang!

With a loud sound, the lawyer’s body seemed to float in the air like a cartoon, then hit the decoration table and fell to the floor. It happened in less than a few seconds. There was a mixture of screams and surprised sounds behind him, but Shin expressionlessly grabbed the lawyer who had fallen to the floor by his neck and lifted him. His large hand grasped the lawyer’s windpipe under the chin. This time too, it felt like a familiar gesture.

The lawyer staggered his legs in shock and struggled to pull himself off, trying to pull his body off with both hands. However, Shin, who was dragging the adult man around like a light doll, kept walking without even paying attention to his resistance. He dragged the lawyer, whose breathing was so tight that his face looked as if it was going to burst, and opened his mouth as if nothing had happened.

“Get out of the way.”

At his words, the people in the hallway immediately backed up against the wall to make way for him. In the meantime, Shin disappeared, dragging the lawyer, the whites in his eyes visible. The rest were all frozen and unable to move as if they were possessed by something. How could he control an Alpha on his rut so easily? There was silence for a while, and the owner and sous chef, who belatedly came to their senses, ran outside in pursuit of Shin. I tried to chase them, but Kijun and another employee grabbed my arm and stopped me.

“You are an Omega. It’s dangerous, stay here.”

My body trembled as if I was scared, as I looked around the messed up interior.

“He…Kim Shin is really a real Alpha.”

That day, the store explained the situation to the customers and closed early after the remaining customers had finished eating. When Seunghee was first caught by her lawyer, she cried so much that she almost panicked, so other members of the staff went to escort her. It was the sous chef who showed an unexpected reaction. He followed Shin and the lawyer outside and came inside first, looking shocked and dazed the whole time. The situation was resolved an hour later, after the boss, who had gone to the police station, returned.

“Shin will come soon too. He is talking with a lawyer so I came first.”

“A lawyer?!”

When Kijun was surprised by the word lawyer and asked, the president quickly waved his hand and said, ‘No, not that lawyer.’

“Shin’s lawyer. Anyway, that fucker…that lawyer is in the hospital.”

“Why was he admitted to the hospital? Did Kim Shin hit him?”

“Yeah. Well.”

The boss added vaguely and quickly.

“Shin won’t be having any problems. It was said that since it was a fight between Alpha and the dominant Alpha, it was not subject to legal sanctions. I’m so glad that Shin stepped in at that time.”

Although we all felt that it was fortunate, we could not hide our bitterness. If he hadn’t been there, Beta or Omega would have had to fight the lawyer. Almost all Alphas, who were in their ruts, didn’t have their crimes executed properly because of the circumstances. Rather, whenever something like this happened, the Omega or Beta were considered fugitives since they were the ones who hurt them. Plus, he was a lawyer, so he probably got compensated.

“I’m really glad, Shin came to work with us.”

The boss muttered and suddenly looked at me. Why me? When I looked at him as if asking a question, the boss smiled.

“Are you okay, Yeonwoo?”

“Yes.”

I nodded. No one was worried about me for now. That was what I wanted too. But when I finally entered the locker room and was left alone, I collapsed against the wall. My hands were still shaking. I placed my hand on my forehead and took a deep breath. It wasn’t a big deal. It went well. However, I did not forget how scared I was when I looked into the eyes of the Alpha. I finally came to my senses and got up from my seat when the door suddenly opened. It was Shin. As soon as he saw me, he exhaled in relief.

“I thought you were gone.”

With a slight mumble, he scanned my body.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, you? I heard you went to the police station?”

“It’s not a big deal.”

He entered the dressing room and closed the door behind him. The already narrow locker room felt even smaller. Even though he was busy sorting the situation with his lawyer, being alone with him in a small space reminded him of what happened in the warehouse, and my body tensed. He asked, looking at my face as if he had noticed my reaction.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes,” I answered again, lowered my gaze, and licked my lips. I felt his gaze on my face, but I said nothing. I couldn’t raise my head so I began by conveying my gratitude.

“Thank you. If you hadn’t come then, I would have gone to the police station. While helping me, you ended up at the police station…”

Then his hand came up to my face. So close that I could almost touch it. But when I reflexively flinched and stepped back, his hand also stopped. I didn’t ignore him like this because I didn’t like him. I was more concerned that I might disgrace him by behaving like I did yesterday, or that my true intentions would be revealed. Maybe he misunderstood my appearance like this to mean something else. As he met my eyes, he lowered his outstretched hand.

“Sorry. You must have been surprised by Alpha.”

No, I was afraid that I would be entering my heat cycle just by looking at him. Unable to reveal the truth, I hesitated and looked away again.

“Oh, is your grandfather okay? I heard he was hurt?”

“Yeah, it wasn’t serious.”

“Thank god.”

There was awkward silence again. In an attempt to break the situation, I thought of a topic firmly and then remembered his text message.

“By the way, what exactly did you mean when you said you had something to say to me?”

He looked at me quietly and opened his mouth briefly.

“It’s nothing much.”

I ran out of things to say again. We both had no desire to continue to be in the locker room, but nobody recommended leaving first. After a while, I lifted the bag without saying a word and he opened the door and went out. I followed him through the quiet hall.

Looking at him, all I could think of was my gratitude, but that wasn’t the case at all. Yesterday in the warehouse, the image of him breathing heavily into my ear and shaking his genitals together occupied me. I wanted to touch him. I wanted to reach out and run my hand over his back, over his shoulder, up his arm, and hold my hand, his hand.

When the wind came up to my neck as if strangling my breathing, a cold wind hit me through the front door that Shin opened. Like the cold air awakening my brain, it brought me to reality. I thought. I wish I could at least be his pheromone partner. Since I was a recessive Omega and was okay with being abandoned, I wanted to touch him again.