“No, seriously, this is ridiculous. Hey. At seventeen, you should be able to choose your own friends. They’re being fucking dramatic. I’m not dating you or anything, just trying to chat with another man.”
It was probably because Gong Pyeonghwa was an Alpha.
Saebyeok was an Omega, and Pyeonghwa was an Alpha.
“Honestly, I don’t care if we stay enemies.”
Gasp. Saebyeok felt a sharp pain in his heart, as if it had been stabbed with a toothpick.
“But when adults act like that, doesn’t it kind of provoke you? You know that feeling when someone tells you not to do something, and it makes you want to do it more? It’s like lighting a fire under my stubbornness.”
What… is he saying? The heart that had been stinging suddenly felt full again, as if nothing had happened.
“Let’s hide it more perfectly, and later when we get our shares transferred, we’ll grab our parents by the neck and tell them we’ve actually been friends all along.”
“What are you talking about…”
Thanks to Gong Pyeonghwa, Saebyeok learned for the first time that when you’re flabbergasted, words can come out without going through your brain.
“So are you saying you’ll keep ignoring me because your mom and dad told you not to hang out with me? Is that right?”
Just a moment ago, he said he didn’t care if they stayed enemies, but now…
Saebyeok could only marvel at Gong Pyeonghwa, who acted as if they had promised a thousand years of friendship and was now feeling wronged.
“Is our friendship that light?”
Honestly, it could be considered a light friendship.
“Hey, you. Seonwoo Jeong and I fell into water. Who would you save?”
Despite the random question, Saebyeok racked his brain. Conditioned by Korea’s entrance exam system, Saebyeok had a compulsion to solve problems when given.
“Seonwoo Jeong, of course.”
“What? Fuck. We’re not friends anymore.”
“Because I wouldn’t even let you near the water.”
Three-year-olds and the mentally scattered Gong Pyeonghwa shouldn’t be allowed near water. But Gong Pyeonghwa, misinterpreting Saebyeok’s meaning, hugged him with a moved expression.
“You know, cutting off ‘jeol-gyo’ makes it ‘jeol-chin’ (best friends).”
His flexible attitude, freely going between breaking friendship and being best friends, was slick. Saebyeok didn’t dislike this side of Gong Pyeonghwa.
“…I also think it’s wrong to control a 17-year-old’s friendships.”
“Right? But no matter what you say, you always sound so educated.”
Saebyeok was about to tell him that he would sound the same if he didn’t use slang and vulgar language, but he kept his mouth shut.
It was better for Gong Pyeonghwa to speak in his own way.
“Honestly, my parents have been a bit suspicious lately, asking Ujeong and stuff.”
‘Why does he call Seonwoo Jeong “Ujeong”?’
Perhaps Pyeonghwa’s peacefulness was rubbing off on him, as Saebyeok had a random thought.
Could it be because Gong Pyeonghwa’s brother’s name is Gong Jeong, so he doesn’t like calling him “Jeong”?
“We can use this.”
Gong Pyeonghwa said with gleaming eyes.
“If it spreads around school that you and I are at each other’s throats, our parents won’t be suspicious, right?”
“Does that make any sense…”
“Why wouldn’t it? I’m telling you it works. Doesn’t seem like it, right? But our parents have informants in the school, I’m telling you. Let’s try it first, and then think about what’s next after that.”
Saebyeok thought this didn’t make sense no matter how he looked at it. It was too inefficient, and he didn’t think their parents would care that much.
But Gong Pyeonghwa was beyond verbal persuasion. He was already in his own world, saying he was drawing a big picture.
It seemed like he would have to keep his wits about him and find another approach.
Feeling somewhat tired, Saebyeok returned to the classroom, and as soon as he sat down, his desk mate asked with concern.
“Did Gong Pyeonghwa hit you? Are you okay?”
“It’s not like that.”
Saebyeok, too tired to respond properly, gave a weak smile.
A moment later, the classroom door opened, and the room immediately buzzed with whispers.
“Who hit you?”
Seonwoo Jeong, who knew nothing because he had gone to the bathroom, asked Gong Pyeonghwa, who suddenly had injuries on his face.
Saebyeok was also surprised and looked at Gong Pyeonghwa’s face.
“It’s all because of Shin Saebyeok.”
‘Why because of me?’
Gong Pyeonghwa had condensed “I was thinking about how to perfectly hide my relationship with Shin Saebyeok and fell down the stairs” into “It’s because of Shin Saebyeok,” which created a silent ripple in the classroom.
Students trapped in school with nothing much to do besides studying always craved dopamine.
Everyone was hungry for fun and stimulation, so the words “Gong Pyeonghwa got hurt because of Shin Saebyeok” spread quietly but far through the students’ fingers.
Gong Pyeonghwa and Shin Saebyeok got into a fight
Gong Pyeonghwa got his ass kicked
An Alpha who lost a fight to a Beta?
Rumor has it Gong Pyeonghwa is actually an Omega
No wonder he smelled so fragrant for an Alpha;
They say Shin Saebyeok is the son of a gangster, he was hiding his strength
Emperor’s aura, so scary
And these rumors spread to the parents in less than a day.
But Saebyeok, who had no idea about this, was only worried about how Gong Pyeonghwa had gotten hurt.
However, with his phone confiscated, he couldn’t think of a way to contact Pyeonghwa.
Wondering if he should actually send a letter to Pyeonghwa’s house in a truly analog fashion, and trying to remember how much stamps cost, he wearily entered his home.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
Such a welcome as soon as he got home?
Saebyeok’s mother grabbed him and examined his body here and there.
“Why, why are you doing this…”
“That Alpha bastard!”
Saebyeok’s mother tried to suppress her agitated voice.
“…Because mom is a Beta, I can’t sense pheromones, so our son didn’t suffer any harm, right? Hm?”
Saebyeok had never seen his mother tremble like this before.
Since nothing had really happened to him, Saebyeok calmed his mother.
“I’m fine. Really, nothing happened.”
Saebyeok held his mother’s hands and spoke in a gentle voice.
“No one knows I’m an Omega. Gong Pyeonghwa doesn’t know I’m an Omega either.”
Seeing that Saebyeok’s body had not a single scratch, and his face was even more peaceful than usual, his mother finally found some relief.
“Sujin said that Alpha from that family dragged you brutally to the rooftop today!”
Well, that was kind of true, but…
“My son’s face hasn’t been looking good these days, and I was worried something had happened, why are you getting involved with that family again, and I couldn’t reach you…”
That’s because his phone had been confiscated.
“Should we transfer schools now? Hm?”
Saebyeok’s mother spoke with a genuinely worried, trembling voice.
“I’ll try to persuade your father. Okay? Isn’t Saebyeok having a hard time?”
It would be a lie to say he wasn’t having a hard time. But Saebyeok didn’t want to transfer schools.
Would things really be better if he transferred? He didn’t think so.
Unless becoming an Alpha or Beta instead of an Omega was possible by transferring.
Only one semester had ended, but he had grown close to his classmates and was finally getting used to things, so transferring now…
“I’m not having a hard time at all. Honestly, studying can be a bit tough sometimes… but that’s really nothing, and I have to study anyway. I’m fine. I’m good.”
At Saebyeok’s brave response, his mother’s eyes moistened as if she had received comfort, and she hugged him.
“Are you really okay?”
“Of course. Really, nothing happened to me.”
“But why would such rumors spread? I thought my heart was going to drop.”
Since it wasn’t completely false, Saebyeok rolled his eyes, wondering how to explain.
“There was a bit of a misunderstanding, an exaggeration, a distortion, a little.”
“What are you saying? Speak properly. Did you lie to mom?”
Saebyeok jumped up and swore he hadn’t told a single lie.
“What’s true, and what’s a false rumor? Is it true that that family’s son dragged you away?”
“Yes…”
“Did he hit you? Hm?! Even if I have to grab that woman’s hair, I’ll…!”
“N-No, I wasn’t hit! Really!”
Saebyeok hurriedly took off his shirt to show his body without a single bruise.
“Then why did that family’s son drag you away? They say he’s a gangster?”
“It’s true he dragged me away, but I w-wasn’t hit at all…”
Maybe because he had already told one lie, the second lie came easier.
“…I-I won.”
▶▶▶
Was there a three-tiered cake on the dinner table that evening?
Even when he ranked first in the country, Saebyeok had never seen his father smile.
But somehow the news that he had beaten down Gong Pyeonghwa traveled quickly, and his father came home from work extremely early. Not only that, but Saebyeok also received congratulatory wreaths, a new phone, and even an extra card for spending money—a day he still couldn’t forget.
‘And I ended up marrying the very person they hated so much…’
He never regretted marrying Gong Pyeonghwa and having Iseul.
But regret and worry were different issues.
“So you started dating from then on? Did you kiss on the rooftop?”
“What are you saying…”
“Well, Gong Pyeonghwa’s lips were split, so… If you weren’t fighting, I thought maybe you were kissing.”
What on earth goes through this person’s mind? Saebyeok was genuinely curious.
“There was no dating at that time. We were just friends. We were just getting to know each other, and Pyeonghwa didn’t even know I was an Omega.”
As if the word ‘Omega’ had some magical power to attract troublemakers, some alumni, red-faced and half-crawling on the floor from drunkenness, approached.
“Are there male Omegas too? That seems a bit gross.”
“Isn’t that just like a woman then?”
“Do you have a dick?”
These were frown-inducing comments that revealed how they conducted themselves in their social lives.
Even when other alumni tried to stop them, these guys who were high on the confidence that they were now some sort of professionals rather than mere high school students, seemed unable to control themselves.
He hadn’t noticed because the person had gained a lot of weight, but looking now, he could faintly see a face that had been particularly sensitive during school days.
“I’m bigger than you, Suchan. You have a shrimp dick.”
A moment of silence fell, and all eyes turned to the drunk alumnus’s crotch.
The fact that Lee Suchan had a small dick wasn’t particularly impactful information. But the shock came from hearing the word “shrimp dick” come out of Shin Saebyeok’s mouth.
The impact of derogatory words delivered with an announcer-like clear diction was quite powerful.
Shrimp dick, no, small dick, well, anyway, Lee Suchan breathed heavily, turning red and blue, looking like he was about to unleash a torrent of curses.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
