Did I say Gye-myeong High School felt like a university campus? I take that back. A real university campus was on a completely different level.
“And it’s freaking gorgeous!”
I told Kim Bo-jin I needed to hang up because I had to go explore this new world. Ignoring the string of curses asking what kind of bullshit that was, I ended the call.
I passed through the grand main gate of Hanguk University and stepped onto campus grounds. The spaces between buildings were wide and open. Maybe because the school had such a long history, cracked old buildings and gleaming glass new ones stood alternately, scattered in variety.
I was walking around the lawn, cheeks flushed, marveling at everything when—
“Excuse me. The omega in the navy coat.”
Someone called out to me. I turned and looked at the man who had called me. The round glasses and beanie he was wearing were ridiculously cute.
“Yes? Were you calling me?”
I glanced around, but I was the only one wearing a navy coat. The man nodded and walked toward me.
“Um… I’m sorry for approaching you like this, but could I possibly get your number?”
“……”
I stared at him, mouth slightly open in disbelief. Wow, Yeon Yuri works on college students too. He really did have a subtle kind of charm. Curly hair that shimmered yellow-brown in the light, delicate features—and an oddly precarious aura about him.
As I hesitated, the guy suddenly launched into an introduction.
“Ah, sorry. I was so interested that I forgot my manners. I’m Ki Tae-young, 22, from Electrical and Electronic Engineering.”
“Ah… I see.”
Electrical and Electronic Engineering? That meant we were in the same College of Business—no, same college division. Which meant there was a chance we’d run into each other at the freshman orientation camp.
I looked up at Ki Tae-young’s face. It practically glowed. Up close, he was pretty tall too.
…If it was someone like him, even if he said he didn’t want to go, people from the college would definitely drag him along.
This was awkward. Giving him my number felt weird, but so did refusing outright. His pheromones carried a sweet apple scent. He seemed a little nervous.
“Th-that… Actually, I guess I said that wrong. I’ll give you my number, so could you just save it? And if you happen to think of me later, could you contact me?”
He was fidgeting. Somehow, that made him look cute and a little pitiful, so I nodded.
Ki Tae-young broke into a wide smile and recited his number to me. The sweet apple scent lingered pleasantly in the air.
Just as he was about to say something else, his phone vibrated. Unable to hide his disappointment, he gave me a quick farewell.
“Please call me! I’ll be waiting.”
With that, he answered the call and walked back the way he’d come.
“Ah. I forgot to tell him my name.”
Well, if we were meant to cross paths again, we would. If not, we wouldn’t. I kept it simple.
***
“I can’t walk anymore….”
It had been about two hours since I started wandering around inside Hanguk University. I still hadn’t made it out of the College of Business and the College of Natural Sciences. If I’d known it would be like this, I would’ve checked out the College of Engineering first… Regret washed over me, but it was too late. I quickly gave up on the campus tour and headed home.
Maybe my parents were hoping Do Jihoon and I would have some cozy public transportation date, because they’d sent all the drivers away. I considered taking a taxi but decided to ride the bus for the first time in a while. I had just gotten on and taken a seat when—
Amid the chaotic mix of pheromones, a faint butter scent began to grow stronger. I looked around, but it didn’t seem like anyone else could smell it.
Following the scent with my eyes, I found the source: an alpha bastard standing next to me. As if he had no intention of hiding the fact that he’d started releasing pheromones, he stared straight at me.
I remembered my noona once telling me that releasing pheromones that blatantly was a kind of courtship behavior. And that it was pretty rude.
Back then and now, my thoughts were the same. It was fucking animalistic. And pathetic.
I ignored his gaze and kept looking down at my phone. The pheromone scent grew even thicker. One by one, the people around us began glancing at him.
Since I didn’t even think he was worth engaging with, I kept my head lowered. Then he tapped my shoulder.
“Excuse me.”
“Yes.”
“Can’t you smell my scent?”
Like hell I can’t.
“I can. I’m just not interested. I have someone I’m going to marry.”
I sold out Do Jihoon. He’s pretty useful at times like this. But the guy didn’t back off. When I raised my head in confusion, he looked at me like he flat-out didn’t believe me.
“Come on. You look like a college student. Don’t reject me like that. It hurts.”
His face, which looked like a rotten dumpling, crumpled in mock sadness. I’d never thought of myself as someone obsessed with looks, but after seeing Ki Tae-young’s clean-cut face earlier, this guy looked even uglier by comparison.
This isn’t going anywhere. Thinking I should just take another bus, I stood up. But what kind of misunderstanding he got in his head, I don’t know—because he followed me off the bus.
I’d been planning to wait for the next bus at the stop, but in the end I moved away and called a taxi instead. Just as I was about to get in, the guy grabbed me.
“Hey!”
“Don’t touch me.”
“Wow… this is fun. Didn’t you get off the bus because you were interested too?”
“I told you I have a fiancé. Can’t you smell an alpha on me?”
“Don’t lie and say your alpha friend is your fiancé. If he were really your fiancé, the scent would be stronger.”
The taxi driver shouted for us to shut the door if we weren’t getting in. I tried to climb inside, but the guy wouldn’t let go of me.
In that instant, my temper snapped.
“You fucking—”
A rush of rose scent burst from me, thick with naked fury. Only then did he seem to realize I didn’t have even one gram of interest in him and release my wrist.
I slammed the taxi door shut as I got in. I was about to spray the pheromone neutralizer installed in the taxi, but I stopped when I thought about Do Jihoon’s scent still clinging to me.
If that bastard was going to leave his scent on me, he should’ve done it properly. Instead of letting it fade so fast. Now all sorts of random assholes were getting drawn in.
My mood soured. I felt like I needed to see someone. I called Kim Bo-jin. After about three rings, he picked up.
“At your service! Kim Bo-jin, the soulmate bestie of Yeon Yuri, speaking.”
“Bullshit.”
Hearing Kim Bo-jin’s lively voice lifted my sunken mood a little.
“Where are you right now?”
“Me? Where do you think?”
He dragged out the last words. From the sound of it, he’d already had a few daytime drinks. Can’t even handle his liquor, but all that bravado. I shook my head.
“A club, obviously. You addict.”
“Ding-dong, correct~!”
“You crazy bastard, don’t overdo it. There’s no set order to dying.”
“Thanks for the New Year’s blessing. Wanna come?”
“……”
Should I? This time, I genuinely wanted to. Even if it wasn’t a club, I’d been wanting to go somewhere crowded and just have fun.
After a moment’s hesitation, I answered.
“Yeah, I’ll go.”
“For real?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow, Yuri finally found the screw that was missing from his head.”
“Shut up. Just give me the address.”
“Yessir.”
I told him I’d stop by home to change clothes first, then hung up.
***
As soon as I got home, I set aside the clothes that still carried Do Jihoon’s pheromones and changed into something new. Those clothes were proof that I’d been with Do Jihoon, so I couldn’t go to a club and let just any pheromones stick to them.
I grabbed another taxi and arrived at the club Kim Bo-jin had mentioned. Here, too, there was a sign that read ‘For Manifesters Only.’ It was a little past five in the afternoon, but the waiting line was already long.
The guards blocking the entrance looked over each person, deciding whether to ban them or let them in. Seeing the long line, I briefly wondered if coming had been a mistake—but going back would’ve been more annoying. I strolled over and stood at the very end.
When I finally reached the entrance, a guard scanned me from head to toe. Do I really have to go through all this just to get into a club? I felt a wave of reality hitting me.
After catching the faint rose scent drifting around me, the guard stepped aside. I suddenly remembered my noona saying that lightly diffusing your pheromones around you was basic etiquette.
Inside the club, after that long wait, was a complete madhouse.
All kinds of scents mixed together and poured into my nose. It felt like my brain was being overtaken by pheromones. Fuck, how are they dancing and drinking in a place like this?
Fortunately, the sharp, nose-stinging scents became familiar quickly. I offered a silent moment of respect for my olfactory cells, working overtime until they went numb.
As I looked around for Kim Bo-jin, he spotted me first and waved.
“Hey! Yeon Yuri, over here, over here!”
