# 02.
“Ugh!”
“Kyaaak!”
As I showed my fear, the man roared fiercely. He shook his body wildly while putting his full weight on me. My arms trembled more and more from the increasing pressure.
“Hng, no! Aah, no!”
“Kyaaak!”
I resisted with all my strength until the veins in my forearms bulged, but it was useless. My strength was slowly draining as I got closer to the man. Finally, I squeezed my eyes shut as I saw the man opening his mouth wide as if he was going to devour me.
“Kragh!”
Just when I felt I had reached my limit and prepared to face the pain, suddenly the man fell away with a strange cry.
Then I heard a dull thud. When I opened my eyes, I saw the man collapsed beside a tree. It seemed he had crashed into it.
“Haa, what is this?”
And there was Cha Heegeon standing in front of me.
“Haa, haa.”
My body was shaking. I almost wet myself. Having flashed between life and death in an instant, I looked up at Cha Heegeon with blank eyes. I should run away from him, but I couldn’t move because my body had no strength left.
“Is that all the struggle you can put up?”
Cha Heegeon looked down at me with a sneer.
“Kyaaak!”
But that didn’t last long. The man who had been flailing on the ground got up again, screamed, and this time charged at Cha Heegeon.
Unlike me who was pushed over helplessly, Cha Heegeon easily blocked the attack by grabbing the man’s neck. The man made clicking sounds with his teeth as he tried to bite Cha Heegeon, who was taller than him.
“Huh? What is this…”
Cha Heegeon muttered, wrinkling his neat features into a fierce expression. Then he threw a punch at the man who was trembling and causing a commotion.
With a heavy thud, the man collapsed. And of course he had to fall toward me!
“Hngh!”
Startled, I quickly crawled toward Cha Heegeon. The man on the ground didn’t seem to feel any pain as he immediately got up with a scream. He straightened his back like he was stretching and shook his outstretched hands.
“Hyung!”
“Hyung, are you okay?”
The subordinates who arrived late checked on Cha Heegeon’s condition.
“Grrr… Kyaaak!”
Cha Heegeon, who had been staring blankly at the bizarre man, stepped aside as the man charged at him again, then grabbed the back of his head and pushed him. The man’s charging speed combined with Cha Heegeon’s strength sent him flying forward until he fell.
The man, who had been moving as if he couldn’t use his hands, scraped his face on the asphalt. The impact must have been severe because he trembled but couldn’t get up.
“Hyung, what is that?”
“I don’t know, seems like someone on drugs. His pupils are dilated.”
Drugs? Are all these strange sounds happening because of people on drugs? No, even so…
Everything is a series of shocking incidents, first earlier and now too, but how can he not even blink an eye?
“What happened to the car?”
“Ah, yes. It will be here soon.”
“Then hold this guy, don’t let him go.”
“Yes.”
At Cha Heegeon’s command, the men grabbed me and made me stand up. I stood there shrinking back, then glanced behind me.
“Kyaaak!”
“Kyaak!”
The bizarre man who had gotten up and was staggering suddenly ran toward the terminal following the screams that were heard.
As the traffic light turned green and the stopped cars began to move, they honked fiercely at the man crossing the road.
Then the man, who had been running wildly like a beast charging at prey, suddenly changed direction and rushed toward a honking car. I couldn’t take my eyes off this bizarre man.
“Hyung, the situation seems serious.”
A man as tall as Cha Heegeon spoke while watching the man heading toward the terminal. Somehow they seemed to know the situation was serious like I did, but since Cha Heegeon had little reaction, they seemed reluctant to speak up.
“I don’t know what’s going on either. I heard that Choi Sangjun was bitten by someone doing drugs at the club yesterday. Maybe these drug addicts are going crazy and running wild.”
“Is it really because of drugs?”
“Anyway, don’t pretend to know until we’re sure. If it is because of drugs, we shouldn’t get involved. If we get caught by the police, there’s a risk they’ll find out about the drugs at Hyung Juntae’s business too.”
As soon as Cha Heegeon finished speaking, the two cars they were waiting for pulled up close to the sidewalk.
“Get him in.”
At Cha Heegeon’s word, they dragged me away. I tried to resist, but Cha Heegeon grabbed my hair once firmly and then let go, saying:
“Don’t waste your energy on useless resistance.”
As if encouraging me to give up, he finished speaking and got into the car. I was dragged in after him.
“Kraaak!”
Just before getting into the car, I looked around as a violent scream came from somewhere. I couldn’t see anyone having seizures on the ground or attacking randomly anymore, but screams and strange cries kept coming.
“Let’s get in quickly.”
The man who had informed Cha Heegeon about the seriousness of the situation earlier spoke. After looking up briefly at him as he gripped my shoulder with his large hand, I got into the car. Suddenly finding myself sitting next to Cha Heegeon, I tightly clasped my trembling hands together.
His intense pheromones filled the car, but my sense of smell only remembered the foul odor of the strange man I had encountered earlier. I had smelled various types of pheromones in my life, but never one like that.
“Hyung, where should we go?”
“To the office. I called Kim Dongyoung there too.”
“Yes, understood.”
Soon the car was driving on the road. Despite the strange events unfolding, Seoul’s morning was dawning without fail.
* * *
As soon as I arrived at Cha Heegeon’s office, I lost everything—my luggage bag and even the cash I had withdrawn in advance to escape. Only after losing everything I owned did I realize the reality that had befallen me.
— Aaargh!
While I was feeling frustrated thinking about how I would inevitably be sold off, a sudden scream was heard. I looked around with wide eyes, startled.
The sound came from quite far away, but it made my heart race as if I had heard it right beside me. It was no different from the strange cries I had heard at the terminal.
Tap.
“Hngh!”
While I was looking around nervously, hunched up, the door suddenly opened. It was Cha Heegeon.
“Why are you so surprised?”
Cha Heegeon frowned suspiciously as soon as he saw me. He seemed to think I was caught trying to escape again.
“No, it’s not that. Didn’t you just hear that?”
“Hear what?”
He asked while walking toward his desk.
“Someone just screamed outside.”
“Get a grip, will you? You’ve been out of it since earlier.”
He took off his suit jacket and hung it on a hanger while scolding me.
“Someone really did scream! And wasn’t that man who attacked me earlier strange? Just like a zo-zombie from movies…”
As I tried to describe the man who wouldn’t leave my mind, I blurted out the word that suddenly came to me.
Cha Heegeon snorted and approached me. I closed my mouth tightly at the sight of him, who was as frightening as a zombie.
“Right, maybe zombies need to appear for you to escape this situation.”
He bent down to meet my eyes and spoke while leaning on the long sofa’s armrest. Soon Cha Heegeon’s pheromones seeped into my nostrils.
Unlike other Alphas who neatly contained their pheromones, he didn’t. It seemed like he was trying to show that this was his territory and these people belonged to him.
“But even if zombies did appear, you wouldn’t be able to escape as easily as you think.”
There was considerable pressure in his words. My knees weakened at the thought of experiencing something I had only seen on TV. Thoughts of that damn Ban Baesu, who couldn’t even be contacted anymore, made feelings of unfairness surge up.
“Are you really going to sell me?”
“Since you don’t have the ability to pay back on your own, I’m trying to help you.”
“If you give me just one chance, I really…”
“Don’t waste effort on something that won’t happen.”
“I’ve never been with an Alpha before. I never even received a confession from an Alpha while in school.”
His firmness in cutting off my plea with just one sentence made me even more desperate. Seeing how I was being clingy, Cha Heegeon laughed with disbelief.
“Honestly, most Omegas get at least one confession from an Alpha, but since I don’t even have that, I guess I’m definitely not popular with Alphas.”
“No.”
“It’s true. I’m really not popular with Alphas…”
Annoyed by my desperate clinging, Cha Heegeon suddenly grabbed my hair. As I was pulled helplessly, he came close as if he would bury his face in my neck. I froze at the strong scent of Cha Heegeon’s pheromones.
“Don’t be so sure. Your pheromones are quite appealing to Alphas.”
Cha Heegeon said while making eye contact with me as I stared with wide eyes. As I stayed still, I felt as if his pheromones were strangely absorbing mine, swallowing them up.
Maybe it was because it was the first time I had been this close to an Alpha, but the unfamiliar sensation made my heart race quickly.
Thump thump.
Just then, there was a heavy knock. When I came to my senses and avoided Cha Heegeon’s gaze first, he also let me go and straightened up.
“Come in.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the door opened.
“Hyung, I think you should watch the news.”
The man who had told me to get in the car earlier entered. He handed his phone to Cha Heegeon. Cha Heegeon took the phone that was abruptly offered and looked at the screen.
“Currently, Seoul Station on Line 1 and Sindorim Station on Line 2 of the Seoul subway have turned into chaos due to so-called ‘random attacks’ being carried out in groups. As this happened during rush hour when most people gather, some are suggesting it might be terrorism or a riot…”
The reporter’s voice came through urgently.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
