# 04.
Even though Cha Heegeon gripped him so tightly that his fingertips dug into his skin, Kim Donghu continued struggling while looking at me. When even that didn’t work, Cha Heegeon finally tripped him, made him fall, and pressed his foot down on Kim Donghu’s back.
“Oh, Hyung!”
Just then, the office door opened and Cha Heegeon’s subordinates entered. Junhee, who entered first, shouted when he saw Cha Heegeon.
“Kyaaak!”
As soon as Kim Donghu raised his head and screamed again, Cha Heegeon kicked him in the face. Kim Donghu’s head fell limply to the floor after taking a direct hit from the large shoe.
“Donghu has changed.”
When the men who had rushed in belatedly stood frozen, Cha Heegeon explained what had just happened while catching his breath. They still looked confused.
Cha Heegeon didn’t kill Kim Donghu but locked him in the president’s office. He was gagged, his eyes covered with cloth, and his hands and feet tied up.
“When was that shoulder bitten?”
Now he was looking for the cause of Kim Donghu’s transformation. Cha Heegeon personally pulled back Kim Donghu’s collar to check the wound. Since he couldn’t ask the person himself, he questioned those who had spoken with him just before he collapsed.
“I think he was bitten when we went to catch Kang Jihong earlier.”
“So when exactly?”
“A crazy guy who came out of a car that crashed into a bus suddenly attacked Donghu, and I think that’s when he was bitten.”
“He said he was fine. But he wasn’t?”
“He said he was fine, so we thought he was…”
So that’s what happened. The car that suddenly charged and crashed into the bus looked strange, and it seems the driver had turned into a zombie.
“Even if he was bitten, you should have checked the wound.”
“As soon as we saw him rolling on the ground with that crazy guy, we rushed over, but Donghu was grabbing the guy’s neck and slamming him down, so we didn’t see him actually being bitten.”
While they were making excuses and watching Cha Heegeon’s reaction, a threatening sound like a warning alarm rang loudly from all directions. The source of the sound was from their pants pockets or suit jackets. It was an emergency alert.
“Stop all activities and stay at home or in a safe place?”
Kim Dongyoung, who was sitting in the corner resting, muttered while looking at his phone. That seemed to be the content of the emergency alert.
“This is ridiculous.”
He snorted and looked at something on his phone, as if he didn’t believe the people who had attacked him.
Soon, Kim Dongyoung’s expression gradually hardened as he watched a video, and then his voice became stronger.
“What? Do people really change if they’re bitten?”
“What does the news say?”
“The situation seems serious. They’re treating it like an epidemic and asking people to avoid going out and to isolate anyone who’s been bitten.”
He answered Cha Heegeon’s question while staring intently at the news content. Then Junhee, who was sitting next to me, also took out his phone and looked for videos.
Since all my belongings including my phone had been taken away, I had no way to contact anyone or find out about the current situation, so I secretly glanced at the video Junhee was watching.
In the video, an announcer with a serious expression was reporting on violent situations occurring nationwide, emphasizing the severity of the current crisis.
With huge captions telling people to lock their doors securely and avoid going out, they showed real-time footage from various parts of the country. The video ended with a message saying that the health authorities would take quick action and asking people to wait until then.
“It seems like even the news doesn’t know much about it.”
Junhee said as he put his phone back in his pocket. In the end, they just said to wait, without saying what they would do or suggesting any solutions, so it seemed right to say they didn’t know.
“If this started at 4 AM, then at most only six hours have passed. The fact that they’re saying it’s spread nationwide means they now have some understanding of the problem.”
Cha Heegeon listed the facts based on what he had heard. After falling silent for a moment as if in thought, he looked at me. Surprised by the sudden eye contact, I shrank back.
“Something was strange about Kim Donghu.”
“What do you mean?”
“I used pheromones to subdue him, but it had no effect at all. And he rushed at Kang Jihong, not me.”
“Isn’t that just because that guy looked easier to attack?”
One of the men suddenly interrupted and asked. I let out a laugh of disbelief. Even though I’m an Omega, I’m still a man, and they were openly dismissing me as weak. Of course, since they were all Alphas, it was inevitable they would think that way, but it still felt bad.
“If he’s not in a state to have any will, there’s no reason for him to judge who’s easy to attack and who isn’t.”
In contrast, Cha Heegeon was analyzing the situation quite rationally. Since the authorities weren’t providing much information yet, he seemed to be trying to gather information based on what he had seen directly.
I thought about taking advantage of the chaotic situation to escape, but seeing everything that was happening, I felt I should stay here for now.
“So could it be because of pheromones?”
Junhee, who had been silently listening to their conversation, asked.
“If he specifically rushed at Kang Jihong instead of Hyung, and there’s a reason for that, maybe it’s because he’s an Omega.”
“Ah, that’s right! Donghu was about to go into rut. He said this morning that he forgot to bring his rut suppressants and was going to buy some when the pharmacy opened.”
As Junhee added this, one of the men raised his voice as if he had just remembered. The others all sighed “Ahh” and acted as if they had discovered a new fact, but I couldn’t agree.
So that crazy Alpha zombie attacked only me because he responded to my Omega pheromones? That means if an Alpha turns into a zombie, I would be in the most danger.
“You said you weren’t popular with Alphas, but that was a lie too.”
Cha Heegeon looked at me as I stiffened, smirking and muttering.
Ah, should I have somehow let myself get bitten earlier?
I felt unnecessarily upset and regretted it while looking at him. If I had just made up my mind properly, I could have sent him away too.
“Wait, does that mean there’s nothing we can do for someone who’s been bitten until they transform like that?”
Kim Dongyoung, who had been alone and serious in the corner, raised his voice as if upset.
“For now, I guess so? We can only do what they said – confine them or tie them up. Or drive them away.”
“In this situation, where would we drive them away to?”
Kim Dongyoung asked with anger at the man who suggested various methods.
“There’s no solution. Staying with them only makes things difficult for normal people.”
“That’s bullshit, just because it’s not your problem.”
Kim Dongyoung shot back at the man who spoke so casually, showing hostility with his rough speech.
“Enough, don’t get worked up. So Kim Donghu transformed how many hours after being bitten?”
Cha Heegeon, uninterested in their dispute, returned to the main point and asked. They looked at their phones to check the time.
“It’s 9 o’clock now, so it seems like a little less than two hours.”
“Then let’s say it’s about two hours after being bitten. It would be more certain if we had other cases to compare, but… for now, let’s just think of it that way. Is there anyone else who was bitten besides Kim Donghu?”
At Cha Heegeon’s question, everyone looked at each other. Seeing them all looking around as if it wasn’t them, they seemed to be fine.
Since everyone in the office was an Alpha, I was trying to take comfort in the fact that no one had been bitten, when I noticed Kim Dongyoung sitting alone in the corner, clenching his teeth and looking sullen.
Could it be…
His reaction with his mouth shut bothered me somehow, so I kept staring at him, and he made eye contact with me.
“What are you looking at?”
His now fiercer eyes glared at me. Seeing him act like that made me more suspicious. I quickly shifted my gaze to Cha Heegeon among the men. I wanted to tell him to check on Kim Dongyoung just in case, but I was afraid to speak up with him still watching me predatorily.
Of all people, that guy is an Alpha too. Isn’t only I, an Omega, in danger? Of course, the theory that Kim Donghu reacted because he was in rut was just speculation and couldn’t be confirmed, but having seen it firsthand, I couldn’t shake my anxiety.
“Kim Dongyoung.”
“…Yes.”
While I was wondering what to do, Cha Heegeon suddenly called Kim Dongyoung. He turned his eyes away from me and looked at Cha Heegeon as he answered.
“You weren’t bitten earlier, were you?”
“No.”
This time he answered cleanly without any extra words. Cha Heegeon stared at Kim Dongyoung in response. Kim Dongyoung let out a laugh of disbelief at the persistent gaze, as if trying to hide the truth.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You’re irritating me.”
“How so?”
“Earlier you said you couldn’t control your pheromones because you were tense, but now they’re leaking out unnecessarily.”
“Huh? Are you seriously suspecting me over something like that?”
Because of Cha Heegeon’s words, everyone was looking at Kim Dongyoung. The atmosphere quickly became silent and cold. Recognizing the mood, Kim Dongyoung looked around at everyone watching him and gave a hollow laugh. Then he suddenly pointed at me.
“It’s because there’s an O-Omega here. I’m about to go into heat too, and that bastard keeps leaking strange pheromones that are making me excited. If only he wasn’t here…”
“Why are you bringing me into this? I’m not someone who just leaks pheromones carelessly!”
I felt upset at him dragging me into this unnecessarily.
Alphas and Omegas have developed abilities to detect pheromones, so depending on the condition of the other person or themselves at any given time, they might be particularly sensitive.
Among them, Alphas or Omegas in heat react more sensitively to the other’s pheromones than usual, and occasionally, when in heat, they might fail to control their pheromones and leak them. That’s all there is to it in normal cases.
Of course, there are cases where people deliberately spread pheromones to seduce others, but who would do that in this situation? I’m not crazy enough to want to die early, and there’s no reason to spread pheromones while in an Alpha den.
“How would anyone know? Your smell has been overwhelming since you came in here!”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
