“Hey, Kim Kang-woo, are you trying to confess to Kyung-wook or something?”
Someone asked with a mocking laugh. Kang-woo ignored him and stared straight at Kyung-wook.
“You guys go ahead.”
Kang-woo had expected Kyung-wook to protest—Why should I follow you?—but surprisingly, Kyung-wook obediently followed behind him.
“Let’s talk here.”
Looking for somewhere secluded, Kang-woo thought of the music room. Reaching the very end of the hallway, he opened the door to the dark, empty room.
He gestured for Kyung-wook to go in first and waited. Kyung-wook walked inside at a leisurely pace. Kang-woo followed after him and carefully closed the door.
Kyung-wook walked all the way to the piano before turning around.
“What kind of story is Kang-woo planning to tell, bringing me all the way to a shady place like this?”
With both hands shoved into his pants pockets, he stood at an angle, looking down at Kang-woo. Kang-woo took a deep breath and steadied himself. After hesitating several times, he finally spoke.
“Did you… tell the others about me?”
“About what?”
Kyung-wook’s attitude was relaxed. Kang-woo, on the other hand, couldn’t answer right away and hesitated again.
His jaw trembled from tension.
Should he even say this out loud? Would it be better to just keep his mouth shut?
The thoughts tangled chaotically in his head. When Kang-woo couldn’t continue, Kyung-wook spoke first.
“Ah. You mean the part about you being an Omega?”
The loud voice burst out, making Kang-woo reflexively glance around. What if someone overheard? Fear instantly gripped him.
Seeing Kang-woo panic like that, Kyung-wook burst into laughter.
“Why are you sneaking around like a rat, Kang-woo? You’re talking to me—look at me.”
Kang-woo turned his gaze toward Kyung-wook, who spoke in a mocking tone.
You wouldn’t understand this feeling. That miserable feeling of constantly worrying that someone might discover your trait.
Suppressing the urge to point out Kyung-wook’s careless attitude, Kang-woo reminded himself of the purpose of this conversation.
“I asked if you told anyone else about me.”
“Are you suspecting me right now, Kang-woo?”
Kyung-wook’s voice changed instantly. His sharp reply cut through the air as he stared at Kang-woo.
Kang-woo couldn’t answer right away.
Honestly, he couldn’t say he fully trusted him.
After all, Kyung-wook had never promised he wouldn’t tell anyone that Kang-woo was an Omega. And even if he had, things were very different now compared to the past.
The two of them were no longer the kind of relationship that could be called childhood friends.
“You really suspect me?”
The cold glare pressed down on Kang-woo. Kyung-wook stepped closer, humming quietly in his throat. Kang-woo unconsciously stepped back.
Had Baek Kyung-wook always been this tall? This big?
Only now did he realize how large and threatening the body standing in front of him was.
“That’s disappointing. I can’t believe our Kang-woo would think something like that.”
The air around them felt sharp, like a bowstring drawn tight. Kang-woo swallowed dryly.
“If you didn’t, then that’s good. Just… keep it a secret from now on too. Please.”
“Please?”
Kyung-wook repeated the word irritably, seizing onto it.
“That’s all you wanted to say? If I didn’t tell anyone, that’s enough? Just keep my mouth shut from now on? Meanwhile, the place right here feels like it’s about to rip open because my friend suspected me.”
Stopping half a step away, Kyung-wook made an exaggerated expression and pointed at his own chest with his finger.
Liar.
The word rose up to Kang-woo’s throat, but he swallowed it down.
Silence settled between them. Just as the atmosphere grew unbearably tense, Kyung-wook suddenly moved.
In an instant, Kang-woo’s hair was grabbed from behind.
“Ugh…!”
“Fuck. Even after I let a disgusting Omega bastard stay my friend, you still think you’re equal to me.”
The vicious energy in his eyes made Kang-woo speechless. Kyung-wook seemed like a completely different person.
He stared at him, barely able to breathe, before finally snapping back to his senses.
“…Let go!”
He tried to break free from the grip but failed miserably.
At that moment, he realized painfully who held the advantage in strength.
The merciless hand yanked his scalp, forcing a grimace onto his face. Violent emotions surged inside Kyung-wook’s pitch-black pupils like raging waves.
“Disgusting. Fuck.”
Smack!
A hand packed with force struck his cheek. A flash of light exploded before his eyes. Before he could even recover from the shock, a foot slammed directly into his stomach. Without even managing to cry out, Kang-woo was thrown backward helplessly.
Crash!
With a loud clatter, dust rose into the air from the floor where he fell. Kang-woo opened his mouth in a groan. He couldn’t even scream.
Only a strange, choking sound—like phlegm bubbling in his throat—escaped his lips.
“Hh… ugh…”
Collapsed on the cold floor, Kang-woo clutched his stomach and writhed in pain.
He couldn’t breathe. Dry coughs burst out repeatedly, and the inside of his mouth filled with the metallic taste of blood. Drool dripped from his open mouth.
“Think about it logically, Kang-woo. Why would I go around telling people something like that? It’s disgusting enough just saying it out loud.”
Kyung-wook’s voice was cool. The tip of his white sneaker slowly approached Kang-woo with leisurely steps.
Instinctively, Kang-woo crawled along the floor.
He tried desperately to put even a little distance between himself and the approaching figure, even though he knew it was pointless.
Unfortunately, Kyung-wook caught up with him quickly. Stopping beside him, he bent down on one knee.
A large hand grabbed Kang-woo’s chin and forced him to look up.
The dark brown eyes, sunk deep in the shadows, scanned Kang-woo’s face before slowly frowning.
It seemed he had struck him harder than intended earlier—his lip had split open.
“Tsk.”
Clicking his tongue, Kyung-wook rubbed the blood on Kang-woo’s lip with his thumb.
Even in his hazy state, Kang-woo tried to avoid his touch. But no matter how he moved away, the fingers followed stubbornly.
“Don’t worry. I won’t go around talking about your trait.”
The raging surface of the situation suddenly stilled. Kyung-wook’s softened voice barely registered in Kang-woo’s ears.
Clutching the place that still throbbed with heavy pain, Kang-woo groaned weakly.
“Well… I guess that could change depending on what you do.”
Kyung-wook sighed deeply and scolded him.
“Why’d you have to piss off someone who was just minding his own business? I didn’t really want to hit you either.”
“Ugh…”
“You know how much I care about you, Kang-woo.”
While Kang-woo struggled to breathe with his hand over his stomach, Kyung-wook suddenly reached for the buttons of his school uniform.
Only then did Kang-woo come back to his senses slightly. Panting roughly, he barely managed to squeeze out a voice.
“…W-what are you doing?”
“Stay still. Unless you want to get hit again.”
The situation was unfolding so abruptly that Kang-woo resisted weakly. But the strong grip pinning his arms down made it impossible for him to move.
And there was another reason he didn’t dare struggle.
If he provoked Kyung-wook, that horrible pain might come again. It felt like the suddenly violent Kyung-wook might kick him in the head next.
When he stopped resisting, Kyung-wook thankfully didn’t hit him again. Instead, he began unbuttoning Kang-woo’s shirt.
Cold air brushed against the exposed skin of his chest.
A cold hand wandered over his skin. When the fingers pressed firmly against the area that still hurt, Kang-woo groaned.
In the middle of his pale chest, a large red bruise had formed. Kyung-wook’s darkened eyes lingered there for a long time.
“Did it hurt a lot?”
Kyung-wook’s gentle touch was terrifying now.
Baek Kyung-wook seemed insane. A sane person wouldn’t behave like this.
First hurting someone, then asking if it hurt—what kind of nonsense was that?
Consumed by fear, Kang-woo couldn’t say anything. Goosebumps rose from the place where Kyung-wook’s hand touched. Kyung-wook must have felt the prickled skin too, but he said nothing.
After staring at the bruise on his skin for a while, Kyung-wook finally seemed satisfied and carefully buttoned Kang-woo’s shirt back up to the collar.
“Ugh…”
Grabbing Kang-woo, Kyung-wook forcibly pulled him to his feet. Then he brushed the dust off Kang-woo’s clothes with his own hands.
Standing awkwardly with his back bent slightly, Kang-woo looked at him with a pained expression, unable to push those hands away.
His mind was in turmoil.
The trust he once had in his friend had turned into betrayal, resentment, anger—and finally, fear.
His thoughts tangled endlessly as he tried to understand Kyung-wook, but it was impossible.
Now he didn’t even know what Kyung-wook wanted from him anymore.
Kyung-wook must have noticed the gaze on him, but he said nothing. Quietly, he slung Kang-woo’s arm over his shoulder and pressed their bodies together.
Supported by him, Kang-woo was led out of the music room. Cold sweat had already formed across his forehead.
“Kang-woo.”
Walking slowly in silence, Kyung-wook suddenly spoke. Kang-woo barely managed to turn his powerless head.
The glossy dark-brown eyes smiled at him.
Kang-woo would never forget that moment.
“From now on, treat me well. Okay?”
The cruel moment when he felt the terror of violence for the first time in his life.
