22
While I was lost in thought, the man scolded me. A term he used sounded familiar, making me tilt my head in confusion.
Come to think of it, I remember hearing something about heat cycles during sex education.
“You need to be very careful. You must pay attention.”
The teacher’s voice echoed in my ears. At the time, I nodded thinking it was important, but how was I supposed to know when or how a heat cycle would come, let alone be careful about it?
“So that was a heat cycle.”
I nodded as if I’d discovered something new, and the man fell silent for a moment. Wondering why he suddenly closed his mouth, I summoned strength to my trembling arms and raised myself up. After lying on my stomach and taking a few deep breaths, I barely managed to sit upright. When I did, I saw the man’s face staring at me as if I were some monkey in a zoo.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“…Was that your first heat?”
“Probably?”
I wasn’t sure when Cha Sukyung had experienced heat before, but for me, it was definitely a first. Omegas have to go through this every month? That’s truly horrific.
“You’re not a minor, are you?”
Finally understanding what he was thinking, I burst out laughing. When learning about heat cycles, I think I heard that they start with secondary sexual characteristics. Since I’d mentioned it was my first heat, I could imagine how flustered he must be.
“Thank you, by the way.”
“What?”
“Two months ago, you would’ve been a criminal. You avoided becoming one by just two months, so you should be grateful.”
I was irritated that my body wouldn’t move as I wanted it to, but suddenly found myself in a good mood. Additionally, thinking that spending the night rolling around with this man wasn’t so bad, I became even more generous.
“I thought I’d caught some disease, but it turns out this was just a heat cycle. They happen monthly, right? Does it hurt like this every time?”
“You sound like you don’t even know about suppressants. Where on earth have you been living?”
Ah, suppressants. So that’s what they’re for.
I’m clearly not the brightest student. With a sigh of regret, I wondered how I could have known all this just from hearing about it. I’d thought everyone’s life experiences would be similar, but it seemed that life as an Omega wouldn’t be as easy as I’d imagined, which scared me.
“So what happened yesterday was clearly your fault. You were in heat, didn’t take suppressants, and clung to an Alpha you’d never met before. Even if this went to legal dispute, I’d win.”
“I have no desire to take this to court, and even though I didn’t know what was happening, yesterday wasn’t bad. I felt good, but then you started talking shit, which pissed me off. Who would feel good being cursed at and blamed right after you enjoyed yourself enough to come?”
“…This isn’t about whether I came or not, it’s about basic courtesy. You talk like you grew up on some island, but you should consider people who don’t like being swept away by pheromones into having relations. That’s violence, practically rape.”
Was he saying I raped him? The nuance seemed strange, but since he had calmed down and was speaking so reasonably, I wondered if this was some etiquette from a world I didn’t know about, and I didn’t feel like arguing anymore.
“I’m sorry. I just… thought I was a bit sick yesterday. I was trying to go home, but suddenly it got worse in the elevator. So I asked for help, but you dragged me away without a word and jumped me. I was shocked too. I didn’t want my first experience to happen like this either. Plus, my first partner being a man? That was completely unexpected.”
I really wanted to do it with a woman. And not as the one being penetrated, but as the one doing the penetrating. In my twenty years of life, I never thought I’d voluntarily offer my backside to a man.
Is this how I’ll have to live as an Omega forever? On top of that, my dick had become so tiny that I’d lost all confidence in showing it to anyone.
With a depressed feeling, I flopped back down on the bed, and the man who had been sighing above my head also collapsed beside me. Sunlight sparkled over our bodies as we lay side by side.
I turned my head to slowly examine the face of the man lying next to me. Even if we parted ways today, I should at least know the face of the first person I’d slept with. That way, if we met again, we could avoid awkward situations.
As I slowly lowered my gaze from his forehead, there was something familiar about him. While my brain might struggle with academic knowledge, I’d had a natural talent for reading people and remembering faces since childhood, so recalling his face from my memory wasn’t difficult.
“Oh, we’ve met before, haven’t we?”
“…”
The man frowned at my words.
“If you’re trying to hook an Alpha like this, your technique is terrible. I don’t know how much you know about me, but this kind of approach will have the opposite effect.”
“What nonsense are you talking about? Last time at the hospital, I gave you a cigarette, and you said something about pheromones before leaving. What did you do to me then? My body felt strange that time too.”
I asked investigatively while lightly pulling on the man’s disheveled hair, and the frowning man let out a small laugh at my words.
“That Omega smoking cigarettes? I thought so at the time, but you’re really an unusual Omega in many ways. I told you then, didn’t I? Don’t manage your pheromones poorly and regret getting taken advantage of by some random Alpha.”
It seems he remembers that incident too. I released his hair that I’d been tugging on and pouted.
“How am I supposed to manage something I don’t even know about? I mentioned that and got dragged off for sex education. Even after listening, I didn’t understand a thing. It was all gibberish. Same with heat cycles. Telling me to be careful because I’ll have a heat cycle once a month doesn’t help when I don’t know what a heat cycle is. It’s not like it announces itself saying, ‘I’m your heat cycle,’ or sends a text message warning, ‘Your heat cycle starts tomorrow.'”
“How did your parents raise you?”
“They probably raised me well enough. They would have explained these things properly, but I’m a bit of a problem child and lost my memory. That’s why.”
“But this is instinct? Losing your memory and forgetting your instincts are different issues, aren’t they?”
“Ah, forget it. Don’t use complicated words. If there’s something I don’t know, I can learn it. Today I learned one thing: what a heat cycle is. I also learned that when a heat cycle comes, I need to take suppressants, so that’s two things, actually.”
For someone with a slow brain like me, learning through experience is best. I’ll never forget what a heat cycle is now.
In response to my confidence, the man just sighed. It was similar to how my father would sigh when dealing with me. I wonder why everyone around me seems to just sigh since I became Cha Sukyung.
“You should be grateful you weren’t dragged off by some weird guys and taken advantage of.”
“Are you saying you’re not one of those weird guys?”
“The mere fact that I’ve kept an Omega who clung to me with heat-crazed eyes this intact makes me plenty normal.”
“Intact? I have no strength in my body at all. My hole won’t even close properly. What you ejaculated is still dripping out of me.”
I mumbled weakly with my face buried in the bed. Lying like this, I felt sleep creeping in along with fatigue. I tried to fight off drowsiness by blinking repeatedly.
“So is the heat cycle over now?”
“You should know that best… but since you don’t seem to clearly understand what pheromones are—there’s still a bit of scent left. If you take medication before leaving here, you should be able to make it home. It’s calm now, but if you don’t take anything, the symptoms from yesterday will return.”
“How long does it last?”
“It varies from person to person. I don’t know how long your heat cycle will be either.”
“Can you tell pheromones by their scent? Yesterday when I was in the elevator and you came close, I smelled something sweet. Like rich chocolate.”
“You never noticed it before? You must have become sensitive because of your heat.”
“When I was smoking last time. Then it felt more like something invisible was pressing down on me. I thought you might be psychic.”
The man let out a low laugh at my words. He raised his hand to carefully stroke my hair that had spilled onto the pillow.
“Does everyone’s pheromones smell the same? Do I smell like chocolate too?”
“Everyone’s pheromone scent is slightly different. How it’s perceived differs too. You might smell chocolate from me, but someone else might say it’s the pungent smell of blood. From you… I smell freesia. The scent of candy flowers.”
“What’s that?”
“A yellow, cute flower.”
Cha Sukyung’s face is quite pretty. The adjective ‘cute’ would certainly suit him, but since I’m actually the one inside, I felt a bit disgruntled.
“…Anyway, thanks.”
“Happy that I said you smell like flowers?”
“No, not that. For helping me yesterday. I could have really been taken advantage of. I also learned a lot. I think you’re better than my sex education teacher.”
We’d just had sex, and our brief conversation had started with blaming each other in the heat of emotion. Fortunately, we cleared up the misunderstanding and continued talking without blushing. Surprisingly, the man was gentle, and his voice carried a low, soft resonance that gradually calmed my mind.
It was a peaceful feeling. It was strange yet not particularly awkward to be casually conversing with someone I’d just had sex with for the first time.
“Hey, don’t fall asleep.”
“I’m not. I’m just closing my eyes.”
As my consciousness drifted away from my body, I heard the man speak while tapping my cheek. No, you’re sleeping right now. I could also hear his voice whispering softly with a small laugh.
“I think your phone’s been ringing for a while.”
“Bring it to me. I can’t move; my waist feels like it’s going to break.”
It was clear that if I got up now, I’d experience the mysterious phenomenon of my upper and lower body moving independently. Despite my exaggeration, the man laughed and kindly brought my phone and placed it in my hand.
Looking at the screen, I saw my father’s name. Only then did I realize that I hadn’t gone home or contacted anyone.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
