# Chapter 12
I stepped off the mat and put on the shoes I’d carelessly tossed in the corner earlier. The cramped space, barely wide enough for my hips, left me stretching my stiff limbs as I stood. My body ached all over from sleeping on the floor without even a pillow. I rotated my right shoulder in particular, which had been pressed against the ground all night. Then, noticing the window, I carefully approached it.
Though it was dark outside, I could faintly make out limping figures moving along the street.
The zombies were walking even more slowly than they had in the morning, as if their energy was depleted. They looked like they were being controlled by someone else, dragged around against their will.
The government claimed they were just living people who had been temporarily changed due to infection, but based on what I’d seen with my own eyes, they didn’t look like they’d ever return to normal.
What was it like when someone got infected and turned into a zombie? Even Kim Dongyoung, who hadn’t transformed yet, increasingly looked like someone dying with no hope of recovery.
His face was deathly pale, he could barely speak, and his breathing was rough and labored. He had no strength, couldn’t keep food down, and vomited whatever he ate. Looking at him, it wouldn’t have been surprising if he died at any moment.
After going through that process, those who wandered aimlessly day and night like that were no different from real zombies—infected, dead, and then reanimated.
With these depressing thoughts, I looked down at the outside world before leaving the office, careful not to wake those still sleeping. I wanted to go to the bathroom, but the hallway felt eerily desolate once I stepped out.
Hesitating at the dark corridor, I felt along the wall for the light switch.
Finally, my fingertips found the hard, flat switch and pressed it. With a click, the light came on. Just to be safe, I glanced down the stairwell and listened carefully.
Fortunately, I heard nothing, so I continued walking with peace of mind. Then suddenly, I stopped as my nose caught the faint scent of pheromones. I remembered Cha Heegeon, whom I’d momentarily forgotten.
Cha Heegeon’s pheromones were still thick, heavy, and intense. Strangely, they inspired both fear and excitement, heightening my senses while the heat reaching my skin added a peculiar, tantalizing flavor.
An Alpha’s pheromones during rut seemed to carry the very scent of sensuality.
My body froze at the unfamiliar yet persistently captivating pheromones. I turned away, deliberately ignoring them, and entered the bathroom to relieve myself before washing my hands.
With no towel to dry my wet hands, I wiped them on my pants as I left the bathroom when a dull thud echoed. I immediately tensed up, crouching low and looking around.
“Haa…”
Just then, I heard a faint breath. The sound came from an empty office at the end of the hallway—the same place that was the source of the pheromones that now permeated the corridor.
“Huu.”
The labored breathing sounded ominous. I felt like I was ignoring someone who was sick. Why should I feel this way? Worrying about the guy who kidnapped me and threatened to sell me out.
“Haa, ha.”
While I was telling myself not to get unnecessarily empathetic, I heard intermittent exhalations, as if someone was trying to hold their breath.
It’s not like he’s advertising that he’s in pain. Why is he breathing like that?
“Ah, seriously.”
Filled with inexplicable annoyance, I turned away. I don’t necessarily need to help him. I shouldn’t care, I thought as I headed back toward the office.
But I hadn’t gone far before stopping in my tracks. Though no one was forcing me, Cha Heegeon’s pheromones lingering at the tip of my nose kept pulling at my attention.
It felt like my will and instincts were operating separately. I tried to resist giving in to my instincts, but as Cha Heegeon’s excited, heavy breathing intensified, my senses grew increasingly alert.
Swallowing dryly, I hesitated before turning my head toward the source of Cha Heegeon’s vibrating pheromones. I don’t need to go there, I kept telling myself, but my body followed his pheromones of its own accord.
The distance had seemed far while I was hesitating, but I reached the office quickly once I started walking. Though I’d made it there, I hesitated to open the door myself, merely gripping the doorknob tightly.
Even as I tried to suppress my instincts and clear my mind, the intense pheromones flowing through the door gap made me feel dizzy. Finally, unable to resist the pheromones that seemed to be seducing me, I opened the door.
“Haa.”
As soon as I opened the glass door, the full force of pheromones washed over me. I faltered at Cha Heegeon’s pheromones, which made my knees weak.
“Ha, get out.”
I could faintly see him sitting on the floor in a dark corner untouched by moonlight. That earlier sound must have been him rolling off the sofa. How much pain was he in to be rolling around on the floor instead of using the sofa?
“Get out, Kang Jihong.”
His breathless voice caught my ear as he leaned against the sofa, panting. I didn’t dare step inside, just standing there hesitantly.
Being an Omega myself, I’d followed the pheromones of an Alpha in rut and even opened the door, so it felt awkward to just leave, but I couldn’t make myself go in or out.
“Are… are you okay?”
Like a thorn stuck in my throat, I cautiously asked about Cha Heegeon’s well-being, which was nagging at my conscience.
If I were an Alpha, I could have easily dismissed the situation as unavoidable despite wanting to help. But being an Omega made me feel aggrieved as I looked at him with a dejected expression.
However, Cha Heegeon only continued to pant softly without responding. Even those broad shoulders of his looked pitiful as they slumped up and down.
“Just, I was curious… I mean, I was wondering if you were okay.”
I added words of concern, worried it might seem like I was taunting him. Cha Heegeon gazed at me intently before letting out a deep sigh.
“I don’t think it’s your place to worry about me.”
His languid, low voice sounded threatening. As he said, it might be laughable for me to be worried about someone in this situation. I knew that, which is why I’d been trying to ignore it, but I couldn’t help being a little concerned.
“I don’t know if it’ll help, but… you know, taking care of it yourself might make it a bit better.”
“…”
“Well, I’ll be going then.”
Having experienced heats without an Alpha myself, I offered what advice I could, but he didn’t even respond.
“Kang Jihong.”
Just as I was thinking that at least I’d offered some advice and was trying to clear my hazy mind to leave, he called me back.
“Yes?”
“Come here.”
His heavily subdued voice sounded threatening. Feeling the tension naturally enter my shoulders, I spoke.
“…Why, why?”
“You said to take care of it myself.”
“Yes…”
He couldn’t possibly have misunderstood the concept of taking care of it himself. I looked at him, shrinking back. Just then, Cha Heegeon leaned forward, breathing heavily, and pressed his hands against the floor to stand up.
I was about to step back, confused by his behavior after he’d been holding back all this time, when he weakly collapsed onto the sofa.
“Let me smell your pheromones while I take care of it myself.”
His arrogant and cold tone remained, but somehow it sounded different now that his strength was drained. Should I say it sounded gentle, as if he were trying to persuade me?
Before I could even process those outrageous words, I blinked at his strange tone that caught my attention.
“While I still have some patience left, help me.”
“Are, are you threatening me?”
Startled by his subtle words, I asked, and he let out a weak laugh.
“If I wanted to threaten you, I would have pinned you down with my pheromones.”
No matter how you look at it, an excited Alpha’s words sound like threats to an Omega. Looking at him as if he didn’t understand this, I asked in an annoyed tone.
“If it’s not a threat, then what is it?”
“…I’m asking for your help.”
“…”
“I’m begging you.”
Begging. Someone like him could have easily made demands or overpowered me, but the word “begging” made me feel strange.
More than anything, it was odd that someone so unscrupulous wasn’t trying to force me in this regard. Or perhaps he was so desperate that he was being subservient.
“I won’t rape you or anything like that.”
I swallowed dryly at his words, which sounded like he was trying to soothe my hesitation. I was conflicted, feeling pressured because Cha Heegeon’s subordinates seemed worried about him and vaguely conscious of me. On top of that, I felt like I might lose my mind to Cha Heegeon’s pheromones—it was a dangerous situation in many ways.
“I wasn’t exactly thinking that way… But honestly, why should I trust you enough to help?”
It was a bit ironic for me, who had tried to run away without paying my debt, to talk about trust. But I was anxious, and after blurting it out, Cha Heegeon fell silent as if thinking.
After a while, he let out a barely audible laugh and said:
“What if I waive the interest? Is that trustworthy enough?”
“The, the interest?”
It seemed absurd to talk about waiving debts at the end of the world, but I was tempted nonetheless. As he said, we couldn’t be certain the world had ended for good, so it wasn’t a bad idea to consider what would happen if things returned to normal.
“How much interest will you waive?”
“All of the overdue interest.”
“All of it? You won’t go back on your word later?”
It seemed like such a radical offer that my suspicion surfaced first.
“I’m a man who stakes my credibility on every word I say. That’s my principle, so you don’t need to worry.”
Though speaking itself seemed difficult for him, his resolute tone felt more sincere than anything.
After being brutally betrayed by Ban Baesu, I had vowed not to trust people again, but hearing him speak like that made my resolve waver.
“Well, it’s good if you really keep your word… I’m just saying, just in case.”
“Ha, if you’ve made up your mind, stop testing me and come here.”
“I’m not testing you! This concerns my safety, so I’m being cautious.”
How could he think I was merely testing him when an Alpha in rut could be so dangerous? Annoyed that he was taking my caution lightly, I grumbled as I approached him.
But the closer I got, the more intimidating Cha Heegeon’s Alpha pheromones became. I faltered at the extraordinary energy transmitted through my entire body.
“Hurry up.”
As he urged me, overwhelmed by the intense aura of his pheromones, I reluctantly approached him, only to suddenly have my wrist grabbed and be pulled toward him.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
