It seemed I liked Do Jihoon quite a lot—more than I’d thought. Just imagining his cold gaze made my stomach ache.
“Ah, whatever. My head hurts.”
I stopped imagining it. The original story had already long since been tossed straight into the trash, out of my mind.
And I had absolutely no intention of handing Do Jihoon over to Ha Min-young.
My plan to break off the engagement with him as quietly as possible had been completely overturned. I didn’t feel even the slightest desire to call off the engagement anymore.
Whether I liked him in a romantic sense was still a question mark for now. But whenever I imagined Do Jihoon going to another omega and acting all cute with them the way he did with me, irritation bubbled up uncontrollably.
Was this an omega’s possessiveness?
I understood the original Yeon Yuri just a tiny bit now. If someone had their alpha stolen away by another omega right under their nose, it would be enough to make anyone lose their mind. Though the way he’d gone completely berserk was still hard to understand.
Anyway, the conclusion was simple.
Protect Do Jihoon from the clutches of other omegas.
He was unnecessarily a dominant alpha and ridiculously capable, so omegas flocked to him constantly. Until now I’d let it slide somehow, but from now on I planned to monitor things thoroughly.
No one was going to steal my alpha.
I made that vow solemnly.
***
[Doji-doji, where are you?]
[Do Jihoon: In front of Business Building 1]
It had already been ten days since I vowed to protect Do Jihoon from the clutches of omegas.
[What are you doing?]
[Do Jihoon: On my way to eat.]
Every two hours, I sent Do Jihoon a KakaoTalk message.
[With who?]
[Do Jihoon: My classmates.]
[Which classmates?]
[Do Jihoon: Would you even know them if I told you?]
“Tsk.”
I worried he might be eating with Ha Min-young. If I’d known this would happen, I should’ve just spilled everything about Ha Min-young’s behavior back at the department store.
Grumbling, I called him.
“What is it now?”
“Let’s eat together.”
“Yuri. It’s already been ten days since we’ve eaten every meal just the two of us.”
“So you don’t like it?”
“I don’t dislike it. But shouldn’t you eat with your classmates too?”
“I take classes with them anyway. I don’t take classes with you.”
Of course, we saw each other at home every day—but that was different.
“I found a really good restaurant, you know? It’s closer to your side, so I’ll go to Business Building 1. Wait for me!”
“Okay. Take your time. Don’t run and trip again.”
“What do you take me for, a kid?”
The College of Business buildings were fairly close to the engineering building. I hung up and ran energetically toward Business Building 1.
After running for a few minutes, I spotted Do Jihoon in the distance.
But he wasn’t alone. Someone was standing next to him.
Damn it—Ha Min-young.
“Do—!”
The name Do Jihoon, which had been about to leave my mouth, disappeared.
Why the hell is he here? Startled by Ha Min-young’s unexpected appearance, my foot slipped.
“Yuri!”
I windmilled my arms wildly and managed to regain my balance. Luckily I didn’t fall.
Wow. At this point I’m basically a roly-poly toy.
When I looked up, Do Jihoon was staring at me with a stunned expression.
“What?”
“……Please be careful when you walk.”
“I’m extremely graceful, you know?”
“Sure. Let’s go with that.”
I craned my neck past his shoulder.
Ha Min-young was still there.
So this bastard still hadn’t left, huh? Since I’d been quiet, he must’ve thought I was a pushover. What kind of nerve did he have, hitting on someone else’s alpha?
I grabbed Do Jihoon’s wrist and marched forward like a rhinoceros, stopping right in front of Ha Min-young. He was shorter than me, so I could look down at him.
It felt extremely satisfying.
“Isn’t this the classmate I saw last time?”
Do Jihoon’s face stiffened slightly. He opened his mouth, clearly not pleased.
“Yeah. This is Ha Min-young. Business Class B. Min-young, this is Yeon Yuri.”
Min-young? Min-young?! This bastard dared to drop the surname and call another omega by just his name?
Meanwhile, Do Jihoon had already put on a polite, fake smile. I squeezed Do Jihoon’s hand and beamed brightly at Ha Min-young.
“Nice to meet you. We’ve run into each other several times but never properly greeted each other.”
“Ah, you’re right.”
Ha Min-young smiled brightly.
Damn it, he’s ridiculously cute.
I squeezed my eyes shut. His image was the complete opposite of mine.
And with that innocent face, he’d gone and marked Do Jihoon.
If I’d followed my temper, I would’ve blasted pheromones right in his face. But I forced myself to hold back in case rumors about Yeon Yuri’s personality started spreading.
Of course, I had absolutely no intention of letting that shameless omega off the hook.
There were more ways than just direct methods to screw someone over.
I hooked my arm through Do Jihoon’s.
His body jolted awkwardly.
“Baby, is this the classmate you were supposed to eat with today?”
“……”
Do Jihoon stayed silent like a statue.
This bastard isn’t playing along?
I jabbed his side with my elbow. His cheek twitched before he answered.
“……Yeah. Min-young was there too.”
Min-young again.
When we get home today, the first thing we’re doing is fixing how you address people.
Fortunately, it seemed like they hadn’t planned to eat alone together. Relief washed over me.
“Ah, I feel so bad.”
I acted apologetic in an obviously fake way.
Ha Min-young shook his head and said it was fine. This omega brat was pretty good at acting himself.
“Then we’ll be going. Let’s go, baby.”
“……Okay.”
“Oh, right.”
I bent down and leaned toward Ha Min-young’s ear. Then I whispered quietly.
“Make sure you keep your pheromones under control.”
“……”
When he didn’t respond, I turned away without hesitation. Pulling Do Jihoon along, I left the business building and gave Ha Min-young a slight nod as a farewell.
Only after we had walked far enough that Ha Min-young was out of sight did I release my grip. My lips stuck out in a pout.
“What was that about, Yuri? Have you met him before?”
“Of course not. I’ve only seen him when he was with you.”
Do Jihoon looked puzzled.
Well, it probably did seem strange that I’d be hostile toward someone I’d only crossed paths with a few times.
He still didn’t know that Ha Min-young had marked him.
“Hey.”
“Yeah? What is it? Why are you in such a bad mood, Yuri?”
“Don’t hang out with him.”
“That’s pretty random.”
He stared at me blankly.
My temper flared. I almost shouted that the innocent-looking omega had marked him, but I held myself back.
Taking a deep breath, I reminded myself that I was a civilized person.
“Do you remember the omega who marked you?”
“I do.”
“It was him.”
Wow.
It felt like chugging a whole bottle of Sprite after eating a hundred sweet potatoes. My chest felt completely relieved.
I should’ve said it earlier. I’d hesitated for no reason.
“Really?”
Unexpectedly, Do Jihoon stayed calm.
I’d expected him to make a face like he’d just seen Satan himself. I’d worked up the courage to say it while weighing him against Ha Min-young, so his lack of reaction left me slightly disappointed.
“Hey. You’re not actually close with him or anything, right?”
“Are you jealous, Yuri?”
“What kind of bullshit is that?!”
This was all because I might end up homeless on the street.
……
But now that I thought about it, maybe I really was jealous that Do Jihoon might get taken away.
The words slipped out without any filter.
“Now that I think about it, I guess I was jealous.”
“……”
Do Jihoon went quiet.
He dragged a hand down his face. A huge sigh rang out beside my ear, loud enough to echo all the way to the engineering building.
“Doji-doji. What’s that supposed to mean?”
“……Nothing. Let’s just go eat.”
“First swear you won’t get close to him.”
“I won’t. I won’t get close to him, so please be quiet and let’s go to the restaurant you picked.”
“Okay.”
I was extremely satisfied. I took Do Jihoon to a Japanese ramen shop, and happily devoured two bowls of champon ramen.
***
One Friday in May.
I lay sprawled across Do Jihoon’s bed and spoke seriously.
“Do Jihoon. I have something to say.”
“Yuri. Let’s sit up and talk first.”
“You’re not allowed to drink anymore either.”
“……”
I issued him an ultimatum.
Aside from that incident on the day midterms ended, Do Jihoon had come home late after drinking a couple more times.
Every time I smelled omega scents on him, I clenched my fists and trembled with anger.
My patience had long since run out.
“You’re not seriously going to say no, right? I mean, look who’s been abstaining from alcohol for almost two months now because of someone.”
“……”
“And the bastard I’m engaged to comes home with some random omega’s scent on his clothes. I can’t live in a house like this!”
“I won’t drink. So stop acting.”
“Okay.”
At his positive answer, I happily dropped the act.
“I cleaned up after you twice already. Now you’re the one who owes me, Doji.”
“We’re engaged. If you start calculating things like that, it hurts my feelings, Yuri.”
“Bullshit. They say frogs forget what they used to be like as tadpoles. Doji, who forgets history, has no future, you bastard.”
Do Jihoon closed his mouth.
Wow, seeing that bastard speechless.
I felt proud. A smug grin spread across my face.
