In this world, there were Alphas, Betas, and Omegas, and within each trait, there existed slight distinctions between dominant and recessive types. Yeon Yuri was one of those rare dominant omegas. Pheromone control was something one naturally learned from the moment it manifested—but I, who had lived my entire life as an ordinary person, obviously had no idea how to control pheromones.
Because of that, for a month after I woke up—so, the month following the college entrance exams—I lied that I’d been in a car accident and skipped school. Since there were issues with my memory anyway, it worked out perfectly. I holed up inside the house and practiced controlling my pheromones.
Thankfully, the DNA of a dominant omega hadn’t gone anywhere. After a month of blood, sweat, and effort, I succeeded in controlling my pheromones.
And then, in early December, once I had more or less adapted to Yeon Yuri’s body—
I heard something unbelievable at a family dinner.
“……An engagement?”
They were saying I was getting engaged. What kind of nonsense was engagement for a nineteen-year-old high school senior about to graduate?
“To whom?”
I pressed down my heart, pounding with shock and confusion, and asked my parents in a trembling voice.
“Kipyeong’s son. Do Jihoon.”
My parents continued on, saying that Kipyeong seemed to be extending its reach into pharmaceuticals as well, but I couldn’t hear a thing. Only one word lodged itself in my mind.
Do Jihoon.
The moment I heard that name, memories that had been crammed into a corner of my head unraveled like a ball of thread, spilling out all at once.
The supporting su in that damned novel. A character who foolishly coveted the main gong and tripped over his own feet. A stepping stone to solidify the love between the main gong and the main su.
Yeon Yuri.
The instant I realized that, I asked my parents if the engagement could be called off. The result was failure. I was chased into my room after getting my backside smacked with a twig broom that I couldn’t fathom the purpose of in a house that owned a vacuum cleaner.
After that, I lay on my bed for a week, reading What Is Life? and holding deep conversations with Tolstoy. Eventually, my parents called for me first. They carefully explained why this engagement couldn’t be canceled. The interests of family and family, company and company, were intricately intertwined like a spiderweb. This wasn’t just a matter between Do Jihoon and me.
For someone who had naïvely thought this was simply a novel and had been planning to break off the engagement and flee overseas, it was quite a shock.
A mild depression set in.
It seemed that, subconsciously, I had been thinking of this world as somewhere I would eventually leave. A vacation spot I’d only stopped by briefly. But I realized that wasn’t the case.
The people here were just like the people in my previous world. They lived their lives with their own goals and beliefs, experiencing joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness.
And it dawned on me that there was no clear way back to my original world.
That day, I cried a little.
I thought of my parents and close friends from my old world. But over time, those memories were gradually covered over by the warmth of Yeon Yuri’s parents and older sister. It was a little sad that the past was slowly fading, but digging into the ground over something I couldn’t change wasn’t productive, so I decided to stop sulking in my room.
That’s how I ended up going outside in late December.
I was getting ready to go to school.
It seemed Yeon Yuri had quite a lot of friends. Both KakaoTalk and my message inbox were filled with 999+ notifications. Missed calls were the same.
Most of the content was similar.
There’s a club—are you going? Why aren’t you answering? They say some hot alpha’s showing up, let’s go together.
I began to suspect that Yeon Yuri had gotten into Hanguk University through some kind of “lawn admission” instead of academics. As I pondered how someone who loved partying this much had managed to sit still and endure the grueling entrance exams, I heard the driver say we had arrived at school.
I bowed politely and stepped out of the car. Around me were students wearing the same uniform.
“Damn. This school’s scale is insane.”
The campus was enormous. Getting dropped off at the gate and walking in, it was large enough to pass for a university campus.
From what I could tell, the students emitting alpha scents were heading west, and those emitting omega scents were heading east.
Following the flow of students, I arrived at the third-year building. Feeling the strangely intense gazes around me and the faint pheromone scents pricking at my nose, I entered Class 8, which my sister had told me about.
“Yeon Yuri! I heard you were in a car accident?”
The moment I stepped into the classroom, loud voices rang out.
“We heard from homeroom. You could’ve at least contacted us. What a prick.”
How was I supposed to contact anyone when I had no memories?
The retort nearly slipped out, but I swallowed it down with my saliva.
“Yuri. No matter how kindly they treat you, never tell them you lost your memory.”
I recalled my sister gripping my shoulders firmly as she said that. Her eyes had been full of worry.
The boy who had called out to me grabbed me when I didn’t respond and dragged me over to his group. Judging by the way he spoke to me as soon as I walked in, he must have been close to Yeon Yuri. Kim Bo-jin. I quickly glanced at his name tag.
When I sat where Kim Bo-jin pointed, he began talking as if he’d been waiting.
“You said you were going clubbing as soon as exams ended. Drinking, too. And then you just disappear, you crazy bastard?”
“I didn’t disappear. Car accident.”
“Bullshit. Look at your face. Does that look like someone who was in a car accident? Five weeks of injury and you look perfectly fine?”
Since I couldn’t exactly argue with that, I stayed silent. Kim Bo-jin turned to the others surrounding our desks.
“Hey. Did any of you get in touch with Yeon Yuri?”
“No. Did you?”
“Not at all. He ghosted us the moment exams ended.”
“Yeon Yuri, that’s harsh.”
Their complaints floated around. Kim Bo-jin tilted his head as if to say, See?
“Fine. You’re going to Hanguk University, so you won’t even contact delinquents like us recessives anymore, huh? You’re one of the few dominants, after all.”
There was a faint hurt in his voice. I glanced around. Most of them were ordinary omegas, and among the group that seemed to be my clique, some were recessive. There wasn’t a single dominant besides me.
A few minutes after enduring their affection-laced grumbling, the homeroom teacher entered. He put on a 3D movie that looked at least ten years old and left the classroom without a second thought.
Naturally, no one watched the movie. Everyone gathered in little groups, immersed in chatter.
“They say a quarter of our year got into Hanguk University.”
“Seriously? That’s even more than last year. Well, this year we had a lot of kids with strong traits and good family backgrounds.”
Apparently, Gye-myeong High, the school I attended, was one of the region’s top trait-specialized high schools. A specialized institution where being a “trait holder” was an admission requirement.
Chatting with them, I quickly grew used to the school. Unintentionally learning their exam scores and current admission statuses, I observed a brief moment of silence for myself.
“Yeon Yuri. We’re going clubbing today.”
“What club? We’re students. Think before you speak.”
“The guy who’s been drinking since first year is pretending to be wholesome.”
“Did Yeon Yuri really get into a car accident?”
“Looks like it. That’s why something’s wrong with his head.”
Kim Bo-jin circled his index finger beside his temple. I gently grabbed his finger and bent it backward. A pig-squeal-like scream echoed through the classroom.
When the boring movie ended, Kim Bo-jin and I left school together.
With arms slung over each other’s shoulders and playful jabs to the ribs, we exited the east building when a peculiar scent tickled my nose.
“Hey, hey. Alphas. Alphas.”
Following Kim Bo-jin’s gesture, I looked over to see tall students filling the area. They were alphas leaving from the west building.
As they approached, the mingled fragrances intensified—pleasant, sweet… I wanted to keep breathing it in.
Among them, one scent stood out sharply.
The warm smell of a campfire.
At the end of that scent was an alpha staring directly at me. Beneath black hair lay a neat forehead; along pronounced brow bones and a sharp nose bridge, red, full lips came into view.
His scent is incredible… It felt like being wrapped in a cozy blanket on a cold winter day, or like warm sunlight filtering through cool shade.
I stared at him as if bewitched.
“Hey. That’s him, right? Do Jihoon. Kipyeong’s heir. He’s going to Hanguk University too, right? Business.”
Kim Bo-jin nudged me.
Do Jihoon?
The moment I heard the name, a chill ran down my spine as if I’d been doused with cold water. My face stiffened.
Damn it. The main gong.
I whipped my head away, grabbed Kim Bo-jin’s arm, and hurried toward the school gate.
“Hey, hey, what’s wrong? You’ll break this delicate omega arm.”
“Stop talking shit and let’s go.”
“What? What is it?”
Despite his nonstop questions, Kim Bo-jin obediently followed. Finally, we reached the school gate, where several cars were lined up.
