“Yuri-ya……. Something’s weird. I can’t move……. sob.”
“It’s okay. It’s okay. I’m here.”
“They’re really putting on a whole damn circus…….”
I gently stroked Mir’s hair. The way she fit snugly in my arms was so cute that I had the sudden urge to hold her like a favorite stuffed doll and sleep that way. A sweet cherry scent lingered at the tip of my nose.
How long had it been like that?
“Unbelievable.”
A voice that should never be heard here rang out. At the same time, the faint cherry scent that had been drifting around vanished completely, replaced by the smell of burning firewood wrapping around my entire body.
Do Jihoon abruptly looked at Kim Bo-jin and asked,
“How did you find out?”
Kim Bo-jin scratched his head as he answered.
“Hey. Don’t get it wrong. Yeon Yuri only told me. Of course I didn’t tell anyone else either.”
“Why did you call me?”
Do Jihoon was still coated in my scent. Annoyance and displeasure dripped from his voice. A sudden wave of sorrow washed over me. Tears pooled and rolled down my cheeks.
“Mir-ya. Listen to me……. I’m the most pitiful omega in the world.”
“Yuri-ya……. I can’t move…….”
“I’m an omega who gets treated like baggage by the alpha who walks around covered in my pheromones…….”
“The world is spinning…….”
Do Jihoon looked at me as if I were the most pathetic person in existence. My tears streamed down without pause.
“You’re so mean……. How could you do this to me?”
“Stop making a scene and be quiet.”
“You……. You to me…….”
“Yuri-ya. I don’t know if you’re aware, but it’s only been three weeks since we exchanged names.”
I wailed like the world was ending. Kim Bo-jin was holding up his phone, filming us. That made my blood boil. My rose-scented pheromones lashed out toward him.
“You bastard……. You’re not even a friend…….”
At that, Kim Bo-jin and the surrounding omegas’ faces turned pale.
“Ugh. Hey……. I’m gonna puke……. Tone down your pheromones…….”
“Fuck…… when’s the earth gonna split open……. If I can’t even fall in love with my alpha, I might as well just go out and die…….”
I stared at the floor helplessly, as if I had given up on everything in the world. My rose scent grew thicker and thicker.
Then—
“Yuri-ya.”
An unbearably gentle voice brushed against my ear. Sniffling, I lifted my head to look at Do Jihoon. He was gazing at me as though I were the only person in the world.
“That’s enough. Your friends are having a hard time.”
Along with his warm admonishment, a cozy scent like a heated ondol room spread through the air. Mesmerized, I could only stare at Do Jihoon. The rose scent gradually faded.
“Wow……. I can finally breathe.”
Kim Bo-jin let out a sigh of relief, but before it even finished, Do Jihoon’s sharp gaze shot toward him.
“Bo-jin.”
“……Huh? Why me?”
“How could you let him drink until he ended up like this?”
Kim Bo-jin didn’t bother hiding his incredulous expression as he looked at Do Jihoon.
“No. Actually, that’s not even the issue. Why call me? And of all times, when my parents were right next to me?”
He ground his teeth as he spoke. Do Jihoon continued staring at Kim Bo-jin. And I fucking hated that. Why was my alpha looking at another omega?
I grabbed Do Jihoon’s cheeks with both hands and turned his face toward me. Meeting his eyes—irritation written all over them—I enunciated clearly,
“You. You’re my alpha. So why are you looking at another omega?”
“What are you even saying…….”
He didn’t bother hiding his annoyance, but he let me be, probably worried I’d start another scene. That made me absurdly happy, so I wrapped him in my rose-scented pheromones.
“Jihooni……. My alpha…….”
“……Fine, so pull back your pheromones.”
“Mm… no……. Hug me.”
Only then did Kim Bo-jin seem to realize something had gone wrong. He pulled Do Jihoon and me apart and gestured for Do Jihoon to hurry and leave.
“Give me back my alpha! Don’t abandon me…….”
But the moment I was separated from Do Jihoon, I started releasing sharp pheromones in bursts, leaving Kim Bo-jin completely at a loss.
In the end, Do Jihoon approached me again. He wrapped an arm around my legs and hoisted me over his shoulder like luggage.
“I’m baggage again…….”
Before I could even feel sorry for myself, nausea surged from being flipped upside down. I vomited as the wave overtook me.
“…….”
“…….”
The contents of my stomach and alcohol poured straight down over Do Jihoon’s stylish jacket. Silence fell all around. I looked at the worm-like thing clinging to his clothes and laughed.
“Huh? It’s a worm. Jihoon-ah. There’s a worm on you.”
“…….”
“Crazy bastard……. That’s what you just threw up.”
Kim Bo-jin added from the side.
“Whatever……. I’m sleepy. I’m gonna sleep.”
And just like that, drool and vomit dribbling from my mouth, I passed out slung over Do Jihoon’s shoulder.
***
The consciousness that had disappeared slowly returned. I was on Do Jihoon’s back.
“Jihoon-ah…….”
“Shut your mouth. You’re pissing me off.”
The sound of a doorbell echoed beyond my ears. But there was no one home. Naturally, no one could come out to open it.
“Hey. Tell me the password.”
“Uuung…….”
“Hey.”
“Don’t call me ‘hey.’ I’m Yeon Yuri. Call me Yuri-ya~.”
“……Yuri-ya. Could you tell me the password?”
“Say you love me too.”
“……Fuck, beloved Yuri-ya. Spit out the password.”
Beaming with satisfaction, releasing happy pheromones in puffs, I told him the password. Carrying me on his back, he took me all the way to my room at the end of the second floor.
I was tossed onto the bed like baggage. Do Jihoon rotated his arm as if his shoulder was stiff.
“Jihooni…….”
“I’m installing this.”
“My alpha…….”
“Who’s your alpha?”
I grabbed Do Jihoon’s wrist tightly. As if something filthy had touched him, he shook my hand off immediately.
“Hold my hand…….”
“I’m leaving.”
Without a shred of hesitation, he turned and walked away. No. I couldn’t let Do Jihoon leave like this.
I released my scent fully. Stay next to me. Don’t go. I’m lonely. I poured my entire heart into it so not even a single grain would be left untransmitted to Do Jihoon.
He paused just as he was about to open the door. A massive sigh rang in my ears.
“Mmm…… don’t go.”
“Okay. Okay. I won’t go, so pull back your pheromones.”
“If you hold my hand.”
Do Jihoon approached and grasped my hand very tightly. I was immensely satisfied. He sat down on the floor beside my bed. But for some reason, he looked so pitiful like that. Slumped over like an abandoned puppy, he seemed so forlorn that tears welled up in my eyes.
“Jihoon-ah……. Your butt will hurt if you sit like that…….”
“…….”
“Come up on the bed. If you get hurt, I’ll be really sad…….”
He must have felt my pheromones slowly spreading again. He stood up and sat on the edge of the bed.
“When are your parents coming home?”
“Not sure…….”
The chill in his voice made me sad. Sniffling, I stammered. His voice immediately softened.
“Hm? Tell me. Beloved Yuri-ya.”
“Do you love me?”
“Of course.”
At his words, I instantly broke into a goofy grin.
“My mom and dad don’t come home much.”
“……Really……? What about your noona?”
“Mm……. Noona gets home close to twelve.”
He turned his head toward the clock. I followed his gaze. My eyelids kept drooping, so I couldn’t see clearly, but it looked to be around eleven thirty.
“I’m sleepy…….”
“Yeah……. Please just sleep…….”
He dragged a hand down his face tiredly.
“Mm……. Jihooni, sleep well too.”
In the end, I was swept away by the drowsiness and fell asleep.
***
A soft sensation wrapped around me. My pheromone scent filled the room. At the same time, my whole body felt languid, as if I were inside a warm brazier.
Then, I realized something was wrong.
There was something strange in my grasp. It was warm—so it seemed to be a living thing. While I was desperately clinging to the delusion that maybe my noona had adopted a puppy, a cold, sunken voice pierced my ears.
“Right. Yuri-ya. You’re awake?”
He spat out each syllable as if grinding them between his teeth. Goosebumps raced from my neck down to my tailbone. Cold sweat beaded on my skin. I stubbornly kept my eyes shut.
“Yuri-ya. Your breathing changed. Stop pretending to sleep and open your eyes.”
“…….”
In the end, I slowly—very slowly—lifted my eyelids. As my vision came into focus, a handsome, beautiful face filled my sight.
“…….”
“So. Do you remember?”
The moment he asked, the horrible things I’d done yesterday came crashing back. The drunken antics, the vomiting……
I shouted reflexively.
“No.”
“You do.”
It didn’t work at all. The sneer spreading across Do Jihoon’s face was proof.
“Thanks to you, I had a very interesting experience.”
“Fuck, sorry…….”
“‘Fuck’?”
“No. What did I just say?”
