Episode 45
Up to that point, it could have been just a common couple’s quarrel, but several people were frowning deeply with their noses covered, looking displeased.
“So what did you do that night! Do you think I wouldn’t know you were in rut that day?”
Eventually, the woman stood up abruptly and shouted at the top of her lungs. The faces of those covering their noses wrinkled completely, like crumpled paper.
Unable to stand it any longer, one person stood up and approached the chaotic table. Still pinching their nose, they called out to the flustered man with an irritated voice, “Excuse me.”
“This isn’t your private space. Do something about it. Either leave or control yourselves.”
It seems the man was more of a problem than the woman. Upon seeing even the staff pausing to watch, the woman huffed and stormed out of her seat. The man also left the cafe quickly after heaving a heavy sigh.
Watching other people’s drama is usually the most entertaining, but this ended disappointingly. Woo Tae-joo also shrugged and turned to Si-yul.
“The woman seems like a beta, right? And the man’s an alpha. I heard something about beta earlier.”
He had sharp ears. Si-yul hadn’t heard that far. He just nodded while taking a sip of his sweet drink.
“Couples where only one has a trait must be really tough. Have you ever seen such a couple?”
“No.”
Kwon Yuwon was an omega but despised alphas and had been single until now, while Woo Hyun-se was an alpha, but Si-yul didn’t know if he had ever dated a beta. Those two were the entirety of Si-yul’s sample group.
“I’ve seen it before. My friend was an omega and their new lover was a beta. As you know, both alphas and omegas have that time, which is hard for betas to understand… They eventually broke up because of it.”
In the past, Si-yul would have listened to this story indifferently. But now he couldn’t. The memory of Woo Hyun-se casually mentioning being busy due to his rut suddenly flashed through his mind. Judging from Kwon Yuwon, heat cycles came periodically. Woo Hyun-se’s rut might not be far off either.
“Can’t it be controlled with suppressants?”
“Ah, that also varies from person to person, but I heard dominant traits are hard to control.”
“Dominant traits?”
Si-yul’s heart sank. Although Woo Hyun-se had insisted he was recessive, Si-yul knew that was a lie. He leaned towards Woo Tae-joo. Pleased by the interest, Woo Tae-joo tried to suppress his rising smile, covering his mouth with his fist.
“I heard it from my cousin hyung, who’s a dominant alpha. He says suppressants don’t work for him, so he doesn’t take them anymore. Says there’s no difference whether he takes them or not.”
“Weren’t dominant and recessive traits abolished?”
“Eh, that’s just talk. They still exist. Looking at my cousin hyung, dominants are clearly different from recessives or regulars.”
“How… different are they?”
“Extremely. It makes you realize how unfair the world is firsthand.”
Woo Tae-joo held his cup and slowly stirred the straw. The smile lingering on his lips was somewhat bitter.
“I was compared to him a lot since childhood. He was good at everything. Good at studying, good with his hands, learned ten things from one lesson, handsome, fit, and tall. Ah, he wasn’t originally born into that family, he was adopted later… Anyway, it’s because he’s an alpha. The only one in our family.”
“My close friend is an omega too. He’s really smart. I guess it’s innate… But he curses every day. Says being an omega is the shittiest thing in the world.”
Woo Tae-joo agreed and laughed, saying it’s true that the world is harder for omegas than alphas.
“When I was young, I used to resent that hyung. Because I was always compared to him whenever we did anything. But now I like him. …He’s also the one who gave me pocket money to go on a date with you, hyung.”
He whispered the last part playfully, leaning towards Si-yul. Although the word “date” felt awkward, Si-yul pretended not to hear it.
“I think betas are most comfortable dating other betas. Don’t you think so too, hyung?”
Si-yul couldn’t answer easily. The person next to him now was an alpha. And not just any alpha, but one with the prefix “dominant,” which would be considered discriminatory to mention these days.
There was a world that he, as a beta, could never understand. Suddenly, he felt as if Woo Hyun-se was very far away. Beyond a solid wall, out of his reach.
Even after the arguing couple left, the cafe was still noisy. Woo Tae-joo, sitting across from him, chattered non-stop. Despite being surrounded by this noise, Si-yul somehow felt as if he were alone in that big house. A sense of loneliness, as if left alone in an empty space with no one beside him, settled on his shoulders.
“Ah, it’s snowing.”
Following Woo Tae-joo’s gaze, Si-yul also turned his head. White snowflakes were falling gently from the cloudy sky.
Si-yul listlessly stroked his forearm. Somehow, he felt as if the cold from beyond the glass was reaching him.
* * *
He thought they were just going to see the sea briefly, but he didn’t expect a camper van to be prepared. Even after seeing the vehicle, he couldn’t believe it and hesitated for a while before getting in. Only after Woo Hyun-se pushed his back did he climb into the van. It was equipped with a table, comfortable sofa, small but cozy bed, shower room, and even a cooking area.
‘If we’re going, we might as well have a proper trip.’
He said he had worked hard, even doing overtime, to get these two days off. The reason he had been coming home only when dawn was breaking lately was for this holiday. It seemed like too much good fortune to get from just a casual comment.
Unlike the day he went to see the sea with Kwon Yuwon, the weather was good. The sky was azure, and the sunlight was warm. If he stretched his hand out the window, the cool wind pleasantly brushed between his fingers spread like webbed feet. On the distant mountain slopes, patches of unmelted white snow remained, and being a weekday, the roads were clear.
After driving for a long time, they arrived at the sea. The sea was blue like the sky, and in some places, it had a green tint like a summer forest. Rounded pebbles rolled noisily every time a wave rushed in. White foam swept over these smooth stones.
In Si-yul’s life, trips could be counted on one hand. Excluding elementary school field trips, there were only middle and high school trips and a day trip with Kwon Yuwon. This one was now added to the list.
Maybe because it had been a long time, or perhaps because he was with Woo Hyun-se, his heart beat heavier and faster than usual. Although the pounding sound was unfamiliar, a smile never left Si-yul’s face.
It was a place without people. When asked how he found such a place, Woo Hyun-se said he just came where his feet led him. It was a spot surrounded only by forest, with an open space, the sea, and the sky, with no sign of human habitation nearby.
Being winter, the days were certainly short. By the time they finished enthusiastically grilling meat, the sun was setting. Si-yul gazed endlessly at the horizon turning the color of pomegranate seeds. The sea color, having swallowed the sun, gradually darkened, and the sky touching it turned a deep navy blue.
The air warmed by sunlight cooled in the night air. The campfire chased away the chill. Si-yul sat in a portable chair Woo Hyun-se had brought out, watching the crackling firewood burn. His body was wrapped in a blanket. Seeing Si-yul saying he was cold and holding his hands out to the fire, Woo Hyun-se brought a thick blanket from somewhere and draped it over him.
“Have you been on trips like this often?”
“Sometimes.”
“With whom?”
“With friends. What about you, Kwon Si-yul-ssi?”
While telling Si-yul to call him hyung, Woo Hyun-se still often called him “Kwon Si-yul-ssi.” Thinking about it, it seemed he used “Kwon Si-yul-ssi” more often than “Si-yul-ah.”
However, Si-yul couldn’t urge the other to call him more casually as he did. When Woo Hyun-se called him by his name without the surname, it made him feel ticklish inside and shy for no reason. Even though it was clearly his name, it didn’t feel like his name.
“This is my first time camping. Ah, I did pitch a tent in the military though.”
They say men talk about their military service even in nursing homes, and he was exactly that type. Before he could start rambling about his harsh winter exploits, Si-yul wisely closed his mouth.
“Do you like it?”
“Very much. I didn’t know it would be this nice. The meat was delicious too… When Yuwon comes back, I’d like to come here with him. He would like it too.”
“What about me?”
Woo Hyun-se, sitting next to Si-yul and listening to his chatter, suddenly threw out a question. Si-yul scratched his head, saying “Ah.” He had wanted to introduce Woo Hyun-se to Kwon Yuwon someday, but it was uncertain whether they wouldn’t end up in a knife fight if they met.
Wasn’t Kwon Yuwon the one who shuddered at the mere mention of alphas? Moreover, if he found out that Si-yul had lived with Woo Hyun-se even briefly and spent nights together, it was horrifying just to imagine. That day would be the day Kwon Yuwon became a maniac.
“Of course, we should go separately. You and Yuwon shouldn’t meet. Absolutely not.”
“Because he’s an omega and I’m an alpha? Or is there another reason?”
“Well, first of all, Yuwon really hates alphas…”
The memory of Kwon Yuwon cursing alphas as creatures without chastity, while gripping Si-yul’s shoulders with wide eyes, was vivid. The mention of chastity naturally brought thoughts of rut. Si-yul glanced at Woo Hyun-se while fiddling with a warm cup. His profile, leaning back in the chair and staring at the campfire, looked more relaxed than usual.
