“Thank you…”
I murmured to Hyeol and Kkotsu, who were visible in my fading vision, before losing consciousness.
*
What’s this…?
I don’t know how long I had been lying down. My body felt lighter, and when I opened my eyes, the entire house was dark. Thinking that so much time had already passed, I sat up on the sofa.
But I couldn’t see Kkotsu or Hyeol anywhere. I was just alone in the dark living room.
Where did everyone go…?
I got up and started walking. Fortunately, my condition seemed to have improved significantly, as walking was much easier. Just as I was thinking about going to the bedroom, I heard a clattering sound from the kitchen.
Is it Baek Woojin?
Wondering when he had returned home, I walked in that direction. Someone was standing in front of the sink. It was a man. The man was holding a lighter, burning a photograph.
Why is he burning a photo…?
As I approached with this question in mind, the man suddenly turned his head, sensing my presence. I was so startled that I cried out and stepped back.
No, I was running.
For some reason I didn’t understand, I felt a strong urge to escape from that person.
I ran blindly. I kept running. What I thought was Baek Woojin’s house suddenly became a mansion, transformed into the in-laws’ house where Chae Seungyeon had lived as a son-in-law. With the thought that I needed to escape, I searched for an exit. But as I wandered, not knowing where it was, someone grabbed my shoulder.
Gasp…!
A chill crept up from where my shoulder was grabbed. I screamed at the top of my lungs.
“Aaaah…!”
“Ch-Chae Seungyeon-ssi?!”
I opened my eyes wide at the voice I heard immediately after screaming.
“Are you alright?”
It was Baek Woojin.
“W-Woojin-ssi…?”
“Yes, it’s me. Are you okay?”
I just nodded at Baek Woojin, who was asking me with his usual face. Even though I hadn’t figured out what was happening or what the situation was, I kept nodding.
Seeing him and hearing his voice gave me great relief. Had Baek Woojin saved my life again, just like when he rescued me on the bridge?
“Where am I…”
Only then did I begin to see my surroundings around Baek Woojin. A narrow space, windows with constantly changing scenery, engine sounds…
I was in a car driven by Baek Woojin.
“The children…”
“They’re in the car with us.”
Upon hearing they were in the same space, I quickly tried to turn my body to check on the children.
But…
“What… what is this…?”
Incredibly, I was tightly bound to the passenger seat. And with Kkotsu’s jump rope, no less.
“W-Woojin-ssi…?”
What is this? What on earth is going on…?
When I asked, completely unable to understand both the situation and my predicament, Baek Woojin suddenly pulled over to the shoulder of the road and looked back.
“Kkotsu, could you pass me that mask I mentioned earlier?”
“Y-yes!”
Baek Woojin put on the gas mask that Kkotsu handed him. The sight of Baek Woojin wearing the rugged gas mask was incredibly bizarre.
“W-what…”
Perhaps recognizing my shocked expression, Baek Woojin waved his hand at me as if to say not to worry. Since the mask only covered his nose and mouth, I could still clearly see the reassurance in his eyes.
“Chae Seungyeon-ssi, whoosh… can you hear me…?”
Because of the gas mask, Baek Woojin’s voice was much rougher and more suppressed than usual.
“Yes, I can hear you…”
“Right now, whoosh… Chae Seungyeon-ssi, whoosh, your heat cycle, whoosh, has begun.”
“What? My heat cycle… whoosh, has begun?”
“Yes, whoosh…”
I had suspected it… I guess it was fortunate that I took suppressants earlier.
Wait a minute. Regardless of that, why am I tied up?
“So, whoosh… we’re currently on our way to the hospital, whoosh… don’t worry.”
“Oh… I see. But Woojin-ssi, why are you wearing a gas mask, and why am I tied up like this…?”
Above all, I couldn’t understand why I was tightly bound to the passenger seat. I could accept Baek Woojin wearing a gas mask, but I wanted an explanation for at least this.
“Because it’s dangerous, whoosh…”
“Dangerous…?”
But Baek Woojin answered as if it was completely obvious, making me even more perplexed.
“Whoosh… Hyeol.”
Seeming to notice that I didn’t understand, Baek Woojin turned around and called Hyeol this time.
“Earlier, wheeze, the note I gave you… wheeze, could you read it for me.”
“Yes, just a moment.”
Hyeol appeared to have received information from Baek Woojin beforehand. He pulled out a piece of paper from inside his shirt.
“I’ll read it now.”
Hyeol cleared his throat with a “hmm-hmm” and began reading what was written on the paper.
“Chae Seungyeon-ssi, an omega in heat cycle is very dangerous to everyone except betas and children whose traits haven’t manifested. So, the alpha me and the omega Chae Seungyeon-ssi are in a very dangerous situation. We might rush at each other if we’re not careful.”
Me and Baek Woojin rushing at each other…
“Th-then… w-will D-daddy and T-teacher b-become… z-zombies?”
At that moment, Kkotsu, who was sitting next to Hyeol, asked with an interested voice.
“What zombies… They’re not zombies, alphas and omegas are just naturally like that.”
“N-naturally…?”
When Hyeol responded in a cynical voice, Kkotsu’s face became very disappointed.
“So I’ve tied up Chae Seungyeon-ssi in preparation for when he loses his senses, and I’m wearing a gas mask. That’s what it says, I think. Daddy.”
Hyeol folded the paper and accurately conveyed Baek Woojin’s message.
Gasp, so that’s why I’m tied up like this? No, how much control would I lose? I’m already weak and feverish… Why would I…
More than that, this smell…
“Woojin-ssi, there’s some… delicious smell…”
Psssssssht!
Just then, a white spray was spritzed in front of my face.
“Ack, Hyeol…!”
What Hyeol sprayed on me was pheromone deodorizer. When did he bring that again? It seemed like he carried it as a personal item.
“Sorry, Daddy. But he said you shouldn’t smell anything right now.”
“Mmm….”
Even so, spraying it directly in someone’s face…
I was about to say something more to Hyeol, but the sweet scent I caught again made my mouth water.
What, what is this…. Theoretically, I knew that omegas couldn’t control themselves around alpha pheromones, but… I’d taken suppressants, and this seemed excessive.
I was sure Baek Woojin knew about my condition and was trying his best not to emit pheromones, but why was there such a delicious smell in the car…
“Daddy!”
“Uh, yes?”
I was startled by Hyeol’s voice calling me and quickly came to my senses. Somehow, without realizing it, I had been leaning my body toward Baek Woojin.
Ah, is this why I’m tied up so tightly…
I didn’t know instincts could be this frightening.
“H-Hyeol, could you spray more deodorizer on Daddy?”
“Yes, close your eyes.”
Pssssssht, at my request, Hyeol immediately sprayed the deodorizer. I closed my eyes tightly and tried to forget the smell I had just remembered.
“Haah….”
But as I became unable to smell anything, the heat in my body seemed to boil even more. When I checked online, it said that the only thing that could suppress an omega’s heat cycle was a relationship with an alpha, and that pheromones could calm it down…
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
