By Zephyria 
Then one day. While drawing the curtains to go to sleep, Jeong-min saw a black silhouette lingering in front of the main gate. He thought it might be a drunkard due to the staggering gait, but upon recognizing the familiar figure, Jeong-min ran out without telling anyone.
When he opened the gate and stepped out, the figure was sitting leaning against the wall.
“Shin-woo hyung!”
Jeong-min quickly grabbed the man’s arm. His body temperature was cool, as if he had been there for a long time. What surprised him more was the smell of alcohol coming from Shin-woo’s body. Since he was an adult and a college student, drinking was perhaps natural, but Jeong-min had never seen him drink before, so the sight was quite shocking. To be this unconscious, at that.
“Hyung, wake up. Shin-woo hyung!”
“Ah….”
The face that had been hanging low lifted upon hearing Jeong-min’s voice. After blinking a couple of times, Shin-woo’s hand pulled Jeong-min’s nape and hugged him into his chest.
“Eh?”
Thump, thump, thump, thump—
His heart beat so violently it felt like it would jump out. It was unbelievable to the point that he had the childish thought that he wished time would stop right here, but on the other hand, he was too happy. Shin-woo hyung was hugging him. It was the first time.
“Hyung. Hyung… Shin-woo hyung….”
Hyung, you know who I am, right? Right? You know I’m Jeong-min, which is why you’re hugging me like this, right? If so, hug me tighter.
Jeong-min hugged Shin-woo back. He called his name longingly. Shin-woo hugged Jeong-min, who was burrowing into his chest, even tighter. He was happy. Will this embrace be mine now? Is it real? Expectation bloomed in Jeong-min’s heart.
“Young…min-ah….”
But that expectation was shattered into pieces in less than a minute.
“Young-min-ah… look at me… look… I’m your Alpha….”
The voice thick with intoxication and the slurred tongue pronounced Young-min’s name correctly.
‘Hyung, do you know? Young-min went out on a date with the new Alpha he started seeing today, so he hasn’t come home yet. That guy… hyung isn’t even in his mind….’
He wanted to tell him the truth, not a lie, but he couldn’t bring himself to speak. It felt like he was throwing someone who was already struggling further into the abyss…. Jeong-min knew better than anyone how miserable that feeling must be.
Jeong-min didn’t think about escaping from Shin-woo’s embrace. Instead, he hugged him tighter and cried. I’ll love you as much as you’re hurting. I’ll become your Omega. So please don’t be in pain. Just wait a little longer. I’ll become an Omega soon too.
The next day, Jeong-min visited a doctor. Because the awakening fever wasn’t coming. He requested a detailed examination once more. As expected, the results showed nothing wrong. The doctor said he understood the anxiety since Young-min had awakened, but that he needed to be a bit more relaxed.
At the suggestion that perhaps the anxiety was the reason it wasn’t coming, Jeong-min thought it made sense and decided to put his mind at ease. Instead, he began preparing as an Omega. He read books to understand the characteristics of Omegas and learned about heat cycles and other things.
“Sunbae, you really seem to want to become an Omega.”
In the library, Ju-hwan said this as he sat down opposite Jeong-min.
The exams had just ended, so there were no people in the library and plenty of seats, so why on earth did he sit right across from him? Jeong-min frowned and ignored Ju-hwan.
“What will you do if you end up becoming an Alpha.”
Ju-hwan blurted out the words Jeong-min hated most. Anger surged up, but not wanting to become like the same kind of person, Jeong-min stood up without responding.
“Correction.”
Correction? Jeong-min looked back at Ju-hwan with an expression that said he knew the meaning of the word but didn’t know why it was being mentioned now.
“Do you know about correction, Jeong-min sunbae?”
“You mean correcting something that’s wrong?”
Only then did Ju-hwan give a satisfied smile while looking at Jeong-min.
“The meaning isn’t different, but I’m talking about something else.”
“What?”
Ju-hwan stood up from his chair and approached Jeong-min. As he drew closer, Jeong-min felt a sense of intimidation and stepped backward, eventually hitting the bookshelf with his back.
What is this guy doing, what if someone sees? No, while he was debating whether to seek help from those around him, Ju-hwan trapped Jeong-min with both hands and looked down at him. Perhaps because he was an Extreme Alpha, he seemed a face larger than when they first met.
“What, move.”
There’s no one in the library. Where did everyone go?
“Since it was almost time for the library to close, I told the librarian I would organize it. So there’s no one here right now.”
What on earth is he plotting. Being with this guy only makes me angry. He’s like a snake; I can’t tell what he’s thinking at all.
“Is that so? Then I’ll leave, so move.”
“I’m trying to give you some good information… but I don’t like your attitude.”
“What nonsense is this?”
“Shall I tell you? It’s definitely information you’d like.”
“No, I don’t want to know. So move.”
He could have just pushed him away or hit him, but he didn’t want to touch Kim Ju-hwan’s body. He didn’t want to be entangled with this bastard no matter what. That’s why it was frustrating. This situation he couldn’t control.
“How to become an Omega.”
Jeong-min’s expression froze at those words.
“It’s not something that grand, but a doctor at my company’s lab came to my house recently and told me an interesting story. As soon as I heard it, I thought I should tell Jeong-min sunbae. Aren’t I admirable?”
“What are you… are you treating me like a fool? There’s no such method in the world.”
“Yes, there isn’t. But it can be created arbitrarily. For example, changing the trait with a drug.”
“Is your company developing it?”
“Not right now. But they are researching it.”
“What, so it’s not possible yet. Who knows how long drug development takes…. If you’re going to tell me useless stories, move now, okay?”
“It’s not a drug. It’s a method where you can expect a faster effect. Aren’t you really curious?”
As if testing him, Kim Ju-hwan slightly relaxed the strength in his arms. It was a sign that he could leave if he wanted to. Yes, he should leave… but he couldn’t. Even if what this guy said was a lie, shouldn’t he listen at least once? Wouldn’t there be some hint there? Jeong-min grit his teeth and stared at Kim Ju-hwan.
“If you’re joking, I’ll kill you.”
“Why would I joke with sunbae? I’m a kind hubae, after all. Hurrying to bring good information to sunbae.”
“Stop talking nonsense, so what is the method?”
Kim Ju-hwan smiled and said slyly, “You really are cold to me,” and then slowly lifted his head to meet Jeong-min’s eyes. His gaze was quite serious.
“When the awakening fever occurs. It’s when it’s decided whether you’ll become an Omega or an Alpha, right? Since it’s a precarious period, sexual intercourse is forbidden then. Because you don’t know what will happen.”
“And?”
“They say if you are embraced by an Alpha then, you might become an Omega.”
Ju-hwan’s words, whispered in his ear, were more shocking than expected. Jeong-min looked at Ju-hwan with shaking pupils. Ju-hwan pulled his lips away from Jeong-min’s ear, looked at him head-on, and smiled.
“Is it… true?”
“Yes, that’s called correction.”
So that’s why he mentioned ‘correction’ earlier.
“If you feel like you’re going to become an Alpha when the awakening fever hits, try being embraced by an Alpha. Then you might become an Omega. I don’t know if there are actual cases of that, but since the doctor mentioned it, it can’t be entirely baseless.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Didn’t I tell you before? That I hope you become an Omega, that I’ll pray for it. I’ll say it again, I truly hope you become an Omega. Oh, dear. I didn’t get the key from the librarian. I’ll go get the key. Please leave before then. The library has to close.”
Saying so, Ju-hwan stepped away from Jeong-min and left the library with a leisurely stride. Jeong-min stared at his retreating figure for a long time.
“Correction….”
He didn’t know if it was true or not, but it sounded quite plausible. Certainly, since one couldn’t know what would happen during the awakening fever, sexual intercourse was forbidden. Why hadn’t he thought of utilizing that? Now he had a secret plan just in case. Jeong-min bit his lip hard.
Thanks to Ju-hwan, Jeong-min’s head was filled with nothing but the word ‘correction’.
Just in case, after that day, he read numerous papers and related articles through the internet as well as in the library. There was certainly no accurate account of ‘that’ method. However, there was this warning phrase:
Sex during awakening fever is forbidden. Because it affects the awakening. In particular, sexual relations between an Alpha and an Omega must be cautioned.
That warning phrase, which he had previously passed over as obvious, now felt ominous thanks to what Kim Ju-hwan had said.