By Zephyria *
Koi opened his eyes when he felt someone gently shaking his shoulder. He raised his head and blinked his still sleepy eyes, looking around, and a quiet voice came down from above his head.
“Wake up. You have to go home.”
At those words, Koi’s memories came back to him. The fact that Ashley had comforted him and fallen asleep again, the fact that he had held Koi’s hand tightly before falling asleep and told him not to leave until he woke up, and the fact that Koi, who had been waiting next to Ashley, had also fallen asleep with his hand in his, leaning against the bed.
When he raised his head, the secretary’s cold eyes were looking down at him. Koi reflexively sobered up and his shoulders shrank, but he soon realized that he was still holding Ashley’s hand and barely mustered up the courage.
“I’ll… wait until Ash wakes up.”
His voice was trembling and so small that it had no dignity at all.
He was discouraged by his own pathetic voice, which anyone would laugh at, but unexpectedly, the secretary’s expression didn’t change much. She opened her mouth in a still cold and businesslike voice.
“It’s already past midnight. Won’t your father worry if it gets any later?”
At those words, Koi was startled and froze. He wondered how much she knew about him, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask. If it had been a little earlier, he would have called his father and told him that he was going to sleep at a friend’s house, but he had already missed the timing. If he stayed out without saying anything like this, his father would be really angry.
He hasn’t hit me lately…
It had been a while since his father’s attitude had changed. Because of that, Koi had a little hope. Maybe his father had changed.
Then I shouldn’t upset him even more.
There was still time left until graduation. And he had to prepare for college. He couldn’t afford to leave home, and he wasn’t in a situation to do so. After all, he was just a high school student right now.
But there was still something bothering him.
“But, I promised…”Ashley looked down at Ashley with a reluctant gaze, but he showed no signs of regaining consciousness. Suddenly, he recalled when Ashley had his Manifestation. Back then, he had also remained unconscious for a long time like this.
What state was Ash in now?
“Um, when someone becomes an extreme Alpha… do they lose consciousness frequently like this?” Koi asked cautiously. Only she could provide an answer. It wasn’t easy to find information, and all he knew was that after Manifestation the eye color changes to purple, their immunity is several times stronger than normal people, and if pheromones aren’t regularly extracted, their brain will melt.
Maybe Ash doesn’t know much about it either.
It was entirely possible, given that he couldn’t even control his pheromones properly yet. The secretary responded indifferently to Koi, who had asked in an attempt to gain even a little information.
“Not necessarily. Ashley Miller is a special case.”
“How so?”
When Koi hurriedly asked, she looked down at Ashley and said:
“This is happening because he didn’t extract his pheromones on time.”
For a moment, he blinked, not understanding her words.
“Why didn’t Ash extract his pheromones on time?”
Koi knew that if an extreme Alpha doesn’t extract pheromones, it causes brain abnormalities. But why hadn’t Ashley done so? The secretary added with an expressionless face to the confused Koi:
“You can ask Ashley Miller about that later. I’ve prepared a car downstairs. Shouldn’t you be going before it gets any later?”
Koi shifted his gaze from her face to Ashley. As he tightly gripped the hand he had been holding, the secretary spoke up.
“Sometimes people can’t keep their promises. You two need to grow up now.”
“Is breaking promises what it means to be an adult?”
Koi asked. He thought if that’s what being an adult meant, he didn’t want to become one. The secretary looked at him directly.
“No, understanding that is what it means to be an adult. If Ashley Miller is your boyfriend, shouldn’t you naturally understand?”
There were no flaws in her words. Koi couldn’t say anything more and looked down at Ashley again.
He felt upset inside at Ashley’s lack of response, but soon scolded himself. Ashley isn’t feeling well right now. Isn’t this exactly the kind of thing he should understand?
“There are many people here besides you,” the secretary said again to Koi, who was still hesitating.
“You being here like this isn’t really helping us.”
Her words hit the mark perfectly. She was right.
When Ashley had his Manifestation or was sick before, only Koi was there. But now it’s different. When he wakes up, he’ll be able to have much better quality meals than the instant soup Koi had bought, and doctors and other employees will immediately attend to him. Him staying here when he can’t be of any help would only be a burden.
Unable to withstand the merciless reality any longer, Koi squeezed Ashley’s hand one more time before letting go and standing up. He picked up the bag he had carelessly set on the floor and straightened his posture. The secretary turned around first. Koi looked back several times before finally following her out of the room.
“Come on, get in.”
The car waiting outside the mansion was an unfamiliar black sedan. Following the secretary’s instructions, a man who looked like a security guard opened the door, and Koi awkwardly thanked him before getting in. Soon after, the door closed and the car departed. Koi sat alone in the silence, hugging the bag in his arms tightly.
Ah, that’s right.
As the car was leaving the grounds, he belatedly remembered something. Taking out his phone with little battery left, he quickly turned on the internet and entered a search term.
How extreme Alphas extract pheromones
Recalling what the secretary had said, he entered the search term and results quickly appeared.
He didn’t know how normal Alphas or Omegas extracted pheromones.
He may have heard about it in class, but since it didn’t concern him, he had just skipped over it. And judging by the secretary’s reaction, it seemed different for extreme Alphas. He quickly scanned the results screen, trying to grasp the general content. And after opening and closing a few linked pages, Koi’s face gradually turned pale.
*
His head felt like it was about to split open. As consciousness returned, his whole body felt limp and tingly as if soaked in water.
Feeling this familiar yet unpleasant sensation, Ashley slowly opened his eyes. After blinking his unfocused eyes a few times, his blurry vision gradually brightened. Along with it, his memory slowly returned.
Koi.
Ashley turned his head quickly as he recalled him first, but soon froze. The hand that had been tightly holding his before he lost consciousness was now empty. He unconsciously tried to get up but ended up staggering and collapsing again, having to curl up for a moment while taking rough breaths.
Only after barely managing to subdue the dizziness to some extent was Ashley finally able to lift his head and check the room. The spacious room was empty. Except for himself.
This was a situation all too familiar to him, but now it was different. Recalling what Koi had said and promised before he fell asleep, he immediately turned pale. Just then, as if on cue, there was a knock at the door.
“You’re awake.”
The secretary who opened the door and entered spoke with her usual indifferent expression.
“I sent him home first. It was getting too late. He’s still a student, so we shouldn’t worry his parents.”
“Worry his parents?”
Ashley repeated her words sarcastically. Recalling what he had just heard from Koi, he felt nauseous again.
It was just an unavoidable accident.
Yet to place all the responsibility on Koi, who was still young, and pour out all the blame. Is that what adults, what parents should do?
Thinking of him who must have accepted and endured it as natural made him want to vomit. He should have comforted him more, should have hugged him more.
The thought of sending Koi back to that violent father because he couldn’t overcome this hateful pheromone made him feel like he was going crazy.
“…Give me my phone.”
Ashley managed to speak. The secretary, as if she had expected this, took a mobile phone out of her pocket and handed it to him. But Ashley wasn’t reckless enough to make a call in front of her. Though he wanted to hear Koi’s voice right away, he suppressed the urge and waited for the secretary to leave the room. She checked the IV drip Ashley was on, called a doctor to remove the needle, and finally asked:
“Do you need anything? A meal?”
“No, everyone out.”
Ashley, who had been holding back, blurted out roughly. Fortunately, this was easily accomplished. Only after being left alone did he urgently press the speed dial on his mobile phone. After a moment, the dial tone sounded, and Ashley waited for Koi’s voice to follow. However, the tone cut off after barely ringing a few times, and soon a machine voice was heard.
– The person you are calling is not available…
The blood drained from Ashley’s face in an instant.