By Zephyria 
Kim Hui-won holed himself up at home for two days before finally recovering his mental state.
Of course, accepting the sudden manifestation of his Omega trait wasn’t easy. He went through the four stages of denial, anger, bargaining, and depression like everyone else, and only on the second day was he finally able to set foot in the acceptance stage.
But as they say, humans are creatures of adaptation. Once he accepted that he was an Omega, his mind became surprisingly calm.
After getting the pheromone shot, the persistent fever and body aches disappeared, and as his condition improved, he had the energy to take care of himself.
Beep- A small machine blinked. It was the fifteenth pheromone measurement he’d taken today alone. The numbers that appeared without fail were now quite familiar.
Hui-won threw the measuring device far away and lay sprawled on the sofa.
Am I going to become unemployed now? Even though I’m about to lose my job, I’m not as upset as I thought I’d be.
I have my own house, and I’ve saved up a lot of money, so I don’t have to worry about making a living right away. Right now, I just… want to rest.
“Yeah, so what? I’ll just live as an Omega.”
Hui-won had reached a state of detachment. Perhaps it was because he realized that struggling wouldn’t change reality.
He lay with his legs crossed, staring blankly at the ceiling, when a messenger notification rang on his phone.
It was a message from the secretary’s office group chat. Even though he was on leave, these messages kept coming day and night. Most of them were complaints about how difficult things were, rather than requests for work-related help. Of course, Hui-won didn’t reply.
The secretaries were all capable people. They were all prepared to take over Hui-won’s role at any time. Therefore, there was no chance of problems arising just because he was absent.
Secretary_Song Yumi
[General manager, how are you feeling?]
Secretary_Choi Jung-woo
[General manager, are you okay? 8_8]
Secretary_Ji Seung-hyun
[When are you coming back? Executive Director Kwon’s sensitivity is at its peak ㅠㅠ I’m dying ㅠㅠ]
1
Secretary_Lee Gyuna
[The Executive Director seems to want you to return quickly too… I’m sure of it… He keeps looking at your seat as he passes by…]
2
However, they were only human, so it couldn’t be helped that they were whining about how hard things were.
With Hui-won, who had been taking Executive Director Kwon’s pickiness head-on, absent, the secretaries were sharing the aftermath. In particular, Secretary Lee, who was acting as the executive secretary, was making the biggest fuss.
Hui-won sent a reply after a long time.
[Sorry, I have to resign]
The numbers disappeared quickly. Despite reading the message, the secretaries didn’t reply. They must have been stunned by the shocking news.
Hui-won slowly sat up. It was no longer something he could put off. He brought his laptop and opened it on his lap, then made a call.
“Hey, Secretary Lee. It’s me.”
General manager. What’s with the KakaoTalk message just now…? I don’t understand… This is a joke, right?
“No, it’s true. I manifested as an Omega.”
A sound like an animal’s cry came from beyond the speaker. It was a natural reaction. Hui-won wedged the phone between his shoulder and ear and typed on his laptop.
“I’ll send you an email now. I’ll attach the diagnosis and trait confirmation, so print them out and show them to the Executive Director.”
…That’s impossible. It’s a lie.
“I’ll have to take more leave. I haven’t fully adapted yet. Anyway, I have to go to the company to go through the resignation process and hand over my work. Please endure a little longer until then.”
As soon as he ended the call, he sent the email. Was it because this was the first time he’d revealed that he was an Omega with his own mouth? He felt strange.
Still, he thought, what could he do? He lay back down on the sofa. He was enjoying the idle time when a personal message came from Secretary Lee.
I just reported it to the Executive Director. He told me not to talk nonsense and tore up the diagnosis. He asked when you’re coming to work.
“Huh!”
He was so dumbfounded that he sighed.
Does he think I’m lying? That I might have forged the documents? Well, what if he doesn’t believe it? Tell him to come and smell me if he doesn’t believe it!
He kicked his legs in the air in frustration, then stretched out his exhausted limbs.
Hui-won looked at the dust floating in the air and reaffirmed his determination to resign. He didn’t care if Executive Director Kwon was angry or not.
That evening, he ordered delivery food and was leisurely reading a book when the doorbell rang. Hui-won naturally thought it was the delivery person and headed to the intercom to open the door.
But what filled the screen wasn’t the delivery driver’s helmet, but a man’s neat upper body.
He could guess who it was just by looking at the sharply cut jawline, long neck, and expensive-looking suit jacket. Among the people Hui-won knew, only Kwon Young-je had such proportions.
When Kwon Young-je actually came to his house, Hui-won froze like someone who had seen a ghost. He hadn’t done anything wrong, but his heart suddenly pounded and his palms began to sweat.
Ding-dong-. Impatient Kwon Young-je couldn’t wait a moment and rang the bell again, forcing Hui-won to move his unmoving feet.
First, he put on two masks. He had taken a suppressant today, but the other person was a Dominant Alpha and Hui-won was a newly manifested Omega. It couldn’t hurt to be careful.
He opened the front door, and as soon as the door was slightly ajar, a large hand grabbed the iron door and flung it open. Kwon Young-je glared with gritted teeth.
“What are you trying to do?”
“Haha… Executive Director, hello.”
Hui-won, who had been exposed in an instant, gave an awkward greeting. He was trying to put on a friendly expression, but his smile was futilely hidden by the mask.
“What brings you to my house….”
“Resignation? Who said you could?”
“…Excuse me?”
“I absolutely won’t allow it.”
“…Executive Director. As you know from seeing my diagnosis.”
“Omega?”
Kwon Young-je scoffed. His sharp eyes flashed.
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
“It’s true.”
“Do you know how old Secretary Kim is?”
“…….”
“You’re telling me to believe that a thirty-one-year-old man manifested as an Omega?”
Hui-won straightened his back. Well, he understood that it was hard to believe. He had felt the same way.
“There have already been several similar cases in Korea. Last October, a forty-five-year-old housewife manifested as an Alpha. In January of this year, a seven-year-old child also manifested. It means that there is no significant correlation with age.”
He listed the cases he had learned about while researching for several days. Kwon Young-je frowned as if he couldn’t listen anymore.
“If you want to resign, why don’t you come up with a more original reason? Why use an excuse like Omega manifestation?”
“I’m only telling you the truth.”
“I’d rather believe that an eighty-year-old man had a late child.”
Kwon Young-je stubbornly refused to accept that Hui-won had manifested as an Omega. He believed that the documents had been forged. More than that, the word ‘resignation’ was so shocking that he lost his mind and came all the way to his house.
Hui-won stared at the stubborn Kwon Young-je and quietly sighed. He took a step forward and held out his neck.
“Smell it. See if it smells like pheromones or not.”
“…….”
“Hurry!”
Kwon Young-je flinched at the unexpected crazy behavior. Kim Hui-won was still tilting his neck back and shouting for him to smell it. It was like a deer fearlessly provoking a beast.
“Why would I smell Secretary Kim’s neck?”
“Ah, if you smell it, you’ll know if it’s perfume or pheromones! I’m frustrated!”
Even though he was still clumsy at controlling his pheromones, this was the most certain way.
Kwon Young-je stood there with an unwilling expression, but reluctantly tilted his head. The tip of his high nose touched the white, warm neck. As he took a deep breath, a subtle and sweet fragrant olive scent rushed into his nasal cavity. His body stiffened instantly.
It was definitely Omega pheromones. Omega pheromones were really flowing from Secretary Kim.
Kwon Young-je grabbed Hui-won’s collar tightly and brought their faces closer. He took his nose to every part where pheromones gathered, from the nape of his neck to the hollow collarbone and behind his ears, and sniffed.
Then, ding- the elevator opened and a delivery driver with a plastic bag walked out. He was humming a tune, but stopped when he saw the two men standing in front of the front door. His pupils shook wildly at the suddenly witnessed act of affection.
What, are these perverts?
The eyes behind the helmet glass seemed to be saying that.
“Uh, well… enjoy your meal.”
The delivery driver dropped the plastic bag on the floor and ran away as if fleeing. Hui-won, who was the only one who witnessed this scene, felt a bit of self-disgust. Ah, damn it, I’m embarrassed. What is this?
Until then, he patted Kwon Young-je’s back, who was still clinging to his neck and sniffing, with his fist. He thought he had confirmed enough, but when he didn’t think of letting go, he pulled on his jacket this time. Kwon Young-je barely straightened his back. He covered his lower face with his palm as if he couldn’t believe it.
“…You’re really an Omega?”
“Yes, that’s what happened.”
“Why are you so calm? Aren’t you bothered by it?”
“There’s nothing I can do about it, what else can I do but accept it.”
Judging by his colorful face, it seemed that it was definitely Omega pheromones. Hui-won picked up the dinner that was placed on the floor and said nonchalantly.
“You believe me now, right?”
“…Professor Hong.”
Kwon Young-je swallowed hard. He barely managed to speak, his face contorted as if the pheromones he had just smelled were tormenting him.
“Get a diagnosis from Professor Hong tomorrow. I’ll go with you too.”
“…Executive Director, you just confirmed it, right? And I’ve already been to the hospital.”
“Don’t jump to conclusions without a specialist’s diagnosis. Are you that confident?”
It was true that Professor Hong was a leading figure in the field of trait medicine in Korea. But that didn’t mean he could ignore the diagnoses of other hospitals. Above all, he was struggling right now. What more certain evidence could there be?
Hui-won stared blankly at the stubborn man and finally nodded.
“But this is the last time. You’ll acknowledge it if I get a diagnosis from Professor Hong, right?”
In the end, they made an appointment to meet in front of Korea University Hospital at two o’clock tomorrow. Kwon Young-je left without looking back.
Hui-won belatedly pulled off his mask. A subtle bergamot scent lingered in front of the door. It was Kwon Young-je’s pheromones, which he had never recognized before.
“His pheromones are just like him.”
He threw a light comment and went inside. Unlike the confused Kwon Young-je, Hui-won was more concerned with the dinner in his hand. He was that confident. Resignation was only a matter of time.