By Zephyria 
Loud music.
Amidst the sticky conversations drifting through the air, a man sat in the farthest corner—a spot no one paid any mind to—drinking the most expensive liquor, one glass at a time, within that noisy void.
His snack was a simple bowl of nuts. However, knowing how much revenue the man generated and how expensive his taste in alcohol was, neither the staff nor the manager of the BAR dared to say a word; instead, they simply refilled his sole snack whenever they passed by. But soon, even that became unnecessary. The man had stopped touching the snacks entirely, focusing solely on the liquor.
“Ha.”
Irritated by his own inability to get drunk, the man continued to pour liquor into his empty glass, but the drink sliding down his throat lacked even the taste of alcohol. He wondered why the expensive liquor he drank specifically to lose consciousness felt so trivial. He let out a hollow laugh, feeling as if even the alcohol was mocking his current predicament.
“Excuse me… are you alone?”
Sensing a clear voice and a pleasant pheromone, the man looked up as he was about to lift the bottle of liquor, of which only one glass remained.
“Ah.”
The Omega who had spoken to him looked at Jung-min and inwardly shouted that he’d hit the jackpot.
An Alpha with stunning looks and a lean, muscular build that was incredibly attractive—and judging by the bottle in his hand and the empty ones scattered on the table, the calculation was that he came from a wealthy family. The Omega released a sweeter pheromone. Despite the pheromones striving to seduce him, Jung-min didn’t even blink; he simply gave a smirk and drained the final glass.
“Um… may I sit?”
“…….”
He was ignored. Even knowing this, the Omega acted even more affectionately, gripping the opposite chair as he asked. It seemed as if the moment Jung-min gave a slight nod, the Omega would sit down and suck his cock immediately. The gazes of other patrons shifted. For a moment, attention converged on whether this Omega would succeed or fail in hooking him. The Omega was confident. After all, there hadn’t been an Alpha who hadn’t fallen for him when he made a move.
Jung-min raised his hand. As if waiting for the signal, the manager brought a new bottle of liquor and placed it on the table.
“I think you’ve had too much.”
“It’s fine.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s fine, so please leave.”
Jung-min glared at the Omega while pouring the full bottle into his empty glass. Any Alpha would typically react sexually after being drenched in an Omega’s pheromones to this extent, but Jung-min felt only repulsion.
“I’m asking you. I don’t particularly like Omega pheromones.”
“Ha, unbelievable.”
The Omega muttered, “What kind of crazy bastard is this?” and snorted before heading back to their group. Though they seemed angry while being teased by their friends, it had nothing to do with Jung-min.
Jung-min simply tried to brush off the pheromones the Omega had left on his body with his hand. Not that doing so would actually remove them.
Dirty inferiority… Even knowing the Omega had done nothing wrong, the inferiority and envy he felt toward Omegas manifested as anger.
“Ha… damn it….”
Jung-min clicked his tongue and lifted the liquor bottle again.
“Ah.”
Nothing was going right. Because he had been mindlessly pouring liquor while dealing with the Omega, the new bottle was already empty. Yes, empty. Nothing left. Just like his heart.
Jung-min raised his hand again. The manager hurriedly searched for the liquor, but seeing that it was out of stock, he asked for a moment’s patience and headed toward the warehouse. Jung-min clicked his tongue and leaned deep into his chair, waiting for the drink. It was then that he felt a familiar, oppressive Alpha pheromone, and Jung-min muttered a low curse.
“Fuck.”
The man possessing those pheromones sat opposite him without asking for permission. A self-centered bastard.
“Here, I’ve brought it.”
In the meantime, the manager had found the liquor and held out a new bottle to Jung-min. As Jung-min reached out to take it, a hand slightly larger than his blocked the way.
“I think this gentleman has had enough for today. Could you take this back?”
A low, resonant voice, kind and gentle, was enough to sway anyone’s heart. The dominant Alpha before him knew this better than anyone and knew exactly how to use it. Sure enough, the manager, with a flushed face, hugged the liquor bottle preciously and disappeared quickly.
Jung-min was truly speechless.
“Who the hell do you think you are to stop me?”
“That’s harsh. I was thinking about your health, Senior.”
Bullshit.
“Didn’t you say you had a date today?”
Thinking that further drinking was out of the question, Jung-min crunched on the peanuts in front of him. The man in the long coat scanned Jung-min slowly with a relaxed demeanor.
“Jealous?”
A bastard not even worth dealing with.
“I finished up quickly because I knew you’d be like this. The sex, too.”
“Ah, is that so? I’m so sorry. But I can’t take responsibility if you break up because of that.”
While making a soulless gesture, Jung-min reached for the last peanut, but the man snatched it away as if he had been waiting and chewed it in his mouth.
“I heard an interesting patient came to the hospital while I was away today.”
Jung-min didn’t respond. Because it was indeed because of that patient—that person—that he was in this state. However, he didn’t want to casually say, “Yeah, that’s right,” or give an affirmative answer. It was a matter of pride.
“An Alpha who got pregnant and even gave birth….”
The man stroked his chin, watching Jung-min’s reaction. Jung-min quickly gathered his scattered thoughts. I can’t let it show. Absolutely not. I can’t let him see that I’m envious…
“It’s exactly what you wanted so badly, Senior.”
“Kim Joo-hwan. Did you come here just to flip my stomach?”
“Haha, as if this is anything new.”
“You son of a bitch.”
“I’m already well aware of that. More importantly, Senior. I don’t care whether an Alpha gets pregnant or gives birth. I’m not trying to tease you. What’s the point of teasing an Alpha? All it does is make them leak unpleasant pheromones. Disgusting.”
“So fuck, what are you trying to say? You’re saying there’s something so important that you’d cut your beloved sex short to come here?”
“Wow, as expected, Senior is quick. You know me better than my own parents do.”
Jung-min had always hated the eyes and the way this junior spoke. Eyes that were smiling but not smiling at all. A tone of voice whose depth and intentions were unknowable, which was incredibly irritating.
“I rushed over because I wanted to show you this.”
Kim Joo-hwan pulled a small aluminum case from the inner pocket of his coat and shook it.
“Something good for my Senior.”
When he carefully opened the aluminum case on the table, there was a single syringe containing a blue liquid. Jung-min’s eyes widened.
“This is….”
“It’s a drug developed in Germany recently. It targets hormonal chan—”
Before Joo-hwan could finish, Jung-min took the syringe in his mouth and rolled up his sleeve with practiced ease. But the moment he tried to pierce his skin, Joo-hwan grabbed his wrist.
“It hasn’t undergone clinical trials yet.”
“Since when did I care about that?”
He had already taken hundreds of pills and dozens of injections that hadn’t undergone clinical trials. Yet, this goddamn Alpha pheromone would not disappear.
“That may be so, but…”
“Then let go of my hand.”
At the sight of Jung-min growling as if he wouldn’t let it slide if he was hindered, Joo-hwan shrugged his shoulders.
“I’ll do it for you.”
The grip Joo-hwan had on Jung-min’s arm loosened. Instead, he carefully took the syringe from Jung-min’s mouth, placed it back in the aluminum case, and pulled down the rolled-up sleeve, even fastening the button.
“Let’s go to my car. There are too many eyes here. What if people misunderstand and think you’re doing drugs? It would be a disaster.”
“And? There’s no way you’d actually worry about me.”
Joo-hwan put the aluminum case back in his coat and stood up. Then, he leaned down and whispered to Jung-min.
“You have to pay for the medicine. It was hard to get my hands on this.”
“Don’t fuck with me.”
Despite his words, Jung-min grabbed his coat and hurried outside. The cost of the liquor was left entirely to Joo-hwan, but he smiled as if it didn’t matter and swiped his card.
҈
✽✽✽
“Give it to me.”
As soon as they got into the car, Jung-min spoke while rolling up his sleeve. Joo-hwan took the aluminum case from his inner pocket and opened it. He tossed the case aside, took the syringe, gripped Jung-min’s firm arm, and plunged the needle into a clearly visible vein. The volume of the drug was high, and the needle was thick and long, which should have been painful, but Jung-min didn’t even flinch. Seeing this, Joo-hwan clicked his tongue.
After squeezing the syringe until not a single drop of medicine remained, he pulled the needle out, and Jung-min gently rubbed the area where the needle had been. To make sure it spread well and didn’t clump.
As expected of a doctor, his hand movements were meticulous. Well, the ones actually giving injections at the hospital were the nurses.
“I don’t know what side effects there might be.”
Joo-hwan threw the used syringe on the floor and reclined the seat Jung-min was sitting in. Everything was a natural sequence of actions that had continued for several years.
“Vomiting, dizziness, muscle pain all day. I’ve already experienced side effects as severe as allergies until I’m sick of them.”
Jung-min was not afraid. He feared no drug, no pain. There was only one thing he feared. And it wasn’t death.
“Thinking about it, it’s a miracle I’m still alive.”
Jung-min spoke while staring at the car ceiling. His breathing began to falter slightly, and sweat started to pour from his body. It was a natural reaction after injecting a massive dose of hormones. Joo-hwan held his phone in his hand, prepared for any unforeseen emergency.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m looking for a funeral home in case you die, Senior.”
“I’ve already prepared that, so you don’t have to worry. Press 10 on my phone and it’ll come up. The funeral service I signed up for.”
At those words, Joo-hwan put down the phone. Jung-min’s breathing was becoming increasingly ragged. His eyes were growing moist. Joo-hwan knew that his eyes were wet not because of the pain from the drug, but because he was desperately longing for something.
Watching this, Joo-hwan smiled quietly. This was the moment he had been waiting for.