By Zephyria 
After finishing the tiring but rewarding work, they entered the village hall prepared as lodging—though called a village hall, it was quite large, having been converted from a closed elementary school. The Sunbaes who had arrived as the second group had prepared plenty of alcohol. The elders had also brought heaps of food as a thank-you, and everyone began to relax, feeling that the night was only just beginning.
As soon as the room assignments were finished, everyone gathered together to drink without even washing up, as if they had made a pact. Since Jeong-min was a sophomore, he had to attend to the Sunbaes and take care of the Hubaes, but it was manageable.
“Jeong-min.”
“Yeah?”
While glancing around to see if they were short on snacks, a classmate called Jeong-min cautiously.
“What? Want more drinks?”
“No, it’s not that. Go check on Sunbae Ho-jun.”
Though the words were “Go check on Sunbae Ho-jun,” what the classmate meant was “Go check on your brother.”
He didn’t even need to see it to know. He had separated them every time he saw them wandering around, but now that alcohol was involved, their behavior was becoming increasingly suggestive, so the classmate likely wanted Jeong-min to stop them.
The two were in the room where the Sunbaes were gathered. Sure enough, they were stuck together, on the verge of filming a cheap porn movie. Unable to stand the sight, one of the seniors shouted at Ho-jun to go to an empty room if they were going to be like that, and the two jumped up as if they had been waiting for those words. Watching the two pass by with giggles, saying they’d use a corner room, Jeong-min felt a chill. A bad feeling struck him, and he quickly ran to grab Young-min’s arm.
“Ah, what is it!”
Young-min snapped. Just then, a surge of pheromones hit Jeong-min, and he gasped. This much pheromone… this was definitely a heat cycle. What happened? He took the medicine earlier.
“Did you not take the suppressant I gave you?”
“I did.”
Seeing how confident he was, he must have taken it.
“Then why are your pheromones so strong?”
“Just… whatever.”
Seeing him trail off, it was clear there was something more to it.
“Shin Yeong-min.”
“Ah, it hurts. Let go of my arm!”
“Jeong-min, what are you doing?”
As Sunbae Ho-jun quickly approached and grabbed Jeong-min’s arm, Jeong-min glared at him.
“Sunbae. It seems Young-min is in heat, so I’m sending him back to Seoul.”
Jeong-min spoke each word with deliberate emphasis, as if issuing a warning.
“No, Young-min isn’t a child…”
“Are you planning to take responsibility?”
“A-ah, no. I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen… obviously.”
“Sunbae. I’m sorry, but we are currently on an MT. This isn’t a motel MT. Didn’t you participate here as the club president? If you wanted to spend a heat cycle with your lover, you should have done it at a hotel. Do you really want to do it in a rural village hall, where students pooled their precious money, just because you’re broke? How pathetic.”
“You! You have no filter when talking to a Sunbae!”
“Shin Yeong-min, is this what you want? Do you want your future decided in a place like this?”
Jeong-min prided himself on knowing his twin brother better than their parents did. He knew that Sunbae Ho-jun came from a good family and had enough money to live comfortably for a lifetime even if he spent his days idling. Since Young-min wanted to marry a wealthy Alpha, it was only natural he’d fallen into that radar. But thinking about it, it was an insult to his pride. Spending a heat cycle in a place like this wouldn’t satisfy Young-min’s standards.
“You’re so annoying.”
Young-min glared at Jeong-min, trembling. He had hit the nail on the head.
“I’ll call a driver. Take that and go back up.”
Jeong-min dragged Young-min into a corner room and locked the door. Then, he quickly called the driver in Seoul. It would take four hours to get here, but there was no choice. He couldn’t monitor Young-min here indefinitely, nor could he ask Shin-woo.
“The driver is coming soon. What about the suppressants?”
“I don’t have any! I said I don’t! Do you think I would’ve brought them?”
“Shin Yeong-min! You’re being a nuisance to others!”
When he entered the room after hanging up, Young-min swung his fists in frustration. Jeong-min took the hits and pushed Young-min into the corner. He could feel the pheromones strengthening. It seemed he had fully entered the heat cycle. He feared the pheromones would leak out of the room.
“Are you really going to act this immaturely?!”
“What? I’m not a kid anymore. I’m the same age as you. I decide my own path!”
“What if you get pregnant!”
“That’s what I want!!”
“Young-min.”
“Let me out. I feel like I’m going crazy. Huh? Jeong-min. Please?”
Young-min pleaded with Jeong-min, tears clinging to his eyes. He could feel Young-min’s face flushing and his temperature rising. Despite this, Jeong-min turned away coldly. Young-min’s sobbing grew louder. Every time he did, the pheromones deepened. The pheromones, more than sweet—now in full heat, the pheromones that open the door to pregnancy—grew stronger, and Young-min collapsed to the floor, rubbing his body and moaning.
With eyes drenched in tears, Young-min begged Jeong-min. He asked him to call Sunbae Ho-jun. He pleaded for his Alpha, but Jeong-min didn’t budge; he closed the door and stood guard so no one could approach.
I’m exhausted.
Leaning against the door, he just stared at the clock, praying for time to pass quickly.
“Sunbae Jeong-min?”
Damn, why am I hearing this bastard’s voice again? Jeong-min frowned and looked toward the source of the voice. He had come out of a room not far away. And immediately after, seeing a Sunbae who appeared to be an ‘Omega’ rush out with a heavily flushed face, Jeong-min felt irritated. It was nothing but animals in heat.
“What is it now?”
As Jeong-min clicked his tongue and spat out the words, Ju-hwan shrugged.
“I don’t know why you’re taking your irritation out on me.”
“Did you clean the room?”
“I did it inside. There’s nothing to clean. I didn’t spill.”
That was information he truly didn’t want to know.
“In a public place, really…”
“Jealous?”
The single phrase delivered in a playful voice left Jeong-min dazed. I’m done talking.
Jeong-min ignored him and turned his head.
“By the way.”
On the other hand, Kim Ju-hwan stepped closer to Jeong-min and placed his hand on the door. He was too close. Their bodies were so close that their noses almost touched. Kim Ju-hwan’s eyes gleamed with a slight ferocity.
“I wondered what you were guarding… it’s Sunbae Young-min.”
The words made the hair on Jeong-min’s neck stand up. Kim Ju-hwan was a Dominant Alpha. Because he was a dominant trait who could sense pheromones more acutely than ordinary traits, he could be more strongly affected.
“Get away.”
Jeong-min spoke warningly, threatening him with his pheromones. It wouldn’t work on a Dominant Alpha, but he still had to push him away from the door.
“I’m not interested.”
Kim Ju-hwan took two steps back and raised both hands.
“As you know, I just did it once, so I have no desire to do it again. I’m not a beast.”
I don’t think you’re any better than a beast, Jeong-min wanted to say, but he held back.
“And as I said, I have no interest in my sunbaes. One is too soft, and the other is too bitter.”
After spouting a series of obnoxious remarks, Kim Ju-hwan patted Jeong-min on the shoulder.
“Do you have to stay like this all night? Want me to keep you company? I’m not affected by heat cycles.”
Was he saying that everything was controllable if he didn’t want it to be? As expected of a dominant—how should I put it—they really aren’t like ordinary humans. Jeong-min brushed Kim Ju-hwan’s hand away.
“Forget it.”
Watching his hand be brushed off, Kim Ju-hwan gave a faint smile.
“I’m sending him to Seoul.”
“Are you taking him yourself, Sunbae?”
“The driver is coming. So don’t worry about it.”
“Right. I see. Oh, there’s a back door behind the first-floor restroom. Even if there aren’t many Alphas, it wouldn’t be good if something happened while leaving through the front door like that, right?”
Ju-hwan gave a small nod of greeting to Jeong-min and disappeared. He was exhausted. Wishing the driver would arrive quickly, Jeong-min slid down the door and slumped onto the floor.
From inside, he could hear Young-min’s sobbing moans. In a way, Omegas were such pitiful beings. It felt as if they were created solely for the reproduction of creatures that looked just like gods. But he was envious.
Jeong-min wanted to be such a being. Young-min felt inferior to him, but in reality, Jeong-min felt inferior to Young-min. Wasn’t it ironic? Why on earth did he awaken with a nature opposite to what he wanted?
“Haa….”
How much time had passed? While Young-min was crying and craving an Alpha, completely drenched both front and back, Jeong-min received a saving phone call. It was the driver.
Jeong-min supported the now mindless Young-min, led him out through the back door Kim Ju-hwan had mentioned, and sent him off to Seoul with the driver (a Beta). Of course, he didn’t forget to give him the suppressants he had asked the driver to bring, so that the journey would be less agonizing.