By Zephyria 
“Ugh…”
His body felt heavy. At the same time, he felt a sense of refreshment, allowing Shin-woo to lightly lift his eyelids. He sat up and looked around, getting a general sense of the current situation. Empty bottles were rolling around the gaps in the door, and drunken Sunbaes were passed out and unconscious. Among them, he saw a fellow student with his head buried in vomit.
“My head…”
It seemed he had also been pressured into drinking by the Sunbaes and had fallen asleep here.
Fortunately, perhaps because he had claimed a spot early, there was no one else in the room besides Shin-woo. A thin blanket was draped over him, and his clothes were the same as the previous night. He looked around to see if he had made any mistakes, but the room was quiet and empty.
“Sigh…”
No matter if it was alcohol given by the Sunbaes, he felt he had drunk too much. Despite not having a constitution that handled alcohol well, the drinks had gone down strangely easily yesterday. He knew the reason without having to say it.
To forget…
In this place where he had come to throw everything away, he had once again confirmed how pathetically he was still clinging to Yeong-min… When he realized he could never discard those feelings, he tried to manage his frustration with alcohol before collapsing into misery. Perhaps that was the mistake, as a part of his memory had gone blank.
Holding his throbbing head and taking a deep breath, Shin-woo suddenly stopped.
Yeong-min’s pheromones were clinging to his body—the subtle scent mixed into those pheromones was entwined with his own in a disturbingly unpleasant way. Then, a fragment of the missing film played back in his mind. A scene he had never even dreamed of came to him vividly, and Shin-woo bolted upright. No way…!
He rushed out of the room to find the owner of the pheromones. But he was nowhere to be seen. Urgently shaking off the fellow students and Sunbaes who tried to stop him, he searched everywhere for Yeong-min until he spotted Jeong-min cleaning up trash.
“Jeong-min!”
“Ah, Hyung. Did you sleep well?”
Jeong-min greeted Shin-woo with a smile. Shin-woo grabbed Jeong-min’s shoulders. At that, the smile vanished from Jeong-min’s face.
“Have you seen Yeong-min?”
“Ah, Yeong… Yeong-min… Yeong-min… Ah, I called a driver and sent him home last night. Because of his heat cycle…”
“Uh… last night?”
“Yeah, I stayed by his side the whole time. He was so stubborn. That guy is really going to cause a disaster someday. I should tell him off before that happens.”
“Then, does that mean I didn’t meet Yeong-min?”
“No? I told you. I was with him the whole time.”
“I see…”
Shin-woo let out a breath, though it was unclear if it was relief, and brushed his hair back. Seeing this, Jeong-min handed Shin-woo a bottle of cold water he had set aside for himself.
“Thanks.”
“Hyung, it looked like you drank a lot yesterday. Go rest. I’ll finish cleaning and then head back.”
“Okay…”
Jeong-min watched silently as Shin-woo trudged back to the lodging. Gradually, his hands began to shake, and as soon as Shin-woo was out of sight, he rushed into the bathroom, opened the toilet lid, and leaned over.
“Blegh, ugh!”
He felt a surge of nausea. Even though he hadn’t eaten anything, his entire body reacted with rejection. An Alpha being held by another Alpha caused significant physiological repulsion, but there was also mental damage.
Even if it was someone he liked, because the other was an ‘Alpha,’ he had been mounted and became the one beneath him. The resulting repulsion and psychological factors tormented Jeong-min.
After vomiting for a while, Jeong-min suddenly felt a dampness. He carefully lowered his pants and saw streaks of red blood. Perhaps due to Shin-woo’s knotting, a wound had formed somewhere inside his body, and blood was slowly leaking. He had placed tissues there, but it seemed he needed to change them.
“…No.”
Tears fell as he tore the tissues. He had resolved in his heart several times not to cry, but it didn’t go his way.
It’s a relief that Shin-woo doesn’t remember. No, it’s agonizing that Shin-woo doesn’t remember. Those two emotions fought fiercely within Jeong-min’s heart. But if Shin-woo did remember and experienced the same repulsion as he did, it would be even more painful. It was better that he didn’t remember.
Jeong-min tried to think positively and flushed the toilet. He hoped everything would disappear as if it had never happened.
҈
✽✽✽
Time flowed quietly after the MT. Like the calm before a storm.
“Do you know that Mom and Dad are looking for a fiancé for you lately?”
“What?”
“Nothing. I guess you could say it’s like a screening process. They say people who want to get engaged to you are flooding in. Because of that, Mom and Dad can’t pay attention to me.”
Was it truly the calm before the storm? Jeong-min sighed and closed the book he was reading.
“They said they’ll get you engaged as soon as you graduate.”
“…That won’t happen. And I’ll tell my parents. To pay more attention to you than me.”
Whether Yeong-min liked Jeong-min’s answer or not, he beamed and shouted, “Hyung is the best!” while hugging him. The sweet, pleasant pheromones of an Omega enveloped Jeong-min.
To Jeong-min, even if it belonged to his brother, it was enviable, enviable… truly enviable… That one small emotion held him and swung him around. And it would likely be for a lifetime.
“Huh?”
Thinking he should tell his parents to stop looking for a partner since he had no such intentions for the time being, he went downstairs, only to find an unexpected guest.
“Isn’t that Kim Ju-hwan?”
Yeong-min, who had been following behind, peeked his head out and, recognizing the unwelcome guest, scurried down the stairs to greet him. It was truly surprising that both of them could exchange such ordinary greetings after what had happened—in the infirmary.
Jeong-min considered going back to his room, but his mother beckoned him, so he had no choice but to go down.
“What brings you here?”
Today was the weekend, and even if it weren’t, there was no reason for Kim Ju-hwan to visit this house. He would have understood if Ju-hwan’s parents had come along, but since he seemed to be alone today, it was even more incomprehensible.
“Why do you speak to him like that when Ju-hwan has come all this way? You should greet him first.”
At his mother’s scolding, Jeong-min let out a deep sigh.
“Mom, Jeong-min is in a bad mood right now.”
“Oh? Why?”
“He’s in a bad mood because you and Dad are scouting for a marriage partner. He came down to complain about it.”
While it was true, Jeong-min wondered why he had to put it that way. He sighed deeply again.
“Oh, don’t worry. Your father and I will find someone wonderful for you. And it’s not like we’re telling you to marry immediately. You can just meet them, and if they’re a good person, get engaged; if not, look for someone else. It’s absolutely not forced. It’s just that you aren’t dating anyone, so we’re worried.”
His mother gripped Jeong-min’s hand tightly. Indeed, his mother and father did not know that he had met and dated several Omegas. There was no need to tell them, and the relationships had never progressed enough to warrant disclosure.
More than that, it felt subtly uncomfortable to have this conversation in this setting… specifically, in the presence of Kim Ju-hwan. Was it because of Kim Ju-hwan’s gaze?
“Let’s discuss that later, Mother. I think it would be better to welcome the guest first.”
“Oh, look at me. I’m sorry, Ju-hwan.”
“It’s fine. I happened to overhear the conversation, and perhaps I can alleviate some of your concerns.”
Kim Ju-hwan held out an envelope.
“I came to deliver this.”
And the envelope was placed exactly in front of Jeong-min.
“What is this?”
It was Yeong-min, standing beside him, who wondered about the contents of the envelope.
“It’s a bit embarrassing, but my father is preparing a late entrance celebration and birthday party for me. It will be held at the Kallas Hotel Private Room.”
“Wow, amazing.”
The Kallas Hotel Private Room was a hotel affiliated with a foreign company, and lodging or rental was impossible for anyone other than political and business figures from various countries. Even most insiders didn’t know what happened inside or who came and went. One might even say that the land where the hotel stood was not South Korea, but American soil, the land of the headquarters.
“I’ve invited many people. You might even meet your destined partner there, Sunbae.”
If he had sent invitations, they must all be Omegas and Alphas. Jeong-min felt an ominous sensation and refrained from taking the invitation.
“Can I go too?”
Yeong-min asked, his eyes sparkling.
“Of course.”
“Yes! Jeong-min! Let’s go!”
Yeong-min pulled on Jeong-min’s arm, pleading. Even so, Jeong-min couldn’t bring himself to take it. He had no desire to celebrate Kim Ju-hwan’s birthday, nor did he want to attend the party.
“I wonder if the thing my father sent to the Chairman this time was received well.”
Ju-hwan tossed a remark while looking at the twins’ mother. As she thought about what he meant, her face suddenly lit up.
“Of course! Thanks to your father’s help, the Chairman received great assistance. It could have been dangerous if it hadn’t been for that.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
Kim Ju-hwan was smiling at the mother, but his gaze was fixed on Jeong-min.
‘Ha, so that’s how you want to play it?’
Jeong-min gritted his teeth, snatched the invitation from his hand, gripped it tightly, and returned to his room.