By Zephyria 
If there really was such a thing as luck, then after being hit this hard, it should be about time to give some back, shouldn’t it?
That sense of injustice thrashed one last time in the darkness.
That’s when it happened.
“……Jeong-won……!”
Through the broken door frame, it seemed like someone was calling.
This memory……, did it exist back then too? He couldn’t remember clearly.
He kept ruminating on his memories, going back to the past, and further back.
The voice continued, distant, muffled, sounding as if pressed down by several layers.
He tried to reach out, but his elbow was stuck somewhere and wouldn’t budge.
“Cha Jeong-won!”
This time, it became clearer, closer, as if ringing right by his ear.
The darkness suddenly receded as if water was draining away.
＊ ＊ ＊
“Cha Jeong-won!”
The same call, this time not an auditory hallucination but coming from reality.
It was Yoon Haon’s voice, cautious yet firm, holding him.
Instead of an answer, his interrupted breathing resumed. Cha Jeong-won’s shoulders slumped noticeably.
“Are you okay? You’re not feeling very dizzy anywhere, are you?”
Haon asked, focusing his attention entirely on Cha Jeong-won.
The thought of what if he collapsed came first.
Haon moved cautiously forward, peeling his back from the wall.
When he reached out, the first thing he touched was the elevator wall. The cold, smooth wall brushed against his palm.
As he fumbled beside it, a firm texture caught his fingertips. He could feel the sleeve, the arm, and the slightly tense muscles beneath the skin.
“Sorry. Were you here?”
He worried it might be the injured wrist. Concerned, he was about to let go but raised his hand again instead.
Just as he was about to move his hand toward the shoulder, a low breath drew closer in the darkness.
“Get lost.”
The tone was still prickly, but the voice was trembling.
Cha Jeong-won’s pheromones had also intensified. A heavy scent spread through the air. No matter how shallowly he breathed, it was an impossible scent to ignore.
‘Of course, the pheromones always get stronger at times like this.’
Haon felt a surge of frustration but couldn’t completely withdraw his hand.
“Senior, if you’re feeling dizzy or nauseous or anything……”
As he spoke, Haon moved his hand from Cha Jeong-won’s arm to his shoulder and upward. His fingertips caught on the wrinkles of the shirt. A little higher and he would reach near the neck.
At that moment, a low voice sounded right in front of him.
“Stay still.”
Cha Jeong-won spat out the words.
Even though it was a command to push him away, Haon’s nerves only became more on edge. He couldn’t just leave him like this.
“Don’t come near me unnecessarily either.”
“I’d like that too. If I could at least see your face, I could check how you are, Senior.”
The words popped out habitually. He was getting used to the darkness, but he couldn’t see Cha Jeong-won’s face in detail.
‘There’s no way I could see his face.’
The elevator jolted once more from below.
“Ah!”
His body lurched sharply to one side. His hand clawed through empty air.
Reflexively reaching out, this time he didn’t grab the wall but the collar of a shirt. Instinctively gripping tighter to avoid falling was what caused the trouble.
It might tear. Feeling the shirt pull taut, Haon flailed and then tumbled forward.
‘Huh?’
Before he could even be surprised, his lips collided with something.
The sensation he expected to be hard was unexpectedly soft and hot. A faint breath mingled between their lips, pressed together lightly.
He didn’t know if his eyes were closed or open, but his vision seemed utterly empty.
It felt more vivid in the darkness.
The breath drawn in right in front brushed against the tips of their noses, and a warm body temperature spread along the point of contact.
The pheromone scent rushed in as if pulling him, then swept over Haon from head to toe in an instant.
Instinctively, his body tried to draw one breath closer.
A little more and their lips would lock. A very light pressure was applied once more, then brushed away.
It was a contact so brief it was unclear who moved first. It was even ambiguous to call it a kiss. Those few seconds seemed to stretch on endlessly.
As soon as they grasped the situation, they pulled away from each other.
An awkward air flowed between the two.
Along with it, he felt a warm energy spreading from somewhere deep inside his chest. It was his suppressed Omega pheromones leaking out slightly.
In the confined space, that scent mixed with Cha Jeong-won’s heavy pheromones and spread. As the sweet, smooth texture diffused through the air, the rough, interrupted breathing right in front of him changed ever so slightly, becoming more even.
The sound of someone inhaling overlapped in the darkness.
He couldn’t tell if it was Haon’s or Cha Jeong-won’s.
Only after taking a breath did Haon’s heart start racing on its own. Heat rose to his face as if it might burst.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
The sound ringing in his ears felt like vibrations knocking against the elevator walls.
“I……”
He barely managed to get his voice out, but the sound didn’t come out well.
His throat was dry, only his ears were hot.
“Just now, that was, really I……”
Not knowing what to say, he grabbed onto whatever came out.
“The elevator pushed me first again.”
The same excuse he’d made earlier flowed out of his mouth once more.
The situation was more of a mess, but the excuse hadn’t changed.
In the darkness, he couldn’t see at all what expression Cha Jeong-won was making.
Only his breathing had changed. Earlier, his breath kept catching, but now it had changed to a regular rhythm.
It was practically an accident, but they still kissed, so why was he calmer than before?
Rather, it was Haon whose breath was catching in his throat.
Why is this happening to me?
Then, a creaking sound came from above…… and soon the lights came on.
His eyes stung. Haon reflexively closed and opened his eyes once, and the world regained its form.
The first thing that entered his vision was the face of the person standing right in front of him.
Within reach if he just stretched out his hand.
Cha Jeong-won’s face, which had been invisible until a moment ago, was now clearly visible under the light.
Haon had no chance to escape that gaze. His eyes soon fixed on a particular part of Cha Jeong-won’s face.
The area around his lips.
Was it his imagination? A reddish hue, different from usual, was spread there.
Unconsciously, his tongue swept over his own lips once. The sensation seemed to still linger.
It tingled, subtly hot.
[We are currently restoring power. Please wait a moment.]
The voice of the management office staff came through the speaker, breaking the awkward silence.
A short while later, the elevator slowly began to move.
The floor shook very slightly, then the indicator for the first floor lit up. As the doors opened, the management office staff hurried over.
“Are you two alright? You must have been quite startled. Should I call 119?”
It was a routine check, but none of it reached Haon’s ears.
His ears were still filled with the sound of his own heartbeat.
“It’s fine.”
Cha Jeong-won answered shortly. His expression was as composed as usual.
As if the kiss earlier, being trapped in the elevator, were just one of many tiresome incidents.
‘No, is this his usual composure?’
Haon let out a big sigh for no reason. His legs were still trembling slightly.
“Are you really sure you’re okay?”
The management office staff asked again. This time, Haon nodded first.
“Yes, I’m fine. Really.”
He said that, but his mind was completely elsewhere.
Trapped in an elevator. Even the lights went out.
His head was fuzzy from the Alpha pheromones. And in the midst of that, he kissed Cha Jeong-won.
‘This is beyond just being caught up.’
Even if it was an accident, to have jumped into his embrace and rubbed lips…
So it wasn’t something Cha Jeong-won did, but Yoon Haon, himself……
‘Ah. I’m going crazy, really.’
A series of accidents continuing since the day he tumbled down the stairs.
It felt like he’d been properly stamped by the god of misfortune.
I should avoid him. That’s what he clearly thought at first.
There was more to lose than to gain from him. He had not a single grain of desire to become the Omega Amulet he spoke of.
That’s the protagonist’s role, not my destined fate.
Stay far away from the typhoon of misfortune, finish the semester, graduate, and live our respective lives—that’s all.
But after the elevator incident, his thoughts changed.
‘This…… isn’t something that will end just by avoiding it.’
On the contrary.
Right then, as if cutting through Haon’s thoughts, the sound of a phone vibrating was heard.
Haon rummaged through his own pocket before realizing the sound was coming from beside him.
“Senior, your phone is ringing.”
Cha Jeong-won took his phone out of his pocket.
[Congratulations, valued customer! You have won a one-night stay voucher for the S Hotel Lucky Draw Sweet Room.]