By Zephyria “Ash, Bill!”
Koi screamed, turning white. Two large boys were sprawled on the floor in an unsightly manner.
Koi hesitated for a moment, not knowing who he should run to at that moment. He was worried about Ash, but Bill’s condition was also not good. Bill was coughing and groaning on the floor, as if he had used all of his remaining strength. At this rate, something really bad was going to happen.
Koi looked back and forth between the two in fear and desperately tried to think. Should I call 911? No, if I do that, it might be revealed that Ash is an Alpha. That would definitely be a problem. But I can’t just leave them like this. Bill, I have to help Bill. I need to get him out of here first…
It was then. Ash got up and glared at Bill with a frightening face. At that moment, Koi realized that this was not the time for him to be hesitating like this.
“Ash, no!”
Koi blocked Ash, who was about to rush at Bill. Then, a strange sensation that he had never felt before washed over his entire body.
Koi was momentarily stunned by the unfamiliar sensation, which felt like a weak electric shock or goosebumps. He didn’t know what it was. Ash roughly pushed away Koi, who had frozen in place with a dazed mind.
“Ah!”
Koi cried out involuntarily as he staggered greatly, but Ash paid no attention and lunged at Bill. Koi, who had hesitated for a moment, regained his senses and desperately grabbed his waist.
“No. Stop, Ash!”
“Let go of me!”
Ash spat out roughly and grabbed Koi’s arm. Koi shouted, holding on with all his might to his hand that was trying to force him away.
“You can’t do that, Ash! It’s Bill, he’s your friend!”
“I told you to let go, you bastard! Are you protecting another guy in front of me right now? How dare you?”
Ash finally screamed. It was the first time he had ever seen him so angry. But Koi already knew someone like that. The man who would curse at him without hesitation and swing his fists.
It was Father.
Ash easily pushed away Koi, who had frozen in fear, and he fell helplessly to the ground, landing on his butt.
“S, stop it! No!”
He was momentarily dazed, but there was no time to be like this. The moment he saw Ash grabbing Bill by the collar, lifting him up, and trying to punch him, Koi turned white and rushed at them.
“D, don’t do it! Ash, stop!”
Koi finally burst into tears.
“Don’t be like Father, even you…!”
At that moment, Ash paused. He could faintly hear Koi’s sobbing behind him.
Only then did his vision gradually clear and his head cool down. He looked down at the hand gripping the collar, and when he raised his gaze, Bill, who was half-conscious, came into view.
Haa, haa.
Only rough breathing echoed softly in the silence. Ash remained still, only panting.
The hand that was clenched into a fist slowly moved downwards, and soon after, the hand that had been grabbing Bill’s collar lost its strength. Ash, seeing Bill collapse helplessly to the floor, slowly turned around.
He saw Koi clinging to his waist, hugging him tightly. Only then did Ash realize what he had done, and his mind went blank.
*
Ash lost consciousness immediately after seeing the woman who had rushed over after receiving a call and several large men.
After visually confirming the situation, she immediately ordered Bill to be taken to the hospital and put Ash in the car. It was then that she spoke to Koi.
“You should get in too, I’ll explain to the school.”
“M, me too?”
Koi blinked in surprise, not expecting to receive such an offer. She nodded and continued.
“If you don’t want to, I’ll take you to the hospital. I need to check your condition to see if you’re okay too…”
“A, no, I want to go too. Please let me go.”
Koi, who had jumped in urgently, belatedly hesitated and added, realizing that he had interrupted her.
“I want to be with Ash…”
More precisely, he wanted to see Ash’s condition with his own eyes.
Remembering that Ash had said he was going to visit his family for a while and hadn’t returned for nearly a year, he became inwardly afraid. He didn’t want to be separated so absurdly again.
The woman, confirming Koi’s earnest expression, nodded, and the man who had been waiting immediately opened the back door of the car and stepped back. Koi, who followed her into the car first, finally asked after the door was closed.
“Um, but who are you…?”
More precisely, he wanted to ask what her relationship with Ash was, but she answered him calmly.
“You should have asked that before getting in.”
Koi’s face flushed red with embarrassment at that moment. She still said nonchalantly.
“I’m Mr. Miller’s secretary.”
As he pondered the meaning of those words, she added.
“Dominic Miller, Ash’s Father.”
“Ah…”
Just as he realized that the name sounded familiar and that ‘Dominic’ was Ash’s middle name, the car started.
The rest happened in a blur. As soon as they arrived at the mansion, a doctor and nurse who had been waiting greeted them, drew Ash’s blood, and immediately connected him to an IV. Koi’s blood was drawn as well.
The medical staff, who had been busily moving around, taking the unconscious Ash to his room and laying him on the bed, left shortly after. All that remained were Koi, Ash, and the secretary.
“Haa.”
Koi paused at the sound of a sigh that seemed to indicate exhaustion, and the secretary crossed her arms and looked down at Ash before opening her mouth.
“I expected something like this to happen, but…”
Koi swallowed hard and waited for her next words. But she closed her mouth, and Koi finally couldn’t help but ask.
“Um… what happened? Is Ash, is he okay?”
At his trembling voice, the secretary still only looked down at Ash and answered.
“He’s okay, for now.”
Her follow-up was somehow ominous. He was about to ask again, but fortunately, the secretary spoke before he could.
“Pheromone instability. It’s because he hasn’t been able to control it properly yet. The inability to control his emotions is also a cause…”
“Is that why Ash’s eye color changed too?”
When he asked what he had been wondering, she readily nodded.“Extreme Alphas experience a change in eye color when their Pheromones are heavily emitted. Whether it’s during a rut or when artificially released… It doesn’t seem like Mr. Miller intended it this time, so it’s probably a case of him losing control and releasing too much.”
“Yes…”
Koi nodded, somewhat understanding, when the secretary suddenly turned the question back to him.
“Now it’s my turn to ask, what on earth were the three of you doing there? What happened?”
Faced with the obvious question, Koi hesitated before finally opening his mouth. She listened silently as he explained.
When he finished, the secretary remained silent for a moment with a serious expression, then sighed again.
“So, it’s your fault after all, isn’t it?”
“…Yes.”
He couldn’t deny it. It was his mistake that led to Ashley’s condition. He could only hang his head in self-reproach and frustration when the phone rang. The secretary checked the caller ID on her cell phone and answered the call. After a few brief words, she ended the call and looked at Koi.
“It’s a call from the hospital. Your friend is safe.”
“Bill?”
Koi asked, relieved, and the secretary nodded.
“He was affected by Mr. Miller’s Pheromones, but they’re extracting them with injections, and it shouldn’t be a major problem. Isn’t that a relief?”
“Yes, it really is.”
As he breathed a sigh of relief, the secretary suddenly narrowed her eyes.
“But why are you unaffected?”
“Pardon?”
Koi blinked, taken aback by the unexpected question. The secretary continued, still frowning.
“You were there when Mr. Miller had his Manifestation last time, weren’t you? But you weren’t affected at all. It’s the same this time. Your Beta friend is vomiting and experiencing side effects to the point of losing consciousness, but you, look at you.”
She scanned Koi from head to toe before fixing her gaze back on his face and asking,
“Aren’t you a little too fine?”
“Well…”
Koi didn’t know the reason either. Why wasn’t he affected by Ashley’s Pheromones at all? Then, Koi suddenly remembered having his blood drawn as soon as he arrived at the mansion.
“About my test… How did it turn out? Was that why you drew my blood?”
“Yes.”
She twisted her lips and let out a short, irritated laugh.
“You’re still a Beta. You don’t show any signs of Manifestation at all. What do you think the reason is?”
Koi had no answer either. He shook his head in confusion, and the secretary asked,
“Could it be that you don’t actually like Ashley Miller?”
“Pardon?”
Koi was jolted awake by the unexpected words. The secretary crossed her arms and continued,
“So you’re rejecting him with your whole body, because you don’t really want Ashley Miller.”
“That’s not, that’s not true.”
“Don’t lie. You don’t like Ashley Miller.”
Koi denied it, but the secretary scoffed lightly.
“Your Father is a drunk who hits you all the time, right? Your Mother divorced and never looked for you, and you’ve been alone without any friends until now. Am I wrong?”
Koi froze. How could this person know so much about him? He felt a chill run down his spine as he thought about her investigating him. The secretary smiled wryly as she looked at the fearful Koi.
“You’re mistaken. You don’t want to lose Ashley Miller because he’s the only one who likes you.”
“That’s not it, I really do like Ash…”
“If you really liked Ashley Miller, you would have Manifested a long time ago.”
Koi insisted on his sincerity again, but she relentlessly pushed him.
“People want to be like the people they like. They try to share the same hobbies and follow what they like, and what about Manifestation? When the other person Manifests, everyone wants to Manifest as well. Because they want to be together. And you’ve had so many chances to do so, but you haven’t. What could the reason be?”
For the first time, Koi felt wronged and resentful. How could his feelings for Ashley be denied like this? Just because he hadn’t Manifested.
“If willpower alone could stop Manifestation, that would be a subject of research!”
“Yes, that’s right.”
She sneered at Koi, who barely managed to protest in a trembling voice.
“So, wouldn’t that make you really special?”
Koi couldn’t say anything more and just bit his lip, tears welling up in his eyes. No matter how much he denied it, the reality didn’t change. In the end, he burst into tears and sobbed.