By Zephyria 
Lee-eum absentmindedly looked at his cell phone. He hasn’t heard from Choi Won-joon for days. He took out his wallet and checked the amulet inside. Jeong Nam-su had gone to a shaman’s house to get it for him, and he’d been carrying it around, thinking he was being scammed because he didn’t want to waste 200,000 won, but he really hasn’t received any calls.
“Does this actually work….”
He doesn’t believe in superstitions, but no matter how he thinks about it, it’s strange. On the one hand, he felt relieved, but on the other hand, he felt uneasy. He hoped Choi Won-joon wasn’t up to no good again. Just in case, he searched for Sehwa Construction Choi Won-joon on the internet, but there was no news of any accidents.
Or maybe he found someone else to put him to sleep…. Whatever the reason, he thought it was a good thing. Lee-eum reached out and took out the photo album in the glove box. He was going to return it when he met Choi Won-joon, but he should leave it in his company’s lobby or send it by courier when he has time.
After putting the photo album back in its place, Lee-eum stared at the house in front of him. He was chasing a criminal who had committed fraud and even used his fists, and that criminal was the shaman’s son. Nam-soo said that he was so good at running away that he must have inherited his mother’s divine powers. That he knew in advance that they were coming to catch him and ran away.
Lee-eum thought it was nonsense and was determined to catch him today and make Nam-soo realize that he was wrong. As he was waiting in front of the criminal’s lover’s house, the passenger seat door suddenly opened and Nam-soo came in. He had been on the phone with his lover for a long time nearby.
“He’s not here yet, right?”
“Nope. Not even an ant.”
“See? What did I tell you? Divine powers are hereditary. He sees everything in advance.”
“Stop talking nonsense and just sleep. You’re being loud.”
“Sunbae, you should get some sleep. You look haggard.”
Lee-eum lowered the sun visor and looked at his face in the mirror. As Nam-soo said, his face looked rough. Even though the troublesome Choi Won-joon was gone, why couldn’t he sleep these days? Did insomnia really transfer to him? Moreover, Detective Park’s suspension made him even more confused. Just in time, Nam-soo grumbled about Detective Park.
“Isn’t that too much? They should give us more people. We’re the only ones working our asses off.”
Other places were just as busy, and it wasn’t easy to bring in experienced people. So Detective Lee, who had lost his partner, often went on outside assignments with Team Leader Oh, and he could see that the vitality was disappearing from his face day by day, perhaps because of Team Leader Oh’s nagging.
“I know, right? Why did he have an affair with someone else’s wife? You know what’s funny? Detective Seo from Team 1 is close to Detective Park. But it seems like he broke up with Detective Park’s lover and is now seeing that flower shop girl. I’ve seen them in the same neighborhood, and they got out of the car and went into the apartment together.”
Lee-eum thought it was possible, even though he couldn’t believe it. Cops are people too, and he’s often witnessed them making the wrong choices. Some people were in the narcotics unit and became addicted to drugs, some were demoted for collecting money in bars after a report was filed, and he had even experienced a shameless person who seduced a minor victim and had sexual relations with them.
But there were far more who weren’t like that, and he had been able to endure until now because most of his colleagues were running around and working hard. Nam-soo dozed off after a few more words, and Lee-eum slightly reclined the seat so he could sleep comfortably.
Lee-eum stared straight ahead for quite a while. No one came in or out even late into the night, and the lights were still off. Just as silence fell, his cell phone vibrated. Who is it at this hour?
【Went for a walk with Bbomi. Isn’t she cute?】
It was a picture of his Noona walking the kids and the dog. The dog had gotten a makeover and gained some weight, so she looked completely different. He was about to reply that he would come to see her soon when his heart suddenly sank.
Lee-eum gasped and grabbed his collar. He looked to his side and saw that Nam-soo was sound asleep. He quickly opened the console box and took out the suppressants hidden deep inside. His body started to heat up rapidly, and his heart rate gradually increased.
Lee-eum became anxious at the noticeably worsening symptoms. He looked for water, but it was unfortunately all gone. He spotted a convenience store sign in the distance, put the medicine bottle in his pocket, and hurried outside.
Nam-soo had already opened his eyes and called him Sunbae, so he mumbled that he was going out for some air and rushed to the convenience store. Even though a cool breeze was blowing in the evening, cold sweat was running down his back. Why did it start again? Why….
As he passed the parasol in front of the convenience store, a man drinking beer glanced at Lee-eum. Lee-eum went into the convenience store, took out water, and hurried to the checkout counter. He held out his card, but the employee didn’t take it.
Lee-eum frowned as he looked up. The employee’s expression was suspicious. His mouth was half open, and he was breathing heavily, and Lee-eum’s eyes sharpened involuntarily at the unpleasantness.
“I’d like to pay.”
Then, the employee suddenly grabbed Lee-eum’s wrist and leaned in.
“You’re going to be in big trouble if you walk around like this.”
It was a concerned tone, but his eyes were gleaming with desire. A foul smell flowed into the tip of his nose, and Lee-eum shook off his hand and took a step back.
“What are you doing?”
“Your pheromones are no joke.”
The moment he heard those words, he felt like the ground beneath his feet had turned into a cliff. Pheromones. Can my pheromones be felt? Why? How could he feel something that no one else has ever felt? His mind was filled with confusion, and the man reached out again, saying he would help.
Lee-eum barely regained his senses, took out a bill from his wallet, put it on the checkout counter, and ran out as if he were escaping. He saw a narrow alley next to him, so he went there, put the medicine in his mouth, and drank the water first.
His legs gave way as soon as he leaned against the wall. Eventually, he squatted down, buried his face between his legs, and waited for the symptoms to subside. Then he heard footsteps. Lee-eum looked up and saw the man who had been sitting under the parasol approaching him.
“If you’re having a hard time, can I help you? My house is nearby, do you want to go in for a bit?”
The man smiled kindly, and Lee-eum glared at him fiercely.
“I’m telling you nicely, leave. I don’t want to hurt you.”
The man approached, and as expected, he smelled foul. He felt like he was going to throw up, so he covered his mouth, and the man squatted down in front of him and grabbed Lee-eum’s shoulder tightly.
“You’re dripping with it, but you’re acting coy. You’ll be screaming once I fuck you. You want it too, right? Huh?”
Lee-eum twisted the man’s wrist, grabbed the back of his head, and slammed it into the ground. “Ugh!” The man screamed, and Lee-eum gasped for breath and spat out his words.
“Rejection is rejection, ha, you have to, know how to, accept it, huh? You, you son of a bitch.”
Lee-eum slapped the man’s head with his palm, got up, staggered out of the alley. Usually, the medicine should subside quickly, but this time it was different. It kept getting worse, and Lee-eum couldn’t go back to the car and walked in the opposite direction.
Every time he passed, some Alphas threw blatant flirtations at him. Damn bastards. Don’t look at me like that. It’s disgusting. Then he spotted an old motel and hurriedly went inside, paid the price, and got a room.
Fortunately, the owner seemed to be a Beta and gave him a room without any suspicion. Lee-eum went up to the third floor, opened the door, locked it, and collapsed on the spot. The symptoms didn’t improve, so he swallowed several pills and called Yoo Seol-ah, but it just rang and she didn’t answer.
Lee-eum checked the date and couldn’t help but despair. Yoo Seol-ah went to the club every Friday night, and today was Friday. He cursed that nothing was working out, left her a message saying that something urgent had happened and that he needed her help, and then collapsed on the floor.
The more he struggled in agony, the more he felt like he was falling into a swamp. It was as hot as if he had been thrown into a burning pit, and his head was turning white with desire. In the meantime, the phone rang, and he thought it was Yoo Seol-ah, so he quickly tried to answer it, but it was Jeong Nam-su.
Lee-eum couldn’t bring himself to answer it, and with trembling hands, he left a false message saying that something had happened to his Noona and that he was going to see her, and then he fell back onto the floor.
“Haa, haa….”
Regardless of his will, his hands kept groping his body and reaching down. His reason was almost gone, and now he wished that anyone would come to him. What if he completely lost his mind like this? What if he went outside without knowing it?
Such things actually happened quite often, and there were often cases where an Omega who had been through a rough time filed a complaint after regaining consciousness. Lee-eum tore at his arm to hold on to his fading sanity and tried to think of someone who could help him.
【If there’s anything I can do to help, tell me. You can use me.】
Lee-eum barely found Jeong Dae-han’s contact information on his cell phone. His trembling hand hovered over the call button, but that was it. Whether it was because of someone’s threat not to contact other Alphas, or for some other reason, he couldn’t easily press the button.