Liking someone always comes with its own set of responsibilities. Whether it was in feelings, actions, or even in the smallest words.
Wooyeon didn’t want to harbor overwhelming emotions. He didn’t want to be engulfed in swirling clouds of emotions, nor did he want to be swept away by raging torrents. He simply wanted to flow peacefully and calmly along the gentle waves.
But then he met the teacher. Falling in love with him with a naive heart, then reuniting after a tender separation. Since liking him, Wooyeon’s heart had always been like the restless sea.
“Yeon-Ah.”
So, getting engulfed in the swirling storm was just an inevitable course of events. The call he hadn’t heard in four years wasn’t as sweet as Wooyeon had imagined. His mouth felt bitter, and the stinging sensation in his throat seemed like something he would never get used to no matter how many times he experienced it.
For a whole week, Wooyeon struggled amidst overflowing pheromones. Unruly emotions erupted randomly, and his libido surged at every moment. Taking suppressants might have helped a bit, but he didn’t have the luxury to even consider such thoughts.
Including his primary physician, everyone familiar with Wooyeon tolerated his condition. They didn’t intervene unless Wooyeon requested, and they managed their duties within the minimal scope allowed. Sometimes, Wooyeon would think of Dohyun and masturbate, tears streaming down his cheeks as he looked at his bruised wrist.
‘Those words shouldn’t come from you.’
How did he know he was that Seon Wooyeon? When Wooyeon couldn’t call him ‘seonsaeng-nim,’ barely managing to call him ‘sunbae’ and erasing traces of the past. Among the many days, when did it all start?
As he twisted in agony under the blanket, his thoughts diverged in various directions. Ultimately, he hadn’t slept with Dohyun, nor had he gained anything. Disappointment. Emptiness. The self-loathing stemming from not even being that kind of object to him.
It felt like everything had truly ended now. The wish of wanting to stay by his side as a junior had dispersed, and the determination to close off his heart after just one experience had failed. All that remained for Wooyeon were his shattered heart and irreparable wounds.
“Your pheromones have returned to normal… and all other metrics are normal too.”
Wooyeon got out of bed after a whole week. It was the longest heat cycle he had ever experienced, and it was the most agonizing experience so far. Since the bedroom was a mess, the first thing he did when he woke up was to move to another room.
“You can probably go to school tomorrow.”
The physician glanced at Wooyeon’s wrist. The faint bruises still looked like traces of abuse. Knowing this, Wooyeon quickly pulled his sleeve down to cover his wrist.
“Don’t tell my mom.”
His voice cracked without restraint. His lips trembled as if he hadn’t even properly drunk water. While the physician remained silent, Wooyeon calmly repeated once more.
“As you know, it’s not a request.”
The attending physician closed his mouth with a complex expression. Wooyeon usually left it up to him to report to his mother, but now that he was told not to speak, the physician seemed hesitant.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
The physician, swallowing an unnoticed sigh, cautiously spoke up.
“Snfc lo la’r wfvlmlcf ab agfja ygelrfr…”
“Pa’r bxjs, pera ub.”
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“I wasn’t hit. In fact, it’s the opposite.”
Indeed, Dohyun was someone who, in many ways, didn’t fit the Alpha stereotype. He was affectionate while being dominant, delicate while being assertive, and rational while being an alpha. He might have found solace in the fact that even if he had lost his rationality and impulsively rushed in, that too would have been nothing more than an Alpha trait.
“Next time, please give me a different type of suppressant.”
The physician couldn’t break Wooyeon’s stubbornness and turned away. Although he made a few worried expressions, he was sure Wooyeon wouldn’t respond. However, there was still a possibility of reporting something vague about his wrist, even if reluctantly.
Even after the physician left, Wooyeon remained sitting on the bed for a long time. The second-floor bedroom, usually unused, offered a clear view of the blue sky when he sat up straight. He traced his wrist with his fingertips, counting the number of floating clouds absentmindedly.
He was certain the teacher would look apologetic upon seeing the bruise. Despite everything, he would send a worried glance with that kindness.
Knowing he had to give up now, just the thought of Dohyun made his heart ache.
***
Returning to school after a week somehow felt nostalgic. The students were excited, and the campus was littered with garbage here and there. Wooyeon headed to the classroom for the first class on Wednesday, feeling puzzled by this unfamiliar atmosphere.
“Wooyeon! Are you feeling better?”
As soon as Wooyeon entered the classroom, Seongyu greeted him enthusiastically. He was worried because he couldn’t contact him, asking if he was okay and where he was hurting.
“I heard you were sick, but I didn’t know you’d take such a long break…”
Seongyu’s worries didn’t stop until the professor entered and started the lecture. Wooyeon learned about his cracked skin, chapped lips, and swollen face from others’ mouths.
“Garam Noona was worried too. Let’s go to the east wing after class and say hi.”
He found out about Garam’s concerns from the messages left on his phone. There were plenty of messages that seemed like they would have been voice notes if the phone hadn’t been turned off. But it wasn’t until this morning that Wooyeon discovered all these messages, as his phone had been turned off.
“Alright, let’s ask the seniors to buy us something delicious.”
Seongyu prepared to head to the club room as soon as the professor left, as if afraid of missing the opportunity. Seongyu was waiting for him, and as soon as Wooyeon finished packing, he slung the bag over his shoulder to carry the load for his friend who had been left out in the cold (according to Seongyu). It was a gesture of consideration for a friend, but Wooyeon couldn’t help recalling the memory of Dohyun using his bag as a hostage.
“Garam Noona might cry when she sees you. I thought she lost a puppy.”
According to Seongyu, Garam had been fretting ever since Wooyeon left. It was because Wooyeon, who was expected to return in a day or two, hadn’t shown up at school for a whole week. He even said that Garam went to his house to look for him, and Dohyun restrained her with a serious expression.
“Nothing happened with Dohyun Hyung, right?”
Wooyeon, who had closed his mouth at the mention of ‘Dohyun,’ awkwardly pursed his lips at the subsequent question. When he finally managed to ask, “Why?” Seongyu frowned.
“No, it’s not that big of a deal, but something has been strange since the day after he dropped you off.”
Instead of asking further, Wooyeon patiently waited for the follow-up. Seongyu cautiously observed Wooyeon’s reaction, gently stroking his chin, and opened his mouth.
“He just smiled like usual, but there was something cold about it. He hardly smoked before, but suddenly he started smoking a lot. And when I asked him something, his responses were slower.”
“…”
Even though he knew it was bad, he still felt a bit relieved. A sense of victory washed over him knowing it wasn’t just him affected. However, as much as he felt relieved, he felt uneasy about the fact that Dohyun felt upset on his side after drawing the line.
“I got dumped.”
Wooyeon replied calmly and placed his hand on the club room door. Instantly, Seongyu, who had a bewildered expression, stopped his movement.
“…Why?”
“What do you mean ‘why?’”
“Well…”
Seongyu mumbled vaguely with uncertainty. He didn’t expect that; he couldn’t believe it. Words of disbelief echoed in Wooyeon’s ears, but he ignored them and opened the club room door.
“Noona, we’re here.”
Garam was sitting on the makeshift bed as usual, barely fitting. With her long hair cascading forward, she could have looked like a ghost. When Garam reflexively lifted her head and spotted Wooyeon, she gasped loudly.
“Wooyeon!”
She strode toward him with big steps. Almost as if she was going to hug him, but stopped just short of reaching out her hand. Her eyes, elongated without double eyelids, were more watery than ever.
“Are you okay now? Is everything healed? Oh my, you look like you’ve lost half of yourself.”
With several exclamations of ‘oh dear,’ Garam inspected Wooyeon from head to toe. Seongyu had said he seemed like she lost a puppy, but she looked more like a large dog eagerly greeting its owner.
As Garam scrutinized Wooyeon, Seongyu felt a bit uncomfortable and retreated inside with a slightly uncomfortable look on his face.
“Well, there’s still the unchanging law of beauty. Even though you’ve lost weight, you’re still handsome, so it’s all good.”
Garam smirked, satisfied with herself, as she nodded her head. When she told him to eat whatever he wanted today, Wooyeon simply shook his head in embarrassment. He appreciated their concern, but this wasn’t something he wanted to draw attention to.
“I wasn’t sick; it was just my heat cycle.”
“Heat cycle?”
Seongyu chuckled as he set his bag down on the table. As a beta, it might feel awkward to him that someone took a week off due to a heat cycle. On the contrary, Garam’s expression turned sympathetic, as if she felt a sense of camaraderie.
“Are you not responsive to suppressants?”
“No, I usually respond well, but I guess something went wrong this time.”
“Well, then, hang in there. It’s tough enough being an Omega… Wait a moment.”
Garam, who had stopped speaking, quickly hardened her expression. Already fierce-looking, her gaze turned icy. She narrowed her eyes and repeated her question.
“It was a heat cycle?”
Wooyeon nodded slowly. Despite having done nothing wrong, he felt tense as Garam emitted a chilling atmosphere. Her deep amber eyes locked with his.
“That day, you were with Kim Dohyun…”
“What about me?”
Before she could finish her sentence, a soft voice came from behind Wooyeon. Feeling a dull ache in his chest, Wooyeon slowly turned his head. Dohyun held the side of the door instead of the doorknob and spoke quietly as usual.
“We need to fix this door.”
Please whatever happens never fit that DOOR 🚪