CHDY 39

“You crazy bastard……”

He was in the middle of changing his clothes in the locker room. After checking his phone, Seongju let out a dry laugh along with a curse. When Jaeon, who was changing next to him, looked over, Seongju held out his phone screen.

“They really think omegas will fall head over heels for any alpha.”

On the screen was a conversation history between Seongju and a stranger. Along with blush-inducing lewd jokes, the other person’s question asking if they could meet today was displayed.

Jaeon did not know what to say, so he just offered an awkward smile.

“Want to see his face?”

Seongju took his phone back and soon pulled up a photo. Jaeon was not curious at all, but he could not ignore it, so he took a quick glance. On the screen, a man leaning against a luxury car was smiling. He was dressed in a black shirt, his hair meticulously styled. He looked tall and had quite a handsome face.

“……He’s handsome.”

He praised awkwardly as he averted his gaze.

“You think so? For an alpha, he just seems average to me.”

Tilting his head as he looked at the photo, Seongju put his phone away. He slowly unbuttoned his shirt with an unreadable smile.

“But I still find it really amazing.”

“……What is it?”

“Well, to be honest, I was totally, absolutely sure you were a beta. I felt like I’d been stabbed in the back when I found out you were an omega. I’ve never been wrong in my entire life, and you’re the first one I couldn’t guess right.”

Seongju stared intently at Jaeon with eyes full of disbelief. With nothing he could say, Jaeon just smiled vaguely.

It was a few weeks ago that his omega status was discovered. He had tried not to get caught, but of all things, he was seen taking his medication. He intended to hide the fact that he was not an ordinary omega but an extremely recessive omega who presented late, until the very end.

“I’ve seen betas who are like omegas, but I’ve never seen an omega like you who’s so much like a beta.”

“……Is that so?”

Seongju always looked at Jaeon with this kind of fascination. In the eyes of Seongju, an omega one year his senior, Jaeon must have seemed like a freak of nature. Although they were close now, Seongju, who had initially kept his distance, changed his attitude after learning Jaeon was an omega.

Once Jaeon’s existence was re-established as an omega, he began to approach Jaeon like he was now. He would talk about himself from A to Z, acting friendly in a way he never had before. Just by discovering the common denominator of being a ‘male omega,’ he acted as if they had known each other for a long time, without any reservations.

Seongju was not a bad person, but it was clear that he talked far too much. For Jaeon, who was quiet and not skilled in conversation, it was sometimes overwhelming. Although he diligently listened and chimed in, he knew better than anyone that he was not an interesting person. In any case, he just did his best to react because he did not want to disappoint someone who treated him so comfortably.

“Ah…… but I’m torn. I didn’t like or dislike this guy that much…… It’s a bit awkward to date him, but it also feels like a waste to cut him off? He has a lot of money, you see.”

“……Yes.”

“Honestly, after dating a dominant once, most alphas don’t catch my eye anymore. Have you ever dated a dominant?”

“……No.”

For a moment, Inha’s face flashed through his mind, but he immediately shook his head in denial. Even if he knew Inha was an alpha, he did not know whether he was a dominant or not. Above all, he and Inha were not in that kind of relationship, so it was ridiculous to even think of him in response to such a question.

“Even if you haven’t dated one, have you never slept with one?”

“……”

A blunt question followed. Jaeon swallowed his discomfort and shook his head, keeping his expression as neutral as possible.

“Dominants are really different. Starting with their pheromones, they’re just, insane. Just getting a slight whiff makes you feel all…… down there. It’s something only those who’ve experienced it would know. And a lot of dominants have really amazing faces, and more importantly, they’re bigger down there too. My G-spot is a bit deep, so it doesn’t work for me unless the person is big.”

What about you? Do you like them big, or just average?

The difficult questions showed no sign of ending.

“……I’m not sure……. I don’t really know much about that sort of thing……”

Jaeon’s smile was almost a grimace as he answered. Seongju, who had been staring at him blankly, twisted his thin lips asymmetrically.

“What’s with you? Why are you being so coy? There are no alphas here.”

Jaeon tensed at the slight shift in his mood and blinked.

“Well…… I guess it can be like that if you don’t have much experience.”

Seongju quickly smiled, his eyes crinkling as if it could not be helped, and patted Jaeon’s shoulder. Only then did Jaeon lower his head in relief and finish unfastening the buttons he had been working on. He quickly brushed the back of his hand across his cheek, which had flushed for no reason at the word ‘experience’.

“Ah- I want to meet a handsome dominant. I wonder where I can find one. Sometimes handsome customers come in, but they all bring their partners……”

Seongju, who had been lamenting, suddenly burst out laughing as if he had thought of something. He pressed himself against the back of his locker door and made a mischievous face.

“This is a secret, but……”

“Yes?”

“Sometimes when guys who are really my type come in, I write my number on a note and give it to them without their partner seeing, you know? And then, a hundred out of a hundred times, they contact me within two days of getting the note, you know?”

“……”

Watching him with sparkling eyes, Jaeon fidgeted, unsure how to react. Seeing Jaeon’s response, Seongju’s expression turned subtle as he pulled away and let out a bitter laugh.

“But you really don’t have any omega vibe at all.”

“……Ah, yes……”

Jaeon agreed blankly. At the bland reaction, Seongju laughed out loud, “Ahaha.”

“I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, that’s why I like it. Among the omegas, there are quite a few who feel an inferiority complex for no reason and start a power struggle with me even when I’m just standing still.”

“……Yes. Uh, thank…… you.”

Thinking it was a compliment, he bowed his head slightly, and Seongju burst into even louder laughter.

“This is why I like you. I have groups in my messenger app sorted by secondary gender, you know? But Jaeon, you’re still in the beta group. Even after I found out you were an omega, I just couldn’t bring myself to change it for some reason.”

“It’s…… fine if I stay there. Actually, I’m more comfortable that way……”

His words trailing off, Jaeon finished taking off his clothes.

Beta or omega, he felt like he did not truly belong anywhere, but it did not matter.

On weekends, he worked part-time at a convenience store and a parking lot concurrently. He would finish his convenience store shift from morning to afternoon, and after that, he worked as an attendant at a large supermarket parking lot nearby.

He did not want to work at a convenience store again, but there was no other job that offered such flexible hours and was less physically demanding, so Jaeon had no choice.

“Hey, don’t you smell something?”

It was one of the male customers who had just entered the convenience store who said it. Hearing the voice, Jaeon, who was manning the cash register, instinctively stiffened. Had he properly sprayed the pheromone blocker when he left in the morning? He had been so out of it today that he could not remember.

“I don’t smell anything. What smell?”

“Kind of sweet? A sexy smell?”

“You’re insane.”

For some reason, the gazes of the customers, who were laughing amongst themselves, turned toward Jaeon. He thought he could hear them whispering something. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end, and a chill ran down his spine as Jaeon turned his head away.

“Where are the condoms here?”

One of the laughing men approached and asked.

“Ah, over there, on the top left……”

As soon as he guided him, the man’s gaze was withdrawn, and he turned back.

Even while they were paying, the two customers’ eyes were glued to Jaeon. After the two, who had been watching him with an unusually observant gaze, paid and left, Jaeon finally relaxed his tensed back. He must have broken out in a cold sweat during that short time, as his chest felt slightly damp.

Jaeon briefly closed the convenience store and ran to a nearby pharmacy. After buying an omega pheromone blocker, he returned and hurriedly went into the back room to apply the medicine all over his body. The blocker prescribed by the hospital for recessives was more effective, but he had no choice in this urgent situation.

“Hah……”

Just applying the medicine brought a sense of relief, and his energy drained away completely.

What an absurd mistake.

Although three months had already passed, he showed no signs of adjusting to life as an omega. At first glance, it seemed like nothing had changed, but in reality, countless things in his daily life had been altered. A life where the number of things to take care of and be cautious about had multiplied was undeniably exhausting. It was also true that his stamina had decreased compared to before, whether it was a chronic physical trait of omegas or due to his laparotomy surgery.

And above all, the change in his financial situation was the most significant. The cost of medicine greatly increased the burden of his living expenses, and that part, more than anything else, was the most fatal blow.

Jaeon let out a dry breath and looked over the kimbap section. He had to eat a simple meal at the convenience store before heading to his next part-time job. Time was tight after serving customers and finishing the tasks he had to do before the next shift change. Hurriedly purchasing a roll of kimbap, Jaeon began to eat it right there in a corner. He felt rushed, not knowing when a customer might walk in, and he was also hungry. He pounded on his tight chest as he wolfed down the kimbap.

After forcing down the meal without any water, his stomach felt bloated. The thought of wanting something to drink and his gaze simultaneously landed on a yogurt drink that had been marked for disposal. But Jaeon immediately looked away. The owner of this convenience store allowed employees to have disposed-of food, but for some reason, ever since that incident, he could no longer bring himself to touch discarded food.

In the end, he headed to his next workplace, rubbing his stuffy stomach. He changed his clothes and went out to the site to start working. He was now somewhat used to the job of directing the flood of cars with hand signals.

“I will guide you to the front.”

He was signaling to go straight and guiding the car directly in front of him. The car, which had seemed to be moving, stopped next to Jaeon, and with a whirrr, the window rolled down. A hand suddenly emerged, holding a plastic bag. As it was shaken as if telling him to take it, Jaeon absentmindedly held out his hand.

“……”

Inside the bag was an assortment of trash. The car had already passed, and a new one was waiting. Unable to throw away the hard-to-dispose-of trash, he tucked it under his arm and began to direct the incoming cars again.