HWAMB — Chapter 1

1. No Over-Immersion

The only sound I could hear was chewing. I couldn’t tell if the pork cutlet was going through his nose or his mouth.

Unlike Hyun-woo, who ate heartily, I was so lost in thought that I couldn’t even lift my fork.

“……”

While I was still in shock from his sudden confession, the one who had actually confessed—Hyun-woo—was eating just fine.

The cheese pork cutlet I had loved so much didn’t even catch my eye.

Then, a salad I hadn’t even ordered was placed in front of me. I looked up at the part-timer with a bewildered face.

“Ah, I think you brought this to the wrong—”

“I ordered it.”

Hyun-woo cut me off and pulled the plate of salad toward his side before I could return it.

Embarrassed, I gave the part-timer an awkward smile and quickly turned my head away.

“What the heck? When did you order it?”

“Earlier.”

“Ugh, you know I hate salad…”

“I didn’t order it for you, pig.”

“Who are you calling a pig!”

Even when I puffed up in anger, Hyun-woo only laughed. He clearly had no intention of taking back what he’d said.

Shim Hyun-woo always picked the most annoying words possible to answer with. To my sulking, irritated face, he spoke again in a lazy voice.

“Buy the salad.”

“No way. We split it. Why should I pay for something I won’t even eat?”

“Of course you should. Damn, I sat through the same movie three times for six hours straight and you’re not even giving me a reward?”

It had taken that long because we watched a two-hour movie three times in a row. All of it just to get a set of limited-edition photocards of my favorite.

“Hey, but I paid for all the movie tickets!”

“Don’t you know the saying, time is money? My time’s fucking expensive.”

In other words, shut up and buy the salad without making him spell it out.

It was hard to believe this was the same guy who had just confessed to me. He was acting no different from usual. Of course, that made me suspicious.

I narrowed my eyes and glared at Shim Hyun-woo. Noticing my sharp gaze, he lifted his head.

Then he let out a short laugh, as if to say it was ridiculous.

“You’ll wrinkle your eyes like that.”

“Shut up and eat the salad your big brother bought you.”

“Yes, hyung.”

“Ah, seriously, Shim Hyun-woo, you bastard…”

The curse slipped out. I stopped overthinking and hurried to finish the pork cutlet.

Already annoyed, I ended up choking on the fried crumbs. Seeing this, Hyun-woo poured water into a glass and handed it to me.

I grabbed it and drank frantically.

“Ha… thanks.”

Unbothered by the messy atmosphere, Hyun-woo just nodded instead of replying.

The suddenly calm mood made me awkward, so I poured myself another drink for no reason and glared at him.

With his sharp features and tall, striking looks, Shim Hyun-woo was well-known at school for being handsome.

He didn’t seem particularly interested in the attention, but he clearly knew he was good-looking.

He had a bigger build than most of our peers and was taller too. Since middle school, he’d been scouted on the street multiple times for casting.

Anyone else might have said yes at least once, but he always refused, saying he wasn’t interested.

When we were little, he had been shorter than me and chubby like a bun—so cute. At some point, though, he caught up in height.

That was my karma from teasing him too much in elementary school.

Annoyed at being made fun of, Hyun-woo had chugged milk like crazy ever since.

And after being diagnosed as a dominant alpha during his trait test, he seemed to grow even faster, almost as if to prove a point.

‘I should have stopped teasing him and just drunk some milk myself.’

It was true that Hyun-woo and I had been childhood friends since we were very young, but there had never been any spark or fluttering moment that could have turned us into lovers.

I had never seen him as anything more than a friend. Naturally, there was never any kind of romantic tension between us.

We might have been a dominant alpha and a dominant omega—an unusual pair—but our relationship hadn’t changed.

Sure, Hyun-woo was handsome. But after spending so many years as friends, to me he was just Shim Hyun-woo.

‘But he says he likes me? What on earth is he lacking that he’d settle for me…’

There were countless pretty omegas out there, while I was just average. Not ugly, but not handsome either.

To put it nicely, I looked ordinary. To put it bluntly, I was the kind of forgettable person who blended into the crowd.

‘Maybe he was joking, just to see my reaction…’

Thinking that way, Hyun-woo’s confession didn’t really sink in. At worst, maybe it was some kind of punishment game prank between friends.

If it was a prank, it was annoying, but that would actually be better. If it had been a real confession, it would’ve been far more troublesome.

It would definitely make things awkward between us.

And I didn’t want that.

So I decided not to dwell on it any longer.

Just then, my phone buzzed. I checked and saw a notification. Staring blankly at the bell icon on the SNS popup window, I suddenly shot up from my seat.

[♥ Love Pink ♥ Limited-edition goods are all sold out!

Thank you, Blurs, for buying ♬ We’ll always be digital idols who give you strength ( •͈ᴗ-)ᓂ-ෆ

We love you, Blurs (◞♥ꈍ∇ꈍ)◞♥

Notifications | Turn Off]

“Ah… right…”

I couldn’t believe I had forgotten.

I collapsed weakly back into my seat. I hadn’t wanted to get too obsessed, but I couldn’t help feeling like my whole world had crumbled.

Noticing my rapidly changing expressions, Hyun-woo sighed, realizing something had happened.

“What? What’s the problem?”

“The limited stock… it’s all gone…”

“What even is that.”

“The official CD album, signed goods, a mug, pen, photocard set, um… stuff like that…”

He gave me a look that said, “What kind of nonsense is that?” I scrambled to fix my expression.

“I-it’s fine! They just call it limited edition, they’ll probably restock soon!”

My mouth was spitting out hopeful words, but my brain had already shut down.

Meanwhile, SNS was flooded with reviews. On top of that, the official account announced that resales would probably happen next year.

My heart collapsed all over again.

“Tough luck.”

There wasn’t a shred of sympathy in his tone.

Shim Hyun-woo, that bastard. Not only did he not comfort me, but I could practically see how amused he was by my misery.

---

‘Indigestion.’

Maybe because I’d eaten fried food that never sat well with me, my stomach felt heavy. I figured once I got home and took some digestive medicine, I’d feel better.

I pressed hard against my chest with my thumb, and Hyun-woo looked at me with a puzzled expression.

“What, indigestion?”

“Feels… like it…”

“Damn, you really never stop, huh.”

The moment I glared at him, wanting to smack that mouth that only spewed mean words, I caught sight of a sharp needle in front of me.

Startled, I nearly fell over, but Hyun-woo caught me easily and slipped the sewing kit back into his pocket as if it were the most natural thing.

I yanked my hand away in shock, making him frown.

“What are you doing?”

“You, you crazy bastard! Why do you even carry around a needle?!”

“Our fragile little sunfish Kang Eun-jae, give me your finger so your hyung can prick it for you.”

He wiggled his fingers at me, telling me to hand it over while he was still asking nicely. It wasn’t a welcome sight at all.

I trembled like a fawn cornered by a hunter.

It wasn’t that I was terrified of having my finger pricked—it was the feeling of thread tied tight around my finger cutting off circulation that I hated.

I shook my head side to side, fumbling for an excuse.

“Ah… ah! Suddenly it feels all better now…”

“…”

“Yeah, I feel like everything stuck in my stomach just went down…”

“Don’t talk crap.”

Seeing through my poor lie, Hyun-woo grabbed my arm and sat me down on a bench. Then he easily caught hold of my resisting hand.

Like a fisherman reeling in a big catch, he had me flopping like a fish on a line.

“Good boy.”

Even though he’d forced me into it, he still praised me as if I’d cooperated.

Then, with practiced ease, he wrapped thread around my index finger and pricked it with the needle.

It all happened so quickly I didn’t even have time to react. Tiny beads of dark blood welled up at my fingertip.

I went pale, my mouth opening and closing soundlessly. I didn’t even get the chance to scream or make a fuss.

Ignoring that, Hyun-woo took me by the wrist and dragged me straight to a nearby pharmacy.

Leaving me at the door, he said, “Wait here.”

A moment later, he came out with band-aids, disinfectant, and some medicine for indigestion.

Somehow, he’d also picked up rice porridge from a porridge shop. Sitting beside me, Hyun-woo treated my wound, applied medicine, and carefully stuck the band-aid on.

His touch was so attentive, it felt strange.

Embarrassed, I scratched the back of my neck and muttered,

“Hey, you should be saving this kind of thing for your girlfriend someday, not me…”

Hyun-woo’s hands suddenly froze.

‘Ah.’

I realized instantly. Shit. He’d confessed to me earlier.

I swallowed down the curse rising in my throat and glanced at him cautiously.

‘No, maybe he was just teasing me with that confession…’

But looking at his tightly closed lips and serious eyes, he didn’t seem to be lying.

Shim Hyun-woo was serious.

Flustered, I stammered.

“…Hey.”

“What.”

“You… when you said you liked me, were you serious?”

Apparently not liking the question, Hyun-woo narrowed his eyes and answered curtly.

“Then what, you think I’d say it as a joke?”

“M-maybe it was a prank, or some punishment game—”

“What?”

“Just look at your face… You look like you’re about to hit me.”

When I flinched and leaned my head back, Hyun-woo let out a short laugh, as if it was ridiculous.

Before I knew it, he had already finished treating my hand. He walked me home and shoved the bag with porridge into my hands.

“Take your medicine and sleep. And eat this porridge for breakfast tomorrow.”

“…”

“What are you doing, not going inside?”

Only then did I realize I’d been standing there blankly like an idiot. I fumbled and answered awkwardly.

“Huh? Ah… I’m going in.”

“Text me.”

“Yeah. And… thanks for today.”

Normally, I’d never say thank you like that, but I was flustered and it slipped out.

Which only made the atmosphere more awkward.

Even Hyun-woo looked a little taken aback at my unusual behavior, but soon he grumbled back,

“…As long as you know.”

I hurried inside and shut the door quickly.

Just moments ago, confusing emotions had been swirling in my chest, but now that Hyun-woo’s face was no longer right in front of me, those feelings began to calm.

It was a strange sensation.

I pressed and rubbed at my chest again, but since the uneasiness lingered, it was clear Hyun-woo had really shaken me up.

The house was silent.

As I slowly tried to steady myself, my phone buzzed.