MIM 13

Blood trickled down from the palm cut by the glass, leaving a faint metallic scent in the air. As the smell of blood began to faintly permeate the air, the thick pheromones gradually dissipated. Though the excitement hadn’t fully subsided, he could barely manage to stand steady. Only when some rationality returned did Jae-seung throw away the glass shard he’d been gripping. As the wound opened, a sharp pain pierced his skin. Even amidst the pain, the feeling of his hardened d1ck pushing against his underwear was distinct.

“Are you okay? You’re bleeding…!”

Jae-seung turned to look at Gong Ji-un approaching cautiously, furrowing his brow slightly. Though Ji-un reached out worriedly, he was clearly frightened. Having lived under suspicious and disgusted gazes, Jae-seung was excellent at reading fear. Si-hyeong had also already taken a step back.

Though he didn’t know why his cycle had suddenly advanced, he was on the verge of entering rut. It was an embarrassing situation with his groin swollen and the scent of an excited Alpha seeping out, but everyone was pretending not to notice. They suddenly showed interest in the shooting game, or left to get more drinks, or turned away to start chattering. The coordinated movements looked like an awkward play.

Jae-seung furrowed his brow and sighed.

“I’m going to rest upstairs for a bit.”

After creating some distance by raising his blood-covered hand, he staggered towards the stairs to the second floor. Surely everyone was looking at him. Did they see something that wasn’t there? While all the kids were playing normally, maybe he alone got excited and went crazy. It’s probably that with rut approaching, he instinctively followed the pheromones of the many Omegas nearby by chance. It made no sense otherwise.

As soon as he went upstairs, Jae-seung entered the first room he saw and collapsed onto the floor. Though the floor was cold, he couldn’t sit on someone else’s bed while dripping blood. After removing the visible glass shards from his bloodied hand, he raised his knees and buried his face in them.

His expectations had completely crumbled. Not only had he broken the glass, but he’d gotten into rut while dripping blood. Not just the Omegas, but even Ji-un, an Alpha, was terrified.

He thought he’d finally made friends, but… Jae-seung knew that the reason no one approached him wasn’t just because of Shin-woo. In reality, there would be very few people who could tolerate someone like himself – with his memories gone, constantly anxious, and unable to even take care of his own body. A friend to spend time with without having to pay them – perhaps even wishing for that was a luxury.

In the silence, his phone rang. There was only one person who would call.

The persistent brown eyes that had been chasing him flickered in his mind. As soon as he thought of him, Jae-seung answered the phone. Forgetting the blood on his hand and ignoring the stinging pain, he listened intently to the voice on the other end.

—I heard you went out.

“Yeah.”

The voice confirming the fact was calm, but Jae-seung knew Shin-woo was not a little upset. He was always calm even when angry. He never raised his voice in front of Jae-seung and had never once sworn.

—You said you were going out with a friend. Gong Ji-un?

He just spoke softly through gritted teeth.

It was natural to be polite as an employee, but knowing how violent he could sometimes be, Jae-seung occasionally became curious. What kinds of things would he not hesitate to do to survive in the lawless Mangwol district? Why did Father keep such a man by his side and use him? Was the cold face looking down at Father’s corpse closer to his true self?

Did he kill Father?

Amidst having nothing he could answer, Shin-woo continued asking, still smiling.

—Did you go far?

“Why ask? You can just track me and find out.”

—How could I do that? You’re a proper adult now.

He casually dropped words that could be either a joke or serious. While pretending to acknowledge him as a ‘proper adult’, he was blatantly revealing that he could easily track Jae-seung’s location if he wanted to. Jae-seung clutched his throbbing head.

Though annoyed, he felt relief that the man was constantly on edge chasing after him. Unable to understand his own contradictory emotions, he often found himself at a loss for words. He felt anxious without knowing why. Everything was like that when it came to him.

—I should respect your privacy.

When Jae-seung stubbornly kept his mouth shut, Shin-woo quietly added one more thing. Jae-seung let out a weak laugh and dropped his head between his knees. This time it was clearly a joke.

Privacy, huh.

Did he ever have such a thing?

He had gotten an erection in front of everyone. He even caused a commotion by breaking a glass. Though it was shockingly embarrassing, the kids quickly acted as if nothing had happened. It was probably a consideration, because his behavior didn’t stray far from their expectation that Ma Jae-seung wasn’t normal to begin with.

What happened today would soon hit the news. With so many kids witnessing it, there was no way rumors wouldn’t spread. The story of the Ma family’s young master, no different from a beast, getting aroused anywhere and destroying property, would be widely circulated throughout the school starting the very next week.

He couldn’t forget Ji-un’s frightened eyes. The cheerful face that had smiled while reaching out first was gone, replaced by one clearly showing bewilderment.

—Did something happen? 

He suddenly asked. Though they weren’t face to face, his perceptiveness was extraordinary. Despite knowing full well he was untrustworthy, Jae-seung felt his breathing ease at the kind voice. Curled up alone, he tried hard to recall Shin-woo’s shabby annex, the notebook with his father’s photo. He endured by obsessively ruminating on the bright red line across his father’s neck, the evidence suggesting he would aim for Jae-seung’s neck next when the opportunity arose, until his stomach churned.

However, constantly dwelling on him wasn’t a good method, and soon his breathing began to falter. His hands, longing to grab Shin-woo by the collar, persistently groped the floor. Finally, a voice cracked and leaked out as he struggled to suppress it.

“Come get me.”

Though the tone was commanding, even to his own ears it sounded pathetically weak. As soon as he finished speaking, Jae-seung hung up and threw his phone. Fvck! Fvck… He muttered curses while burying his forehead in his hands. As a sense of defeat welled up and tension eased, his fever rose even more. In the brief time they spoke, his T-shirt had become drenched in sweat. His erect genitals trapped in his underwear, his damp back, even the soles of his feet – everything was unbearably hot. Jae-seung groaned, rubbing his wet bangs against his knees. The veins popped out on his exposed thighs below his shorts, muscles twisting and convulsing painfully. Eventually even his folded legs went numb.

Should I masturbate? It feels like he’d be fine if he came once. Jae-seung considered it, but his pride ultimately wouldn’t allow it. As he gritted his teeth and tried to endure, it seemed his condition was slowly improving. Jae-seung slowly stretched out his numb legs and took a deep breath.

Before he could fully exhale the breath he’d taken in, the door burst open without even a knock.

“Jae-seung.”

It was Si-hyeong who peeked his head in. Blinking his large eyes, he waved a first aid kit. Startled, Jae-seung quickly hugged his knees.

“Get out!”

“Your hand is hurt. You can’t leave it like that.”

Though Jae-seung glared threateningly, Si-hyeong approached undeterred. Seeing the first aid kit and bandages in his small hands, Jae-seung scoffed. Was a little scratch on his hand a big deal right now? This tiny Omega had no fear in front of an Alpha on the verge of rut.

“Ow.”

Trying to back away and pull his hips back as far as possible, Jae-seung bumped his back against the bed and swallowed a short cry. Si-hyeong raised his eyebrows as if bewildered.

“Stay still. I’m not going to eat you.”

“That’s my line!”

Who’s eating who? Jae-seung glared at Si-hyeong examining his hand, grinding his teeth. Si-hyeong’s cheeks briefly flushed at the thick alpha pheromones filling the room, but he soon feigned nonchalance and focused on treatment. His small, delicate hands disinfected the wound and wiped away the blood. After removing the remaining glass shards, a deeper cut than expected was revealed.

Si-hyeong remained quiet as he applied medicine and firmly wrapped bandages around the hand. Jae-seung also didn’t make a sound, struggling to suppress his pheromones in front of him. Having never experienced how an omega actually reacts to alpha pheromones, he became excessively cautious. It was likely his own fault for suddenly getting excited after detecting omega pheromones while playing games normally, and he didn’t want to make a spectacle of himself again.

The pain eased after the bandaging was complete. As Si-hyeong packed up the first aid kit, he nodded towards a small tray he had brought. It was warm tea.