RCKS 24

But the words spoken about Lee Yoonsan made him feel a surge of anger rising to the top of his head. To use a car analogy, it was like going from zero to sixty in less than a second. It was a situation where his fist had flown out like an unconditional reflex, with no time to think and judge.

He didn’t even feel like ending it with just one or two punches. He was annoyed that Lee Yoonsan was being used in a simple, idle joke, and he took it as if his family had been insulted. While throwing punches, he started wondering to what extent that bastard had imagined Lee Yoonsan in his head, and that led to another bout of anger.

It was an irrational judgment, a delusion. Even Hwang Haekyung didn’t have a single photo of Lee Yoonsan, so there was no way a classmate who wasn’t even in the same class last year would know what Lee Yoonsan looked like. But still, he was angry. The anger was so intense he couldn’t control it, and the anger was expressed through physical force.

“Hey, you bastards! What do you think you’re doing right now!!”

Even after the director, who had briefly gone to the restroom after the game, and the coaching staff, who had returned from a cigarette break, rushed in with shouts and pulled the kids apart, the icy expression on Hwang Haekyung’s face showed no sign of thawing.

That expression alone proved that what Hwang Haekyung had just done was not merely impulsive.

And in the end, a disciplinary committee for Hwang Haekyung was convened the very next day.

“Haekyung.”

Knocking on the door of his son, who was cooped up in his room, Hwang Haekyung’s father, Hwang Joonwon, called his son’s name. Hwang Haekyung didn’t answer, and even when Hwang Joonwon eventually opened the door and came in, Hwang Haekyung remained sitting with his back against the headboard of the bed, showing no reaction.

He only lifted his head and gave his father a glance when he sat on the edge of the bed. And then he quickly lowered his head again to look at his phone screen.

On Hwang Haekyung’s phone screen, the DM chat with Lee Yoonsan was open. It was the screen showing the eleven digits of Lee Yoonsan’s phone number, sent by Lee Yoonsan yesterday when the chaotic scene reminiscent of a bench-clearing brawl had erupted.

“Stop looking at your phone and let’s talk, son.”

Hwang Haekyung stared silently at Lee Yoonsan’s message on the screen before locking his phone.

The message Lee Yoonsan had sent wasn’t very long. As if reflecting Lee Yoonsan’s shyness from beyond the screen, it was just his eleven-digit phone number and the question, “Are you going to call?” Since Hwang Haekyung had checked his phone late after the whole commotion yesterday, he had left a belated reply saying, “When I have time.”

“Nothing major will happen.”

Hwang Joonwon said this while looking at his son, who seemed surprisingly calm. It was also the truth.

In a group of alpha kids, problems like this were bound to happen frequently. In school classrooms, of course, but in sports teams where alphas were gathered in droves, violence was an issue that broke out every other day depending on the disposition of the member kids.

And to explain the spontaneity and cause of the violence in such issues, they would usually go straight to the secondary gender medicine department for a blood hormone test and get a medical certificate. This was to prove that the violence was due to hormonal instability and resolve the situation. Of course, even this was only a matter for consideration when alphas of the same gender exchanged blows.

Hwang Haekyung, too, had been immediately taken to the hospital by his parents yesterday to undergo a hormone test and get a medical certificate. As expected, there were traces of his hormone levels having spiked explosively, and those traces were reflected verbatim in the medical certificate and delivered to the director and the school.

The disciplinary committee for Hwang Haekyung that was held today was conducted with educators and leaders from the school and the sports team, as well as parents from both sides, present. Since it wasn’t a formal disciplinary committee, it was carried out simply. Hwang Haekyung’s parents bowed their heads and apologized politely to the victim student’s side, and the school side seemed to be hoping the matter wouldn’t escalate. And it was the same for the volleyball team’s director and coaches.

They didn’t want to suspend their ace, Hwang Haekyung, from playing with the upcoming National Sports Festival games just around the corner, and more importantly, neither the school nor the sports team seemed to think of a violent incident between alphas as a very serious matter. This was because, as long as it wasn’t a serious assault that resulted in broken bones or interfered with sports activities, it was considered quite common for underage alphas to fight due to hormone-fueled outbursts of temper. Knowing this well, they implemented rather strict education and management during this unstable period.

“I spoke with the other parents as well. Fortunately, since he was hit mainly on the jaw, they said nothing was broken.”

The student who was hit by Hwang Haekyung asserted his sense of unfairness to the end, but the parents exchanged polite apologies and forgiveness. It made sense, as the student hit by Hwang Haekyung had only suffered bruises without breaking his jawbone or nose. The fist of a well-built alpha is no different from a weapon, so it usually results in damage of at least a fracture.

So this meant that in this incident, Hwang Haekyung had, at least subconsciously, controlled his strength to some extent. The kind of strength control that wouldn’t interfere with the other student’s athletic career. Looking at Hwang Haekyung’s expression now, it probably wasn’t a conscious control of strength, but rather it seemed the control management and education close to brainwashing over the years had paid off. Of course, the testimony of the surrounding players at the time, including Lee Seokjae, had also been somewhat effective.

The student in question didn’t particularly make excuses for the testimony that he had provoked Hwang Haekyung by mentioning an omega. He only expressed his frustration, saying it was really not a ‘dirty’ intention, but the atmosphere softened as Hwang Haekyung’s parents apologized several times for Hwang Haekyung’s excessive response. Above all, the student in question and Hwang Haekyung were not on bad terms to begin with. So it was concluded that it was truly a spontaneous overreaction to the provocation at that moment.

Although it was a matter of assault, the background and scope of understanding were different from those of betas from the start. The hormone issue was significant, the topic of the opposite sex was a very sensitive keyword for those with a secondary gender, and alphas were sturdy.

Therefore, the incident was ultimately resolved well without escalating. Hwang Haekyung was excluded from training until his hormones completely stabilized, and the student in question was also recommended a couple of days of rest. That was all. Of course, after that period, both of them would be given harsh additional training separately.

The fortunate thing was that this issue, at least, did not spread to collective responsibility. This was thanks to the judgment that Hwang Haekyung wasn’t actually dating an omega, and that the student’s provocation also had no significant or base intention.

“Why did you do it? Did you find someone you like?”

“It’s not like that.”

“He said he just asked if he was pretty, and you lunged at him without warning?”

“What gives him the right to be curious about that?”

“…”

“Why is he curious about that, I ask.”

When the conversation showed no signs of progressing, Hwang Joonwon first brought up the story he heard at the disciplinary committee today. At that, Hwang Haekyung immediately reacted sharply. He denied having someone he liked, but his attitude changed in a flash, so it was natural for Hwang Joonwon to be at a loss for words.

Hwang Joonwon smiled as if troubled by his son’s reaction and ruffled his son’s hair. Although his son still had a sullen and displeased expression.

“You’re all grown up. You even have someone you like.”

“I said it’s not like that!”

Conventionally, it is an unstable thing for an underage alpha to date an omega. On a normal basis, it might be possible to date like betas do. But since pheromones and mating cycles exist, it was a different problem from how other underage beta kids date.

The unstable factors that require social management during teenage years can, in the worst-case scenario, easily lead to problems such as forcibly taking a partner using pheromones or irresponsible pregnancies.

So, from Hwang Joonwon’s perspective, his son’s pure feelings were just bittersweet. If he were just a beta kid, he could have offered his son who was starting his first love some lighthearted advice and congratulations, but for Hwang Haekyung, who was an alpha, it was an issue that couldn’t be applied so lightly.

Meanwhile, Hwang Haekyung found his father a little frustrating. No, to be honest, his own situation of not being able to confess the truth was frustrating. His father had adored Lee Yoonsan terribly since he was young, so if he confessed that the ‘omega’ in the conversation just now was Lee Yoonsan, his father would surely be more furious than he was. And he would be able to make him understand at once why he had hit his teammate.

But if he said that, he would also have to reveal the fact that he was in contact with Lee Yoonsan. Hwang Haekyung remembered well the warnings his parents had given him during his early presentation period. The second reason his parents had to flee the campsite with him as if they were escaping in the early dawn when his presentation period began at the campsite was none other than Lee Yoonsan.

Of course, the biggest reason was the pain of Hwang Haekyung’s presentation period starting, and the next was the concern that he might harm another child due to the irregular hormonal surges. If, by any chance, Lee Yoonsan at the time had the possibility of presenting as an alpha or omega, it was a problem where Hwang Haekyung’s pheromones, which would flood like a broken dam after the presentation period began, could also stimulate Lee Yoonsan.

After being diagnosed at the hospital as having started to present as an alpha, Hwang Haekyung’s parents first warned Hwang Haekyung about matters related to the opposite sex.

The content was, ‘You are in an unstable state right now and cannot control your pheromones, mood, and impulses on your own, so if an omega is nearby, it will be a stimulus to you and could also harm that child.’

It was a very textbook attitude, and also a basic tenet of home education recommended by the country. And as time passed and it was confirmed that Hwang Haekyung’s hormone levels were hitting the upper range, they would discipline him a little more strictly.

The content was mainly about policing Hwang Haekyung, rather than others, including the opposite sex. It was that since Hwang Haekyung’s hormone levels were high and his pheromone concentration was strong, there could be omegas who would be stimulated by exposure to those pheromones. And they also added that fellow alphas could also react violently to pheromones that Hwang Haekyung intentionally wielded.

So, it also included the content that he must not date an omega until he could properly control himself and became an adult in a stable period. The reason was to prevent in advance any accidents that might occur from encountering an omega, who was not on equal footing in terms of physical condition, unlike an alpha, during an unstable period when he could not guarantee his own actions.

Hwang Haekyung was a child who couldn’t quite gauge the exact scope of that ‘accident,’ but since it was his parents speaking, he tried his best to accept it. And from the year after Hwang Haekyung’s presentation period began, his parents themselves stopped participating in the camping trips.

Even a little more time after that, the frequency with which they spoke of Lee Yoonsan in front of Hwang Haekyung also decreased. Hwang Haekyung had asked once or twice, guessing that the Lee Yoonsan he saw as a child must have grown up to be an alpha or beta since he was bigger than him, but even that answer was just a mumble.

In retrospect, it was probably because they heard the news that Lee Yoonsan had presented as an omega.

It seemed to be a measure of concern, lest the immature alpha Hwang Haekyung take a curious interest in the immature omega Lee Yoonsan.

Instead, his parents often said strange things. They said they would help him meet a wonderful omega on his own when he became an adult, so they just hoped he would grow up to be a proper person.

Hwang Haekyung had thought those words were strange, but on the other hand, he just went along with it. It was a similar context to being told to focus on studying now because you’ll get a girlfriend when you go to college, and isn’t it something parents commonly say? Especially for Hwang Haekyung, who had frequently been involved with other kids around him during his kid model days, it was a perfectly valid concern.

Since his parents were like that, he couldn’t readily confess that he was in contact with Lee Yoonsan now. He knew his parents adored Lee Yoonsan, but he also knew that it didn’t mean it was okay for him to be in contact with Lee Yoonsan.

If it were a relationship where contact was allowed, they would have told him news about Lee Yoonsan or mentioned him to him long ago. But Hwang Haekyung’s parents, while diligently celebrating Lee Yoonsan’s birthday or Christmas, did not talk about Lee Yoonsan in front of him. As if it were a clumsy taboo word.

So, if he makes an imprudent choice now, there is a possibility that his parents might interfere in the relationship between Hwang Haekyung and Lee Yoonsan and try to cut off their contact. Whether it’s for his own sake, or for the omega Lee Yoonsan who might be stimulated because of him. And hadn’t he already acquired a criminal record of once resorting to violence while thinking of Lee Yoonsan, whatever the intention?

“It’s not like I like him or anything.”

“Just liking him is okay. But if the other person is an omega, you can’t meet or date them yet.”

“I told you it’s not like that?”

“Son, Haekyung.”

“…”

“You didn’t plan to hit your teammate yesterday, did you.”

“…That was just, my fist moved first in the moment.”

“Right. Your body moved first.”

“…”

“Are you confident that your body won’t move first with that omega child as well?”

“Dad, I’m really not like that.”

“Your mom and I aren’t angry about what happened yesterday. The parents of the kid you hit also didn’t think it was serious and forgave you generously. But that’s possible because both you and that kid are alphas. Do you understand? It was an incident that ended with a few punches because you are an alpha and the other kid is also an alpha. Without the matter escalating.”

“…”

“You’re at an age where you can’t guarantee your own actions and can’t take responsibility. Let’s just endure it a little until you’re all grown up and reach a stable period. You don’t want to hurt the person you like either, right?”

At his father’s continuing words of persuasion, Hwang Haekyung’s mouth closed. He wanted to keep asserting that he didn’t cause an accident like yesterday because he liked Lee Yoonsan, but it was because he now fully understood what his father was saying.

It was an accident that ended with a few punches because it was an alpha and an alpha. Even though his body had reacted before he could think.

If the opponent had been the omega Lee Yoonsan, an accident of a different kind might have occurred. His body’s pheromones might have reacted before he could think. Pheromones that entice the opposite sex just because their genders are different could be released, and whether one side or both wanted it or not, a mating cycle could be triggered and lead to another accident.

Because that’s what the pheromones of a secondary gender are like.

It’s a device to induce a mating cycle or entice a partner, and Hwang Haekyung is still a minor whose hormones, the source of those pheromones, have not yet fully stabilized.

As an adult in a stabilized state, he would be able to use and control them naturally, such as expressing emotions or communicating with pheromones, but for Hwang Haekyung, who still can’t handle his pheromones at will, pheromones are like an untamed wild animal. Far from delicate control or handling, he had to focus only on taming them so they wouldn’t suddenly rush out and carelessly harm others.