“Let’s settle this bill.”
At the presence, Wooyeon, who had been squatting between the display shelves, jumped up. He pulled off the knit gloves from both hands and stuffed them into his apron pocket, then hurried to the register, where there was a familiar face behind the customer.
“Ah, yes. I’m sor…ry.”
Wooyeon’s words trembled as he confirmed the man’s face. The man standing behind the customer with his arms crossed, looking at Wooyeon crookedly, was Choi Seokwoo.
“This, and two packs of Marlboro.”
“Yes, would you like lights?”
“Yeah.”
“Card received. Do you have a points card?”
While ringing up and putting items in a plastic bag, Wooyeon’s lips went dry. At the gaze staring at him, Wooyeon tried hard to avoid eye contact. Soon the bell rang as the middle-aged customer took the plastic bag and left the convenience store, and Wooyeon glared at Choi Seokwoo.
“I told you not to come to my workplace.”
“Do I have to fucking listen to what you say when you borrowed my money, when my life is already shit?”
Wooyeon’s anxious eyes turned toward the CCTV in the corner of the convenience store. He was worried that Choi Seokwoo might cause a scene. It wouldn’t be good if the owner caught such behavior.
“I’m so fucking frustrated I can’t even jerk off in peace.”
Suddenly Choi Seokwoo stretched out his arm and squeezed both of Wooyeon’s cheeks hard with one hand. His thin cheeks turned pale, crushed by the grip strength.
Seeing Wooyeon’s contemptuous gaze, Choi Seokwoo smiled fishily. He didn’t know why that arrogant look wasn’t entirely unpleasant.
“With a pretty face like this, not knowing how to use your looks and just working as a cashier, how can I not be frustrated?”
“…”
“The money you could quickly pay back by spreading your legs a few times, do you think you’ll pay it back within a hundred years by scanning barcodes and beeping? Huh?”
Choi Seokwoo shook Wooyeon’s face a few times while gripping it, then let go roughly. Soon his thick hand ruffled Wooyeon’s hair and swept down his cheek. Wooyeon swayed here and there with empty eyes like a doll with only its shell remaining. He already knew well that resistance was meaningless.
“If you just change your mind, this oppa will open your first hole nice and painlessly, so don’t worry.”
When Choi Seokwoo’s thumb pressed down on the inside of Wooyeon’s plump lips, Wooyeon finally raised his arm and swatted away Choi Seokwoo’s arm. With an exhausted expression, his large pupils were glistening wet.
Watching that, one of Choi Seokwoo’s eyebrows rose crookedly. And soon Choi Seokwoo threw an envelope onto the counter.
“‘TH Night of Sponsorship,’ seems like it’s held irregularly from time to time.”
It was probably mail that had arrived at Wooyeon’s house. To be precise, it was an invitation sent from the TH Scholarship Foundation. All the donors of the TH Scholarship Foundation were alphas, and most of the beneficiaries were omegas in the blind spots of society. And the ‘Night of Sponsorship’ was exactly a meeting place for those donors and beneficiaries.
“Now you’re going through my house too.”
“Do they know you’re an omega too?”
“It came by mistake.”
“Bullshit.”
Choi Seokwoo said with a sneer.
The first time it was held, the intention might have been good, but now it had become corrupted into a place that arranged meetings between wealthy alphas volunteering as sponsors and poor omegas. Wooyeon was living as a beta, and was a perfect beta even on paper, but strangely, at some point, this invitation began arriving for Wooyeon. As if the TH Scholarship Foundation knew that Wooyeon was an omega.
However, aside from the ‘Night of Sponsorship’ invitation, there was no support content from that scholarship foundation that highlighted Wooyeon being an omega, so Wooyeon tried hard to erase his doubts. It was because Wooyeon already had too many things to worry about to pay attention to such trivial matters.
Since most scholarship students were omegas, even if the organizers sent him an invitation by mistake, it wouldn’t be strange—that’s what Wooyeon thought. Even if it was a bit uncomfortable, just not responding to the invitation would be enough.
Of course, not all alphas or omegas were invited to that place. The criteria weren’t precisely known, but people only guessed that invitations went to those highly regarded by the scholarship foundation. Perhaps because of that, despite the not-so-bright rumors, many omegas hoped to be invited to that party. The next scheduled ‘Night of Sponsorship’ was this coming Friday.
“Cut the crap. Why haven’t you gone all this time?”
Whatever Wooyeon said, Choi Seokwoo didn’t seem to intend to listen. His eyes, interrogating while cutting off Wooyeon’s words, shone with fierce energy.
“What does this have to do with anything?”
“Why doesn’t it matter? If you hook an alpha there, my money will be solved in one shot.”
Choi Seokwoo walked to the refrigerator displaying beer while running his hand through his hair. As if it were his own home, he picked a beer within reach and popped the can open immediately. While watching the beer flow down past Choi Seokwoo’s Adam’s apple, Wooyeon let out a small sigh.
“Anyway, you’re going this time.”
“Why should I?”
“It’s not like you’ll wear out by going there, and did I tell you to spread your legs there? A recessive acting so fucking expensive. No, and honestly, if you do spread them. Do you wear out, fuck?”
Choi Seokwoo looked at Wooyeon and gulped down the beer again.
“I’ll cut you 50.”
For Wooyeon, it wasn’t a small amount of money. No, it was really truly desperate money. Wooyeon looked at Choi Seokwoo with surprised eyes.
“At this Night of Sponsorship, TH will be distributing a new omega suppressant drug that’s pre-market to the omegas.”
“…”
“I need that. Originally, to make a counterfeit, you need the real thing.”
In other words, it was a drug that Choi Seokwoo wanted to obtain even if he had to pay money. The omegas invited to the TH Night of Sponsorship would be limited, and since it was involved in illegal activities, it would be burdensome to recruit other omegas too.
“100.”
“What? Did you get cocky because I’ve been calling you pretty?”
Choi Seokwoo stepped forward and grabbed the hair of Wooyeon, who was looking straight at him. The beer can held in his other hand seemed precarious, as if it would be crushed at any moment.
Tears welled up in Wooyeon’s eyes at the force that seemed like his hair would be ripped out, but Wooyeon didn’t avoid looking at Choi Seokwoo. Wooyeon thought that Choi Seokwoo would ultimately be the one who needed it more.
“You want me to cut you 100 for going there, having a good time, and barely bringing back one bottle of medicine?”
“If you don’t like it, forget it.”
His picture-perfect eyes glared at him without being intimidated. Seeing such Wooyeon, Choi Seokwoo swallowed his saliva for no reason. As more force was applied to the hand gripping Wooyeon’s hair, a faint moan leaked between Wooyeon’s lips. At the sensation of blood rushing downward, Choi Seokwoo let go.
“Fine, but make sure you bring back the medicine properly.”
It wasn’t something he particularly wanted to do, but he wasn’t in a position to be picky. Bringing back one bottle of medicine and getting 1 million won forgiven. Wooyeon brushed off his hair as if something dirty had gotten on it.
“Well. If you go and come back pregnant with an alpha’s baby, I couldn’t ask for more.”
Choi Seokwoo sneered until the end while drinking the remaining beer.
* * *
“I have a free period from 11:30”
To Jeonghan’s message that came last night, Wooyeon finally replied this morning. Did he write it too stiffly? While briefly pondering, the number 1 next to the message disappeared. Flustered, he tried to close the messenger, but a reply from Jeonghan came right away.
“Where’s your class before that?”
Wooyeon’s large eyes blinked slowly. Thinking about it, there was no reason to avoid him. His black pupils rolled around. Soon Wooyeon sent a reply.
“Social Sciences Building”
“Then I’ll come to the front of the Social Sciences Building at 11:30.”
As soon as Jeonghan’s message arrived, the professor came into the lecture hall with a morning greeting. The phone he hadn’t put away yet vibrated once more.
“Sunbae, did you eat breakfast today?”
Breakfast. Thinking about it, it seemed he could count on one hand the times Wooyeon had prepared and eaten breakfast himself. Would a cup of coffee count as breakfast?
“No. The professor arrived.”
Since meeting Jeonghan again, it felt like only unnecessary thoughts were increasing. When he didn’t have the time or leisure for that. Wooyeon breathed out deeply and put his phone into his bag.
Wooyeon’s eyes soon turned back to the professor, and the professor too was spouting a passionate lecture on economic ethics. Meanwhile, inside the bag, the phone vibrated alone and emitted light. It was because of a new message from Jeonghan.
“Got it, see you later.”
* * *
When class ended, besides Jeonghan’s message, there was also a missed call from someone else on his phone. It was a call from the caregiver who looked after Wooyeon’s mother. With a sinking heart, Wooyeon hurriedly called her while leaving the lecture hall. After a long ring tone, the caregiver answered the phone.
“Ajumma, it’s Wooyeon.”
“Oh, student Wooyeon. Are you studying hard?”
“Yes. But ajumma, is something wrong?”
Wooyeon chewed his lips with an anxious face. There had been several times when she suddenly vomited blood and was taken to the operating room even when she seemed fine. Wooyeon’s heart wore thin at his mother’s physical condition that seemed to change a dozen times a day.
“Wrong? It’s not that, but the administrative department asked me to talk to student Wooyeon.”
“Ah… yes.”
“They seem to be in a bit of a difficult position too. Aigoo, I know student Wooyeon’s situation well too, so delivering this kind of message is really, well, awkward for me.”
“No, I’m always sorry to you, ajumma. By any chance… does my mother know too?”
