36.2 degrees. His temperature had returned to normal.
The fact that the fever went down with just the suppressant meant it wasn’t a heat cycle.
‘Thank goodness……’
Normally, he’d check his temperature twice a day—once right after waking up, and once an hour after taking the suppressant—but today was the fifth time.
That made sense, because today was the day Hyowoo would meet a Dominant Alpha for the first time.
It was common for an omega’s heat cycle to suddenly start from contact with an alpha. Moreover, Lee Seohee was a Dominant Alpha with the strongest characteristics among them, so Hyowoo couldn’t help but be even more anxious.
‘A Dominant Alpha wouldn’t be easily seduced by omega pheromones, but my constitution is peculiar……’
The secondary gender divided into alpha, beta, and omega usually manifested between the ages of 6 and 8. His twin brother Gyeonwoo also found out he was an alpha in first grade of elementary school, but Hyowoo had no changes until he graduated elementary school.
Because of the common belief that it manifests before age 10 at the latest, his parents’ worry was considerable. Wondering if there might be a health problem, he even received thorough examinations. But the result was ‘no abnormalities.’ It was just delayed manifestation for unknown reasons, so they could only wait.
Time passed that way, and in the summer of his second year of middle school, his gender finally manifested.
Since everyone in his family except his mother was alpha, he thought he would be alpha too, but contrary to expectations, Hyowoo was an ‘omega.’
‘Gyeonwoo is an alpha, but I’m an omega?’
Even though they were identical twins, it was an extremely rare case for their secondary genders to manifest differently. Though he was disappointed in his young heart, seeing his parents’ faces relieved at the manifestation, his feelings soon eased. As long as he didn’t worry his parents anymore, that was enough.
However, the relief was only momentary, and soon an unexpected problem erupted. Less than a month after his gender manifested, his heat cycle began.
An omega’s heat cycle, the so-called ‘heat,’ usually starts between ages 16 and 18.
But Hyowoo experienced it several years early.
Was it because of his late manifestation and too-early heat cycle? Because of this, Hyowoo came to have an unusual ‘peculiar constitution.’
Generally, heat came at intervals of one or two months and lasted about a week. During that period, omegas emitted a distinctive scent called ‘pheromones’ that attracted alphas, but Hyowoo released pheromones every day even when it wasn’t his heat cycle. In other words, it meant he was in a state that sexually stimulated alphas 365 days a year.
To prevent accidents of being assaulted by alphas, Hyowoo had to take strong suppressants every day from a young age.
That wasn’t all. Once heat started, the cycle generally stabilized within 2-3 years, but even now at twenty-three, Hyowoo’s cycle was erratic. There were times when he had no heat for half a year, and times when he experienced it twice in one month.
His symptoms weren’t ordinary either. The average temperature during an omega’s heat period was 38.5 degrees, but Hyowoo’s temperature would rise close to 40 degrees.
To make matters worse, the pheromone concentration at this time was six times that of a normal omega. When exposed to pheromones this strong, alphas didn’t just lose their reason but would enter a hallucinatory state as if on drugs and were highly likely to turn violent.
It was obvious that he’d suffer terrible things from alphas while unconscious from high fever. If things went wrong, he could be in a dangerous situation where he might lose his life, so he had to somehow control his heat.
Daily pheromones and mild fever could be controlled with oral suppressants, but heat could only be suppressed by injecting medicine several times stronger into his veins.
Fortunately, the good thing in this misfortune was that his heat cycle warning symptoms were the same as other omegas. Also, thanks to his father being an internal medicine doctor, there were no mishaps of not getting injections in time.
“Even if it’s a natural physiological phenomenon… I don’t want to experience that ever again……”
Hyowoo had experienced heat exactly twice in his life.
The first time was in the summer of his second year of middle school. The day his manifestation and heat started simultaneously, he suddenly developed a high fever and difficulty breathing and collapsed on the street. Thanks to Gyeonwoo’s quick judgment at the time, Hyowoo could be safely transported to the hospital.
The second time was late autumn of his third year of high school.
After ‘that incident’ which made him resent his peculiar constitution that he’d only considered slightly bothersome and made him despise alphas, Hyowoo’s once-peaceful life collapsed completely.
The nightmare of that day five years ago, when he was mercilessly trampled by an alpha in a confined space, quietly raised its head.
‘That day… if I had only been a little more careful……’
Suddenly, a sharp pain as if his flesh was being torn was felt in his lower abdomen. Clutching his stomach with both hands and staggering, Hyowoo leaned against the wall and barely supported himself.
The painful and vile sensations that wouldn’t disappear no matter how much he struggled to erase them. The residues of vile memories stuck everywhere that wouldn’t fall off no matter how many times he scraped and washed them tormented Hyowoo.
It was when those horrible sensations were about to swallow his entire body.
‘Don’t remember… Don’t even recall it……’
He pleaded in his heart to himself, who seemed about to fall into panic.
‘It’ll be okay. It will keep getting better from now on. So, please……’
He encouraged himself, telling his reflection in the mirror that no matter how painful it was, he had to move forward.
* * *
Only after pulling himself together from nearly sinking into the swamp of his terrible past could Hyowoo leave the restroom. When he returned to the front, the staff member who had confirmed the reservation and a staff member who looked somewhat older were having a conversation.
As he was about to go outside after saying thanks, the manager stopped him.
“You’re Ji Hyowoo-nim, right? I’ll guide you to your table now.”
“What? There’s still 40 minutes left……”
“The table is already prepared.”
Do hotel restaurants prepare seats in advance even if there’s a lot of time left before the reservation?
As he just blinked his eyes blankly, a staff member approached and said they’d take his outerwear. After hastily taking off his scarf and coat and handing them over, Hyowoo followed the manager.
The place he was guided to was a private room located in the back of the restaurant.
Of course. There was no way they’d seat Lee Seohee at a table in the main hall exposed to everyone.
The private room, neither too large nor too small, had a luxurious yet tranquil feeling. Thanks to the large window with a clear view of the picturesque Namsan scenery, the natural lighting was very good. Seeing the long table that could seat about eight adults, it seemed to be a space for small family gatherings.
When asked where he’d like to sit and he answered quietly ‘anywhere,’ the manager pulled out the chair closest to the window, saying it would be warm with good sunlight. Unaccustomed to such extreme hospitality, Hyowoo hesitated for a moment before awkwardly sitting down.
“Would you like to see the menu now, or would you like to see it together when your party arrives?”
Though the name wasn’t mentioned, the manager seemed to know who the party was.
“I’ll look when they arrive.”
“Understood. If you’re hungry, shall I prepare an appetizer first?”
“Ah, no…… I’ll just wait until the guest arrives.”
“How about a pre-dinner cocktail?”
The familiar word ‘cocktail’ felt unfamiliar. A cocktail with Korean food? No, more than that, alcohol from lunch? Do rich people drink during the day from this time on weekdays?
Perhaps he unconsciously made an expression that said ‘incomprehensible,’ because the manager added an explanation that they asked because there were occasionally guests who enjoyed cocktails.
He didn’t like alcohol, and he had no intention of sipping a drink before his appointment showed up. When he said water would be enough, the manager said they understood, gave a greeting, and left the private room.
‘I’m grateful for the kindness, but being too kind makes me nervous instead……’
Only after being alone did Hyowoo comfortably take a sip of water.
After catching his breath, he took out his cell phone. He checked if any messages had arrived in the meantime and entered a group chat room where he exchanged messages with a few close university friends. It was the chat room where the photo Lee Seohee had seen was shared.
‘So… he saw this photo and asked to be introduced?’
In the photo, Hyowoo was more than half covered by Taeseo. Even what was captured was a blurry side profile that wasn’t very clear. No matter how he thought about it, that person Lee Seohee seemed to have made a solid mistake.
‘If it’s Lee Seohee, he’d be overflowing with beautiful men and women around him.’
Just looking at his cousin Taeseo, she was a peerless beauty. Unless it was a mistake, there was no reason such an accomplished celebrity Dominant Alpha would want to meet an ordinary civilian like him.
‘Won’t he be disappointed when he sees me?’
