The Outsider Omega Wants to Be Alone! – Chapter 28

Author: nicotine

At last, a coarse curse escaped Yuseong’s mouth. But Jo Eunha, as if finding even that amusing, pressed his forehead right against Lee Yuseong’s. His breath brushed over his lips. The pungent pheromones made him feel like he was suffocating.

His vision blurred white. Tears were welling up. Showing tears in front of this bastard—it was the worst. It wasn’t that he’d never imagined a reunion, but never in this form. Meeting again while drunk and vulnerable—he’d never expected that.

“I said let go.”

Kim Wooju grabbed Jo Eunha’s wrist.

Lee Yuseong was quite taken aback. Kim Wooju too was releasing pheromones more aggressively than ever before. A deep musk mixed with a fresh muguet scent, while at the same time a chilly, watery fragrance spread out, sharp enough to tighten the skin. It stung as if the surroundings might freeze at any moment.

“That’s not something a pervert should be saying.”

Jo Eunha added strength to his arm and sneered.

“Looks like it’s you spouting cheap talk. Yuseong said let go.”

Though he wore a placid smile on his lips, Kim Wooju showed no sign of backing down either.

Jo Eunha’s gaze dropped to Kim Wooju’s hand gripping him. Even though Jo Eunha possessed a physique that rarely lost to anyone, his opponent—despite his delicate appearance—was surprisingly strong.

“Ah, I see. You’re the one. The guy lurking around Lee Yuseong’s front door.”

“Are you introducing yourself right now? You sound just like the stalker who was watching from the shadows.”

The clash between the two alphas was immense. Their distinctly strong pheromones mixed together, violently stimulating Yuseong’s nose and stomach, already wrecked by alcohol.

That wasn’t all. Lee Yuseong was an omega.

Along with a nauseating churn, heat surged through him in an instant. It was mortifying.

“Enough of this, just—”

Lee Yuseong twisted his body again. He could feel his trousers getting wet. It was unbearably humiliating.

“Let go!”

After struggling once more, Jo Eunha finally released Lee Yuseong.

“Yuseong.”

Kim Wooju caught the staggering Lee Yuseong by the arm, supporting him to lean against himself.

Jo Eunha looked down for a moment at the arm Kim Wooju had been holding, then brushed it off. Tch. Rubbing the corner of his mouth, he curled one side of his lips.

“Found yourself a new alpha already?”

Lifting his chin, Jo Eunha stared at Kim Wooju, then glanced toward the restaurant.

“Doesn’t seem like just one guy either.”

Thump. Thump. Thump. His heart pounded violently.

It wasn’t excitement. Survival instinct was sending Lee Yuseong a strong warning.

“Hyung, let’s go inside. I want to go inside.”

Pulling at Kim Wooju’s sleeve, Lee Yuseong pleaded. Kim Wooju, who had been glaring at Jo Eunha, wrapped his arm around his shoulder and turned away.

As the two headed back into the restaurant, Jo Eunha threw his final line at their backs.

“I didn’t know your feelings for me were as light as a rag, Lee Yuseong.”

∞ ∞ ∞

14 years ago.

6-year-old Lee Yuseong had a serious worry.

‘Yuseong, you need to finish your food.’

‘Yes~’

Though he answered his mother’s urging in a small voice, Yuseong’s mind was elsewhere.

She’d prepared sausage and vegetable stir-fry, fried eggs, beef radish soup, and stir-fried anchovies—all his favorites—but it was all for nothing. Seeing Yuseong like that, his mother grew deeply troubled.

‘What’s wrong with him? No matter how quiet he is, he’s never refused food since he was born.’

‘Don’t worry too much, dear. Kids go through phases of not eating.’

‘Is that it? Still, even so…’

At that moment, young Yuseong, as if having made a decision, raised his small hand and spoke.

‘Mom.’

‘Yes, yes. Yuseong. What? Is there something you want to eat?’

‘Later, after kindergarten ends. Please buy me cotton candy.’

‘Cotton candy?’

‘Yes.’

At the rare request from a child who seldom asked for anything, his mother’s face brightened. She nodded her head vigorously and answered.

‘Okay. If Yuseong finishes his food, goes to kindergarten, and plays nicely with his friends, I’ll buy it for you.’

‘Yes!’

Lee Yuseong answered with the loudest voice of his life and began eating urgently. His startled parents had to repeatedly tell him to slow down, slow down.

And so, at the end of kindergarten.

In Lee Yuseong’s hand was a teddy bear cotton candy bigger than his own face.

But contrary to expectations that he’d tear into it happily, the child didn’t touch the cotton candy at all. He just held it tightly and walked quietly with his mother across the apartment complex courtyard.

Had he wanted it as a toy because it was pretty? But that seemed unlikely—drool was streaming down from the corner of his mouth.

‘Yu—Yuseong? You can eat it. It’s yours. Are you saving it for home?’

‘Umm, no. It’s not for me to eat.’

‘What?’

His mother wiped his drool and asked what he was going to do with it.

‘Secret.’

Then, shh—he pressed his index finger to his lips and shook his head side to side.

Soon, the two stopped in front of 502-dong, Unit 906—the apartment right next door to Yuseong’s own unit 905. This house had moved in two weeks ago.

As she brought her finger to the doorbell, his mother asked Yuseong.

‘Really?’

‘Yes. Really.’

A moment later, the person who opened the door was a 10-year-old elementary schooler.

‘…My mom’s not here right now.’

It was the hyung he’d seen several times—when they moved in, and passing by now and then. The hyung who was too frail to go to school, couldn’t play at the playground, and couldn’t take a single step outside.

‘Yuseong says he has something he wants to give to Eunha.’

Yuseong, who had been hiding behind his mother, peeked his head out shyly. The pale-skinned boy looked at him.

‘A present…’

6-year-old Lee Yuseong, cheeks flushed pink, held out the cotton candy to 10-year-old Jo Eunha.

∞ ∞ ∞

‘I didn’t know your feelings for me were as light as a rag, Lee Yuseong.’

Gripping the blanket, he let out a gasp. He opened his eyes.

It was morning. Through the gap in the not-quite-closed blackout curtains, morning sunlight streamed in, brightly illuminating Lee Yuseong’s bed. From the half-open window crack, the chirping of birds could be heard.

“Huff, hah…”

Gasping for breath, Lee Yuseong struggled to shake off sleep. He sat up and felt around the head of the bed—his glasses were neatly placed. After a dry wash of his face, Yuseong put on his glasses. Whether from sleep or leftover alcohol, his head was spinning. Holding his forehead, he sat dazed for a while, catching his breath.

His head throbbed, dragging up fragments from last night.

‘Hyung, I’m sorry. I’m sorry… that’s not what I meant…’

‘Why apologize? It’s okay, Yuseong.’

His trousers had been damp. Shame, humiliation, and anger tangled together, confusing Lee Yuseong.

Had Kim Wooju noticed everything even without him saying a word? He had willingly taken off his cardigan and wrapped it around Lee Yuseong’s waist.

With the chilly pheromones gone and the gentle Kim Wooju returned, Lee Yuseong had felt an inexplicable sense of relief from him.

‘Your clothes will get dirty…’

‘It’s okay.’

‘Really, they’ll get dirty… because…’

‘Yuseong. You don’t have to say anything. Everything’s fine. I’ll walk you home.’

The boss had his head buried on the table, and Choi Jigu had left his seat—these remained faintly as afterimages.

Then his memory went blank for a while, followed by a scene of being carried on Kim Wooju’s back.