The World of Contrasts Vol. 1 Chapter 1

23 years ago.

Raindrops drizzled from the early morning sky. The woman, who had been staring at the dreary winter rain, slowly turned her head at the sound of a knock. A nurse, after glancing around cautiously, hurriedly approached and whispered in a trembling voice.

“I just switched the name tags. You need to discharge quickly while the other mother is still unconscious.”

The woman with a pale complexion parted her dry lips.

“You said…after the visit tomorrow.”

She wanted to say goodbye to the baby one last time.

She wanted to say she was sorry.

The nurse glared at the woman, who was on the verge of tears.

“Do you think opportunities like this, with no one in the newborn room, come often? If you’ve changed your mind, say so now. This is your only chance to undo it. But I can’t return the money.”

She tried calling the baby’s father, but a stranger’s voice answered. His address and contact information had changed. It was as if she would never see him again.

“…Junkyung…!”

The nurse, who called her name in frustration, let out a long sigh.

“This won’t work. I’ll go back and switch them properly…”

Junkyung lifted her head abruptly. Blood spurted from the IV needle in her thin hand as she grabbed the nurse’s arm.

“I’ll discharge.”

Seol Junkyung was an orphaned Omega who didn’t know her parents. She had been sold to a brothel by her brother, who had escaped the facility with her, and had incurred a huge debt after being deceived by the pimp. She met the man when she had lost all hope in life.

The moment she first met him, who had stepped forward to help people in situations like hers, it was inevitable that Junkyung would fall in love. She mistook his kindness for love and embraced it joyfully, but what she received in return was compensation. He had confessed that he had taken her in a moment of lust and apologized on his knees, but she couldn’t bring herself to tell him she was pregnant months later.

“I’ll…complete the discharge process.”

“Get out as soon as possible.”

She wasn’t sorry to the man, but she was deeply sorry to the baby. She felt guilty for not realizing she was pregnant until her belly started to swell, for serving drinks during her pregnancy because stealing was all she knew, and for the high possibility that the baby would manifest as an Omega due to her strong Omega traits.

“But sister, that family…they really are rich, right?”

Junkyung grabbed the nurse’s arm tightly and asked in a trembling voice. The nurse sighed and frowned.

“Do you think I haven’t seen a few people here? The hospital is flooded with flower wreaths, it’s a mess.”

They had said the mother had gone out for a drive to get some fresh air and was brought to the nearest hospital when she suddenly went into labor. She had heard that the father of the other baby born on the same day as hers was the president of some company. The thought that crossed Junkyung’s mind when the nurse mentioned it in passing was…

How wonderful it would be if our baby was born into a family like that.

“And wouldn’t it be better than you raising the baby?”

“…”

Junkyung’s gaze slowly dropped.

“I’m not saying this because I got paid, but sincerely.”

Her sister had always said that the most important thing for an Omega to survive in this world was money. Or someone who would give them money.

Her sister, who had borrowed money to indulge in luxury goods and stocks that seemed to promise instant wealth, had jumped up in surprise when she first heard Junkyung’s words.

“What, what do you mean switch the babies? Are you out of your mind?”

But as soon as she offered to give him all the money she received as compensation, he changed his tune.

“Are you serious?”

“…Yes.”

However, when she actually went through with it, Junkyung’s whole body trembled. She would never see the child she gave birth to again.

It felt like her heart was being sliced layer by layer with a sharp knife. The worry about what to do with the other child whose life had been swapped with her own also came belatedly.

“Sister. Then…what about…that baby…?”

Junkyung’s pale cheeks turned rough. The nurse grimaced and spat out as if grinding her teeth.

“You foolish girl, did you think you could pull off such a huge thing without being prepared to kill a newborn? What did you say to me yesterday while kneeling? You said you would do anything for your child. You said you never wanted your child to live like us!”

Long tears flowed down Junkyung’s gaunt face. The child who would have to live as the offspring of a powerless Omega single mother. And the future that awaited him if he manifested as an Omega was all too clear.

“Alright. I’ll go. But…”

Wiping her wet face, Junkyung bit her cracked lips. A stifled sob burst out between her blood-stained lips.

“Can I see my baby…just once…just once before I go?”

Just once, before saying goodbye to a world without regrets.

23 years later, present.

“It would be great to gather all the inferior beings in this world and isolate them.”

The classroom fell silent in an instant. Jaemin twirled his pen between his long fingers and twisted his red lips.

“Then all these boring lectures would disappear, and we could focus on much more productive things.”

Park Sejun, Jaemin’s longtime friend sitting to his right, yawned with a face that still had traces of alcohol.

“Ah…hmm. If we put all the omegas together, productivity would definitely increase. It would be easier to find them.”

Sejun, who had been rolling around with omegas all night, leaked the uncollected pheromones of an alpha. Jaemin frowned sharply and let out a small curse.

“Damn, the smell.”

It was the same in this place where everyone was an alpha.

It was the same for everyone that the smell of the same kind was unpleasant, but in Jaemin’s case, the reaction was particularly severe. Sejun thought it was due to Jaemin’s perfectionism and the innate instinct of a dominant alpha. The desire to crush and become the best within the pack, a combination of competitiveness and cruelty.

Twirl.

The pen changed position again between Jaemin’s tattooed fingers. His gaze was fixed on the back of the head of a guy who looked like a towering rock in the middle of the classroom.

Even at this point, he would normally speak out, but he remained silent. The huge back of the guy, who boasted a physique that was superior even among the alphas with good physical conditions by nature, did not even flinch.

“Jaemin. Then, aren’t you afraid that an omega will lick your ass while oozing pheromones?”

Sejun asked in a half-joking voice from next to Jaemin.

“If that happens…”

Jaemin narrowed his long eyes and said in a clear voice.

“I would tear his hole to shreds. So he can’t smell like a dirty rag there anymore.”

It was a precise pronunciation that could be heard by everyone in the classroom.

Thud.

Finally, the guy got up from his seat. Jaemin watched as the huge guy over 190 cm tall got out of his desk and slowly approached him.

With his hair cut short without any style, wearing a crappy checkered shirt that he didn’t know where he bought, his wide chest that couldn’t be hidden, and his solid thighs that made him wonder what he was wearing in between, he was getting closer and closer to his sight.

“…What?”

Jaemin glared at him and said fiercely.

“What the hell is it?”

Jaemin looked at the guy standing in front of him and spat out savagely.

There were only two alphas he knew who could give him this sense of intimidation just by standing still. One was his father, Chairman Jang Wonjung, and the other was the guy in front of him, Seol Daeyoung, who was giving him a nasty grin.

“You look cooler today.”

“You look more fucked up today.”

“It’s not like it’s the first day.”

Even with Jaemin’s provocation, Seol Daeyoung smiled faintly. As his broad shoulders moved slowly, Jaemin frowned. Damn, is he trying to hit me? The big hand that had made him tense for a moment picked up the heavy book that was lying on Jaemin’s desk and stood it upright with a thud.

[Omega Rights]

Orange-colored background with old-fashioned black Mingjo font flickered before his eyes. Seol Daeyoung’s low voice flowed out.

“The problem is the lack of a system.”

“That’s why I’m telling you about a clear system.”

“Gather omegas and isolate them? To make it easier to fuck them?”

Seol Daeyoung smiled faintly once again. He smiled so widely that his teeth, which he probably never thought of getting orthodontic treatment for in his life, were revealed, and then he bowed his head slightly.

“What the hell are you saying, Jaemin?”

He was clearly not emitting any pheromones, but Jaemin felt as if blood was rushing to his danjeon in an instant. His heart pumped wildly, shooting hot blood throughout his body.

“You bastard, who the hell are you to stick your stinky face in here.”

Jaemin leaned back in his chair and tightened his grip on the pen. Sejun, sitting next to him, was watching the fight that was about to break out with excited eyes.

Alphas were inherently violent creatures. Even while arming themselves with intellect by listening to lectures from famous scholars at the highest ivory tower of knowledge, their instinct to trample on the heads of others and stand tall would never disappear.

“Smell?”

Seol Daeyoung put both hands on the desk, twisted his large body, and moved even closer to Jaemin. Jaemin grabbed his collar and cursed almost simultaneously.

Creak.

The classroom door opened and the professor appeared.

“What are you two doing?”

Seol Daeyoung didn’t move at all and brought his lips to Jaemin’s ear.

“You’re the one who smells right now, Jang Jaemin.”

* * *

Blood rushed to Jaemin’s face, which was smooth like it had been plastered. He had taken his medication ten minutes before the lecture was due to start, so there was no way there could be any scent. That meant Seol Daeyoung was just provoking him with bullshit right now. That damned bastard.

The moment Jaemin was about to throw a punch at his face, security guards, who had approached unnoticed, grabbed his arms.

“Let go of me!”

Seol Daeyoung had already taken a step back and was bowing to the professor.

“I’m sorry, professor. We were just trying to have a discussion about omega rights, but things got heated…”

“If you don’t want to be removed, take your seat.”

“Yes, sir!”

Jaemin glared at the two guards holding him.

“Let go! Where do you think you’re putting your filthy hands?”

“It’s the school policy, so we have no choice. Please understand…”

“You don’t know who I am, do you?”

One of them gulped nervously and let go of him. The moment his hand was released, Jaemin swung. Blood beaded quickly on the guard’s lip as his face was roughly snapped to the side.

“What on earth are you doing in the lecture hall!”

“I’m leaving.”

Jaemin spat the words through clenched teeth as he glanced at the professor who was yelling at him in a loud voice. Despite his tone, Jaemin couldn’t miss the glint of excitement in the professor’s eyes. Even he couldn’t suppress his alpha instincts when faced with blood.

As Jaemin brushed past the security guards and strode out, the faces of the people filling the lecture hall deflated. Their rare opportunity to witness an intriguing fight had slipped away, and the professor’s stern voice echoed through the room.

“Before we discuss omega rights, we must first understand what justice is…”

Boredom clouded the dark eyes of the dominant alphas with the highest phenotype indexes in the country.

Thud.

“Director.”

Seonho was waiting for him in front of the car. Jaemin sank into the back seat Seonho opened for him and took a deep breath. It felt as though the cheap soap scent wafting from Seol Daeyoung’s body still clung stubbornly to his nose.

“Are you all right?”

Seonho asked, but Jaemin couldn’t answer. All that echoed in Jaemin’s mind was Seol Daeyoung’s voice from moments earlier, replaying over and over.

“You’re the one giving off the scent right now, Jang Jaemin.”

It was only natural for Seol Daeyoung to be annoyed at Jaemin’s words, given how the guy, despite being an alpha, actively involved himself in omega matters. So Jaemin had made his remark intentionally louder. Having to take the mandatory course “Omega Rights” just to graduate was already grating enough, but having to see Seol Daeyoung there made it unbearable for him.

“Seonho. What’s the sentence for murder? If the victim’s a dominant alpha.”

Even as Jaemin threw out his question without context, Seonho didn’t look startled. After a brief pause, he asked for clarification.

“If you’re caught, sir?”

“Yeah.”

If he were to kill Seol Daeyoung, a public execution would be most fitting. He wanted to make that bastard kneel in front of everyone, begging for his life on all fours, crawling like a dog to service him.

“Life imprisonment.”

Damn it. So, he’d have to rot away in a cramped cell for the rest of his life just to taste that extreme pleasure? The thought alone was dreadful. Jaemin felt his boiling murderous urges cool slightly, but the desire to kill him didn’t disappear entirely. He wanted to gouge out those eyes that dared to pity and sympathize with omegas, despite being an alpha.

If he couldn’t kill him, then he wanted to humiliate him. But if it came to that, Seol Daeyoung wouldn’t take it lying down, and a fight would surely break out, leading to a finale where one of them had to die. In the end, it meant Jaemin would inevitably end up killing Seol Daeyoung.

“However…”

“Go on.”

At Jaemin’s command, Seonho stopped hesitating and continued in his usual steady tone.

“There have been cases, though rare, where the death penalty was carried out if the perpetrator was a beta or omega.”

“Ah.”

Jaemin let out a short exhale.

“Then I’d be dead.”

Leaning his forehead against the car window, Jaemin chuckled faintly as he muttered.

“…”

Seonho said nothing, silently turning the wheel.

Seoul A Campus, a branch of Korea University, was commonly known as “A Campus.” It was a place exclusively segregating dominant alphas.

The striking and intricate building, said to have been painstakingly designed by the top alpha architect, quickly disappeared into the distance. Only after they had driven far from the structure, which seemed embalmed with alpha pheromones, did Jaemin roll down the car window.

“Shall I take you home?”

“No, to a hotel.”

“Understood.”

Seonho, knowing exactly what it meant for Jaemin to go to a hotel instead of home, responded briefly. As a loyal chauffeur, secretary, and bodyguard, Seonho would likely, as always, select the safest partner and send them up to Jaemin’s room by midnight.

“Step on it.”

With a soft hum of the engine, the sleek luxury sedan that matched its owner’s elegance sped down the road. Wind rushed in through the open window, tousling the hair that fell smoothly along Jaemin’s face. The unpleasant heat lingering on his finely sculpted features finally began to dissipate.

Jaemin closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. Even though the students suppressed their pheromones, the space, which had housed only alphas for decades, was saturated with ghostly remnants of countless alpha scents, as if preserved in amber.

Twice a week, on the days he crammed all his lectures together, Jaemin would gulp down double doses of suppressants, yet his anxiety never fully subsided. Every time he sensed the pheromones subtly emanating from them, his chest tightened with unease.

Images of himself losing control, clinging to them, and being violated by dozens, even hundreds of alphas flooded his mind. The grotesque fantasy wouldn’t leave his head for even a moment. The terror chilled his blood, yet an unsettling excitement rose to the surface.

Each time the dreadful thought of being repeatedly assaulted while laughing uncontrollably crossed his mind, Jaemin felt an urge to slit his own arteries. If he did, the alphas who were aroused by blood might turn his remains into the center of a grotesque festival.

What about Seol Daeyoung?

What kind of expression would he make as he looked at me?

At least one thing was certain: Seol Daeyoung wouldn’t be a participant in that insane festival.

“Shit…”

In the five years since they had first met, Jaemin had caught Seol Daeyoung’s pheromones only once. That was how thorough Seol Daeyoung was with his pheromone management.

Jaemin, of all people, understood just how difficult it was to prevent even the slightest trace of body scent from leaking out. It required immense patience, self-restraint, or, quite literally, training so intense it made one’s body bleed.

“…”

The air sticking to his face felt damp, as if it were about to rain. The phantom sensation of his entire body itching like it was covered in wounds made Jaemin dislike cloudy days.

Noticing this, Seonho turned on the air conditioning, but Jaemin didn’t close the window. Instead, he took a deep breath of the humid air tinged with exhaust fumes. He needed to forget everything before the sweet, cheap artificial scent lingering from Seol Daeyoung’s body forced its way back into his memory.

* * *

It all started in their second year of high school. The transfer student who walked into the classroom had a physique that undeniably marked him as a dominant alpha.

“I’m Seol Daeyoung. Nice to meet you.”

Typically, secondary sex characteristics manifested by age 13, or 16 at the latest. In Seol Daeyoung’s case, however, they hadn’t appeared until he was 18. His significantly delayed manifestation naturally stirred curiosity, and the classmates gathered around him, buzzing with questions.

“Your first rut was really this year?”

“Yeah.”

“Didn’t you cause any trouble?”

“I was hospitalized and quarantined for a week.”

“Whoa.”

Everyone understood what “trouble” meant in the context of alphas, yet Seol Daeyoung only smiled faintly.

“So, you haven’t slept with an omega?”

The alpha who asked this seemed puzzled, but the smile disappeared from Seol Daeyoung’s face. Looking at him as if he were garbage on the street, he replied curtly.

“It’s illegal.”

“Well, yeah, but still…”

It was indeed illegal to pair an omega with a young alpha during their first rut. Young alphas experiencing their initial rut often struggled to control their impulses, losing rational judgment and risking impregnation.

The policy aimed to curb the rise of illegitimate children whose fathers were unknown. Nevertheless, in wealthy families, such practices were often carried out discreetly.

“My mother’s an omega, so I find that kind of talk offensive.”

From the back of the classroom, Jaemin spun his pen between his fingers, quietly observing the new transfer student. The ill-fitting uniform shirt stretched taut over Seol Daeyoung’s upper arms, not so much ridiculous as it was a deliberate display of masculinity.

“Oh, I see…”

The boy who had asked the question stammered, visibly flustered.

Dominant alphas—those with alpha genetic markers exceeding 95%—were often placed in separate classes for better management, as most came from alpha parents on both sides.

Nine out of ten children born to male and female alphas were alphas themselves, and their high genetic dominance was scientifically documented.

However, the revelation that Seol Daeyoung’s mother was an omega naturally surprised everyone. Although omegas could give birth to alphas when impregnated by an alpha, the birth of a highly dominant alpha was so rare it was practically a genetic anomaly.

“So, who’s your father?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“Yeah. He’s been gone since I was born.”

A brief silence fell over the room. Then, to break the awkward tension, voices piped up with questions.

“Is your mom a celebrity or something?”

“She works at a diner.”

“…Oh, what kind of restaurant? Our classmate Kwon Woojin’s dad is a chef, too.”

“A truckers’ diner in Mapo.”

* * *

The silent ripple of unease spread quickly through the classroom, evident in the students’ furrowed brows and wary glances.

Jaemin’s school, a private institution combining middle and high school, was notorious for its exorbitant tuition fees. This meant that nearly all the students there were born with proverbial silver spoons in their mouths. The fact that Seol Daeyoung’s mother was an omega—and a struggling single mom working at a diner—was an undeniable anomaly in this environment.

“A rare specimen,” Jaemin murmured, drawing Seol Daeyoung’s gaze. Their eyes met, and Jaemin stared back at the faint smile playing on Seol Daeyoung’s lips. Beneath sharply defined brow bones, shadowed by deep eye sockets, his dark pupils held a latent, violent energy that made Jaemin’s heart pound as if it had dropped and crashed within him.

“Sorry, were you talking to me just now?” Seol Daeyoung’s low voice carried a quiet intensity as he returned Jaemin’s provocation.

Dopamine surged through Jaemin’s veins at the sound. Without bothering to hide the smirk tugging at his lips, he replied simply.

“Yeah.”

Holding his gaze, Jaemin tilted his head mockingly.

“Or should I say a mutation?”

For a brief moment, Jaemin could see Seol Daeyoung’s jaw clench tightly as he let out a small, mirthless laugh. The veins in his neck bulged slightly, pulsing with the hot blood of anger coursing through them. Though undeniably young, Seol Daeyoung’s presence exuded a force that belied his age.

Violent confrontations were nothing new to Jaemin, thanks to his peculiar upbringing. His father’s advice echoed in his mind:

“When it’s time to die, or when your guts are spilling out, keep your eyes on the bastard who stuck you. If you do that, the other guy won’t ever feel satisfied. They might hesitate, maybe even mess up and get themselves killed along with you. Ha!”

Jaemin narrowed his sharp eyes further, his smirk turning into a languid sneer.

“A mother who’s an omega, a poor family, and a dominant alpha whose traits showed up way too late. At best, you’re a rare oddity. At worst, a mutation.”

The murmurs around them grew louder, and Jaemin could hear someone whispering to Seol Daeyoung.

“It’s just that Jang Jaemin has a pretty severe phobia.” (*short for omega-phobia: a prejudice or hatred toward omegas.)

“Just let it go.”

It was impossible not to catch the subtle excitement laced in the voices telling him to hold back.

In the top-performing dominant alpha class, violent incidents were disproportionately high compared to the other classes. The parents of these students often wore regretful expressions, claiming that their children simply had no outlet for their overwhelming energy.

This led to countless audacious proposals asking whether a couple of “atmosphere-enhancing” omegas could be placed in the class, a suggestion as shameless as it was persistent.

* * *

Seol Daeyoung approached slowly and stopped directly in front of Jaemin.

Is he going to hit me? Jaemin thought to himself that he’d almost prefer a punch. If it came to a fight, he was confident he wouldn’t lose to most opponents. Besides, he’d been itching for some action lately, the kind of restless energy that hadn’t gone away for days.

But as their eyes met, Seol Daeyoung said nothing. He simply stared at Jaemin, his gaze unrelenting.

Even now, Jaemin couldn’t forget the look in Seol Daeyoung’s eyes as they bore into him. It was the first time Jaemin had felt the intense gaze of an alpha since realizing he was an omega.

It was as if Seol Daeyoung was using Jaemin’s pupils as a microscope, meticulously scanning every inch of his inner being. Jaemin felt a chill crawl up his nape as the fine hairs on his body stood on end. His stomach twisted in discomfort, followed by a dirty, all-too-familiar feeling stirring in his core. Jaemin bit down on the inside of his cheek to steady himself.

Damn it. Why now, of all times?

The clash between the notorious troublemaker of the class, Jaemin, and the new transfer student was turning into a spectacle, a thrilling sideshow for the other students. The young alphas, unable to hide their excitement, began releasing faint traces of their scents. Hearts raced, and cold sweat slicked their palms.

Jaemin exhaled deeply, biting his lip as he tried to calm down. He reminded himself that he had already taken his suppressants during the break, so no pheromones should be leaking.

Since his traits had first manifested at age 13, suppressing his pheromones had become a matter of survival. He had trained himself to remain calm and suppress any release of scent under any circumstances, as naturally as breathing.

After being exiled to the U.S. and enduring grueling efforts for five years, he had returned to Korea with his secret intact. Not a single person had discovered that he was an omega—not even in this hellish classroom reeking with the unrefined, acrid scent of dominant alphas.

So I’m fine.

But unlike before, there was something peculiar about Seol Daeyoung’s gaze that made Jaemin’s stomach churn. It was his eyes. Those damn eyes were the problem.

An uneasy sense of dread crept up Jaemin’s spine, a feeling that he might lose control if he wasn’t careful. He needed to push him away.

“What’s your problem, asshole?”

Just as Jaemin opened his mouth to tell him to back off, a large hand appeared in his line of sight. Startled, Jaemin instinctively leaned back, his breath hitching. Long, outstretched fingers hovered in the air.

“I’m not a mutation or some anomaly. My name’s Seol Daeyoung.”

Thud, thud. Jaemin’s heart pounded wildly. All the violent energy from earlier had disappeared as Seol Daeyoung extended his hand for a handshake. Instead of an alpha’s scent, he reeked of cheap fabric softener, like he’d drenched himself in it.

“Nice to meet you, Jang Jaemin.”

His gaze dropped to Jaemin’s name tag, and the left side of his chest prickled, as if poked by a needle.

“Shut up.”

The outstretched hand wasn’t withdrawn but instead shifted, settling on Jaemin’s shoulder in a firm grip. Seol Daeyoung squeezed Jaemin’s shoulder tightly, his strength palpable.

“But seriously, you’re really good-looking.”

What the hell is this guy doing? Jaemin’s sharp eyebrows furrowed further, his face twisting into a scowl. The heat from the hand pressing through his uniform made his body involuntarily shudder.

“Get your damn hand off me.”

Seol Daeyoung’s grin widened. In his deep-set eyes, an ember briefly flickered before fading.

“Are you, by any chance, a celebrity? Like a model or something?”

“You goddamn prick…”

Jaemin sprang to his feet, instinctively throwing a punch at Seol Daeyoung’s jaw.

To be fair, Jaemin’s striking looks had always been a topic of conversation. He’d grown sick of hearing people remark how odd it was that the heir of an organization’s chairman could look so pretty. It wasn’t anything new, and certainly not something to lose his temper over at this point.

“Ha…”

So, the reason Jaemin ended up pinning the guy down was because something even more provocative had stirred him up. Staring into Seol Daeyoung’s eyes, which were sparkling with laughter despite being pinned beneath him, Jaemin tightened his grip on the guy’s collar.

“You’re good at fighting too? Impressive.”

The reddish gleam in the alpha’s eyes, which had momentarily disappeared, flared up again. The intensity in them made the blood drain from Jaemin’s already twisted face.

This bastard. Don’t tell me…

Did he figure it out? No way. Absolutely not.

Jaemin’s bitten lips trembled faintly. When he felt a part of Seol Daeyoung’s body stiffen against his thigh, the sensation shot through him like an electric shock, making his whole body flinch.

Springing away in a rush, Jaemin awkwardly got to his knees, an uneasy feeling shooting down his spine as it pierced his thoughts.

“But I don’t want to fight, Jaemin.”

For the first time today, Seol Daeyoung casually addressed him by his name, as if they were close. What drove Jaemin crazy was that he couldn’t read anything from the bastard’s smooth, smiling expression.

Even though it was blatantly clear from physical evidence that Seol Daeyoung was excited, there wasn’t a trace of an alpha’s typical aroused pheromones coming from him.

Still clutching his collar, Jaemin gritted his teeth audibly. Around them, the crowd was roaring as if they were at a party, reveling in the rare spectacle of a fight.

“Jang Jaemin, just punch him already!”

“Damn, is that omega scent I’m picking up?”

“Lock the door before kids from other classes come to watch!”

Thud! Jaemin’s fist flew again, landing squarely on Seol Daeyoung’s face. Blood trickled from the guy’s split lip, but he merely grimaced and let out a soft groan. He didn’t even retaliate.

Jaemin, breathing hard, barked hoarsely, “Do you want to die? Why aren’t you fighting back, you bastard?”

Seol Daeyoung, blood dripping from his face, grinned.

“I’m on a full scholarship. If I fight, I’ll get expelled. Signed a contract when I got here.”

His expression radiated composure. Jaemin’s instincts screamed at him—this guy was going to turn his life into a living hell in this class.

“Well, that’s good to know,” Jaemin sneered.

“Huh?”

“Mutants should know their place and get lost.”

Just as Jaemin swung his fist again, an overwhelming force yanked his body forward. He let out a startled sound as he found himself sprawled over Seol Daeyoung once more.

Crazy bastard. Seol Daeyoung had grabbed the nape of his neck with just one hand, yet Jaemin couldn’t move. The grip was precise, targeting the spot that triggered an omega’s instinctual fear.

Underneath his uniform shirt and black turtleneck, his carotid artery fluttered wildly.

“Ha…”

As Jaemin clenched his jaw and tried to push himself up, Seol Daeyoung tightened his grip. When the bastard’s lips brushed his ear, Jaemin’s entire body felt like it was on fire. The damp, hot breath sent him spiraling, almost fainting on the spot.

Barely suppressing his pheromones with gritted teeth, Jaemin heard Seol Daeyoung whisper softly,

“If that happens, I won’t be the only one leaving.”

“…”

“If you don’t want us both expelled, think carefully, yeah?”

Jaemin drove his trembling fist into the floor in frustration. That day, his knuckles were completely shattered.

* * *

Click.

The lighter sparked to life, dispelling the darkness and revealing the intricate tattoos covering Jaemin’s hand.

Some of the tattoos on Jaemin’s body could be attributed to Seol Daeyoung. It had all started as an attempt to cover scars and erase the wretched past, but if he had known that seeing the tattoos would remind him of that man every time, he wouldn’t have done something so foolish.

“Mind if I have a puff?”

The one-night stand, still lounging lazily in the aftermath of their rendezvous, sat up and looked at Jaemin. The man—a hire Seonho had arranged to erase the crappy memories of the first “Omega Rights” lecture—grinned and let out a whistle of admiration.

“Wow…Honestly, I thought you were just some ugly omega. Haha! Why the hell are you hiding a face like this—”

Smack!

Jaemin’s tattooed fist sliced through the air, landing squarely on the alpha’s face. In the dim room, the man who’d been hit reeled back, shouting curses as he lunged toward Jaemin.

“What the—are you out of your mind—ugh!”

Jaemin drove a kick into his gut, sending him sprawling. With a cigarette between his lips, he grabbed his wallet off the nightstand. His eyes, now accustomed to the dark, took in the sight of the alpha writhing on the floor, clutching his stomach and groaning.

“You’re not going to take payment?”

“N-No, I will.”

“Then act polite.”

The ash from Jaemin’s cigarette crumbled softly to the floor. The man, now crawling, knelt with labored breaths.

For alphas with a criminal record, finding decent work was nearly impossible. Most ended up as figureheads for shady businesses or gangsters. Some, having swallowed their pride, sold themselves to wealthy omegas—just like the man before him.

“I’m sorry.”

“Do you even know what you did wrong?”

Jaemin stepped closer, pressing his finger down firmly on the man’s head. Ash flaked off his cigarette, falling onto the man’s short hair like gray dandruff.

“I-I don’t, but I was wrong. Definitely.”

The sight of him enduring such humiliation with gritted teeth sparked an odd sense of amusement in Jaemin. Though his initial, beast-like aggression had been misleading, the sex itself had been lukewarm. Still, he thought, perhaps he could call him again a few more times. The alpha’s scent oddly resembled a cloying soap smell Jaemin knew all too well.

“Next time, take out all those piercings. The clinking is annoying.”

“Yes, yes. But…uh, hyung—”

The alpha, nodding fervently, paused to catch his breath. Jaemin, pulling out a wad of cash from his wallet, scowled.

“Who the hell is your hyung?”

Click.

The alpha, still on the floor, grabbed a lighter that had been lying on the bed and flicked it on.

“Shit…You’re so damn beautiful.”

Under the flickering flame, Jaemin’s piercing gaze emerged from the shadows. The alpha’s voice trembled as he continued.

“I want to get you pregnant. Damn, I’ve never felt this way before.”

A wave of pheromones hit Jaemin as the alpha’s excitement spilled over. Bills fluttered to the ground, scattering like leaves as Jaemin sent the man flying backward with a powerful blow.

“I told you…not to say anything.”

“Hngh—ahh—!”

Jaemin’s slipper-clad foot came down hard on the man’s shoulder blade, as if intending to crush it, leaving the alpha gasping for air.

“From the start to the finish, I told you to keep your mouth shut and just do your job…That’s your only duty.”

As soon as Jaemin made the call, the door to the room swung open as if someone had been waiting for it. Seonho entered, having been on standby in another room downstairs. Concerned that something might be wrong due to the delay, he’d been waiting near the door.

“Excuse me.”

“It’s done. Take care of it.”

“Yes.”

Seonho strode over to the man who was lunging at Jaemin and grabbed the back of his head.

“Come here…Come here! I’ll ram you so hard your ass will split. Get over here, you little shit!”

Seonho slammed the man to the ground. Even as the man lay limp, coughing, he didn’t stop spitting curses.

“I’ll be back shortly,” Seonho said to Jaemin, who was sitting on the bed smoking a cigarette. The flicker of the lighter briefly illuminated Jaemin’s bare body before plunging back into darkness. His neck, encircled by a choker, was covered with bites and hickeys, a testament to how intense the earlier encounter had been.

“Come back in about thirty minutes.”

Jaemin exhaled a long puff of smoke, his voice trembling slightly.

“…Understood.”

Once Seonho was gone, Jaemin pulled back the curtains and stared at the pitch-black window. His own reflection stared back at him—naked and smoking in the oppressive darkness.

“Damn it…”

Jaemin lowered his gaze to his semi-hard member, biting his lip. He could feel the soreness in the violated area worsening, a lingering result of the pheromones the alpha had exuded while thrashing beneath him.

He knew from experience that masturbation under such circumstances only made him feel filthier.

Walking past the used condoms littering the floor like dead bugs, Jaemin headed to the shower. Under the pale fluorescent light, the reflection in the mirror revealed he looked worse than he’d imagined. He unclasped the choker from around his neck and tossed it to the ground before collapsing onto the toilet, his legs trembling.

A soft trickle echoed as something fell into the water below. It sounded like his pride dripping away into the toilet bowl. Jaemin twisted his lips bitterly, yanking the flush lever aggressively before slowly parting his legs.

Having thrown his pride down the drain, he thought it fitting to imagine someone who reeked of cheapness as he reached back.

Jaemin’s tattoo-covered fingers slid into his own private world, a place no one else could reach. His eyelashes trembled as he closed his eyes, his breath catching as he thought of Seol Daeyoung—the moment they first met, the first time he’d walked through the classroom door.

The disgust Jaemin felt for himself—having sex with an alpha who resembled him and then pleasuring himself while thinking about him—was overwhelming. But Jaemin pushed himself harder, losing himself in the emotion until his eyes were glistening with unshed tears.

Despite it being June, the weather was already as hot as mid-summer. Every café with strong air conditioning was packed with students seeking refuge from the heat.

“Seol Daeyoung’s been sticking to Kwon Yoojin a lot these days,” Sejun commented, watching two people enter the café. He sipped his coffee as he spoke.

Jaemin, slouched against his chair with his nose buried in his phone, slowly lifted his head at Sejun’s words. At the kiosk stood Seol Daeyoung with a tall, slender woman.

“Who’s Kwon Yoojin?” Jaemin asked, though he already knew she was the girl who always sat beside Seol Daeyoung during lectures. Even in the “Omega Rights” class, she’d taken the seat next to him.

“A freshman. Daughter of actor Yoon Jeongha.”

Yoon Jeongha, a male omega, had been a top actor for two decades. Despite his disadvantageous traits, he’d achieved massive success and even given birth to a dominant alpha daughter. Jaemin turned away at the mention, his expression hardening as Sejun mumbled under his breath.

“Maybe they’re drawn to each other because they’re both dominant alphas born to omegas. Some kind of connection, you know?”

“That’s ridiculous. Kwon Yoojin’s omega parent is Assemblyman Kwon Sangdo, and Yoon Jeongha’s probably worth billions. There’s no way that trash could compare. Connection, my ass,” Jaemin scoffed, curling his lips.

Sejun, caught off guard by how much Jaemin knew about Kwon Yoojin, shrugged awkwardly.

“Well…I guess they have a lot in common. Still, a ton of people were after Kwon Yoojin the moment she enrolled. Damn.”

“You were one of them, weren’t you?”

Sejun didn’t bother denying it and chuckled softly.

“Just look at her—she’s someone you’d want to show off. That’s the kind of girl you marry.”

“What about the omega waiting for you, day and night, in your smelly apartment?”

It had been earlier this year when Jaemin first heard that Sejun had gotten an officetel near the school for his omega. Apparently, when Sejun offered to pay him more than he earned from his part-time job, the omega packed up and moved in immediately. Upon hearing this, Jaemin hadn’t held back his disgust and swore outright.

“What’s the difference? You marry an alpha, but it’s an unwritten rule to hook up with an omega. When the time comes, I’ll just stick him in some contract position at my company. That way, whenever work gets stressful, I can deal with it right away. Sounds fun, doesn’t it?”

As Sejun smirked and raised his thick eyebrows, Jaemin shot him a look of pure disdain.

“Oh, and it’ll be even more fun when that omega of yours shows up at your wedding and starts throwing a fit, threatening to cut your dick off.”

“Aw, damn it…Why’d you have to say something so scary?”

Grinning widely, Sejun sidled up to Jaemin, wrapping an arm around him and pulling him close. Jaemin grimaced as Sejun leaned in, but it was clear he wasn’t planning to stop fooling around.

“Our dear Director Jang Jaemin…How lofty a life are you aiming for, staying so pure and aloof like this?”

“Screw off, you bastard…”

“I heard from your dad that you turned down a matchmaking meeting recently.”

A marriage setup at twenty-three? Beyond being bothersome, it was outright ridiculous.

“If it’s so precious to you, why don’t you go instead? Ugh…Get off!”

Without realizing it, Sejun had become more touchy-feely since starting his relationship with a male omega. While Jaemin was sure Sejun didn’t see him as an omega, it didn’t make the situation any less revolting.

“I’m dying of curiosity here—what kind of alpha could possibly meet your standards, huh?”

Just as Jaemin was deciding whether or not to punch Sejun in the jaw, a shadow fell over the table.

“…”

That cheap soap scent he couldn’t get out of his head wafted toward him. Still stuck in Sejun’s embrace, Jaemin frowned and looked up to see Seol Daeyoung standing there with Kwon Yoojin.

“Looking sharp today, as always.”

“…What do you want?”

Jaemin scowled at Seol Daeyoung. They weren’t on the kind of terms where casual greetings made sense. The last conversation they’d had was months ago, after a confrontation in a lecture hall.

“You just looked too good not to say something.”

Even though his tone seemed playful, there was an undercurrent of sarcasm in his words. Seol Daeyoung’s lips curved into a faint smile, but his eyes betrayed not a hint of amusement.