The World of Contrasts Vol. 1 Chapter 2

“Damn…”

Jaemin cursed with a sneer. His face was burning because Park Sejun had pressed him down with his thick arm, and for no other reason.

“Oh my. Did you two know each other?”

Kwon Yoojin, who was standing close to Seol Daeyoung, her arms crossed but not quite, looked surprised. Jaemin slapped Sejun’s limp arm and swept his tangled hair back. He was even more annoyed because he felt like the new T-shirt he had bought was stretched out because of that bastard.

“We’re high school classmates.”

Seol Daeyoung answered instead, and Kwon Yoojin smiled brightly.

“Oh, really? Nice to meet you, Sunbae Jang Jaemin.”

“You know me?”

Jaemin spat out at her. His cold voice seemed to surprise her a little, but she soon opened her mouth without being discouraged.

“Of course I do. Didn’t you win a prize at the surfing competition?”

Jaemin was startled by her answer.

It was a competition held overseas, and it wasn’t a major sport, so not many people knew about it. As Jaemin blinked in surprise, Kwon Yoojin continued to chatter.

“I was there at the time. It was summer vacation, and I was visiting my relatives’ house. I was so happy to hear that there was a Korean…”

It wasn’t a past that Jaemin particularly wanted to remember. Just as he was about to interrupt her and say that wasn’t him, something caught his eye. Jaemin turned his head abruptly and grabbed Seol Daeyoung’s wrist, which was on his shoulder, and stopped him.

“What are you doing?”

“You got hair on your clothes.”

Seol Daeyoung was calm.

“But.”

“You hate dirty things.”

“What does it matter.”

Jaemin tightened his grip on his wrist as if he was going to break it, but it was futile. Seol Daeyoung also began to resist, so he couldn’t remove his hand from his body. Seol Daeyoung grinned at Jaemin with his usual annoying expression.

“Your wrist is going to break?”

When Jaemin finally released his grip, Seol Daeyoung shrugged his shoulder and picked up a strand of hair with his finger.

“See.”

His lips were very close to his hair. Jaemin snatched the hair from his hand and balled it up with a tissue.

“If you came to drink coffee, why are you acting like you know me?”

Kwon Yoojin’s big eyes grew even bigger at Jaemin’s harsh words. Sejun, who knew Jaemin’s personality well, took this opportunity to join the conversation.

“Haha, they’re always like this. Don’t be surprised. They’ve been bickering like this since high school, but they’ve been getting along well without killing each other…”

Jaemin glared at him as if he wanted to kill him, and Sejun chuckled and trailed off. If it weren’t for Sejun’s father, Jaemin would have knocked that guy down several times already.

Sejun’s father was a loyal subordinate who had served Chairman Jang for decades. Chairman Jang still trusted Sejun’s father, who was a fellow inmate, more than his own son, so there was no need to make a fuss.

“Jang Jaemin.”

Seol Daeyoung called his name. Jaemin took his eyes off Sejun and looked up at Seol Daeyoung.

A simple, plain shirt and old jeans that were completely out of fashion. Despite his carelessness in wearing such clothes even while dating a woman, Kwon Yoojin would have known.

Seol Daeyoung’s overwhelming presence.

Seeing that the new female student who had made the school buzz when she enrolled had chosen Seol Daeyoung, it meant that she wasn’t stupid after all. It was admirable to have the courage to claim an alpha coveted by other alphas. And in fact, the two of them looked good together.

“If you called me, speak. If you have nothing to say, get lost.”

Jaemin felt his mouth dry and took a long sip of coffee from the cold glass. Seol Daeyoung continued to speak to Jaemin like that.

“You know our department is having a party this festival, right?”

“So?”

“Come, you.”

A chuckle burst out of Jaemin’s mouth. He spat out the straw with teeth marks and squeezed the glass in his hand. Thinking, ‘Can I hit this guy on the forehead with this glass and go to the hospital together?’, Jaemin asked back.

“…Are you crazy?”

Seol Daeyoung must have known that Jaemin didn’t participate much in school life, no matter who he was. No, Seol Daeyoung would know that better than anyone else. Just as he could figure out Seol Daeyoung’s sphere of influence without exchanging a few words with him, Seol Daeyoung would certainly do the same. Natural enemies usually know each other best.

And, since high school, Jaemin’s after-school activities had always been determined by his family affairs. To be exact, the company his father headed.

“Don’t back out. Just come once. I’m in charge this time.”

“Here you go.”

Kwon Yoojin, who was standing next to him, quickly handed over the ticket she was holding.

“We’re working really hard on this. If you could come and grace the occasion, Sunbae…”

Jaemin couldn’t hear her voice clearly. All he could feel was Seol Daeyoung’s presence getting closer and closer as he looked into his eyes.

“…Get lost.”

He thought it was an illusion, but it wasn’t. Seol Daeyoung was leaning closer and closer to him with his arms on the table. Jaemin felt the urge to kick the table leg and hit his abdomen, and at the same time, the urge to grab his short hair and licked his lips.

“Why should I go there?”

Seol Daeyoung whispered to him in a rich low voice.

“You have the most money among my friends.”

“…What?”

Sejun, who had been watching from the side, burst out laughing. That was natural because there was no one who could say Seol Daeyoung was his friend when asked anyone around Jaemin.

“You fucking bastard…”

Before he could say don’t mess with me, Seol Daeyoung smiled faintly with an indifferent expression.

“I’ll be really mad if you don’t come.”

Jaemin stopped talking because a meaningful red light flickered in his eyes. He felt completely naked in front of him again. Jaemin was familiar with this look from him.

“Come and spend some money. Fancy boy.”

I can make everything you’ve built up until now scatter like grains of sand.

Since they first met and fought when they were eighteen, Seol Daeyoung had been harassing him for five years. And it wasn’t direct, but in a subtle and indirect way.

For example, Jaemin didn’t know that Seol Daeyoung had enrolled in the same university until the semester started. He said he had changed his mind at the last minute to go to another prestigious university that would give him a full scholarship and the best treatment.

“Oh, I think ours is out. Sunbae.”

After he and Yoojin disappeared to the counter to get drinks, Jaemin was finally able to escape his gaze.

“Did he take his meds today? Why is he being so friendly to you?”

Sejun tilted his head, looking at his back, but soon turned his attention to his phone that was ringing. Jaemin chewed his lip and swallowed hard.

Thump. Thump.

His heart was pounding madly and his hand holding the glass was trembling. He barely managed to loosen his grip on the glass, unable to bear the urge to throw it away.

Seol Daeyoung took a seat at a table diagonally opposite where Jaemin was sitting. He was facing Kwon Yoojin, who was sitting with her back to Jaemin, and was sharing a bowl of shaved ice.

It was already pathetic that two grown men were eating a food that could be finished with a few spoonfuls, but the thought of them licking each other’s saliva made him even more disgusted.

When Seol Daeyoung glanced at him, Jaemin made eye contact with him. Daeyoung slowly sucked on the toy-like silver spoon while looking at him. Heat rose on Jaemin’s neck and his heart pounded against his will.

He turned his head away after giving him a final look of contempt, but Jaemin’s phone vibrated on the table.

[Jaemin-ah. I want strawberry shaved ice, maybe?]

The owner of the unsaved number was Seol Daeyoung. In the past five years, he had received calls from this number only a handful of times. Jaemin quickly snatched his phone, fearing that Sejun might see it, and quickly tapped the keypad.

[What the hell]

[You look like you really want to eat it, lol. Buy me one?]

He looked at him incredulously, but Seol Daeyoung just smiled. Jaemin moved his thumb quickly.

[Just die, you bastard.]

Seol Daeyoung checked his last message and put his phone away in his bag. Jaemin was the one who felt like going crazy at his nonchalant attitude.

Ignoring Seol Daeyoung, who was talking and laughing with Kwon Yoojin, Jaemin bit his cheek painfully.

Seol Daeyoung’s choice, in the end, was a dominant alpha.

One summer in high school, Seol Daeyoung had returned after being absent for three days due to rut. After the sweaty physical education class ended, he had said to the guys who were asking him lewd questions.

“Doesn’t it mean that if you’re in heat, you’re fucking like crazy regardless of your partner, and your brain cells are here, not here?”

The vivid image of him tapping his temple and then patting his penis and laughing still remained. Everyone was so noisy and happy that it irritated Jaemin, who was sitting in the back seat with his earphones plugged in.

The music from his earphones decreased and Seol Daeyoung’s voice grew louder.

* * *

Seol Daeyoung had said that he didn’t want to meet an omega for reasons different from others. According to him, humans were beings perfected by reason, not instinct.

“Of course, my dick is pretty big.”

A large lump of flesh dangled under his gym clothes. Even before an erection, his dick, which clearly showed its volume, was so huge that it would not be strange to say that it was born only for fucking and reproduction, contrary to his words that he wanted to be rational.

With a dick that made other alphas feel inferior and caused instinctive fear and shame-mixed excitement in omegas.

“I’m only going to have sex with someone I really want.”

Watching him grin and say such ridiculous things, saying that his dick was precious, Jaemin felt like killing him. At the same time, he was curious to know who he would put next to him.

In the end, Seol Daeyoung did not choose an omega as his lover, as he had said. But the fact that his partner was a perfect dominant alpha who could be put anywhere made Jaemin feel a bitter sense of inferiority.

If the person next to him had been a beta who had nothing to do with his traits, would he have felt a little less dirty? What is the source of this dirty feeling? Is it inferiority complex about Seol Daeyoung, who is a real dominant alpha unlike himself, meeting an alpha, or is it something else?

Jaemin shook his head and shook off the useless thoughts.

“…Why, are you leaving already?”

Sejun looked up from his phone as Jaemin got up from his seat.

“Let’s have a drink, for old times’ sake.”

“I have to work today.”

“Oh, well, I can’t help it.”

Sejun soon agreed with Jaemin’s firm refusal and closed his mouth.

“Can I come too? I have time tonight.”

“Do as you please. But be prepared to get caught by your father.”

Jaemin’s father, Chairman Jang, had a construction company that was more solid internally than its outward appearance. It was the result of faithfully accumulating capital through various illegal activities.

Sejun’s father was one of the loyal heads who worked under him, but he cut off two of his fingers to refuse Chairman Jang’s offer to hire his son.

“Ah, damn. My body is itching, but if I get caught by my father, I’ll really die.”

Sejun muttered, frowning. There were people like him who were born under a father who tried to make his son walk a different path from him by any means, and there were also those who were raised to walk the same path as their father from a young age.

“If you can’t stab your father in the neck, just shut up and stay quiet like this. Like you are now.”

It was a guy like Jang Jaemin who coldly said that right in front of Sejun.

“Hey, I’m a filial son. No matter what you say, you shouldn’t talk to your friend’s father like that…hmph.”

Sejun’s words, spoken playfully to shake off his awkwardness, were abruptly cut off in mid-sentence. It was because Jaemin, who had turned around silently, suddenly approached and gently grabbed his cheek.

“Your friend’s father, who? Park Hyungoh?”

His eyes, which did not hide a clear warning, shone a piercing blue in contrast to his low voice. Jaemin’s black eyes looked especially blue because of his pale face. Underneath his eyes, which resembled a well-sharpened blade, his red lips twisted cruelly.

“How should I talk to Director Park Hyungoh?”

Sejun swallowed hard in front of Jaemin, who was slapping his cheek with his palm and spitting out the words. It was a humiliating situation, but it was instinctive that he couldn’t fight back.

Had it been right after the freshman welcome party when he entered university? Drunk, Sejun had secretly followed his friends against his father’s will.

That day, he saw with his own eyes what Jaemin was doing. They wore the same high school uniform and attended the same lectures in the same university, but Jaemin’s world was completely different from his.

Instead of intimidating the debtor, Jaemin fought him one-on-one. The opponent was a huge alpha, and when he saw the twenty-year-old Jaemin who had come to collect the money, he openly treated him like a child. When the opponent swung his fist with a smirk, Jaemin’s lip was still fresh with blood.

And the sight of Jaemin, who had wiped the blood from his lips with the back of his hand and checked his own blood, transforming into an evil spirit and mutilating him.

“…”

Since then, Sejun couldn’t look at Jaemin’s beautiful face with the same feeling. It was because of the shock he had received when he actually saw him covered in blood and wielding a knife.

It was natural that the organization members who had wondered about the beautiful appearance of the only son, who was in stark contrast to the chairman Jang, who was like a rock split by a chisel, shut their mouths after seeing Jaemin’s workplace. Jang Jaemin was clearly a creature who had inherited his father, Chairman Jang Wonjung’s blood.

“I misspoke. I haven’t sobered up yet from drinking all night.”

Sejun said to him with a forced smile. Seeing his immediate tail-tucking behavior, Jaemin’s lips, which looked like they were stained with bright red blood, finally let out a faint sigh.

“Stop drinking. You’ll die soon, Park Sejun.”

It was a word that didn’t suit someone who had just threatened to stab Sejun in the side with a knife. But Sejun had no other choice. He squinted his eyes and smiled at Jaemin.

“If I die, our CEO will be so lonely. I’m the only friend he has.”

In the society they lived in, not only traits but also forms of power were inherited. Regardless of Sejun’s father’s efforts to make Sejun independent, it was inevitable.

Sejun was not brave enough to crush Jaemin, and he didn’t want to lose his solid alpha connections. Because there would always be times when you needed a thug in life.

“In that sense, I’ll be working hard on bodybuilding today.”

Jaemin finally smiled weakly, looking at him.

“…Go, damn it.”

“Fighting!”

After Jaemin disappeared, opening the clinking cafe door, Sejun let out a long sigh. Seeing that Jaemin was in a particularly low mood, he thought that the person he met today would suffer a lot.

Well, it’s just a pathetic debtor anyway.

And as he thought about how he was unjustly made a scapegoat for Jaemin’s bad mood, his anger suddenly flared up. When he met Seol Daeyoung’s gaze, who was staring at him from the diagonal seat, Sejun frowned involuntarily.

…What the hell.

He felt bad because he didn’t know how long he had been watching, and Seol Daeyoung’s expression made Sejun even more irritated.

Sejun had once asked Jaemin. Why do you hate Seol Daeyoung so much, even though he’s not an omega you hate so much?

“…Because that guy’s eyes make me want to gouge out his eyeballs.”

In fact, he couldn’t understand Jaemin’s words at the time. Because Seol Daeyoung’s eyes, who always smiled brightly with the same face, didn’t feel particularly aggressive.

“I guess it’s just that Seol Daeyoung being the son of a poor omega irritated Jang Jaemin’s twisted nature,” he thought.

“…Damn, why is that guy’s eyes like that…?”

Sejun muttered involuntarily.

When Yoojin, who was sitting in front of Seol Daeyoung, showed him her phone and started talking, Seol Daeyoung, who had been glaring at him, took his eyes off him with a bright smile as if nothing had happened. The murderous aura that had been pouring out of his dark eyes had already disappeared.

* * *

A car stopped in front of the abandoned building under construction, kicking up dust. After getting out of the driver’s seat, Jaemin patted his clothes once. The subordinates who had spotted him from the open second floor bowed their heads one by one.

“Please save me, please…save me.”

As he entered the building, the sound of the debtor sobbing grew louder. Jaemin put a cigarette in his mouth, clicked his lighter, and quickly ran up the stairs. A hazy trail of cigarette smoke followed his movement, carried by the wind.

“Hello, Mr. Kim.”

The man raised his head when he saw Jaemin smiling.

“Mr., Mr. Lee.”

“Are you here?”

“Wait below.”

When Jaemin spat out briefly, the employees surrounding him bowed silently and left in a hurry. The man, who was left alone in an instant, opened his blood-stained lips with a pale expression.

“Huck…Mr. Lee…please save me, I’m sorry. If you give me a little more time, I will definitely…”

Jaemin narrowed the distance between them and clicked his tongue softly.

“I clearly told you at the shop last time. We shouldn’t see each other again. Don’t you remember?”

“Hic…please…just once…just my life…”

“Or did Mr. Kim hear my words with his ass instead of his ears?”

Smack!

Jaemin’s pointed shoe mercilessly kicked the chin of the man crawling on the floor. The man, hit in the groin, rolled around and made a sound as if his neck was being strangled.

“Khek…Khek…”

The debtor Jaemin had to deal with today was a man who ran a fairly large entertainment business, taking omegas in line.

Since he had been making a fortune by extracting money from people addicted to pleasure, regardless of age or gender, he should have realized firsthand how dangerous addiction can be.

“Gambling is exciting, isn’t it? It’s different from sex when you feel like you’re going to win big after losing everything at the gambling table. Isn’t that right?”

When Jaemin asked, Mr. Kim looked at him pleadingly with bloodshot eyes.

“I, I will do anything to pay you back.”

“What can you do now that you’ve already lost the store? How. You said you lost all the money from your in-laws.”

“I…I’ll do anything…”

Jaemin shook his head and cut off his words.

“I’m going to cut off one part of Mr. Kim’s body every time I finish a cigarette, okay?”

Jaemin chewed on the filter, inhaling the nicotine so strongly that his cheeks hollowed out. As the gray ash quickly lengthened, Mr. Kim’s eyes trembled chaotically.

“P-please…Director…”

“First, take off your pants. Let’s get this over with quickly.”

“W-what?”

“Fuck, do you want me to cut off your ears first?”

Jaemin spat coldly, still holding the cigarette in his mouth, and Mr. Kim jumped in shock, quickly removing his pants. He had already been beaten several times by the people who brought him here before Jaemin arrived, and his crotch was wet, indicating he had urinated.

“Take off those shitty underpants too.”

His hands trembled as he pulled down the tight leopard-print briefs below his thighs, revealing his shriveled, dark brown penis dangling pitifully between his thin thighs.

“Now this is more like it.”

Jaemin mocked him, and Mr. Kim took a deep breath, inhaling and exhaling heavily. Then, with his hands still shaking, he slowly moved them upward. Jaemin watched as Mr. Kim took off his pants and underwear, and now started to unbutton his shirt.

“What are you doing?”

Jaemin’s bright red lips twisted in amusement. Unaware of the signal Jaemin was giving, Mr. Kim was now completely naked. He crawled on his knees across the cement floor and rubbed his face against Jaemin’s shoes.

“Director…please…just this once…I’ll…I’ll serve you…I’ll do my best…please…”

Tears fell onto Jaemin’s new, expensive shoes. He wanted to finish the job quickly and go home to rest, but today seemed to be a bad day.

In fact, he had expected this when he heard that the debtor was an omega.

Jaemin took another drag of his cigarette, which was now almost down to the filter.

“Hmm…How are you going to serve me?”

Unusually, Jaemin’s voice came out soft and gentle.

Before taking over the business, he had been a star at this entertainment establishment. Even in his late 30s, there was something in Mr. Kim’s tearful, pitiful gaze that could stir one’s insides.

Rumors that he had once been a top omega host in Gangnam, raking in all the money, seemed to be true.

“Show me.”

“Director…”

Like an animal on all fours, Mr. Kim turned his back to Jaemin and reached his hands behind him. As he spread his buttocks with his hands, the movement of his hole opening and closing like a quickly blooming flower was clearly visible.

“I can do it well…please believe me…”

A dark fluid dripped from inside the hole, running down his dry thighs. Jaemin felt a moment of respect for today’s debtor, who could still present himself like this even after being beaten to a pulp.

As the other person exuded pheromones, trying to seduce him, Jaemin burst into laughter.

“Ha ha…ahahahaha!”

Any alpha would go crazy seeing this.

“Mr. Kim, you’re really something.”

Jaemin said it with sincerity, and the other person shivered, panting as if Jaemin’s words were a caress.

“Yes…please…please, do whatever you want…”

“Really?”

Jaemin twisted his lips and asked again.

“Yes…please…please…”

If Park Sejun saw this, he would probably mount Mr. Kim and thrust until the hole tore apart. The employees waiting downstairs, chatting and joking, would do the same.

No alpha could resist the tears and pleading of a beautiful omega begging to be fucked.

Fuck, except for one person.

“I only have sex with someone I truly want.”

Thud.

The moment an unwelcome figure popped into Jaemin’s mind, the cigarette butt was roughly flicked from his hand.

“Hng…!”

Grabbing the omega’s spread buttocks firmly, Jaemin whispered as he strongly kneaded the pale flesh that had never seen the light.

“If I had to cut off just one body part from someone, I’d choose the part they least want to lose. For a painter, the eyes; for a musician, the hands; for a politician, the tongue; for a gangster, the legs. I’ve never seen anyone fight with a cane. For our Mr. Kim, it would be the hole?”

“N-no…! Please, no…!”

Only then did Mr. Kim realize the situation and struggled violently.

“Director, please spare me…!”

His voice, mixed with sobs, cracked and then suddenly stopped. Something cold had touched his buttocks.

“Shh…Don’t move, stay still.”

“I-I’m sorry. Director…I’m sorry…!”

“One question.”

Jaemin’s knife tapped his buttocks. As the gloved hand spread his buttocks, the darkened hole tightened in fear, creating firm wrinkles. When Jaemin’s knife handle, turned backwards, deeply prodded the hole, a scream burst from Mr. Kim’s mouth.

“Agh…!”

Hearing the voice filled with terror and no excitement, Jaemin asked him,

“Why do you think my success rate in collecting money from omegas is 100%?”

“Please, Director! Please listen to me!”

“I’m going to put it in like this. Can you take it all?”

Pushing it in until it touched the blade, Mr. Kim, immobilized like a pinned butterfly, opened his mouth as if screaming.

“I have money…! I have it!”

“You said you didn’t earlier.”

“Please spare me…I’ll give you everything…Please…”

It didn’t take long for Mr. Kim to speak. After informing the employees of the address and safe combination he got from the unconscious debtor, Jaemin sat down in the open space without walls and lit a cigarette.

“What the fuck, this bastard threw up?”

The employees clicked their tongues and poked Mr. Kim with their feet.

“Tsk, this filthy omega…ruined the mood to fuck.”

A cool breeze blew from the distant mountains, which were becoming greener.

The place where construction of a luxury resort had stopped decades ago had a strange landscape. The fancy palace-like roof remaining in a place where a quiet temple would have been suitable looked ridiculously tacky, as if time had stopped.

Or maybe it was an amusement park left in ruins because no one visited.

He thought this would be the perfect place to commit suicide someday.

* * *

The first time Jaemin attempted suicide was during the summer of his senior year in high school. It was around the time when school life had become unbearably miserable because he had to face Seol Daeyoung every day, who had transferred 18 months earlier. Those damn dominant alphas had to be in the same class for three years.

The cicadas were already loudly chirping, giving him a headache. Even though it wasn’t summer vacation yet, the temperature was already scorching, making him feel drained just by sitting still.

He was listlessly slumped in the back seat when his phone vibrated in his pocket. It was Sejun, who had gone out to smoke after lunch.

“What?”

― Come to the back of the gym quickly. It’s fucking hilarious.

It seemed like someone was getting beaten up again.

“Nah, I’m too lazy.”

Jaemin’s head felt heavy from the high dose of suppressants he took in preparation for the heat. He was about to hang up when the following name caught his attention.

― Seol Daeyoung got into a fight with seven alphas. Two of them are from our class.

“…What? Why?”

Jaemin frowned and asked again.

― Just come and see. Fuck…it’s insane. The kids are going crazy filming it. But Seol Daeyoung, that guy is a real monster.

Hearing Sejun’s giggling voice, the blood quickly rushed to his previously listless body. Amidst the murmuring sounds from the phone, someone was shouting to call a teacher.

― You better come quickly before it’s over. Don’t regret it.

As soon as Sejun hung up, the bell signaling the end of the break rang. Jaemin hesitated but eventually got up and opened the classroom door.

Violence at school was severely punished. Of course, that didn’t mean fights never happened, but such a blatant brawl in broad daylight was rare. A one-on-one fight might be overlooked, but involving many people could escalate the situation.

‘What the hell…Why did he suddenly go crazy…?’

Jaemin frowned, biting his lip.

He still vividly remembered what Seol Daeyoung said when he first transferred. He said he didn’t want to get kicked out of the expensive school he got into with a scholarship, so he wouldn’t fight, acting all saintly. In fact, he hadn’t caused any trouble since then.

He had top grades, and despite his poor family background giving a bad first impression, he had decent relationships with his peers. Dominant alphas instinctively sense how strong their kind is, and once it became known that Seol Daeyoung had the highest alpha index in the school, they left him alone, confirming their expectations.

But now, he was fighting with seven alphas.

* * *

Jaemin imagined exchanging punches with Seol Daeyoung. Instantly, his solar plexus tingled, and his heart pounded as if it would leap out of his throat. He licked and bit his lip.

In truth, Jaemin was also crazy about violence. He had already fought Seol Daeyoung countless times in his mind. Of course, it was Seol Daeyoung who ended up beaten and bloody. Jaemin enjoyed hitting but not being hit; it wasn’t his preference.

Chairman Jang was a different issue. Even though he had been beaten since a young age, the thought of being hit still made him feel terrible.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

As he quickly descended the stairs with his hands in his pockets, he ran into a teacher coming up for class.

“Jang Jaemin? Where are you going? Class is starting.”

Jaemin ignored him and walked past, causing the teacher to frown and sigh. But that was it. No teacher in this school could genuinely reprimand Jaemin. Everyone knew who his father was and what he did.

“It seems there are students in heat on campus. Be careful.”

The teacher, who had stopped, raised his voice as he sniffed the air behind Jaemin. Jaemin instinctively held his breath.

…Was that guy an alpha?

“Yes, I understand.”

Jaemin replied quietly and quickened his pace. The illegally sold high-dose heat suppressants were expensive but effective. He reminded himself that the teacher couldn’t possibly be detecting his pheromones and exhaled the breath he had been holding.

“Haah…”

Jaemin quickly exited the main building and arrived at the gym. He saw a crowd of about fifteen or sixteen people. Spotting Sejun among them, Jaemin approached him and finally saw the situation that had been blocked by the crowd.

“…”

The alphas lying on the ground with bloody faces were all in disarray. Some had their school pants down to their thighs, and others were completely naked, exposing their pale buttocks.

“Fuck, what the hell is this?”

“…Oh, you’re here?”

Sejun finally noticed Jaemin and quickly spoke.

“A first-year omega male student went into heat. He was hiding in the gym…and got caught by those guys.”

Jaemin didn’t need to hear more to understand the situation. The scent of the omega hiding to smoke would have been like rain in the desert to those guys. He saw their exposed genitals and the large broken window of the gym. Jaemin clenched his fist.

“The first-year student?”

Did he get assaulted?

“Seol Daeyoung locked him in the storage room…”

Sejun frowned and lowered his voice.

“Can you smell it too? The omega’s scent is so strong it’s coming through the walls. Is this normal for omegas in heat?”

Instead of answering, Jaemin bit his trembling lip, and Sejun shrugged.

“Well…how would you know. But how did that guy hold back?”

Jaemin’s gaze followed Sejun’s to Seol Daeyoung, who was breathing heavily among the fallen alphas.

“You crazy bastard!”

One of the guys on the ground lunged at Seol Daeyoung but failed. He was pushed hard against the wall, half-naked, and then Seol Daeyoung choked him. Seol Daeyoung muttered through gritted teeth.

“You’re the crazy ones. You rapist bastards.”

“That guy enjoyed it too…ugh…!”

Jaemin watched the alpha’s face turn red as he was choked, swallowing hard. The guy was one of those in Jaemin’s class who drooled over omegas from other classes. But that wasn’t important now.

What was clear was that Seol Daeyoung was trying to choke the guy to death.

“That bastard has lost it…”

Jaemin’s lips parted silently, and he muttered to himself without realizing it.

When you witness violence multiple times, you learn something. The intensity of someone genuinely trying to kill another person is so straightforward that it sometimes feels almost sacred.

Seol Daeyoung’s forearm, thick as a tree root bursting from the ground, tensed with sharp muscles, and Jaemin’s heart pounded fiercely, striking his ribcage.

“Are you crazy, you bastard…?”

Jaemin instinctively rushed forward and grabbed Seol Daeyoung’s shoulder. His body moved before his mind could react. If he had been even three seconds later, Seol Daeyoung would have killed someone.

“Huh…ugh…”

The alpha from Jaemin’s class, whose face was flushed red, slumped against the wall and rolled over. Foam bubbled at the corners of his mouth as he barely managed to breathe.

“Hey…Seol Daeyoung…”

Jaemin locked eyes with Seol Daeyoung, who was breathing heavily. He realized that Seol Daeyoung was not in his right mind. Daeyoung’s gaze was directed at Jaemin, but he seemed not to recognize him.

“Let go.”

A flicker of uncontrolled fire burned in his eyes. It was a different kind of threat than when he had blackmailed Jaemin. His glazed, wild eyes and the merciless grip on Jaemin’s wrist were those of a madman.

Even without counting the number of guys Seol Daeyoung had beaten to a pulp, it was clear that he was the strongest person Jaemin had ever met. Jaemin thought his arm might be dislocated and gritted his teeth.

“Snap out of it, you crazy bastard. huh…Do you want to get kicked out of the school you just got into?”

If it was revealed that Seol Daeyoung was a dominant alpha, he would receive unconditional support anywhere, just like how this school had admitted him based solely on his genetic test results, disregarding his past.

“Haah…haah…”

“Do you want to go back to doing manual labor on construction sites? Your omega mother would love that, fuck.”

As Jaemin mentioned Seol Daeyoung’s past, Seol Daeyoung tightened his grip and twisted Jaemin’s arm sharply. Jaemin was now in so much pain that he let out a groan. He kicked Seol Daeyoung’s calf with his sneaker-clad foot, but Seol Daeyoung didn’t budge.

“How dare you…talk about…”

Seol Daeyoung growled in a hoarse voice, as if his vocal cords were burned. Seeing his contorted face, voice, and crazy eyes, Jaemin panted.

“Let go of my arm…huh…”

Jaemin’s struggling gaze suddenly froze on Seol Daeyoung’s lower body. Seeing his school pants bulging as if they would tear, Jaemin looked up sharply.

“You…”

Jaemin felt a chilling fear and trembled. He realized too late just how aroused Seol Daeyoung was.

Although Seol Daeyoung had personally locked the omega in heat in a safe place, he couldn’t betray his nature. The genetic makeup of the bastards who had drooled and attacked the victim was very similar to his. No, Seol Daeyoung’s blood was even thicker.

Jaemin then sensed the very faint pheromone emanating from Seol Daeyoung.

“Ha…ah…”

As Jaemin inhaled, his pupils dilated. Simultaneously, something he had been desperately holding onto inside snapped, and his vision blurred. The sound of his racing heart echoed loudly in his ears. His lower abdomen suddenly heated up, and blood rushed through Jaemin’s entire body.

“Jang Jaemin…”

Someone called his name. He needed to come to his senses, but Jaemin couldn’t control the sudden heat surging through his body. Even with his blurred vision, he could see Seol Daeyoung’s face slowly contorting. The guy had noticed Jaemin’s change.

…Fuck. This can’t be happening.

Amidst all this, the pheromone Jaemin had briefly smelled earlier was driving him crazy. He craved that fresh, cool scent again, as if he were thirsting in a forest.

Jaemin wondered if burying his face in Seol Daeyoung’s pants would make the pain go away. He closed his eyes tightly and gasped for breath like someone deprived of oxygen.

“Haah…ah…”

At this rate, he would go into heat immediately.

Seol Daeyoung’s large hand covered Jaemin’s entire flushed face in an instant. Then, Jaemin’s body was roughly turned and pressed against the cold wall.

Jaemin felt Seol Daeyoung’s firm chest covering his body, pinning him to the wall. He also felt Seol Daeyoung rummaging through his pocket and taking out the jackknife he always carried.

You bastard…

Even in that moment, every part of his body that Seol Daeyoung’s hand touched felt like it was on fire. Jaemin bit his lip until it bled, trembling violently. Seol Daeyoung’s harsh shout echoed in his ringing ears.

“Stay the fuck away, you bastards!”

The murmuring of the students and the voices of teachers rushing to the scene after being informed of the situation followed.

“What are you all doing! What is this behavior! Seol Daeyoung!”

As Jaemin realized something was trickling down inside his school pants, he closed his eyes. There was no time to think. He would rather die than go into heat and show his arousal to an alpha in front of everyone.