Omega Complex Novel (Completed) - Chapter 20

My mind went blank. For a very brief moment, I didn’t understand what he was saying. Did I hear him wrong? Just for a moment, I pondered. Under the quiet silence, Choi Taegyeom’s voice was clearly heard.

“I can’t make it home.”

Choi Taegyeom spoke in a somewhat pleading tone. He tightened his arms around me and softly whispered in my ear.

“Let me sleep over.”

Even though he didn’t mean it in that way, my legs trembled. The words spoken in his low voice felt excessively suggestive. Get a grip, Lee Yoonwoo. He’s just drunk. But it was no use, no matter how many times I repeated it. My pheromone-intoxicated mind was already forming clouds of imagination.

“Can’t… you walk?”

My throat was choked. How could he be so defenseless, knowing what I was thinking? What if, just what if, I were to lay a hand on him? What if I caressed him beautifully and touched him as I pleased?

“It’s hard…”

He whined, urging me. At the same time, the conscience hidden deep in my chest pricked me lightly. He was completely drunk, and I was alone, having all sorts of random thoughts. This was all because he had hugged me without any thought.

“……Is it really that hard?”

There were many reasons why I shouldn’t take him home. First, I hadn’t cleaned properly for the past few days, and I hadn’t taken in the laundry I hung out last night. The refrigerator had nothing but water and kimchi, and I couldn’t rule out the possibility of omega pheromones lingering.

“Yeah.”

Besides that, reasons like not having ventilated the room, the studio apartment being too small for two people, and my lack of confidence in being alone with him in an enclosed space also came to mind. They were so numerous I couldn’t count them on both hands, and naturally, the conclusion should have been ‘I shouldn’t let him sleep over.’

“……Okay.”

But despite recalling all those reasons, the fact that I couldn’t refuse ultimately meant I wanted to take him home.

One night. Just one night, wouldn’t it be okay to be with him? A conflict where the outcome was decided the moment the deliberation began. Words different from reason spilled from my lips.

“Let’s go to my place.”

The way home wasn’t far. Walking through the night, I must have unconsciously headed towards my house. As soon as I said he could sleep over, Choi Taegyeom let go of me and walked, occasionally leaning on me.

“Sit down for a moment.”

Fortunately, the condition of the house wasn’t bad. Laundry was hung, but aside from that, there was nothing particularly bothersome. I first sat the swaying Choi Taegyeom on the bed and quickly gathered the underwear that was hanging.

“I should give you some clothes to change into, right?”

“……Uh.”

For some reason, Choi Taegyeom’s words drastically decreased as soon as he entered the house. I thought he might have sobered up a bit from the outside air, but judging by his flushed face, he hadn’t changed at all. No, perhaps the alcohol had surged again the moment he came indoors. The way he sat on the bed, primarily with both hands clasped, was similar to how he used to be shy as a child.

“Wash up and wear this.”

I didn’t have many suitable clothes to give him. When we were little, we used to share clothes regardless of who they were, but now he was much bigger than me, wasn’t he? I reluctantly handed him some clothes that Park Sung-jae had left behind, and he looked up at me blankly.

“You…”

His pretty lips parted slightly. Despite swaying and stumbling as he walked, his gaze was quite clear. When I nodded, meaning for him to speak, he let out a faint breath.

“No…”

“Do you have something to say?”

Choi Taegyeom’s face distorted slightly. He shook his head and gently rubbed his eyes with one hand. Through the gaps in his fingers, I could see his slightly reddened eyelids.

“Don’t rub your eyes.”

His skin was sensitive; why was he rubbing his eyes? When I grabbed his wrist to stop him, our eyes met in the air. At that, Choi Taegyeom hesitated slightly and opened his mouth.

“Do you… spray air freshener at home?”

“Air freshener?”

What air freshener? Before I could ask again, he took the clothes I offered. Then he buried his nose near the clothes and slowly inhaled.

“It smells good…”

Only then did I understand what air freshener he was talking about. My hair stood on end, and my heart plummeted. Choi Taegyeom tilted his head and muttered, puzzled.

“It’s not fabric softener.”

“It’s air freshener, yes.”

I hastily cut off Choi Taegyeom and helped him up. At my sudden movement, he widened his eyes and looked at me. He looked cute like a startled rabbit, but I had no time for leisurely observations.

“Hey, it’s late. Just wash up quickly.”

“Huh?”

“Can you wash yourself?”

In my haste, I spoke quickly, almost rapping. Choi Taegyeom looked bewildered, but I had no time to worry about that. I just gently shook our clasped hands, urging him to answer. Choi Taegyeom narrowed his eyes, looked at me, and slowly nodded.

“There are towels and a new toothbrush in the cupboard, so use them…”

I had said everything I needed to, and I should close the door, but Choi Taegyeom kept bothering me. What if he fell? What if he collapsed on the floor and fell asleep? Even though I knew it was unnecessary worry, his swaying figure lingered in my mind. Maybe it would be better to help him wash up.

“……Should I wash you?”

“What did you say?”

The thought left my mouth without passing through reason. Thump, at the words that spilled out, Choi Taegyeom’s eyes widened as he looked at me. I was the one who was flustered by his surprised reaction.

“No… no, because you’re drunk.”

Stammering excuses tumbled out. It definitely wasn’t with impure intentions. Trying to continue speaking felt like sinking into a quagmire. We used to shower together when we were little, but why did offering to help him wash sound so lewd now?

“……Wash up. Call me if you need anything.”

In the end, I gave up on making excuses and pushed Choi Taegyeom into the bathroom. Through the closing door, I saw him swaying, holding onto the sink. I wondered if it would be better to help him after all, but I abandoned the lingering thought and turned my back. First, there were things I needed to take care of.

“That was close.”

The word ‘air freshener’ reminded me. The fact that all sorts of suppressants were scattered on the sink. From half-eaten ones to brand new ones, they were medications I had taken out because my heat cycle was approaching. Fortunately, he didn’t discover them, but I didn’t even want to imagine what would have happened if he had seen them.

The fortunate thing was that he simply thought my pheromones were a ‘good smell.’ He probably just defined something with a weak presence as a ‘scent.’ So he thought it was either air freshener or fabric softener and sniffed my clothes. The strange thing was that a drunk guy managed to smell it so well…

It was a relief that they were clothes I didn’t wear often. I inwardly sighed with relief and swept up the suppressants. After hiding them deep in the cupboard, I opened the windows wide. The most effective method would have been to smoke a pheromone cigarette, but I didn’t want Choi Taegyeom to sleep in a place filled with cigarette smoke.

Well, in fact, if the goal was to cover up pheromones, there was no need to smoke. With a dominant alpha who had stronger pheromones than anyone else in the house, why would I do that? If he stayed for just five minutes, my pheromones wouldn’t even leave a trace.

“This is driving me crazy…”

Once the tasks were done, I started to feel nervous again. The drunk guy would carelessly release pheromones, and I would have to endure those pheromones without any defense. I couldn’t smoke in the house, so I might really have to stab my thigh.

…Would pinching be enough?

I sighed and gathered the clothes I’d wear after showering. First, I planned to go wash as soon as he came out. I thought a cold shower would help clear my mind a bit. And if Choi Taegyeom was asleep when I came out, that would be the icing on the cake. Surely he wouldn’t be emitting pheromones in his sleep.

Thud, that’s when the sound of water stopped. At the sound of him tidying the shower, I stiffened awkwardly, clothes for changing in hand. I tried my best to act natural, but I couldn’t help the tension in my shoulders.

“……”

Click, the door opened. Gulp, my swallowing was loud. Choi Taegyeom came out of the bathroom, towel-drying his hair with one hand. The moment our eyes met, a drop of water trickled down his clear cheek.

For a moment, I couldn’t say anything. The black t-shirt that had looked like a mere scrap of cloth on Park Seongjae looked like a fancy brand on him. His collarbones, glimpsed here and there, and his flushed lips felt excessively lewd.

“I left the toothbrush on the sink.”

He hadn’t come out naked, just his hair and skin were a little wet. If I blushed at a sight like this, I truly had a problem with everyday life.

“Oh… good job.”

No, isn’t the problem with Choi Taegyeom, not me?

“I’m going to shower, so if you’re tired, go to sleep first.”

My mouth was parched. I tried to speak nonchalantly, but awkwardness seeped into the end of my words. Fortunately, Choi Taegyeom seemed not to have heard properly, busy towel-drying his hair. No, he looked a little sleepy, staring blankly at the bed.

“Rest.”

With those words, I passed Choi Taegyeom and entered the bathroom. The steamy bathroom was filled with the scent of the shampoo he had just used. It was definitely a familiar scent, but my face flushed instantly.

“……I’m going crazy.”

To think that a mere trace could feel so sensual. At this point, I truly felt I was seriously ill. Just thinking that Choi Taegyeom had showered here made my stomach churn like a pervert.

Get a grip, Lee Yoonwoo. I repeated that to myself as I took off my clothes one by one. Please, let Choi Taegyeom be sound asleep when I come out of the shower. So deeply asleep that he wouldn’t notice if I was disturbed by looking at him. I prayed to a god I didn’t even believe in, but no answer came.

And not long after, I faced a new problem. I had forgotten, but there was only one pillow and one blanket in my studio apartment.

The moment I realized it, my head spun. One pillow, one blanket. That meant I had to sleep side-by-side with Choi Taegyeom under one blanket. I should have realized that much earlier since there was only one bed to begin with. The problem was that I had briefly lost my mind, wanting to bring Choi Taegyeom over.

What should I do?

My heart pounded like crazy. Cold water was coming from the shower, but heat surged within me. Like when I was intoxicated by Choi Taegyeom’s pheromones, my mind was in a turmoil.

Nineteen. This was the first desire I felt since realizing I liked Choi Taegyeom. I wanted to touch him, hold him, kiss him, and have him touch me. Such a primal desire was too rude to the defenseless boy and too cruel to me, who couldn’t say anything.

“You crazy bastard…”

A curse naturally slipped out. If it continued like this, I would be no different from the Omegas who had messed with Choi Taegyeom when he was young. Unable to control their overflowing desires, they only left him with bad traumas. If that happened, Choi Taegyeom would truly be irreversibly hurt.

If only I weren’t an Omega… The meaningless ‘what if’ only brought emptiness in the end. I had lived every day feeling wronged since my manifestation, but this was the first time I felt so wronged. Damn pheromones, damn dominant Alpha. The water pouring from the shower was terribly cold.

When I came out of the bathroom, the air was filled with Choi Taegyeom’s pheromones. He hadn’t released them intentionally; they had simply flowed out naturally just by him being there. He must have comfortably let his pheromones loose, thinking I was a Beta and wouldn’t be affected. If I hadn’t taken a long cold shower, I would have helplessly gone into heat from his pheromones.

“You didn’t sleep?”

Choi Taegyeom was sitting demurely on the bed. His hair seemed almost dry, and he was awkwardly holding a wet towel. As soon as I came out, he looked at me and awkwardly ran a hand through the back of his hair.

“I didn’t know where to sleep.”

“On the bed, of course…”

I had intended to answer nonchalantly, but my mouth closed the moment our eyes met. I was instantly nervous under Choi Taegyeom’s intense gaze. Gulp, dry saliva went down my throat.

“On the bed, just sleep.”

“Is this the only blanket?”

I slowly nodded. Yes, that’s all there is. That’s why I’ve been in the bathroom all this time. My throat was parched at the thought of sharing a blanket.

Instead of asking anything more, Choi Taegyeom leaned back slightly.

“Then we’ll have to sleep together.”

It was a perfectly normal conclusion. This awkwardness, this embarrassment, must be feelings only I was experiencing. After all, it wasn’t the first or second time we’d slept together, so it was stranger to feel these emotions now. It wasn’t just the blanket; there were many times we’d woken up hugging each other.

“Th-that’s right…”

I awkwardly ruffled my hair and turned my head. It was to hide my flushed face at his words. Although it was an awkward position no matter how you looked at it, it was difficult to move closer or further away.

“What are you doing?”

How long had I been like that? Choi Taegyeom asked casually. His voice was filled with bewilderment. He tapped the bed, completely oblivious to my agitation.

“Come here. Let’s sleep.”

It was almost as if he was talking to a pet. It was gentle, soft, and even a little ticklish. No, perhaps this was just my imagination too. I had been thinking so many strange things that even normal conversation sounded odd now.

“You go to sleep first. I need to dry my hair.”

“Then just stay next to me until I fall asleep.”

I tried to speak calmly, but what came back was a sulky demand. “Just stay next to me until I fall asleep,” he said. How much closer could I get in this small studio? I narrowed my eyes to gauge his intention, and Choi Taegyeom grinned playfully.

“Just. Reminds me of old times.”

“Old times?”

“When you used to put me to sleep.”

Thud, my strength seemed to give out. The phrase “put me to sleep” brought back childhood memories. The times I awkwardly put Choi Taegyeom to sleep, and how quickly he fell asleep even with my clumsy comforting.

“Come here.”

Choi Taegyeom called me with the brightest smile. I approached him as if enchanted. His gently curved eyes created an irresistible smile.

“Let’s sleep together for the first time in a while.”

Helplessly, I turned off the light and lay down next to Choi Taegyeom. My half-dry hair was cold, but it was better for my flushed face. Choi Taegyeom let out a pleased laugh as I obediently lay down beside him.