Omega Complex Novel (Completed) - Chapter 3

As I slowly turned my gaze, Choi Taegyeom’s eyes quietly followed mine.

“Of course…”

My throat felt choked. The hand on my shoulder, the gaze fixed on me, everything felt heartbreaking. There was only one answer he wanted, but the process of uttering it was so difficult.

“Of course, we’re friends.”

This was also something I couldn’t do anymore. Pretending not to notice the wildly surging pheromones, pretending to be fine and acting like a friend. It was something I could no longer do.

“I didn’t know you’d be so upset. I’m sorry, man. I was just embarrassed about not getting into university. You know, I used to be better at studying than you.”

This was all I could say. This is why I didn’t want to come to the drinking party, fearing such a situation would arise. I had avoided Choi Taegyeom for five long years, so I didn’t want to make it all for nothing now.

“Just this once. You avoided me in middle school too, remember?”

Choi Taegyeom didn’t answer. He didn’t say it was okay, nor did he make excuses about what happened back then. He simply held my shoulder tightly and looked into my face. I pulled my cap down to avoid his gaze, but it was no use. Each time our eyes met, the pheromones pouring over me grew stronger.

“Yoonwoo.”

I flinched, my body trembling. His low call was almost like a plea. The pheromones mixed with his breath revealed his emotions exactly.

“You know you can’t lie.”

I didn’t have the confidence to meet his gaze. If our eyes met, my loosened emotions felt like they would pour out. Choi Taegyeom seemed to want that, but I couldn’t let it happen.

“Promise me you won’t avoid me.”

“…”

“We came to the same university, and both of us have finished military service. Now, nonsense like taking a leave of absence or studying abroad won’t work.”

It felt like he was seeing right through me. My inner thought of “Wouldn’t it be good to take a leave of absence soon?” was instantly exposed. Then as now, his intuition was incredible. He calmly looked at me and added,

“I took a leave of absence last year, so I’m a third-year now. Do you know what that means?”

Third year, he said, third year. The guy who would have been a fourth-year if he hadn’t taken a leave of absence, is now in the same year as me, who even retook the exam. This meant that we would be stuck attending school together for at least two years.

“I can’t accept you avoiding me without a reason. If you’re going to avoid me, at least give me a reason I can understand.”

Choi Taegyeom probably wouldn’t understand any reason I gave. No, I could never utter a reason that would make him understand. Because understanding would simultaneously mean the end of our connection.

What should I do?

While I was agonizing, he frowned, as if urging me. He also added that if I didn’t answer, he would demand the reason right there.

“…Okay.”

Finally, I answered in a voice barely audible. Perhaps pleased even by this small answer, Choi Taegyeom smiled brightly. Then, as he used to, he placed his hand on the top of my head. His large hand passed over my cap, stroked the back of my neck, and then moved away with a lingering sense of regret.

“Good.”

This was Choi Taegyeom’s way of forgiving me. A final act of mercy, telling me he’d let it slide this once, but not again. Despite everything, he always gave in to me, so he seemed willing to believe even a ridiculous excuse this one time.

“Let’s go back in.”

He released me and walked lightly. His pleasant pheromones seemed to float in the air. If I followed him back in, we would remain friends as if nothing had happened.

“…Hey, Taegyeom.”

Instead of following him, I pulled out a cigarette. He turned his head as if asking why, and his brow furrowed slightly the moment he saw the cigarette. I waved my hand apologetically and put a cigarette in my mouth.

“Do you still hate Omegas?”

‘I hate Omegas.’

Those were words Choi Taegyeom had said once. It was also a memory that had suddenly come to mind at the drinking party earlier. Maybe that’s why I wanted to meet Choi Taegyeom. The white cigarette twitched.

“Yes.”

The answer was clear. There was no trace of the hesitation he had shown earlier. Choi Taegyeom stood rooted to the spot and added in a firm voice,

“To the point of getting goosebumps.”

“Really?”

Sizzle, the tip of the cigarette burned down. Choi Taegyeom subtly frowned at the hazy smoke that spread out. I inhaled the cigarette smoke deeply and exhaled very slowly. The air, filled with Choi Taegyeom’s pheromones, was diluted by the cigarette smoke and completely disrupted.

“Good thing I’m not an Omega.”

“What nonsense.”

Choi Taegyeom replied in an incredulous tone, letting out a hollow laugh. Then he approached me, maintaining a certain distance. As I turned my head away so the smoke wouldn’t reach him, a casual question flew my way.

“Why are you smoking?”

Now that I thought about it, he often showed a conservative side in strange ways. Even when others secretly drank and smoked, he never showed any interest in such things. I still remember the expression Choi Taegyeom made in high school when a friend offered me a cigarette and alcohol.

“Life’s hard.”

Well, back then we were minors, so that was understandable.

“Lee Yoonwoo’s become an old man.”

A playful response met my playful answer. His tone was incredibly light, as if the past few years of absence had been forgotten. I let out a soft laugh and exhaled the cigarette smoke.

“You go in first.”

I was smoking two cigarettes, something I rarely did. He probably thought I was a heavy smoker.

“I’ll go in after I finish this.”

“…Don’t smoke too much.”

Choi Taegyeom stopped trying to dissuade me and turned his back with a worried tone. Thump-thump, as his footsteps faded, the pheromones enveloping the surroundings also gradually thinned. Would it be strange if I felt a sense of regret at the faintly blurred pheromones? The hazy cigarette smoke blurred my vision.

“Haa…”

It had been five years. Since I presented as an Omega, and since I started avoiding him.

And since I realized I liked Choi Taegyeom.

During that long time, I tried to forget Choi Taegyeom. If only I could, I wanted to go back to being friends like before. So I took suppressants and smoked pheromone cigarettes to hide my pheromones. Fortunately, my pheromones weren’t strong, and as a result, no one except my parents knew I was an Omega.

But it seemed that the remnants of feelings I thought I had almost sorted out were still there. The moment I saw Choi Taegyeom, an unknown desire surged from a corner of my heart.

I like Choi Taegyeom.

Liking him, liking him so much, that my honesty was eroded by it.

‘Do you still hate Omegas?’

It wasn’t a question I uttered lightly. I knew about his trauma regarding Omegas. I also knew how he would react if an Omega told him they liked him.

But despite that, a small hope remained. Five years. A long enough time for me not to forget Choi Taegyeom, and for both of us to have gone through military service and become adults. During that long time, hadn’t his aversion to Omegas improved a little? Even if I couldn’t confess, could I at least reveal that I was an Omega?

‘To the point of getting goosebumps.’

Do you know Choi Taegyeom? They say I’m an Omega.

The words I couldn’t utter created a large hole in my chest and disappeared. Feelings I shouldn’t have for someone I’ve been friends with my whole life. Feelings I couldn’t even express to an Alpha who hated Omegas.

“…I should stop this too.”

I like you.

An unreachable confession scattered into the air.

The pub I re-entered was still bustling. But unfortunately, the subject of the bustling conversation seemed to be me. A subtle tension even hung over the table that had fallen silent as soon as I entered.

“…At least pretend you’re not.”

I sighed softly and sat down. At the table next to ours, Choi Taegyeom was surrounded by his classmates. In that short time, he had garnered all the attention.

“Hyung, were you acquainted with Senior Choi Taegyeom?”

While everyone was just observing, Park Sungjae quietly approached. Remembering my earlier words about dying, his question was incredibly timid. Well, strictly speaking, it wasn’t his fault.

“…He’s my friend.”

This was the second time I had said it today. Friend. The only word that defined him and me. My meddlesome inner thoughts questioned if he really was just a friend, but this was the only answer I could give.

“Friend?”

The question came from another direction. It was the freshman who had been sitting next to me all along. He frowned, looked towards Choi Taegyeom, and lowered his voice.

“Do you really get that much pheromone from a friend?”

“What?”

At the word ‘pheromone,’ I involuntarily flinched. I had smoked so much, but Choi Taegyeom’s pheromones still seemed to linger. Indeed, the attempt to mask a dominant Alpha’s pheromones with cheap cigarette smoke was reckless from the start.

“Anyone would think you’re an Alpha, sunbae. So much Alpha pheromone is on you.”

The freshman’s voice was significant. At his blunt remark, I unconsciously touched my ear, and he shrugged, widening the distance slightly.

“Well, just saying.”

“Maybe it’s because we’ve been together for a long time.”