Omega Complex Novel (Completed) - Chapter 30

I had expected this kind of misunderstanding. An Alpha and Omega wouldn’t come to the hospital together if they weren’t partners. I knew that the nurses had been giving me subtle glances from the moment I entered the hospital.

“…If your pheromones are suppressed too much, your body will eventually have problems.”

The doctor seemed to choose his words slowly. What he ultimately wanted to say was something like ‘Get a partner and have sex,’ but he probably couldn’t give such a prescription to a patient.

Whoosh, the doctor let out a deep sigh and typed on the keyboard.

“Do not take suppressants. I’ll write you a diagnosis, so take a break from school. Just let your pheromones loose for a week, and if you’re still not feeling well, come back to the hospital.”

There was nothing I could say in response. Don’t take suppressants, take a break from school. Midterms were next week, so taking a week off school was out of the question.

“Would pheromone cigarettes be okay?”

“You smoke pheromone cigarettes too?”

I asked cautiously, but what came back was a sharp glare. The doctor scolded me with a look that said I was doing all sorts of things, and then crushed it with a sigh.

“You’ll die young, patient.”

“…”

“Taking medicine and smoking cigarettes, it would be healthier to just do drugs instead.”

The scathing criticism was merciless. The doctor shook his head and typed on the keyboard again.

“I haven’t seen anyone quit just because I told them to, so I’ll just tell you to cut down. It’s better to smoke regular cigarettes. Pheromone cigarettes are worse for your body.”

If it wasn’t for pheromone cigarettes, there was no reason for me to smoke. But I didn’t want to explain that reason. To say that I hid being an Omega because the person I liked disliked Omegas. The moment I uttered that, I felt I would become too pathetic.

“If you wait outside, I’ll give you an injection. It’s not a suppressant, it’s a hormone injection. It’s too clear blockages, so your pheromone control will be off for about two hours after the shot.”

The mention of losing pheromone control scared me. How, in what way, would it be out of control? The doctor, perhaps sensing my worry, added in a firm voice.

“Go straight home. Ask your guardian to take you.”

I bowed my head and left the examination room. My sinking mood showed no signs of improving as I shuffled along.

I had just expected to be diagnosed with a heat cycle and prescribed suppressants. I even hoped that, if I was lucky, I might hear it was just a cold, not a heat cycle. But now, suppressants are forbidden, and pheromone cigarettes are forbidden. Then how am I supposed to meet Choi Taegyeom?

“Patient Lee Yoonwoo. Please come into the injection room.”

The nurse gave me the injection, saying it would be a little sore. A small injection mark appeared on my forearm, where blood had been drawn earlier. As I rubbed my arm with an alcohol swab and left the injection room, Kim Dohyun, who had been waiting patiently for me, quickly stood up.

“Are you done with the examination? What did the doctor say?”

Instead of answering, I pulled out my phone from my pocket. Park Seongjae and Minjeong had left countless messages, while Choi Taegyeom had only sent two.

Choi Taegyeom: [Call me when you see this] 12:57pm

Choi Taegyeom: [I’ll wait in front of your house] 02:09pm

The messages, sent at an interval, made me feel sorry. What had Choi Taegyeom been thinking during the time I didn’t reply? Was he worried about me, or was he angry that I had left him behind, or did he just not care and attend class? None of the three possibilities made me feel comfortable.

Most of what happened earlier was blurry, but Choi Taegyeom’s worried expression was clear. His eyes, drooping at the corners, and that gaze that looked at me like an abandoned puppy.

He must have been disappointed. And hurt. He’d even bought medicine because he was worried, and I’d just ignored him and left. Even if it had been Park Seongjae instead of Choi Taegyeom, or Minjeong instead of Park Seongjae, it would have been upsetting. It was a matter of consideration I should have had before I even liked him.

“Senior?”

Snap, I came back to my senses. My phone screen had already turned black. I put my phone back in my pocket and asked Kim Dohyun back.

“Ah, sorry. What did you say?”

Kim Dohyun had a subtle expression. He looked displeased, and somehow frustrated. He turned his head to the side, let out a sigh, and looked directly at me, asking.

“…Are you that concerned about Choi Taegyeom senior?”

I silently looked at Kim Dohyun. The guy, a head taller than me, stared at me with an unwavering gaze. When I didn’t answer, Kim Dohyun continued in a calm tone.

“No matter how I think about it, I don’t understand. That senior didn’t even know your heat cycle came and was just pouring out pheromones.”

“Patient Lee Yoonwoo, please come to the payment counter,” I heard the voice calling me. I turned my back without a word, and a small murmur erupted from behind me.

“I didn’t expect a thank you, but…”

Honestly, I winced. I really hadn’t paid any attention to Kim Dohyun. He had brought me out of that awkward situation, and had been exposed to a lot of Omega pheromones, yet I hadn’t even given him a glance.

“Sorry.”

I offered an awkward apology. The nurse, glancing at me, mechanically took my card and handed me a prescription. It probably wasn’t the suppressant prescription I had hoped for.

“I didn’t have the presence of mind to think.”

Kim Dohyun was the first person to realize I was in a heat cycle. So he must have withdrawn his pheromones early and isolated me from Choi Taegyeom. He was the only Alpha who knew I was an Omega.

“Thank you. For pretending not to know, and for bringing me here.”

I still couldn’t feel Kim Dohyun’s pheromones. The faint remaining pheromones were only my own, which had clung to him while he brought me here. He was clearly holding back his pheromones to be considerate of me, who was in a heat cycle.

“If it weren’t for you, something terrible would have happened.”

After that, he didn’t say anything while we waited for the elevator. Why were there so many people today? After letting two packed elevators go by, he only uttered one sentence: “Let’s take the stairs.” His face, when I briefly glimpsed it, looked incredibly complex for some reason.

“What did the doctor say?”

He asked the question when we were almost at the first floor. The hospital wasn’t very tall, but it was a bit tiring for me, who had already expended some energy.

“Just that it’s a heat cycle. Probably a side effect of suppressants.”

“Suppressants?”

“Pheromone suppressants. I take them almost every day.”

“Ah…”

Kim Dohyun, who had been descending the stairs ahead of me, stopped. He turned his head, still holding the railing, and spoke in a listless voice.

“I saw it in a magazine earlier. Misuse of suppressants, something like that.”

I also stopped walking, following him. Standing about three steps below, he slowly raised his head.

“You’re doing that to hide that you’re an Omega, right?”

“…”

“What’s the reason you go to such lengths?”

My face stiffened reflexively. It was because I knew what Kim Dohyun meant by ‘such lengths.’ Taking suppressants like that, struggling like that, or being so foolish.

“Honestly, I don’t really know.”

Kim Dohyun sighed as if frustrated. He too seemed to have been surprised, consciously or unconsciously, as fatigue showed around his eyes.

“I haven’t known senior for long, but if I look closely, there are more than one or two things I don’t understand about you.”

The period Kim Dohyun and I had known each other was barely over a month. In that short span, he had noticed many things about me, and now he was saying he didn’t understand.

“Let’s say Choi Taegyeom senior dislikes Omegas. I also understand that you’re afraid he’ll dislike you if he finds out you’re an Omega.”

He must have thought about it very hard. Should I praise him for being accurate, or should I argue what that has to do with anything? Whoosh, Kim Dohyun turned his body and faced me directly.

“But what is it that you want to protect so much, even by hiding that you’re an Omega?”

“…”

“Is there a reason to hide that you’re an Omega when you’re not even confessing?”

His expression truly showed incomprehension. His annoyed, crumpled face was different from the usually good-natured smile I had seen.

“If it were me, I would have said one of the two, even out of frustration.”

“I want to say it too.”

I retorted defensively. What came back was a simple solution.

“Then say it.”

Why was everything so easy for this guy? Confessing to me, urging me to confess. How could he say it so easily?

“You’re hiding that you’re an Omega because you don’t want to be disliked, right? And you can’t confess because you’re afraid of being rejected.”

Because I don’t want to be disliked. It was such a trivial reason. All the complex circumstances I had agonized over for five years were condensed into a single phrase: ‘because I don’t want to be disliked.’

“Then, to avoid being disliked and rejected, senior, you should at least give up on your feelings.”

“…”

“Senior, isn’t that selfish?”

A surge of anger rose within me. Who are you to say such things? Who are you, what do you know about me?

“I’ve been friends with Choi Taegyeom since I was born.”

I clenched my hand on the railing. I could feel my fingertips trembling slightly.

“He was just, always, without reason, always by my side.”

Kim Dohyun closed his mouth as soon as I opened mine. Looking at his tightly sealed lips, the emotions I had kept hidden surged up.

“Do you think I wanted to like him? I wish we could just be friends. Like we always have been, able to get along casually.”

Every moment I remembered was Choi Taegyeom. Not a single day, not a single moment, did I not have memories with him. It was more natural than eating, more natural than breathing.

“But what can I do when I already like him?”

The day I realized my feelings for Choi Taegyeom, the day I realized my feelings for him were different from his.

“Give up on your feelings… Hey, you say that so easily.”

I felt like the world was collapsing. Like my relationship with him was shattered into pieces, and I could never go back to how things were.

“I avoided Choi Taegyeom for five years.”

Five years that felt like hell. He was clearly close by, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t reach him. No, I couldn’t even try to reach him. If I accidentally let my feelings slip, I wouldn’t even be able to maintain this ambiguous distance.

“But I still like him.”

My voice trembled at the end of my words. I wanted to say it calmly, but the feelings I had tried to cut off had grown too large for that.

“…”

“Instead of giving up, stubbornness grows. Should I just stay friends? Would it be okay if I just don’t confess? Will I eventually be able to give up?”

I tried to keep my distance, avoid seeing his face, and struggled not to remember, but ultimately, I remained stuck in the past. By now, I should have given up, by now, my feelings should have subsided. But then, suddenly, I gave up on giving up.

“Do you think I don’t want to say it? Dozens, hundreds of times a day, I think about it. That I’m an Omega, that I actually like you. The words come up to my throat, but they go back down as soon as I see your face.”

This was my last remaining defense mechanism. The last means to protect my feelings from the guy who always looked at me with the same unwavering gaze.

“Do you think I’m hiding that I’m an Omega simply because I don’t want to be disliked?”

“…”

“Why Choi Taegyeom dislikes Omegas, why I have to be a Beta to Choi Taegyeom, what’s the reason for hiding that I’m an Omega to this extent.”

There was a bond between Choi Taegyeom and me that others couldn’t understand. His trauma concerning Omegas, the memory of me being a sanctuary for him, the only person a dominant Alpha, who always had to suppress his pheromones, could truly feel comfortable with.

“You don’t know anything.”

Unless it was me, and unless it was Choi Taegyeom, no one could understand. Neither the trust he had in me, nor the responsibility I felt towards him.

“If you don’t want to understand, then don’t. You don’t need to understand me.”

I was annoyed. Annoyed that he was speaking so freely without knowing anything. And that, in the end, nothing Kim Dohyun said was wrong.

“Don’t be nosy.”

Pheromones seeped out. I hadn’t intended to say this much, but this was the result of my emotions escalating. Gush, the pheromones that surged like a wave felt quite voluminous even to me.

“I appreciate you bringing me to the hospital and pretending not to know in front of Choi Taegyeom. But that’s something to repay with a meal, not something to tolerate such rude remarks.”

I didn’t feel the need to hold back or suppress them. The dense pheromones poured out uncontrollably, as if compensating for all the past suppression. Sensing the pheromones in the air, Kim Dohyun stumbled backward.

“Senior, now…”

He covered his mouth with the back of his hand and frowned. Gulp, his Adam’s apple moved forcefully. I was the one who was startled by his sudden reaction. I hastily tried to withdraw my pheromones, but the uncontrolled pheromones were no longer listening to me.

“…”

Only then did I remember what the doctor had said. That pheromone control would be difficult because the injection was to clear blockages. And the advice to go straight home.

This was the side effect of the injection. It wasn’t pheromones released due to anger or heightened emotions. That meant, in other words, that my pheromones wouldn’t stop even if I calmed down.

“Senior, your pheromones…”