Omega Complex Novel (Completed) - Chapter 4

Pheromones naturally transfer when you’re close to someone. Choi Taegyeom thought I was a Beta, so he wouldn’t have even thought of controlling his pheromones. So naturally, pheromones would have gotten all over me. It wasn’t strange for the freshman to feel something was off.

“Hmm…”

But the freshman pulled at the corner of his mouth and tilted his head. He seemed to have something more to say, but he didn’t seem to intend to utter it. He just smiled amiably and skillfully changed the subject.

“But you said you were childhood friends, so why were you like that earlier? Are you on bad terms?”

“Yeah, I thought I was going to die from Taegyeom sunbae’s pheromones earlier.”

“I’ve never seen that sunbae act like that before.”

Once the floodgates opened, similar reactions poured out without cease. Had we fought? How could we be close but never seen together? In that short time, they had observed so much detail, even mentioning his expression and actions.

“How did you even become friends?”

When one of my classmates asked, the barrage of questions abruptly stopped. I was slightly taken aback by their reaction.

“Is it that strange that I’m friends with Choi Taegyeom?”

Although I was someone who disliked the concept of ‘friendship’ more than anyone, it felt strange when others questioned that relationship. We had been together since birth, throughout our upbringing, so why did they talk as if we didn’t suit each other?

“No, it’s not that…”

Park Sungjae, realizing I wasn’t angry, began speaking with a more relaxed expression than before. He even subtly moved closer to sit beside me.

“Neither Senior Choi Taegyeom nor you are the type to initiate conversation.”

My gaze drifted. I saw his lips parting, as if choosing his words. I unconsciously looked towards Choi Taegyeom and moved my lips.

“Just, you know, our parents are close.”

‘How did you two become friends?’

I had been asked countless times how we became friends. In middle school, in high school, people often questioned Choi Taegyeom and me. Such questions were mostly asked at the beginning of the semester, and then Choi Taegyeom would glance at me and answer like this:

‘Just, because it’s Lee Yoonwoo, we became friends.’

Our parents are close, we live next door, we’re childhood friends, it just happened naturally. Leaving all those options aside, it was a surprisingly heartwarming answer.

“But how do you guys know Choi Taegyeom?”

We weren’t even in the same department; Choi Taegyeom was in Business Administration, and I was in English Language and Literature. While general education classes might overlap, it was strange for the entire department to know Choi Taegyeom. Besides, hadn’t Choi Taegyeom taken a leave of absence last year?

“Senior Choi Taegyeom is famous.”

Minjeong, who was diligently mixing soju and beer, replied with wide eyes. She even asked back, ‘You’re close, but you don’t even know that?’

“Why is he famous?”

“He’s handsome. The self-proclaimed Business God.”

The first answer was simple. And as simple as it was, it was also very convincing. Minjeong twitched her finger and curled the corner of her lips into a smile.

“Plus, he’s a dominant Alpha.”

My gaze returned to Choi Taegyeom again. He was refusing the drinks offered by his department mates, looking very displeased. Why would he come here when he hated drinking parties so much?

“Not just Omegas, but quite a few Alphas like Senior Choi Taegyeom too. They say his pheromones are no joke.”

A scoff almost escaped me. What was so great about those pheromones? Is this why Choi Taegyeom still hated Omegas?

“You’re a Beta, but you know such things well.”

“My friend likes Senior Choi Taegyeom.”

Choi Taegyeom was still Choi Taegyeom. Choi Taegyeom who received a confession every three days and was the first love for one out of two people. Seeing me nod, Minjeong lowered her voice, a corner of her mouth turned up.

“But he’s even more famous because he doesn’t have a girlfriend.”

“Hyung, Senior Choi Taegyeom really doesn’t have a girlfriend?”

As soon as Park Seongjae’s words came out, the eyes of everyone in the department turned to me. Even a few freshmen who were seeing Choi Taegyeom for the first time blushed and sent excited glances. As expected, I only had one answer to give.

“Well, I guess not.”

Several people’s expressions changed. From gazes full of tension to gazes full of excitement. My throat felt inexplicably parched.

“…He hates Omegas.”

I said it as if I didn’t care, but my heart was beating uneasily. I didn’t know whether Choi Taegyeom had a girlfriend or not. It had been years since we last contacted each other, so how would I know if he had gotten a Beta girlfriend or an Alpha girlfriend in the meantime? If it wasn’t an Omega, he wouldn’t have hated it. Thinking that, my mood suddenly sank.

Choi Taegyeom used to receive confessions as often as he breathed even when he was young. His handsome looks and unique aura attracted everyone’s attention, regardless of gender or age. He hadn’t dated anyone until he was 19, so I wondered if he had met someone during the five years I was gone.

“An Alpha hates Omegas?”

I was deep in thought when a freshman next to me asked, as if they didn’t understand. Yes, for someone who didn’t know what happened to Choi Taegyeom in the past, this reaction would be natural. Because it was very strange for an Alpha to hate an Omega.

“Hmm…”

‘It could be,’ was what I intended to answer. It was absurd to explain Choi Taegyeom’s trauma in detail, and it felt rude to even talk about this topic any further. But before I could answer, something I hadn’t paid attention to suddenly bothered me.

“By the way, what’s your name?”

Even though they had been sitting next to me for a while, I didn’t know their name. In fact, I had been calling them ‘freshman, freshman’ so much that I almost thought their name was Freshman. At least until the drinking party was over, they would be sitting next to me, so shouldn’t I at least know their name?

“…Senior, you didn’t know my name?”

The freshman looked at me with somewhat hurt eyes. Well, it would be absurd to ask their name now after having talked for so long. We had even introduced ourselves one by one when the drinking party started.

“Sorry, I’m not very good at remembering names.”

I remembered a time when Choi Taegyeom had to tell me the names of our classmates because I couldn’t remember them. It wasn’t simply a memory problem; it was more that I didn’t bother to remember because I didn’t have a strong desire to get close to them. Choi Taegyeom also wasn’t interested in others, but he, for one, had a good memory.

“So, what’s your name?”

“…Dohyun. Kim Dohyun.”

“Right, Dohyun.”

I mustn’t forget this time. Kim Dohyun, Kim Dohyun, as I repeated it to myself, Kim Dohyun frowned as if he couldn’t understand.

“Anyway, how can an Alpha hate an Omega?”

Is he interested in Choi Taegyeom too? This guy is an Alpha, but if you listen to Minjeong, it’s possible.

“You’re an Alpha, right?”

Still, just in case, I subtly asked. What if he was an Omega?

“Yes, you don’t know my name but you know I’m an Alpha.”

Kim Dohyun grumbled and took a gulp of his drink. It was an incredibly impudent remark, but since it was my mistake, I needed to let it slide. Right, he’s an Alpha.

“Why, as a fellow Alpha, do you just not understand it?”

“Yes, that’s really absurd.”

Kim Dohyun’s expression was serious. So serious that it was more serious than when Choi Taegyeom said, ‘I hate Omegas.’

“Alphas are physiologically attracted to Omega pheromones. Even if it’s a recessive one, Omega pheromones are really hot. And that senior seems to be the dominant one.”

The latter part was almost whispered. Kim Dohyun put one hand on my back and covered his mouth with the other, whispering.

“Especially when Omegas go into a heat cycle, they want to throw away all reason and everything else.”

“Really?”

I listened to Kim Dohyun’s words with one ear and let them out the other. I had no interest in what a typical Alpha was like. Choi Taegyeom wasn’t a typical Alpha, and what he had experienced wasn’t typical either. How Omegas behaved during heat cycles was also far removed from me, a recessive one.

But Kim Dohyun continued to whisper despite my half-hearted reply.

“Yes. So, saying you hate Omegas makes no sense.”

“Why does it make no sense?”

I flinched, my shoulder twitching. It was because a familiar voice came from right behind me. Slowly, I raised my head, and I saw Choi Taegyeom holding Kim Dohyun’s arm.

“It’s okay to hate Omegas a little.”

I didn’t feel any pheromones. Even if I wasn’t good at sensing pheromones, it made no sense that I didn’t know he was there until he was this close. And it was Choi Taegyeom, a dominant Alpha, not just anyone. It was impossible unless he was intentionally hiding his pheromones.

“…When did you get here?”

“Just now.”

“What about your classmates?”

“I’m an outcast in my department. I don’t have a single friend.”

Choi Taegyeom uttered words no one would believe and slumped down next to me. I could clearly see his classmates in the distance, huffing and puffing, wondering where Choi Taegyeom had gone, but he seemed to see nothing. Just then, Park Seongjae, who had gone to pour drinks, widened his eyes at the seat that had been taken.

“Bullshit… Are those kids looking for you just decorations?”

“They’re not my friends.”

Choi Taegyeom nonchalantly took my glass and filled it with soju. A freshman subtly offered a new glass, but he cleanly ignored it. I lightly clicked my tongue and said to the embarrassed freshman.

“Just leave it. It’s a glass he won’t use anyway.”

Choi Taegyeom, who had put his lips to the glass, paused and looked at me. He was looking back and forth between the glass and my face with a subtle gaze. A voice of disbelief came out of his twisted lips.

“You smoke, but you don’t drink?”

“Alcohol makes me drunk.”

“If only you couldn’t talk.”

Gulp, Choi Taegyeom drank the soju and held out the empty glass. What, he wants me to pour it? Before I could even ask, a soju bottle was thrust out from beside me.

“I’ll pour it for you.”

It was none other than Kim Dohyun who offered the soju bottle. Kim Dohyun, who smiled amiably, filled Choi Taegyeom’s glass and bowed politely.

“I’m Kim Dohyun, a freshman from the English Literature department. Senior, you’re from Business Administration, right?”

The conversation had been cut off because of Choi Taegyeom, but there was no sign of displeasure on Kim Dohyun’s face. No, perhaps it was right for him not to show displeasure since he was caught talking behind someone’s back. He politely poured the soju and also offered his own glass. Of course, Choi Taegyeom took back his glass instead of filling Kim Dohyun’s.

“Choi Taegyeom is really ill-mannered.”

In the end, I clicked my tongue again and picked up the soju bottle on the table. And as I was about to pour, though, Choi Taegyeom put down his glass and snatched the soju bottle from me. Glug-glug, the sound of the liquid being poured was refreshing.

“You’re Yoonwoo’s junior?”

Choi Taegyeom scrutinized Kim Dohyun up and down while pouring the drink. His tone was rough, but Kim Dohyun smiled brightly and tilted his glass.

“Yes. Senior Yoonwoo takes good care of me.”

Take good care of him, my foot. We just met today. I didn’t even know his name five minutes ago.

“So, you two were talking about me nicely?”

Choi Taegyeom chuckled and stared at me. His eyes seemed to say, ‘After meeting for years, were you just talking behind my back with a junior?’

“…No, it wasn’t anything bad.”

I subtly avoided his gaze and made excuses. The department kids asked, and so I told them about your Omega aversion, which they hadn’t even asked about. I was too embarrassed to explain it honestly like that.

“It’s just, the kids asked if you had a girlfriend.”

I trailed off and cleared my throat. It suddenly occurred to me that this might be a new opportunity to find out if he had a girlfriend. If I played it well, I could ask naturally. As if I wasn’t curious, but the kids were, so I was asking on their behalf. It was important to act as uninterested as possible.

“You’re not seeing anyone, are you?”