Omega Complex Novel (Completed) - Chapter 45

After that, he was the first to submit his exam paper and leave. It would take a long time just to write the answers, but it was almost as if he had only written his name and submitted it. Naturally, when I came out of the classroom, not even a single strand of his hair was visible.

Park Sungjae: [Hyung, talk to me] 01:00pm

Park Sungjae: [Come to the club room after the exam] 01:00pm

Park Sungjae: [I know you don’t have any plans this afternoon] 01:02pm

I found the messages from Park Sungjae after the exam was completely over. Of course, with rumors spreading like that, there was no way the well-connected Park Sungjae wouldn’t have heard. I was planning to contact him anyway, so it was a good thing.

[Where are you?] 01:22pm

I left a message for Choi Taegyeom and headed towards the club room. I wanted to meet Choi Taegyeom, but first, I had to meet Park Sungjae, whose whereabouts were certain. If I had known this, I would have memorized the timetable. It was when I was exiting the building with a slightly stalker-like thought.

“Did you do well on the exam?”

“How could I have seen it well? It was damn hard. Choi Taegyeom must be the only one who solved the last problem, right?”

“What? Taegyeom solved the last problem?”

The familiar name pricked my ears. Instinctively, I turned my head and saw four students standing by the side of the building. I stopped dead in my tracks, looking at the tallest one among them.

“How did he solve that? Did we even learn it?”

“He said we did. Just once, in passing.”

“Crazy professor, to put something like that on the test.”

Choi Taegyeom stood there. One hand in his pocket, the other holding his phone, he stared intently at the screen. Choi Taegyeom’s pheromones subtly mingled with the blowing wind.

“Hey, how did you solve that?”

Again, it struck me how truly unfair his appearance was. How could he be so tall, with that face, and even perfect pheromones? Shouldn’t a person at least lack something?

“Hey, hey, I asked how you solved it!”

My heart reacted pleasantly. The pheromones I had felt all night long floated in the air. From deep within me, my omega pheromones slowly began to stir.

I had just sent a message, so what he was looking at now must be my message. If Choi Taegyeom replied, I planned to tell him I was in the same building. Then he would look around with a surprised expression.

“Why is he acting like this all day today?”

I imagined our eyes meeting, and him walking towards me. Even though his friends were around, he wouldn’t hesitate to approach me. Just like he did at the drinking party, and at the sushi restaurant.

“……”

But the moment I took out my phone, the picture I had drawn in my mind instantly warped. A lonely ‘unread’ mark floated next to the message I had sent. I looked at Choi Taegyeom once, then at my message once, but nothing changed.

“How could the last problem…”

“Shut up.”

Why isn’t he checking it?

His voice was clear even from a distance. Choi Taegyeom scrunched his face in annoyance, silencing his friends. His gaze remained fixed on his phone.

“I didn’t solve the last problem. Stop asking.”

His mouth twitched, convulsing. Choi Taegyeom, who had replied irritably, put his phone away without hesitation. Then he put both hands in his pockets and turned to the other side.

“Choi…”

Belatedly, I stopped mid-call, about to call his name. The worry that had tormented me for five years once again choked my throat. Anxiety, nervousness, and a slight sense of discomfort.

‘I hate omegas.’

A chilling sensation ran down the back of my neck. The fear, long ingrained, gnawed away even the courage to hold onto Choi Taegyeom. My hand, unable to grasp him, lost its way in the air.

In the blink of an eye, Choi Taegyeom disappeared from my sight. If not for the lingering pheromones, I would have believed he hadn’t existed from the start. I blinked blankly, looking at the message he hadn’t read. My head felt cold.

Tap, tap, I drummed my fingertips on the table. Park Sungjae glanced at me at the repetitive sound, but I didn’t care. The chilling feeling that had settled over me kept pulling down the corners of my mouth, too preoccupied to mind it.

Thud, I put down the phone I was holding and pressed my eyes. There was still no contact on my phone. I bit the inside of my cheek irritably, and Park Sungjae, who had been watching me, cautiously spoke up.

“……Hyung.”

Two gazes were fixed on me. One was Park Sungjae, and the other was Minjeong. Minjeong, who had been lying on the cot playing a mobile game, immediately sent an interested look as soon as Park Sungjae started speaking.

“I heard a rumor.”

Park Sungjae spoke in a cautious voice. The very short sentence was low enough to make his shoulders shrug. At this point, it would have been good to confess, but the words wouldn’t easily come out.

“……A rumor?”

Originally, I had intended to tell Park Sungjae and Minjeong directly. That I was actually an omega, and I had been in heat for the past week. That the rumor about Choi Taegyeom carrying me was true, and I was sorry I couldn’t tell them earlier. That’s why I came to the club room.

“What rumor did you hear?”

But Choi Taegyeom’s back kept coming to mind. At the same time, an anxiety arose that these guys might also turn their backs on me like Choi Taegyeom. What if they get angry, what if they look disappointed and feel betrayed? Things I hadn’t even thought about normally clung persistently to my ankles.

Four years. It had been four years that I had deceived Park Sungjae, Minjeong, and the guys in our department. Four years was too long to confess a fact that had been hidden for so long.

“The rumor is…”

Park Sungjae hesitated, watching my expression. Even after starting, he hesitated for a long time before continuing.

“It’s a rumor that a handsome dominant alpha from the business administration department ‘kidnapped’ an omega in heat.”

It matched the earlier rumor exactly. Only the word ‘carried’ had changed to ‘kidnapped’. It wasn’t kidnapping… While I was thinking that, Park Sungjae continued in a serious tone.

“But there’s talk that the omega is from our department.”

“……”

“And they’re friends.”

It seemed Park Sungjae was convinced that I was the subject of the rumor. That’s why he was cautious yet stared intently at my face. Suddenly, I remembered the conversation Minjeong and Park Sungjae were having before I entered the club room.

‘……an omega.’

‘He wasn’t sick, but…’

I should have run away when I heard that conversation. I should have prepared myself more, organized my thoughts, and come later. If I had known I would be this nervous, I wouldn’t have walked confidently into the club room.

“Hyung, I’m just asking, just in case.”

My chest tightened. My mouth was parched from the unbearable tension. This time, Park Sungjae didn’t hesitate and asked the question.

“Who do you think the ‘handsome’ dominant alpha from the business administration department is?”

It was a question with a predetermined answer. The reason for emphasizing ‘handsome’ was obvious. I didn’t know many business administration students, but handsome people and dominant alphas were rare.

“……Choi Taegyeom, I guess.”

I couldn’t bring myself to meet his eyes. Park Sungjae wasn’t even angry, but his beautiful eyes seemed so frightening today.

“Then, tell me.”

Gulp, I swallowed dryly. Where would this awkward Q&A end? I wished it would end quickly, as nothing about it was welcome.

“Besides you, Hyung, was there any senior in our department who was friends with Choi Taegyeom?”

Again, there was only one answer I could give. I awkwardly averted my gaze and shook my head, and Park Sungjae slightly furrowed his brows.

“I knew it, right?”

He tilted his head with a rather serious expression. His large frame, hunched over and his fists clenched, looked a little comical, out of place with the situation.

“But since Hyung is a beta…”

It had come. I thought it was nothing, but a much more tense situation than I expected had arrived.

Many words tangled in my head. Actually, recessive circumstances, omega, Choi Taegyeom, it wasn’t meant to be. The unorganized words couldn’t properly come out of my mouth.

“……Well, you see.”

First, I should apologize. Rather than making clumsy excuses, it would be better to explain properly and ask for forgiveness. There was no reason why I couldn’t tell these guys what I had told Choi Taegyeom.

“Actually, I…”

I’m sorry for deceiving you. There were unavoidable circumstances. I couldn’t utter the rest of the words. Park Sungjae slowly nodded and said in a calm tone:

“It seems the kids misunderstood something.”

All those words vanished beyond my throat. Instead, Park Sungjae’s words echoed in my head. So, he said ‘misunderstanding’ just now?

“You were sick, Hyung. You were so sick that Senior Choi Taegyeom carried you, right?”

“……What?”

“You were laid low with a fever, so they must have mistaken it for a heat cycle.”

Park Sungjae concluded on his own and nodded. Yes, that’s right, it makes sense. There wasn’t a hint of doubt on his muttering face. I looked at Park Sungjae with a blank expression and asked in an even blanker voice.

“Who said I was sick?”

“Dohyun did.”

The answer was clear. The situation instantly came into focus. Choi Taegyeom, who carried me, and Kim Dohyun, who remained in the club room. Since Park Sungjae told Kim Dohyun to bring me, Kim Dohyun must have made the excuse, ‘Senior Yoonwoo is sick.’

“……”

He had hidden the fact that I was an omega even at that moment. Should I thank him for caring for me, or should I say he did something unnecessary since Park Sungjae’s misunderstanding deepened? While my mind was complex, Park Sungjae cheerfully patted my shoulder with a refreshed look.

“I was so surprised. When I came to school, the kids were saying Hyung was an omega, that he had a heat cycle, and there was even a rumor that he slept with Senior Choi Taegyeom.”

My face flushed at the explicit words. It felt different from when those strangers were whispering earlier. When someone I knew said it with such a bright expression, an inexplicable embarrassment suddenly surged forth.

“No matter what, that was too much. You have someone you like, Hyung, it’s problematic if there’s a rumor that you slept with Senior Choi Taegyeom.”

“……”

“What if the other person misunderstands…”

The more he spoke, the more subtly Park Sungjae’s expression changed. He looked at me with an ‘this isn’t right?’ expression, then tightly shut his mouth for a moment. He tilted his head like a puppy, then forced an awkward smile.

“The person you like, Hyung, was the same age, right?”

Should I answer? The brief hesitation was short-lived. Park Sungjae reached a conclusion faster than I did.

“No way…”

“……”

“That… that…”

I covered my eyes with one hand. I couldn’t bear to meet their gazes. My face was hot, and I could feel the warmth on my palm.

“That’s impossible!”

A shrill scream burst from Park Sungjae’s mouth. Through the gaps in my fingers, I saw Park Sungjae’s horrified face. Minjeong’s gaze was still fixed on me. I let out a faint sigh and lowered the hand that had covered my eyes.

“The person you like was Senior Choi Taegyeom?”