Omega Complex Novel (Completed) - Chapter 81

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As soon as May arrived, news of rain followed. After a spell of spring rain, the cherry blossoms that had bloomed so vibrantly had all fallen. Fresh green sprouts dyed the campus verdant, and the humid sunlight settled warmly onto the soil. The distinctly warmer weather meant I no longer felt cold without a coat.

“…Hello?”

It was a weekend morning, and what woke me from a deep sleep was my phone, set to vibrate. The buzzing, buzzing vibration pulled me out of the depths of slumber. On the screen, seen through blurry eyes, were the two characters: ‘Mom’.

“Oh, Yoonwoo. Were you sleeping?”

A familiar voice asked kindly. I slowly turned my body sideways and answered in a heavy voice.

“Yes, I was sleeping…”

My eyelids felt impossibly heavy, and it felt as if I would instantly fall back into a deep sleep if I closed my eyes. The last time I checked the clock was around 3 AM, meaning I hadn’t even slept for five hours. So, it was no surprise that my voice was hoarse and my words slurred.

“I should have called a bit later then. Do you want to sleep more?”

“Hmm…”

As I quietly hummed, a warm, soft sensation nestled into my embrace. When I unconsciously lowered my gaze, I saw neatly lowered eyelashes. A surge of emotion welled up, chasing away the drowsiness that had been pouring over me.

“…I’m going to get up.”

Choi Taegyeom was sleeping soundly, breathing evenly. His slightly parted, reddish lips were visible beneath his smooth nose bridge. When I gently stroked his disheveled hair, he stirred and buried his face deeper into my embrace.

“Why did you call?”

“Shhh,” I whispered, lowering my voice. I also turned down the phone’s volume as low as possible. Fortunately, Choi Taegyeom didn’t seem to wake up, and Mom casually got straight to the point.

“It’s almost your birthday, isn’t it?”

Now that she mentioned it, it was indeed that time of year again. Around this time, my birthday always comes along with various events. I don’t usually attach much significance to it, and this time, with so much going on, I had completely forgotten.

“You’ll drop by the house, won’t you? Mom will make you seaweed soup, so come the day before, stay overnight, eat, and then go. It happens to be a weekend.”

“…Seaweed soup?”

I blinked, looking bewildered. As far as I knew, my parents weren’t the type to celebrate such things. It wasn’t intentional; they were just too busy to think about it. On my birthday, we never even had cake, let alone seaweed soup. In fact, it was Taegyeom’s parents who usually took care of such celebrations.

“Are you taking the weekend off?”

“My goodness, I always take weekends off. I’m a civil servant, after all.”

“Because you’ve never taken one off before.”

The mother I remembered always went to work, even on weekends. It had always been that way, but I wasn’t particularly upset or anything. A birthday isn’t a special day, and isn’t it just one of those anniversaries that comes around every year anyway? I naturally assumed my parents didn’t pay much attention to it either, but it seemed I was mistaken.

“It’s okay, a big trial just ended. You probably don’t eat well living alone, so you should at least eat on a day like this. I saw you recently, and you’ve lost so much weight.”

Mom clicked her tongue, sounding a little upset. She said she hadn’t noticed when I was at home, but now that I was living on my own, it bothered her. She even added that Dad was worried about me too, then asked in a surprised voice, “Do you have plans?”

I slowly lowered my head. Burying my nose in his soft hair, I caught the fragrant scent of shampoo and pheromones. I felt as if Choi Taegyeom’s unique body odor had become a little stronger.

“No, not yet.”

Not yet, no plans at all. At most, Park Sungjae would probably arrange a drinking session. The only slight concern was Choi Taegyeom, but since he’d be next door if I went to my parents’ house, it probably wouldn’t matter much.

“I knew it. You only have Taegyeom as a friend.”

“…Mom.”

“Just kidding, just kidding.”

Her cheerful laughter revealed a playful mischievousness. It seemed about half-true, but instead of pointing it out, I laughed along with Mom. Holding Choi Taegyeom in my arms and listening to her talk about him, I felt a truly strange sensation.

“Get along well with Taegyeom.”

It was a single sentence packed with various meanings. “We’re not kids, why would you say that?” I wanted to joke back, but Mom’s intention was too clear.

“And stop talking about being an Omega. You shouldn’t keep many secrets from friends.”

The first thing I asked after presenting as an Omega was for them to hide my secondary gender. My parents looked puzzled but didn’t ask anything, and they kept quiet about it as I requested. It was hard to imagine how much they must have worried, seeing me shut myself in the house without even explaining why.

“Where else would you find a kind kid like Taegyeom? Why would you fight, anyway?”

“We don’t fight.”

I awkwardly patted Choi Taegyeom and responded. Far from fighting, we were so close that we fell asleep in the same bed. I had confessed about being an Omega a long time ago, but Mom on the other end of the phone would have no idea about any of this.

“Right, that’s true. Tell Taegyeom to come too if he has time. Mom will make something delicious.”

“I’ll tell him. But you don’t have to cook, so don’t overdo it.”

“You don’t want to eat what Mom makes, do you?”

“…”

I couldn’t bring myself to say no. Both my parents were excessively untalented at cooking. Dad was slightly better than Mom, but even his food wasn’t exactly palatable.

“…That’s not it.”

“Too late, you rascal.”

Mom laughed without any hint of disappointment at my hasty excuse. She even added a completely unconvincing remark about how her skills had improved a lot lately, so I shouldn’t worry. I didn’t have much faith in that, but instead of arguing, I just said okay.

“Anyway, Mom has to get back to work now, so I’ll hang up. See you this weekend.”

“Yes, goodbye.”

The call was cut off sharply before I could even finish my greeting. She’s so busy, there’s no need to go out of her way for my birthday. Just as I was worrying if I had unnecessarily burdened her, Choi Taegyeom’s pheromones wafted strongly towards me.

“Mother?”

He asked in a voice tinged with sleepiness. Then, burying his face in my chest, he burrowed deeper into my embrace, wriggling. With only a thin T-shirt between us, Choi Taegyeom exhaled hot breaths.

“Yeah. Did you wake up because it was noisy?”

“It wasn’t noisy… I just heard your voice.”

That’s just waking up because it’s noisy, isn’t it? I pressed my lips to his head as an apology. The pheromones surrounding us floated pleasantly.

“Why did she call?”

“She said to come stay the night before my birthday. She’ll make seaweed soup.”

“The day before your birthday, so next Saturday?”

Choi Taegyeom knew the day of my birthday, even the specific day of the week, when I didn’t even remember it myself. “Yeah, Saturday,” I replied, and he fiddled with my waist. His ticklish touch traveled up my spine.

“Then you’ll be going to your parents’ house that day.”

There was a hint of disappointment in his voice. This was why I had hesitated earlier when asked if I had plans. I gently pushed him away slightly and met his languid, unfocused eyes.

“You come too. Mom said she’d make something delicious.”

“…She’s cooking herself?”

Choi Taegyeom, who had often been a sacrificial lamb in his childhood, asked in astonishment. I still remembered his pale face, unable to say it tasted bad. Even someone with an unpicky palate like him reacted that way, which spoke volumes about Mom’s cooking skills.

“Well… she said her skills have improved a lot.”

I offered the excuse out of conscience, but the possibility of the result being delicious was almost zero. Choi Taegyeom seemed to think the same, avoiding my gaze without any positive affirmation. He seemed willing to go with me, but the thought of eating the food was daunting. After a brief silence, he asked kindly.

“What do you want?”

It felt like a long time since I’d heard that question. It was a question I used to hear every year before my birthday, but for the past five years, I hadn’t been able to. The fact made me a little embarrassed, and I answered awkwardly.

“Nothing.”

“I thought so.”

He smiled gently and leaned back into my embrace. At his sweet request to release pheromones, I hugged him back and gradually increased the amount of pheromones. Choi Taegyeom took a deep breath and murmured with a hint of excitement.

“We’ll spend time together again after a long time.”

When we were young, Choi Taegyeom and I were always together. I was not a lonely child, but Choi Taegyeom thought otherwise. Even without doing anything special, he would take me to his house on my birthday to spend time. I also heard “Happy Birthday” from Choi Taegyeom before anyone else.

“Uncle’s seaweed soup was delicious.”

I chuckled softly as I spoke. I felt sorry for my parents, but Choi Taegyeom’s father’s cooking was the best. Even the porridge Choi Taegyeom brought me when I was sick was made by his uncle.

“Dad only cooks for two people: one is Mom, and the other is you. I’m not on that list.”

Choi Taegyeom whined, clinging to me in my arms, asking if it wasn’t too unfair. He clearly wasn’t upset at all; he just wanted to be pampered. Of course, that didn’t mean his words were a lie. When I stroked his hair to comfort him, he rubbed his cheek against me contentedly, as if he hadn’t just complained.

“Let’s sleep more, Yoonwoo.”

Choi Taegyeom pulled my waist closer and patted my back. His words were drawn out, indicating that he was still sleepy. He probably went to bed much later than me, having to clean up after I had collapsed into sleep.

“Yeah…”

The patting motion brought back the sleep that had left me. The quiet, settled pheromones and occasional breaths felt like a lullaby. When I loosened my arms around him, Choi Taegyeom also stopped stroking my back.

Next week, I thought, I should tell my parents what happened with Choi Taegyeom. That I was discovered to be an Omega, and that our relationship had changed like this. Of course, I’d have to discuss it with Choi Taegyeom first, but he probably wouldn’t object.

“When we wake up, let’s eat something delicious.”

His voice, heard in my sleep, was as gentle as ever. A day spent falling asleep with Choi Taegyeom, waking up with him, and spending time together. The days I had grown accustomed to recently brought me happiness every single day.

So, a thought suddenly occurred to me. What if I lived in the same house with Choi Taegyeom? What if his studio apartment became our studio apartment, instead of just him staying in mine?

Of course, that thought couldn’t overcome the pouring sleepiness. Before long, I fell asleep, and when I came to, it was broad daylight. The desire to live with him was also buried as a ridiculous fantasy.

The week leading up to my birthday flew by. As soon as the festival ended, the club members pestered me daily to go drinking. Of course, Choi Taegyeom’s friends were among them, and they didn’t forget their initial goal, demanding that Minjeong mix their drinks. At first, Minjeong politely humored them, but later she openly showed her annoyance and outright ignored them.

“Happy birthday, Hyung!”

Today, the club members, still tireless, sought out a bar again. This time, the excuse was to celebrate my birthday in advance, and naturally, my opinion as the person concerned wasn’t considered at all. As soon as classes ended, I was kidnapped to the club room and then dragged by Park Sungjae to their regular bar.

“Dohyun went to his tutoring… Can Taegyeom hyung not come?”

“He said he had something to do and had to go home.”

Unfortunately, Choi Taegyeom said he had an errand and went home first. Before leaving me, he asked if I was going to drink and didn’t forget to tell me to call him when the drinking session was over. To my playful question, ‘Are you coming to pick me up?’, he replied sweetly, ‘Of course I have to.’

“You know, Hyung.”

Park Sungjae, who had been unusually quiet today, whispered conspiratorially. When I looked at him silently, he grumbled with a hint of dissatisfaction.

“That hyung seems interested in Minjeong.”

Where Park Sungjae was looking, Choi Taegyeom’s friends were visible. More precisely, Jeon Raehyun, sitting next to Minjeong and offering her a drink. He was smiling foolishly, so he seemed to be asking her to mix another drink.

“Really?”

“Yeah, I just have a feeling. He always sits next to her, asks her to mix soju and beer, and recently he even openly asked for her number.”

“He didn’t ask for your number?”

“I already exchanged numbers with him a long time ago.”

He blinked, as if asking what I meant. He didn’t seem to notice the contradiction in his own words at all. I looked at Minjeong, who had an unamused expression, and sipped the drink in front of me.

“He might like her.”

“No, he shouldn’t. Kim Minjeong hates that kind of thing.”

“What kind of thing?”

“Someone is hitting on her!”

His tone was very confident. Given Minjeong’s personality, it wasn’t strange for her to act that way, but Park Sungjae’s words were more of an observation born from experience. As if he was talking about something he had personally gone through. So, a bewildered question slipped out unconsciously.

“Do you like Minjeong?”

Park Sungjae’s eyes widened as he held his drink with both hands. Perhaps because his hands were so large, the small soju glass looked like a toy. Park Sungjae, who was fidgeting and averting his gaze, swallowed hard.

“How did you know?”

Cough, I choked. I never imagined he would answer in the affirmative. In my embarrassment, I covered my mouth with the back of my hand, but Park Sungjae’s eyebrows drooped disconsolately.

“I’ve sorted it all out now. I got rejected before.”

“…When?”

“It’s been a while. Soon after we came to college?”