KA Chapter 3

Since becoming an Omega in the winter of his sixteenth year, Yihyun had deliberately distanced himself from Baek Juho. It wasn’t just because Juho, who used to stand beside him as an equal Alpha, had started to feel somehow distant—there was a far more precise reason.

He had become conscious of Juho’s pheromones, which he had never noticed before.

Though they had attended the same high school, they were only ever in the same class once. Even then, Yihyun had kept to himself. He’d managed to forget for a while, but now, even breathing felt heavy.

Lately, Baek Juho had taken to clinging to him with increasing ease, wearing that same nonchalant expression, and each time, he shamelessly let his pheromones spill into the air.

Does he think I can’t tell just because I’m recessive?

Once or twice would’ve been tolerable, but after months of exposure, Yihyun’s senses had become hypersensitive.

Whether Baek Juho knew or not, he stood up from the sofa with a mischievous glint in his eyes, making a vulgar gesture with his loosely curled hand.

“If you need a hand with it, I could help.”

“Get out.”

Before his fingertips could reach, Yihyun took a step back and spoke firmly.

Baek Juho looked down at him quietly for a moment, then jutted out his lips as if he had no choice.

“Fine. You’re being so petty. I’m leaving.”

He roughly tousled Yihyun’s hair before turning on his heel and walking out.

Bang.

Only after the door had fully slammed shut did Yihyun, who had stood frozen in place, move toward the window and hurriedly pushed it open.

A gust of wind swept in, scattering Baek Juho’s scent in every direction. Only then could he breathe again. Yihyun pressed a palm gently to the nape of his neck, which had grown hot.

He didn’t know why, but it felt like he wouldn’t be able to stand it unless he aired the place out immediately.

Whatever that merciless pheromone was some kind of silent challenge or something else, he couldn’t take it anymore. Next time they met, he would definitely say something. With that thought, Yihyun muttered under his breath.

“Damn Baek Juho.”

***

“Yihyun-sunbae, are you okay?”

“Huh?”

At the sound of someone calling his name, Yihyun snapped his head up. His junior, Myungjoo, gave an awkward smile.

“You didn’t look so well.”

Only then did Yihyun realize he’d completely zoned out. They had gathered ahead of their group presentation. He hadn’t been feeling well since returning from the hospital, and clearly, it had affected him enough to lose focus during the discussion—something that was unlike him.

“Sorry, where were we?”

At that, the other group members sitting across from him laughed sheepishly and resumed the conversation.

The assignment was to watch a movie chosen for the video content seminar and break it into 15 acts. The class included many students from other departments, and while the task wasn’t difficult, Yihyun preferred to avoid these kinds of situations whenever he could. The reason was simple.

“But for an homme fatale character, the actor’s presence is just as important, don’t you think?”

Nam Homin, sitting opposite Yihyun, suddenly chimed in.

“No matter how well you build the character, if the acting doesn’t back it up, it all falls apart.”

To that, Myungjoo glanced subtly at Yihyun before replying, “I don’t think that’s really relevant to our topic.”

“No, what I mean is, wouldn’t it be faster and easier to just cast an actor with the right secondary gender rather than spending tons of effort on building the character using a bunch of tools?”

Yihyun could feel Nam Homin’s gaze subtly shift toward him. It was obvious who his words were directed at.

Since birth, Yihyun had always felt more at ease around those with unique traits than with Betas. The people who made up his small world were all like that.

But as his world expanded, he had come to understand all too well that such people were the exception.

In truth, those with unique traits were rarer than he’d thought. And because of that, they stood out wherever they went, making them perfect targets for bored people to gossip about.

Among them were many who openly expressed their contempt, claiming that competing against Alphas was like starting a race with a broken leg.

Still, even those kinds knew when to tuck their tails and act shrewdly before the strong. Just like how Nam Homin didn’t dare say a word in front of Baek Juho, yet felt free to push boundaries in front of Yihyun, the “recessive Alpha.”

Yihyun answered in his usual calm tone.

“That’s off-topic. Let’s get back to the discussion. I found the use of the villain in the movie particularly…”

“Why? I think it’s relevant. Don’t they say Alphas and Omegas communicate emotions through pheromones or something? I heard it makes everything more intense than with Betas. Maybe that’s why those types of actors give better performances.”

Nam Homin snickered as he pointed at the screen of his laptop, where an Omega actor was displayed.

“People don’t say it out loud, but I bet everyone thinks the same. And we’ve even got someone here who could give us a straight answer. Oh, though I guess you might not know, Yihyun. I heard even among Alphas and Omegas there’s a huge difference depending on whether they’re dominant or recessive.”

“……”

“Honestly, even I can tell you don’t seem much like an Alpha.”

Nam Homin slowly gave Yihyun a sly look and continued.

“You’d be more believable as an Omega, if anything.”

Silence spread across the table. Yihyun stared at him without a word.

The junior, Myungjoo, swallowed at the chilling shift in the atmosphere, while Nam Homin kept babbling cluelessly.

“Why’s the mood so tense? I’m a Beta, so I don’t know this stuff. I just said what I thought. I mean, Yihyun, you don’t really act like an Alpha. You know that famous Alpha in your year? Guys like him are just the worst, right?”

Clearly unaware of Yihyun’s relationship with Baek Juho, Nam Homin kept joking around. The sight of it made Yihyun let out a scoff.

Maybe all that effort to avoid him at school had paid off. If even a gossip-obsessed idiot like him hasn’t heard anything, it must’ve worked.

“Ah, sunbae…! Yihyun-sunbae is…”

Myungjoo, unable to bear it any longer, fidgeted in her seat and tried to intervene. But Yihyun was quicker to speak. He smiled smoothly.

“Full of himself, isn’t he?”

“Exactly! Finally, someone who gets it.”

At Yihyun’s reaction, Nam Homin perked up and started bouncing in his seat.

“I mean, what’s so great about him? Just ‘cause he was born with some trait, he acts like he’s king of the world. That attitude really rubs me the wrong way.”

Yihyun couldn’t help but let out a sneer. It surprised him how easily he found himself agreeing with the nonsense.

That part about being born with some trait stuck with him more than anything else.

Back in high school, he’d thought something similar every time he saw Baek Juho brimming with confidence.

A cocky bastard born with the right trait.

And because he’d muttered such curses himself more than once, he knew no matter how much he tried to tear him down like that, it couldn’t leave even a scratch on Baek Juho.

“I didn’t know we’d click so well, Yihyun.”

Nam Homin clapped gleefully and grinned from ear to ear, his cheeks flushed.

Yihyun watched him in silence. Even if it was all fake, he had learned something from living as a recessive Alpha.

One of those things was that it wasn’t just Alphas who dominated others with their traits who were no different from animals, but also those who divided others by those same traits.

When meeting someone new, they immediately categorized them as either someone they could dominate or someone they couldn’t—just like Nam Homin, who kept running his mouth while covertly scanning Yihyun from head to toe.

Yihyun didn’t need to look inside his head to know what he was thinking. Right on cue, Nam Homin leaned in as if about to share a secret, lowering his voice conspiratorially.

“Since we’re hitting it off, can I ask just one more thing? You’re a guy too, so you get it, right? That kind of fantasy about a world you’ve never been part of.”

“……”

“So what’s it like doing it with an Omega? I heard the pheromones they release when they’re turned on are insane, so strong even a Beta can feel it. Have you tried it?”

Normally, this was the kind of garbage Yihyun would’ve ignored without a second thought. He had endured far worse than this. Cheap words like these could never leave a scratch on him. Yes, that’s how it should’ve been. So why did he feel so unsettled today?

As he listened to those disgusting remarks, words he wanted to spit out welled up all the way to his throat.

Yihyun set down the pen he was holding in its place and gave a slight smile.

Because he was usually so quiet, rarely speaking and with barely any change in expression, that single smile alone made everyone seated around him tense up in unison.

With a smile that looked as if it had been painted on, Yihyun responded in a flat, emotionless voice.

“No, I wouldn’t know because I’ve never experienced that.”

“…Ha, yeah, I guess it’s not like Omegas are all that common.”

For a moment, Nam Homin seemed to realize he’d been overwhelmed by Cha Yihyun’s presence. He suddenly lifted his head and spoke even louder.

“Yeah, come to think of it, that wasn’t something I should’ve asked you. You’re still performing your duties as a man just fine, right? Even though you look like a girl.”

At his words, Yihyun responded coolly, like he’d been waiting for that line all along.

“Oh, but there is one thing I do know.”

“What is it?”

“If Betas had pheromones, then the kind coming off you right now would be so cheap that even sitting face-to-face with you would be nauseating.”

“What?”