December - Chapter 5

I bowed to him slightly as the middle school student introduced him but he only stared at me without moving. Just as I noticed he was an Alpha at a glance, I was nervous for no reason because I wondered if he figured I was an Omega.

“Uncle, it’s the hyung who gave me the inhibitors.”

The middle school student kindly hinted that I was an Omega and I smiled awkwardly.

“I had a lot of inhibitors with me.”

“…”

He still just stared at me. Why was he staring at me like that? Moreover, his expression was stiff as if it had been hardened. When I thought that he might have suspected me as the Alpha who had been chasing his nephew, he opened his mouth.

“Why do you have a lot of inhibitors?”

“Well, it just so happened.”

I was embarrassed by the unexpected question but I didn’t manage to say that I had with me because I was an Omega. Of course, carrying an inhibitor herb would be enough to label someone as an Omega. What was strange about him was his gaze, which was burdensome. Can I go home now? Facing his eyes without avoiding them, his black eyes seemed to waver for a brief moment and then he turned his head. He swept his hair back and inched towards me.

“Thank you for your help.”

He looked of a similar age to me but it might be because his voice was low-pitched, he felt like an adult.

“Well, I didn’t do much.”

I smiled awkwardly again and greeted the middle school student right away.

“Goodbye.”

Yes, I quickly turned around after the middle school student replied to me. But before taking a single step, he called me from behind.

“Excuse me.”

“Please give me some of your time.”

Why? The question that I wanted to ask didn’t leave my mouth because of what he said to his nephew next.

“You go straight home.”

The middle school student took turns looking at me and then his uncle. He wondered why the uncle wanted to talk to me. I wondered, too. I wasn’t very happy. Dominant Alpha’s have always been very uncomfortable for me.

“Please take him home. The Alphas who were chasing your nephew might still be out there.”

“Your cell phone?”

“Here.”

The student rolled up his sleeves and showed a smartwatch on his wrist.

“Call me as soon as you get into trouble.”

“What about inhibitors?”

“I think it will be okay until dinner because the effect of the inhibitor herb I ate earlier was good. Right?”

The student asked me. I nodded. His uncle pointed out with his chin as if he was checking everything.

“Then you can go home alone, right?’

“Of course.”

The student nodded several times. So I failed to bring awareness to the kid that it might still be dangerous. I thought the kid would be anxious and scared of Alpha’s but it wasn’t like that at all. When my uncle sent him home as if it was nothing, with a few double checks here and there, the kid left the library thinking it was not a big deal.

The kid’s expression seemed rather confident. I stared blankly at the central stairs where the kid had disappeared. I felt strange. I was a little envious of the kid’s resilience to return to his usual life and the calmness of his uncle who encouraged him.

When I realized that the uncle was left behind, I turned my head. Black eyes were staring at me. It was a strong gaze so I felt like he was staring off somewhere. Was he offended? I wanted to ask but I didn’t show him that I was intimidated.

“Do you have anything to say to me?”

When I asked openly, he tried to say something but then turned his eyes.

“Have you been studying?”

“Yes. I want to return to it quickly.”

If he had something to say, he should say it quickly. I answered firmly about my intention. I was not cold to people but if my opponent was a dominant Alpha, it was different. It was the only choice I could make and I had no regrets about it and the sense of defeat that was still lingering from last time remained a quite deep scar. The boundary against Alpha sets up a barbed wire, feeling almost like a seizure. As if he had noticed the wires I had set up, he stared at me quietly and brought up the topic.

“Give me your phone number.”

“Why?”

“You saw the face of the Alpha high school students. I’d like to get some help.”

That time I blinked and lost my word for a moment. So he was trying to find them until the end? The Alpha students teased me a lot too but…

“Your phone number.”

He looked down at his cell phone and urged me.

“Right, 010-XXXX-XXXX.”

I recited the number and he stared at his phone screen for a while. While I wondered why, my phone vibrated when he pressed the call button. I fished out my phone to confirm it and he spoke to himself.

“…The last numbers are the same.”

Numbers? Was there someone he knew with the same last numbers as me? My last number was my birthday, similar to what people usually have. I left Seoul three years ago and changed my number right away but I ended up using the same number. It was very funny but I thought my existence itself would be erased if I erased my birthday dates when I ran away.  At that time, only that was the minimum pride I could be kept with my teeth clenched. When I remember that time, I realized that the person in front of me was a dominant Alpha.

“Good luck finding the Alpha students.”

I quickly turned around, wondering if he would catch up to me. I felt his eyes following me all the way to the study room. Aside from his impressive uncle, the middle school student remained confident that he could go home alone like an afterimage.

I gave up reading and got up from my seat. I was very hungry but I forgot about that too. I put on a thick padded coat and slung my bag over my shoulder. I should go home. I left the study room, returned my book, and went down to the emergency stairs nearby to the first floor.

The high ceiling was cool because of the outside air. I stopped before leaving the library and wrapped my scarf tightly. Since it was December, it was only 1 degree outside, however, it was unusually windy that day.

Due to my weak throat, whenever cold air penetrated my nose, I would have a runny nose. I was about to open the door with my face half buried in my scarf when suddenly someone grabbed my arm from behind. Surprised, I turned around and found it was the uncle of the middle school student.

He looked down at me with a puffed chest as if he had come running. Oh? He didn’t leave yet. As I was startled, my heart throbbed and an excitement spread. I soon gulped keeping my head up. Why, what was the matter? I was worried for no reason thinking if I did something wrong, it might be because the expression I saw was stiff all the while. When I opened my eyes wide and looked up, he took a deep breath with a firm expression.

“Tell me your name, please.”

Did he run over to catch me up for that? I was puzzled but I opened my mouth knowing that he was waiting for an answer.

“Oh, my name is Song Yeonwoo.”

Song Yeonwoo. He stared down at me and murmured my name under his breath.  My name sounded familiar to him as he repeated in a low voice, almost like a whisper. Strangely, my heart skipped. I stepped back, wanting to ignore the feeling but his hand wouldn’t let go. Instead he held out what he was holding in his hand.

“Have this.”

It was coffee in a glass bottle. Did he go to the study room before this and as he couldn’t find me there he ran here to look for me…No way. I swallowed my useless delusions. Thank you, I said. I got the coffee and held it in my hand. It was warm like it was a warm storage prior. His fingers were too which I felt as I momentarily brushed against him.

My hands were cold so his warmth remained like a stain on my skin. But the pheromones that emitted faintly from him raised my nerves. Just as each person has a different body odor, Alpha pheromones also have a different scent.

Some have dry and sticky smells like the smell of sweat and others have a scent similar to a  chemical like detergents. That person was completely different and new. There was a smell of wood. A coniferous forest that filled a huge mountain range endlessly and stretched high in the sky. Perhaps because the air was colder now, I felt like I was breathing in the middle of a forest covered with snow.

The pheromone was faint but for a moment there was a force that curled around me. I was not in a rut or sensitive to pheromones but I was warming up inside. I never felt that strong of pheromones from any Alphas before the tension rose shapely over my skin.

“Thank you.”

I managed to greet him and yank my arm out with strength. That time he let go of my arm. But gently, he released it. My scarf. His long fingers grabbed the loose end of my scarf. Unconsciously I lowered my head to check the scarf. Was there something on it?