Confined Pheromone

The shackles were sturdy. And solid. The density of the rough-tanned leather was so high that not even a small gap was visible. To break this, something sharp and pointed was needed. A small utility knife or kitchen knife wouldn’t even come close. It would take something as thick as an axe to cut through. Sanho watched Siwoo, who had gotten off the bed and was twisting the shackles and pulling on the chains, with a fixed gaze. His eyes resembled those of a powerless beast caught in a trap, having lost all hope.

“It’s useless.”

It was while he was checking the lock that tightly bound the leather joints without any gaps. Sanho spoke in a dry voice. Siwoo, following the snake-like chain with his gaze, faced Sanho.

“That… it won’t come off.”

In fact, Siwoo knew deep down that this shackle wouldn’t come off easily. If it could be removed so easily, the person who had imprisoned them wouldn’t have left them like this, just shackled. He had already assessed the situation. He was aware that he was trapped in a chillingly white room with a junior whose face he couldn’t even remember. However, understanding something and accepting it were two different matters.

“Do you… know how long we’ve been here?”

Sanho slowly shook his head.

“I don’t know. I just woke up about two hours earlier than you.”

Woke up two hours earlier? Then why didn’t he wake him up? The length of the chains firmly fixed to each of their beds was quite long. Even though the square room wasn’t that small, it seemed like they could reach the corners with their feet. It wasn’t because they were tied up that he hadn’t woken him. Siwoo frowned as he looked at Sanho, who appeared calm unlike his own flustered self. Sanho seemed to sense Siwoo’s gaze and shook his head again.

“You couldn’t wake up even if I did.”

“Couldn’t wake up…?”

“Maybe they gave us some drugs? Or something like gas….”

Sanho’s words sounded absurd. But the very situation of being trapped here was incomprehensible. So perhaps Sanho’s words might be true. The splitting headache could be due to some artificial substance, whether it was a drug or gas. In fact, that seemed more plausible. Siwoo slowly sat down on his bed as if collapsing. He rubbed his face with his large hands.

“This is….”

“Senior.”

“Do you think this makes any sense?”

Siwoo muttered blankly as he looked at his bare feet neatly placed on the whitewashed floor. Everything felt unreal to the point that even the voice coming out of his mouth sounded strange.

“…Senior.”

“Do you think this makes any sense? Who, why, locked us up….”

Nothing made sense. Wasn’t this a setting straight out of a horror movie? Two people trapped in a whitewashed room like lab rats. Why us of all people? What connection did we have? Siwoo couldn’t even remember who Sanho was.

It was just that he couldn’t remember.

But that wasn’t the only thing he couldn’t understand. Both Siwoo and Sanho were men. Healthy men in their twenties. Although Sanho was thin and slender, he wasn’t particularly small compared to the average male physique. Moreover, what about Siwoo himself? It wouldn’t be easy to overpower and imprison a healthy man in his twenties like Siwoo.

“…….”

Sanho’s shoulders, which had been stretched out in a straight line, slowly slumped forward. A long scar was visible beneath his neatly defined collarbone, suggesting it was an old wound that had already healed. Strangely, that scar felt somewhat familiar. So familiar that, for some reason, it made his heart ache. It was an inexplicable sensation.

“Sanho, how much do you remember?”

Siwoo asked again, rubbing his dry hands over his face. He could feel the pulsing of his temples clearly.

“I don’t remember well. The last lecture ended at six… I think I was going home….”

Siwoo’s hand, which had been pressing on his brow, suddenly froze. Right, they had planned to go drinking after class with their classmates from the major. Siwoo slowly lowered his hand and looked at Sanho.

“You came to drink too.”

“Drink?”

“They said they were going to drink together after the major class. That bar in the basement. The stairs are narrow and steep.”

Sanho tilted his head again. He looked as if he didn’t understand what Siwoo was talking about. A look of doubt appeared on his face. There was something strange about that expression. He shouldn’t have forgotten. Even Siwoo, whose memory was shaky, clearly remembered what had happened ten hours ago.

He cleared his throat and thought. He had gone into the alley to smoke a cigarette before entering the bar. And at that time, he had seen Sanho. Sanho’s silhouette, backlit by the neon sign, was blurry. He seemed to have said something awkward… After that, he had handed Sanho a cigarette and lit it…

“You asked to borrow a cigarette from me.”

“A cigarette?”

Sanho frowned slightly.

“I hate that brand of cigarettes. Really. Don’t you remember?”

The question of whether he didn’t remember triggered another memory. After the accident, he hadn’t told anyone that his memory wasn’t intact. But for some reason, this kid, Sanho, knew that his memory was broken.

‘You really don’t remember, do you?’

The words he had said during the major class.

‘You don’t remember my name, do you?’

Even the words exchanged in the messy alley.

This kid, Sanho, was convinced that Siwoo wouldn’t remember his name. No, it wasn’t just a conviction; it was recognition. He had already known. The identity of the discomfort he had felt a moment ago was becoming clearer. Siwoo slowly stood up.

“Why did you think I wouldn’t remember your name?”

As Siwoo took a step toward Sanho’s bed, the chains trailing behind him made a rustling sound. Sanho glanced at the chains scraping against the floor and then looked up at Siwoo standing before him.

“How did you know I lost my memory?”

Siwoo grabbed Sanho’s shoulder. His grip was rougher than expected, causing Sanho to sway as he lost his balance. Siwoo quickly reached out and grabbed his other shoulder. The white arm supporting Sanho had visible tendons. Sanho, suddenly grabbed by both shoulders, looked somewhat bewildered.

“……Do you remember that?”

“You asked me if I didn’t remember.”

“Um, I think my memory is okay right now.”

“You didn’t remember who you heard your name from, did you?”

Seeing Sanho’s flustered expression brought a sense of relief to Siwoo.

This kid knows something.

The situation of being kidnapped was surrounded by incomprehensible things, and he felt like he was wandering without knowing what questions to ask. But now, he had at least grasped a question that took shape at his fingertips. At least there was someone in front of him he could ask. It was rather fortunate that he had someone to question, someone to inquire about. Siwoo instinctively felt that this kid was the reason he was trapped here.

“Do you remember that?”

“…….”

“What do you mean by saying your memory seems okay right now?”

Sanho’s eyes, which had looked troubled, paused for a moment before narrowing. Could it be… he’s smiling now? As Siwoo seemed about to press Sanho again, he squeezed his shoulder. But before he could utter a word, a strong scent suddenly enveloped him.

“Uh…!”

It was the sweet scent of dampness. A fragrance that seemed to arise from crushing a lot of delicious fruit and stirring it in water. It was an intense scent that could paralyze his brain to the point where he couldn’t think straight. If it were just a simple scent, it wouldn’t have been able to incapacitate his reason like this.

Moreover, this scent. He was sure he had smelled it before. Perhaps he had known it for a very long time…

Siwoo instinctively released Sanho’s shoulder and took a step back.

“Senior…? Why are you suddenly like this?”

Sanho’s face, tilting his head, looked hazy. Siwoo, trying not to close his tightly squinted eyes, took a few more steps back.

“Wait, just a moment.”

“Are you hurt? Your face is pale.”

The scent pouring in so strongly that he could hardly breathe, and the scent that made his body react first, was definitely pheromones. Alpha and Omega.

The special traits known as Alpha and Omega were rare, possessed by only 5% of the population. To put it simply, they could be divided into Alphas, Omegas, and Betas, but since 95% of the population had Beta traits, Alphas and Omegas were recognized as the unusual traits.

Among these traits, only 1% of the population had Omega traits. The remaining 4% had Alpha traits, and among them, those with particularly strong traits were called ‘dominant.’

In fact, most of them preferred not to reveal their traits to the world unless absolutely necessary. There was no particular reason to hide, but it wasn’t something to boast about either.

The reason was obvious. Envy and jealousy.

Alphas and Omegas, although different in nature, were similarly targets of envy and jealousy. Most of them had more attractive appearances and physiques than Betas, and their average intelligence was slightly higher. Because most of the prominent figures in politics, society, and economics were traited individuals, they often received sharp gazes.

Siwoo was no exception. After manifesting as a dominant Alpha at the age of ten, he had become an unwanted object of envy and admiration. He had encountered countless people who wanted to befriend him and those who wanted to belittle him. Unless it was a truly special situation, he wouldn’t talk about his traits, and that was why.

And ‘truly special situations’ rarely occurred in everyday life.

But now.

The pheromones of an Omega, overtly alluring to Alphas, surrounded him thickly. For Alphas, Omega pheromones held various meanings. Sometimes they acted as stimulants, sometimes as remedies. Occasionally, they were used as hallucinogens, but mostly…

“Sanho, hey.”

It was an aphrodisiac.

The chains connected to Siwoo’s ankle rustled ominously. His eyes, tightly squinted, and his lips, trembling to the point of blood, were quivering. The thick pheromones that mercilessly overwhelmed Siwoo instantly dulled his senses. His hazy reason flared up as if it were the last battleground.

“…Stay over there.”

A muffled groan escaped between his lips, unable to be suppressed. The warm brown pupils began to be devoured by a crimson hue.

“Don’t come over here.”

Pressing one eye with his wrist, he continued to back away. He was deliberately trying to widen the distance between himself and Sanho. He didn’t know why this space was filled with Omega pheromones, but one thing was clear. If he continued to be exposed to these pheromones, he would end up pouncing on the only other person in this space like a beast.

Siwoo had a relatively high resistance to pheromones. Even Omega pheromones, he could control his reactions to some extent with his will. But the pheromones he was experiencing now didn’t feel like just simple dominant Omega pheromones; they were overwhelming him with a ferocity that was hard to resist. Even while desperately clinging to the last remnants of his reason, the Omega pheromones were violently pushing him. It was more relentless than the shackles gripping his ankles.

“Why are you doing this?”

In his blurred vision, he saw Sanho reaching out. The face resembling a white porcelain doll tilted slightly as he stared at Siwoo.

“Are you in pain? Senior, please say something.”

“I’m fine, so just… get away…”

Siwoo, gritting his teeth, reached out to stop Sanho. If he came any closer, he wouldn’t be able to hold on any longer.

“I’m saying this because you don’t look fine.”

Sanho grabbed Siwoo’s hand, which was stretched out to stop him. The moment he did, the pheromones that had been constricting Siwoo’s body surged in like a wave. The pheromones absorbed into his thin skin like a sponge and poured deep into his lungs. It was as if the last line of defense he had been barely holding onto had been breached.

Thud.

The moment Sanho grasped his fingertips, Siwoo roughly threw Sanho onto the bed. Sanho, who had fallen helplessly onto the bed, looked up at Siwoo, who was now on top of him.

“Senior, huh.”