Woosung Alpha’s Sour Grapes

Chapter 2

The whole school was vibrating with pheromones released by Alphas and Omegas everywhere.

Although Hyeon-woo couldn’t sense the pheromones being a Beta, he could guess how intense they must have been today from how Tae-geon buried his face in his own hair as soon as they got into the sedan after school, complaining that his nose felt like it was rotting.

Typically, pheromones were meant to be a private means of courtship toward someone you liked, so it was uncommon for people to carelessly release them in front of others without regard for time and place. However, with college entrance exams over and graduation approaching at the end of the semester, everyone had gone wild like horses with loose reins.

Since only Betas were employed as teachers to prevent potential incidents, it wasn’t easy for them to control such misconduct from students.

It had become a trend, almost like a rite of passage before graduation, to lure Alphas or Omegas they were interested in to the rooftop or old building bathrooms using pheromones

 Everyone secretly enjoyed this, and it was amusing to see how diligently they attended classes, quietly anticipating their turn.

The reason no brave Omega dared to openly flirt with Tae-geon during all this was likely because everyone remembered the bizarre incident that occurred at the beginning of their enrollment.

It happened in just a matter of minutes after Tae-geon said he was going to rest in the infirmary due to a headache.

An Omega in heat had secretly followed Tae-geon into the infirmary.

An ambulance rushed into the school grounds during class hours. On that day, when all students crowded around the windows at the sound of sirens breaking through their monotonous daily routine, everyone was left speechless at the sight they witnessed.

The Omega lay lifeless on the stretcher, with at least ten syringe-type suppressants stuck all over to the exposed arms and legs, foam forming at the mouth.

Injectable suppressants were several times more potent than oral medications. Due to their significant side effects, they were emergency suppressants only prescribed to students with doctor’s notes at the infirmary. The Omega had gone into shock after receiving what amounted to a lethal dose.

A trail of red blood marked the path where the stretcher had passed. The ambulance doors closed, and the ear-piercing siren gradually faded into the distance.

In the silence that fell over the school grounds, everyone who witnessed this couldn’t even breathe.

The next day, Tae-geon returned to school as usual without any punishment, while the Omega who had been taken away by ambulance vanished without a trace. As if that person had never existed. Perhaps this was expected, given that the school foundation was sponsored by Tae-geon’s family.

While Hyeon-woo was the only one who knew that Tae-geon was the heir to Taeryeong Group, a leading corporation in biotechnology, the incident convinced the entire school that he had powerful backing.

Baseless rumors circulated about the vanished Omega becoming infertile or paralyzed from the waist down, but no one dared to speak openly about the perpetrator. After that day, no Omega ever appeared to flirt with Tae-geon again.

Hyeon-woo sometimes suspected that the incident wasn’t accidental but rather Tae-geon’s intentional showmanship. However, he still believed that if blame were to be assigned, all responsibility lay with the vulgar Omega.

Even after such an incident, when he noticed the barely concealed desire and greed in the eyes of Omegas who still glanced at Tae-geon, it made him sick to his stomach.

Was mating with Alphas all those creatures could think about?

He could understand why Tae-geon shuddered at Omegas.

“…Hah.”

Hot breath poured onto his crown. Thump-thump. The familiar sound of heartbeats near his ear and the subtle scent of fabric softener helped relax his tense body. Hyeon-woo stared blankly out the car window while resting his head against Tae-geon’s firm chest.

It looks like it might snow.

Looking at the sky, hazy and gray all over, made him drowsy. Tae-geon’s well-defined nose, which had been ruffling his hair as if trying to burrow into his scalp, traced down along his ear. His cold face nestled into Hyeon-woo’s neck, which was now exposed after somehow undoing his tie and buttons.

Hyeon-woo shrugged his shoulders at the chill, watching the scenery blur past the window with unfocused eyes before quietly closing them.

*

After the final exams ended, first and second-year students started their winter break two weeks early. Only the seniors continued attending school for college applications when the new year arrived.

At midnight on January 1st, while Hyeon-woo sat on the couch with his family watching the New Year’s Eve bell ceremony on TV, a roll cake with candles suddenly appeared before him. He smiled at his parents as they presented the cake, congratulating him on becoming an adult, before blowing out the candles.

That night, Hyeon-woo had a terrible nightmare. A grotesque monster over ten feet tall chased him with a needle in hand, and despite his desperate attempt to escape, it caught him.

The massive needle in the monster’s hand began stitching his bare skin. Even knowing it was a dream, each stitch burned with intense pain. He struggled to wake from the horrific nightmare but couldn’t move a finger.

Only after enduring the agony of his entire body being sewn with red thread did Hyeon-woo finally wake up in a cold sweat. His whole body ached. He developed a fever and spent the entire holiday confined to bed.

Monday morning, he rushed to prepare for school while completely exhausted. His body refused to cooperate, showing no signs of recovery.

As if coming down with severe body aches, he shivered and felt chills. His condition was so poor that cold sweat ran down his back.

Barely managing to pack his bag and open the front door, his vision suddenly flashed white. Stumbling from the sudden dizziness, Hyeon-woo barely caught himself on the railing. He had nearly tumbled down the stairs.

Why am I like this today…?

Puzzled by his unusual physical state, Hyeon-woo suddenly stopped walking as a thought occurred to him. He wondered if these symptoms might be precursors to manifesting as an Alpha.

He had shown no signs of tertiary sex characteristics, which typically appear around age 14. Had he still harbored hope of manifesting as an Alpha while assuming he was Beta? He’d been having frequent nightmares lately under the pressure of reaching adulthood without manifesting.

Coming from a family that had only produced Alphas, he felt somewhat inadequate for not meeting the subtle expectations placed on him since childhood. Though his parents didn’t seem to mind his designation much, he knew why they would perk up whenever he said he had something to tell them.

Though rare, there were cases of late manifestation, primarily in recessive traits. Despite knowing that society treated recessives as lesser, he still wanted to manifest even that way.

To fully understand the trauma that haunted Tae-geon, he felt he needed to become part of that world. He often felt hypocritical and self-loathing for trying to be Tae-geon’s sanctuary while being just a Beta – essentially blind to that entire experience.

Even for a moment, he wanted to stand on the same ground as Tae-geon and see the world from the same perspective.

Honk- honk-

The black sedan honked repeatedly, urging on Hyeon-woo who was running later than usual.

He hurried down the stairs.

As he got in the car, Tae-geon, who had been sitting with crossed legs looking out the window, turned his gaze to Hyeon-woo.

Sweat-soaked hair clung messily to Hyeon-woo’s pale forehead. Tae-geon reached out toward him.

“Did something happen?”

“I overslept.”

“That’s unusual.”

Hyeon-woo was always punctual. As Tae-geon’s cool hand checked for fever, trailing from his forehead to his temple and along his jawline to his neck, an unfamiliar sensation ran down his spine.

Startled by this strange feeling, Hyeon-woo roughly knocked away Tae-geon’s hand without thinking. This had never happened before in his life – rejecting Tae-geon like this.

Visibly flustered, Hyeon-woo apologized to the now-rigid Tae-geon.

“S-sorry…”

“……”

Sensing Tae-geon’s strange coldness, Hyeon-woo nervously fidgeted with his reddening earlobes.

No words were exchanged between them until the sedan passed through the school gates.

 Finally, as Hyeon-woo gathered his bag to get out of the now-stopped car, Tae-geon grabbed his wrist.

“Wait for me after school. We’re stopping by my house.”

There was much to discuss about college plans. Tae-geon wanted to attend a university as far from his family home as possible. While he yearned for a free college life in a quiet place away from adult interference, Hyeon-woo’s situation was different. His mother continued to oppose the idea of her precious only son following the seemingly psychotic Tae-geon to a distant provincial university.

With his wrist burning where Tae-geon held it, Hyeon-woo frantically nodded in agreement. Suddenly, an unfamiliar scent wafted from his hair.

Or perhaps it was coming from his neck.

Just as Tae-geon thoughtlessly tried to bury his face in Hyeon-woo’s neck, Hyeon-woo quickly grabbed his bag and sprang out of the car like a coiled spring.

Tae-geon let out a laugh at Hyeon-woo’s suddenly wary attitude, his face red as a tomato. They would have to face each other again at home after school anyway to discuss college plans. Not wanting to waste energy on trivial matters, Tae-geon leaned back deeply into his seat.

“S-see you later!”

Tae-geon watched intently as Hyeon-woo disappeared after bowing politely to Driver Choi with a “Thank you.”

*

Being in different classrooms brought some relief for now. Seated at his desk, Hyeon-woo pressed his palm against his forehead, which was dotted with cold sweat.

Why am I like this today?

It wasn’t like Tae-geon’s embraces and touches were anything new.

Hyeon-woo had been barely enduring, thinking his flushed body and racing heart would settle down soon, when he bit his lip against the pain of his internal organs twisting like braided bread. The pain of his entire body being wrung out was getting worse as time passed.

“Ugh.”

Unable to suppress his groans while clutching his stomach, his homeroom teacher, who had been explaining college application strategies at the podium, asked if he was feeling ill.

When several acquaintances in the front row turned around with worried looks, Hyeon-woo finally asked permission to visit the infirmary and hurried to the bathroom instead.

The sensation of his underwear, wet from who knows when, sticking to his bare skin was unpleasant.

After locking himself in a bathroom stall and lowering his clothes, he found everything was a mess with an unknown fluid.

What is this…?

Hyeon-woo’s face went pale as he examined various parts of his body in confusion. The source of the fluid was from behind, not front. His face drained of color as he quickly withdrew his hand. His fingers glistened wetly with some unknown substance.

Could something be wrong with his body? As worry mounted, a sudden realization struck him like lightning.

…He thought he knew what this was.

Hyeon-woo’s face turned ashen.

The early symptoms of Omega manifestation.

So this was why his body had felt strange lately.

Why now? Why this?

Through his blurring vision, the first thing that came to mind was Tae-geon’s face. Just imagining Tae-geon’s hate-filled look toward Omegas being directed at him made it hard for him to breathe.

This can’t be happening. An Omega? Impossible.

Though his body was sending clear signals of manifestation, Hyeon-woo denied reality again and again. He didn’t want to accept anything until he had a doctor’s diagnosis.

First, I need to get to a hospital.

Getting a proper diagnosis for what was happening to his body was the priority.

As Hyeon-woo struggled to adjust his clothes, even that brief contact with sensitive areas sent an unfamiliar jolt up his spine like lightning. His body froze in shock.

…Damn it. This is bad.

He instinctively knew there wasn’t much time before his heat cycle began. He needed to hurry. First, he had to get away from school. If he dawdled and missed his chance, he might lose control and display the same shameful behavior toward Tae-geon that other Omegas did.

He didn’t even want to imagine it. It was filthy and horrible.

At least not in front of Tae-geon.

He didn’t want to show such an ugly side to Tae-geon. No, truthfully, he didn’t want him to know about his Omega manifestation at all. But it was hopeless. Trying to fool Tae-geon – not just any Alpha but an extremely dominant Alpha with uncannily sharp instincts about Omegas – with suppressants was nonsensical.

Could there be another way? As Hyeon-woo searched for options, he suddenly remembered Tae-geon burying his nose in his neck that morning and was struck with horror.

No way. Had he already noticed…?

No. Hyeon-woo shook his head. If Tae-geon had noticed, he wasn’t the type to let it pass quietly.

Going pale as he felt another uncomfortable wetness in his underwear, Hyeon-woo hurried to the infirmary. After confirming it was empty, he took two suppressants and stuffed several more in his pocket before quickly leaving school.

Anything but Omega. Please, anything but Omega.

He’d rather it be some terrible illness. Whatever incurable disease it might be would be preferable to being an Omega.

In the taxi to the hospital, Hyeon-woo clasped his hands together and prayed repeatedly, reciting every deity and saint he could think of, even those he rarely called upon.

*

[Han Hyeon-woo (Ω-)]

The recessive Omega designation was stamped like a brand next to his name.

After sneaking out of school and going to a distant hospital where he wouldn’t run into anyone, he’d spent all day waiting for these test results. Despite desperately hoping otherwise, he was now faced with the worst possible outcome, unable to tear his eyes from the cruel results.

“…This is rather unusual.”

The doctor across from him spoke with a perplexed expression.

“Actually, your genetic makeup shouldn’t allow for Omega manifestation. Rather-“

Hyeon-woo’s eyes grew increasingly confused as he listened carefully to the doctor’s continuing explanation.

So, in short, it seemed that the doctor was saying that genetically he should have manifested as an Alpha, but some powerful external factor had caused him to manifest as an Omega instead.

…What is this, some story about radiation-exposed tomatoes…?

His head was spinning. He could barely think straight. The doctor handed several test strips to the dazed Hyeon-woo.

“Would you like to smell these?”

He had already smelled them during the main examination. He still couldn’t detect any notable scent.

“These strips have Alpha and Omega pheromones on them. You can’t smell them at all.”

“……”

“Recessive traits tend to be less sensitive to pheromones. Sometimes there are issues with the sense of smell. But I’ve never seen pheromone levels this low. We could only measure them at all because we used machines. At these levels, no one would be able to detect them biologically.”

“……”

“Moreover, critically, you don’t have Omega reproductive organs at all. You’re experiencing a heat cycle with a completely Beta body, which scientifically shouldn’t be possible…”

The doctor’s trailing voice suddenly brightened as if struck by a thought.

“Is there an extremely dominant Alpha in your vicinity?”

At this question, Hyeon-woo’s bewildered expression gradually turned ashen.

As expected. The doctor nodded.

Though no verbal answer came, his reaction was the answer itself.

‘There was talk of a monstrous pheromone that could alter surrounding traits to favor species reproduction.’

During his undergraduate years studying biology, the doctor remembered scoffing at a classmate who joked about extreme dominant Alpha traits, dismissing it as an urban legend. Never had he imagined confronting the reality of that hypothesis like this. Trying to hide his unease, he gave Hyeon-woo some advice.

He advised resting rather than taking suppressants during heat cycles. Using suppressants long-term in his current state – neither fully Beta nor Omega – would be equivalent to drug abuse. He warned that while the future side effects were unknown due to lack of research on such cases, it would certainly negatively impact his health.

The doctor suggested using adult toys with Alpha pheromones, which are now readily available, as a less physically stressful way to handle heat cycles. But to Hyeon-woo, all this advice seemed unrealistic.

Having to deceive Tae-geon without suppressants during heat cycles?

Going off-grid for an uncertain three or four days every month with just toys? He might as well announce his Omega manifestation to the whole neighborhood.

Unable to accept the doctor’s advice, Hyeon-woo had been biting his dry lips and picking at his nails while quickly thinking.

“…Doctor.”

Hyeon-woo deliberately paused before speaking.

“About that extremely dominant Alpha near me… he’s actually my cousin. I can’t let him know I’ve manifested as an Omega. I really can’t. It’s already so hard, and I don’t know what he might do to me. I’m scared. Doctor, I’m scared. Please.”

Hyeon-woo’s fingers trembled as he spoke. Blood began seeping from where his hangnails had been torn away. Each word he uttered strengthened his resolve to hide his manifestation. He couldn’t tell if his watering eyes and shaking voice were an act or his genuine emotions bubbling up.

“My parents aren’t in Korea, so I’m staying at his house. Is there any way I can hide my heat cycles from him?”

“……”

“There is, right?”

“……”

“Please tell me, doctor. Please.”