Pink Flavor Omega

#19

***

As Eunhong turned off his computer and stood up from his seat, he let out a long sigh. It was rare for Jaeha to go this long without contact since their reunion after his study abroad, and it was especially concerning given what had happened.

He had learned more than he wanted to know about an alpha’s rut, and also learned how painful it could be when pheromones weren’t resolved. Encountering all this information at once made him feel awkward, as if he was prying into his friend’s sex life.

Moreover, the thought that Jaeha might be resolving his rut with an omega somewhere didn’t sit well with him. No, it was deeply irritating. He couldn’t understand why it bothered him so much.

Exhausted from various issues, Eunhong even developed a fever. He asked Seo Heeseung in the seat in front of him for two headache pills, something he never usually took.

Suffering like this, Eunhong eventually found himself in front of Jaeha’s company. Lost in thought as he walked, he had gone in the opposite direction of the subway station, and when he came to his senses, he was in front of the building where Jaeha’s company was located.

A cold wind blew sharply through the gaps between the buildings.

What was he doing here long after work hours? If he was looking for Jaeha, wouldn’t he have a better chance of finding him at home…? As Eunhong was berating himself for his stupid and impulsive behavior and sniffling, he sensed someone’s presence. Turning around, he saw a familiar face looking at him.

“Eunhong? It is you. Hello!”

“Oh, Team Leader Han…”

Eunhong’s shoulders jolted as if he was a child caught secretly eating chocolate.

“Our CEO is on vacation, isn’t he? What brings you here…?”

“Ah, I… I was just passing by. Yeah.”

It was obvious to anyone that he wasn’t just passing by.

As Eunhong tried to bow awkwardly and walk past with a frozen face, Han Sejin hesitated before following him. “Um, excuse me.” Eunhong, who had been trying to escape, reluctantly turned around at the call.

After a moment of hesitation and examining Eunhong’s face, Han Sejin spoke with difficulty.

“Is there something wrong with the CEO?”

Huh? Why are you asking me…? As Eunhong closed his mouth, unable to find words to respond, Han Sejin hastily added.

“Oh, you know, the CEO is always a bit… you know, around this time. His rut. I’m a beta so I’ve only observed from the side, but last year the CEO had a big incident, so as an employee, I’m quite worried.”

“An incident?”

Eunhong’s face hardened. He couldn’t control his expression for a moment as details he didn’t know came pouring out of a mere employee’s mouth. He had always thought he knew all of Jaeha’s inside stories.

Come to think of it, had he only been seeing what Jaeha showed him? Eunhong swallowed dryly through his scratchy throat.

“It’s nothing. I really was just passing by.”

Han Sejin nodded with a disgruntled expression. He didn’t seem to believe it.

After exchanging greetings with Han Sejin, Eunhong turned away with an unpleasant expression. He deliberately walked in the opposite direction of the subway station. He felt uncomfortable taking the subway in the same direction as Han Sejin.

In the end, Eunhong had to walk to the next subway station.

***

Entering the empty house, Eunhong sighed once again. It seemed Woohyun had come in, hastily changed clothes, and left again. The already cramped studio apartment was suffocating due to the clothes strewn about, pulled out and worn without being put away.

“Ah, this hopeless jerk…”

Though he was used to it by now, today it felt particularly overwhelming. The coat Jaeha had given him as a gift was missing – had Woohyun gone out wearing it? Angry, Eunhong started to write a message but gave up. What was the point of talking to someone who wouldn’t listen anyway?

Should he really cut ties with Woohyun? He thought about throwing everything away and living with Jaeha, but suddenly felt afraid of relying on him. Moreover, the fact that Jaeha was an alpha was just now sinking in. Jaeha would end up living with an omega someday.

Eunhong mindlessly fiddled with his phone, staring intently at Jaeha’s message window that remained unanswered. Finally, he threw everything aside and sat at his desk.

He opened the competition file but couldn’t concentrate at all. His motivation had completely evaporated. He felt like he had lost sight of why he had started this in the first place. Eunhong sank into his chair and started web surfing.

His fingers, contrary to his will, kept searching for things like alpha, rut, omega. After scrolling through screens for a while, Eunhong stopped at a particular one.

It was an article about the chronic problem of omega discrimination in society, and as luck would have it, it mentioned that the Han Jung Group, Jaeha’s family business, was taking the lead in improving the situation, increasing special hiring quotas and implementing blind recruitment processes.

Jaeha also appeared in the series of related articles. The Jaeha in the screen, neatly dressed in a suit standing on the photo line, seemed like a person from a completely different world.

The Jaeha who sat in front of him saying silly things about “Bunhong” and blowing cigarette smoke in his face seemed to have disappeared somewhere.

“Why are you doing this?”

Eunhong brushed his lips. He recalled Jaeha’s expression as he leaned in to kiss him. Why did he have that expression? As if he was about to cry. Ah, shit. Suddenly, he felt a rush of fever.

“You could at least answer the phone, Lee Jaeha.”

Eunhong staggered up and threw himself on the bed. Somehow, he didn’t think he could sleep. An alpha who has to resolve his pheromones with a partner he has no feelings for during his rut…

Yes, from Jaeha’s perspective, something like a kiss might mean nothing, he thought.

***

As Christmas approached, the office atmosphere became unsettled. Especially this year, with Christmas falling on a Tuesday, many people were trying to take time off on Christmas Eve. Eunhong, who had many vacation days left, was scribbling out a leave request form, planning to take an extended break.

Just as he was about to hit send, Shim AD suddenly stood up from his seat and lashed out.

“Hey! Are you guys doing this after clearing all your schedules? How can almost the entire graphics team take time off? Guys, do you think this makes sense?”

There was a moment of silence as people looked around nervously. Someone who had been making travel plans pouted. Shim AD tapped the partition irritably with his pen and raised his voice.

“Team leaders and above, your leave requests are denied. No way. You need to have some conscience.”

“But AD, we’ve aligned all the schedules. It’s the year-end golden holiday, isn’t this too much?”

As Gil Dongwook complained, Seo Heeseung chimed in sarcastically.

“That’s right. Our Deputy Ban is in a relationship, you should let him go.”

Shim AD furrowed his brow and approached Eunhong.

“Eunhong is in a relationship?”

Suddenly in the spotlight, Eunhong looked up. The eyes of all team members in the area turned to him. As he shook his head no, Gil Dongwook suddenly changed his tune.

“I support rejecting leave for team leaders and above. I should work hard at the end of the year too. Christmas with the company.”

Eunhong inadvertently glanced at his desk. He noticed the circle he had drawn around Christmas Eve on his desk calendar.

The day to see the musical with the tickets Jaeha had gotten. It was a time he could go after work anyway… Eunhong was just another single person with nothing special to do on Christmas. Even if he took time off, he had no one to spend Christmas with.

Eunhong quietly deleted the leave request he had been writing.

Shim AD, who had come over and was leaning on Eunhong’s partition, suddenly clapped his hands. As people’s attention gathered again, he added with a bored expression.

“Separately from that, overtime is prohibited for the time being. Those who took time off around Christmas thinking they’d make up the schedule with overtime, cancel it now if you can.”

An unidentified sigh was heard.

“You saw the news about the recent surge in hate crimes against omegas near the local subway station, right? The muggings. It’s a notice from HR. Everyone should leave together in groups heading in the same direction at closing time.”

Eunhong remembered seeing the news article. He had glimpsed it while reading about Jaeha’s family. He recalled viewing it as an outsider, being an inevitable beta. His head became complicated. Eunhong looked at Woohyun, who was shown as online on the company messenger list. He started to message him but then stopped. He’ll figure it out himself.

It wasn’t just Eunhong’s team that had been instructed to leave early, so the company building lobby was crowded. Some people were waiting for their appointment times, while others were leaving in groups of three or five. Outside, snow was falling quite heavily, accumulating white. Eunhong was standing under the eaves near the building entrance, watching the falling snow. He was considering whether to buy an umbrella when Shim AD approached.

“Are you going alone? What about Woohyun?”

“Ah, he seems to have something to do.”

“Did you two fight again?”

He chuckled as he took out a cigarette.

“I told everyone to leave together. They just don’t listen.”

“I’m not an omega. I’m a sturdy beta male.”

Shim AD’s eyes narrowed immediately as he put the cigarette in his mouth. Muttering that he always gets confused, he moved closer to Eunhong and sniffed.

“You’re often misunderstood, aren’t you? Is this perfume? It doesn’t seem like Woohyun’s pheromones rubbed off on you from living together.”

It’s more fluffy like a baby’s bottom, different from Woohyun’s scent. Eunhong pouted at the childish tone.

“It’s fabric softener. Baby powder scent. Senior, you’ve known me for years and you’re still saying this?”

Shim AD laughed heartily, his throat rumbling.

“I’ve seen alphas swarming around you since you were a student for a long time.”

As Eunhong was about to retort grumpily, someone poked the back of his knee. Shim AD caught Eunhong as he stumbled. When he turned his head sharply, Woohyun was threateningly extending an umbrella towards him, a cigarette in his mouth.