Chapter 3

The next day, Ari ignored all calls from unknown numbers and arrived at school earlier than usual.

She only had one elective class scheduled, but it was unexpectedly canceled due to the professor’s sudden circumstances, effectively turning it into a free day.

Anxious that Dohwi might stalk her again, Ari hurried to her meeting place with Seonho.

To avoid Dohwi, who seemed to know her every move, she had chosen a cafe in an unfamiliar alley she never frequented.

Ari stared at her unusually quiet phone.

Ever since the night she had been intimate with Dohwi at the club, her phone had been buzzing incessantly all day. Now that it was silent, she felt a strange mix of relief and disappointment.

Ari sat by the cafe window, quietly observing the alleyway scene.

Occasionally, she spotted happy-looking couples strolling by, hand in hand.

Watching these seemingly perfect campus couples, she couldn’t help but envy their ordinary romantic lives.

‘Forget it. What’s the point of dating? I need to graduate safely and find a job as soon as possible.’

Ari shook her head, opened her laptop, and focused on her assignment.

Sitting alone in a cafe during the day, working on her studies—this was a pretty good life, all things considered.

Today, being the end of the month, she had to send living expenses and pocket money to her parents and younger siblings.

Since quitting Dohwi’s freelance work, she had no income, making it difficult to contribute to her family’s finances. Yet she couldn’t bring herself to tell them she’d quit her part-time job.

Her parents, who wanted her to live a normal life as a beta, constantly nagged her to behave properly, terrified that her omega status would be exposed. This was largely because Ari’s monthly contributions to the household were substantial.

‘If I tell them I can’t give them their allowance this month because I’m short on money, they’ll worry I got fired again because I’m an omega… I’ll just have to endure this month.’

She opened a tutoring app on her phone. No matter how she scrolled, she couldn’t find a single job posting that accepted omega tutors.

Even the most popular tutors were all extremely dominant alphas, and students—whether omega or beta—only wanted alpha teachers.

Just as she was considering online tutoring, the cafe door chimed open, followed by a brief murmur of voices.

Looking toward the source of the sound, Ari saw a tall, handsome man with brown hair waving at her.

“Ari Seonbae!”

Seonho politely bowed to the women glancing at him before approaching Ari’s table.

He pulled out the chair across from her and sat down naturally. The gazes that had been fixed on him now shifted in unison to Ari.

“Seonho, you’ve really become a celebrity now. How have you been?”

“Celebrity? I’ve only been in a few web dramas. Seonbae—I mean, can I call you noona now? The honorific feels too formal.”

“Oh? Sure, call me whatever you’re comfortable with.”

Ari nodded, watching Seonho grin brightly across the table.

‘I guess it’s because he’s not an extremely dominant alpha. I can barely sense his pheromones.’

Seonho, tall and broad-shouldered, was also a dominant Alpha, but his pheromones barely registered with Ari, a recessive omega whose scent was closer to that of a beta.

‘Moon Dohwi’s pheromones were so intensely stimulating…’

Realizing once again that only a handful of people could detect her faint pheromones, and that she could only sense the pheromones of a select few, Ari suddenly wondered if it would ever be possible for her to meet another man and experience a normal romance or love.

As a recessive omega, she could barely detect any pheromones at all. In contrast, Dohwi, an extremely dominant Alpha, possessed a sense of smell dozens of times more sensitive than that of ordinary people.

Yet this man with such an acute sense of smell had once told her that her bland pheromones—lacking the sweetness of fruit or the fragrance of flowers—were the most enchanting and extraordinary scent in the world.

Ari still couldn’t quite believe Dohwi’s claim that her pheromones were the most special in the world. Yet, to her, who had always considered her own pheromones unremarkable, his words were more thrilling than any confession of love.

‘Could I ever meet another man who would cherish my pheromones as Dohwi did…?’

Ari recalled the ordinary couples she had seen through the cafe window.

After all, she had lived her entire life pretending to be a beta and planned to continue doing so. As a poor, recessive omega, she was convinced that the only way to protect herself was to live as a beta. So, she had always assumed that when she eventually met someone, she would naturally conceal her true nature, pretend to be a beta, and have an ordinary relationship with a beta man.

Perhaps it was because she had once met someone who told her her insignificant pheromones were special. Even if a man were to appear who loved her while she lived under the guise of a beta, what would be the point?

She was actually an omega. Not a beta. The beta she pretended to be wasn’t the real her.

Someone she met that way would never truly sense her pheromones.

Then, he wouldn’t be a man who knew and loved all of her…

“You’re still as beautiful as ever, noona,” Seonho said, scratching his cheek awkwardly as he gazed at Ari, who was lost in thought.

“Me?”

“Yeah, you haven’t changed a bit since high school. You were always popular back then, too. Among the betas, you were probably the most popular with the guys, right?”

Seonho, delighted to see his senior after so long, insisted on treating Ari, firmly refusing her offer to pay. He skillfully ordered a variety of drinks and desserts, filling a large tray to the brim.

Ari hesitated, wondering if it was appropriate to let her junior pay for everything. But with her wallet particularly thin this month, she gratefully accepted Seonho’s generosity.

Spending time with her junior after so long was enjoyable. They reminisced about their school days, reliving old memories, and it was fascinating to hear about his busy life now that he had stepped into the professional world.

Occasionally, someone would glance at them and secretly take photos, but Ari tried her best to ignore it.

“Hey, noona, how did you manage to work with Dohwi Hyung, given his temper?” Seonho suddenly asked, after they’d been chatting about various things for a while.

“Huh?”

“Remember when I had that big fight with Dohwi Hyung during our trainee days? He’s so young, but he acts like such an old-fashioned old fart. I bet he’s never had a girlfriend, right? He’s got this crazy wall up and is so stubborn in weird ways. Even back then, he’d hound any trainee with a girlfriend until they broke up!”

“He made them break up? Why?”

“He said it would be a burden on the team. We need to be ‘clean’ when we debut, and having a past would affect everyone, or something like that… Anyway, he’s surprisingly virtuous for someone who looks like him. He keeps trying to impose his standards on the whole team, so naturally, he’s become the target of everyone’s resentment.”

Ari took a long sip of the iced chocolate Seonho had bought her, recalling Dohwi’s strange obsession with her after their first night together.

‘So, he’s surprisingly virtuous for someone who looks like that…’

She had never understood his stalker-like behavior after their first heat-induced encounter. But hearing Seonho’s explanation finally cleared up some of her confusion.

“I’ll pay you 60 per video, plus incentives based on views. What do you think?”

Seonho confidently offered Ari the payment, watching her munch on cake.

But even with the unexpectedly generous offer, Ari hesitated. Despite needing the money urgently, she found herself strangely reluctant.

“I’ll think about it,” she said.

“I really hope you’ll do it, noona. When I have shoots overseas, I’ll cover your expenses so you can come with me. It’ll be fun! Hehe.”

Seeing Seonho’s grin, like that of a big, eager puppy, Ari reluctantly nodded.

Normally, she would have jumped at the offer without a second thought. But Dohwi was still on her mind.

Especially now that she knew the rumors about Dohwi and Seonho’s trainee days fight were true, switching to Seonho’s channel after helping Dohwi with his editing felt like a breach of professional ethics.

After the meeting, Ari walked home with the cookies Seonho had given her.

“Should I have a beer tonight? It’s been a while,” she mused.

The next day was a free day, and Ari, brimming with excitement, spent the afternoon happily pondering what to have for dinner before stopping by the small market next to her apartment.

After much deliberation, she bought Chapagetti, Neoguri, and beer, then headed home.

Unbeknownst to her, photos of her and Seonho taken at the cafe that day were already circulating online, and news of their meeting had reached Dohwi’s ears.

She cooked a huge pot of jjapaguri, savored every bite with lemon-flavored beer, and basked in the simple joy of the moment.

***

Beep, beep, beep, beep—

Ari, her stomach full and drifting into a light sleep, stirred at the sound of the front door opening.

‘What was that? Did I imagine it…?’

She clicked her tongue and curled back against the wall, but the familiar pheromone that suddenly pricked her nose snapped her awake like a splash of cold water.

“M-Moon Dohwi! How did you get the password to my place?!”

Ari jumped back in shock, startled by Moon Dohwi looming over her with an angry expression.

“Your password is my birthday? You really don’t like me anymore?”

“I was going to change it… I just forgot!”

“Enough. Choi Ari, I heard you had an editor meeting with Kim Seonho?” Dohwi glared down at her, his voice low and menacing.

“What? How did you—”

As Dohwi’s face drew close, as if he were about to kiss her, a red alert blared in Ari’s mind.

She had always thought he was a bit crazy, but today Moon Dohwi seemed particularly off. His eyes, twisted with a cracked intensity, betrayed the full extent of his fury.

“You know damn well Seonho and I didn’t get along in high school. How could you even think about switching to that bastard of all people? Choi Ari, fuck, are you a thug?”

“Hey… the thug here isn’t me, it’s you… ugh…!”

As she arched her eyebrows in indignant protest, an even more violent torrent of pheromones erupted from the enraged Dohwi, like a waterfall of raw aggression.

Like an alpha deliberately unleashing his pheromones, Dohwi’s body repeatedly released such potent pheromones that it became nearly impossible to maintain consciousness.

“Hah…!”

In an instant, his sensual pheromones filled the cramped studio apartment, suffocatingly thick.

Ari twisted her thighs together, groaning softly as the overwhelmingly dominant pheromones coiled around her body like a constricting serpent.

If things continued this way, she knew she would inevitably end up entangled with him again, perpetuating their ambiguous relationship.

With her small hands, Ari struggled to push away his massive frame that loomed over her, letting out a strained groan.

“Dohwi, ngh, I want to stop now. This kind of relationship with you…”

“The first time we slept together. I should’ve just imprinted you then. I was foolish.”

“W-what?!”

Dohwi watched the petite woman react instantly to his pheromones, a satisfied smirk tugging at his lips. Then, with his large hand, he gripped her vulva tightly.

“Haaah…!”

“Choi Ari, you’re about to go into heat, aren’t you? Today, right?”

“Hngh… H-how did you know…?”

As his large hand kneaded her plump, mochi-like vulva, Ari twisted her hips and shook her head, as if struggling.

“We were partners, for crying out loud. Of course I’d know something like that.”

“Wait, don’t… hngh…!”

“Don’t what? You’re already dripping wet.”

Dohwi deliberately squeezed and kneaded her vulva with his hand.

The wetness on his fingertips nearly made him laugh in disbelief.

Dohwi watched Ari writhe and moan, her hips bucking, his eyes narrowed.

‘What did I even do to make her eyes so red and wet already?’ Despite her innocent appearance, Choi Ari’s body was undeniably, completely, and utterly carnal.

“Fuck, when I woke up and you were gone, you have no idea how pissed I was. Hm?”

“Dohwi, wait, mmph…”

“Stop saying ‘wait.’ You blocked my number again and disappeared on your own. And then you get photographed with Kim Seonho… Are you seriously trying to make me lose my fucking mind?”

Dohwi instantly subdued Ari, who was struggling like a kitten, and boldly shoved his large hand under her loose t-shirt.

Beneath the rolled-up white shirt, her pale skin was covered in mottled marks—the traces of Dohwi’s kisses and bites from days past.

He pressed wet kisses against Ari’s neck as he yanked down her loose sweatpants and panties in one swift motion. Then, with his large hand, he gently stroked her smooth, slightly damp vulva.

“Our little darling missed her oppa so much, huh?”

He rubbed his fingers vigorously between her swollen labia, and slippery fluid immediately began to trickle from her tight opening.

Dohwi frowned as he yanked down his zipper and briefs in one swift motion. His dark, throbbing cock, veined with crimson, sprang upright.

He slowly rubbed his weapon-like member against her wet pussy.

“Dohwi, hah, please… tone down your pheromones. I’m, hng, about to go into heat… I feel like I’m gonna burst. Please?”

“Ha, Ari. You’re so beautiful.”

The tiny hole that had swallowed his cock countless times now gaped and pulsed, responding faithfully to his pheromones.

Just the touch of her skin sent an uncontrollable surge of exhilaration through him.

It was then, as he roughly rubbed his member against her tight opening, that Ari gasped, “Ugh, Dohwi… hng, mm…”

The moment he rubbed against her, Ari’s pheromones began to emit a noticeably stronger scent.

A slow smile spread across Dohwi’s lips.

Choi Ari’s heat cycle had begun.

“Hngh, Dohwi, Dohwi… I, hah, I can’t…”

“Yeah. Ari, looks like your heat’s started. It’s okay, I’ll make you feel better soon.”

Dohwi watched the small woman writhing beneath him, her moans now distinctly different from before, and showered her with tender kisses.

Half-crazed with desire, Ari couldn’t contain her excitement. She reached out with her small hands and wrapped them around Dohwi’s neck. The feeble strength of her clinging grip only made his lower body surge with greater force.

“Fuck, are you clinging to me right now?”

“Ah… Dohwi, Dohwi…”

“Hah, Ari, you’re so fucking cute. You like my pheromones too, don’t you? Huh?”

Just like that first night at the hotel, Ari once again wrapped her arms around Dohwi’s neck, her mouth working soundlessly as she began rubbing her wet, swollen vulva against the tip of his throbbing glans.

“Dohwi… hng… pheromones… Dohwi.”

As Ari’s wanton movements drove Dohwi’s cock to the point of bursting,

Completely intoxicated by pheromones and utterly losing her reason, Ari now gripped Dohwi’s cock with her small hand and began rubbing her face against it.

“Hng, Dohwi… pheromones… I like them. Pheromones… hng…!”

“Fuck, Choi Ari. You’re fucking breathtaking.”

As her soft, pale cheeks rubbed against his engorged cock, its veins bulging crimson, a rough groan escaped Dohwi’s lips.

Choi Ari rubbing her face against his cock herself? This was a scene he could never have imagined.

Her tiny face, pressed against the hard shaft, looked even whiter in stark contrast to the dark red cock.

When the tip of her soft nose brushed against the prominent veins, Dohwi’s brow furrowed as if he could no longer endure it.

“Dohwi, cock, pheromones… Good, hngh, Dohwi.”

Already deeply intoxicated by her pheromones, Ari gripped his forearm-sized member and frantically rubbed her lips against it before soon shifting to caressing her full breasts.

As her nipples brushed against his hard, pillar-like cock, her pale areolas hardened into erect peaks.

“Ha, what is this…?”

Dohwi was on the verge of losing his mind, overwhelmed by Ari’s heat cycle, which was now twice as intense as the one they had first experienced together at the hotel.

He recalled something his cousin had once told him: that among omegas, some release increasingly potent pheromones with each encounter, like a flower blooming into full bloom.

While not all omegas experienced this, Ari, who carried the scent of wildflowers, emitted pheromones that bloomed like petals with each encounter with Dohwi, growing increasingly potent.

As Ari’s pheromones grew more pronounced, Dohwi felt a sudden surge of anxiety.

Even though Ari diligently took her suppressants, it was only a matter of time before her omega status would be exposed if things continued this way.

Dohwi had never considered revealing Ari’s omega status to places like Eta, not even for a moment.

He would rather die than see his precious omega become the target of every alpha.

Ari had already been popular among alphas when she was believed to be a beta. If her omega status were to be revealed…

It was obvious that wolf-like men, eager to claim her as their mate, would constantly be eyeing Ari.

“Choi Ari, you’re really… huff, you have a talent for driving people mad.”

Dohwi barely managed to pull Ari away from his throbbing member, where she had been pressing her face and chest against it, panting. He spread her thighs wide.

Her cunt, already slick with someone else’s arousal, gaped and pulsed as if begging him to thrust inside without delay.

The floral scent, now noticeably stronger than before, overwhelmed Dohwi’s senses. He lost all restraint and plunged his cock deep into her.

“Hah… Ari.”

“Hah… Ah, ugh…!”

Rough, rhythmic thrusts followed immediately, each stroke echoing with a wet thwack.

Her full breasts swayed wildly, and the slick, fluid-filled walls of her vagina gripped his member relentlessly.

“Fuck, I need to imprint you and get you pregnant, now. Ugh, I’m too anxious. I can’t take this anymore.”

“Dohwi, there… yes, hngh, ah…!”

Dohwi cradled her delicate, petite body, sucking at her breasts with the frantic intensity of a baby nursing.

A sadistic urge surged within him—to push this tiny woman to her breaking point, then devour her whole.

“Let’s get pregnant soon, Ari. Hmm? Get pregnant so I can see milk flowing from your tits. Ugh, I want to see that so badly.”

His dark red cock plunged into her smooth, hairless red pussy with a wet, squelching sound. Bubbles of unknown fluid foamed around them, and glistening trails of fluid dripped down her pale thighs.

“Hah, no matter how eager you are… I’m an extremely dominant alpha. So, if I fuck you hard enough, you’ll get pregnant right away, right?”

“Hngh, yes, Dohwi, I like it, ah, ahng!”

Dohwi savored her fragrant pheromones, feverishly covering her fair skin with bite marks.

The night was consumed by relentless, passionate sex.

What began as intimate lovemaking, with their faces pressed together, gradually devolved into primal mating, their bodies locked in positions focused solely on penetration.

Dohwi gripped Ari’s slender frame from behind, relentlessly thrusting into her.

“Dohwi, I like it, I like it, hngh…”

“You like it? You like me, Ari?”

“Hngh, yes, yes, I like it… ah, ahng!”

Dohwi’s large hand firmly gripped Ari’s swaying breasts, twisting her nipples. His mind was consumed by a lewd desire: he wanted her milk to flow from her breasts as soon as possible.

“Hah… Ari, let’s get you pregnant quickly. Okay?”

“Ugh, yes, Dohwi… hngh…!”

The position, with him thrusting from behind, allowed for deeper penetration, but Ari only arched her hips higher, helping him thrust even further.

Normally, she would have protested, claiming it was too strenuous. Now, she was swaying her hips herself, begging him to touch her.

Even after Dohwi had climaxed and briefly withdrew, she couldn’t bear the separation. She clung to him again, rubbing her wetness against his shaft.

“Dohwi… hngh… yes… more… hmm? More…”

The moment Dohwi saw Ari struggling to insert herself, his patience snapped completely.

“Fuck, Choi Ari, you’re really…!”

“Hngh, ah, mmm!”

He roughly pulled her onto him, her sexy body grinding against the head of his cock. Gripping her hips tightly, he thrust deep inside her.

“Dohwi, it feels so good, hngh, so good…”

“Good? Ari, do you like me?”

“Hngh, yes, Dohwi, I like you…!”

“Me too, huff, I like you too, Ari. So much…”

‘No, get away, it hurts.’ Those sharp, biting words had been replaced by repeated declarations of pleasure, making Dohwi’s nose sting strangely.

Her moans of pleasure sent his member throbbing, veins bulging crimson. It swelled relentlessly, threatening to burst.

Dohwi thrusted deep inside Ari, ejaculating against her inner walls before continuing his relentless strokes.

“Ah, Ari… Love me again. Please?”

“Dohwi, ah… It feels so good… Dohwi, there… Ugh, ah, ah!“

Dohwi pulled the panting, petite Omega into a tight embrace, his member still buried within her.

Recessive omegas typically experienced heat cycles far shorter than those of regular omegas.

Haunted by the fear that her sweet whispers might soon fade, Dohwi clung to her like a man dying of thirst.

He had thought physical intimacy would be enough. How arrogant he had been.

He desperately craved Choi Ari’s unconditional love, the kind she had given him before.

He desperately wished those large, luminous eyes would gaze only at him, even outside her heat cycle.

Tears welled up at the thought of her giving him another chance, of her loving him again.

“Hng… Ari, I love you so much. I think… I really, truly love you.”

He couldn’t bear to share this petite woman with anyone else—not Kim Seonho, not anyone. Not a single minute, not a single second would he allow anyone else to touch her fragrant pheromones or her lovely body.

“I… I don’t think I can live without you anymore. So… hng, please love me again.”

He pulled her slender body tightly against him with his large hands, thrusting his own possession deep inside her once more.

And he desperately wished, again and again, that this sweet moment could last forever.