Chapter 4

“…Ah…”

Ari struggled to sit up, her body feeling as heavy as wet cotton. Her muscles ached so intensely that her entire body throbbed as if she’d been beaten.

Clutching her aching waist, she blinked her large eyes and slowly surveyed her surroundings.

A high ceiling, a simple black-and-white bedroom…

“Ha… Why am I here again?”

The overly familiar space was, as expected, Moon Dohwi’s house.

Pressing her temples with her small hands, she tried to recall the events of the previous night.

“Ha… Of all times, my heat cycle had to hit then…”

Ari sighed softly as she noticed the bite marks scattered across her body.

Ari was experiencing a heat cycle twice as intense as usual, causing her memory to flicker intermittently. She couldn’t fully recall the events of the night.

“This is my karma. Who else can I blame?”

Ari blamed herself for not checking her cycle properly and carelessly skipping her suppressants.

Normally, it wouldn’t have been a problem since she had a free day the next day. But who could have imagined Moon Dohwi would pick the lock, barge in, and brazenly mount her?

That damn Moon Dohwi was more persistent than she’d ever imagined.

As she groped around the bed, she resolved to change the front door password as soon as she got home.

“Where’s my phone…?”

Ari scanned the bedroom, searching for the phone Moon Dohwi had clearly stolen.

Not that she expected it, but of course there wasn’t a single piece of clothing in the bedroom that she could wear.

Forced to improvise, she draped a thin blanket from the sofa in the corner over herself and slowly made her way to the living room.

As she opened the tightly closed bedroom door, bright sunlight flooded into the spacious living room.

Ari gazed quietly at the panoramic view of the Han River before slowly scanning the room.

Dohwi’s space, which she had visited countless times and knew as well as her own home, was practically an extension of her own palm.

“What’s this? Where did he go? Did he go work out or something?”

His living room, usually buzzing with the TV, was eerily silent today.

After briefly searching for Dohwi, Ari gave up and began looking for her phone, entering each room one by one.

However, the study, where clothes and belongings might be kept, was empty. The dressing room was locked by the petty Moon Dohwi, preventing her from even looking inside.

Unable to remain naked, Ari glanced around, considering grabbing any of Dohwi’s clothes she could find.

Then, she cautiously opened the door to his studio, a room she had never entered since coming to this house.

Since the only thing to do at Dohwi’s place was exhausting sex, she had never had any reason to visit his workspace before.

“Wow, this is where he broadcasts from.”

The space had been remodeled into a perfect soundproof booth, unlike the other rooms, it had two doors that closed.

Ari slowly surveyed the room, filled with multiple monitors, lighting, microphones, and other broadcasting equipment. The space exuded a professional atmosphere, making even Moon Dohwi, who had previously acted like a stalker, seem different.

As Ari explored the room with childlike wonder, her eyes landed on a wall decorated with meticulous care. In stark contrast to the professional ambiance of the rest of the space, this wall featured several shelves filled with colorful gifts from his fans.

“I thought he’d throw all this away, but he actually keeps everything,” she murmured.

Even fan-drawn portraits of Dohwi and simple messages of support written on notes were meticulously preserved on the shelves.

Ari, her eyes wide with wonder, marveled at how even the tiniest gifts were meticulously preserved. She tilted her head, noticing a glass display case right next to the main shelf.

“Huh? This is the letter I gave him back in high school!”

In the center of the rectangular display case, which housed Dohwi’s YouTube Silver Button and trophies from various competitions, lay a bundle of letters, preserved like precious treasures.

Ari’s eyes widened even further as she moved closer to the display.

The letters were written on pale yellow paper in dark green ink, each envelope sealed with a four-leaf clover sticker—just as she had always done.

There was no doubt: every letter in that display case had been sent by her to Dohwi.

The first time she saw him singing in the auditorium during their freshman year of high school…

On that day, when the world seemed to stop and only Dohwi shone, Ari fell in love.

From that day until he quit being a trainee, Ari anonymously sent Dohwi letters every single day.

His locker, which was never locked, was always filled with gifts from countless fans at school. Ari would secretly slip her letters in among the other presents.

Among the snacks, dolls, and occasional expensive-looking gifts in his locker, her handwritten letters, filled with mundane content, must have seemed like the most insignificant offerings.

Yet, seeing nearly thirty of her handwritten letters preserved so carefully, Ari was stunned and couldn’t hide her confusion.

“Why… why has Moon Dohwi kept all the letters I gave him?”

An indescribable, strange sensation kept tickling at my left breast.

Beep, beep, beep. The sound of the door lock echoed as the front door swung open. Dinosaur-like footsteps thundered through the living room, shaking the entire space, before Dohwi burst through the half-open studio door, his face etched with shock.

“Hah… I thought you’d run away again.”

The urgency in his expression melted away the moment he saw Ari. A sigh of relief escaped his lips, starkly contrasting with his deathly pale face.

“Where would I run to in this state? Give me my clothes back.”

“Maybe I should tear up that fairy dress so you can never find it again.”

Ari pointed at her blanket-wrapped body with a pout, and Dohwi approached her with the sheepish look of a woodcutter who had stolen a celestial maiden’s robe.

“What?”

“My Ari looks even prettier without any clothes on.”

Ari burst into laughter, clearly finding his remark absurd.

It was truly pathetic how he could switch from a face twisted with tension just moments ago to a smirking, teasing expression so quickly.

“Stop talking nonsense and give me my clothes back.”

“They got dirty, so I sent them to the laundry.”

‘What on earth did he do to get my clothes so dirty they needed laundering overnight?’

Ari knew that asking further would only confuse her more.

Ari threw her hands up in surrender, shaking her head before pointing to the letter inside the glass case.

“Moon Dohwi, what’s this?”

“It’s my treasure.”

“…Treasure?”

“Yeah. Letters I got in high school. Must be over thirty of them, right?”

“Why is this your treasure?”

Dohwi hesitated for a moment, scratching his head before answering.

“To be honest, my trainee days were really tough. Once it got out that I came from a wealthy family, the other trainees started acting weird—jealous and competitive. I even got bullied. And my family didn’t support my dream, so…”

“You got bullied? You?”

“Yeah, well, it’s not something to brag about, but it happened.”

Ari looked bewildered, unable to believe what she was hearing.

Bullying? Moon Dohwi would never stand for that. I know better than anyone how arrogant and ill-mannered he can be.

“I wanted to lash out, but how could I? Our monthly evaluations include personality assessments, and we even have blind interviews to see if the Debut Team members can debut together. I knew all that.”

Dohwi continued, wiping his face dry as Ari stared at him in disbelief.

His trainee days, experienced at such a young age, remained a thorn in his side—a wound that still stung.

All he wanted was to sing. That one desire burned with genuine sincerity. But everyone around him seemed to think he was just chasing fame, and no one took his dream seriously.

What tormented him most was the realization that simply doing his job quietly could make him a thorn in someone’s side, his very existence a source of resentment.

Once it was revealed that Dohwi was an extremely dominant alpha and the grandson of the K Group chairman, he was immediately marked as a target among the trainees.

The Debut Team members, who should have been working together towards their shared goal, not only ostracized him openly but also began plotting to have him permanently expelled from the group.

Every month-end evaluation, they submitted reports falsely accusing him of being the ringleader of the bullying.

Moreover, because Dohwi’s visuals as the main vocalist far surpassed those of the trainee being pushed as the visual center, he became the target of blatant jealousy from the visual center member, who also happened to be the group’s leader.

Unfortunately, Dohwi wasn’t one of the trainees who had gained fame through social media. Compared to the others, he lacked a substantial fanbase or widespread recognition.

Though he stood out visually, Dohwi’s lack of actual popularity and recognition made him an easy target among the fiercely competitive trainees.

At first, he ignored the petty bullying, but as his supposed teammates—the ones he was supposed to debut with—escalated their harassment, even plotting to remove him from the Debut Team, Dohwi’s depression deepened.

No matter how mature he seemed for his age, he was still just a teenager.

He couldn’t confide in his family, knowing they would immediately tell him to quit. And at such a young age, he never even considered seeking counseling on his own. Thus, Dohwi’s heart festered, festered, and festered.

His school friends, oblivious to his struggles, envied him endlessly and begged him to introduce them to female trainees. Fans who approached him were desperate to entangle themselves with him in any way possible.

Naturally, he had no trainee friends to share these worries with. Even trainees with good reputations subtly avoided Dohwi, fearing that associating with him would bring them into disfavor as well.

Just as he was enduring these lonely days, a girl who occasionally gave me long letters appeared like fate.

Written on the same pale yellow stationery with the same dark green ballpoint pen, each letter always had a lucky four-leaf clover sticker attached.

The letter’s neat, precise handwriting, as if typed on a computer, was striking. It always carried a faint, wildflower-like pheromone scent.

Among countless fans, this was the only letter that arrived anonymously, without even revealing the sender’s name. It was filled with warm words of encouragement, the kind he had never received even from his own parents.

At the time, company policy prevented him from maintaining official social media accounts, but he had a personal space where he occasionally posted cover songs.

Whether the anonymous sender had learned about this account through friends at school, who had secretly shared it among themselves, he didn’t know. But whenever he uploaded a cover song, she would always provide thoughtful feedback, detailing exactly what aspects moved her and why she found them so touching.

Initially, Dohwi had used the account as a casual outlet for stress relief. But at some point, he became conscious of her presence and began meticulously curating the space.

In fact, the reason he’d even started his YouTube channel was because of the anonymous girl who had consistently provided thoughtful feedback on his cover songs, giving him the courage to take the leap.

Every time I listen to your songs, I feel energized.

I still can’t forget the way you sang on stage.

I really hope you get on TV so more people can hear your voice. I’ll be your fan until then, and I’ll always be your fan.

You haven’t even debuted yet, but to me, you’re already my first bias.

The letter that arrived for the anonymous girl overflowed with the words he had always longed to hear.

From some point onward, Dohwi found himself eagerly awaiting her letters. On days so difficult they brought him to tears, he would always find solace in rereading the letters she had sent him.

One day during his first semester of senior year, the debut team he had poured his heart into—believing it was his last chance—fell apart.

As he negotiated his departure from the agency, Dohwi was forced to delete his account. The absurd reason given was that he had recorded his cover songs in the company’s studio.

To ensure a smooth contract termination, Dohwi had no choice but to comply with the adults’ demands, even though he felt they were unfair.

When he stopped uploading cover songs, the letters from her ceased arriving as well.

‘If I’d known it would turn out like this, I should have replied to her letter sooner and asked for her name and contact information…’

Dohwi stared at the letter she had sent him, regretting his inaction countless times.

He knew nothing about this omega—not her face, her name, or anything else—except for two things:

That she emitted a wildflower-scented pheromone, and that her first-choice university was K University.

Based on the contents of her letter—where she mentioned wishing for Dohwi’s debut as an entertainer and for her own admission to K University as her New Year’s wish—it was clear that K University was indeed her top choice.

Apart from her unwavering support for Dohwi, there was virtually no personal information about herself in any of her letters, no matter how thoroughly he searched.

For three years, she had consistently cheered him on. Dohwi wanted to approach her as a worthy alpha.

Although he hadn’t become the stage performer Dohwi had so desperately longed to be, he wanted to enroll in the same university as her and confess.

He wanted to tell her that he had endured those difficult times thanks to her. To thank her for being his fan. To say that he was who he was today because of the comfort and support she had given him. He wanted to express his heartfelt gratitude.

So Dohwi buckled down and began studying with renewed determination.

As an extremely dominant alpha, Dohwi was fortunate to quickly catch up on his studies and confidently gain admission to his desired K University.

However, during the first week of classes, he happened to meet Choi Ari and noticed a scent remarkably similar to the pheromones in her letters.

“Moon Dohwi, could it be that the reason you’re only aroused by certain pheromones is…?”

“That’s right. It was because of that letter. It always carried the faint scent of wildflowers.”

“The person who wrote that letter… was it your first love?”

Ari finally felt like the pieces of a puzzle were clicking into place in her mind.

Moon Dohwi’s uncharacteristic behavior: asking her to sit next to him the moment they met, repeatedly commenting on her handwriting, and his insistence that her pheromones were special and his fondness for them…

His seemingly random actions, which had been utterly incomprehensible at the time, were now beginning to make sense.

“I’ve completely erased the omega who gave me the letter from my heart. I don’t feel anything for them anymore. I mean it.”

“Why?”

“They say the second love is the real one.”

Dohwi firmly clasped Ari’s small hand.

“Ari, I want to officially date you.”

The blanket Ari was holding slipped to the floor, leaving her completely naked, but Dohwi remained undeterred, continuing his confession with unwavering resolve.

“It’s true that I enrolled at K University to find the omega who gave me that letter… but I think it was all just a process to meet you. You’re the only one for me. I really, truly love you so much.”

Hearing such a serious confession while completely naked felt incredibly strange. Ari was mortified, but Dohwi seemed genuinely earnest as he continued speaking with heartfelt sincerity.

“Are you okay with my handwriting not being as neat as you’d like?”

“I actually prefer getting digital replies from you now. So please don’t just read my messages and ignore them… Give me long, detailed answers. You don’t ever have to write me a handwritten letter. And please don’t block me…”

Dohwi gripped her small hand even tighter.

Choi Ari, who had readily agreed to his unreasonable request, helped him grow his channel, and always stood by his side, offering encouragement and courage…

If she hadn’t been there, could he have established himself and grown so quickly on YouTube in such a short time?

As he reflected on each thing he was grateful for, the list seemed endless. A wave of guilt washed over him for not treating her better all this time.

Like a fool, he never wanted to repeat the experience of losing someone so precious who had always been his strength.

If he let Choi Ari slip through his fingers this time, it would be like reliving the regret of losing the girl in the letter from his childhood, the memory repeating itself like a broken record.

No, if he failed to hold onto Choi Ari now, he feared he would despise himself beyond redemption and resent himself for the rest of his life.

“Would you… officially go out with me? With marriage as the ultimate goal, of course…”

His hand, clutching her small one, began to tremble violently with nervousness.

Ari, accustomed to the man’s usual arrogance, quietly observed his uncharacteristic tension before finally speaking.

“And if I say no?”

“…I’ll keep bothering you until you say yes.”

It seemed the possibility of rejection hadn’t even crossed his mind.

Well, that was a typical Moon Dohwi response.

Faced with his unusually serious and grave expression, Ari couldn’t pretend she didn’t know any longer.

She gave an awkward smile and gestured with her chin toward the display case overflowing with letters.

“Yeah, but… um… this. I gave it to you…”

“What?”

“Those letters. I wrote them… back in high school.”

As Ari fidgeted with her small hands, speaking with obvious embarrassment, Dohwi frowned, clearly struggling to grasp the situation.

“You don’t need to lie like that. I love you even more without it. Your handwriting is literally like squiggles.”

“Hey! Squiggles? And I put so much effort into writing those! It was more like drawing than writing… I even typed out the contents on my phone beforehand and copied them over one by one.”

“Seriously? You’re the omega who gave me that letter?”

“Yeah. Are you stupid? Don’t you know you can fake handwriting if you really try?”

Ari giggled, teasing him, while Dohwi stared in disbelief, his expression blank.

That dazed look was actually kind of cute, and Ari couldn’t help but let out another soft laugh.

“Moon Dohwi, you’re such a smarty-pants, but you’re so clueless sometimes.”

“No, this can’t be real.”

“I’m the one who should be dumbfounded here! I still can’t believe you enrolled in our school just to find me… or that I’m your first love. It’s all just… unbelievable.”

Before she could finish speaking, Dohwi pulled her into a tight embrace.

“Ah, Ari…”

“Moon Dohwi, hey, loosen up! You’re crushing my ribs!”

He was hugging her so tightly that her chest felt constricted, making it hard to breathe.

Ari, who had been hitting him repeatedly, noticed the large figure embracing her trembling slightly.

Her eyes widened as she stared at the man burying his face in her shoulder.

“D-Dohwi… are you crying?”

His tears began to soak her bare skin, which was completely exposed.

Ari fidgeted, watching Dohwi’s trembling form in her arms.

“Hey, why are you crying?”

“No, sniff… it’s just… I’m so happy… We must really be destined for each other.”

Dohwi tightened his grip on her slender body with his large hands, burying his face relentlessly against her neck.

‘The Omega I’ve longed for so desperately is Choi Ari.’

It turned out that Choi Ari was the one who had cheered him on and gave him strength during his most difficult times.

A mix of belated guilt and overwhelming gratitude surged through him, a torrent of emotions threatening to drown him. He was so happy that tears of joy streamed down his face again and again.

“B-but why is it getting hard again…?”

Ari frowned, her eyebrows furrowing into a sharp V-shape as she watched Dohwi, who was still hugging her and crying like a child, suddenly stiffen below.

Here he was, sniffling and clinging to her, creating this tender atmosphere, yet his crotch was boldly bulging, threatening her.

When Ari tried to gently push him away with her small hands, Dohwi abruptly snatched her back, pulling her into a rough embrace with not a sliver of space between them.

“Ah!”

“Ha, you’re not getting away this time.”

His large hand cupped her small face, and he kissed her relentlessly.

Dohwi’s pheromones, more intense than ever, poured over Ari’s slender body like a torrential downpour.

“I, hng, I’m still sore down there…”

“Ari, I’ll treat you so well. Please, go out with me. Please…”

Dohwi pulled her into a tight embrace, his voice desperate and pleading.

His tone, usually rough and forceful, was now laced with a hint of tears.

His normally overwhelming, sensual pheromones trembled with palpable nervousness.

‘What do I do? It seems Moon Dohwi really does love me… a lot!’

As his sincerity struck her anew, Ari’s cheeks flushed a watercolor-like crimson.

‘I thought I’d been pining for him for three years. I thought I’d suffered so much heartache because of my feelings for him.’

But now, imagining the anguish he must have endured, desperately searching for her for over three years, all the bitter, resentful moments she’d harbored melted away like snow.

There had been times when she’d felt despondent, convinced he didn’t understand her feelings and was constantly pushing her away.

Yet now, knowing that the reason he’d kept such a firm distance from countless omegas was none other than her, tears welled up in her eyes at the purity of his devotion.

“Ari… I’m confident I can look only at you for the rest of my life. Please…?”

Ari nodded, inhaling the pheromones that slowly spread over her.

“Okay, Dohwi.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.”

As Ari accepted his proposal, Dohwi grinned so widely that his lovely dimples deepened.

“Choi Ari, my omega…”

Dohwi’s face, radiant with overwhelming happiness, was dazzlingly beautiful. Ari blinked slowly, gazing into his crimson eyes, which were fixed solely on her.

‘White, black, and red Moon Dohwi. My own celebrity, always sparkling brightly.’

A beautiful, dominant alpha whose mere presence shone like the sun.

The man she had only dared to secretly admire from afar was now smiling more brilliantly than any smile she had ever seen—clear, pure, and breathtakingly beautiful.

Just for her.