The Predator’s Social Life

“Together?”

“I also had mine about ten days ago, so……”

Only then did the memory of Seon Ji-ha’s harrowing state during his Rut flash through Dae-eon’s mind. Right. He had suffered through it exactly ten days ago.

If Dae-eon (lied that he) experienced a Heat once every six months and Seon Ji-ha had a Rut once a month, the probability that their next cycles would overlap was dangerously high. Dae-eon, who had been too busy scrambling to buy immediate time, hadn’t thought that far ahead.

Seon Ji-ha, whose face had looked deathly pale a moment ago, suddenly beamed with life. He had heard that some couples found their cycles so mismatched they had to get hospital prescriptions to sync them, but now, there was no need for that.

While Seon Ji-ha was busy drinking a whole gallon of “imaginary kimchi soup”—already planning a future together—Dae-eon was busy picking at the skin under his thumbnail. ‘Is it… really okay to leave things like this?’

“Se-Senior, what does it matter if our cycles match or not?”

“……It doesn’t…… really matter, I guess……”

“Wait, why are you suddenly moping again?”

With every word Dae-eon uttered, Seon Ji-ha’s mood took a sharp turn, either skyrocketing or plummeting. Seon Ji-ha muttered under his breath:

“I’ll remember that……”

“You’re more than welcome to forget it, you know?”

“I won’t forget it even if I die……”

“I said you can forget it! Please, forget it.”

Of course, Seon Ji-ha didn’t listen to a word of Dae-eon’s plea. Six months. If he could just hold out for six months, he could finally smell that “rotting fish.” Seon Ji-ha, who had never particularly liked fish, decided that starting today, “rotting fish” was his new favorite scent.

“Senior, by the way, about that elective we’re taking together. The one where the midterm is replaced by a report……”

Pheromones—the scent emitted to seduce a partner. Seon Ji-ha, who had spent his entire life enduring the overwhelming pheromones of himself and his family, felt like he was going to go crazy with curiosity about Dae-eon’s scent. Because if it was Dae-eon, he felt like the pheromones wouldn’t be pungent at all.

Just like the scentless air of a Beta.

9******************************

“Yoon Dae-eon! You know we’re going to ‘Hansim Pocha’ tonight, right?”

“Why Hansim Pocha so early in the evening? If we’re going straight to a bar, we should just meet up later.”

“The Student Council seniors decided on it. They said they’re buying. And apparently, they have no choice because of the kids’ curfew for the last bus.”

It was Thursday, and all the midterms were finally over.

Two days ago, drinks with Oh Dong-chol and Kim Ye-jun. Yesterday, a quick round with high school friends. And today, a drinking session with the seniors. Dae-eon scratched the back of his head. Having spent the last few days doing nothing but drinking, even the mention of a pocha made his head feel dizzy.

Still, when the seniors called, he couldn’t exactly cancel at the last minute. Oh Dong-chol and Kim Ye-jun, who were coming along, stood on either side of him, chattering away.

“I heard Jung Yoon-ki is coming today too?”

“Ooh. The ‘Beauty of our Department’ is coming? I heard his ‘iron wall’ is no joke. The guys say they’ve never even been able to get a drink with him.”

Kim Ye-jun, an Alpha, was on friendly terms with most of the Alphas in the department. He wasn’t the type to lead a crowd, but because he was so good at gaming, he was invited every time anyone went to a PC cafe. Hearing that Jung Yoon-ki was coming, Ye-jun let out a disinterested whistle.

At that, Oh Dong-chol flared up. Ignoring Dae-eon standing next to him, he started venting his frustration at Ye-jun.

“’Iron wall’ my ass. He only talks to Alphas. He completely ignores messages from Omegas, you know?”

“So, did you get ignored, Dong-chol?”

“Yeah, I did! So what! What about it!”

But for once, even Dae-eon nodded in agreement with Dong-chol. He had contacted Jung Yoon-ki once about a group project, but Yoon-ki never read the message. Much later, when Dae-eon checked the chatroom again, the ‘1’ had finally disappeared, but there was no reply.

Having been cleanly “read and ignored” by Jung Yoon-ki, Dae-eon added his two cents.

“He does tend to leave people on read.”

“Right? Right, right? I mean, seriously. Is he trying to say a Dominant Omega can’t hang out with a Recessive or something? There aren’t even that many Omegas in Engineering, wouldn’t it be nice to get along?”

“Aren’t you guys just the ones bullying him?”

“Hey! Watch your mouth!”

“Whatever.”

Ye-jun cleaned out his ear, looking annoyed at Dong-chol, who was shouting at the top of his lungs. The more he acted that way, the more Dong-chol’s temper flared. Eventually, Dae-eon naturally slipped out from between the two and moved toward the edge of the group.

In times like this, it was better to let the two of them stick together; the probability of them reconciling quickly was higher that way.

“I really tried to be friendly, okay? If only he didn’t act like we’re beneath him.”

“Beneath you? Hmm, he might ignore texts, but he doesn’t ignore greetings.”

“……Yoon Dae-eon, do you even exchange greetings with him?”

Oops. Dae-eon instinctively realized his mistake. He had committed a major blunder in front of Oh Dong-chol, whose jealousy regarding friends was immense. Dae-eon scratched his head and said:

“Just, you know, a wave whenever we run into each other in the hallway. Jung Yoon-ki is always walking around alone anyway.”

“Is his goal to be an outsider too? Like Senior Seon Ji-ha. They’re actually pretty similar. Both Dominants, both outsiders, and both the top of their year.”

Ye-jun, once again without much thought, pointed out the fact that Jung Yoon-ki was an outsider. Just then, Jung Yoon-ki suddenly appeared in front of the three of them as they walked through the college district.

Dae-eon was the first to spot him.

“Hi.”

“……Ah. Yeah, hi.”

Since Jung Yoon-ki accepted Dae-eon’s greeting, Ye-jun and Dong-chol awkwardly followed suit. They were probably embarrassed that the person they were just talking about had suddenly appeared.

“You’re going to Hansim, right? Want to walk with us?”

“……Huh?”

Since they had run into each other so bluntly on the street, Dae-eon felt it would be awkward to just walk past, so he made the offer first.

Jung Yoon-ki hesitated for a moment before finally nodding. When his delicate face tilted slightly, he looked as prickly and elegant as a beautiful prince summoning a servant.

“How were the exams? Was the major exam manageable? I accidentally wrote my high school class number instead of my student ID, so the professor scolded me.”

“Pffft.”

“Yoon Dae-eon, are you crazy? Are you still a high schooler in your head?”

“It was just a mistake! Man, I still feel like a high schooler sometimes.”

Starting with Dae-eon’s story, the awkward atmosphere among the four of them gradually thawed. Jung Yoon-ki, who had looked visibly tense, let out a “pffft” and then eventually burst into laughter.

It was hard not to laugh when watching Ye-jun and Dong-chol bicker. They were like a couple in their 50s who looked like they’d get a divorce at any second but then naturally ate breakfast together the next morning.

Thus, the four of them arrived at Hansim Pocha. Oh Dong-chol and Kim Ye-jun entered first, and Dae-eon stepped inside with Jung Yoon-ki. The moment Jung Yoon-ki entered, Dae-eon felt the gazes of every Alpha in the pocha shift toward them.

“Whoa…… look at the attention. Is this the power of a Dominant Omega? Yoon-ki, you’d probably do great if you opened a business later. How is it that everyone is only looking at you?”

“Pffft, hahah…… You’re the first person to ever say something like that to me, Dae-eon.”

“……Why? To run a business, you have to draw attention first.”

“Usually, people tell me to become a celebrity……”

Ah, I guess so.

Dae-eon, whose retirement dream was to own a fried chicken shop, hadn’t even considered the entertainment industry. Yeah, even he thought that frying chicken with a face like Jung Yoon-ki’s would be a bit of a waste. He looked much more like an actor or an idol.

Jung Yoon-ki, still unable to hide his amusement, said with a smirk:

“But I like that better.”

“The business thing?”

“Yeah, being a celebrity doesn’t really suit my personality.”

Welcomed by the stares of every Alpha in the room, Dae-eon and Jung Yoon-ki looked for Oh Dong-chol and Kim Ye-jun. Among the two sitting not too far away, Oh Dong-chol waved his hand to call them over.

It was when Dae-eon was approaching Oh Dong-chol that Kim Ye-jun suddenly gestured toward somewhere and spoke to Dae-eon.

“Hey, Yoon Dae-eon. Your ‘Bestie’ senior is here too.”

“Bestie? Which senior is my ‘bestie’?”

“Over there.”

Dae-eon turned his head. And there sat Seon Ji-ha, sitting all alone, staring blankly.

‘Why on earth is that senior here?’

Given Seon Ji-ha’s exceptionally shy personality, there was no way he would normally come to a place like this. However, Seon Ji-ha must have been waiting for Dae-eon to look his way, because as soon as their eyes met, he started wagging his invisible tail like a puppy.

Dae-eon left his group for a moment and approached him. The moment he got close, Seon Ji-ha grabbed Dae-eon’s wrist tightly.

“Senior, what are you doing here all alone?”

“……I heard Dae-eon was coming here today……”

“Did I even tell you that over text, Senior?”

“No, I asked around the other students.”

Blink, blink.

Seon Ji-ha stated quite naturally that he had done a background check on Dae-eon. At this point, Dae-eon decided to just roll with it. How could a mere mortal stop this clear-eyed lunatic?

“……But, Dae-eon……”

“Yes?”

“Who is that jerk?”

Seon Ji-ha once again naturally referred to someone other than Dae-eon as “that jerk.” Clinging to Dae-eon’s wrist, Seon Ji-ha glared at Jung Yoon-ki with a fierce gaze.

“You mean Yoon-ki?”

“I don’t really know his name……”

“Jung Yoon-ki. He’s very famous in our department.”

“……It’s my first time hearing that name……”

Seon Ji-ha, who practically lived his life boycotting the rest of the world, was as wary of Jung Yoon-ki—whom everyone in the Engineering Department knew—as if he were a newly discovered species. Then, he muttered with a dejected face:

“I thought you said Dominants were burdensome……”

‘That was about you, Senior.’