A Cool Hand in a World of Heat

Yoon Dae-eon knew the man wrapped in the blanket was a Dominant type because he had occasionally encountered Heat or Rut cycles in his life. Cycles—or mating seasons—grew significantly more intense the more dominant an individual’s trait was.

For a Recessive, it usually ended with nothing more than an excessive craving for pleasure. While it was known to worsen if they were with a Dominant partner, a cycle between two Recessives was merely a particularly fiery night. In contrast, a Dominant was entirely different. They lost all reason and hungered for pleasure—specifically, physical intercourse. If this need wasn’t met, their body temperature would rise beyond human limits, and they would literally become closer to beasts.

He had heard that the pheromones they released during this period were dangerous enough to throw an opponent into heat instantly. Dae-eon looked down at the man moaning beneath the blanket.

“Haa… hak, ugh, please….”

The man was undoubtedly a Dominant. Although Dae-eon couldn’t tell if he was an Alpha or an Omega since he was a Beta, the dominance was clear. It was impossible for a Recessive to suffer through a cycle so severe it looked like they were dying. While he had rarely seen his friends’ cycles before, he had never seen one this extreme. Generally, people didn’t show their cycle-driven state to anyone other than a partner they intended to spend the night with.

“What—what do you want me to do?”

“……Ugh……”

“What am I supposed to do for you?”

Dae-eon looked down at the man with a flustered gaze. He wanted to buy medicine, but since he couldn’t sense any pheromones, he had no idea if the man was an Alpha or an Omega. Judging by his large frame, he seemed like an Alpha, but if he brought the wrong medication, it could actually be life-threatening. Shaking his head, Dae-eon knelt to bring his eyes level with the man’s.

“Hey, are you an Alpha or an Omega?”

“Uuuh, hhh….”

“This is driving me crazy. I don’t think he can even hear me.”

There was no way to communicate with a man who had lost his mind to instinct. Dae-eon gently tucked the man’s sweat-soaked long bangs behind his ear. The hair was so long it was poking his eyes, which looked quite painful. After a moment of deliberation, he decided it would be better to call someone.

As a Beta, there was nothing he could do. If he could at least tell whether the man was an Alpha or an Omega, he would have helped, but… no, wait. If he called someone over and accidentally triggered their cycle too, then what? They wouldn’t be able to stay sane and endure it like a Beta.

“I should deal with the fever first…. Was there a wet towel in the lounge?”

Dae-eon muttered and started to stand up. Or rather, he tried to, but he was forced back down. At some point, the man’s hand had slipped out of the blanket and seized his own.

“Ack!”

“Don’t… don’t go… haa, ugh.”

“Wow, why is he so strong?”

Dae-eon, feeling as if his arm might be pulled out of its socket, staggered for a moment. He looked into the man’s eyes to see if he had regained consciousness, but the stranger was still lost to his instincts, merely gripping his hand. Dae-eon tried to shake his hand loose, but it didn’t budge. The grip was so tight that it seemed impossible to break with ordinary strength. A deep sigh escaped him.

“What exactly do you want me to do….”

The man, holding Dae-eon’s hand as if it were a literal lifeline, pulled it toward his own cheek. Dae-eon was forced to crouch down again. He felt a scorching heat against his palm, which was usually cold due to poor circulation. Since it felt hot to Dae-eon, it must have felt incredibly cool to the man. Nuzzling his cheek against the hand, the stranger exhaled a sharp breath and muttered.

“So… cool….”

Of course it was cool. Thanks to his chronic cold hands and feet, even heat packs were useless to him in the winter. Dae-eon was annoyed by having to press his hand against a cheek slick with sweat, but he stayed still, unable to overpower the man’s strength.

How long did they stay like that? The man’s ragged, gasping breath gradually, very slowly, began to stabilize. It wasn’t quite “stable,” but his breathing had at least grown quieter. His wide-staring eyes began to flutter shut.

“Just get some sleep.”

Dae-eon, not being a dynamic-typed human, wondered if it was okay to let a cycle pass like this, but there was nothing else he could do. To do anything else, the man would have to let go of his hand first.

“Don’t… go….”

“Yes, yes. Just sleep and then wake up.”

“Cool….”

The man repeatedly forced his eyes open as if fearing Dae-eon would vanish the moment he closed them. Through blurred vision, he stole glances at Dae-eon’s face over and over. But after several repetitions, he eventually couldn’t even keep his eyes open. He seemed to be losing consciousness—or perhaps he was finally falling asleep. Whatever it was, Dae-eon hoped he would sleep quickly. Only then would the strength in that grip finally fade.

“…….”

“……Is he asleep?”

“…….”

When the eyes that had been fluttering shut finally went still, Dae-eon waved his other hand in front of the man’s face. He was definitely out. Dae-eon very carefully applied force to his arm to extract his captured hand.

“……Uuugh.”

“Ugh, please, just come loose.”

Dae-eon had to expend a considerable amount of effort to slide his hand out from between the man’s cheek and hand. He couldn’t just yank it out for fear the man might wake up again. Once he finally freed his hand, Dae-eon stood up and shook it out several times.

Leaving his bag behind for a moment, he dashed out of the student lounge and sprinted out of Building 114. The sun was still setting. Dae-eon ran as hard as he could to the pharmacy located right by the back gate. Fortunately, it was still open. It took less than a minute for him to finish his purchase and return to the lounge.

Beep-beep-beep-beep. The familiar sound of the door lock greeted him. The man still hadn’t woken up. Dae-eon placed both an Alpha-type suppressant and an Omega-type suppressant on a spot where they would be easy to find. It cost a fair amount of money to buy two of those expensive suppressants, but he had no other choice.

“You shouldn’t be going into heat in a place like this.”

“…….”

“When you wake up, take the medicine and go home. Okay?”

After looking down at the sleeping man one last time, Dae-eon finally left the lounge for good. As a Beta, that was the extent of what he could do. Stretching his arms out, Dae-eon walked home with a light step.

Blink. Blink, blink.

The man who woke up blinked several times to steady his wavering vision. His already long bangs were soaked with sweat, severely obstructing his view. The plaid shirt he wore under the blanket was completely drenched. He had sweated so much that the blanket was practically stuck to his body.

However, the man didn’t care. When his Rut Cycle hit, this level of heat was a common occurrence. Then, suddenly, two paper boxes entered his field of vision.

“……Ah.”

His mind was still hazy because the Rut Cycle hadn’t fully ended. Since a cycle usually lasted at least five days, a Rut that had just begun still had a long way to go. However, to get home, he had to temporarily halt this heat. The man reached out and grabbed the suppressants on the desk.

[My-Cycle: For Alpha Omegas]

The words printed on the light pink box clearly said “For Omegas.” The man felt as if the letters were dancing due to his shaky vision, but he endured it and grabbed the other box. The light blue box read: [My-Cycle: For Alpha Alphas]. After confirming it was for Alphas, the man tore the paper box open. Several foil-wrapped pills spilled out from the shredded packaging. He didn’t care and tore into the rest.

Crunch. He chewed and swallowed what looked like over ten tablets at once. His mind was so blurred he couldn’t even taste them. If he could just suppress this boiling heat somehow, he would chew and swallow any number of these pills.

Come to think of it… it was cool. Sitting in the chair with a dazed mind, he suddenly remembered something. It was faint because he had almost no reason left, but something had definitely touched his cheek…. A hand? Yes, it was a hand. While he had lost his mind, there was a cool hand that had cradled his cheek.

…Was it an Omega?

“There’s no way….”

If it had been an Omega, they would have been caught up in his Rut Cycle, lost their reason, and eventually entered their own heat. The cycle of a Dominant Alpha possessed that kind of power. Then was it an Alpha? No, that wasn’t it either. If so, they would never have offered a hand. Ordinary Alphas couldn’t withstand the pheromones of a Dominant Alpha for even ten seconds. The pheromones released during a Rut were especially aggressive toward other Alphas; it would have been difficult for them to even breathe.

Then… who?

As he sank deeper into thought, the man felt his head begin to spin. It was because the Rut Cycle had yet to subside. He had swallowed dozens of suppressants, but his vicious cycle couldn’t be ended by mere pills. He had to go home. He had to return home and somehow endure this hellish Rut. It was a cycle so agonizing he’d rather die, but no one could save him from this heat.

The man stood up and staggered out of the student lounge. Upon reaching home, he collapsed right in front of the entrance. The Rut Cycle that had briefly retreated was returning. His body swelled with heat. It felt as if he had been thrust into a boiling vat; every sensation in his body flared with painful intensity.

Ah, I want to die. Leaning his cheek against the cold floor, the man suddenly recalled the coolness that had touched his face today. Over the five days his Rut Cycle continued, the man thought back to that white, cool hand that had cradled his cheek. Over and over, and over again…. Just thinking of that sensation made the heat feel as though it were dissipating, if only a little.