A 36.5°C Savior

“In your next life, would you rather be born as a Beta, or a 160cm-tall extreme Recessive Alpha?”

“Man, is that even a question? Obviously a Recessive Alpha.”

More nonsense drifted across the lecture hall.

Turning toward the source of the noise, I saw a group of classmates—whose faces I only vaguely recognized—getting heated over a ridiculous ‘Balance Game.’

Next to me, Oh Dong-chol was feigning indifference, though he was clearly straining to hear their chatter.

Lower-class stories always had a way of being the most addictive to listen to.

“Personally, I’d rather just live as a Beta than be a 160cm Recessive Alpha. Whether I get eaten by some Alpha bastard or not.”

“Hey, is it a rule that Betas have to get eaten? How can a human eat their own kind?”

“Why not? It’s a famous rumor. They say the chaebol families enjoy their meals with a bowl of Beta blood on the side.”

Pwahaha! The guys burst into laughter, spitting as they roared.

Listening to the exchange, Yoon Dae-eon stood up with a dry expression.

Ever since the Beta gender vanished into legend, those with traits had stopped perceiving Betas as human.

That was why such rumors circulated—claims that drinking Beta blood could turn one into a Dominant, and so on.

“Dae-eon, what do you want for lunch?”

“Let’s just hit the cafeteria. Don’t want to go far. I’m getting sick of delivery food anyway.”

“Is Kim Ye-jun joining us?”

“He probably headed to the PC cafe right after roll call.”

Because of the recent continuous rain, we had naturally been eating with Kim Ye-jun.

But now that the rain had stopped, there was no need to seek out someone who spent his time hiding away in PC cafes or napping.

Even Oh Dong-chol, who usually spent his time bickering with Kim Ye-jun, seemed a bit disappointed by his absence.

Instead of looking for him, Yoon Dae-eon and Oh Dong-chol headed toward the student cafeteria together.

“Hey, Yoon Dae-eon. What are you getting?”

“Ramen for me.”

“I’ll buy this. You get the coffee.”

Thanks to Oh Dong-chol’s relaxed attitude toward money, things were simple; there was no need for complicated splitting of the bill.

Dae-eon took the meal ticket Dong-chol handed him and headed toward the ramen corner.

Dong-chol, meanwhile, went to line up for the pork cutlet.

The line for ramen was unusually long today, so Dae-eon took his place at the very end.

Still, ramen had a high turnover rate, so even with a long line, he’d usually get his food within ten minutes.

As he was preparing to hand his ticket to the lady behind the counter…

“…….”

“…….”

The first thing that caught his eye was a plaid shirt.

The quintessential ‘engineering student’ plaid shirt that everyone joked about.

And the glasses—they were incredibly outdated.

The man wore thick, black horn-rimmed glasses that covered half his face.

As if that weren’t enough, his bangs were so long it was difficult to see what he even looked like.

‘But that jawline visible underneath looks pretty handsome.’

Yoon Dae-eon made this silent assessment while looking at the man in front of him.

Suddenly, their eyes met.

It felt awkward to look away now, so Dae-eon stared at the man’s face for a moment.

“……Would you like to go first?”

“……A-Ah, no. It’s okay.”

“I see….”

‘He’s incredibly quiet.’

The cafeteria was so noisy that his voice would have been inaudible if one didn’t listen closely.

When Dae-eon declined, the man let out a small sigh of relief and stepped forward.

Watching his retreating back, Dae-eon noticed he was quite tall.

Actually, not just ‘quite’ tall, he was—

“Yoon Dae-eon! Over here!”

At the sound of his name, Dae-eon whipped his head around.

There sat Oh Dong-chol, already digging into his pork cutlet.

While he had been distracted by the man’s back, a tray with a single bowl of ramen had somehow ended up in his hands.

“Ah, right,” Dae-eon muttered, turning to join Dong-chol.

Just as he was about to sit down, Dong-chol spoke first.

“What were you talking to that senior about?”

“Which senior?”

“Seon Ji-ha.”

Seon Ji-ha?

It was a name he had definitely never heard before, yet it felt strangely familiar.

Sifting through his memory, Dae-eon finally realized that ‘Seon Ji-ha’ was the man in the plaid shirt who had been getting ramen in front of him.

“Is he a senior you know?”

“No, not at all. He just asked if I wanted to get my ramen first, and I told him it was fine.”

“Whoa, that senior actually knows how to talk?”

Dong-chol asked in genuine surprise.

Judging by that reaction, it seemed everyone knew the man was exceptionally quiet.

Curious now, Dae-eon asked.

“Who is he?”

“He’s a senior in our department. Don’t tell me you talked to him without knowing who he was?”

“……He’s in our department? This is my first time seeing him.”

Yoon Dae-eon had a history of skipping the freshman orientation.

Even so, he should have recognized the name or face if they had crossed paths during the crowded start-of-term party.

Yet, he had no memory of those striking horn-rimmed glasses or that plaid shirt.

“He’s the textbook definition of an engineering nerd. Quiet, gloomy, but insanely smart. I think he’s at the top of the department?”

“Oh, really?”

“Just look at those clothes. That plaid shirt. It’s because of people like him that everyone thinks engineering students only wear plaid.”

Following Dong-chol’s nod, Dae-eon turned his gaze to see Seon Ji-ha eating his ramen.

True to form, he was eating all by himself.

‘Does he eat alone every day?’

Dae-eon, who wasn’t a fan of eating alone, pondered that for a second.

Whether the man ate alone or wore nothing but plaid wasn’t really his business.

Not wanting to continue a conversation that felt like bad-mouthing, Dae-eon shifted the topic to the ‘engineering nerd’ uniform.

“But hasn’t the plaid shirt changed lately? To a gray hoodie?”

“……Really? Is the official nerd uniform a hoodie now?”

As it happened, Oh Dong-chol was wearing a gray hoodie with a bear printed on it.

Yoon Dae-eon was also wearing a hoodie, though his was dark green.

At this point, it was safe to say the department’s designated uniform was indeed the hoodie, not the plaid shirt.

“Where should we go after this? We still have time.”

“Maybe the PC cafe?”

“Ugh, I hate the smell of cigarettes there.”

Dong-chol went on to mutter about how disgusting the smell of stale cigarettes mixed with pheromones was.

Of course, Dae-eon, who couldn’t sense pheromones, simply gave him a mechanical nod of agreement.

‘Ah, we meet again.’

After resting in the student lounge following lunch, Yoon Dae-eon had arrived at the lecture hall and told Dong-chol he was going to buy a drink.

Walking down the hallway, he ran right into Seon Ji-ha, who had just stepped out of the restroom.

When Dae-eon stepped to the right to pass him, Seon Ji-ha moved in the same direction as if on cue.

When he tried the left, the other man did the same.

Judging by his awkward movements, it didn’t seem like Seon Ji-ha was trying to block him on purpose.

It was just one of those things.

Dae-eon let out a sigh.

“You go first.”

“……Yes……”

As Dae-eon stood still, Seon Ji-ha hurried past him with a grateful nod.

But perhaps he was in too much of a rush—a small box tumbled out of his pocket.

Dae-eon was the one to pick it up.

“Excuse me, you dropped th—”

Dae-eon’s voice cut off abruptly.

His eyes had landed on the box he’d picked up, and the words printed on it were too awkward to say out loud.

[My-Cycle: For Alpha Omegas]

Seon Ji-ha, seemingly having heard Dae-eon’s unfinished sentence, turned around.

When he spotted what was in Dae-eon’s hand, his face flushed a deep red.

He rushed over and snatched the box away.

“Ah….”

“…….”

The situation had become incredibly awkward.

Dae-eon felt like he had accidentally intruded on someone’s private secret, and Seon Ji-ha… well, his red face made it clear how embarrassed he was.

Scratching the back of his head sheepishly, Dae-eon apologized.

“Uh, I’m sorry.”

“……A-Ah, no it’s fine……”

Letting him leave like this made Dae-eon feel like he’d committed some kind of harassment, leaving a bitter taste in his mouth.

Judging by his attitude, he didn’t seem like the type to broadcast his status as an Alpha Omega to the world.

Drawing on what little social energy he had, Dae-eon initiated a conversation.

“Do you happen to like soft drinks?”

Dae-eon used his thumb to point at the vending machine behind him.

Seon Ji-ha, who had been standing stoically, shifted his gaze toward the machine and gave a slight nod.

His bangs were so long it was hard to find his eyes, but it was a relief to catch glimpses of them through the strands.

Walking naturally over to the vending machine, Dae-eon reached for his wallet.

“What do you like? I’ll buy you one.”

“……Why?”

“Well, it’s….”

‘What am I supposed to say?’

That he felt bad for unintentionally seeing his dynamic?

These days, being a Dominant or a Recessive wasn’t exactly a secret, but it still felt uncomfortable.

Searching for the right words, Dae-eon finally spoke.

“I saw you when we were getting ramen earlier, but I didn’t get a chance to say hello. I heard you’re a senior in my department.”

“Ah, yes….”

“I’m Yoon Dae-eon. I don’t think I saw you at the orientation party, though.”

Dae-eon swiped his card and pressed a button; the drink fell with a clunk.

Then, he stepped aside for Seon Ji-ha’s turn.

Of course, his card was already inserted.

Seon Ji-ha hesitated before reaching out with long, thick fingers to select a drink.

Now that he noticed, the man’s hands, frame, and height were all enormous.

Since Dae-eon had to look up at him, the man had to be over 190cm.

“There were too many people… so I didn’t go.”

“Ah, right. There were a ton of people. It felt like every single person in that huge restaurant was from our department.”

With that, the conversation lapsed again.

Dae-eon popped the tab of his can with a snap and stole a glance at Seon Ji-ha.

He spoke cautiously.

“But, you should be careful. There aren’t many Omegas in our department.”

“……Pardon?”

“I mean… your cycle medicine. You’re an Alpha Omega, right?”

Dae-eon looked at Seon Ji-ha with apologetic eyes.

Meeting his gaze through the curtain of hair, Seon Ji-ha waited silently for him to continue.

“It would be annoying if rumors started spreading for no reason. Just a hassle.”

“Ah, yes….”

“Oh, class is about to start. I should get going. Enjoy the drink!”

Checking the time on his phone, Dae-eon turned and headed down the hallway.

Left standing alone, Seon Ji-ha watched Dae-eon’s retreating back and sank into deep thought.

Height: 193cm. Weight: 87kg. Shoe size: 290mm.

Seon Ji-ha, whose physical condition could only be described as ‘massive,’ quietly looked down at himself.

Comparing his own frame to the slender, delicate images of typical Alpha Omegas, he suddenly muttered to himself.

“……Do I really look like an Omega……?”