The Fence Around the Sanctuary

The tension snapped instantly.

Hyunwoo exhaled a deep sigh of relief and replied with a soft “Yeah.”

Taegun had been deceived so easily that Hyunwoo felt almost foolish for being so nervous.

Far from suspecting him of being an Omega, Taegun seemed to assume he had manifested as an Alpha, just like the other boys.

The only difference was that Taegun had correctly deduced that Hyunwoo’s partner had been an Omega, not a Beta.

“Stay in the classroom when you’re done. I’ll come to pick you up.”

“…Alright.”

“Don’t think about running off again. We have to finish the university applications today.”

“I get it, I said I would.”

Right on time, the bell rang to signal the start of the morning assembly.

As the homeroom teacher entered, the students busily scattered to their seats.

Hyunwoo’s eyes were gloomy as he watched Taegun’s retreating back.

Even though he had successfully deceived him, he didn’t feel happy at all.

Instead, Taegun’s dry reaction left him feeling oddly hollow and bitter.

He knew Taegun was disinterested in—and even repulsed by—such matters, but he hadn’t expected him to respond so blandly even toward him.

He thought Taegun would at least be curious about who the partner was.

A sense of unearned disappointment washed over him.

He suddenly felt like a fool for living all these years without ever dating anyone.

And who was all that for?

Hyunwoo pouted.

There was one more thing Taegun found as horrifying as Omegas: s*x.

Though Taegun habitually buried his nose in Hyunwoo’s neck, there had never been a single ounce of sexual intent in that contact.

It was an act like a ritual.

Nothing more and nothing less than a means to wash his sense of smell, which had been contaminated by Omegas.

Taegun had never gone through a third gender manifestation.

This was because he was a Dominant Alpha whose trait was determined from birth.

Hyunwoo didn’t know every detail of Taegun’s trauma-filled childhood, but it wasn’t hard to guess that a massive correlation existed between his hatred for Omegas and his castrated libido.

Unlike Taegun, Hyunwoo was an extremely ordinary human being with a sexual appetite within the normal range.

He didn’t have any strange fetishes or paraphilias, and like any other peer, he relieved his needs alone when necessary.

The problem was the strange sense of guilt that plagued him every time he faced Taegun afterward.

He felt like a shameless person who had feasted on meat in front of a monk who practiced asceticism.

So, he stopped.

Once he stopped paying attention to sexual stimulation, it was a natural progression to become indifferent to dating as well.

Perhaps the reason he didn’t feel a strong desire for the romance others were so desperate for was that he already had a life partner by his side whom he had promised to stay with forever.

He didn’t expect his existence to hold the same meaning for Taegun, but still, he thought he would at least wonder what happened last night or who the person was…

But what was that? ‘Behave yourself so you don’t become a nuisance later’?

He realized once again how insignificantly Taegun viewed Omegas.

‘A half-baked Omega with mediocre pheromones.’

That was what he was.

He felt inexplicably depressed, as if he had been sentenced to a life of being only half-valuable.

It was ridiculous.

Only yesterday, hadn’t he thought it was a relief that he wasn’t a “proper” Omega?

And yet, to feel this way just because he heard those words from Taegun.

Because of that, he was forced to confirm it one more time.

He had no choice but to admit that his feelings for Taegun were not mere friendship.

He didn’t know when it had started to sprout, but the moment his body was opened to an Alpha, he became intensely aware of it.

He resented the fact that he had realized the true nature of his feelings—which he hadn’t even recognized himself—at that moment, in that way.

He wished it were just an impulsive emotion.

An emotion like a sudden shower that pours for a moment and then disappears.

Could it be that his heart was making a foolish mistake toward the Alpha he had been with for a long time, under the influence of manifesting as an Omega?

Hyunwoo tried desperately to deny his own feelings.

‘I’m just confused for a moment.’

Just as the wet ground dries when the rain clouds clear, I will be able to get along with Taegun again as if nothing happened.

When that time comes, this pain piercing my chest will surely vanish.

It had to.

Soothing himself, Hyunwoo pressed his hand firmly against his aching chest.

A biting winter wind was shaking the dry tree branches.

Taegun, leaning his chin on one arm and staring out the window in a slanted posture, watched his eyes tremble slightly along with the swaying branches.

More than half of the classroom was empty.

Those who had been accepted through early admissions had long since entered their own self-declared winter break, and as the regular university applications ended, students began to leave the school one by one, leaving the classroom full of empty seats.

While the remaining few were enduring the boredom while waiting for their turn for counseling with the teacher, Taegun’s mind was entirely filled with thoughts of Hyunwoo.

Hyunwoo, whom he had considered a Beta, had manifested as an Alpha the moment he became an adult.

Normally, it should have been over before graduating from middle school.

There were times when he wished Hyunwoo would manifest with the same trait as him.

He believed that their relationship would become even stronger as they shared many things.

However, after encountering Hyunwoo’s manifestation this morning, Taegun was unexpectedly shocked.

Perhaps the shock came from the fact that Hyunwoo had appeared after rolling around with an Omega, rather than the manifestation itself.

At the sight of the hickeys scattered across the white nape of his neck, a dizzying rage surged within him.

In fact, his throat still felt hot even now.

He knew well that Hyunwoo, who didn’t have trauma like himself, had no reason to refuse an Omega in heat, yet he didn’t know why he was engulfed in such violent anger.

In truth, Taegun didn’t even know what name to give that emotion.

Betrayal? Because of what?

What Hyunwoo promised Taegun was that he would stay by his side forever without forming a family, not that he wouldn’t date or have physical relations with an Omega.

‘Still, it would have been nice if you had given me a hint that you wanted to manifest as an Alpha.’

Ah.

Taegun sat up from his leaning position.

‘It’s disappointment.’

Taegun was certain that the spark of that intense emotion that struck him stemmed from disappointment.

This was a valid emotion that could be felt in a close friendship.

Thinking that the disappointment had crossed the line and led to a sense of betrayal, he found this part quite understandable as well.

Unlike an Omega’s manifestation, which is accompanied by a heat cycle, an Alpha’s manifestation has no outward signs.

The starting point of an Alpha’s manifestation was the very moment when an Omega’s pheromones, which had not been detected before, were suddenly perceived as a powerful stimulant that shook the entire pituitary gland.

Unless Hyunwoo told him separately, Taegun would have no way of knowing whether Hyunwoo had manifested or not.

Unlike himself, who had been an Alpha from birth, Hyunwoo had only just manifested.

Since he had zero immunity to Omega pheromones, he must have been helpless against the first stimulus he experienced.

An Omega in heat must have lured Hyunwoo in.

The promise with him probably wasn’t even on his mind.

Unaware of that, he had been anxious for a long time because Hyunwoo was out of contact all night, and right then, Hyunwoo’s parents had sent two chickens as a late-night snack.

After a moment of wonder, a suspicion crossed his mind.

Using the thank-you note as an excuse, he contacted Hyunwoo’s parents and, as expected, learned of Hyunwoo’s cute lie.

‘While lying that you were with me, at that time, you…’

Anger surged, but upon further reflection, he had no right to demand that Hyunwoo not meet Omegas.

However, he didn’t want to be neglected again, pushed aside by an Omega.

Taegun’s eyes narrowed.

His well-shaped fingers began to tap on the desk at regular intervals.

It was a habit that appeared when he was deep in thought.

Taegun’s eyes, weighing Hyunwoo in his mind, shone as sharp as a fierce predator’s.

Although Hyunwoo’s body had been given to an Omega, he suppressed the rising anger by telling himself it was a territory that wasn’t his from the start.

It was enough to take everything else belonging to Hyunwoo except for that.

He intended to grasp every bit of Hyunwoo’s life: the time and space that would constitute his future, the daily food that would enter his mouth to become blood and flesh, the thoughts and reflections that would fill his mind, and even the tiniest speck of emotion that might sprout in his heart.

He would soak him in the ultimate comfort within the fence he had built, and then unbolt the gates one by one.

Finally, even after all the barriers surrounding Hyunwoo were removed, he planned to painstakingly instill bad habits so that Hyunwoo wouldn’t even dare to try and leave his side.

‘To make him entirely mine.’

The thought of Hyunwoo gradually becoming colored with his own hue made him feel much better.

‘You said it with your own mouth. That you would stay by my side forever without being paired with any Omega. So it doesn’t matter who you roll around with. It’s nothing more than a hollow, meaningless relationship anyway.’

‘The person you promised to spend your life with is me.’

Recalling the childhood promise that was like a vow, Taegun barely managed to compose his heart, which was on the verge of exploding.