The Shadow of an Imprint

“Hey, Yoon Dae-eon!”

At the sound of someone calling his name from behind, Yoon Dae-eon turned his head. He couldn’t turn his whole body, though, because his hand was firmly gripped by the person standing next to him.

Fortunately, the person calling him walked over. It was Oh Dong-cheol. Dong-cheol, who had been rushing toward Dae-eon, faltered when he finally noticed the man standing by his side.

“Oh, Sunbae, you’re here too? Hello.”

Seon Ji-ha, who was holding Dae-eon’s hand tightly, stared down at Dong-cheol without a word. For some reason, Dong-cheol felt the weight of that gaze and subtly averted his eyes. He knew his friend Dae-eon was close with Seon Ji-ha, but he always found it difficult to get comfortable with this particular senior.

“Where’s Kim Ye-jun? Why are you alone?”

“He’s got a hangover.”

“What? The Kim Ye-jun?”

“Yeah. He drank like a fish at the MT, then insisted on ‘hair of the dog’ the next morning and drank a ton more. Now he’s completely bedridden. I don’t know why he volunteered to be the Black Knight for everyone’s penalty drinks…….”

Dong-cheol was chattering away, but he didn’t seem annoyed. If anything, his face was slightly flushed, as if something good had happened.

“Oh, really? Should we bring him some medicine or something?”

“Medicine for a hangover? Please. I just… bought him some hangover soup this morning.”

“Ah…… I see. You went all the way to the Alpha dorms this early?”

“Yeah. Ugh, I feel like I smell like Alpha pheromones now. How about it? Do I smell like Kim Ye-jun?”

Dae-eon narrowed his eyes at Dong-cheol. It seemed a lot had happened at the MT he had missed. The evidence was that Dong-cheol wasn’t pestering him with questions about why he hadn’t shown up.

Seon Ji-ha stood quietly by Dae-eon’s side, listening to their conversation. His presence was so faint he could have been a decorative folding screen. It was impressive how someone so large could erase their presence so effectively.

“Let’s just get to the lecture hall. I’ll tell you all about the crazy stuff Kim Ye-jun did at the MT.”

Dong-cheol started walking ahead. Dae-eon, intending to follow, glanced down at his hand—still woven tightly into Ji-ha’s—and followed along. Dong-cheol, glancing back, finally caught sight of the linked hands.

“……What’s this?”

“Huh?”

“Is Seon Ji-ha Sunbae…… taking this class too?”

Dong-cheol’s pupils shook as he asked. No way. The lecture they were heading to was a mandatory major course for freshmen. As a senior two years ahead, Ji-ha would have taken this class ages ago.

Yet, Ji-ha was creeping along behind them, holding Dae-eon’s hand and refusing to let go. Dae-eon turned to Ji-ha with a troubled expression.

“Sunbae…… I’ll head over right after class. Please go wait at home.”

“…….”

“Or I’ll text you every ten minutes during class, okay?”

At that, Dong-cheol’s eyes narrowed. This sounded like a conversation with someone suffering from extreme pathological jealousy. But Seon Ji-ha was the real spectacle.

The moment Dae-eon tried to pry his hand away, Ji-ha’s body—quiet until then—began to tremble. He started taking deep, heavy breaths. Dong-cheol, watching from the side, was so startled he actually tried to help.

“Hey, there are so many kids in there, nobody will notice if he sneaks into the lecture. But…… seriously, what is going on?”

Having failed to persuade Ji-ha, Dae-eon silently took his hand again. Miraculously, Ji-ha calmed down instantly. Dong-cheol, having witnessed the whole thing, pushed aside the MT gossip and began prying for details.

But Dae-eon was the one truly going crazy.

He thought back to the conversation from early this morning.

“Is it because you’ve already imprinted on someone else……?”

As soon as Dae-eon had denied the one-sided imprint, Ji-ha had asked that question as if he’d been waiting for it. Dae-eon had scowled, wondering what kind of nonsense he was talking about.

“……I saw it… at your house……. The Imprint Certificate.”

At those slowly added words, Dae-eon belatedly remembered. It was a forged certificate his parents had made just in case, though it had never been used.

His parents were married and imprinted on each other, so they could use that as an excuse for not smelling pheromones—but Dae-eon couldn’t. So, once he entered middle school, his parents had prepared a certificate stating he had imprinted on his damn uncle.

Stories of people imprinting in middle school were rare, but they appeared in news articles and books occasionally. They had decided it was better for him to be seen as an Omega who imprinted young than to be caught being a Beta.

Dae-eon never expected it would come back to haunt him like this.

“Sunbae, that’s… well…….”

“……Well?”

“…….”

To explain everything, he would first have to reveal he was a Beta. But he remembered his last call with his uncle. Be careful for a while. Don’t let anyone find out you’re a Beta.

Dae-eon had lived as a Beta for 20 years. He first met his uncle when he was 8, meaning Do Jeong-min had helped hide the truth for at least 12 years. His uncle wasn’t the type to flinch at much, so for him to issue a stern warning meant something. Dae-eon knew it was best to listen to him.

“……Yes, that’s right. I’ve imprinted. That’s why it’s impossible for you to have a one-sided imprint on me.”

At Dae-eon’s confession, Ji-ha tightened his grip. He grit his teeth to avoid hurting Dae-eon after the physical strain of the previous night, but he couldn’t stop himself from crushing Dae-eon’s clothes in his fist.

Ji-ha spoke as if the words were being wrenched out of him.

“Just because you’ve already imprinted doesn’t mean I can’t have a one-sided imprint on you.”

“Sunbae, that’s not it, ugh…….”

Dae-eon bit his lip while held in his arms. He knew Ji-ha’s one-sided imprint was a delusion. Imprinting was only possible between those with traits.

No matter how hard he pleaded with a Beta like Dae-eon, it was impossible. But he couldn’t say a word.

Because he heard a low, clear whisper in his ear.

“This one is mine…….”

No one can steal it from me.

At that moment, because Ji-ha was hugging him so tightly, it wasn’t clear what he was referring to. Was he talking about his possessiveness over Dae-eon, or……?

Was he referring to the “one-sided imprint” he had already made?

*************************************************

“Hey, when does Sunbae say he’s leaving?”

“……Huh?”

“He must have classes too. Doesn’t he?”

On the table in front of the convenience store lay scattered kimbap and cup noodles they had bought for lunch. Because it was a round table, Dae-eon sat wedged between Ji-ha and Dong-cheol.

At least when they were eating, Ji-ha let go of his hand. After being held all morning, Dae-eon felt a dull ache in his fingers and shook his hand to loosen the muscles.

Dong-cheol, noticing this, leaned in to whisper. Ji-ha was silently staring at a triangular kimbap, seemingly deep in thought.

“This afternoon…… he probably has one? Most likely.”

“But why isn’t he going? Wait, Sunbae! You don’t open it like that!”

Dong-cheol’s voice grew loud at the end. That was because Ji-ha had just ripped the clear plastic wrap of the triangular kimbap in half. As a result, the seaweed fell right off onto the ground.

Left holding a “naked” triangular kimbap, Ji-ha stared at Dae-eon. With a long sigh, Dae-eon swapped his kimbap for Ji-ha’s.

“Wow…… I’ve never seen anyone who doesn’t know how to open a triangular kimbap. Sunbae, have you ever even eaten one of these before?”

Dong-cheol, who had been pestering Dae-eon about when Ji-ha was leaving, completely forgot his question and started prying into other things. True, ever since that lawyer showed up, Ji-ha had shown signs of being from a different world. Dong-cheol seemed to have already noticed he was a “rich boy” despite his appearance.

Ji-ha didn’t answer but nodded and cautiously took the kimbap Dae-eon offered. At the same time, Dae-eon dropped Ji-ha’s naked kimbap into his own cup ramen.

There were still some noodles left, but it was all going to get mixed up in his stomach anyway, so he didn’t mind soaking it in the soup. Meanwhile, Ji-ha’s eyes sparkled as he looked at the kimbap now perfectly wrapped in seaweed. Dae-eon watched him with a chuckle.

“Oh Dong-cheol, give me a bite of your tteokbokki.”

“Want me to put some on the lid for you?”

“Yeah. Sunbae, do you want some tteok—wait, no, that’s spicy, right? Never mind, I’ll just eat it.”

Dae-eon, knowing Ji-ha was helpless against spicy food, didn’t offer him any and instead poked a piece of rice cake with his chopsticks and brought it to his mouth. Ji-ha was nibbling on his small kimbap with his large hands.

Then, Dae-eon’s phone began to ring. Drrrrring…… The screen on the table lit up, displaying the saved name:

[Uncle]

Dae-eon, chewing on his rice cake, swallowed and stared at the name. Then, without even realizing why, he glanced up at Seon Ji-ha.

And the Seon Ji-ha he saw had already tossed his kimbap aside.