Chapter 36

“Today’s graduation marks both an end and a beginning. Having laughed and studied together in the same school, we shall now walk our respective paths and traverse different roads. At times we may lose our way and wander; at times we may pass through pitch-black darkness. Yet we know this: even if we meet an unexpected night, the light will come, and once we pass through the storm, a calm and boundless sea will unfold before us—”

Yi-seon glared at Mugyeol with a sour grimace.

Calm after the storm? You crazy bastard, the storm passed and a whole typhoon rolled in.

Mugyeol was standing on the auditorium podium delivering the speech as the class representative. His uniform, accentuating his tall height and broad shoulders, was neat; his ears, completely stripped of piercings, were clean; and his hair was tidily styled, presenting an exemplary figure for all to behold.

Yet in Yi-seon’s eyes, Yeon Mugyeol’s dashing figure barely registered. Agitation blurred his vision. Not a single word of Mugyeol’s representative speech registered in his ears either. His heart thrashed erratically like a broken rhythm. He could hardly tell whether this sensation was agitation or anxiety.

He had heard that immediately following ‘that’ incident, the elders of both Mugyeol’s and Yi-seon’s families gathered to discuss their future course of action.

Just as Yeon Hangyeol had briefly explained, everything was concluded to be Yeon Mugyeol’s fault. Mugyeol, visiting Yi-seon’s house, suffered a sudden pheromone surge that triggered a rut accident, and the situation escalated as he forcibly pounced on the Omega beside him, Yi-seon.

The onset of Yi-seon’s first heat—having lacked pheromones entirely as an extreme recessive—and the resulting changes to his body had likewise become Mugyeol’s responsibility.

Up to this point, he could nod along with an ‘is that so,’ but he couldn’t do the same for what came after. Because he had heard Mugyeol’s family was racking their brains over the problem of ‘handling the aftermath regarding Yi-seon.’

Yeon Mugyeol, under severe reproach, stated that he would take full responsibility for this disaster, and hearing that, Mugyeol’s grandfather suggested that since things had come to this, they should run a compatibility test. The result of the compatibility test taken under those circumstances was the ambiguous figure of forty-eight percent. In truth, calling it ambiguous was generous; it was embarrassingly low.

While he sat blankly in the auditorium chair mentally repeating the number forty-eight, the ceremony concluded and kids swarmed from all sides. The scent of bouquets and high-pitched chatter pressed in from left and right.

“Yi-seon-ah, let’s take a photo.”

“With me too!”

“Hey, let’s take a group photo first!”

Yi-seon was dragged around, swaying this way and that. Snapping pictures with this group, then with that one, even kids from his class last year rushed over to join in. Clutching the bouquet his mother had handed him, he flashed a dazed V-sign and forced a smile. The corners of his mouth trembled.

After taking photos with his mother, he told her he would stay with the kids a bit longer and sent her home first, only to be dragged around some more. He wanted to talk to Mugyeol immediately, but he had to fulfill social obligations, which cluttered his mind even further.

Still, wanting to leave behind memories of his one and only high school graduation, he moved back and forth until he found himself surrounded by some ten girls. When they told him to make a heart, he awkwardly formed one over his head, only for the girls to suddenly drop to one knee in unison and point their fingers up at him, giving him quite a start.

They said it was a ‘concept,’ but he couldn’t comprehend what kind of concept that was. They told him they would Photoshop something into the photo later, so he just told them to go ahead.

“Yi-seon-ah, can I tag you?”

“Yeah. Go right ahead.”

“Ah, I don’t want to graduate…”

“Do well in college too. Thanks for everything.”

“Are you not going to keep in touch with me? Why do you sound like it’s a final farewell? That hurts my feelings…”

As Yi-seon offered his final farewells, a female classmate started tearing up, so he took a moment to comfort her. After handing over a crumpled cafe napkin from his pocket and catching his breath, he spotted Mugyeol across the schoolyard in a similar predicament.

Both arms overflowing with gift bags and flower bouquets, Mugyeol was taking photos with girls clinging to his arms on either side.

On his head was a heart-shaped headband, likely a gift from someone. Seeing underclassmen girls with different-colored name tags swarming around, it appeared the underclassmen had made the effort to come for Mugyeol’s graduation. The girls were even holding colorful placards…

Is that a fan meeting or something?

Thank goodness I didn’t have to wear a headband like that.

Talking today is out of the question.

He vaguely overheard a passing student talking with her mother.

“He’s really handsome, isn’t he? Was he the student council president? Is he an idol or something?”

“Not quite, but close enough, Mom.”

“Tell him to become a celebrity.”

“Who am I to tell him to become a celebrity, Mom…”

With a resigned heart, Yi-seon turned and walked away from the schoolyard.

He had wanted to take a photo with Mugyeol too… Even if he hated the guy right now, a friend was a friend, and he had wanted to keep at least one picture of them in uniform. To think that as his best friend in name, he couldn’t even get close. Being overly popular was a nuisance in itself, drawing a heavy sigh from his lips.

“Yi-seon-ah, are you eating with your family?”

“No. I told them I’d head home later, so they went ahead.”

“Then eat with us! We decided to hit a Chinese restaurant together.”

“Sounds good.”

Just as he was muttering to himself that he ought to snap a uniform photo when meeting Mugyeol to talk this evening—

While Yi-seon walked and chatted with his friends, a large hand reached in from behind. Smoothly nudging aside the friend next to him, Mugyeol draped that arm affectionately over Yi-seon’s shoulder and pulled him into his chest. Shoved by Mugyeol’s broad frame, the friend beside Yi-seon stumbled a few paces away.

“Where are you going? Leaving me behind.”

Startled by the low baritone wrapping around his ear, Yi-seon looked up. There stood Mugyeol, his hair tousled by the wind as if he had dashed over from afar. Along with the crisp winter air, a scent of pheromones—both foreign and familiar—drifted in.

“First you ban me from the hospital, and now you won’t even take a graduation photo with me? You’re really too much.”

Beneath the biting blue sky, Mugyeol’s clean, fair face broke into a grin. He was clad unburdened in his uniform, having apparently handed off the overflowing gifts and bouquets to the secretary who came with Chairman Yeon.

Looking up at his close friend’s face, Yi-seon truly realized his transformation. Nothing emerged different on the surface, but everything had changed. The scent of Mugyeol’s pheromones, which he normally would never have perceived properly, coiled thickly around him, slackening the strength in his legs with a dizzying intoxication.

Only now did the true essence of Yeon Mugyeol hit him.

He really was a genuine Alpha all along…

Mugyeol likely hadn’t unleashed his pheromones. He had always asserted that he never released them under normal circumstances. Rather, having been inundated by Mugyeol’s pheromone shower, Yi-seon’s body was reacting with extreme sensitivity.

The attending physician had warned of this exact outcome: that he might react hypersensitively to Mugyeol’s pheromones for the time being. The doctor said he would be fine once the aftereffects of the pheromone shower cleared completely, so he could only pray it turned out as promised. It would be a disaster if his body reacted every single time he faced Yeon Mugyeol.

Yi-seon told his friends he would eat with them next time and sent them off first. Then, grabbing Mugyeol by the wrist, he strode behind the school building. The entire time he was dragged along by Yi-seon, Mugyeol flashed his trademark dashing student council president smile and waved to other students greeting him, providing his usual fan service.

Once they rounded the corner and reached a deserted spot, he planted himself firmly in front of Yi-seon.

“Now it’s just the two of us. What are you planning to do, dragging me around back?”

Ignoring Mugyeol’s nonsense, Yi-seon looked around. Just as Mugyeol said, there was no one around to overhear their conversation. Deeming it a suitable spot to talk, he finally stopped scoping the surroundings like a meerkat.

Yeon Mugyeol unbuttoned Yi-seon’s uniform jacket, slipped a hand inside, and touched his shirt with a feigned look of concern. To be precise, he was groping Yi-seon’s waist through the fabric.

“Looks like you lost some weight… Your pants are loose, too…”

“It’s because I had no appetite from the suppressants.”

“Right. That stuff is pretty harsh. You’re already skinny, so what happens if you lose more weight? Bones will clash.”

“It’s because of you, all because of you! Because I had to be hospitalized because of you! Forget that…” Yi-seon knocked away the hand groping his waist and narrowed his eyes. “That incident we had the other day.”

“Accident? Ah. Me getting hard and pouncing on you.”

“…”

Yi-seon’s face flushed crimson. Hearing a pheromone explosion phrased like that left him speechless. It was even harder to refute because what Mugyeol said was the raw truth.

Why the hell is this bastard’s word choice like this? Does he have no shame? Even if it’s the truth, shouldn’t he watch his damn mouth?

Swallowing the frustration boiling inside him, Yi-seon pressed on.

“Yeah. That. Anyway, I heard you got chewed out big time by Chairman Yeon over it. Are you okay? I heard you got hit with a golf club—are you in one piece?”

“Where’d you hear that?” Mugyeol asked with a chilled expression. When Yi-seon answered, “Hangyeol hyung,” Mugyeol fixed his eyes somewhere on the wall and fell into thought for a second. “Fuck, that loud-mouthed bastard,” Mugyeol cursed under his breath, then immediately smiled sweetly and tapped Yi-seon’s cheek.

“Don’t worry about things like that. I’ll handle everything.”

Mugyeol’s reply was terrifyingly calm. That mature facade felt strangely reliable. Despising himself for feeling trust toward Mugyeol at this moment, Yi-seon let out a quiet sigh.

Seeing the faint bruises on Mugyeol, he felt a flicker of worry as a friend. But reminding himself that his own body was what required more concern, he brushed the worry aside for now.

“Why didn’t you just tell him? What happened between you and me.”

Mugyeol’s eyes narrowed to slits. As if recalling that day, his countenance darkened in an instant.

“Tell him what? That you stabbed me in the back? That after saying friendship was the most precious thing, you tossed that precious friendship away, chased after some girl’s tail, and played me for a fool? Should I tell him I got so fucking pissed my rut blew up? Should I say that?”

“…Isn’t that a bit of a leap?”

Mugyeol took a deep breath and muttered like a soliloquy, “Leap, my ass. Fuck, that’s exactly what you did. Stabbing me in the back… and trying to run away again… Haa…”

Witnessing this firsthand, Yi-seon let out a hollow laugh in disbelief. He couldn’t comprehend why this guy suddenly warped so violently, as if a switch had been flipped.

Wasn’t he acting all grown-up a second ago, saying ‘I’ll handle it’ and all that? Seems like whenever it involves Su-ah noona, he completely loses his mind… Who knew a turbulent adolescent’s intense love could be this terrifying.

His own emotions had been erratic since that day, but the Yeon Mugyeol before his eyes seemed no different.

In the hospital room, he had talked about compensation like some chaebol matriarch in a K-drama, turning Yi-seon’s stomach; earlier, he was smiling casually asking for photos; then he was reassuring him with an adult face claiming he would handle his own affairs; and now he was muttering like a lunatic with his eyes half-crazed.

“Mugyeol-ah. Get a grip…”

Yi-seon did his best to pat Mugyeol’s shoulder. Seeing that slight madness in his eyes, his heart accelerated for fear that pheromones might pour out again. No matter how much he pretended to be fine, his body clearly still remembered the trauma of that day.

An arousal and impulse he never wanted to endure a second time. That miserable sensation of having one’s latent instincts forcibly dragged to the surface and detonated. He hadn’t realized until now just how dangerous an Extreme Dominant Alpha’s pheromones truly were.

“When did I say I was running away?”

“Then what,” Mugyeol quietly countered, staring intently at Yi-seon.

Firmly bracing Mugyeol’s shoulders with both hands, Yi-seon shook his head. “Like I told you before, that thing with Su-ah noona was truly just an accident. I have no intention of dating Su-ah noona at the cost of ending our friendship. Not just Su-ah noona, but also Jeong Soram, whom you misunderstood before… I don’t covet your people. I won’t betray you.”

“…”

“We worked so hard to become friends again. I want to keep that going.”

“…Really.”

“Yeah.”

“You really mean it, right.”

“Yeah. I told you I do.”

Even while soothing Mugyeol with all his heart, Yi-seon felt bewildered.

Is this right?

Is it right that I’m here making excuses like this?

Is it right that I’m the one placating Mugyeol’s bullshit?

Yet watching Mugyeol’s ragged breathing gradually settle, it felt as though this might be right after all. Having successfully placated Mugyeol, Yi-seon sought to steer the derailed conversation back on track.

“Anyway, I understand how you feel. I get the situation, too. But this isn’t the way.”

“What way?”

Yi-seon clenched his fists to bring up the real topic. From here on, he couldn’t let Mugyeol overpower him in momentum.

“The way your family plans to take responsibility is strange.”

Yi-seon roughly pictured Mugyeol’s circumstances in his mind.

Pheromone explosion. The secondary gender transformation of an Extreme Recessive Omega. Compatibility test. The ambiguous number of forty-eight percent. And… responsibility.

He could understand the present predicament triggered by this chain of events.

In other words, Mugyeol had placed a bet with his grandfather.

Having witnessed the tangled mess of his son’s sordid pedigree after abandoning his lawful wife for a second one, the Chairman must have hoped his grandson would at least establish a normal household. With such a ruckus erupting in the midst of that, it was understandable that he flared up in deep disappointment toward Mugyeol.

What was more, Yi-seon’s maternal grandfather was Chairman Yeon’s dear friend and benefactor. Harming the grandson of his benefactor naturally fueled greater fury. In such circumstances, Mugyeol found the answer to soothe his grandfather’s wrath. Namely, with the dependable promise that he would take full responsibility.

Of course, he couldn’t have actually meant it.