Chapter 16: Unusual Compatibility

“It isn’t a heat cycle, at least.”

Dr. Kim spoke only after a long pause.

An unmistakable look of difficulty lingered on his face.

Despite being a leading authority in this field, he seemed flustered by the situation—having to give such an uncertain, half-formed diagnosis about his patient’s condition.

Seon-kyung, pressing gauze against the finger where blood had been drawn, stared at the white test kit in Dr. Kim’s right hand.

The diagnostic kit, designed to determine the presence of a heat cycle through hormone levels in the blood, still showed only a single, vivid red line even after time had passed.

A sigh escaped him on its own.

His chest felt tight and stifled.

Honestly, it would have been easier to accept if it had been a heat cycle.

“If it’s not a heat cycle, then what caused it?”

“You said you were just talking, correct?
The pheromone intensity wasn’t particularly strong either…
Was the other party, by any chance, a dominant Alpha?”

“So that does matter after all?”

‘This isn’t the first time you’ve dealt with something like this.’

Han Jiseok’s words suddenly resurfaced in his mind.

Unlike Seon-kyung, who had been flustered by the uncontrollable arousal, that man had remained remarkably calm at the time.

Was it something that happened wherever he went?

The dry tone, the attitude of someone who seemed to have experienced the same thing countless times—it all came back to him vividly.

Seon-kyung shuddered again with shame.

“It’s not common, but if the Alpha was dominant, the likelihood increases.”

“…..”

“That said, we can’t make a definitive conclusion just yet.
There are other factors to consider.
It could be that the two of you have unusually strong compatibility, or if you felt any attraction toward him, you may have been more easily affected by his pheromones.
You’ve only manifested two months ago, haven’t you?
This is when sensitivity is at its peak.”

Dr. Kim paused and looked at Woo Seon-kyung carefully.

He seemed to want to ask something, yet couldn’t bring himself to say it outright.

After hesitating, he spoke cautiously.

“By any chance… did you have feelings for that Alpha—”

“No!”

Seon-kyung shouted before the sentence could even finish.

“Absolutely not.
I just thought he was handsome when I saw him.
That was all!”

“…I see.
If that’s the case.”

“Please just tell me what I should do.
I’m too anxious to even go out like this.
This can’t happen again.
You know that as well, Doctor.”

He had thought he’d adapted perfectly.

Reality proved otherwise.

The sensation was still vivid.

Being swept away by Alpha pheromones, his body reacting on its own, arousal surging, the damp heat pooling below—

He never wanted to experience that again.

This time, nothing serious happened by sheer luck.

But there was no guarantee he’d get through it safely next time.

And if something unsavory were to occur, if it ever reached Chairman Woo’s ears, then gallery inheritance or not—

Woo Seon-kyung’s life would be over.

“I’ve been meaning to recommend this for a while, actually…”

After deep contemplation, Dr. Kim pushed up the glasses that had slipped down to the bridge of his nose, as if steeling himself.

He glanced at Seon-kyung’s expression once more before making a rather bold proposal.

“Would you consider undergoing an Alpha pheromone shower?”

“A pheromone… shower?”

“It involves confining an Omega in an enclosed space while an Alpha releases pheromones directly onto them.
The Omega endures it for a set period of time.
It’s a short-term treatment typically recommended for recessive Omegas with unstable heat cycles, or for those who are especially sensitive to pheromones.”

“…You’re saying you deliberately excite them?”

“Usually, yes—until a heat cycle is triggered.
But in your case, we’d need to stop just before that point.
It’s admittedly a rather crude method, but repeated stimulation like this increases resistance to Alpha pheromones.
Unless you’re actually in heat, most Alpha pheromones would no longer affect you.”

It was risky.

And undeniably extreme.

But the results sounded appealing.

Seon-kyung didn’t hesitate for even a second.

“I’ll do it.
Right away.”

***

He wanted to start immediately, even that very day.

But the preparation process turned out to be more complicated than expected.

The most urgent task was finding an Alpha willing to participate in the pheromone shower.

Dr. Kim contacted him again a week later.

The discreet training was conducted not at the hospital, but in the study at Seon-kyung’s family home.

Being in a familiar, comfortable place eased the psychological burden, even slightly.

The Alpha was twenty-seven years old.

According to the profile Seon-kyung had reviewed beforehand, he lived overseas and was a Korean-French Alpha temporarily staying in Korea for work.

There was no need for intimate conversation.

Still, enduring two full hours in total silence would be its own kind of torture.

Perhaps sensing the awkwardness, the Alpha—who had been offering polite smiles and glancing around—finally broke the silence.

“This study is impressive.”

“If there’s a book you want, feel free to take one out.”

“I’m not particularly fond of reading.
I’ll just enjoy it with my eyes.”

It’s pleasant just to look, you know.

His hazelnut-colored eyes swept through the study before finally settling on Seon-kyung, and he smiled softly.

Despite the gentle expression, thick Alpha pheromones rolled off him in waves.

“Are you feeling uncomfortable at all?”

“So far, I’m fine.”

There was a faint warmth rising to his face, but not enough to qualify as arousal.

Seon-kyung checked the heart-rate monitor strapped around him like a watch.

The readings were stable.

For now, this was manageable.

“This is my first time releasing pheromones like this so deliberately.
I feel a bit awkward, honestly.”

The Alpha flushed instead, fanning himself with his hand.

Among Omegas, carefully controlling pheromones was considered basic etiquette for Alphas.

Dousing an Omega in one’s pheromones was usually something done to seduce someone—

Or in bed.

Doing so openly, in a place like this, was undeniably embarrassing.

“How is it?”

About an hour in, Dr. Kim entered from the adjacent room and checked on his condition.

“I’m fine.”

Almost too fine, if anything.

The change was so minimal that it felt embarrassing to recall how desperately he’d begged Dr. Kim to fix him.

“Good.
Then we’ll increase the concentration a little.”

At Dr. Kim’s request, the Alpha gradually intensified his pheromones.

Dense Alpha pheromones wrapped around Seon-kyung’s entire body.

Now, even breathing carried a heavy presence.

Seon-kyung regulated his breathing and closed his eyes briefly.

This is strange.
This doesn’t feel like that time.

What’s different?
What’s missing?

The first pheromone shower ended anticlimactically.

For two full hours, he’d been thoroughly steeped in pheromones—

Yet nothing happened.

Only an inexplicable sense of discomfort remained.

After washing thoroughly and changing clothes, Seon-kyung returned to the study.

The room had already been neatly tidied.

The Alpha was gone.

He approached Dr. Kim, who was typing notes into a laptop while alone in the study.

Sensing him, Dr. Kim straightened up and pulled out a chair, gesturing for him to sit.

“How was it?
Better than you expected, right?”

“I’m not sure, Doctor.
Is this really… the right method for me?”

Unlike Seon-kyung, who looked dissatisfied, Dr. Kim was beaming.

His eyes sparkled, brimming with intellectual excitement.

“You can’t expect results right away.
Honestly, I found this quite fascinating.
A normal Omega would have already entered a heat cycle by now.
That suggests your pheromone defense mechanisms are already quite strong.
Still, we need to identify what caused the previous reaction.”

“I just want it to be properly corrected, whatever it takes.”

“The best option would be recruiting that Alpha again, but…”

Dr. Kim glanced at him cautiously.

Seon-kyung shook his head firmly, refusing.

Clicking his tongue in regret, Dr. Kim sighed.

“Then let’s try a few more sessions for now.
Consider today a trial run.
Next time, we’ll adjust the conditions.
I’ll try to recreate the circumstances from that day as closely as possible.”

“Please do.”

Dr. Kim scheduled the next appointment, saying he’d look for an Alpha who met the conditions.

***

Life at school continued as though nothing had happened.

On the day he fled the graduate building like he was escaping, Seon-kyung later called his uncle to explain the unavoidable situation.

His Beta uncle apologized excessively, blaming himself for being inconsiderate.

Seon-kyung never ran into Han Jiseok again after that.

To begin with, the odds of two people with no overlap meeting on such a vast campus were slim.

Besides, Jiseok was a law school student who spent most of his day studying.

Someone who lived buried in books wasn’t easy to encounter.

And so, ordinary days passed.

Until one day—

Seon-kyung’s greatest nemesis of college life finally appeared.

He’d been lucky enough to pass his exams, but even auditors weren’t exempt from group projects.

“I’m sorry to assign this so soon after midterms, but work is work, right?
Please analyze the concept and selling points of a currently running exhibition.
Presentations will begin with Group One two weeks from now.”

“Aaaagh!”

“Hahaha!
Don’t suffer too much—this one will be fun.
The TA will explain the details next.
See you at the next lecture!”

Fun?
A team project is fun?

Professor, that joke went too far.

Ignoring the students’ protests, the professor chuckled and left the lecture hall.

The teaching assistant, who had been waiting, stepped forward.

Dragging himself like a withered husk, the TA read the announcement in a voice utterly devoid of motivation.

“Uh… the groups have already been assigned by the professor.
I’ll post the list at the front.
Check it, and if you want to change groups, you can apply by tomorrow.
Please come to the academic office.”

The moment he finished speaking, students surged forward like a swarm of locusts.

Heads and shoulders packed tightly in front of the small A4 sheet taped to the podium.