Chapter 29: The Unforeseen Outcome

The relationship between Yoonwoo and Yeon-chae miraculously reverted to its former state. It felt as though time had rewound not merely to before the freshman welcoming party, but much further, to the previous semester.

Initially, a slight awkwardness lingered between them. Yet, Yeon-chae soon began to orbit Yoonwoo, as if he had never been distant or cool.

Despite his exasperation, Yoonwoo spent nearly a month attempting to ward off Yeon-chae, though to no avail.

Only then did Yoonwoo realize that they shared not just one, but several classes. He couldn’t understand why Yeon-chae had been so inconspicuous in the lecture halls before.

From that point on, Yeon-chae would always arrive first, secure a seat, and eagerly call out to Yoonwoo. With a bright smile and an arm raised high, he was impossible to ignore.

Consequently, in every class, Yoonwoo begrudgingly found himself seated beside Yeon-chae, enduring the lectures with a sour expression.

‘Well, since things have come to this,’ Yoonwoo thought, ‘I just need to avoid getting ahead of myself.’

By mid-April, Yoonwoo had more or less resigned himself to the situation, feeling a profound sense of bewilderment. This was a truly perplexing outcome for him.

He had, after all, intended to gradually distance himself from Yeon-chae, hoping they would remain mere acquaintances, senior and junior.

Yoonwoo had never once imagined that he would eventually form a relationship with Yeon-chae, especially given their numerous past disagreements. Yet, once he resolved to simply dismiss that fateful night, the memory became surprisingly bearable.

Whenever the recollection surfaced, he would desperately feign ignorance, chanting to himself, ‘Yeon-chae is just a junior. Yeon-chae likes someone else—probably an Omega.’ He repeated these words like a sacred mantra.

However, a moment eventually arrived when he could no longer pretend that night had never happened.

About a week prior, Yoonwoo had first sensed something profoundly amiss with his body. He kept gagging, despite having eaten nothing that could cause indigestion.

This was swiftly followed by a series of astonishing experiences. He suddenly became capable of distinctly sensing an Alpha’s pheromones whenever they drew near.

This newfound sensitivity was remarkable, considering he had lived his entire life without ever distinguishing Alpha pheromones, or even knowing what their scent felt like.

At first, he had dismissed these sensations, assuming they were merely sweat, not Alpha pheromones. However, a much graver problem soon emerged.

Each time he sensed Alpha pheromones, his chest tightened, and his breathing grew labored. Ultimately, Yoonwoo collapsed behind the cafe counter, wracked with abdominal pain and violent vomiting.

“Yoonwoo, is something wrong lately?” Jungseo inquired, his face etched with concern.

However, Yoonwoo instinctively recoiled, taking a step back to avoid him. His aversion to Alpha body scents had become so profound that even Jungseo’s familiar aroma felt utterly unbearable.

He couldn’t possibly have undergone an unexpected secondary gender change. He was utterly bewildered as to what was happening to him.

Then, one day, Yeon-chae visited the cafe after a long absence.

That day, Yoonwoo was once again dodging Jungseo’s attempts to touch his forehead. The mere scent of an Alpha was nauseating enough; he felt certain he couldn’t endure physical contact.

But the moment the cafe door swung open and Yeon-chae appeared, Yoonwoo felt a sudden, profound relief. It was as if a new world had unfolded before his very eyes.

“Yoonwoo sunbae… Sunbae?” Yeon-chae called, but Yoonwoo remained utterly captivated, staring at him with a blank expression.

The body scents of the Alphas scattered throughout the cafe, and even Jungseo’s pheromones from where he brewed coffee nearby, suddenly receded. No other aroma reached him.

Only one distinct scent lingered.

It was the same sweet, vibrant floral scent, like spring blossoms profusely blooming beyond an open window, that he remembered from the night he had spent with Yeon-chae.

The rich aroma, which he had once mistaken for perfume, now permeated deeply, passing his nostrils and filling his lungs with an almost intoxicating intensity.

‘I don’t wear perfume,’ Yeon-chae’s voice, long forgotten amidst the haze of alcohol, suddenly resonated in his ears.

Yoonwoo had completely forgotten that casual remark, overheard on the night of the freshman welcoming party when he was too drunk to stand and Yeon-chae had carried him on his back.

Yeon-chae, who never used perfume, always carried a soft, radiant cherry blossom scent.

In that very moment, a sudden, thunderous suspicion struck Yoonwoo.

Afterward, Yoonwoo subtly probed Seowoo, an Omega, about Beta pregnancies. He also scoured the internet until his eyes were bloodshot.

The answers were consistently the same: ‘The probability is slim, but it is not impossible.’

However, the information also meticulously explained that if one were to become pregnant despite such a minuscule chance, they would enter a state similar to an Omega, becoming highly sensitive to Alpha pheromones. It further noted that because the pregnant individual’s condition is heavily influenced by the baby’s Alpha father’s pheromones, they would inevitably develop an aversion to other Alphas.

Yoonwoo slammed the innocent mouse onto his desk with a resounding thud. He then slumped forward, tearing at his hair in frustration.

He still thought it was utterly ridiculous. Yet, a chilling realization began to creep in: it didn’t seem entirely impossible.

In the end, Yoonwoo bought a pregnancy test kit. Of all places, he attempted the test in the public restroom conveniently located next to the lecture hall.

Once the thought of confirming his suspicions took hold, he simply couldn’t wait until he got home. As he squatted inside the stall, awaiting the results, a myriad of frantic thoughts swirled through his mind.

‘Even so, is it really possible that I’m pregnant?’ he pondered. ‘I’m a Beta, and a man…’

To suspect he had defied such an infinitesimally slim probability and become pregnant from just one night felt utterly preposterous. He was surely getting ahead of himself.

‘It must be some other illness,’ he rationalized. ‘Stomach cancer, perhaps, or a hormonal tumor…’

Ignoring the fleeting thought that pregnancy might actually be preferable to cancer, Yoonwoo let out a nervous, hollow laugh as he waited for the test results. The corners of his smiling lips trembled uncontrollably.

And then, finally, the test result appeared on the stick.

‘…’

Two lines. It felt as though a bolt of lightning had struck the restroom ceiling.

It was as if Yoonwoo had just received a death sentence.

No matter how many times he retested, only two distinct lines appeared.

His only shred of hope was that since he had used test kits designed for Omegas and female Betas, there was no certainty if the results would be accurate for a male Beta like himself.

Perhaps due to overwhelming stress, the moment he settled at his desk in the lecture hall, an intense headache and profound nausea assailed him. His vision swam, and he ultimately slumped to the floor.

When he finally tried to stand, strongly urged by the TA to seek medical attention, Yeon-chae trailed after him. No matter how much Yoonwoo insisted he return to class, Yeon-chae utterly ignored him.

He had always considered it fortunate that they had returned to a comfortable, familiar relationship. But in that moment, a wave of profound regret surged through him.

‘I should have just pretended not to know him,’ he thought. If only he had, Yeon-chae wouldn’t be clinging to him like this.

Yoonwoo cast a slight glare at the ‘baby’s father (presumably),’ the potential culprit behind this entire predicament, before swallowing a heavy sigh.

“I told you, you don’t need to come with me,” Yoonwoo insisted. “I’ll take a taxi, so hurry back to class.”

“Taxis don’t come here,” Yeon-chae replied simply.

The general education building was located in the deepest part of campus, so it was indeed unlikely that any taxis would pass by. However, a campus shuttle bus to the main gate would arrive in ten minutes, and from there, he could transfer to a city bus.

Yet, Yeon-chae showed no inclination whatsoever to leave Yoonwoo and return to class. He maintained his grip on Yoonwoo’s wrist and continued to stride forward with his long legs.

When a flustered Yoonwoo shook his wrist, Yeon-chae’s arm moved in unison. Yeon-chae raised an eyebrow, looking down at him with an expression that seemed to ask, ‘Why?’

Yoonwoo hesitated, wondering how to broach the subject, then decided to be partially honest.

“I’m planning to take the shuttle from here.”

He only disclosed his plan for getting to the hospital. The real truth he needed to confess still felt far too daunting to utter.

Yeon-chae merely gazed down at Yoonwoo, offering no reply. Each time Yeon-chae blinked, his thick eyelashes caught the sunlight, gleaming transparently. The bangs covering his pale forehead fluttered, disheveled by the breeze. His light brown eyes, pale in pigment, remained placid, making it impossible to discern his thoughts.

“…The bus will be here soon. You should go back now.”

Feeling an inexplicable awkwardness, Yoonwoo tried to pull Yeon-chae’s hand from his wrist. But then, a mechanical ‘beep’ sounded from behind them.

“Huh?”

Yoonwoo turned to see the above-ground parking lot in front of the lecture hall. The taillights of a black sedan flashed. Yeon-chae began to walk toward the parked car.

Yoonwoo followed in a daze, stopping in front of the vehicle. Yeon-chae leaned forward and opened the passenger door right before Yoonwoo’s eyes.

“Get in.”

“Uh, what?”

“Hurry. You still look unwell.”

“Oh, o-oh…”

Yoonwoo ultimately found himself pushed into the passenger seat by Yeon-chae, blinking in surprise. Yeon-chae reached over and firmly fastened the seatbelt across Yoonwoo’s chest. Yoonwoo, looking bewildered, asked,

“What is this car?”

“It’s my car.”

“You bought a car? When?”

“Well… I’ve always had it.”

“Always? Since when?”

“It was a gift when I got into college…”

“Really? From your parents?”

Yeon-chae nodded, an awkward expression on his face.

Yoonwoo had been close to him for nearly a year and had never known. To receive such a luxurious car as an entrance gift—Yoonwoo suddenly felt a sense of distance from Yeon-chae and instinctively pressed himself against the window.

As Yoonwoo moved away, Yeon-chae pouted, his cheeks puffing out in displeasure.

“It’s not an expensive car.”

“It looks expensive to me. I’m feeling distant now.”

“Oh, come on, I told you it’s not…”

‘This is why I didn’t say anything. And what was I supposed to do when they bought it as a gift?’ Yoonwoo heard Yeon-chae grumbling under his breath and couldn’t help but smile.

Bickering back and forth, Yoonwoo completely forgot the current situation. By the time a sense of urgency struck him, realizing he needed to get out, the car had already passed through the main gate, smoothly gliding out of campus.