Chapter 9: Set for Tomorrow

He searched for Euigeon’s contact information on his phone.

Only after staring at the blank white screen did Chaewoo belatedly realize.

He didn’t have Beom Euigeon’s number.

However, there was still a way.

There was a class group chat, so he could just contact him through that.

He entered the group chat and checked Euigeon’s profile in the member list.
Staring at the 1:1 chat button at the bottom, Chaewoo hesitated for a moment before exiting the window.

He simply didn’t have the confidence to send a friendly message like ‘What are you doing?’ as an opening.

He also felt reluctant to explain his desperate situation in detail over a chat.

‘There must be another way.’

‘Where would he be at this hour?’

While absentmindedly picking at a hangnail, a good idea came to mind.

‘The school community.’

‘Yes, I can ask on the community board.’

Pushing the direct message as a last resort, Chaewoo opened the app that only undergraduate students could access.

He hated to admit it, but Euigeon was popular even outside the music department.

Posts looking for him would often pop up on the anonymous board, calling him ‘Vocal Dept Hottie’ or ‘Lord Beom.’

It wasn’t as if he were public property or something.

[Does anyone know where Vocal Dept B.E.G. is right now?]

Chaewoo wrote a short post with that title.

It was still better than asking his juniors directly.

Less than five minutes later, a comment appeared on Chaewoo’s post.

[Saw that oppa at the music building practice rooms today. He has a lesson in the afternoon~ haha]

[ He’s in the practice rooms ㅠㅠ No wonder I couldn’t find him even though I was hanging around the music building.]

[Hmm, isn’t this anonymous board meant for things other than asking this?]

As soon as he confirmed the location, he stood up.

He would approach him as if they had met by chance while he was walking around and naturally ask when the results would be out.

Chaewoo smiled satisfactorily at his plausible plan.

However, his stomach ached from trying to run to school without even having breakfast.

The smell of food wafting from toast shops and snack bars made it difficult, but Chaewoo focused on a cycle of walking and running, looking only ahead.

Upon arriving at school and entering the music practice building, the sounds of instruments leaked out from everywhere.

Even with soundproofing, school facilities had their limits.

He searched for the room Euigeon was in, glancing through the small windows into the practice rooms.

It wasn’t difficult to find Euigeon’s voice singing to an accompanist’s playing.
Chaewoo approached the closed door and contemplated how to naturally speak to the man inside.

‘Is he preparing for a lesson with a professor? Or practicing for a competition?’

The song leaking softly through the door was Schumann’s Dichterliebe (A Poet’s Love), No. 12, Am leuchtenden Sommermorgen (On a Radiant Summer Morning).

Since it wasn’t a standard competition piece, it was likely for a lesson.

Chaewoo wracked his brain for a moment before leaning against the practice room wall, quietly listening to the art song Euigeon was performing.

Even without trying to focus, it flowed smoothly into his ears.

Perhaps because he was used to seeing Euigeon sing dramatic arias at the climax of an opera, the lyrical art song felt unfamiliar yet provided a comfortable and gentle resonance.

The sound was smooth and didn’t scatter, settling deeply in his ears.

‘He’s good at these types of songs too.’

The professors often singled out Euigeon as a representative of the students to praise him.

Until now, Chaewoo had devalued Euigeon’s attention as being due to his background and sophisticated looks—a form of self-defense—but in terms of music, he was undeniably diligent and skilled.

It was evident from his voice that he had studied the piece extensively.

As a dominant Alpha whom the vocal world adored, standing on stage with an orchestra with that voice would be more than enough to entrance any audience.

Since his parents were also giants in the music world, it was a foregone conclusion that Euigeon would rise to the world stage as long as he graduated.

That was also the future Chaewoo had once dreamed of.

He felt gloomy, even though he was in no position to compare himself to Euigeon anymore.

Every time he stood before Euigeon, he felt jealous, and he felt ashamed of what he had become.
That was why Chaewoo wanted to maintain a proper distance from him and remain isolated.

“Senior Chaewoo! Are you practicing today too?”

Just as his eyes were about to grow moist, Jeong Taehyun’s voice, which ruined the mood, echoed from the end of the hallway.

Startled, Chaewoo pulled himself away from the practice room wall.

“No. I’m just here briefly for some business.”

“The third-years who have practice today are going to lunch, so come with us, Senior. Everyone has to stay on campus, so we’ll probably just grab something at the cafeteria. Oh, come to think of it, that guy Beom Euigeon is also…”

Chaewoo wanted to leave quickly before Jeong Taehyun could drag him into more conversation with his meddling.

However, without even being asked, Jeong Taehyun began reciting useless information.

His voice was so loud that passing students glanced over at them.

“I’m fine.”

“Wait, I heard Beom Euigeon was practicing around here. Is it here…? Ah, right!”

Jeong Taehyun snapped his fingers after confirming Euigeon was in the practice room through the window.

“Wait, were you standing here listening to Euigeon practice, Senior? I was wondering why you were just standing there.”

Chaewoo, having been hit right on the mark, jumped.

“What? No! I just happened to be passing by…”

“Oh, Euigeon’s coming out.”

Simultaneously with Jeong Taehyun’s chatter, the sound of the practice room door opening thundered behind him.

‘That damn bastard.’

Chaewoo swallowed a curse and turned around awkwardly.

He locked eyes with Euigeon, who was looking down at him from the doorway.

Chaewoo swallowed hard, feeling as if he’d been caught eavesdropping.

“Beom. Are you done practicing? Let’s go eat.”

“I’m not done yet. Why are you here, Senior?”

“I was just passing…”

“Senior Chaewoo doesn’t have practice today, but he has some business here instead!”

Jeong Taehyun snatched the answer.

‘f*ck.’
Chaewoo muttered quietly.

The loose tongue didn’t stop there.

“But he was standing right here listening to your practice. Senior, Euigeon’s voice is really good, isn’t it? Just the other day, the professor praised him so much, saying he wanted to have him as a guest for a recital. He’s not the top of the class for nothing.”

‘I wish someone would shut his mouth.’
Chaewoo barely suppressed the urge to smack Jeong Taehyun in the head.

“Oh, I have a call. Looks like the others are done practicing.”

“Go on ahead. I’m not interested.”

“What… the others will be waiting. Oh? Accompanist-nim, would you like to have lunch with us? Our school cafeteria isn’t half bad!”

“Hmm, shall I? I was going to take a break anyway, so I might as well eat. Euigeon said he’s staying to look at the lyrics a bit more.”

“Right, right. You have to eat to practice. Well, I’m off then, Euigeon. Goodbye, Senior.”

Jeong Taehyun, who had been babbling loudly and as he pleased, exited quickly and hectically, taking Euigeon’s piano accompanist with him.

“……”

All that remained was Chaewoo’s embarrassment.
Finding himself suddenly alone with Euigeon, Chaewoo’s eyes wandered, unable to find a place to settle.

“Do you have something to say to me?”

“Uh… well.”

‘Since it’s come to this, let’s just ask.’

“I was curious about when that date would be set.”

“Date?”

“The Reset Partner… thing.”

“Ah.”

“I’m in a bit of a hurry. I want to know at least roughly when the confirmation will be made. If it’s not going to happen, I need to look for another job right away.”

At that, Euigeon looked surprised.

“Hmm, well, I don’t manage the money.”

He seemed to think for a moment, then went into the practice room and brought out his phone.

“If you’re in a hurry, I’ll send you a partial transfer first.”

“…Is that okay?”

“A contract date hasn’t been set yet, but my mother said she liked your profile. So, I think it’ll be fine. I can put in about twenty, no, thirty million won right now.”

“What?”

For a moment, Chaewoo doubted his ears.

“Is that too little?”

Euigeon tilted his head.
Chaewoo felt strangely irritated by that.
The fact that his face showed no malice and looked purely innocent made him even more of a jerk.
A college student having thirty million won in cash.

“That’s way too much for a down payment.”

“So you’re saying it’s not too little? Give me your account number.”

Chaewoo called out his account number, his heart racing, wondering if this was really okay.
He hadn’t expected to talk about tens of millions.

“Did you get it?”

“Ah, yes. It came through.”

Chaewoo checked the amount recorded in his account several times.
‘To give it so easily without even having signed all the related contracts?’

“The date is…”

“Tomorrow. Is that okay?”

“Tomorrow? Already?”

Was it okay for Euigeon to decide alone without consulting Park Myeong-seon?
Moreover, he wasn’t currently in his heat cycle.

Chaewoo recalled the information he had read about Reset Partners.

Come to think of it, he’d read that even if it wasn’t a natural heat cycle, stimulants could be used depending on the case.

In fact, they could set the date to conceive a child whenever they wanted.

However, Chaewoo had no sexual experience.

Dominant Omegas had a low probability of experiencing unfortunate incidents due to pheromones even during their heat cycle, and since Chaewoo had been acting as a Beta around others, he didn’t have many Alphas bothering him.

“Are you busy tomorrow? For your information, it might take a long time.”

“L-long…”

“It probably won’t be that difficult.”

The corners of Euigeon’s mouth turned up.

As if it were no big deal.

At that, Chaewoo unknowingly gripped the phone in his hand and nodded slowly.

****

He lost some sleep that night.

As usual, Chaewoo turned on the fluorescent light in his dark studio apartment as soon as he woke up.

Considering he had tossed and turned all night, his condition wasn’t bad.

The previous day, Chaewoo used the money he received from Euigeon to pay his father’s overdue nursing hospital bills in full.

Even after that, quite a bit of money remained.

Leaving only a small emergency fund, he sent the balance to his uncle.

Thirty million won was a lot of money, but it wasn’t enough to pay off all the debts he had here and there.

However, it seemed enough to get those thugs who were threatening his uncle off his back.

With a sense of relief, Chaewoo leisurely cooked with the ingredients he had bought yesterday.

A decent breakfast was ready in no time.

However, perhaps because of the tension of having to meet Euigeon at the promised location by 11:00 AM today, the food didn’t go down easily.

He placed the half-finished bowl in the sink and took a shower.

Worried that Euigeon might have changed his mind overnight and would ask for the money back, Chaewoo checked his phone several times.

Even if it wasn’t Euigeon’s change of heart, the possibility of the contract falling through lurked everywhere.

They could have found an Omega with better conditions than Chaewoo, or Euigeon’s parents could have simply changed their minds on a whim.

He didn’t think so, but if they asked for it back, he worried about how he would vomit up the thirty million won that had already left his hands.

Seeing as there had been no contact yet, they must be proceeding as planned.

Well, even if the family was wealthy, they wouldn’t have just handed over a large sum of money without some degree of certainty.

Chaewoo’s thoughts naturally drifted to how he would carry out that ‘act’ with Euigeon shortly.

‘I should have asked yesterday how it’s done.’

Chaewoo stopped showering and stared at himself in the mirror hanging crookedly above the sink.