AOA 34

To be honest, my biological father had pressured me outright, asking if I could attend the church event with Baek Mugyeong. But I flatly refused, saying I had asked Baek Mugyeong and he said no. Of course, I had never asked him. My father nagged, asking how I couldn’t even sway my own husband’s heart despite being newlyweds, but I let it go in one ear and out the other.

“So… do you and the guy you married not do anything for Christmas?”

My younger brother glanced at me nervously and asked very cautiously. It seemed like he didn’t know how to refer to Baek Mugyeong, whom he’d never even seen.

To be honest, I didn’t know what to call Baek Mugyeong either. I didn’t want to call him my husband, and “spouse” felt awkward too. So I just let my brother fumble with the vague phrasing.

“It’s a political marriage, so we agreed to just do our own thing. I’m really fine with it.”

I reassured my aunt and brother with that statement. My easygoing and cheerful aunt was fascinated that arranged marriages like the ones in dramas really existed. But my brother kept giving me doubtful looks, as if wondering whether I had been forced into it or if I was being mistreated like in some drama.

In times like this, the best solution was to change the subject. I surprised them both with the news that I had manifested as an omega. I even joked that it had happened quickly because I married an alpha. After we’d eaten and I handed some pocket money to both my aunt and brother, I finally got up with heavy limbs.

When I returned home five hours later, the house was empty. Since it was Christmas, Kim Juhyeon, our housekeeper, had gone home after her morning shift. And Baek Mugyeong, who had gone out early yesterday for work, hadn’t come back and was still out of contact even today.

Still wearing my coat, I flopped onto the living room sofa. All I’d done was eat at my aunt’s place, but I felt completely drained.

Ever since I reconnected with my biological father six months ago, I’d been like a shut-in, barely moving, let alone exercising. My stamina had dropped drastically.

“I really need to start working out.”

I also needed to finally go see that counselor I kept putting off. On a whim, I pulled out my phone and looked up a few gyms nearby. I did the same for therapists.

I made up my mind to check out a local gym tomorrow and stood up. But as I headed toward the second floor where the bedrooms were, I stopped at the top of the stairs. It was the same hallway where I’d had sex with Baek Mugyeong last weekend.

“Sigh…”

I let out a deep breath. The memory of having sex while fully conscious was still vivid. Every time I stood in that hallway over the past week, flashes of the pleasure from that night returned, startling me.

Baek Mugyeong had apologized again, saying it had been a surprise rut. I was shocked that spontaneous ruts could happen so often.

Just like in Cebu, where we ended up having sex because I manifested, I chalked this up as another accident. We’d each had an accident once, so I decided to just let it go.

But Baek Mugyeong had reacted unexpectedly. He insisted that I should be angry, so I ended up cursing him quite harshly.

The man didn’t even blink. If anything, he looked satisfied.

Still, the atmosphere wasn’t bad. Once again, he gave me birth control pills without saying much and left the room.

That was the last I saw of him. He’d left early for work and didn’t come home until after midnight, so I hadn’t seen his face at all today.

It wasn’t unusual, he’d often been like this before the regression too. I even knew he probably wouldn’t come back until the Christmas holiday was over. I wasn’t even curious about where he was or what he was doing.

The only real problem was how I kept remembering the sex every time I walked down the second-floor hallway. Now I understood why Baek Mugyeong had warned me to be careful of alphas who’d gone into rut. An alpha in rut was incredibly dangerous to an omega.

“Get a grip.”

I rubbed my face with both hands and quickly entered the bedroom. These kinds of thoughts always disappeared once I started moving.

It was a laid-back Friday evening. Spending a peaceful weekend in a warm, spacious home was the height of luxury.

Since I planned to start university in March, I needed to study some basic knowledge. I had already lived through this once before, but I had always been terrible at studying and was mentally checked out when I had attended university the first time. I didn’t retain much at all.

“Ugh, I don’t want to study.”

Just thinking about opening a textbook made me feel drained. I had never had the mind for studying, so going to university had never even crossed my mind. Now that I was trying to crack open a book, my whole body recoiled. Still, I forced myself to move, telling myself I had to work to be a better person in this second life.

But as always, things never went as planned.

*

I stepped into the elegantly decorated hotel bar and slowly looked around. Maybe because it was Christmas Day, it was packed with people.

It wasn’t hard to spot Choi Jaeha among them. His strikingly pretty face was sitting off to one side.

When I approached, Choi Jaeha, who’d looked gloomy just moments ago, instantly brightened and smiled at me.

“You’re here?”

“Yeah.”

I replied curtly and sat on the wide sofa across from him. About an hour earlier, I had gotten a call from an unknown number. Out of curiosity, I picked it up, and it was Choi Jaeha.

He immediately asked if Baek Mugyeong was home. I told him he’d gone out yesterday and hadn’t returned. He then said, “Well, if I can’t get the pheasant, I’ll take the chicken,” and invited me out.

I refused, but he kept calling over and over, saying we should hang out. Even when he threatened to lie down in front of my house, I didn’t budge. But I couldn’t ignore the sad voice that said he had no one else to spend time with. In the end, I reluctantly changed into something suitable to go out.

I had originally planned to take a taxi, but because it was Christmas night, no rides were available. So I decided to drive myself.

Traffic was terrible on the way over. Even then, Choi Jaeha kept calling, asking when I’d get there. For a moment, I seriously questioned whether being friends with him was a good idea.

“So it’s true that Mugyeong hyung stayed out last night?”

The moment I sat down, Choi Jaeha’s eyes sparkled as he asked.

“Yeah. He’s still not back.”

“Ugh, then where the hell did he go?”

“What’s this about?”

I already had a rough idea of what kind of situation involved Christmas, Choi Jaeha, and Baek Mugyeong. But since I came all this way, I figured I should at least act curious.

“No, like, just hear me out.”

Choi Jaeha was the type who had to say what was on his mind. If you gave him the chance, he’d spill everything. Sure enough, when I asked what was going on, he jumped at the chance.

He told me that he’d booked a hotel suite for Christmas Eve and invited Baek Mugyeong. I had heard about this before the regression too. He said he’d threatened to wait all night or even show up at his office if he didn’t come, but Baek never showed. He was furious that Baek hadn’t even picked up the multiple calls he’d made.

“Isn’t that just too much? I’m throwing myself at him, and he can’t give in even once? I’m literally offering myself, and he won’t take it? Is he even an alpha? Is something wrong with his pheromones? A pretty omega is calling him over, and he’s ignoring it? What a dumbass.”

Choi Jaeha cursed in his own cutesy way. Without any vulgarities like “bastard,” “dick,” or “bitch,” it barely even sounded like swearing, more like whining.

As far as I knew, Choi Jaeha had been relentlessly pursuing Baek Mugyeong with genuine devotion. Not just this Christmas, he would do the same on Valentine’s Day and White Day next year, booking hotel rooms and getting rejected.

“Wait, did you manifest?”

While pouring me a drink, he suddenly looked shocked and asked. It wasn’t something I needed to hide, so I nodded.

“Yeah.”

“When?”

“Not long ago.”

“It was in Cebu, right? I heard some omega manifested in that hotel and all the alphas went wild. You were in a different room from Mugyeong hyung, right? Nothing happened, right? Say nothing happened.”

His instinct was uncanny. It was astonishing how much he could deduce from so little.

Caught off guard, I froze and couldn’t say no. Sensing what my silence meant, Choi Jaeha flared up. His naturally sharp eyes narrowed into an angry glare.

“What the hell? He said he’d never sleep with a man. Liar…”

He screamed in frustration, not at me, but at the absent Baek Mugyeong, and gulped down his drink. He liked alcohol but wasn’t a strong drinker, and his face turned red instantly.

“I’m going to fuck him, no matter what. Damn it.”

Wow. He actually said “fuck him.” Choi Jaeha revealed his terrifying obsession with Baek Mugyeong. It had been a mystery even before the regression, but I still couldn’t understand what it meant to love, or obsess over, someone that much. Especially when the other person clearly wasn’t interested.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“What do you mean?”

“That look like you’re wondering why I’m so desperate.”

“Well, it’s just… I honestly don’t get what’s so great about Baek Mugyeong.”

I said it bluntly. I was genuinely curious what it was about Baek Mugyeong that made someone like him so infatuated.

“He’s handsome.”

“Well, yeah, but…”

“Being good-looking is everything. For alphas, it’s all about the face. Don’t you agree? You seriously don’t get it. Sure, there are plenty of alphas with great bodies, but ones as good-looking as Mugyeong hyung? They’re rare.”