* * *
10 Years Later
Beep, beep, beep!
The alarm blared.
A hand reached out and tapped the phone.
I felt like my whole body was weighed down with bricks. I did not want to wake up.
“Ugh…”
I rubbed my face into the pillow, then slowly cracked my eyes open.
Even then, I lay there for a while, reluctant to move.
It wasn’t until the alarm rang again that I finally sat up.
My hair was a mess, sticking out in all directions from my struggle with sleep.
Eyes barely open, I got out of bed and shuffled to the bathroom.
“Ah… Aaaah…”
Mumbling nonsense, I yawned, splashed water on my face, and then dragged myself to the kitchen.
I grabbed a glass of water, put two slices of bread in the toaster, and pulled out some salad and fruit from the fridge.
Pouring a mug full of milk, I sat down at the table, chewing through my breakfast like a cow lazily chewing cud.
[Omega Dad: Son! You’re coming home this weekend, right?]
As soon as I unlocked my phone, a message popped up.
I glanced at the wall calendar, which I barely ever used.
“…Too much trouble.”
My dad didn’t usually ask me to visit.
Ever since I started working, he knew I spent weekdays busy with my job and weekends holed up at home, relaxing.
‘Why is he asking now?’
If he’s bringing it up, he definitely wants me to come.
And if he wants to talk in person instead of texting or calling…
“Did hyung come back?”
Gil Woohyun had gone overseas for grad school and was now working as a researcher.
He only visited Korea once a year, and when he did, he always insisted on meeting up.
‘But he didn’t tell me anything this time.’
Something felt off.
‘Deviating from the original plot sure makes things unpredictable.’
After a moment of hesitation, I checked the time and hurried out.
I barely made it onto the subway.
As always, it was packed.
The key to surviving was finding a good spot.
Sitting down? A luxury.
The real goal was securing a corner.
‘Nice!’
I was lucky today—I found a space between the door and the seats.
As the train moved, more people piled in, making the space even more cramped.
“Hey, control your pheromones!”
“Excuse me, you stepped on my foot.”
“Don’t push! Someone’s gonna fall!”
Complaints filled the air, but I ignored them and kept my eyes forward.
Then, suddenly—
I felt something brush against me from behind.
“?!”
Wait.
Did someone just touch my ass?
‘…What the hell?’
It must be a mistake.
But then it happens again.
This time, I feel a hand brushing against my waist.
No way… Is this one of those perverts I’ve only heard about?
I’ve never personally experienced anything like this, but I’ve witnessed it a few times.
The strange thing about this world is that it happens between people of the same sex as well.
That’s because this world has a unique classification system called “traits”!
I didn’t understand it before, but after 15 years of living here, I’ve gotten used to it.
Yeah. I had thought that once the main couple’s love story reached its happy ending and the novel wrapped up, I would finally return to reality.
That hope was utterly shattered.
When I opened my eyes, the familiar yet foreign sight before me was my bedroom—the one I had gradually become accustomed to waking up in over the years.
I was so stunned that I couldn’t even get out of bed.
My Omega dad, worried that I was still inside, came to check on me, thinking I had bombed an important exam and was in shock.
Later, my Alpha dad, who returned home late from work, and even my older brother tried to comfort me.
At the time, I couldn’t even bring myself to correct their misunderstanding.
It wasn’t that I had come to terms with reality and halfheartedly taken my college entrance exams.
No, I had done my best, gotten into Korea’s top university, and landed a job at a major corporation.
As my past achievements flashed through my mind like a movie reel, my expression hardened.
‘This bastard…?’
Now it’s my thigh! I can’t just sit still anymore. It’s time to act.
“…Ah.”
A low groan came from behind me.
But to make things worse, I felt hot breath on my neck and ear.
Irritated, I whipped around—only to freeze.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
The person behind me was way too close.
So close that his lips were almost touching my forehead.
I leaned back and looked up at him.
His eyes widened as if caught off guard.
No… his expression was more like someone witnessing something unbelievable.
‘What’s with that face? Why does he look so shocked?’
But no matter how I looked at him, he didn’t seem like the type to grope people.
His skin was a warm bronze, as if naturally tanned under the sun, and his sharp, well-defined features were neatly arranged.
On top of that, his striking dark brown eyes—perhaps enhanced by colored lenses—gave him an exotic appearance.
‘Is he a celebrity?’
No, I shouldn’t judge people by their looks!
“I was asking you a question.”
Even his voice was nice.
A deep resonance, like a finely tuned instrument…
‘No, focus! That’s not the point!’
Seriously? Is he really going to play dumb?
“Where do you think you’re touching?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You just put your hands on me.”
I could have let it slide once.
Fine, even twice could be an accident.
But three times?
And on my upper thigh, right where my leg meets my butt?
There’s no way that was unintentional!
“I didn’t do that.”
His response was firm.
Not a single flicker of guilt in his expression or gaze.
Or… was there?
He hesitated slightly, but I couldn’t back down now.
“I felt it. Stop making excuses and apologize.”
“Hah… I already told you, I didn’t do anything.”
Our back-and-forth was drawing attention.
Some onlookers seemed entertained, while others, tired from their morning commute, looked annoyed by the commotion.
“Can you keep it down? Some of us would like a peaceful ride.”
Even the person who had earlier complained about managing pheromones spoke up.
If we were outside, I would have pressed harder, but unfortunately, I had no proof.
As I stared him down in silence, he let out a deep sigh.
“My phone kept vibrating, so I took it out to check. I might have brushed against you in the process. Regardless, I apologize if it made you uncomfortable.”
He apologized just like that. I glanced down and saw a smartphone in his hand.
Thinking back to how I felt the touch, it did seem possible.
“…Fine. If that’s the case, then I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions.”
I didn’t want to cause a bigger scene and draw more attention.
After shooting him one last glare, I quickly turned away.
Thankfully, my stop was next.
As soon as the doors opened, I stepped off in a hurry.
Out of instinct, I glanced back—only to see that suspected pervert getting off as well!
‘What the hell? Why is he getting off here? Is he following me to argue about earlier?’
Luckily, plenty of office workers were exiting alongside me.
I sped up before he could catch me.
“Hey, Assistant Manager Gil!”
Just as I was leaving the subway station, a familiar voice called out.
Assistant Manager Kim, one of my colleagues, was waving at me after just getting off the bus.
“Assistant Manager Kim. Good morning.”
“Yeah, morning.”
We chatted about small things while heading to the office.
Once inside, we greeted our coworkers and took our seats.
I glanced at the desk by the window—it was still empty.
“Huh? The manager isn’t in yet?”
Kim also seemed surprised not to see Manager Shin.
“He went upstairs.”
Assistant Manager Park, who had just returned with a cup of coffee, answered.
If he went upstairs, that meant he was meeting with a high-ranking executive.
The president, maybe?
That was a possibility. Because—
“Is this about what happened yesterday?”
“It’s not the president.”
“Not the president? But isn’t he always the first to call the manager in whenever Director Min screws up?”
“I guess you haven’t heard. He was called by the Executive Director.”
Hmm. That was odd.
The president wasn’t the type to act like that.
Just as I tilted my head in confusion, Manager Shin returned.
“Everyone, listen up.”
Clapping his hands to get our attention, he continued.
“There’ll be an official announcement soon, but the Executive Director gave our team an early heads-up.”
Why was the ‘Executive Director’ personally informing our team?
Could it be… another parachute hire? (A nepotism hire.)
Everyone’s gaze focused on him.
But the person in question was too busy staring at his monitor to notice.
“A Task Force Team is being formed under the Business Strategy Division. The team leader is an external hire—a highly capable individual, from what I hear.”
Manager Shin didn’t stop there.
“They’ll be dropping by our department soon, so let’s all be ready to introduce ourselves.”
For some reason, I felt a chill run down my spine.
Unconsciously, I rubbed the back of my neck.
* * *
