* * *

The rain that had poured all night, leaving Taejoon and his grandmother in misery, finally stopped.

Still dressed in sauna clothes, he went to their semi-basement home.

The room, filled with filthy floodwater, looked impossible to live in.

What should he do now?

As an omega, should he just sell himself to some older men?

His wretched life seemed to twist further into despair.

Even so, he grabbed a bucket and started bailing out water.

The water that had reached his neck gradually receded to his chest.

His arms felt like they were going to fall off, and his water-swollen skin itched terribly.

Grandma didn’t stop him.

There was nowhere else for them to go.

When she offered to help, he snapped at her and sent her away.

All across Gayundong, people like Taejoon were doing backbreaking work to salvage their flood-damaged homes.

Knowing he wasn’t the only one suffering offered Taejoon the faintest consolation.

Eventually, fire trucks entered the narrow alley, and firefighters used equipment to pump water out of homes.

Once the water was gone, the house was left coated in mud. Nothing was salvageable.

Government workers in yellow safety vests roamed the area, filling sandbags and disposing of debris.

But no amount of effort could restore the home to its former state.

Grandma entered the ruined house and gathered what little was left: her bankbook, seal, rental contract, and the portrait she’d prepared for her own funeral.

The stash of cash hidden in a blanket was nowhere to be found—it must have floated away.

Now they needed to claim the deposit back and find a new place to live.

Na Taejoon shoved his dirty uniform into a bag.

After packing some of their belongings, he and Grandma returned to the sauna they were temporarily staying in.

He washed his waterlogged phone with clean water and dried it thoroughly.

Thankfully, it worked.

Gotta love these old phones.

He called the landlord and demanded the deposit back, explaining the house was flooded.

The landlord asked if they had a place to stay.

“Of course not. I’ll have to figure that out now.”

He ended the call there.

A notification popped up on his banking app—2 million won had been deposited.

Leaving Grandma at the sauna, Na Taejoon went alone to a real estate office.

Other renters, also displaced by the flooding, had gathered to find new places.

The wait at the real estate office was long.

He accepted a cup of warm green tea and sat for an hour.

He also browsed rental listings on apps, but nothing fit his budget.

Finally, hoping for some luck, he waited his turn and spoke to an agent.

“Kid, you’d better look in another neighborhood. Around here, livable places on higher floors are way out of your budget.”

“How much would I need, then?”

“The only places that didn’t get flooded are officetels.”

“How much for an officetel?”

“Ten million deposit and 600,000 monthly.”

“What the—?”

Ten million won?

That’s the deposit?

What now?

Na Taejoon ruffled his hair in frustration.

But getting angry wouldn’t solve anything.

He wanted to scream and curse the world, but he couldn’t—he had Grandma to take care of.

Just then, his phone rang like fate itself.

He almost ignored it, but the real estate agent scolded him for the noise, so he answered.

“Is this Na Taejoon’s phone?”

“Who is this?”

“It’s Ji Sunyu, from the same department as you. We collected donations for students affected by the flooding. You should come to campus and pick it up.”

“Huh? Really? Wait right there—I’m on my way!”

Still in his sauna clothes, he sprinted to school.

His steps felt unusually light.

He’d always wondered why he bothered going to this lousy school, but here he was, being helped because he was a student.

For once, he was glad to be at this university.

The lecture was still ongoing, so he waited in the hallway.

When class ended, he burst into the classroom and charged toward Ji Sunyu like a bull.

“Where’s my money?”

“Ugh, I really hate you,” Ji Sunyu said, handing him a white envelope with a look of utter disdain.

Na Taejoon opened it on the spot.

“Huh…? Huh…!”

The amount was beyond his wildest expectations.

The check inside was something he’d never seen before in his life, with more zeroes than he could believe.

He wanted to take it out and confirm it was real, but he worried someone might snatch it away.

So he tightly rolled the envelope in his hand and clenched it like a lifeline.

Deciding to thank his professor for organizing the donation, he went to the office.

The professor frowned at his sauna outfit, but Na Taejoon swallowed his irritation.

He owed the man his gratitude.

“Thank you so much, Professor.”

“For what? And what happened to your uniform? Sold it?”

“I heard the school collected donations for me because of the flood damage.”

“What are you talking about? You’re saying your house was flooded?”

The professor clearly had no idea.

Na Taejoon realized where the money had come from.

Only one person would go out of their way to involve Ji Sunyu in a lie to save his pride.

Yeo Woohee.

That damned Omega had touched his heart.

Without even thanking the professor, Na Taejoon stormed out of the office.

Behind him, the professor cursed, calling him an insolent brat.

In the hallway, he spotted Yeo Woohee chatting with Kang Dohee.

“Do you remember me now?” Kang Dohee asked.

“Yeah. Sorry I didn’t recognize you earlier.”

“It’s fine. We met when we were kids, so it’s understandable.”

Yeo Woohee smiled at Kang Dohee, his hair swaying in the breeze coming through the window.

Kang Dohee looked at him warmly, pushing back his bangs.

“Thanks, Dohee.”

“It’s nothing.”

Na Taejoon felt a pang in his chest.

He stepped between them, splitting them apart.

He might be diving headfirst into a tough unrequited love.

---

Determined to get on Yeo Jinwoo’s nerves, Yeo Woohee made plans to hang out with Kang Dohee after class.

Dragging Na Taejoon around was fun, but he was busy settling into his new officetel.

“Woohee! Wait for me!”

Na Taejoon, who had been in a different lecture, ran up to him in the hallway.

Ji Sunyu, clearly annoyed, clung to Woohee’s other arm.

“Why’s this leech here again?”

Ji Sunyu glared at Na Taejoon, linking arms with Woohee.

Na Taejoon grabbed Woohee’s other arm in retaliation.

To their classmates, it probably looked like he was an Alpha player juggling two lovers.

Woohee didn’t mind.

He even enjoyed the misunderstanding, despite being an Omega.

The thought of other students seeing him this way made him a little excited, but he quickly suppressed the urge.

In his head, Woohee imagined himself being taken by everyone in the classroom, sprawled on a desk and marked with tally lines on his skin for every turn he endured.

The fantasy was thrilling, but the reality would be too much, especially with his father’s temper.

“Hey! Do you want to die?”

Na Taejoon’s sharp tone snapped Woohee out of his thoughts.

Thinking he had scared Woohee, Na Taejoon quickly shut up.

Ji Sunyu shot Woohee a tattletale look.

Meanwhile, Woohee’s soft, brown eyes landed on Na Taejoon, stealing his breath.

“Taejoon, don’t be like that. Let’s all get along,” Woohee said kindly.

Unsatisfied, Na Taejoon pouted but didn’t argue.

* * *