Kiss the Stranger

“Haa, haa, haa, haa.”
My breath spun empty in my mouth, oxygen unable to reach my lungs, leaving me gasping as my vision blurred and my mind swam, while my heart pounded like a drum. From somewhere distant, I thought I heard Kamar calling my name, but it sounded faint, like a dream. Suddenly, I felt my body afloat.

“…Ungh.”
I moaned as though in pain and forced my eyes open. Kamar’s ashen face hovered over me, and I realized—vaguely—that he’d scooped me up and laid me on the bed. A new sensation crept through me, as if tiny sprites had entered my veins and were tickling every part of me. Along with the buoyant lightness, a strange happiness welled inside, yet simultaneously my body itched unbearably all over.
“Ugh… ugh…”

I writhed, groaning again. Was my fever still rising? It burned so intensely. Wait—I’d felt this before…
At that thought, clarity struck me, faint but certain.
I know this.

Gasping, I blinked my heavy eyelids.
…This is the sensation of my first manifestation.
A chill ran down my spine, and the heat that had coursed through me flared as if to scorch every cell.
No…

I looked up at Kamar.
“Yohan, are you okay? Yohan.”
He called my name in panic, and terror surged through me.

He’ll find out I’m an omega.
He didn’t know—he’d never suspected, never been told.
If he had known, he wouldn’t still be here. That was proof he didn’t know.

What should I do?
I panted, but my foggy mind wouldn’t work.
What should I do?

The thought repeated as I collapsed. Soon it would come. The burning below, the throbbing that twisted inside me.

“…I, I…”
I stammered, but I didn’t know what to say. This wasn’t my usual cycle. Normally, a season’s heat crippled me, but then my next cycle would be far off—only once or twice a year, fortunately. But this was barely six months since the last. It made no sense. Yet the confusion didn’t last.

“…Ah.”
Before I knew it, my hand drifted down, exploring. I needed something longer, something to press deep inside me. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t even sit up—I was drenched in my own pheromones.
This is strange.

My dazed mind thought. None of my previous cycles had been this violent. They were painful, miserable, but not unbearable. I’d never felt my body heat like this, choking every breath.
Why…?
“YOHAN! Snap out of it, YOHAN!”

Kamar’s voice jolted me. My cracked lips barely formed sound.
“I’m, I’m fine… I’m fine… just leave me alone.”
I tried to push him away, but my weak protest failed. He caught my hand in a rough grip.
“Leave you alone? Are you crazy? You’re in terrible shape. Want medicine? What hurts, Yohan? Speak, now! Is it hard to talk? Should I give you fever reducers…?”

He tried to rise, then suddenly wavered, pressing a hand to his brow and stilling. I realized why: my pheromones. Betas are hardly affected, but my state was extreme. My scent must be overwhelming him too.
“Ka—mar… I’m fine… please, just leave me… leave me alone.”
When I finally spoke, Kamar strode off with long steps to the medicine box. When he returned, his cheeks were flushed.

“Here, take this, Yohan.”
He rattled pills out.
“This is the fever reducer? This is painkiller, and this is—”

“Kamar…”
“Yes, and water too. Wait, I’ll get it.”
“Kamar.”

I caught his sleeve. He halted, breathing as hard as I was.
“I’m serious, I’m fine. Kamar, please, just go away… leave me… alone.”

“Don’t be ridiculous…”

“No, no, Kamar, no.”
Tears sprang unbidden. Waging war against the fire inside, I forced the words out.
“The medicine I need… isn’t here. I’m not… sick. This is just a passing… fever. If I rest for a day or two… I’ll be okay. So please, just leave me… alone. I beg you.”

My heart thundered. This happened so suddenly, and I still had to persuade Kamar. ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) I’d managed to speak, but would he believe me? He stared down at me in silence, then his face twisted. I knew I’d failed.
“No. I won’t leave you when you’re this sick. I’ll never leave.”
He sat down hard beside the bed. Through tear-blurred vision, I saw him take my hand and meet my eyes.
“I didn’t know you suffered like this alone. But now I know. I’ll always be here. So you can hurt as much as you want. Say whatever you need—I'll do it all for you.”

My tears overflowed. I tried to speak, but my lips trembled and no words formed. I must speak. Now was the time to tell everything. Our last chance.
“I’m not… sick.”
I managed that much. Kamar shook his head, perhaps under my pheromones’ influence, but he still held my hand. Remembering how he might let go, I pressed on.

“This is… a heat cycle, Kamar. I’m…”
I swallowed a shuddering breath before confessing like a criminal at the gallows:
“I’m an omega, Kamar.”

He didn’t react at first. After a long silence, he asked,
“What’s that?”
Even in crisis, I laughed bitterly. I forced a sad smile and closed my eyes as more tears came. Kamar waited in silence for me to explain. “Omega means…” I gasped.

“It’s just bad luck… a curse from God.”
I laughed hollowly, as though my brain had melted. Like whining, I continued.
“When this fever strikes, I have to sleep with a man. Gross, right? Dirty? Doesn’t matter who—if he just pleases me down here, that’s enough.”

When I rubbed myself, my heart pounded painfully. I felt drenched below. Panicked to send him away before it was too late, I forced out:
“So you’re unlucky too. You lost your memories… maybe because of me—because I saved you. If someone else had saved you… you wouldn’t have lost them.”
“Then go,” I added. Kamar spoke for the first time since my confession.

“Alright. I understand.”
He was going.
I tried to feel relief and closed my eyes. More tears fell. He asked softly,

“So what do I do? You want me to sleep with you? Then you’ll feel better?”
I shot my eyes open—and met his gaze.