One Day, a Dark Shadow Fell on My Closet

09

Yeon Ji-ho’s heart dropped with a thud.

His ears went numb, and soon he heard a ringing sound. Memories from long ago kept flashing through Yeon Ji-ho’s mind.

‘Dirty Omega brat.’

Yeon Ji-ho had his first manifestation in the sixth grade. Compared to the usual onset that occurs with secondary sexual characteristics, his was early. Thanks to that, when he became a middle school student, he was the only male Omega in that school.

Being different was a prime target during middle school. As a result, several scandals that he had never committed stuck to him like glue.

“Yes.”

Yeon Ji-ho answered briefly, unable to bear looking into Set’s eyes and bowing his head instead.

After becoming an adult, fortunately, he rarely had to confront the traumas of his school days. Although rare, male Omegas existed in life, and people did not persecute them too harshly.

However, he felt anxious now. To be precise, it wasn’t that Yeon Ji-ho had trauma about being an Omega, but rather he had trauma about how people’s attitudes changed when he identified himself as one.

“So… there is a second gender here. Besides male and female, there are Alpha, Beta, and Omega. Among them, Omegas can get pregnant regardless of gender.”

He barely managed to suppress the tremor in his voice, but he couldn’t stop the trembling of his fingertips under the table. Yeon Ji-ho took a deep breath and continued speaking.

“And… I am an Omega.”

“……”

“A male Omega.”

Right after turning 20, he hadn’t stepped outside his house even once. His parents, who would have taken care of him, had already passed away by then, so there was no one to lead him out into the world.

The only ones who cared for him were Mr. Soo-cheol and Mr. Seon-rok, who lived across the street. As a male Alpha-Omega couple, they were the ones who helped Yeon Ji-ho step out into the world.

Yet, the pain from his childhood still lingered deeply within him. Yeon Ji-ho pressed down on his heart, which felt like it was about to burst, and quietly kept his mouth shut.

Set was not from this world, so he might not understand what it meant to be a ‘man who can get pregnant.’ Repeating that thought in his mind, he tried to calm himself, preparing for whatever reaction Set might have.

“So you are a man who can get pregnant.”

“Isn’t that a bit gross? From your perspective, Set.”

Ah, now that he thought about it, Set had liked Gliese.

Although it didn’t apply to Alphas and Omegas, it was still common among Betas for men and women to date. Set seemed to have liked the female protagonist, Gliese…

“So that’s why he was so pretty.”

“Neck?”

For a moment, he thought he had misheard, and his voice cracked. When a startled Yeon Ji-ho looked up at Set, he was furrowing his brows with a very serious expression, looking down at Yeon Ji-ho’s wrist.

“I thought all men in this world were weak like you. The man named Seon-rok from earlier looked weak too, even if not as much as you.”

Weak…?

Seon-rok, being older, had a plump physique. Of course, he had a rather cute impression due to not being taller than 170 cm.

But even Seon-rok, who worked in the fields regularly, didn’t look weak at all. Moreover, Yeon Ji-ho himself didn’t either. Although he was a bit thin, he was always moving around managing the garden and the pension, so he had some muscle.

“That’s why you were so weak and pretty.”

Yeon Ji-ho’s face turned bright red. It had been so long since someone had said he was ‘pretty’ so seriously to his face.

However, Set looked too serious to deny it. It didn’t seem like he was saying it because he thought Yeon Ji-ho was pretty, but rather with a calm demeanor, like a scientist reporting research results.

“Now I understand.”

“No, I think you might be misunderstanding something. Not all Omegas are pretty. They are just people who can get pregnant, and the pheromones…”

“Is that so? I see. Well, the man named Seon-rok wasn’t that pretty.”

If Mr. Soo-cheol heard that, he would definitely have something to say…

Mr. Soo-cheol, an Alpha, was known for not saying a word usually, but when it came to Seon-rok, he was someone who didn’t know what to do. To Yeon Ji-ho, Seon-rok was just a warm neighbor, but to Soo-cheol, he was a beloved partner.

“Isn’t it… strange?”

Yeon Ji-ho asked, glancing at Set. Set, who seemed to be pondering with his chin resting on his hand, glanced up and nodded slightly.

“What is?”

“A man who can get pregnant… That’s a strange thing in that world, isn’t it?”

“Indeed. As far as I know, there are no men who can get pregnant.”

What kind of person was the author who created that world? To Yeon Ji-ho, where the existence of Alphas and Omegas was so natural, it felt like a strange world.

“However, that doesn’t mean you are an odd existence. This is not my world; it’s your world, isn’t it?”

Set was more flexible in his thinking than Yeon Ji-ho had expected. After confirming that there was no contempt or disgust in his straight gaze, Yeon Ji-ho felt a sense of relief inside.

***

As the sun set, Set returned to his room. He had become accustomed to turning the lights on and off in the room, so he did it quite naturally.

Then he carefully climbed onto the bed with a blanket. Creak. This room, where young Yeon Ji-ho had stayed, looked too fragile for Set to move around carelessly.

Lying under the blanket, Set turned off the light and instead fell into thought. Since learning what an Omega was from the chance encounter with Seon-rok earlier that day, an indescribable feeling had been swirling in his mind all day.

“Omega.”

Just in case, he repeated the word once more. It was a word that shouldn’t be particularly strange.

Yeon Ji-ho had said that not all Omegas were pretty. After lunch, he had also explained in more detail what an Omega was to add to his explanation of ‘traits.’

The dictionary he had shown stated that not all Omegas had beautiful appearances. Set pondered over that information, speaking as if in agony.

“Then, why is Ji-ho…”

Why does he look so pretty?

Set felt a bit relieved when he heard him say he was an Omega. Because he thought that was why he felt a shock in his heart every time he looked at Yeon Ji-ho.

If Omegas were originally beings that looked pretty to someone, then his crazy reactions were only natural.

Every time Yeon Ji-ho came closer, every time he served food onto his plate, and every time he smiled while holding chopsticks.

His heart ached. It was a pain that felt like being stabbed by a knife on a battlefield, yet he couldn’t feel it.

“Why…”

The pain without a reason tormented Set. In fact, it had been that way since the first time he met him.

In a daze, with his eyes closed, he initially thought a small bird had flown and perched on his arm. Then he despaired, thinking that it had survived again.

The surviving self had to attack Hadad again to keep the promise with his mother.

But when he opened his eyes, he was met with a round-eyed, pure white man. What he had thought was a small bird was his touch, and the man… was healing him.

Having lived in a place where it was normal to pour healing potions to treat wounds, it was the first time he experienced being treated so delicately by someone. Yet, despite that, Set couldn’t push him away as his touch was so gentle.

“Wow… that’s really amazing.”

There had been times when people had said it was amazing to have his odd eyes. Usually, they would say it with a hint of discomfort in their eyes.

But Yeon Ji-ho was different. He looked at Set’s eyes as if he were gazing at sparkling jewels.

That was why. He hurriedly covered the symbol of misfortune that he sometimes showed off with his hair.

Set didn’t want to show his flaws to him. Moreover, he wanted to prove how useful he was. Because…

“I want to stay here.”

Ah…

The moment he unconsciously let those words slip out, Set tightly shut his eyes. There was no turning back now. He dared. He dared.

He thought he wanted to be in this world where that warm man stayed.