A week had already passed since the start of the second semester.

After the rut, I found myself curious about Joo Seunghyuk’s pheromones. I thought it was just a passing whim, but with each day, the curiosity only grew stronger.

What exactly did Joo Seunghyuk’s pheromones feel like? I wanted to know them for myself.

When I searched “Joo Seunghyuk pheromones” online, all kinds of posts came up.

There were eyewitness accounts saying they’d run into him by chance and his pheromones had been incredible, and even an interview with a famous Guide claiming Seunghyuk’s pheromones were the best they’d ever experienced among all the Alphas they’d met.

Some people said his pheromones were the exact opposite of his appearance, while others said they fit his image perfectly.

What did that even mean? What pheromone matched him, and what kind was supposed to be his “opposite”?

I had no idea. Even if I tried to picture it in my mind, I couldn’t get a sense of it at all.

I glanced around the lecture hall filled with students. They were all Guides, most of them Omegas. If I asked them, they’d probably describe it in detail—after all, they all knew what his pheromones were like.

The fact that all these students here—ability users who had run Gates with Seunghyuk, even people who’d only brushed past him—knew his pheromones, when I didn’t, made me feel strangely bitter.

Unable to focus on the lecture, I stared out the window.

“...Huh?”

The sound slipped out before I could stop it. I quickly covered my mouth, but my gaze stayed locked outside.

Seunghyuk was walking side by side with Kim Jun.

What? Why were the two of them together? That way led to the parking lot...

And Seunghyuk’s schedule was almost identical to mine, so right now should’ve been lecture time. He was skipping class to be with Kim Jun.

Why? Why on earth?

A hundred question marks formed in my head as the two of them disappeared from view.

***

This class was “Shooting II.” It was the one I’d been looking forward to the most this semester—not only because I liked the professor, but also because there was no one annoying like Jung Sangcheol to get on my nerves.

Normally, I’d have been eager to take part in the training. But right now my mind was completely tangled with questions.

Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?

Why was he with Kim Jun? What about his lecture? Were they going for a drive or something?

Since when were they that close? They were practically enemies, glaring at each other every time they met—so why suddenly together?

I’d completely forgotten the original novel’s events.

For the past week, Seunghyuk had been constantly busy. Every evening after dinner, he’d go out and only return around dawn. I’d just been worried about how busy he was, without thinking of anything else. I’d let my guard down, sure that the original storyline couldn’t suddenly play out now.

So why... why were those two together?

“Lee Yeonsu.”

Lost in thought, I felt someone tap my shoulder. Looking to the side, I saw Kang Inho, who whispered quietly,

“It’s our turn.”

“Oh, right.”

I’d been so distracted I didn’t even notice. I quickly stepped forward with him.

Focus.

Gripping the training pistol, I took a deep [N O V E L I G H T] breath.

Beep-beep-beep-beep—

The start signal sounded and I pulled the trigger.

The first shot scored a seven.

A score I hadn’t gotten all last semester—not even during practice—made the room stir.

“Lee Yeonsu, focus.”

Even Professor Kwon, known for rarely pointing out mistakes, spoke up.

“Yes, I’m sorry.”

I tightened my grip on the pistol. But no matter how I tried to concentrate, the image of Seunghyuk and Kim Jun walking together kept flashing in my mind.

***

I barely knew how I got through the training. Thanks to past practice, I managed to get my aim back somewhat, but compared to my usual, my performance was abysmal.

After changing out of my uniform in the locker room, I trudged out—and there he was, standing just ahead. Honestly, the moment I saw his face, I felt relief.

So they hadn’t gone far together after all.

“Hyung.”

“Seunghyuk...”

“You look drained.”

“I guess I’m just tired from training after so long...”

“Are you really tired? Should I carry you?”

“Not that bad.”

“Then I’ll just hold you.”

He immediately moved to pick me up. The thought of being princess-carried across campus made me frantically wave my hands.

“N-no, it’s fine! I’ll just eat and rest at home.”

“Alright. Then let’s get back quickly.”

Seunghyuk draped an arm over my shoulder. His touch was as gentle as ever.

Maybe I really was just overthinking. When it came down to it, they’d only walked side by side. As fellow students, that was nothing unusual.

The original story had gone off track ages ago. There was no reason for it to influence anything now, and even less reason to dwell on it.

Yeah... I should just forget it.

“But what about you? You’ve been coming home late every day. Aren’t you tired from staying up last night too?”

“I’m fine as long as you’re here.”

He took my hand and smiled.

“Let’s go eat something good.”

“Yeah, let’s.”

The anxiety that had been twisting inside me vanished in the warmth of his gaze and smile.

***

I woke to the warmth of the man beside me.

I was in bed, and Seunghyuk was sleeping next to me.

How had this happened? After dinner earlier, he’d gone out again, and I’d been reading in the living room, waiting for him to come back...

I must’ve dozed off over my book. Sometime in that span, he’d returned and carried me to bed.

Careful not to wake him, I clasped his hand. His mana was calm and steady.

In the original story, Chairman Joo treated Seunghyuk like a tool, forcing him into dangerous Gate raids. I’d worried something similar might be happening now—but maybe I’d been imagining things.

Now that he knew Seunghyuk was his son, surely he wouldn’t send him into danger.

Relieved, I started to drift off again—then, on impulse, burrowed into Seunghyuk’s arms.

I wanted to feel his pheromones, but all I caught was the scent of the same body wash we both used.

As a Beta, it was natural for me not to sense an Alpha’s pheromones. But that fact felt unreasonably depressing.

***

Since the start of the semester, Seunghyuk had been going out late every night and coming home around dawn.

What was going on? No matter how I asked, all he’d say was that it was nothing. It left me uneasy.

Even in the lecture hall, I couldn’t focus. Without taking out my textbook, I sat lost in thought about him—until I caught bits of conversation from the row ahead.

“Suh-woo broke up with Jung Chanyeong.”

“Seriously? I thought they were going to imprint?”

Even I knew about Kim Suh-woo and Jung Chanyeong—they were a famously compatible Alpha-Beta couple. Both high-ranked, with an impressive matching rate, and there’d been talk of an imminent imprint.

“I heard Suh-woo helped him through a rut.”

“Yeah, and Chanyeong gave him flowers to thank him. They seemed good, right? Even after school started, they were fine. I saw them together just the other day.”

“That’s what I thought too, but yesterday he suddenly broke it off. Said he couldn’t be with a Beta after all.”

“What? Wasn’t he the one who chased after Suh-woo in the first place? Suh-woo said no at first because he was a Beta, but Chanyeong wouldn’t give up.”

“Exactly. But I guess the rut changed his mind. Said no matter what, he couldn’t date a Beta. That he hadn’t realized until now.”

“What a bastard! What kind of f***ing asshole does that?”

I nearly joined in cursing out loud.

I’d heard that Alpha-Beta couples often broke up after a rut, but I hadn’t thought it could happen even to pairs who were on the verge of imprinting.

All because of pheromones. If pheromones were that important, then don’t date a Beta in the first place! Selfish Alpha bastards.

I was still swallowing my irritation when the girls ahead kept talking.

“Apparently that’s a classic Alpha pattern. After a rut, they feel bad for putting their partner through it, so they treat them well for a while. But even if they feel sorry, without pheromones there’s no real satisfaction. So, as a ‘courtesy,’ they wait until their partner recovers before breaking up.”

“Wow. Garbage. Alphas are disgusting.”

A classic pattern...?

Now that I thought about it, Seunghyuk had been incredibly attentive after his rut too. And he still was.

But we hadn’t slept together even once since then.

I’d assumed it was because he was looking out for me—he’d kept worrying that the rut had been too much for me, and he’d been busy besides.

But... what if it wasn’t concern or busyness? What if he was tired of me? What if it wasn’t the novel’s original plot pulling us apart, but simply that after his rut cycle, his feelings had cooled because I was a Beta?

My heart began to pound hard.

***

The moment class ended, I left quickly.

Since the semester began, something had been off. Over small things, anxiety would surge and my heart would race. But the moment I saw Seunghyuk’s face, it would be as if nothing had happened.

It would be the same this time. The moment I saw him, this turmoil would disappear.

I couldn’t wait to see his face.

Hurrying along, I spotted him at the end of the hallway.

Had he come to meet me? We could’ve met in front of the library, but maybe he couldn’t wait and came all the way to the West Hall. Honestly, he was hopeless.

As expected, the instant I saw him, my worries melted away. Thinking about it now, they’d been for nothing.

Seunghyuk parked in the West Hall lot every day just for my sake, and even if he had somewhere to go, he’d always drop me home first. The look in his eyes when he saw me hadn’t changed.

It wasn’t the expression of someone forcing himself to be kind out of guilt for the rut.

The lack of intimacy since then was probably just him being considerate—nothing more.

Whatever other Alphas might do, Seunghyuk wasn’t like that. Yeah... he couldn’t be.