Chương 16: Things Will Never Be the Same 1

Minwoo gets out of the shower room and dries himself off. Today is probably the worst one he had so far. After playing that hard to get, the guy dragged their make out session, pretending to be all innocent and stuff, and wanted to stop after the first round.

And yes, Minwoo knows he was pretending because the guy is infamous for being the naughty one in the club he frequents. Unfortunately for him, even after the long flirting, trying to feed his ego, the sex ended up so bad.

He wraps the towel around his waist and steps out of the bathroom, but to his annoyance, the man is still there, sleeping like he deserves it. Owh no, he doesn't. And nobody sleeps in his bed, not even his buddies back in Europe.

'Hey, get up. You need to leave.'

'Urmm… just tonight… I'm really tired.' The man replies weakly and Minwoo rolls his eyes. What in the world made him that tired? Sitting still and screaming like a whore? 'Nope. I enjoyed our little fuck session but you need to leave.'

'But it's really late… And you were really rough…' Minwoo's face twitched. No, he was not rough. Because the man kept begging him to slow down, he got so annoyed he actually stopped trying to enjoy himself and settled with letting the man came before taking care of himself in the shower. He moved the slowest he ever had, for a man who has slept with almost everyone in the club he frequents. So much for being 'wild'. He really feels like he was scammed.

And to think he got excited to finally finding a nice plaything...

Minwoo curses himself. Every fucking time. It is so hard to get them in bed, so hard to get rid of them. And they are not even worth it. For the past few months, he had been sleeping around with betas, but not once had he really got the satisfaction he craved so much. The after-sex too, instead of the sweet smell of the omegas lingering around, there is only the smell of sweat and cum. Very plain. Very bland.

To think that he had to study a lot on how to hook up with their kind, like the cheesy pick-up lines, and even has to hide his scent so those annoying omegas won't gather around him trying to get his attention while he work on getting the betas in bed... so burdensome.

'Get out.' He repeats sternly.

'Seriously? Can't I even take the couch?'

'Nope. You're a good fuck but I want to rest alone now. Leave.' Minwoo picks up the shirt and pants on the floor and throws it at the guy who still refused to get up from the bed. He goes to the bedroom door and opens it wide, waiting for the guy to finish putting on his clothes. 'What are you waiting for?'

'Jesus fine.' The guy rolls his eyes and walks out of the room, 'asshole.'

'If you need money for the cab, I'll give them to you.' He adds, just to provoke the smaller male.

'I don't need your fucking money motherfucker!' He hears the door slammed and pulls his sheets of the bed to replace them.

This is tiring. So much work. Just for sex. It used to be his stress-reliever, now it is just…

Stress.

Minwoo sighs. Maybe he should stop living like this and focus on his studies. If he can keep himself busy, then he will not have time to think about sex anymore.

That's right. Starting tomorrow, he will stop hunting.

Starting tomorrow, he will throw this bad boy image of his and become a new person.

Starting the next term, he will be so focused in his studies he will not even have time to sleep around.

#####

Wonho started over. He is now a freshman omega taking literature. Why? Because although not written, no company would hire an omega architect. Just like none would hire omega engineers and doctors. It is just the way it is. Society deems omegas to be the lower class and Wonho would rather spend his time taking a degree he can actually use to work instead of a degree he likes but will be useless for his future.

That is the only thing he does not want to risk - his future. Not after all his effort to get his life back together after the incident.

He also had to move out of his old dorm because that is the beta/alpha dorm and he is now an omega. Living there meant spending everyday with alphas around him and just thinking about it sent shivers down his spine. Not that the university would allow it even if he wanted to.

So that is why he had to do this.

New course, new environment, new friends.

But Wonho has never been the type who easily make friends. It was never a problem for him because Junjie was always there to do the job for him since they had always been a set since the first time they met each other.

However, things had change now, and although he would prefer to spend the first week of the new term in his room, he wants to challenge himself to make new friends. They will be his new course mates and neighbours from now on so he should at least know one or two friends he can hang out with.

He woke up all optimistic about the day but unfortunately, things did not go as well as he had hoped.

Just like the one he had experienced two years ago in his old dorm, the morning of the first day of orientation saw the new residents divided into smaller groups to do ice breaking activities together. Wonho was optimistic at first seeing the members of his group of six - four female omegas and another male, just like him.

Unlike the alpha/beta's, omega dorms shelter both genders because sexual relationships between omegas are not allowed, by both the society and the law. They are also not physically attracted to each other just by their pheromones reacting to each other. Like two same polar of magnets repulsing each other.

Everything was smooth at first, until one of them inquired about his 'mate'. They had caught the alpha's scent on him and refused to let it rest, no matter how hard Wonho tried to avoid the topic. They were expecting some sweet love story between two young lovers and when Wonho lied and told them they 'broke up', he is called a foolish omega for mating 'too early'. He let it slide because it was only one person in the group.

But during the course of the day, he realized people were whispering between themselves around him and come nighttime, he realized rumors about him had spread like wildfire. And the story changed so much that he apparently had to 'mate' because he got 'pregnant' during high school and he now further his studies after 'abandoning his child'. Everyone knew the guy in the rumor is him because he is the only freshman with an alpha scent.

Wonho decided to skip orientation altogether after that. He spent the rest of the week at the library, leaving early in the morning and returning late at night. He also realized it is better to hide his scent altogether until the rumor died down. Although not hopeful, he could always try again once the bond breaks completely.

He is hopeful that things will only get better from here.

Today is the last day of orientation and Wonho gets back earlier than usual. Although he likes to read, spending all day at the library for a week is too much for him. And since everyone would be out partying, the omega dorm will be empty of freshman omegas so he can get some rest.

He enters his room and jumps on the bed, looking around his room. Everything is so quiet. Back in his old room, he can hear his next door neighbours talking, and people walking outside, there are always some sort of sound which he first found annoying. Now, he just misses those noises.

He knows that the thick walls if the omegas dorms are for privacy especially during heats, and for security so their scent will not leak outside. Which is also why there are wall fence surrounding the territory and the strict rules of no alphas/betas allowed, even family members. But all those things also mean isolation from the outside world.

And Wonho feels lonely.

He looks at the 'presents' left by his friends in his room. Haneul helped placed them when he moved Wonho's stuffs from his old room. There is Chansol's favourite headphones on his desk, Mengyao's nunchucks on the bookshelf, Sangcheol's leather jacket that Wonho sometimes borrowed, and a life-size cardboard cut-out of Junjie giving him the look and calling him lazy emo face. He misses them so much.

Excluding Junjie, he hasn't gotten in touch with anyone since the incident. The last he heard about them is from his best friend who messages him daily. Sangcheol just had his winter internship, Mengyao moved to an apartment outside of campus, and Chansol failed two subjects and barely passed another two. That boy always worries him.

𝘒𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘬. Wonho jumps a little and froze. Even though he knows the omega dorms are the most secured place in the whole campus, sudden noise like that always catches him off guard.

'Wono-yah, can I come in?' It is Haneul, the only omega he can call a friend. Or something close. They only ever hang out together when Sangcheol brought Haneul for their hang-out sessions, and Wonho never really talked to the older privately. Their interactions only consist of them smiling at each other as an acknowledgment whenever they meet outside. The days he spent at the hospital trying to recover was the first time they were together without other people.

Which made it even awkward for Wonho. Because whenever he sees Haneul, he will be reminded of how weak he was back then.

'All my old notes and books. Should come in handy. And… this is uhm… the omega handbook everyone got at omega school. Thought you could use it.' Wonho tries to smile. Omega handbook, what a laugh. What is there to know? Their body changed and now they can have alpha babies. And they get into periodical heats and wait for someone to claim them. Why do people even need to go to a special school to learn all that?

He says thanks anyway and put all the things on the shelf. Nobody knows what to talk about and Wonho is dreading the silence. 'You're not going to the party?'

'I'm thinking of skipping… I'm kinda tired today.' He answers softly and pretends to yawn.

'I'll be going then. Let me know if you need anything.' Wonho nods and gives the older a forced smile. Once the door closes, he stares at the handbook.

He already skipped to the part of being claimed so this will be no use for him anyway. He hides it inside drawer and proceeds to take off his shirt to shower. Looking at the mirror, he runs his hand on the scar at his lower right neck. It stopped throbbing months ago and seems to heal well. Hopefully it will be gone by the time his bond breaks.

According to his mom, as long as he and his mate stay away from each other, the bond will weaken and break completely. And it takes about about a year or three to four heats before it does. All he has to do now is wait.

He hears the door opens again and pays no attention. Haneul must have left something-

'Wonho…?' That voice…

Hwang Jinyoung.