Chapter Text
By the time omegas turn of age, they are marked either by a collar or an alpha. Judged by either their chosen collar or mark, their necks are the first thing people look at, even by fellow omegas.
Had the omega worn a well-cared for, high quality collar? If the omega was claimed, was their chosen alpha a respectable gentleperson who took proper measures and good care of their omega after the bite?
All of that needs to be taken into account when judging whether an omega should be socially accepted into your circle.
Even if you don't agree with it, everyone still follows the rule. No one is allowed to break the rule. No one is allowed to- get out now GET OUT
It's perfectly normal and socially acceptable to look at people's necks, then look at their eyes, though of course not eyeing them directly up and down. I learned that the hard way.
So, eye contact when greeting them, a curved path from their eyes to the side of the face and going down to their necks, then trace that same path back again. If it's an alpha, it is acceptable to just look at the vicinity of their neck or chin.
A perfectly normal and socially acceptable method that has never failed me before, as long as my eyes stay on their destination for the right amount of time.
Unfortunately, today marks the start of my reliable method failing.
[Passengers, thank you for using the Abyss Transpo today.... Our train does not stop.]
[Please listen carefully to the announcements for a pleasant journey to your destination.]
I didn't notice it when the host at Daydream was speaking, but every neck around me was… devastatingly bare.
Even if it was more socially appropriate to hide your scents, wasn't it really abnormal to not let out even a bit of it in a terrifying ghost story?
Yes, that's right, I who had just been hit with the reality that I had transmigrated to the internet ghost story universe, [Prophecy of the Apocalypse: Dark Exploration Records], had also learned that I came here in my original body.
Whoever's up there that decided to do this, come on down, we need to have a talk!
Not only did you land a coward in a world of ghost stories, you decided to let said coward stay in his omega body?
In a world where only ghost stories have secondary gender, you let a human stay an omega?
What great injustice I'd been dealt, for a scenario befitting a protagonist!
…well, the reality is that I can't even stomach a person in a scary costume jumping out at me though I know logically, a living breathing human being who probably means no harm is inside that costume.
Even if I joke like this, the real protagonist is probably somewhere in this world and I'm just an example of a doomed fellow transmigrator.
Anyway, what did I just hear? The Abyss Transpo? It's almost like whatever being that brought me here wants me to die of a heart attack.
I closed my eyes tight and then opened them, feeling like I was about to break into a cold sweat.
It was because I had already realized which ghost story this was.
I took a sweeping glance around the train car I was in, filled with confused, terrified people who looked ready to jump ship at a moment's notice.
'A car filled with people terrified out of their minds, impulsive enough to make the stupidest choices and…'
My eyes zeroed in on the person who just introduced himself. A man with curly hair and a fairly innocent face that divulged nothing of its potential for cruelty.
'…Baek Saheon, survivor of Jisan Village and cult, desperate enough to kill and abandon anyone as long as it lets him survive.'
“……”
I. Am. So. Screwed.
…
Turns out I had quite the flair for dramatics.
The probation period wrapped up with me alive and well. Unfortunately, I couldn't say the same for most people I'd seen, but at least I'd gotten company housing support.
After finishing up greetings with Go Yeongeun who I'd met on the same train car, I went up to the 12th floor where my room was.
Everything was fine up to that point.
The problem was that the officetel was a two-room unit.
And my company housing roommate was Baek Saheon.
“…….”
“…….”
Baek Saheon was sitting in the living room.
Seeing him wear a medical eyepatch over one eye, I gathered that he had received some sort of treatment for the eye he lost on the train. Based on the timing, it looked like the company had performed the procedure rather than a hospital.
I tried to enter my room after giving a slight nod without bothering to strike up a conversation when….
“Hey.”
What?
“Hey?”
I stopped in my tracks.
Baek Saheon flinched when I responded, but perhaps his anger was greater, as he glared with wild eyes and spoke without hesitation.
“It must have been fun watching a perfectly good eye get gouged out while you stayed quiet about the lost item, huh? Well?”
It seemed he thought I had intentionally let his eye be taken even though I clearly knew the lost item existed.
'No, you were the one who ran off on your own.'
He was perfectly fine injuring someone else’s eye, so where did he get the novel idea that another person should have looked after his own eye?
But I also knew.
If I took a submissive stance like, 'No, it's just that you left so suddenly…' or 'Why are you suddenly speaking informally, sir…', he would only get more arrogant and start spouting nonsense.
Based on years of experience dealing with clients and learning to spot problematic customers, we used a specific term to describe people like Baek Saheon.
The so-called 'World-Creation-Type Nuisance.'
The type that imagines a situation however they please and stubbornly insists on it.
Explanations don't work on these kind of people.
Rather….
I flared my scent out, challenging his authority of the home that would keep us safe.
“Yeah. It was fun.”
“…!” Just take a firm stance right from the start.
I walked up to Baek Saheon without hesitation. Then, I pressed down firmly on his shoulder, making sure my wrist was close to his scent-
"…?!"
Baek Saheon's neck was smooth and clean. No glands around his eyes either.
Too preoccupied with defending myself, I'd forgotten that I was the only human with a secondary gender.
With crescent moon eyes and a sharp grin, I continued.
“Thanks. It was enjoyable thanks to you. Is this what they call an adrenaline rush?”
“Wh-...”
“I’ll be looking forward to more good news from you. No, I hope we work together.”
“…….”
“Company life is going to be fun.”
That’s it.
'I must look like a total madman now.'
Given his behavior so far and his performance in the [Dark Exploration Records]….
'Baek Saheon seems like the type of person who would push me into a corner the moment he finds out I'm a coward, right?'
In that case, it would be better to leave an impression like, 'Ah, I shouldn't get involved with this guy!'
'For that reason, and partly as a bluff too.'
I patted the now-silent Baek Saheon’s shoulder a couple of times, then stood up and headed for my room without looking back.
'As long as I don't get stabbed in my sleep, it's fine.'
Actually, I just lied a bit.
At this stage, the probability of working with a fellow recruit is extremely low.
What workplace would form a team of only new recruits? They split them all up.
Furthermore, it’s an assignment system that balances things out according to grades, similar to a certain ninja manga.
And either way, I was called first and Baek Saheon was called second.
'Since he must have been highly evaluated as well, it's even more unlikely for us to be placed on the same team.'
So, there won't be any reason to work together for a while.
Let's just treat each other like we don't exist.
Clack.
I entered my assigned room with a light heart.
Inside the clean room, there was bedding that looked brand new, a desk, and even a door leading to a private bathroom.
"Phew."
It really was unfortunate that I had such a vivid memory.
The grotesque image of people's horrific deaths and the sounds of their dying words plagued my mind, unwilling to let me forget reality.
"……"
'Daydream shouldn't have SG detectors in the company housing, right? Regardless, it's not like they know about the existence of omegas.
I fell into my bed, burying my face into my pillow.
'Isn't it worse than Daydream already knowing about omegas? If they find out I have an unknown secondary gender, I might become Subject 0!'
'Either way, their SG detectors are really just alpha detectors.' I flipped over and started rubbing my subchin against my pillow.
Scents that can be explained by cologne, heats that become illnesses that wrack my frail body.
All of it could be waved off as long as I was careful enough. Logically, there's no way they'd be able to know I had a secondary gender, much less know that I'm an omega.
Thinking like this, I made up my mind to not worry about it anymore. I took a steadying breath in and enjoyed the- smoky bittersweet cocoa?
'my scent…!'
No, that wasn't possible.
Though I had noticed something was off when I was scenting Baek Saheon, I'd assumed his scentless nature to be the problem.
In the first place, there wasn't any records of otherworldly entities changing scents. After all, there wasn't anything exciting or horrifying about a spicy citrus morphing into a strangling clove or-
There were cases of people's bodies changing, even if wasn't exactly similar to my case.
…...
If I don't remember dying, then I must still be in my own body. Perhaps dimension travelling damaged my scent glands somehow, and I just needed to heal it.
But what if…
A shuddering breath escaped my lips.
I don't continue that line of thought.
After that bastard touched me, his bitter, earthy cologne clung to me everywhere I went.
Even if I showered, the scent would just fade a little and return strong as ever, until I could practically taste dark chocolate in my mouth.
As if it wasn't enough that the entire apartment stank of it, the smell took over my room soon after.
Like Kim Soleum taking over my life.
To my endless dismay, my colleagues constantly talked about him.
Day…
"That monstrous rookie reduced the 'Make A Choice' clearing record by 97%!"
After day…
"Did you hear that D-Team cleared an A-rank Darkness with their rookie?"
After day.
"Haha, apparently he wasn't missing, he just came out of Cheerful Theme Park way later than his superiors. He probably looted the place when no one was watching!"
What even was the point of showing off like that?
Not that it matters. At this rate, he might just die in a Darkness one day and I'll finally be free.