I went out on Saturday because I had a drinking appointment with Won-jo.
I couldnât sleep and didnât want to be alone in such a big house, so I left early, despite the fact that I had plenty of time before the appointment.
I went into the bar first and ordered something. I texted Won-jo, whose house was nearby, to come over quickly. I had nothing to do, so I went online.
There have been many incidents and accidents today. A celebrity was getting married, a politician was wandering the market, an entrepreneur was filing a patent lawsuit, andâŠ
There was an up-to-date article about a family car crashing down the river.
I got chills on the back of my neck.
I shook my head, rubbed my eyes, and returned my gaze to the screen.
There were only rumors of celebrity dating.
However, the chill didnât go away.
Damn it, Iâm starting to see things again because I didnât get enough sleep.
I moved my feet anxiously while pressing my temple hard, but my ankle became cold and I heard a sound.
I was taken aback and looked down at my feet.
The floor of the bar was filled with black and cold water.
My heart was racing. I took a look around before putting my feet up on the chair.
People didnât seem to notice the cold water rising from their ankles to their calves.
Shit, Iâm so sick of this.
It was the point at which I couldnât take it any longer and got up from my seat.
I was surprised to hear the phone vibrate so loudly that my shoulders trembled.
A message was displayed on the screen.
What was this? What⊠What do I haveâŠ
After wondering about it for a while, I only realized after entering the chat window.
This wasnât Choi Sung-hoon suddenly asking me for a meal, but rather a reply to the message [How do I return the bowl of the lunches?] that I sent in the morning.
I hesitated and sat down.
The river had disappeared.
The black and cold river always appears unexpectedly and then disappears.
If I wasnât extra cautious, they would rush in to take and devour me.
It was difficult for me to calm my chaotic breathing. My hands and feet were less shaky.
The river grew and engulfed my waist. Iâm not going to be able to get out of it for the rest of my life⊠Until I walk into the riverâŠ
A message popped up in the conversation window I left on.
What does this mean again⊠I scrolled up and saw my message promising to buy him dinner at some time.
[Tell me when you have time^^]
Choi Sung-oon. [It will be today]
[Iâm sorry TT I already have an appointment planned for today.]
Choi Sung Hoon. [Appointment? With your friends?]
[Yes, I have a drinking appointment]
Choi Sung Hoon. [Drinking?]
[Iâm planning on getting drunk today, why?]
Choi Sung-hoon read it but didnât respond. It reminded me of the other day when I was drunk and flirted with him.
[Haha, Iâm good at drinking and I donât have any drinking habits~~. What happened before was because I wasnât feeling well at the time.]
As soon as I sent it, 1 disappeared, but again there was no reply.
I understand why he canât believe it. Remembering that time makes me want to hide yet again.
Argh, I remembered it again. I really want someone to hit me in the head and give me amnesia.
Choi Seong-hoon [I will contact you later]
Choi Sung-hoon made me feel embarrassed again and escaped alone.
I sent a wink rabbit emoticon saying okay. There was no reply.
Iâm feeling overwhelmed.
When the river appears, I get swept away and canât do anything, but the brief conversation with Choi Sung-hoon didnât make me think about the river.
But I canât hope the same for the next timeâŠ
I didnât fall into the river because the timing was right.
The black and cold river was always coming for me, and all I could do was stand helplessly through it.
My phone rang again as I was deep in thought.
[My Hyung is so big, right?]
The sender was [Mapo Bridge High School Kid].
These two brothers⊠were they making fun of me?
It was so ridiculous to look at the seven letters that made my worries about the river go away.
No, I wasnât joking! I was really serious. The trauma of the cold riverâŠ
[My brother thing isnât for ordinary humans, haha.]
[Was it good to do it twice?]
I also feel bad for the river because I canât think about it anymore because of this frank message.
I was constantly cursing when I got a phone call to see if I had exhausted my patience.
â Why didnât you reply after seeing it?
âHey, if you suddenly ask me if he was big without any contextâŠâ
â You know what it is!
Choi Sung-hyunâs voice was full of playfulness. It made me laugh even though I wasnât aware of it.
â âYeah, itâs big and terrifying.â
â Isnât it amazing? My dad is big, my uncle is big, and in our bloodlines are all big.
Choi Sung-hyun indirectly boasted that he was also big. It was adorable. Would this be how I felt if I had a younger brother?
â Hyung, are you dating my older brother (T/N: Just reminder that Hyung is used to address older men by younger men both in blood relation or not. To avoid confusion I use older bro here to address his blood brother)
âNo. Thereâs nothing like that.â
â You slept with him twice. Why not?
âYour brother⊠it seems he doesnât have any secrets.â
I think I would have avoided my brotherâs sex history because it was so disgusting and embarrassing.
When I was in middle school, my older brother brought his girlfriend home and introduced her. I ran into that girlfriend by chance during summer vacation. While holding cigarettes from convenience stores, I saw her holding a condom. I couldnât bear the thought of my brother using a condom, so I didnât think about it again.
â I donât know. The uncles tell me everything, even if I donât want to hear it. I heard my brother slept at your house.
âOh, itâs embarrassing, so stop. Why did you call me?â
â What do you mean why?
âWhat is the reason for your call? Iâm sure you didnât call to talk about me sleeping with your brother.â
â Thatâs right⊠Iâm upset, Hyung. Must there be a reason? Between usâŠ
âWhatâs there between you and me.â
â Weâre each otherâs lifesavers~. Hyung, why are you so cold? Iâm disappointed?
Choi Sung-hyun, who kept nagging because he was disappointed, didnât seem to have any other main point. He just called to say something really stupid. And it was because of him that I laughed. So I decided to go with the flow.
âDo you think your brother is interested in me?â
â I donât know, but itâs the first time my brother slept somewhere according to Uncle Dokki.
âDo you live with your brother?â
â No, but I want to live together. Weâve been living apart since we were kids. My brother was so cold that he doesnât even come to see his parents. He hasnât even read my message for days.
I felt somewhat proud after exchanging messages with Choi Sung-hoon just now.
But I quickly shook my head.
Why should I feel proud? Ugh, Iâm going insane because my heart was as light as a feather.
â However, the extremely dominant Alpha was usually more at ease living alone. It was also better for both me and my dad. If we stay together, I may develop into a recessive Alpha.
Wait, what did he just say?
âExtremely dominant?â
â Yeah, extremely dominant. Why?
âUh, Choi Sung-hoon is extremely dominant?â
â Yeah, you didnât know?
âExtremely dominant?â
I repeated these two words like a parrot.
Extremely dominant⊠I thought that the extremely dominant Alpha only existed on TVâŠ
It was much more intimidating than the dominant Alphas Iâd met so far. Itâs terrifying⊠I could see why I was so disoriented that I completely forgot about our first sex. It was understandable given that he was an extremely dominant Alpha.
âWait, then I slept with an extremely dominant Alpha!â
When I realized what had happened, I opened my eyes wide and lifted my head.
When I raised my head, I saw Won-jo, who also had wide-eyed eyes and froze coldly. Won-jo had just arrived and intended to sit, but he was stiffened in an awkward posture.
â How can you not know? Hyung, youâre really slow. At first glance, my Hyung doesnât look like an ordinary dominant Alpha.
I donât know since when the modifier âordinaryâ could be added in front of the dominant alpha.
For now, I was more concerned about Won-jo who was in front of me than that.
âHey, Iâm busy. Iâm hanging up, Iâll call you later.â
I hung up without listening to Sung-hyunâs answer. Won-jo asked as soon as he sat down,
âWhat was that phone call just now? Extremely dominant Alpha? What?â
âWhere did you hear that?â
âDo you think your brother is interested in me?â
Fuck, he heard it all. I didnât want to tell himâŠ
The atmosphere at the table did not improve even after the snacks and drinks we had ordered arrived and we had a drink.
Won-jo expression was very distorted. Iâm not sure if heâd rather frown openly or not. I was trying to laugh it off, so he felt as if he was being mocked.
âThe alpha you talked about last time? The rich dominant alpha that lives in a different world from you?â
âOh, you have such a good memory.â
âYou had sex with an extremely dominant Alpha.â
Envy, jealousy, and betrayal.
Those emotions were evident. But he smiled, attempting to conceal his unspoken emotions.
âAs expected, you are such a jerk. When did you plan to brag about it to me?â
âThereâs nothing to brag about. I slept with him, and that was the end of it. It wasnât flirting, and it certainly wasnât dating.â
âDonât lie. I heard you asking if he is interested in you.â
âAh, damn you have clear earsâŠâ
I laughed like an idiot, trying to stop the cold atmosphere.
âHonestly, I had sex with him twice. Canât I expect anything? I know I donât fit his level, but just in case you knowâŠâ
âHow did you meet him? Tell me.â
Won-jo folded his arms as if he would give me time to tell him my story. I drank soju without snacks and spoke briefly.
âI happened to see a car hit a power pole while attempting to avoid a cat, and the driver was an unlicensed high school student. The high school student asked that I speak with his older brother, and when I met him, I discovered that he was a sexy dominant alpha.â
I explained it by mixing lies and truths.
âWow, thatâs how you meet a man. The ability to entangle a man was surprisingly amazing.â
âDamn you bastard, are you making fun of me now?â
âIâm saying this because Iâm really surprised.â Anyway, what about the call after that?â
âHe contacted me today. He slept at my house a few days ago and delivered me a lunch box, so I told him to stop.â
âLunch box? I seem to be missing a lot of things.â
Won-jo burst out laughing. He seems to be feeling better as he slowly rummages through the side dishes with chopsticks.
âYou mean you havenât made an appointment to meet again?â
âYeah, he didnât ask me to meet him.â
âItâs strange. Youâre so well-behaved that not many people fall off after just one nightâs sleep.â
Won-jo ate three stir-fried sausages and vegetables as a side dish all at once, and it seemed to help him feel better.
âWhatâs so lacking in an extremely dominant Alpha that he would be interested in something like you? Itâs that simple.â
Thisâs why I didnât want to tell you.
Won-jo is the type of person who wants to know my loverâs wealth and then compares it to his own loverâs wealth, gets jealous if I get an alpha lover, and worries about me meeting a bum, but he would laugh at the shit Iâve been through.
Which boyfriend was it? Was it when I was 20 years older? He was a beta lover who was 20 years older than me, and when we argued or got too excited, he punched me in the face. One time, I got hit incorrectly and the bruise mark was formed from under my eyes to my cheeks, and when he saw my face, Won-jo burst out laughing.
âHey, are you getting beaten up? You look like a fucking panda.â
I broke up with that boyfriend and had a brief fling with a customer while working part-time at a buffet. Won-jo, who was working with me at the time, noticed and showed him a picture of my bruises. âHeâs a masochist. Will it be okay?â
The flirting ended, and I fought Won-jo to the death that day.
Theyâre saying that birds with the same feather flock together. He was a friend whoâs perfect for my level.
âSeo-yu, you are pathetic as well. You should forget about the pointless one-night stand and get married. Nobody cares when a recessive Omega gets older.â
âFuck you, youâre talking too much. You call yourself my friend.â
âIâm doing this because Iâm sincerely worried about you as a friend.â
Won-jo laughed and poured alcohol into my cup. I also refilled his glass.
What can I do? Heâs the only friend I have.
As rumors of my relationship spread during the school day, I lost all of my friends, and even those I had kept in touch with after graduation broke up and lost contact. I couldnât attend the graduation ceremony because I was working, and my phone number changed several times because I was dating a lot of men.
Because the clubs where I met Won-jo as an adult were the same, I had no choice but to stay in touch.
Just like me, Won-jo would look at me and think the same thing.
Itâs pathetic to have such a bastard as a friend.