IS Vol 1 Ch 1 Part 1

Seo Dong-eun boarded the bus, dragging his aching legs. As was typical for the evening commute, the bus was crowded leaving no seats available. Inside, a mix of alphas and omegas created a blend of scents—an odor that could hardly be described as pleasant. Because the air conditioning was off during the transitional period between summer and autumn, the unventilated bus felt humid and it made the air feel even heavier.

It would have been nice to go straight home, but unfortunately this bus wasn’t headed in the direction of Seo Dong-eun’s house in the first place. Seo Dong-eun let out a faint sigh, thinking of the creditor who had changed the schedule just minutes before he clocked out, as if to mock him.

Perhaps he had been sighing deeply without realizing it. Whether she couldn’t bear to watch or simply felt pity, a middle-aged omega woman sitting across from him readily stood up to offer her seat. He felt embarrassed and self-conscious under the curious gazes that immediately snapped toward him in response to her kindness. After thanking her several times and insisting he was fine, Seo Dong-eun moved further into the bus, which was already packed tight.

In the meantime, the bus steadily carried Seo Dong-eun to his destination. The electronic clock inside the bus clearly displayed that it was past 8 PM.

“Dong-eun, today isn’t your scheduled day, is it? It’s a pleasant surprise to see you so suddenly. How are you, handsome?”

“Hello.”

He exchanged friendly greetings with the shop staff as he headed toward the employee break room. Just as someone had mentioned in passing, Seo Dong-eun’s wasn’t supposed to be working today. Perhaps that was why he felt so exhausted. Though there was probably more to it than just that.

“Is it going to rain?”

“Rain? I didn’t hear anything about that in the weather forecast.”

At his muttered words, Park Jae-hoon, who was changing clothes beside him, widened his eyes and asked in return.

“My legs are aching.”

“Ah, damn. I don’t have an umbrella. I better borrow one quickly before someone else beats me to it. Thanks, hyung!”

Whenever his legs ached, it always rained. At first, people didn’t believe Seo Dong-eun, but after seeing the pattern themselves they began to trust Seo Dong-eun’s legs more than the weather forecast. He shook his head as he watched Park Jae-hoon run toward the counter, offering a vague thanks—whether it was gratitude for the aching legs or something else he wasn’t sure. At least the inside of the shop maintained a comfortable temperature and humidity, so the pain was more bearable than it was at home. Of course, that was only when he was sitting still. Since he had to stand and work without a break from now until 3 AM, he had to brace himself for the shift ahead. He buttoned his vest, hoping that the customers would come in at a moderate pace to give him a few moments to rest.

The tight-fitting uniform felt inexplicably suffocating.

“Whew.”

Letting out another idle sigh, Seo Dong-eun opened the door to the break room. The inside of the shop was already growing noisy with arriving customers.

---

The company where Seo Dong-eun worked was a mid-sized firm that served as a partner to a major corporation. Thanks to solid business relationships and extensive industry experience, the company offered benefits and salaries comparable to those of large conglomerates, despite technically being an SME. Seo Dong-eun had worked there for a little over two years. He was a contract worker whose agreement was renewed annually.

“Dong-eun! Over here!”

At the call of Assistant Manager Yoo from the same team, Seo Dong-eun quickly stood up and headed toward her. Since she was someone who would patiently teach him the ropes, much like a mentor, Seo Dong-eun listened attentively to her instructions.

“Please reorganize this data. The manager was working on them before.”

Since he could guess the unspoken part without hearing it, Seo Dong-eun simply gave a slightly awkward smile. At that smile, Assistant Manager Yoo shook her head and crinkled her nose mischievously.

“The people doing the work are run ragged, but the ones actually getting paid are just sitting around doing nothing. It’s unfair, isn’t it?”

“Pardon? No.”

Though he denied it immediately, Assistant Manager Yoo only narrowed her eyes with a meaningful expression. Then, she shrugged and beckoned him over. Pulling Seo Dong-eun into her cubicle as if to share something important, Assistant Manager Yu glanced around to ensure no one was listening before finally speaking.

“They say there will be a separate review for contract workers during this round of regular hiring.”

As Seo Dong-eun just stared at her, blinking, Assistant Manager Yoo nudged his arm and continued.

“It means you’re likely to be converted to a regular position.”

“What?”

Seo Dong-eun’s eyes widened in sheer astonishment at the unexpected news. From the start, it was a position with absolutely no possibility of conversion to a permanent role. Seo Dong-eun was a high school graduate with a disability and had no prior work experience. Far from becoming a regular employee, he could only hope that his contract would be renewed every year. For someone who had to do whatever it took to earn money after becoming an adult, he found his current company offered the best working conditions out there. Above all, he liked that it was an office job. With his legs impaired, he was ill-suited to physical labor. He couldn’t afford to stop working to pay off his debts; a few years ago, while working as a day laborer delivering packages, he had spent more on hospital bills than he had actually earned.

“Why are you so surprised? If anything, you work harder than the manager. You’ll probably have to start as an intern, but a regular position is all but guaranteed. I think they’re doing the intern part for the sake of fairness. Just keep it under wraps until the HR team makes it official, okay?”

Seo Dong-eun nodded vigorously in response to her pressing her index finger firmly against her lips. He couldn’t believe it. Feeling dazed yet incredibly happy, Seo Dong-eun kept bobbing his head as if in a trance. He didn’t even notice Assistant Manager Yoo bursting into loud laughter at his reaction.

That was two days ago. For a full day, Seo Dong-eun had been preoccupied with calculating the salary he would receive if he truly became a regular employee against his remaining debt. The possibility of “what if” made Seo Dong-eun’s heart swell with hope for the first time in years. As a man with a typically steady temperament, he found uncharacteristically restless. So, while he was a bit tired, he felt good. If he could be freed from that wretched debt and not have to work at that shop every weekend while avoiding prying eyes…

However, President Wi, the creditor who held Seo Dong-eun’s livelihood in his hands, didn’t seem inclined to let Seo Dong-eun bask peacefully in his happiness. A message had arrived around lunchtime. Seo Dong-eun could not ignore the very short message telling him to come to work today.

Seo Dong-eun reported for work at a place called ‘Down’, every weekend. Down was a room-style pub, commonly known as a danran-jujum (a private room karaoke bar licensed to sell alcohol). It was one of the few establishments boasting large and well-equipped rooms in the area, and the entire building— spanning from Down in the basement to the Crystal Hotel above ground—was owned by President Wi Du-hong.

And today was not the weekend. It was Wednesday, the most exhausting day of the week for an office worker, but Seo Dong-eun had clocked out of his office job and headed straight to the pub to pay off his debt.

“It’s raining. Bring the umbrellas!”

Director Kang shouted from the entrance. As Seo Dong-eun, who was organizing cups, poked his head out into the hallway, Park Jae-hoon, clutching a few umbrellas, ran past with a wink as if he had been waiting for this moment. Seeing him feign innocence while already hiding one for himself, Seo Dong-eun also smiled faintly.

Perhaps because a rush of customers had just subsided, there was a brief lull. Seo Dong-eun went into the kitchen to quickly tidy up the ingredients. With everyone finally able to catch their breath, the other staff members gathered near the kitchen one by one and started to chat.

“Hey, hey, I heard there’s a celebrity in room 12.”

“A celebrity?”

“Not a celebrity, maybe a director.”

“I heard it’s a movie star.”

A single question got three or four different answers in reply. Regardless, it meant someone famous was at the shop. As the relatively newly built Hotel Crystal was often used as accommodation for film crews visiting the region—an area famous as a movie filming location—visits from celebrities or their associates were a common occurrence.

“What? I thought it was someone important. There aren’t many customers today either. I wish we could just wrap things up right here.”

Everyone turned serious at that comment—something they never would have said if they had been busy. Saying there were no customers was practically taboo. Strangely enough, after such words were spoken, they would always get swamped as if there were some unspoken rule.

“Hyung!”

While they were shushing each other and pointing fingers, Hae-su, one of the youngest omegas at the establishment, peeked his head into the kitchen. His delicate features were cute, making him look even younger than he was.

“Dong-eun hyung!”

Recognizing him, Hae-su ignored those who tried to flirt with him and went straight to Seo Dong-eun, gesturing with his chin for him to come outside.

“Wow, Seo Dong-eun is a lucky man.”

Someone muttered sarcastically. Seo Dong-eun quickly took off his apron and followed Hae-su.

“Hyung, do you have that?”

Hae-su, who had pulled Seo Dong-eun behind the shop, asked very cautiously. Even with that small movement, the sweet scent characteristic of an omega wafted faintly. A trace of the past that had long since vanished from himself, the consequence of an irreversible choice.

For a very brief moment, Seo Dong-eun had to steady his mind as he found himself on the verge of being led astray by Hae-su’s pheromones.

“What?”

He asked as he shook his head slightly to shake off the distracting thoughts while Hae-su leaned in and whispered in an even lower voice.

“That… suppressants.”

Seo Dong-eun’s face stiffened instantly at the cautious request. Both to the outside world and within the establishment, Seo Dong-eun was a beta. In fact, most of the employees except for the omegas assigned to the rooms were betas, with only a tiny minority being alphas. Due to the nature of the business, no one would hire an omega for menial tasks over being a host. Omegas were inconvenient in many ways. Just like right now.

Interpreting Seo Dong-eun’s expression however he pleased, Hae-su lamented, “Aw, you don’t have any,” looking disappointed. He continued to mutter, complaining that he had miscalculated his cycle and the pharmacy was closed, wondering what to do.

“Hae-su.”

After a moment of silence, Seo Dong-eun spoke quietly. Hae-su, who was about to step back into the shop, stopped and turned his head to look at Seo Dong-eun.

“Who said… that I’m an omega?”

The only people here who knew Seo Dong-eun was an omega were the president and the director. And it wasn’t just here, but his company and even his landlord didn’t know. While it wasn’t impossible to find an individual’s trait, that kind of information was protected by privacy laws and confidentiality clauses. In reality, there was no need for such measures, as an alpha’s or omega’s pheromones would reveal their respective traits; so usually hiding it didn’t make sense. Therefore, most people who fell into neither category were naturally classified as betas. Seo Dong-eun could easily pass as a beta in that context, but this also underscored the reality that an omega without pheromones could not truly belong any group.

Seo Dong-eun made no effort to reveal his trait. Since no one would consider a recessive omega who couldn’t emit pheromones even during their heat cycle to be an omega, there was no chance of the secret being revealed unless he blabbed about it himself.

Even so, an omega was an omega even without pheromones, meaning he too still had to experience heat cycles. Seo Dong-eun hid his trait as much as possible. There were even people here that knew he was an omega. But the reason Seo Dong-eun could work at ‘Down’ while hiding his trait was that Wi Du-hong, the owner of the place, had money to collect from him.

“H-hyung?”

Only then did Hae-su’s expression darken as he noticed Seo Dong-eun’s uncharacteristically stiff demeanor. Embarrassment, awkwardness, and even a hint of fear washed over him. It was clear he was worried about whether he had done something terribly wrong or made a slip of the tongue.

“I’m not an omega. I just wondered if someone had the wrong idea. Who said it? Who told you I was an omega?”

At the calm explanation, Hae-su seemed to hesitate, biting his lip. Then, he quietly replied, “The drivers…” There were several cars used to transport the omegas affiliated with the establishment, and among those drivers were those who drove for Director Kang and President Wi. It was obvious how the word had gotten out, but denying it was the first priority. Getting caught up in unnecessary gossip was never a good thing. Especially for an omega without pheromones.

“Ah, I think there was some misunderstanding. Don’t worry. I won’t mention you. Still, I should probably clear up the misunderstanding.”

As Seo Dong-eun spoke while gently patting his shoulder, Hae-su’s worried expression soon relaxed into one of relief. The dawn air was biting, chilled by the rain urging autumn’s arrival. The young omega, dressed in thin clothes, was already shivering from the cold. Seo Dong-eun gently pushed Hae-su back into the shop and continued.

“But if it’s your heat cycle, wouldn’t it be better to just rest? Why don’t you tell the director and leave early? You could go to the hospital first thing tomorrow morning.”

“It’s not as easy as it sounds. You might not know, hyung, but… sigh. It’s not like my heat cycle has actually started yet; who would be happy if I left early just because I think it might be coming? And people who haven’t been through it just don’t understand. How miserable it feels, how frustrating it is when your body doesn’t feel like your own.”

Seo Dong-eun could fully understand that feeling. Of course, in Seo Dong-eun’s case, it was different from a typical heat cycle since he had no pheromones to emit, but he had once been a normal omega in his own right. That meant even if he had medicine, he wouldn’t have been able to give it to Hae-su. The suppressants Seo Dong-eun took contained different ingredients than those used by typical omegas.

“Hae-su.”

Watching the retreating figure walking with quick, short steps and hunched shoulders, Seo Dong-eun impulsively called out to him. His huddled frame looked so much smaller than usual, feeling almost pitiful, that he couldn’t help but speak.

“I’ll try talking to the director for you. He’ll probably listen. The director isn’t the type to be unreasonable.”

Hae-su gaped, then gave a beaming smile and shrugged like he didn’t seem entirely convinced by Seo Dong-eun. However, Seo Dong-eun went straight to Director Kang’s office and got permission for Hae-su to leave early.

“But why did he make you come in today?”

It was just as Seo Dong-eun was bowing deeply in gratitude. Director Kang asked the question looking down at the top of his head. It seemed even Director Kang didn’t fully grasp the president’s underlying intentions. Director Kang was one of the few people who knew the reason why Seo Dong-eun had to work at the shop. Perhaps that was why he felt a bit sorry for Seo Dong-eun, who came in every weekend. Though that didn’t stop him from assigning work. Having worked with each other for over a year, they had grown somewhat close, so Seo Dong-eun let out a sigh with a bitter smile.

“It’s just the old man’s crankiness. He’s like that because he’s old.”

While President Wi wasn’t old enough to be called an old man, Seo Dong-eun could laugh out loud knowing that Director Kang was practically the only subordinate who could speak so candidly.

“But you don’t look well. There are still a few hours left, what are you going to do?”

“I’m fine. My legs are just a bit numb.”

“Ah, right, it’s raining outside. Is there really no way to fix that? Won’t medicine help? If your legs ache every time it rains, what do you do during monsoon season?”

The question caught him off guard. There was no need to tell someone that he lived on painkillers, or that, when even those failed, he had no choice but to take sleeping pills just to get some rest.

“Oh, you know. Anyway, thank you, for helping with Hae-su’s circumstances as well.”

“Well, even if I let him leave early, he still has to make up his quota later anyway. Ugh, forget it, let’s just drop it. I’m sick of it.”

Out of all the people working here, everyone had a story. Just as Seo Dong-eun had a story he couldn’t share. Director Kang lightly patted his shoulder and waved his hand as if telling him to leave. Bowing his head to him once more, Seo Dong-eun left the office. Fatigue tended to settle in precisely when things finally quieted down. Blinking his heavy eyelids, he looked at the clock on the wall. It was only just past midnight.