"It may not be enough when it's in your hand but devastating once you lose it." these were the words that my childhood friend, Jooin engraved in my mind.

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A few years ago,

"Aren't you scared?" I asked while wiggling my legs and biting my nails as I sat on my designated spot and waited for my turn.

"I don't know and who cares anyway? Why? Does it bother you? Don't worry, gender should not be a barrier right!" Jooin winked at me and held my hands gesturing for me not to shake my legs at the same time. Then our names were called and laid the cornerstone for my hellish school life.

"Did you hear that one of our classmates is an omega?"

"What really? I want to know who that is?"

"Wahhh! I feel so normal as a Beta. Well, it's not like I wanted to be anything else because being an alpha is a lot of burden, and there are more cons in being an omega than pros"

"But I heard you can get free holidays for a few days during the heat cycle."

"What? Wow, that's so cool. Now I want to be one as well."

"Oh shut up, you normal-looking Beta."

"Hey! you are one to talk."

The next day the whole class was discussing the gender results and then it came to my knowledge that I was the only omega in the class which naturally became the hot topic. But I was not the only gossip material instead, Jooin came out as alpha and his popularity rose even higher. He was the center of attention every time and since he was a dominant Alpha people wanted to be his friend even more.

I convinced myself to not get bothered by that but still, the outcome was pretty clear. Since he spent most of the time around me people started gossiping about us being a pair at such a young age. They called me everything shameless that came into their mind and that's when the bullying started.

I often found my desk in the washroom and my books in torn condition. But as long as my only friend supported me, I was willing to endure it all as I thought of this as my price for being friends with an alpha. But it all seemed like a warning before the storm.

The school festival was in a few days and almost everyone had a partner for the ball dance. It had been a month since the bullying started and I and Jooin were not in much contact. I knew many people wanted to pair with him but I was quite confident that he would straight away refuse.

"Ah! there he is," after spotting Jooin behind the main campus I dashed toward him but halted my steps midway. "Umm, I called you here today because I wanted to confess something. Would you like to go out with me?", a cute girl with short hair and a perfect physique asked him out. He contemplated for a minute and then nodded. "Sure, let's date. Then I will buy you a dress for the dance tomorrow. Be sure to come on time", he looked in my direction while my feet were still frozen and that girl suddenly leaped onto him and placed a peck on his cheek. 

My eyes widened and my breath became unsteady. My face flushed, and I felt hot. My insides started tingling and I escaped the scene as fast as I could. With a shivering body, I somehow reached my class and there all eyes were on me. My disheveled appearance was the culprit. My bag was missing and my desk was doodled with shameful things. I had no strength to deal with them and my only thought was to escape this scene too. I've had enough.

But a group of students soon enveloped me. They all started calling me names and meanwhile I lost my balance. It was becoming more difficult for me to remain in my right senses, but the only thing I remembered before losing consciousness was that a person saying, "Let's undress him."

I woke up in the nurse's office and he told me that I just experienced my first heat and so he gave me the inhibitors. I was aware of the symptoms so I somehow managed to believe that. He told me to take a few days off but those incidents flashed into my mind. I asked him as to who brought me here but all he gave me was a letter.

"Joohyuk, I know it's hard for you but it's hard for me too. I am not able to hold onto this anymore and so I am writing this today and not expressing it directly to you but I don't think I would be able to maintain our friendship anymore. I hope you realize this soon and let's live our lives separately from now on.

Jooin."

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Present time

" I'm sorry for coming late into your life. Only if we had met early nothing like this would ever have happened." Hyung clenched my hands tightly and it was for the first time that I saw tears in his eyes. We both sat on the sofa in the living room and an hour passed since we reached home after dropping class rep. 

"Hyung, I think those things were destined to happen in order for me to meet you. Just imagine for yourself, if I had not run away to the bridge after reading that letter, then I wouldn't have got another friend like Kiro. He was the one who restored my faith in friendship and of course, then I met you and you were the one who restored my faith in love again. All in all, I don't regret anything anymore" I told him while freeing my hands from his hands and then grabbing his face softly in order to face him directly. 

"I am thankful to you both for making me something I would never even have the courage to imagine. So, please don't be sorry and it is all in the past now. I am sure you don't want me to attend tomorrow's festival sleep-deprived, right? So, let's change and get to bed."  Hyung patted my head and hugged me and then, as usual, he carried me to our room and that night huyng embraced me as if embracing a baby. His soft touch and sweet scent were sufficient to put me into a deep sleep.

To be continued.....