Aoto

“I tripped on a rock and hurt my big toe. My front teeth hit the ground, and a dog bit my right buttock. What’s happening? What’s happening? Today’s just not my lucky day. Today’s just not my lucky day. Ooooooh!”

The chorus of a familiar song echoes loudly through the air, cutting off the conversation at the table and dragging the Elite Alphas—and a few nearby students—into abrupt silence.

It just so happens that my agent—Marina—and I recorded the song as a joke last week and set it as her ringtone. I usually keep my phone on silent, but today, I cranked the volume all the way up, just in case something happens to the twins and my parents need to call me.

“What is that?” Sota laughs, pointing at my phone. “Ao, is that you singing?”

“Marina and I recorded it as a joke,” I explain vaguely, already answering the call. “Marina, hey.”

My sweet agent shrieks on the other end, “Ao, where are you? We need to talk. Now.”

“I’m at Chikara Bar with my friends. Why?”

As I finish speaking, someone pokes my forearm, prompting me to glance sideways—and there’s Yu-jun scowling, his gaze locked on me.

“Who is Marina?” he asks, his scowl deepening.

Covering the speaker on the phone with my hand, I reply, “She’s my agent. Why?”

“Your agent? Is she an Alpha?”

I frown. “Isn’t it kind of rude to ask someone’s secondary gender, especially when you don’t even know them?”

Yu-jun’s suffocating pheromones—already wrapped around me—intensify, making me cough and gasp for air as my body instinctively aches to submit to the Alpha.

“Yu-jun, stop,” Sota snaps, slamming both hands on the table. “Can’t you see your pheromones are suffocating him? You’ve already marked him. Why are you still showering him?”

Yu-jun blinks like he’s coming out of a trance, then finally reins in his pheromones, allowing me to breathe again.

I glare at him, unable to contain my irritation. “Why did you mark me when you’re spending my brother’s rut with him? Shouldn’t you be marking him instead?” I pause, staring him down. When he says nothing, I press on, my voice dripping with sarcasm, “Oh, right. You can’t mark him because he’s an Alpha like you. But being the control freak you are, you just had to claim the next best thing. Got it.”

“Aoto-kun? Are you there? Did you hang up?” Marina’s voice draws my attention back to the call.

I uncover the speaker. “I’m here. Sorry. What were you saying?”

“You’re not going to believe who contacted me today,” she exclaims, followed by an excited ‘eeeek’.

“Who? My mom? One of my professors? The bus driver from the route I’ve been taking this week? A chipmunk?”

“A chipmunk? Why would a chipmunk contact me?”

“Why would the bus driver contact you?”

Marina laughs. “Touché. Anyway, remember how Yoon Talent Agency wanted you for their biggest star’s next music video, and you turned them down? So—”

“Nope,” I cut her off.

“But the person who contacted me this time—”

“Still nope.”

“But—”

“Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope.”

“Aoto Kikuchi, listen to me. The Yoon—”

I start singing over her, “No-o-o-ope. I’m not interested. I don’t care, I don’t care who they are, but I’m not in-te-res-ted! No-o-o-o-pe. Kiss my ass.”

“Hey, that sounds cool. Did you come up with it just now?”

“Yep.”

“Let’s record it when we meet and make it GhostHunter123’s ringtone,” she snorts.

Laughing, I say, “Let’s do that.” 

I glance at the table where Kenzo is seated. He catches me staring, frowns, and mouths, “What?”, making me laugh again.

“Is that all, Marina? Okay then. See you Sunday. Bye-bye.”

Sounding desperate, my agent insists, “Wait. One of Mr. Yoon’s secretaries from the Yoon Group contacted—” 

I end the call and drop the phone on the table, already drained. I may act like I don’t care, but the truth is, I can’t stop wondering why people tied to the Yoon Group are so persistent about reaching me. As an Omega, it’s only natural for the worst-case scenarios to flood my mind, making me feel hesitant, insecure, and small.

“What did Marina say, Ao?” Sota asks out of nowhere.

“Nothing that matters. I think some people in the business world want to buy my body because I’m an Omega,” I blurt, my darkest fear slipping out as my insecurities about my secondary gender speak louder than my pride.

“I didn’t know your body was for sale. How much for a whole night?” Riku smirks, his smile sickening.

Without thinking, I grab Yu-jun’s soft drink and throw it in the psycho’s face, causing him to jump to his feet and curse as he wipes himself with paper napkins.

“Shit. You shouldn’t have done that, Aoto-kun. Do you even know who his parents are?” Samuel shoots me a quick look while helping him.

I cross my arms and sneer, “I don’t care who he is or who his parents are, as no one gets to talk to me like that. If they do, I’ll react however I want with whatever I’ve got in hand or sight.”

Riku pulls out his phone and calls someone, demanding a new outfit. Then he sits back down and watches me in silence as I drink water with lemon and devour one of the five lemon-fried chicken drumsticks the waiter just brought.

“What?” I mumble defiantly, my cheeks stuffed with chicken.

He laughs. “I’ll let it slide this time because you’re too pretty and I happen to like your sass.”

“Freaking psycho,” I mutter, chomping into another drumstick.

“So, what did you mean about people wanting to buy your body? Did your agent name names? Want me to make them disappear?” Yu-jun asks, wiping my greasy lower lip with his thumb. “What a mess. You’re just like a kid, aren’t you?” He chuckles.

Swallowing hard and almost choking, I growl, “For your information, I’m already a ma—” I slap my hands over my mouth, my eyes widening. 

Shit. I nearly confessed that I’m already a mama to twins.

Yu-jun chuckles again, clearly entertained. “There, there. Yes, Aoto. You’re already a man,” he teases, patting my head. “Want me to tuck you in tonight? Maybe serve you warm milk so you can sleep better?”

I flip him off and keep eating, desperate to get back to my friends and away from these so-called Elite Alphas—scratch that. Elite Alphas, my ass. They’re just a bunch of crazy people with money, power, looks, popularity, and status… Okay, fine. They are Elite Alphas. However, from now on, they are the Crazy Elite Alphas in my book.

Without missing a beat, Riku jokes, “I thought you were serving your warm milk to Sota tonight, Yuu.”

Without warning, Yu-jun cups my face with both hands, his gorgeous eyes searching mine. “Don’t listen to my friends’ teasing, Aoto. Please. Don’t listen to them.”

I immediately push his hands away, declaring, “You can serve my brother your warm milk and boiled eggs for all I care. Your relationship with him is none of my business.” I sound confident and unbothered, but my throat tightens with all the things I truly want to say.

Why did you spend my heat with me two years ago? Why did you call me by my brother’s name when I left the hotel? Why didn’t you contact me after that? Do you really not remember it? Are you really spending my brother’s rut with him? Have you been doing it since you two met again? Why are you so kind and attentive to me today? Why did you mark me with your pheromones? Do you know you’re already a father to two adorable toddlers? Do you know I gave birth to two little Yu-juns who are my world? Do you know I’ve been in love with you since the day we met?

“Warm milk and boiled eggs,” Eiji exclaims before bursting into laughter, his carefree, infectious laugh drawing a grin from me. “Boiled eggs. That’s too funny.” He clutches his stomach, bends forward, and accidentally hits his forehead on the table.

“That’s karma for making fun of me,” Yu-jun smirks smugly, sipping my water with lemon as if it’s no big deal.

“Hey! Why are you drinking my water with lemon? Sota’s beer is right there,” I complain, pointing at the glass in my brother’s hand.

“I’m not drinking alcohol now because I’m driving later,” the stupid Alpha replies, gulping down more than half of my water. “Besides, weren’t you the one who threw my soft drink in Riku’s face?” He raises an eyebrow.

I snatch the glass from his hand. “Why don’t you order your own water with lemon, then? Look at this, you almost emptied my drink.” I down the rest before he can take it again.

“Ao, do you want to stay in my dorm tonight since I’ll be spending the weekend at a hotel?” Sota suddenly offers, leaning in front of Yu-jun like he’s shielding him from me, clearly jealous of our interaction.

Jeez, relax, brother. I’m not going to steal him from you.

“Thanks, but no. Dad made me promise I’d be home before midnight,” I sigh, annoyed. “So much for having fun with my friends on a Friday night. Now I’m here, stuck with the Crazy Elite Alphas.” I glare at Riku, Samuel, and Yu-jun. “Thanks—not—for ruining my evening. Your company is quite unpleasant.”

“Why include me in your dramatic speech?” Yu-jun sounds offended, trying to meet my eyes, while Sota still keeps himself somewhat between us.

Just sit on his lap, brother. You’re practically falling off your chair.

Speaking of Sota’s behavior, it’s the first time I’ve seen him act so childish and jealous. I wonder if it’s a result of his imminent rut and possessiveness over Yu-jun. It’s not like I don’t get it, considering what happened between Yu-jun and me, which resulted in our buns being out of the oven.

Fully aware of the situation at hand, I pull out what I think is enough money from my wallet and slide it in front of Yu-jun. Then, I shove my phone into my jacket pocket, grab the remaining three lemon-fried chicken drumsticks, and stand up, announcing, “I’m going back to my friends. Thanks for the ‘lovely’ time.” The word ‘lovely’ comes out dripping with sarcasm.

Yu-jun grabs my wrist, his pheromones overwhelming me again. “Just stay here, Aoto. I’ll take you home before midnight.”

I yank my arm free, causing one of my yummy chicken drumsticks to fly away and strike Riku right on the head. After laughing at him for a few seconds and asserting that it’s karma for making rude remarks about me, I turn my attention back to Yu-jun. “Aren’t you going to spend my brother’s rut with him? Therefore, you won’t have time to take me home. I bet the second Sota says he’s feeling hot, you’ll forget I even exist and rush him to a love hotel.”

Eiji, who now has a bump on his forehead, raises his hand. “Don’t worry, Yuu. Min-ji and I will take Aoto-kun home. We won’t lay a finger on him; I promise.” He glances at Min-ji. “Right?”

Min-ji nods and smiles. “Just enjoy your time with Sota, Yuu. Eiji and I will protect your brother-in-law from the wolves.”

I wave my two chicken drumsticks in the air, and, smiling at her and Eiji, I say, “There’s no need for that because I’m going home with my friends.”

Yu-jun looks at me, scowling after glancing at the table where my friends are, seeing Kenzo and Junko cheering with beers. “But they are drinking and don’t seem in any condition to drive.”

“We’ll catch a bus home,” I explain.

“The three brats live in the same building as my parents, remember?” Sota pokes Yu-jun on the cheek. “Have you forgotten my brother’s best friends? You met them when you and I dated.”

Yu-jun shrugs. “It’s too much work to remember everyone’s face, especially when I couldn’t give them two shits.”

While the two Alphas are caught up with each other, I seize the opportunity and slip away to my friends’ table, finally letting out a deep breath of relief once I’m beside Kenzo. However, to my bewilderment, he, Junko, and the two Omega siblings instantly jerk back, covering their noses and grimacing.

“You reek of pheromones,” Omega Sibling Number One exclaims—sorry, I still don’t know his name.

“Whose pheromones are those?” asks Omega Sibling Number Two—yeah, no clue what her name is either.

“Wait. Lemon and lavender? Are those Yu-jun’s?” Junko uncovers her nose and sniffs the air. “Wow, these are definitely a Dominant Alpha’s pheromones. I’m a Beta, and I still feel intimidated being near you.”

Kenzo follows her lead. “You’re right. Yu-jun’s pheromones are so intense that no one will dare approach you for the next week, Ao.”

“Does that mean the Alpha Greek God marked you with his pheromones?” Omega Sibling Number Two squeals, her face lighting up with excitement. “You’re so lucky, Aoto-kun. I’m so envious of you.”

Kenzo, knowing me too well, throws an arm around my neck and whispers, “Her name is Hana, and her brother’s name is Arata, you airhead.” He playfully knocks me on the head with his fist.

“Thanks,” I murmur, chuckling.

He raises his voice so the rest of the table can hear and continues, “Hey, why did you throw a drink at that guy with the blue hair?”

“Because he made shitty comments about me.”

“What did he say?” 

Before I can answer, the sound of glass breaking fills the air, causing everyone to turn to look in its direction. The next thing I know, my brother’s unmistakable fried chicken-scented pheromones are filling the space while his rut arrives, bringing my worst nightmare to reality. 

“Is Sota in rut?” Junko gasps.

I flinch as I watch Yu-jun rush to throw his coat on my brother’s head and hug him tightly, their pheromones blending together.

I bite my lower lip, the pain from when Yu-jun called me by Sota’s name hitting me again.

Seeing the distress on my face, Kenzo squeezes my shoulder. “Are you okay, Ao? I’m sorry for forcing you to come here today. If Junko and I hadn’t pushed you, you wouldn’t have to watch this.”

I keep my eyes glued to Yu-jun carrying Sota toward the front door, though I want to look away and pretend nothing is happening. For some reason, Yu-jun suddenly stops and glances at me for three seconds too long, his expression a mix of yearning and hesitation, before turning and walking out of the bar, both Alphas disappearing into the evening.

* * *