Since this was the Alpha dorm, Kai naturally stayed here while pretending to be one.

Kai winced every few steps before stopping at the sink to rinse his mouth.

"What happened?" one of their roommates asked.

Gama simply folded his arms, silently watching.

"Got punched."

Kai peeled off his shirt and stood in front of the fan.

His hand was covered in fresh ink.

A crudely drawn snake tattoo stretched across the back of it.

Gama instantly knew what he'd done.

"Trying to fool Tera?" he asked with a smug grin.

"You wish."

Kai climbed onto his bunk without another word.

A few moments later, he built an absurdly high divider around his bed.

Across the room, Gama quietly did the exact same thing.

...

"Did you see the ink on his hand?! He actually tried to trick me! And he stole my two-hundred-and-thirty-fifth kiss! Seriously! Who does he think he is? So annoying! Does he really think I wouldn't hit him?"

Tera had been ranting nonstop.

Yan, meanwhile, was beginning to regret ever agreeing to share a room with such a chatty Omega.

He silently listened as Tera complained for what felt like the hundredth time.

His ears were exhausted.

His body wasn't doing much better.

Whenever Tera vented, Yan got pinched, smacked, or pelted with peanuts.

"...Hold on."

"Your... two-hundred-and-thirty-fifth kiss?"

"Yeah."

"I'm adorable. What's wrong with that?" Tera answered matter-of-factly.

"I honestly thought you hated being touched."

Yan looked him up and down.

That was... unexpected.

"My parents kiss me twice a day. My older sibling kisses me once every day. Honestly, the number should be even higher."

Tera tapped his chin thoughtfully.

...

Oh.

Yan had assumed Tera meant kisses on the lips.

Apparently...

He didn't.

Tera proudly held up his hand, showing off the tattoo.

"Look! He's probably in despair now that I have a Soulbond! Hahaha! He's got no chance of getting me anymore!"

"Now all I have to do is find whoever has the matching tattoo."

In his head, Tera had already pictured someone tall, handsome, mature...

Obviously Sky.

"Gama."

Yan answered before Tera's imagination wandered any further.

He really hadn't wanted to tell him.

"Hahaha! No way! That emotionally constipated guy? Impossible."

"See for yourself if you don't believe me."

Gulp.

Without another word, Tera grabbed his phone and started shoving all of his snacks back into his suitcase.

"Hello, Mom."

"...I'm moving."

On the other end of the line, his mother fell silent.

The call had come completely out of nowhere.

'Why, sweetheart? It's only been a few days. Are you being bullied?'

'Ah... no. Actually, there's no way you're the one getting bullied. You're definitely the bully.'

'I got a phone call today. Apparently you've already punched one classmate and body-slammed another. The Cui family and the Hue family both called me.'

"Come pick me up..."

Tera whined pitifully.

'No.'

Click.

She hung up immediately.

"Hey. Where do you think you're going?"

Even after being rejected, Tera stubbornly dragged his suitcase toward the door.

"I'm scared..."

His watery eyes desperately searched Yan's face for sympathy.

Unfortunately...

Yan had none to spare.

"Relax. If you don't like your Soulbond, that's fine."

"It can be broken."

"As long as another Soulbond replaces it."

Yan grabbed Tera's suitcase, lifted it with one hand, and tossed it back onto the top bunk.

"Look."

He held out the tattoo on his hand.

A lotus.

Tera's eyes lit up.

He immediately grabbed Yan's wrist.

Yan nearly jumped.

Seriously...

This guy had absolutely no sense of personal boundaries.

"A lotus?! You actually have a lotus?!"

"That's incredible! It symbolizes pure love!"

"Your Alpha must be completely devoted to you! You've known him since you were kids, haven't you?"

Tera excitedly poked and pinched the tattoo.

Yan immediately snatched his hand back.

"Devoted? That's Sky we're talking about."

He instinctively scooted farther away.

Just in case Tera decided to punch him.

"The man I love..."

Tera muttered dreamily.

"'ThE mAn I lOvE.'"

Yan mimicked him in a ridiculous voice.

"Please."

"Being tall is literally his only redeeming quality."

"He's a liar."

"He pretended to be an Omega just so he could date me."

"You know what that means?"

"He's actually an Alpha."

"If he's willing to lie about something that big, imagine dating him."

"You'd never know when he's telling the truth."

Tera frowned.

Being naturally analytical, something immediately caught his attention.

"Wait."

"If he pretended to be an Omega..."

"But you're an Omega too."

"Unless..."

His eyes slowly narrowed.

"...You were lying too."

"You pretended to be an Alpha back then, didn't you?"

Yan froze.

Then awkwardly scratched the back of his neck.

"So both of you are liars."

"You two deserve each other."

"Liars."

...

Checkmate.

...

Everything felt... awkward.

That's exactly how Tera felt every time he walked into class or ran into Gama in the cafeteria.

Luckily, Yan had unofficially become Tera's shepherd.

Whenever Tera froze in place like a lost sheep, Yan simply grabbed the back of his uniform and dragged him along.

The four of them usually ate together.

Today, however, Tera deliberately chose to sit elsewhere.

Not because Gama had said anything.

In fact, he hardly seemed bothered by the Soulbond tattoo at all.

But...

Something had definitely changed.

The loud, goofy Gama who never stopped fooling around had disappeared.

Now he barely spoke.

He looked... distant.

'Is he embarrassed?'

Curious, Tera eventually sat back down at Gama's table, where Sky was already eating.

"My treat."

Gama slid the menu toward him.

Tera immediately hid behind it.

"Are you embarrassed around me?" he whispered. "Why are you acting so weird? You're never this quiet."

He cautiously peeked over the edge.

The second their eyes met—

He instantly ducked back behind the menu.

Gama let out a helpless laugh before pulling the menu away.

"Would you stop hiding behind this thing?"

He rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'll admit it."

"Yeah."

"This is awkward."

He handed the menu to Yan.

Yan didn't even look at it before passing it straight to Sky.

"The usual."

Sky nodded once before heading to the counter.

Tera blinked.

...They really knew each other that well.

Despite acting like strangers, they could order each other's meals without saying a word.

Tera immediately copied them.

"The usual."

Gama froze.

...Crap.

He had absolutely no idea what Tera liked.

Back when Tera had enthusiastically introduced himself and listed all of his favorite foods...

Gama hadn't listened to a single word.

"...Americano?"

He answered with his eyes squeezed shut.

He was already preparing himself to get yelled at.

"What?!"

Tera slammed both hands onto the table.

"Since when do I like Americanos?! It's Caramel Frappuccino!"

Gulp.

"He likes anything caramel."

Kai suddenly appeared beside the table carrying a tray of food.

Unlike Gama...

Kai remembered everything.

"You like citrus soda, but not cola."

"You love strawberries."

"You don't like food that's too spicy."

"And kimchi fried rice?"

He smiled proudly.

"That's basically your comfort food."

Kai carefully placed every dish in front of Tera.

Before pulling his hand away, he shot Gama a smug grin.

At that moment...

There wasn't a single person who understood Tera better than Kai.

Tera smiled.

Just a little.

Then he deliberately looked at Gama and smiled even wider.

See?

That's what I wanted.

"Oh."

Gama nodded slowly.

"I get it now."

He gathered every plate Kai had brought over before casually slipping a bill into Kai's pocket.

"Excellent service, waiter."

"Here's your tip."

Kai glanced at the money and laughed.

"Thanks for your generosity, sir."

Gama smirked.

"You're still annoying."

Kai grinned.

"Says the jealous guy."