Kim Woo-Jin stepped into the canteen with Jung, and his eyes landed on Aaron.
For a moment, time seemed to slow. There he was, sitting in the far corner. His chest tightened at the sight of Aaron, and he immediately wants to run.
But then he saw a hand connecting sharply with Aaron's cheek.
Kim Woo's body went cold, his breath catching in his throat. For a moment, everything around him disappeared. His vision blurred, narrowed down to just the man who had dared to touch Aaron. The anger started small, but it quickly swelled inside him, hot and furious, burning through every inch of him.
Before he even realized it, his body moved on its own, and all he could feel was the rapid thrum of his heartbeat.
The moment he reached the alpha, Kim Woo's fist crashed into the alpha's jaw with a crack sound that was sharp and brutal.
The force of the punch sent the man crashing backward; his body hit the floor with a thud.
The laughter and the casual chatter, all of it vanished in an instant, and the canteen fell into a stunned silence.
The alpha's legs trembled, trying and failing to push himself up from the floor. He was dazed, his eyes wide in shock, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
The oppressive weight of Kim Woo's raging pheromones had already blanketed the room. Everyone could feel it—the barely restrained fury radiating from him like a storm about to break.
It was overwhelming, like a storm threatening to rip everything apart.
They could see it in his eyes—the intensity, the fury.
Kim Woo wasn't done.
He grabbed the alpha by the hair, yanking him upright with terrifying ease.
The sound of the alpha's head slamming into the table made several onlookers flinch. Kim Woo's grip tightened as he pulled the man's head back and slammed it down again with even more force.
"How dare you touch him?"
His voice was low, almost a whisper, but it was cold and dangerous—like a predator cornering its prey.
The alpha whimpered, his eyes wide with terror, but Kim Woo didn't release him.
Jung rushed forward, grabbing Kim Woo's arm.
"Woo-Jin, stop! You're going too far!"
But Jung's attempt to hold him back was futile. Kim Woo didn't even acknowledge him. His focus was entirely on the alpha, who was now under his grip.
Blood began to drip from the alpha's forehead and his pleas were barely coherent, drowned out by the pounding in Kim Woo's ears. The entire canteen watched in stunned silence, too afraid to intervene.
The alpha stammered, his lips trembling, but no sound came out. His head lolled slightly, blood smearing across the table as Kim Woo yanked him upright once more.
The weight of Kim Woo's pheromones became suffocating, thick in the air and impossible to ignore. Chairs scraped back as students instinctively tried to create distance, their own instincts screaming at them to flee.
"Woo-Jin, stop! He will die!" Jung's voice finally broke, snapping Kim Woo.
Kim Woo blinked, and his grip slackened slightly. The alpha's body slumped against the table, unconscious.
Jung rushed toward the injured alpha, seeing the blood dripping from his head.
"Oh my God," he muttered as his eyes widened in horror. He immediately pressed his hands to the wound, trying to stop the bleeding.
"Damn, Kim Woo. Your mother's gonna kill you," Jung lashed out at Kim Woo.
Kim Woo, ignoring Jung, turned his attention to Aaron, whose eyes were already locked on him.
His hands moved instinctively, reaching out to clasp Aaron's face, gently brushing against the bruised cheek.
Then he shifted his attention lower, scanning Aaron's body to ensure there were no other injuries, but his breath caught when he realized the state Aaron was in.
The thin, wet, white shirt was revealing the outline of Aaron's chest. And the water dripped from his damp hair, trailing down his neck and disappearing beneath the fabric. Kim Woo's eyes betrayed him, wandering to the faint, tantalizing pink of Aaron's nipples visible through the wet material.
He swallowed hard as his throat suddenly feels dry. His mind raced welcoming a new heat rising in him. Aaron looked vulnerable yet unbearably enticing, like something forbidden yet impossible to resist. For a fleeting moment, an image flashed in his mind. Aaron as a sweet, delicate dessert, he wanted to devour him without hesitation.
Kim Woo clenched his fists, digging his nails into his palms to ground himself.
What the hell am I thinking?
He berated himself as the frustration bubble in his heart alongside his anger. This wasn't the time for such thoughts, and yet... he couldn't look away.
"Not ignoring me again?" Finally Aaron's voice snapped Kim Woo back to reality.
Kim Woo avoided Aaron's eyes, biting the inside of his cheek to keep his composure.
"I wasn't ignoring you."
"Really? That's not what it felt like," Aaron replied in a playful voice.
Kim Woo inhaled sharply, struggling to keep his emotions in check. He had been set on ignoring this cunning omega, keeping his distance, burying whatever strange feelings Aaron stirred in him. But then he saw that slap, and before he could think, he was here.
My heart.
Kim Woo thought, his eyes briefly flickering to Aaron's swollen cheek.
It felt like it was ripping apart. Was it anger? Pain? Or something else entirely?
He forced himself to change the subject. "Does it hurt?" he asked in a lower voice.
Aaron's smile widened.
"Are you worried about me?" he asked flirtatiously, sending a fresh wave of heat through Kim Woo's chest.
Kim Woo stiffened.
"Why would I worry about you?" he snapped.
Aaron's gaze remained steady, as if he saw right through the Kim Woo mind, and that only made Kim Woo's frustration grow.
"So," Aaron began, leaning forward slightly.
"Why did you help me after ordering everyone to bully me?"
Kim Woo froze as his eyes widening in shock. Aaron's words hit him like a slap. His jaw tightened as he leaned closer to Aaron's face.
"Are you trying to accuse me again?" Kim Woo's tried to intimidate Aaron.
But Aaron didn't flinch. Instead, he leaned closer too, closing the already small gap between them.
"Why would I do that," Aaron murmured in a calm tone, "when I could accuse you of something much more... scandalous?"
Kim Woo furrowed his brows and replied, "Like what?"
Aaron paused for a moment and continued with a sly smile, "Like you kissing me and more?"