TATMFL - 54

Despite taking fever reducers, her temperature hadn’t gone down.

Far from subsiding, Ra-on blinked her burning eyes as she rubbed her increasingly warm cheeks. It felt like lasers might shoot out of her eyes at any moment.

Still, moving around did help clear her mind of unnecessary thoughts, which was a relief. If only Chang-woo hadn’t chased her out of the store after handing her some medicine, exasperated by her string of mistakes, it would have been even better.

But even though she’d been kicked out, she ended up leaving the shop only when closing time arrived. Standing still, she gazed up at the darkening sky. She could almost feel Chang-woo’s glare urging her to hurry and leave so he could finish closing up.

Ra-on slowly began walking.

No matter how warm the days had become, the evenings were still chilly. The cool breeze brushing against her feverishly warm cheeks felt icy.

If the walk home felt unusually long today, it was undoubtedly due to her poor physical condition. Unlike usual, she was out of breath, so she paused for a moment and leaned back, stretching her spine. A sharp pain shot through her body, but the satisfying crack of her joints brought some relief.

The bright streetlights blurred her vision, making her squint reflexively. Suddenly, she realized this spot felt eerily familiar and slowly turned her head.

The flickering streetlight had been replaced with a new one, and occasional passersby dotted the road, which hadn’t yet reached 10 p.m.

Though much had changed since that day, this was unmistakably the same place.

Ra-on stared at the overflowing trash can, standing upright without being jostled by anyone, and slowly blinked her eyes open and shut.

It was strange. The face she had once desperately wanted to avoid now kept intruding into her line of sight.

“…Hah.”

Ra-on sighed and averted her gaze. Her breath formed faint white clouds in the chilly air.

It was all because of Han Do-kyung’s last expression—the unsettling look that haunted her dreams nearly every night, disrupted her daily life, and now...

Ra-on rolled her phone around in her pocket while biting her lip tightly.

Then—

“Ah.”

Her vision swayed suddenly, and Ra-on staggered. Instinctively pressing her palm to her forehead, she realized her temperature had risen even higher, scorching her hand.

Only then did she notice she was breaking out in a cold sweat. Shivering from the sudden chill, she hunched her shoulders. Was the fever making her nauseous deep inside? Despite taking two cold medicine pills, not only had she not improved, but her condition seemed to worsen. Letting out a soft groan, Ra-on gasped for air.

Her vision spun wildly.

And then—

“Damn it, what the hell are those bastards doing!”

A vulgar curse rang out as chaos erupted behind her. At the same moment—

“Ack!”

A rough hand grabbed her shoulder, and a scream tore from Ra-on’s throat. The sudden movement caused her already dizzy vision to black out momentarily before brightening again—or perhaps she didn’t even have time to register the brightness before another hand clamped over her nose and mouth, cutting off her air. She thrashed wildly.

“Mmph, mmph…!”

Startled, she reflexively tried to twist free, but the more she struggled, the tighter the grip on her windpipe became. Her already weakened body went limp in an instant.

Effortlessly lifting her, the assailant carried her to a waiting car. With a creak, the door opened, and they quickly shoved her inside before slamming it shut. Their movements were swift, as if oblivious to the commotion happening behind them.

They needed to leave the scene before anyone noticed. The man gestured toward the driver’s seat, and the car sped off, leaving the chaotic scene behind.

And—

Someone chasing after the car, panting heavily, cursed under their breath as they watched the vehicle disappear into the distance, its exhaust fumes trailing behind.

“Shit.”

---

As her consciousness returned in a hazy blur, the first thing Ra-on felt was a splitting headache. It felt as though someone were relentlessly hammering away at the top of her skull.

Her blood vessels seemed to have dilated completely, and the speed of her blood flow was unnaturally fast. Her heartbeat thundered loudly: thump, thump, thump!

“Hng…”

Ra-on groaned faintly, trembling uncontrollably from the intense chills that wracked her body. The cold seeping up from the floor penetrated deep into her bones, causing her teeth to chatter involuntarily.

It seemed her arms and legs were bound tightly—she couldn’t move an inch. She wanted to curl up to shield herself from the cold, but her body refused to obey.

Her vision was dark. The sensation of cloth covering her eyes was unmistakable.

Before she could even begin to piece together what had happened, a sharp, excruciating pain gripped her lower abdomen, causing her to writhe in agony.

She repeatedly ran her tongue over her parched mouth, but it only worsened her thirst without providing any relief.

The breath escaping between her lips was hot.

It felt as if she had swallowed a burning ember—every nerve in her body sizzled with heat. Intermittently, her spine shuddered as if seized by spasms.

The more she struggled against her restraints, the more the friction against the floor heated her skin. But it wasn’t just heat—it was an unsettling, tingling sensation that made her cheeks flush red as she gasped for air.

“Hah, hah…”

There was no denying that she had been kidnapped. She had lost consciousness the moment she was overpowered, and now she found herself blindfolded, bound hand and foot, and thrown onto the cold ground.

Even through the haze of fever and confusion, she could grasp the severity of her situation.

Was this what people meant when they said “one misfortune after another”? Ra-on clenched her chattering teeth, grinding them together as her deteriorating physical state reached its peak.

She felt like she was dying. If only she could lose consciousness—it would be a mercy—but the relentless waves of pain coursing through her body wouldn’t allow it.

Just then—

“Damn it, did you really get in touch with Han Do-kyung?! Why haven’t we heard anything yet?!”

A sharp, irritated voice pierced her eardrums. Ra-on forced her heavy eyelids open despite their resistance, her narrow field of vision cloaked in darkness.

She rolled her tongue inside her dry mouth.

‘Han Do-kyung…’

At the mention of his name, one thought immediately surfaced:

That man again?

Even when he wasn’t physically present, Han Do-kyung had tormented her endlessly—both in her dreams and waking life. And now, once again, he seemed to be at the center of this mess.

In truth, she hadn’t been entirely surprised to find him somehow connected to this situation, directly or indirectly. After all, such an absurd chain of events didn’t happen without reason.

How ironic that he managed to torment her even more when he wasn’t around than when he was. Though she wanted to laugh at the absurdity, what escaped her cracked lips was a low moan instead.

“Ugh…”

At that moment, a wave of excruciating pain surged through her spine, wiping all thoughts of Do-kyung from her mind.

“Hnn…! Ah!”

Her hidden lashes quivered, and tears spilled freely.

Then, amidst the chaos, she thought she caught a whiff of something fresh—like morning dew-soaked grass or the earthy scent of wet soil near a wooded area on a rainy day. The aroma was so strong it made her wonder if she had been taken to a remote mountainside.

The sharp pain in her lower abdomen that had persisted earlier now gave way to an odd, tingling warmth. Her tightly pressed legs began to twist involuntarily. Perhaps it wasn’t her abdomen but rather a more intimate area that was becoming unbearably sensitive.

As Ra-on’s body trembled violently under this strange new sensation, a voice cut through the cacophony:

“What? Omega pheromones…?”

“But I’m sure she was a beta…”

“We should double-check…”

The noise that had been assaulting her eardrums moments ago grew even louder, though coherent sentences remained elusive.

She paid no attention to what her captors were saying. In her current state of agony, their words were meaningless background noise.

THUD! A door slammed shut somewhere nearby, followed by rapid, heavy footsteps approaching. They stopped right in front of her head.

Sensing movement, Ra-on strained to lift her heavy eyelids and squirmed weakly. And then—

“Urk…!”

A scream-like groan tore from her throat as her hair was yanked painfully. Her neck bent backward awkwardly, leaving her barely able to nod. A cruel chuckle echoed in her ear.

“Look at this. Pheromones are pouring out of her.”

“So she’s just manifested? She was definitely a beta during our investigation.”

“Exactly. What luck.”

The hand gripping her chin twisted roughly. Weakened and unable to resist, she lacked the strength to push him away—even lifting her hands felt impossible.

Soon, her scalp burned anew as hot breath washed over her sweat-drenched, pale skin. Pressing his nose against her flushed nape, the man inhaled deeply.

“They say an omega’s first manifestation releases pheromones potent enough to drive alphas wild.” The man panted, groping himself while staring at the blindfolded omega writhing before him. Sadistic desire surged within him as he bit into her tender flesh.

“This delicate skin…” He murmured, biting down harder.

“Did you contact Han Do-kyung?”

“The moment omega pheromones started leaking out, we sent the message.”

The speaker smirked, waving his phone. On the screen was a lewd photo of the man pressing his nose against Ra-on’s exposed nape.

“He must be losing his mind.”

“Since we’ve already taken pictures, let’s send another. Show him who gets to claim your first alpha.”

Chuckling nastily, the man lowered his lips to the soft skin beneath her earlobe and added,

“If we play our cards right, we might even snatch back the project we lost to Daehan Construction.”

Sejin Construction’s CEO laughed slyly, still bitter about losing the redevelopment deal.

“No… please… no…”

Ra-on’s feeble protests only amused him further. His grip on her hair tightened.

“Ahh!”

A short cry escaped her lips, followed by the man’s lust-filled voice.

“You may resist now, but soon you’ll beg for it. Omegas are like that—they melt at the scent of alpha pheromones. Once aroused, they spread their legs willingly, dripping wet. Especially ones in heat like you.”

Moments later, the overpowering surge of alpha pheromones caused Ra-on’s body to convulse violently.

“Haa… ah…”

Her brain felt molten, her tense muscles loosening involuntarily. Deep within her abdomen, something tightened sharply, and an intimate part of her grew slick with moisture.

Unaware of her actions, Ra-on writhed against the unbearable tingling sensation. The earlier heat now seemed trivial compared to the overwhelming surge consuming her entire body.

“Hng…”

Just as she clawed at the hand gripping her—

BOOM!

An earsplitting explosion jolted her momentarily clear-headed, shaking her eardrums violently.