“Ash—! Bill!”
Koi scread, pale as a sheet. The two large boys had clumsily fallen to the ground in a heap.
For a mont, Koi didn’t know who to run to. He was worried about Ashley, but Bill’s condition looked bad too. Coughing and heaving, Bill lay facedown on the ground, clearly having used up every last bit of strength he had. If this continued, it could get seriously dangerous.
Terrified, Koi looked back and forth between them, desperately trying to think. Should I call 911? No—if I do, they might find out Ashley’s an extre alpha. That would definitely cause trouble. But I can’t just leave them like this either. I need to help Bill—get him out of here first, at least...
That’s when Ashley rose to his feet and shot Bill a deadly glare. In that instant, Koi realized there was no ti to hesitate.
“Ash—don’t!”
He leapt in front of Ashley just as he lunged toward Bill. And then—sothing strange surged through Koi’s body.
A prickling sensation, like weak electricity, or the chill of goosebumps, ran down his spine. It was unfamiliar and numbing, leaving him montarily stunned. He had no idea what it was. His thoughts beca hazy, and in that instant, Ashley shoved him aside.
“Ah!”
Koi stumbled with a scream, but Ashley didn’t care. He lunged at Bill.
Snapping back to his senses, Koi quickly grabbed Ashley around the waist.
“Stop it! Ash, don’t!”
“Let go of !”
Ashley barked, gripping Koi’s arms, trying to tear him off. Koi fought back with everything he had and shouted,
“You can’t do this, Ash! He’s your friend—he’s Bill!”
“I said let go, damn it! Are you seriously defending another guy right in front of ? Huh?!”
Ashley roared, louder than Koi had ever heard before. But even in his rage, Koi knew this kind of person—soone who lashed out, who cursed him and raised their hand without hesitation.
His father.
Frozen in shock, Koi couldn’t resist as Ashley shoved him off. He landed hard on the ground, falling on his tailbone.
“S-Stop! Don’t!”
He was dazed for a second—but he didn’t have ti to sit there. When he saw Ashley grab Bill by the collar and raise a fist, Koi went completely white and threw himself at them.
“D-Don’t! Stop, Ash—!”
And finally—Koi broke into tears.
“Don’t be like my dad... please...”
That mont, Ashley hesitated. Behind him, Koi’s soft, broken sobs echoed faintly.
The heat clouding his vision slowly began to fade. His mind started to clear. Looking down, he saw his hand clutching Bill’s collar. He looked up—and saw Bill’s half-conscious face, eyes barely open.
Haa... haa...
Only their ragged breathing filled the silence. Ashley stayed frozen, panting, unable to move.
His clenched fist slowly dropped. The grip on Bill’s collar loosened. Bill collapsed weakly to the ground, and Ashley slowly turned around.
There was Koi, clinging tightly to his waist, arms wrapped around him. Seeing him like that—Ashley finally realized what he had just done.
And his mind went blank.
Ashley lost consciousness the mont a woman arrived with several large n following behind.
After taking in the situation with a glance, the woman imdiately ordered Bill to be taken to the hospital and loaded Ashley into a car. Only then did she speak to Koi.
“You co too. I’ll let the school know.”
“M-?”
The °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° offer caught Koi completely off guard, and he blinked in surprise. She nodded and continued,
“If you’d rather not, I can take you to the hospital instead. You should get checked out too, make sure you’re okay...”
“N-No, I want to co with you. Please, let .”
Koi interrupted her urgently, then hesitated, realizing he’d cut her off. He quickly added,
“I want to stay with Ash...”
More precisely—he wanted to check on Ashley with his own eyes.
Thinking about how Ashley had said he’d just be visiting ho, only to disappear for almost a year, scared him. He didn’t want to be separated like that again.
Seeing the desperate look on Koi’s face, the woman nodded. A man waiting nearby opened the car door and stepped aside. Koi followed the woman into the car. Once the door closed, he finally asked,
“Um... who are you, exactly...?”
What he really wanted to ask was what her relationship was to Ashley. She answered coolly,
“That’s sothing you should’ve asked before getting in.”
Koi flushed red with embarrassnt, but she spoke again, still casually.
“I’m Mr. Miller’s secretary.”
As Koi tried to make sense of that, she added,
“Dominique Miller. Ashley’s father.”
“Oh...”
He suddenly realized why the na sounded so familiar. Dominique—Ashley’s middle na.
The car started moving.
What followed was a blur. As soon as they arrived at the mansion, a doctor and nurse were already waiting. They imdiately began tending to Ashley, drew his blood, and hooked him up to an IV. Koi’s blood was also drawn.
The unconscious Ashley was moved to his room and laid on the bed. The dical staff worked quickly, then stepped out. Only Koi, Ashley, and the secretary remained.
Haa...
The sound of her exhausted sigh made Koi freeze. Arms crossed, she looked down at Ashley and spoke.
“I figured sothing like this would happen...”
Koi swallowed dryly and waited for her to continue. But she didn’t. Eventually, he couldn’t hold back anymore.
“Um... what’s going on? Is Ash... is he going to be okay?”
His voice trembled. The secretary kept looking down at Ashley as she replied.
“He’s fine. For now.”
There was sothing ominous about her tone. Koi was about to press her further, but thankfully, she continued first.
“It’s pheromone instability. He still can’t regulate it properly. Emotional instability’s probably making it worse...”
“Is that why... his eye color changed?”
He asked what had been bothering him. She nodded imdiately.
“Extre alphas’ eyes change color when their pheromones surge. During ruts, or when they release them deliberately... In this case, I don’t think Mr. Miller ant to—it likely just overflowed uncontrollably.”
“I see...”
Koi nodded slowly, sowhat understanding. Then the secretary turned the questioning back on him.
“Now it’s my turn—what exactly happened out there? What were you three doing?”
It was a perfectly reasonable question. Koi hesitated, then began explaining. She listened silently the entire ti.
When he finished, she looked grave. Then she sighed again.
“So it was because of you, wasn’t it?”
“...Yes.”
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
He couldn’t deny it. His mistake had led to all of this. He hung his head, consud by guilt and regret—until a sudden ringtone broke the silence. The secretary checked the caller ID and answered. After a few short words, she hung up and looked at Koi.
“That was the hospital. Your friend’s okay.”
“Bill?!”
Koi lit up with relief. She nodded.
“He was affected by Mr. Miller’s pheromones, but they’re flushing it out with an injection. He’ll be fine. No serious damage. Lucky, right?”
“Yes—really, thank god.”
Koi let out a deep sigh of relief. But then the secretary narrowed her eyes at him.
“But why are you fine?”
“...What?”
Koi blinked in surprise. The secretary frowned.
“You were with Mr. Miller during both of his outbursts, right? And yet you had no reaction at all. Your friend—another beta—was vomiting and nearly unconscious. But you? Look at you.”
She swept her gaze over him from head to toe, then fixed her eyes on his face.
“You’re completely unaffected.”
“Uh...”
Koi had no explanation. Why wasn’t he affected by Ashley’s pheromones? Suddenly, he rembered the blood draw as soon as they arrived at the mansion.
“Um... my test—what were the results? Is that why you took my blood?”
“Yes.”
Her lips twisted in a sarcastic smirk.
“You’re still a beta. No sign of a secondary gender manifesting. Nothing at all. Why do you think that is?”
Koi had no answer. He shook his head, flustered. The secretary stared at him and asked,
“Are you sure you actually like Ashley Miller?”
“...What?”
Koi was stunned. The secretary, arms crossed, went on.
“Maybe you’re rejecting him on a subconscious level. Maybe you don’t really want him.”
“That’s not—! That’s not true!”
“Don’t lie. You don’t like Ashley Miller.”
Koi protested, but the secretary scoffed.
“Your dad’s a drunk who used to beat you. Your mom never ca back for you after the divorce. You’ve spent your whole life alone, without friends. Am I wrong?”
Koi froze. How did she know all of that? Realizing she must’ve investigated him sent a chill down his spine. As he stared in fear, the secretary smirked.
“You’re just confused. You think Ashley’s the only person who’s ever cared about you, and you don’t want to lose that.”
“No—that’s not it. I really care about Ash—”
“If you truly liked him, your secondary gender would’ve manifested by now.”
Koi insisted again, but the secretary cut him down sharply.
“When people like soone, they want to match them. They share hobbies, imitate them... and if the other person manifests, they want to manifest too. So they can stay together. You had plenty of chances—but you didn’t. Why do you think that is?”
For the first ti, Koi felt anger and frustration welling up inside him. To have his feelings for Ashley dismissed so easily—just because he hadn’t manifested.
“If soone could stop a manifestation just by willpower, wouldn’t that make them a research subject?!”
“Exactly.”
The secretary sneered at Koi’s trembling voice.
“So maybe you are sothing special.”
Koi couldn’t say anything more. He just bit his lip, eyes filling with tears. No matter how much he denied it, the truth wouldn’t change. In the end, he broke down and began to cry.
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