Knock, knock.

“Taeyeon?” Tiffany called, stepping into the omega's bedroom.

It was Tiffany's first time entering Taeyeon's room, and the absence of her distinct scent felt unusual. Normally, one's room carried their unique fragrance, almost like a personal territory. Invading someone else's room was akin to encroaching on their privacy or property. The lack of even a hint of scent was peculiar. “Are you alright?”

“Just leave me alone!” Taeyeon commanded, anticipating Tiffany's intentions.

“Taeyeon… we're worried about you,” Tiffany spoke softly. “What you're doing can be dangerous. Please stop taking those pills.”

“It's not your business!” Taeyeon snapped, making Tiffany blink at the harsh words. “It's personal, and it shouldn't concern you. So Knock it off!”

“Why are you angry with me?”

“I just don't like when people stick their noses into what I do.”

“I'm not sticking my nose in. I'm just worried about you! Have you ever considered if that hunger and fever of yours come from those pills? What if they have harmful side effects?”

“It's not! I've been taking them for years.”

“Exactly! I wouldn't mind if you did it once or twice, but for years? Every year? Denying your heat cycle may cause problems—”

“This is not your business! Just leave me be! I won't stop taking them.”

“Why not? Why do you have to take those pills?”

Taeyeon didn't answer.

“I just want to help you,” Tiffany added.

“You can't help me,” Taeyeon's voice sounded a bit raspy. “You can't help me.”

Tiffany sighed. “Look… I know I'm not the best person to understand you. I know I'm an alpha kin, and you probably hate me deep down there... but you're in our dorm now, you're one of us, and we're worried about you. Those pills…What if they change your hormones permanently? What if they give you a ? Or a heart attack? Or cancer?”

Taeyeon rolled her eyes at the absurd suggestions. “Have you ever thought about that? Why stop your cycle when you're—”

“You don't know what it feels like,” Taeyeon interrupted, making Tiffany look at her. “To be in heat. You don't know what it feels like.”

Tiffany felt her heart beat a tad faster. “Yeah, I don't.”

“And you never will,” Taeyeon continued. “We're from different castes, Bright Spark.” At least she was calling Tiffany Bright Spark. “What I see, you can't see. What I experience, you can't experience on your own.”

“That's not true.”

“You're at the top. I'm at the bottom. You go into rut, I go into heat. We share the same space, but we live in different worlds. We abide by different rules. Your world isn't my world.”

“Are you in this talk again?”

“But it's true. You'll never know how it feels. To be an omega kin… that's the worst thing that can happen to you!” Tiffany couldn't retort. No one in their right minds would like to be an omega. Can't speak their minds, can't have certain types of jobs, there are even certain places, like pubs and bars, where they are forbidden entrance. Tiffany would hate that. She would hate all of that. “One of my classmates...” Taeyeon started talking. “...Wanted to take the pill. Her parents didn't allow it... When her cycle began...she ended up killing herself.” Tiffany's eyes widened. Suicide? Over a couple of pills denied? “You don't understand… Our fever heat…” She paused and Tiffany looked down. “It changes us. It changes the people around us.” 

To think that a girl committed suicide because of a cycle that would only last a couple of weeks was a bit extreme for her. “I'm sorry to hear that.” 

“I can't stop taking them.” 

“Is it because of me?” Tiffany asked, considering herself a potential culprit.

Taeyeon didn't answer.

“Because I am an alpha kin?” 

“No. It’s not about you…” 

“If you're worried about me,” Tiffany suggested, “and if it will make you feel safe, I can leave the dorm. For as long as your heat lasts, I can stay at Yuri's or Bora's. They wouldn't mind. If I do this, would you stop taking those pills?”

The lack of response made Tiffany believe it was an affirmative. “Why do you even care that I'm taking the pill?” Taeyeon asked, confused. “Why can't you just pretend that everything is fine and move on? That... you know, I'm fine and there's literally nothing wrong with me?”

“Because you're not fine!” Tiffany retorted. “Look at you, Taeyeon, you're sick, you're acting strangely. You're eating sugar all the ing time, and you don't even upload your videos anymore!” Tiffany pointed out that Taeyeon's latest video was almost a month old, a significant gap in internet time. “You don't even have your scent these days! Do you know how weird it is to be around you and not feel your smell?”

“That's a good thing.”

“It is not!” Tiffany replied. “You were the very first thing I felt when I woke up in the morning, when I walked into the living room, or arrived from work. Your makgeolli scent was always there. Whenever I smelled your scent, I felt calm and eased because I knew I was at home. But you don't smell like home anymore, and I feel like something is missing. It makes me feel like the dorm is empty.” Tiffany gulped. “I'm here right beside you in your own bedroom, and I can't ing smell you. I can't smell you! It feels like there's something weird with me, like I'm disabled, like I'm a ghost! That you are a ghost! I... I miss your scent, I miss your smell, your videos, and your giggles.”

A minute of silence enveloped the room. “It's not the same with you taking those pills. And I don't like it. I hate it.”

“Is that... really... how do you feel about me?” Taeyeon asked in a whisper, her voice caught by Tiffany's alpha senses.

“You're a friend of mine. And I care about you. We care about you. I'm not trying to fool you. I genuinely think you're putting yourself in danger by taking those pills for so many years. It’s been, what?, a decade? Your first heat cycle should have happened so many years ago, at the right age during your teenage years.” Taeyeon looked downwards. “We are just worried about you over-consuming these pills and resulting in health problems in the future. I know it is frightening