Thankfully, very thankfully, Hitomi behaved throughout the night in the market. No random thirsty commentaries, ual innuendos, or even suggestive flirting that definitely could make Minjoo turn into a blushing mess within seconds. Hitomi was acting like your usual dream girlfriend. Cute, curious, cheeky but just lovable. Minjoo had to constantly remind herself that this version was just another version of Honda Hitomi.

And the fact that she could switch to another version as easily as flipping her hand.

Minjoo forcefully put the thought of the usual thirsty Hitomi clamoring over her aside and decided to just focus on the present. Her girlfriend was perhaps the cutest woman in the universe, but she really rarely acted like one.

“Earth to Minjoo? Honey, you alright?”

Minjoo jumped back in surprise. “H-Honey?!” She sputtered. “Are we on honey terms right now?”

“Didn’t know you wanted me to call you my Alpha on daily life.” Hitomi raised a teasing eyebrow, a smirk curled up on her lips and she had a seductive look on her face. She leaned closer to whisper, “I thought that was exclusive for our bed matters.”

Minjoo really spoke too soon in the earlier narrative. The Alpha took a step back, her hands high up in the air and eyes bulging out in utter disbelief. “I never said that,” Minjoo hissed out, glaring and shaking her head.

Hitomi rolled her eyes, but the smirk was still there. “I’m just teasing you, Jesus.”

Clearly, Minjoo wasn’t as amused as Hitomi. She took a cautious step closer to Hitomi, shaking her head when the Omega’s arms were quick to wrap themselves around her bicep. “Anyway, it’s getting late; we should head back now.”

“Absolutely,” Hitomi agreed readily, once again assuming her sweet and cute girlfriend persona with her adorable smile in place. She pressed her cheek against Minjoo’s shoulder, as she prepared herself to let herself be guided by the older woman. But strangely, Minjoo didn’t move an inch, seemingly frozen on her spot.

Hitomi frowned, understandably uncomfortable and scared at the sudden change of mood. “Minmin?”

The taller woman’s gaze was fixated on something ahead of them. Hitomi wasn’t sure what it was that could distress the usually composed Alpha. The last time she saw Minjoo this distressed was during the time she lost control over herself after meeting her uncle.

But it was all because of her unstable hormones, and with the hormones removed from the variables, Hitomi wasn’t sure what it was. Either way, her pheromones were leaking out, causing people around them to avoid them. Hitomi herself had difficulty in containing her own pheromones from responding to Minjoo’s state.

“Min? You’re scaring me… are you okay?”

Minjoo, surprisingly, did not respond. Usually, it only took that exact sentence to catch Minjoo’s attention and make her snap out of it. Even after Hitomi squeezed her hand and cupped her cheeks, Minjoo still maintained her hard expression on—with her eyes still gazing ahead, but seemingly focused on someone as Hitomi noticed how they flickered around as if following a person’s—or people's—constant movement.

Then suddenly, her gaze shifted away from the crowd to Hitomi. There was no warmth in her red-painted eyes. She wasn’t snarling nor making any expression that showed her agitation, but it scared Hitomi still the same. She flinched back as she suddenly looked at her deeply in the eyes and clasped her fingers around her slender wrists.

Hitomi recognized those eyes.

-

Everything was a blur after that. She didn’t remember how they reached their vehicle, but the moment they stepped out from the crowds, Minjoo grew even more distressed compared to earlier. The only difference this time was that the eyes that gazed back at Hitomi were clearly Minjoo and not the dangerous, feral Alpha side of the taller woman. However, that normal side of Minjoo quickly changed back to her dangerous Alpha-side, the moment someone or something in the crowd behind her caught her attention.

With Minjoo in a situation that stopped her from driving properly, Hitomi was forced to refresh her driving lesson and finally put her driving license to good use after a year. Thankfully they arrived safely and neither of Minjoo’s family members was lurking around to stop and pester her about Minjoo’s condition.

Even until they reached the safety of Hitomi’s room, Minjoo was still shaking as if restraining anger, and her eyes were unfocused. Again, Hitomi had a difficult time guiding the maybe-rutting Alpha inside the room. She practically needed to push her with all of her strength to make her sit on the bed.

Ten minutes had passed since then, and the silence was beginning to drive Hitomi insane. Honestly, if Minjoo was rutting right now, then it would have been better for her to just go all feral like what happened a week ago.

Because that way, at least she got herself laid.

But noooo, Minjoo had to be in this confusing state where it was brushing the border of the rut-like state and actual rut. Hitomi had her own share of experience meeting rutting Alpha in her life, but none of them acted as confusing as Minjoo. As expected, Minjoo was special. She wasn’t sure whether or not it was a good thing, though.

Sighing, Hitomi finally gave up on trying to catch Minjoo’s attention with normal means and just sat on her lap. She didn’t expect Minjoo to suddenly coil her arms around her waist, but the Alpha did just that; surprising her.

“Kim Minjoo, look at me.” Minjoo obeyed in a heartbeat, but her jaw was still clenched tight as she looked up to meet Hitomi’s eyes. Not even Hitomi’s pheromones could make her snap out of it; the redness in her irises was still as clear as the first time she laid her eyes on them.

Minjoo inhaled sharply.

“Hitomi,” Minjoo’s voice was a little lower than usual, a little harsher and colder, “tell me, I’m an Alpha, right?”

Hitomi didn’t need to think before she answered it. “Yes, of course,” she said earnestly within a heartbeat. “You might be a Low Alpha, but you are still an Alpha.”

She didn’t expect a small, wry smile to be on the Alpha’s lips a moment after she heard how quick her answer rolled out from . Minjoo snorted, nodding. “Then I’ll do my best to become a proper Alpha.”

“What do you mean?” Hitomi frowned. “You already are a perfect Alpha for me, Kim Minjoo.”

Minjoo shook her head with a growing smile on her lips. Hitomi barely noticed how the red glint in her eyes had disappeared the moment Hitomi uttered her answer for Minjoo’s sudden question. “No, not yet,” said Minjoo. She leaned forward, burying her face on the crook of the Omega’s neck before she placed a gentle kiss on the slant of her jaw, causing a slight shiver to rack Hitomi’s spine. “I’m still unworthy.”

Hitomi snorted. “Who are you to judge? We’re doing it by my own standards, lady. If I said that you’re perfect for me, then you are perfect for me.”

The Alpha laughed at the remark, shaking her head at first but nodded with a grin on her face as she rested her head against Hitomi. “I got it. I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to,” said Hitomi huffily.

When there were no more words needed to be exchanged, they withdrew from each other; giving each other time to change before retreating to their shared bed. It was the same position as always—Minjoo’s hand tucked underneath Hitomi’s body, pulling her impossibly closer that Hitomi had no choice but to rest her head against the Alpha’s chest with her own arms coiling around her waist. They were silent for a long moment, with Minjoo staring at the ceiling and Hitomi assessing whatever happened these past few hours.

As usual, Hitomi broke the silence. “Say, Minjoo?” Minjoo hummed, turning her head slightly to her left at the call. “What happened back then? You really scared me, you know?”

There was another suspenseful silence before Minjoo released a long sigh.

“I saw someone,” she said haltingly, as if still contemplating whether she should tell Hitomi about it or not, “not quite someone, but ah… a group of them.”

Hitomi nodded slightly with her eyebrows furrowed. Minjoo took it as permission to go on with her narrative.

“Do you remember the name of Taejun?” Hitomi hesitated but nodded. She remembered Minjoo mentioning the name, but she couldn’t remember how significant he was in Minjoo’s life. “Right, uh… he was… my ex-boyfriend—we dated before my Differentiation.” She scratched her nape. “I was a little late on my Differentiation. I was 15 years old when I first showed signs that I’m going to be an Alpha instead of a Beta like the rest of my family.”

That made Hitomi think about her age when she dated the guy, but she pushed the thought aside before anger could cloud her judgment. “...Was he an Alpha?” She asked that instead of ranting about the differences of their ages. She remembered that Minjoo mentioned that Taejun was four or five years older than her, around Chaewon’s age.

Minjoo looked unsure. “I’m… not sure. He never really talked about it with me. Even after we met again last December, I still don’t know what his rank is.”

Something about Minjoo meeting Taejun ticked Hitomi off. Her eyes twitched. “I take it the meeting was coincidental?” Oh, Hitomi desperately wanted it to be true, alright.

“Maybe? I don’t know,” Minjoo sighed. “He knows I no longer stay in Busan after my coming of age and he knows where I am studying since I’ve mentioned it a few times when we were still on good terms.”

Minjoo didn’t notice the little victorious smirk on Hitomi’s lips when she heard how Minjoo and Taejun were no longer on good terms anymore.

“Anyway, so… people I saw on that night market are Taejun’s friends. They are the same age as me, but they often hung out with older guys back then.” Minjoo suddenly paused, inhaling deeply, her eyes fluttering close. Hitomi saw how Minjoo’s hand, placed just right on top of her stomach, was clenched into a tight fist. “They used to be… my closest friends.”

Hitomi held herself from gasping, trying her best to quell the pity she felt, opting to show her anger instead by grasping her t-shirt a little tighter. She knew Minjoo wouldn’t appreciate her showing her pity, anyway.

Her eyes flickered to Hitomi, smiling wryly at the anger and curiosity on her expression, the silent question of “what did they do?” was clear in her eyes.

Minjoo took another deep breath. “They and Taejun… they attempted to do things that—” She swallowed thickly, her eyes once again turning away from the curious glint on Hitomi’s dark eyes. “—things that get in the way of full maturity, the moment they know I’m named as the next Head after years of vacancy in the position.”