Kim Dokja arrives outside the school campus fifteen minutes before the start of class. Upon entering the premises his pace quickens and he darts straight to the infirmary to speak with the school doctor regarding scheduling an appointment.

The sound of a sliding door clattering caught the attention of the school doctor. He saw Kim Dokja enter the infirmary and eagerly sat on the stool in front of his desk.

"Doctor, before I finalize the appointment at the hospital… I wanna know, how long does it take before you get a proper diagnosis?" Dokja fidgets on the stool as the doctor held a stethoscope against his back, checking his breathing and vitals.

"Well, it depends... Usually, they would take blood samples and analyze them for compatibility on the 1st day. And then they would do a thorough health checkup on the second…" The doctor scratched his head as he recalled the hospital procedures.

"They would need to observe you also for a week since they will ask you to ingest mild inhibitors to do a compatibility check with the medication."

"Wait, a week?! I thought it was just a few days?" Dokja's eyes dilated in shock.

"Well, for normal omegas, usually they find the right medication after the blood analysis. But for cases like yours… the fastest I've heard about is five days and the rest were all a week or more." The doctor groaned.

Kim Dokja's face pales. He quickly glances at the calendar that was on the desk and counts the possible days that he'll need for a medical leave. His brows were furrowed and his expression turned bitter.

{February 15}

It was a few days before his 20th birthday.

Ever since Kim Dokja started to live together with Yoo Jonghyuk, it had been a tradition for them to celebrate their birthdays by hosting a quaint dinner party at their humble home. Jonghyuk would cook up a feast and bake a cake, his companions in the 1863rd turn also dropped by to give gifts and celebrate with them and Dokja. The dinners they held for the past four years were filled with warmth and joy.

However this year, it looked like Kim Dokja will be celebrating on his own in the hospital. Dokja took a deep breath and contemplates for a bit before swallowing his anxiety.

"So, have you made your decision, Kim Dokja?" The doctor then stows away his stethoscope and logs notes on Dokja's file on his tablet.

"Doctor, can you please confirm my appointment for tomorrow?"

The doctor's eyes gleamed, relief was seen on his face. "I'll call the hospital then, do you want a morning or an afternoon appointment?"

"Afternoon, please."

Dokja's eyes were filled with uncertainty and his thoughts were stuffed with worry while thinking about how he should break the news to Yoo Jonghyuk. Although he is already of legal age, Dokja values respect and courtesy by communicating with his guardian with what was happening with his life.

Only this time, he had difficulty in doing so. He had been avoiding school talk and long conversations with Yoo Jonghyuk ever since he got his examination results.

"Alright, I've forwarded your data to the hospital, Kim Dokja. I'll ring them to confirm your slot tomorrow afternoon. I'll recommend to the school that you'll require an immediate medical leave." The doctor then put down his tablet back on his table.

"You should go to class soon, you'll only have 5 minutes left." He then points his finger at the wall clock.

"Oh! Crap, I almost forgot!" Dokja runs toward the door and opens it with force. "Thanks so much, doctor!" he then scurries off to his classroom.

The doctor watched Dokja as he left the room. He then took out his mobile phone and rang the hospital

***

Yoo Jonghyuk was waiting in line at the pharmacy, he opted to replenish his inhibitor pills first before heading to the grocer to buy ingredients for dinner. After all, he knew that his pill consumption would spike by threefold whenever his rut was close.

His turn then comes up, Jonghyuk handed over his prescription to the pharmacist who quickly took note of the medication needed. The man then turns back to the medicine cabinets to search for them. After a few minutes, the man checks their shop inventory on the digital kiosk, his face looks troubled and the pharmacist returns to Jonghyuk empty-handed.

"I'm afraid we don't have your medication available, sir. It seems that our stocks will arrive by Friday, the soonest. I apologize for the inconvenience." The pharmacist then returned Jonghyuk's prescription and bowed slightly.

"Alright, thanks for letting me know. I'll check other pharmacies too." Jonghyuk shoves the prescription to his jacket's pocket and walks out of the store, He then pulls out the phone from his pocket and searches for other pharmacies in the area.

'Shit! I can't risk getting into a rut… Dokja will be inconvenienced by-'

Jonghyuk's thoughts were suddenly interrupted, he felt his phone vibrating and the notification bar indicated an incoming call, he saw that it was Lee Jihye, he then answered the call.

[Captain!!]

Lee Jihye's voice sounded angry. Jonghyuk was slightly taken aback.

"What is it, Lee Jihye?"

[I just want to validate something since this is about Dokja!]

"What about Kim Dokja? Is someone bullying him again?"

[No! It's not that… It's just that, the school doctor applied for an emergency medical leave on behalf of Kim Dokja. We just received the request and-]

"This is the first I've heard of this, Jihye." Jonghyuk scratched his head and massaged his forehead, Dokja had been giving him the cold shoulder since the weekend and he was clueless, he felt a headache coming to him.

"What was the reason for the medical leave?"

[Well, the doctor noted here that it was regarding Dokja's gender results last Friday. He also recommended an immediate leave starting tomorrow until indefinitely due to the nature of the results.]

Jonghyuk's face started to fill with bitterness and his mind was clouded by a multitude of questions.

'Why didn't that brat inform me of this? Did I raise him wrong? Why does he want to leave me? Is he finally entering the rebellious age?'

Jonghyuk groans as he contemplates how should he speak to Dokja once he gets home.

[...Also Captain, please take it easy on Dokja too, I just saw the results now and if I were in Dokja's shoes I would probably hesitate as well… speaking to you about it, that is.]

"Why? Didn't we already identify his gender as a Beta during his freshman enrolment? He's just a normal brat-"

[Recessive Omega.] Jihye interjects Jonghyuk's response. Her voice sounded a little apprehensive.

[His secondary results manifested as an Omega.]

Yoo Jonghyuk dropped his phone as he froze in shock.

***

"Hey, Kim Dokja! Are you sure you're fine now?" Lee Hyunsung was confronting Dokja in the gym's locker room. It was 30 minutes before the end of lunch break and Kim Dokja went ahead to speak to Lee Hyunsung about him flaking out from P.E. class last Friday.

"We'll be doing sprints today, and I don't want you collapsing midway again." Hyunsung scratched his head. "I might get an earful from the captain again of something happens to you."

"I'm fine now, Hyung… Thanks to Jonghyuk's generous lunch, I think I can run a lot today. Please don't worry too much." Dokja bowed his head slightly. "And I'm sorry if I put you through a tight spot too…"

"Ah, don't apologize! The captain has always been like that… Oh! by the way, I just remembered! Since your birthday is coming up, do you want anything as a gift? It is your 20th birthday soon… and this is probably the last gift I can give since you're heading to college soon too." Hyunsung gently pats Kim Dokja's back.

"I-I'll pass… sorry, Hyung." Dokja's face became gloomy.

"Wait, you're not celebrating?" Hyunsung's eyes widen with shock. "But you enjoy the birthday dinners every year! Have you grown tired of eating Jonghyuk's Lemon Cheesecake every birthday?"

"It's not that, Hyung!" Dokja grabbed Hyunsung's sleeve. "There's just something I need to do urgently… I can't afford to delay it too since my health is at risk." his grip tightened.

Dokja suppressed his tears and held his breath as he relays the bad news to Lee Hyunsung.

"Hyung, please don't tell this to Jonghyuk…But... I manifested as an Omega on my 2nd gender exam." Small beads of tears started to swell from Dokja's eyes.

"Why, what's wrong with it?" Hyunsung then cups both of his hands on Dokja's cheeks. "Is someone trying to bully you because you're an Omega?" Hyunsung's face was etched with worry.

"No! It's not that one too…" Teardrops started to fall from Dokja's cheeks.

"I'm scared… what if Jonghyuk… hates me if I tell him…" His throat felt tight and his voice was trembling. "What if he despises me and leaves? Or what if he kicks me out for being a useless omega?" Dokja started to sob loudly.

"Hyung, what should I do?"

Dokja recollected how poorly Omegas were treated in their society. The majority of the adult omegas who lived in Seoul grew up in foster care, due to their Estrus cycles. They were deemed as beings who bring great inconveniences as their pheromones could influence one's rationality. Most of the Alphas also treated them as tools to curb their libido and some omegas would end up as a living fleshlight for Alpha use.

Dokja was terrified.

Lee Hyunsung saw Kim Dokja's dismal state and he felt overwhelming compassion towards Dokja. It reminded him of the time when they rescued him at the train station. He then gave Kim Dokja a warm brotherly hug.

"I'm sure it will be fine, he won't hate you, Dokja… the Captain cares for you a lot after all." Hyunsung strokes Dokja's back to comfort him.

"He'll probably dote on you more though, so you better be prepared to see him become a helicopter dad." A small chuckle escapes Hyunsung, he then releases his embrace.

"I heard from the school doctor last Friday about it too. He approached me since he was worried that you were apprehensive talking about it with Jonghyuk." Hyunsung then pats Dokja's head.

"I'm an Alpha, but I'm already paired, so I can give you advice if you're having difficulty dealing with the Captain. If you want, I can come over later and talk to him in your stead!" Hyunsung smiles gently at Dokja.

Dokja felt relief as Hyunsung comforted him, he recalled the time Jonghyuk and his companions took him away from the cold, stagnant subway station. Dokja wipes his tears dry with his sleeves and his soft sobbing faded to silence.

Hyunsung pulls out a handkerchief and lends it to Dokja. "Go and wash your face, Dokja! I'll fetch you later after school so we can talk to the captain together, alright?"

Dokja nods in agreement and then scurried off to the washroom. Hyunsung watched him leave the locker room, once he was certain that Dokja left, he quickly took out his inhibitors from his pocket and quickly ingested a pill.

"His pheromones are no joke though. I think I'll need to excuse him for the rest of the day." Hyunsung massaged his head, he takes out his phone and sends a text message to Uriel if he can see her tonight.

"Crap… I feel sick."