Bye-Bye

I went to work in the morning on Saturday and returned home before lunch. After completing some housework, it was time for my appointment with Won-jo, so I dressed casually and went out.

I felt bad about repeatedly refusing to meet him, so I went to Guro-dong, where Won-jo lives. Won-jo appeared in a very comfortable outfit, complete with a padded coat and slippers. It left me speechless.

“Hey, what are you wearing? You’re not going to the club like that, are you?”

“We are going to the club? Damn it, we didn’t talk about going, that’s why I dressed comfortably.“

“You should expect that much when we meet on Saturday night, you bastard.”

Won-jo is a friend I met while working part-time and has a light hip like me. He also knows that I am an Omega.  We became close quickly because we have similar personalities and many similar ways of living.

We headed to a gopchang restaurant in Guro-dong station. I don’t like gopchang because it smells bad, but Won-jo insisted on eating it. (T/N: Gopchang is Korean cuisine made of the small intestines.) 

“You bastard only said we should eat gopchang when I’m dressed up.” 

“You idiot, you only asked me to go to the club when I looked shabby.”

“Hey, is there a time when you don’t look shabby?”

“Ah, you bastard. How neat you are…”

“I’m cleaner than you.”

In fact, the gopchang restaurant and the taste of gopchang itself were the most shabby. I drank alcohol as a side dish. I knew this was going to happen, so I ate at home before going out.

They openly talked about each other’s gossip at work until the bottle of soju was empty, and when the second bottle of soju was reached, a conversation about life’s story soon followed.

“How was your memorial service?”

“Uh… Well.”

“You must have had a hard time alone. You were working separately from your relatives. I thought Park Jin-cheol would be there to help you. I expected him to be the first lover to share a family anniversary with you.”

“Don’t talk about my ex-boyfriend, it makes me feel awful.”

Won-jo frowned as I coughed while speaking.

“Did you catch a cold?”

“Uh, I didn’t get better on purpose so that my cold would be passed on to you.”

“Fuck you.”

Even though I took medicine and received an injection for it, the cold lasted for quite a long time.

It’s not a problem for me to complain about standing for hours on the Han River bridge on a rainy winter night.

“Why did you break up with Park Jin-cheol? You even thought about marriage.”

“What marriage?”

I snorted. In fact, I seriously considered getting married. Park Jin-cheol is Beta, so he can’t give me children, but there is a way for us to adopt. (T/N: Beta in this story can’t make omega pregnant or get pregnant)

Jin-cheol felt burdened because I wanted to start a family as soon as possible. At 27, marriage is considered too early.

“Still, Park Jin-cheol was the nicest guy among your ex-lovers, but it’s too bad he was in his twenties.”

If I add up all my lover’s ages, they are on average ten years older than me.

“Coming to think of it, it was my first time dating a beta in my 20s. Maybe I’ll date Beta again next time.”

“Oh, look at this light omega jerk attempting to date both alpha and beta. Don’t even think about touching Beta.”

“What if I don’t have an Alpha to meet?”

“After breaking up with Park Jin-cheol, is there any other man you see? Usually, you’ll get a new one right away.”

“None. Who the fuck said I can’t live without a man…”

I stopped talking because it reminded me of Choi Sung-hoon, the Alpha with a domineering physique.

“There is! Wow, this bastard. I’m so envious of your luck with man.” 

Won-jo immediately noticed my hesitation.

“No, we’ve only met twice and we’re not seeing each other anymore.“

“You’ll be able to make it work. It’s your specialty to get things you can’t have.”

“He comes from a completely different world… a very dominant alpha from a wealthy family.”

Then Won-jo made a face that it was such a waste.

“If he is a dominant alpha, shouldn’t you be sleeping with him at least once? Even if it’s impossible to date.”

“Of course, I’d love to sleep with him. But I don’t have a single piece of bait through which to make contact.”

“What a waste…”

“It’s such a waste for me as well.”

Thinking about the manly appearance, wide right-angled shoulders, and sexy low voice, I got I became bitter again when I remembered his masculine appearance, wide right-angle shoulders, and sexy low voice. We will most likely never see each other again in our lives.

We exchanged business cards, but that was it. Because the world in which we live is different.

We had one toast. The taste of soju was so bitter that it made its way into the top ranking of my life.

“You must find someone to marry, not just a lover. I’m a beta, so I can find it late, but you’re an omega.”

Won-jo said while rummaging through the tripe with chopsticks.

“How old are we now?

“Twenty-seven.”

“It will be twenty-eight in a month. Huh? 28. It’s fine for me because I’m a beta, but omega age has a limit. Before you get any older, you need to catch a good alpha. What’s the point of working if you don’t date Alpha?”

I agree with you.

If you want to continue living, you should get married.

As I watched Won-jo stuff several pieces of tripe into his mouth at once, I grabbed the seaweed that had been served as a side dish.

“Who doesn’t know that? Introduce me to someone and stop nagging, damn it.”

“I don’t know of any Alphas. It’s extremely difficult for Beta to become involved with Alpha.”

“What the hell am I supposed to do? I’m not a particularly attractive Omega either.”

“Even so, you’re good at ‘turning your back’.“

“I can’t say ‘I can turn my back well’ for every alpha I meet for the first time.” (T/N: For this ‘turn my back well’ it’s pointing to something sexual. If you know then you know(′ꈍᴗꈍ‵))

If you think about it, my only real strength is my nightlife skill. Today, the taste of alcohol is extremely bitter.

“Tsk tsk, Seo-yu how did you happen to be born as an omega.”

Won-jo sympathizes, it was a confused expression as if he wasn’t sure whether he was laughing or feeling sorry for me.

“Stop talking about me and talk about you. How have you been? You’ve been in a private workshop for almost five months, haven’t you?”

“I didn’t find a lover. I just did a lot of one nightstand.”

“When you say one night, you usually ask for a number. Didn’t you like anyone?”

I asked, recalling my one night stand experience. I only tried it a few times because I’m more of a dating person than a one-nighter, but there were times when the other side expressed interest in continuing to see me. There were two or so relationships that developed into lovers.

“Well, there was a man asking for my number… But I refused.”

Won-jo had a broken self-esteem expression and stuttered hopelessly. I realized I had made a slip of the tongue.

“But you can still be a woman. I’m nothing but a man… and beta, that’s great. I don’t have to be nervous yet. Unlike you, I have a long way to go before I get married.” 

It’s better than you. He says something as if he’s envious, then brags again.

Won-jo had always felt sorry for me as an omega, and he frequently reminded me that ‘I am a beta different from you.’ So when Won-jo seems to be upset, I also express my envy.

He’s my friend, but he’s really simple. No, it’s my friend’s simple personality.

***

After the first round at the gopchang restaurant, the second at the indoor bar, and up to the third at the bar, they went home separate ways. He arrived in his neighborhood after paying 3000 won for a taxi and went into a convenience store to buy a hangover drink.

“It’s 5,300 won.”

“Yes… cough.”

I shook my head and took out the money.

“You are late today.”

“What? Ah.”

A familiar face smiled as I lifted my head in response to the pleasant voice. Because there is only one convenience store in the neighborhood, I regularly visited it and became acquainted with the part-timers. I can’t remember his name, but he’s a part-time night student at a nearby university. I’ll remember it when I’m sober.

“You work the night shift… so take this and eat it.”

I also held out the chocolate bar in front of the counter. The part-timer said, “Yes, thank you.”

“It’s late, please be careful, no, would you like to take a break?”

The part-timer tried to get out of the counter as I stumbled while putting the drink in my jumper pocket. I smiled as I waved my hands.

“It’s all right. It’s hard to work at dawn. Take this and eat it…”

I took out the sausage from the counter and stuck out a thousand won bill. The part-timer’s hand was stopped, so I urged him to pay quickly.

The part-timer saw me off with worried eyes. I stumble when I’m drunk, but I don’t have to worry because I have good thinking and memory.