Pain is an odd thing. It doesn’t scream right away. It pulses. Builds. Flares. Crawls up your spine like a slow, gnawing fire. I hadn’t even seen the blade coming.

Taeju was supposed to stay behind me—out of trouble for once. But my little brother never knew when to shut up. One wrong insult to a man already inches from breaking, and the knife was suddenly in my gut before I could even blink. It slid in like a whisper and burned like betrayal.

I hit the ground hard. Concrete bit into my knees. My hands pressed to the wound on instinct. Blood. Warm. Too warm. Pouring through my fingers. My heart kicked against my ribs like it was trying to flee the scene without me.

Taeju shouted something, but I couldn’t hear. My ears were ringing. My eyes blurred. The alley spun.

And then— Footsteps. Fast. Light. Coming closer.

“Hey—hey!” A voice, sharp and commanding. “Don’t you dare close your eyes, do you hear me?!”

A silhouette dropped beside me. Knees to pavement. Hands—small, firm, confident—pushed mine away from the wound.

“I’m a doctor,” she said. “I need you to stay awake. Focus on me.”

My vision adjusted—just barely. And then I saw her.

An omega. Brown hair pulled into a lazy bun, hospital badge still clipped to her jacket. Eyes sharp with adrenaline, not fear.

My instincts sparked. Not because she was omega. But because of her. Something primal in me locked onto her scent—orange blossoms, antiseptic, and something faintly sweet. My body was shutting down, but the wolf in me surged forward, clinging to her presence like it was the only thing anchoring me to life.

“Yeo Jueon,” I rasped. I don’t know why I told her. Maybe I needed to be known by someone before I faded.

She blinked, barely missing a beat as she tore open her bag and yanked out gauze. “Okay, Jueon. I’m Kaori. Dr. Koh Kaori. I’m going to keep you alive, but you have to fight, alright?”

“Kaori…” I repeated, tasting the name.

She pressed the gauze to my wound. I choked back a scream. Her eyes never flinched. She held me down with one hand and dialed emergency services with the other.

“Stab wound to the abdomen,” she snapped into her phone. “Male, late twenties to early thirties. Pulse is thready, blood loss severe. I need an ambulance at the corner of Gwanak and Yuji Alley—now.”

I should’ve been scared.

But all I could feel was her. Her voice. Her scent. Her hands—warm despite the chill in the air. She talked to me to keep me awake.

“Whoever did this to you, they’re long gone. I’m not leaving you here. Got that?”

I nodded—or thought I did.

My breathing turned ragged. “You’re… not a hallucination, right?”

She gave a short breath of something like a laugh. “No. But you might be if you don’t stop bleeding.”

“You always this calm covered in a stranger’s blood?”

She met my gaze. “Only when I want them to live.”

A siren wailed in the distance. Relief flickered in her eyes. She looked down at me again and something in her expression softened—just for a second.

“You’ve got someone waiting for you?” she asked quietly.

I thought of Taeju, uselessly pacing somewhere nearby. My father, probably yelling at someone back at the firm. And suddenly… I thought of her. This stranger who hadn’t run away.

“Maybe I do now,” I whispered.

She blinked, startled—but didn’t look away.

When the EMTs arrived, they tried to pull her back. She stood firm.

“I’m going with him.”

“You’re off duty,” one of them said.

“He’s mine,” she replied. “He came in under me. I’m seeing this through.”

Mine.

The word wrapped around my heart like a promise.

The last thing I saw before everything went dark was her hand reaching for mine. Small. Warm. Covered in blood.