I wasn’t planning to stop.
Night was thick in the alley, and I had business to finish. But that’s when I saw her.
She stumbled out of the train station, her steps uneven. Her face was flushed, sweat beading at her temples despite the evening chill. I smelled it before I could register what was happening—sweet, sharp, unmistakable.
Heat.
She was an omega, and it had hit her hard.
Worse, some asshole alpha had picked up her scent too. He trailed behind her, lurking close, like a damn predator. He reached out to grab her.
“Back off,” I growled.
He turned and saw me—Baek Seunghyun. That name still carried weight. One look at my face and he backed away like I was the devil himself. Smart move.
She slumped against the wall, panting, eyes unfocused. I took off my jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. “You alright?”
She blinked up at me, dazed. “C-Coming home from work… I didn’t expect it to hit like this…”
That’s when I noticed her hospital badge. ER nurse. Her name: Koh Kaori.
“Let’s get you somewhere safe,” I said.
She nodded, too far gone to argue.
I drove her to my place—no way she’d survive a heat that strong on her own, not out in public. And I wasn’t going to leave her to become someone’s victim.
In the car, she trembled under my coat, clutching the fabric like it was the only thing tethering her to the ground. Her scent—rich and overwhelmed—seeped into everything. It stirred something deep, primal, in my chest, but I shoved it down. Hard.
I wasn’t that kind of alpha.
My place was quiet when we got in. I helped her onto the couch, handed her water. She drank, her fingers shaking.
“I didn’t know it would come like this,” she said, voice tight with fear. “It’s never been this strong.”
“I know,” I said softly. “You’re safe now.”
She blinked at me like she didn’t believe it, like safety was something she hadn’t felt in a long time. And maybe it wasn’t.
I sat beside her, keeping distance, even though every cell in me screamed to close it. Her scent was wrecking me, but her trust? That mattered more.
“You can stay here,” I said. “No one comes in or out without my say.”
“Why are you helping me?” she whispered.
I looked at her—really looked. Exhausted, vulnerable, but still holding herself together.
“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “Maybe I’m just tired of people like him getting away with it. Maybe I wanted to be the guy who didn’t walk past.”
Her lips twitched in something close to a smile.
She leaned into my side slowly, like she needed to feel something solid. I let her. She was soft against me, fragile in a way that made my chest ache. I wrapped the blanket tighter around her.
“Do you have anyone I should call?” I asked.
“No,” she whispered. “Just… stay, please.”
So I stayed.
She rested her head on my chest. Her breathing slowed. My body was tense, holding back every instinct. But this wasn’t about biology. This was about her. Kaori.
Her heat would pass. And when it did, maybe she’d forget about me.
But I wouldn’t forget her.
Not the scent. Not the fire. Not the way she looked at me like I was her anchor in a storm.
And I knew then—I wasn’t going to walk away.
Not from her.