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Taehyung pov

My eyes shot open, and I raised my head from the desk, startled. My heart was racing, and I had broken out in cold sweat. What was that dream? It was so dark and heavy on my heart that even after waking up, I was still feeling the effect of that man's words. And those words came from a novel I had read in the past. I was sure of it. In my first year of college I read a novel my friend who was in the book club gave to me. It was a book with various tags but the tag that got me curious was 'BL', and it was then that I came to understand what that tag meant.

It was basically a book where men fall in love with men or boys have crushes on other boys. In any case, it was a story about the same gender falling in love. But there was something odd about this book. Now, I don't really judge the idea of men falling in love with other men. Just give me a good book with writing that will blow my mind and I will read anything, even if the context involved monsters and humans 'cohabitating'. Anyway, I believe love should be shared and given to whomever it was due without discrimination. I didn't even know if I was gay or straight since I had never, in particular, fancied anyone irrespective of their gender. Ahem, as I was saying, that book had an odd concept that I had never heard of before, just as I had never heard of the word 'BL' but at least, I was a bit aware of the concept of same-sex love. Omega verse.

It was a world where the genders weren't as simple as men, and women, but Alpha, Beta and Omega. It was quite complex to grasp since I couldn't quite understand how men were capable of giving birth. Still, my curiosity was at its peak and I was ready to find out. In this book I read, there was one main protagonist who was an Omega and four other characters who I would like to refer to as protagonists as well but the things they did to the main protagonist is enough to make me regard them as villains. Since it also had 'psychological' tagged to it, I expected there would be a few gruesome or heavy misunderstandings that made the entire plot dark but it was far darker than I'd ever imagined. The title of this novel was 'Bruised'.

Bruised were the hearts of the characters who had all fallen for the delicate flower and bruised was the flower that had lost its ability to bloom, only suffering for the roots that it had grown up from.

Basically, the main protagonist had a history with the four guys that all ended up with misunderstanding, so they no longer wanted to care for him heart wise. At least, that was what they liked to tell themselves, and so they dealt harshly on the poor protagonist. He had been sold to the four young leaders since he was an Omega with a high breeding rate, each expecting to make him bear a child and produce a strong heir for them. In that world where Alphas and Omegas were the only ones who could mate and produce children, the Omegas were awfully scarce and not all Omegas had high breeding rate for such dominant Alphas such as them.

It was almost impossible and the continuation of their lineage depended on finding an Omega with a high breeding rate. This was where the protagonist came in. But even then, it was not guaranteed a 100% success so they had to do whatever they could to put a baby in his womb. Seriously, at that time, I wondered what came over the author to write such a plot. I wanted to rip the pages out of the book each time I saw how they treated the protagonist and how much the misunderstanding was hurting all of them while they used him as a breeding machine. But I was even more curious to know how the story ended. Now, why in the world would I suddenly have a dream that had the contents of that nerve-wracking book when I hadn't even laid eyes on the book for years?

It had been a while since I graduated from college and I had a job as a sales manager but I could still remember the contents of that book quite clearly as if I had just opened the first page and closed the last page once.

My name was Kim Taehyung and this man's name was Oh Tae-Ming. He was a diligent worker who, unlike most others who liked to grumble and complain about the work load, sincerely put his all into our job.

It was something he seldom did but it was not strange since he was the type to get comfortable with anyone he was close to.

Tae-Ming exchanged serious glances with me for a few seconds before finally bursting out in laughter.

Honestly, I was just spouting nonsense. I had read a bunch of books that it looked like I was starting to mix reality and fiction. Though, it still bothered me that I dreamt of that book out of nowhere. Was it just my brain replaying a distant memory? But why was it so vivid and--?

......

...

I watched him leave and then sighed. I couldn’t sit around for much longer. I had to get to work too. That night, I took the night shift once again and my mind accidentally wandered. I don’t exactly remember how it happened if it was my negligence or a mistake on the part of the other workers, but the hilt of the bar at the top shelf, which was holding onto the heavy goods, fell, and all of that heavy stuff fell right on top of me. It was too late for me to even get out of the way and the next thing I knew, I had been crushed. I had no idea what had been in those packages and I definitely had no time to be thinking of that since I was losing blood like a water hose. I could barely see anything and couldn’t feel my body either. I couldn’t feel anything.

I felt my life flashing before my eyes. I was weak and paralyzed, crushed by the same goods I was in charge of counting. And with that, I closed my eyes, feeling my consciousness slowly fade away from me, only to open my eyes right away but in a different surroundings. I sat up with cold sweat dripping down my pores heavily, startled and confused.

I was able to move too and I wasn't bleeding from my head. I sighed in relief. I wasn't dead, so all that had probably been a dream. No, it was a nightmare. Dying in such a cruel manner... I couldn't help but... *Klang*... Wait, what was that sound? It was then that I noticed that with every movement I made, there was this dull Klanging sound, and it was coming from... I looked at my neck... There was a collar around my neck and connected to it was a thick metal chain whose end was locked to the leg of the bed I was sitting on. Huh? Wait, hold on. I must be seeing things cause it was too dark. I should probably put on the lights. I reached for where my lamp table ought to be but there was nothing there. Through the darkness, I could tell the room was large but all that was in it was the very bed I was sitting on. At that moment, a scene flashed through my mind. It was a scene from 'Bruised' where the poor protagonist lay on the moldy and worn-out bed with a chain binding him to his bed and preventing him from escaping his fate. It was one of the beginning scenes. Right then, it was just as if I was playing out the scene of that broken plot, and I... Was the main protagonist.

The scene reminded me of the beginning of chapter two of 'Bruised' where the protagonist was locked in a room for days without any proper meal, his neck chained as though he were a dog.

I paused, remembering how I dreamt of a scene that afternoon and this was something similar.

I closed my eyes tight, hoping to get out of that dark dream as soon as possible but then, the door flung open, letting in a sharp ray of light into the dark room. My eyes shot open but I did not raise my head, pretending to sleep. I was backing the door so they wouldn't know if I was awake or not. Maybe if whoever it was saw that I was sleeping, they would leave me alone.

Or not. I was starting to forget that in this novel, the protagonist wasn't respected enough to be left alone just because he was sleeping. But... just what was going on? Why wasn't I awake yet? Another odd thing I noticed about the novel I read was that the protagonist shared the same name as me. I gulped.

I was a bit confused. Why was I still not waking up in the real world? The amount of fear in my heart should be great enough to jolt me out of this nightmare, so why? Wait, was it because I was in an accident and I had somehow gone into a coma? Was that why I was still dreaming of this world? The thought of it was crazy. No, I couldn't believe it. I clutched my shirt and stayed silent, hoping to hurry up and wake up from this horrid dream but my silence only aggravated the situation and angered the grumpy man. He clicked his tongue and then grabbed my chain, tugging me by the neck.

After all, I'm not the quiet and dumb protagonist. Whether it was a dream or not, I had to at least save my skin from being unjustly hit and try to understand my situation clearly.

Was this really that scene? Yes, it did look similar. Then, if it's as it was in the novel... I glanced at the door... Right at that moment, someone would walk in through the door and...

......

Let me tell you the original name and taekook version name

.........

He took a step into the room with his shining and custom-made leather shoe. He stood tall and indifferent, staring at the scene in front of him with narrowed eyes.

He was tall, menacing, and dominant, with black hair like the mane of a beautiful black horse, a chiseled chin, a thick black coat resting on his shoulders, and a black leather glove on just his right hand. When I read that part, I wondered why he wouldn't just wear two to avoid people wondering why he wore just one glove. Many assumed it was because of a scar on his right hand, and some said it was because he used that hand to do 'bad things', but I wasn't curious since I knew exactly why he wore the glove on his right hand. I read the entire novel, after all. Anyway, if there was such a thing as a perfect human, then that would be him. But, only in appearance, though, because I knew as hell who that man was and the kind of things he was capable of.

But my words seemed to infuriate him as he frowned heavily with his eyebrows and asked,

Oh no, I think I made a mistake. This man right now... He went by the name Jeon Justin, but his hidden name was Castor, and he so much loathed that name being called by Taehyung

He almost killed previous Taehyung once because he went over his head and asked Justin where he got the name of Castor from. The grumpy man had let go of me. I was supposed to land on my feet, but for some reason, my legs gave out, and I had to sit on the floor beneath Justin. I darted my eyes away from the murderous glare Justin was trying to suffocate me with. Ah, it was not my fault I got it mixed up. Besides, Castor suits him better.

'Seeing his expression right now... I think I'm in trouble. What do I do?'

The two guys who had come in to trouble me were beyond scared. Ah, right. Justin was that dangerous.

It was as if he was really going to suffocate me. My lungs wouldn't work properly, and it felt like my throat was being strangled. I held my throat. What was this? Was this the Alpha pheromones I've read so much about? The one that's capable of driving an Omega mad with desire and also dominates them? Gosh, it was so potent. I remember that during this scene, Justin appeared to take previous Taehyung with him to his house. It wasn't his main house but the house the heads of the four great families bought in order to be able to 'breed' Taehyung more comfortably. He could've sent someone to get him instead, but he came on his own as if he were a little kid who was excited to finally claim his long desired prize.

Ahem, back to the story.

I was trying hard to breathe with Justin's pheromones suppressing me and trying to force me into submission. The other guys weren't free either. Even though the population of the world was mostly filled with Betas, they were affected by Alpha Pheromones just as much as Omegas. Just the dominating part though, since they could not go into heat like Omegas did. Even if they couldn't perceive Pheromones like Omegas did, they felt the potent intent the Alpha sent out and crumbled, bowing their heads to he that was before them. So, with this murderous intent and his Pheromones raging, they were suffering just as much as me. I had no idea how to explain how I came across that name but... Maybe I could use those guys.

Hmm, it wasn't as hard as I thought. After calming down, it was actually manageable. Maybe Justin wasn't planning on suffocating me and just wanted to instill fear. Those guys that were drowning in his Pheromones were just exaggerating it. At least, that was what I thought.

Taehyung, who was caught and sold off to an auction house at the beginning of the novel, was bought by, not just one person but four. Since he was an Omega with a rare high breeding rate, the current heads of the four families needed to try their hands with him and produce a strong and capable heir. Of course, Taehyung didn't know that he was sold to four people. So, I could just use my own knowledge to get me out of this mess.

Sorry, auction people but my life comes first. I thought I could meet his gaze but when I did, I saw his murderous glare and quickly looked away. Gosh, he was so scary. How could he use his handsome face and beautiful black eyes to glare so deadly at someone as weak and fragile as me? Ahem.

There was no way he would doubt that I was lying since there wouldn't be any other way for me to find out about that name. But still... He could doubt me,

Seriously, what was with that loud growl? When was the last time they fed this body? I'm all skin and bones and very hungry too. Since I was in disarray for a while, I was just starting to notice how skinny my hands looked.

He wouldn't torture poor, weak, and helpless me just because I said I was hungry, right?

...