Chapter Two — Rumors Spread Faster Than Fire

By the next morning...

The entire campus knew.

Or at least, they thought they did.

"Did you hear?"

"Dante has a boyfriend!"

"I saw them together yesterday!"

"No way... I thought he'd never date anyone."

" i didn't know that's his type"

Whispers followed Felix everywhere.

The quiet omega kept his head down as he hurried through the hallway, wishing he could disappear.

"...This is a nightmare," he muttered.

As soon as he entered his classroom, several classmates surrounded him.

"Felix! Is it true?"

"How long have you been dating Dante?"

"Did he confess first?"

"when did you met him?"

Felix's ears turned red.

"N-No! It's all a misunderstanding."

But no one believed him.

"I knew it!" one student laughed. "You're just shy."

Another sighed dramatically. "I wish the hottest alpha on campus would fake-date me."

Felix buried his face in his notebook.

At lunch...

Felix purposely chose the quietest corner of the cafeteria.

Maybe, just maybe, today he could eat in peace.

He had barely taken one bite when someone sat across from him.

The surrounding chatter instantly died down.

Felix slowly looked up.

"..."

Dante.

Still wearing his black training shirt after boxing practice, his hair slightly damp with sweat.

He looked as expressionless as ever.

Without asking, he placed a cold carton of strawberry milk on the table.

"...For yesterday."

Felix blinked.

"...Huh?"

"My apology."

"You didn't have to buy me anything."

"I know."

The awkward silence returned.

Finally, Felix pushed the milk back toward him.

"I don't want an apology in a carton."

Dante looked at the untouched drink.

"...Then what do you want?"

"I want my normal college life back."

For the first time, Dante had no answer.

He simply stared at the table.

"...I can't do that."

Felix sighed softly.

"I figured."

Just then—

"Dante!"

A tall alpha from the boxing club walked over, grinning, and asked,

"So this is your boyfriend?"

Felix immediately shook his head.

"N-No, we're—"

Before he could finish, Dante interrupted.

"Yeah."

Felix turned to him with wide eyes.

The boxer laughed. "Never thought you'd actually date someone secretly. He's cute."

Dante didn't react.

He simply stood.

"I'll see you later."

Then he walked away, leaving Felix frozen in his seat once again.

That evening...

As Dante left the boxing gym alone, his teammate caught up with him.

"You know," the alpha said, "you've never lied about something like this before."

Dante slung his gym bag over his shoulder.

"...I know."

"So why keep pretending?"

Dante glanced toward the academic building where he had last seen Felix.

After a long silence, he answered quietly,

"...Because if I tell everyone the truth now..."

"...they'll bother him even more for being the omega I used."

For the first time in years...

Dante realized that dragging an innocent omega into his problems had consequences.

And somehow...

The thought bothered him far more than the rumors about himself.

...ΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩ...

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***