Rin heard those words and he felt his blood freezing inside his body. He turned pale and wished the ground would just open up a hole and swallow him up.
He was still trying to suppress his pheromones. He can't get caught, especially not by an Alpha.
DING:
[System Online.]
[Host: Kim Myung Uploaded Successfully.]
[Current Vessel: Rin Elric — Omega.]
[Initiating Status Screen...]
> Name: Rin Elric (Kim Myung)
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Secondary Gender: Omega (Fake Beta)
Level: 1
Health: 50/100
Strength: 3
Agility: 2
Intelligence: 8
Endurance: 10
Libido: 1
Condition: Pheromone Leak Detected
Skills: None
"Of course, I have no skills. But, thanks for the breakdown, system... Can you help me get rid of the madman outside?"
DING!
[No!]
"How rude! At least, help me not to get caught!" He gritted his teeth.
DING:
[ALERT - Pheromone Leak Detected.]
[System's Omega suppression engaged. Initiating emergency lock.]
[Estimated stability: 15 minutes.]
Rin swore internally as a soft wave of nausea hit him. His legs wobbled as he tried to stand properly.
Fifteen minutes. That's all the system could give him?
"Fifteen minutes isn't even enough to escape that mad Alpha that's waiting for me outside," he muttered under his breath.
"You really want me to break it down, don't you?" His voice came again.
"I'll be out in a minute," Rin replied and pushed the flush button. He watched the water go down the drain before he opened the door and peeped at the tall, handsome male student waiting in front of the door... he had a broad-shouldered, sharp jaw, unmistakable Alpha.
Rin could tell even before the guy's nostrils twitched.
The boy froze. His sharp grey eyes narrowed.
DING!
[Warning – Pheromone suppression limit will weaken with use.]
[Advice: Avoid prolonged exposure to triggers and suppress scent naturally.]
'Trigger? Like the one in front of me?' He thought to himself.
"Great," he muttered, almost silently. "I'm a walking hormone grenade on a time limit."
"Are you the new assistant?" He asked like he was Rin's employer.
Rin composed himself. He fixed his coat and slapped on the fakest smile known to man before nodding his head.
"...Is there someone else here?" He asked.
"No. It's just me," Rin said, voice level.
The Alpha tilted his head slightly and took another step forward, squinting like he was trying to solve a damn crime scene.
Rin's heart thudded.
DING!
[Pheromone suppression 73% effective.]
[Remain still. Do not provoke.]
"ID," the student said.
"Excuse me?"
"You're new. Clinic assistants are required to register at the start of the term. I just want to verify your designation."
Rin didn't have time to argue. He pulled his ID tag from the pocket of his coat and handed it over.
The student scanned it.
"Beta?" he said, brows lifting faintly.
The air shifted. That edge of heat, curiosity, and hunger vanished in an instant.
"...Never mind."
He handed it back and stepped away, interest visibly gone. Rin watched his back as he walked off without a word, he left the bathroom and slammed the door closed.
Rin exhaled sharply.
'That was way too fucking close. Also, why is that jerk speaking to me informally when I'm obviously older than he is,'
DING:
[Your question is related to the rules on secondary gender in the school and in this country]
"What is this law?"
DING:
[School rules loading...]
[Country rules loading...]
Ding!
[School rules loading completed!]
~ Beta staff/Instructors are not allowed access to the main storage room.
~ Staff can be of any secondary gender, but Omegas must be reported to the Dean
~Fraternization between staff and students is forbidden
~If an Omega staff is caught in the academy, he or she would be sent to the palace for punishment.
DING:
[Country rules loading completed!]
~Unbonded Omegas are hunted in some parts of society (legally or illegally)
~Scent suppressants are regulated
~An Omega in heat cannot legally deny an Alpha if "claimed" unless bonded to another
~Royal family is allowed to forcibly take "rogue Omegas" into protective custody
~Omegas who attract too many Alphas are seen as "disruptive" and often exiled, collared, or erased
Rin took his time scanning through the law. He was sure he had broken several numbers of them, so he was going to pretend he didn't see them at all.
He had no idea why the real Rin would hide his gender; he was sure he had a reason and whatever it was, he was going to find out.
.
.
The rest of the day didn't offer much comfort.
Turns out, having the face of a cursed angel wasn't something you could "low profile" your way out of. No matter how much Rin avoided eye contact, slouched, or made himself look busy, people noticed him.
First, it was the student with a scraped knee who insisted he be the one to clean the wound.
Then it was a second-year girl who "accidentally" bumped into him three times in a row just to touch his hand.
Even the male nurse in charge of inventory kept hanging around his desk like a lost puppy.
By lunch, Rin had counted no less than seven fan notes left in his tray. Two of them included photos. One had a lipstick mark.
DING:
[Reminder: In the original timeline, the subject was murdered due to excess attention from the female lead and surrounding characters.]
[Recommendation: Blend in without attracting attention.]
[Progress: 0% success.]
"Blend in? I am trying!" Rin growled in his mind. "What do you want me to do? Wear a sack and smear mud on my face?!"
He shuffled through paperwork and pretended everything was fine.
But it wasn't.
He knew exactly where this path led.
Too much attention = suspicion.
Suspicion = interference with the original plot.
Interference = Rin getting stabbed or thrown off a roof by one of the male leads because the female lead "fell in love with a side side character."
He rubbed his temples.
He needed a plan.
Something that screamed "NOT WORTH YOUR TIME" but didn't end up with him cleaning toilets in the back alley of the school for the rest of the term.
One thing was clear... he had to tone everything down.
No perfume... not that he even had one.
No makeup... His face was better than make-up.
No cute smiles... His frowning face was so attractive
No eye contact longer than 1.3 seconds... Uh... He could do that.
Maybe he could ask the system for a skill like [Invisibility to Plot-Relevant Characters].
DING:
[Skill not available.]
[However, anti-scent patches and pheromone dampeners may be located in the faculty-restricted wing.]
"The system could read my mind, huh? However, breaking into the faculty storage room on my first day. Sure. Let's just add criminal behaviour to my new skill."
He sighed deeply.