The Best, or the Worst - Chapter 0

Prologue

8:17 a.m.

There was still plenty of time before the alarm was set to ring, yet Ji Hyou’s eyes fluttered open on their own.

“I’m so sleepy… should I just sleep a little longer?”

After hesitating for a moment beneath the warm blanket, he finally pushed himself up. His body felt heavy, as if it were soaked through with water—perhaps because he hadn’t slept well the night before.

Still half-asleep, he sat hunched on his bed, fumbling blindly for his glasses.

“Since I’m up, I should take my temperature first, and then…”

He mentally listed the things he had to do, one by one, but his body refused to move. Morning always hit him hard, and with his naturally low blood pressure, it was nearly impossible to start moving right after waking up.

“…Come on, get it together. Time to wake up…”

Finally, after forcing his eyes fully open, Hyou reached for the thermometer and checked his temperature.

37.5°C. Slightly higher than last night. Nearly twenty-four hours had passed since his last suppressant dose—an expected result. The fever would subside once he took another pill, but that alone wasn’t enough to guarantee that “the cycle” hadn’t begun.

Moving sluggishly, he climbed out of bed and opened the drawer of his desk, pulling out a small box and a lancet.

“Maybe I’m overreacting… but it’s better to be sure.”

He opened the box and took out its contents—two alcohol swabs and a long, thin plastic testing stick, sealed in a small packet.

With practiced motions, Hyou tore open the plastic, placed the stick gently on the desk—careful not to touch the small circular indentation—and disinfected his left index finger thoroughly with the swab.

“One, two… three.”

He drew in a light breath and pressed the lancet to his fingertip. With a click—, a droplet of blood welled up, and Hyou bit down gently on his lower lip. The pain was familiar by now.

He pressed his fingertip against the testing stick, letting two drops fall into the round slot, then wiped the remaining blood away with a fresh swab.

“It’ll take fifteen minutes for the result. I should wash up in the meantime.”

Opening the bedroom door, he heard the faint murmur of the television coming from the living room.

“Dad should’ve already left for work… and Mom doesn’t usually watch TV this early…”

Was there some special broadcast today? Hyou yawned deeply and shuffled into the bathroom across the hall.

After splashing cold water on his face and smoothing his disheveled hair with his fingers, he brushed his teeth and turned toward the living room instead of his room.

“Good morning.”

His mother, sitting alone on the couch with a cup of coffee while watching the morning news, looked up in surprise.

“Oh! Why are you up so early?”

Her son, the notorious late sleeper who never got out of bed before noon on weekends or holidays, had woken up at dawn. Setting her cup down, she looked him over as if something grave had happened.

“Did you have a bad dream? Are you feeling unwell?”

“No, I just woke up early, that’s all.”

To reassure his always-worried mother, Hyou gave a small, easy smile. Then he turned his eyes toward the TV screen.

“Are you watching the news?”

“Yes. Your dad left it on before going to work.”

Apparently, she was just continuing to watch the channel his father had been watching before he left. Still, it was strange—she usually avoided the news, yet today she seemed oddly absorbed.

“Are you going to eat breakfast? I bought some bread—should I make you toast? Or do you want rice?”

“Oh, it’s fine. I don’t really have an appetite yet. I’ll get something later.”

After assuring his mother that she didn’t need to fuss over him, Hyou went into the kitchen.

On the table sat a loaf of bread, a jar of strawberry jam, and a pot of freshly brewed coffee that filled the air with a warm, rich aroma.

He wanted some coffee—but drinking it on an empty stomach would only lead to the same painful heartburn he’d suffered before. Suppressing the temptation, he filled a glass with water from the purifier and walked back into the living room.

“Mom, you don’t usually watch the news. Is there something interesting today?”

“They said they’d be broadcasting something live.”

He was about to ask what live broadcast? when the anchor’s voice came through—“Let’s go live to the scene.” The screen changed.

The camera now showed a massive crowd filling the arrival hall of Incheon International Airport. Reporters and photographers jostled for position, their lenses all fixed on the same spot—the gates.

“What’s going on? Why the airport?”

After a tense wait of two or three minutes, the gate finally opened, and someone emerged.

“Oh, looks like he’s here.”

A man appeared, dressed simply in a white T-shirt, jeans, and a long winter coat—but even in such casual attire, he radiated elegance. The airport immediately erupted in cheers and camera flashes.

“Here we see Lee Seohee, star player of the English Premier League, arriving at Incheon International Airport. It’s quite rare for him to visit Korea in the middle of the season…”

Surrounded by airport security and private bodyguards, the man walked swiftly through the crowd. Even as he moved quickly, eager to leave the airport, he flashed a bright, friendly smile and waved to the people who had come to see him.

“He looks like he’s been drawn straight out of a painting. How can someone be that handsome?”

When his mother spoke in admiration, Hyou raised his brows slightly.

“You like Lee Seohee too?”

“Not really. But your sister and Gyeonwoo are fans, so I know of him.”

His older sister Hyunwoo, seven years his senior and currently living in Europe, was a die-hard football fan—and her favorite player was none other than Lee Seohee. His twin brother, Gyeonwoo, loved the sport just as much, and one of his bucket-list dreams was to see a live match in the U.K.

“He’s so tall. He looks a head taller than the security guards around him. It must be hard to protect someone who stands out that much.”

“I heard he’s over 190 centimeters.”

“So, he’s even taller than you—or Gyeonwoo?”

Her surprise was understandable. Hyou stood at 181 centimeters, and his twin brother at 186—both well above average for Korean men. Yet, Lee Seohee towered even over them.

“Maybe it’s because he’s an athlete? Or because he grew up overseas? Their diet and lifestyle must be totally different from ours.”

Watching his mother analyze the man’s height so earnestly made Hyou chuckle softly.

“Mom, are you really going to overthink something like that?”

At her son’s teasing remark, his mother laughed in mild embarrassment.

“Oh, right—Gyeonwoo said he’s coming home for dinner tonight. You’ll be home too, won’t you?”

His brother, who lived near campus, usually returned home on weekends to have dinner with the family.

“Yeah… I’ll be home for dinner.”

“What about lunch? You’re not eating here?”

“No, I have plans for lunch…”

His mother looked surprised—her homebody of a son, who almost never went out except for school, suddenly had plans? Still, she simply patted his back kindly.

“That’s good. It’s vacation, after all—you should go out and meet your friends. Staying cooped up all the time will only make you stressed.”

Seeing how genuinely happy she looked, guilt prickled in Hyou’s chest.

He did have plans… but he wasn’t meeting a friend. And if his mother knew who he was actually meeting, she’d probably spend the whole day in anxious worry.

“Do you have enough money? Want me to give you some?”

“No, it’s okay. I still have plenty of my allowance left.”

Hyou had never worked a part-time job before—or rather, it was something he physically couldn’t do. So, he still relied on his parents for his expenses.

“Where are you going with your friend? What are you eating?”

“Uh… I haven’t really decided yet…”

In truth, the restaurant had already been chosen, just like the person he would be meeting. But both were things he couldn’t bring himself to tell his mother.

“Don’t just eat and come home early. Go somewhere fun too, take your time.”

He could only give her a vague smile.

“If only I were meeting someone I could actually have fun with…”

When he turned his gaze back to the TV, the screen showed Seohee’s back as he exited the airport.

Even though he no longer waved or looked back, the crowd continued to cheer and flash their cameras endlessly.

Watching that scene, Hyou let out a quiet sigh.

Carrying his half-empty glass of water, he returned to his room and checked the testing stick.

Only one distinct red line appeared.

A wave of relief—and a touch of disappointment—washed over him. Relief, because it meant he wasn’t entering his heat cycle; disappointment, because it meant he no longer had an excuse to cancel today’s meeting.

“I should’ve never agreed to this stupid blind date…”

Tossing the testing stick into the trash, Hyou felt irritation bubble up for no reason.

He took one of the suppressants he always kept in the same drawer and swallowed it dry. For a moment, he considered taking another—but the memory of his last overdose, followed by days of nausea, made him think twice.

When he opened the nightstand drawer to put the remaining pills away, he froze.

Inside were twenty unopened boxes of suppressants. The sight made a heavy gloom settle in his chest.

“A normal Omega probably wouldn’t even need a tenth of this…”

But he wasn’t normal. He was abnormal. And because of that, he had to keep stockpiling medicine like this.

Draining the last of his water, Hyou sat down at his desk.

To distract himself from the sinking mood, he picked up his phone and searched “Lee Seohee.”

Barely fifteen minutes after his arrival in Korea, the internet was already flooded with articles, photos, and updates about him.

Clicking on the first article, he saw the same image that had appeared on the morning news—a man smiling brightly, looking as fresh and unruffled as if he hadn’t just been on a ten-hour flight. That radiant grin alone was dazzling.

And more than anything—he was strikingly handsome.

“Why someone like him?”

If someone were to name the most famous and beloved man in Korea right now, the top spot would unquestionably belong to Lee Seohee.

Looks, physique, talent, wealth—everything about him was flawless. He was the kind of perfect man who seemed more like a character from a movie or a game than someone real.

“Why… me?”

He was the reason Hyou hadn’t slept last night. The reason he’d pricked his finger and debated taking more medicine that morning. The man behind today’s unwanted promise.

“He really wants to meet… me?”

Ji Hyou
Third-year accounting major.
A rare, abnormal Omega with an unusual constitution.

And four hours from now,
he was scheduled to go on a blind date—

—with the great Lee Seohee himself.