Minagawa Tokio, a NEET, was on his fifth day of work at a convenience store when two women who were paying their bills looked at their smartphones and suddenly shouted in a shrill voice.
“No way! Yanagi Ikuto is currently in Japan!”
“I wonder if he’ll be in this drama!”
“Look, they said he’ll star in a film co-produced by Japan and China! The official account even tweeted about the filming location!”
“It’s 480 yen.”
Even though Tokio had said so, the woman still gave him 400 yen, as if she hadn’t heard his voice at all.
“Miss, could you please add another 80 yen?”
Tokio muttered those words, and for some reason, the woman frowned as she placed another 100 yen on the tray. While they waited for the change, their eyes were glued back to their smartphone screens.
‘Yanagi Ikuto, huh… What’s the point in fantasizing about someone beyond your reach like that?’
Tokio muttered that monologue in his heart, as if he were an old man with many life experiences, despite being only 26 years old. Although he doesn’t recognize his face because he doesn’t watch much TV, he knows actor Yanagi Ikuto is an alpha who is a world-class actor with excellent genes. You don’t need to scream that loud in a convenience store in a normal business district just because you’re fascinated by someone at the top of the hierarchy like him.
“I’d like to meet him at least once!”
“You’re an omega, aren’t you? You’re not in your heat yet?”
“What? You don’t expect me to entice him with my pheromone, do you? That’s impossible!”
“But who knows, maybe you’re his fated mate!””
“Uh-huh, omega does have a chance.”
“It’s just that the possibility is small, and Ikuto Yanagi is known for his unfriendly attitude toward his fans.”
Their delusional chatter continued even as they exited the store. They even speculated on the possibility that they were the fated mate of the world-famous actor. Tokio snorted and shrugged, saying it was none of his business because he was just a beta who was a “extra.” His short black hair swayed as his cat eyes peered through his hair.
In this world, there are three other genders besides male and female. Alphas with their excellent genes, betas who are like people in general, and omegas, who regardless of whether they are male or female, can conceive a child. Overall, alphas and omegas make up less than 10% of the population. Then, there is something in between alphas and omegas referred to as “Fated Mate”, where alphas and omegas are attracted to each other on a genetic level. Because of their rarity, such pairs become a subject of drama when they meet.
Alphas are highly valued for their superior intelligence and looks, and are admired by the public. Omegas themselves, for better or worse, often receive special treatment because of their rarity. Even Cinderella-style omega stories, where they find their fated mate, are popular among both men and women.
While the betas, including Tokio――
‘Using drama’s terms, they are simply people who play as the extras or minor characters.’
In elementary, middle, and high school, he was always a supporting character, sitting quietly by the wall. Although he couldn’t be said to be ugly, he only had a mediocre face with slanted eyes, an average build body, and below-average grades. He was never the shining star of the show and because of that; he had long accepted the fact that this was the fate of a beta who was born as a mob. Thanks to this, he had few friends and graduated from college with only a few credits. Since he was just a “dull” student you could find anywhere, he didn’t receive a single job offer during his job search period. In the end, he became a NEET for three years until he finally started working as a part-timer at a convenience store. This led to him becoming a cynical, old-fashioned young man who had a habit of saying, “My life will begin in the next life”.
As the two women left, he glanced at the simple clock on the wall and saw that it was less than ten minutes to ten o’clock, the time when his shift ended. He really wanted to leave as soon as his shift ended, but unfortunately the part-timer who came after him always came at the last minute so he could only leave ten minutes after his shift ended because he had to hand over the cashier and such. Tokio glanced at the shift list on the back of the cash register with a scowl, and once he realized the petty thing he had done, he clicked his tongue.
After finishing his shift, he spins his moped keychain on his finger. As he whistled and walked towards the back door, where he had parked his moped, he remembered that he had to check the updates of the web-novel he had been looking forward to reading when he got home. It was a novel about a dull protagonist who was reincarnated in another world after the world he was in was destroyed. He loved it so much that he even remembered the opening scene of the novel.
“And a meteorite hit this world with a bang, smashing everything into pieces!”
Feeling that there was no one there but himself, he subconsciously said those words out loud as soon as he sat on his moped.
“I think that’s a good idea.”
“HUWAA!!”
He couldn’t help but scream after hearing that voice. This was all because he didn’t realize that there was a man crouching right next to the moped he was riding. He didn’t know if he hadn’t seen the man before because of the darkness or if he was just being insensitive.
Tokio then timidly asked the man.
“Excuse me, I’m about to start my engine so could you step aside for a moment?”
“….I have a favor to ask you.”
The man got up slowly and put his hands on Tokio’s shoulder. For the first time, Tokio finally realized that his opponent was ten centimeters taller than him. But there was no time to feel inferior because the man’s hands were shaking.
“Can you give me a ride?”
“What? But this is just a moped――”
“I understand, but it’s only a short ride. You can drop me off at a place where no one is around.”
As his eyes got used to the darkness, he could faintly see the man’s face now. It turned out that this person had distinct facial features.
“What are you talking about?! I don’t want to be caught――Oi, oi!”
The man forcefully climbed into the back of his moped chair. He then ordered, “Come on, let’s get out of here.
“I don’t want to! Are you crazy?!”
“I’ll pay you 50,000 yen if you take me to a deserted place.”
“Off we go!”
The man’s offer tempted Tokio, who got paid after 50 hours of part-time work at a convenience store, and he immediately started the engine of his moped. He could feel the man’s hands on his waist trembling, even though it was early summer.
Late at night, a man giving a ride to someone on his moped can be seen driving through the business district. Of course, because they had already violated the Road Traffic Law, they didn’t even bother to follow the legal speed limit. The dry city breeze that hit his face and the pleasant feeling of “doing something bad” made Tokio a little excited as he slipped between the streetlights and the cars.
When several cars behind him honked to warn him as the driver for breaking the law, he shouted back.
“Shut up! This is for 50,000 yen!”
Just by taking the tall man sitting behind him to a quiet place without being caught by the police would earn 50,000 yen afterward. It feels like a game.
His current destination is a park three kilometers away that is rarely visited by people due to rumors of exhibitionism.
He felt that the man behind him was saying something while laughing. Even though he didn’t know what he was saying because of the noise and the engine, the man seemed to enjoy the situation.
He finally managed to get rid of the man when they arrived at the park.
“Thank you. Actually, I was in a hurry earlier because I was exposed to the pheromone of an omega in heat… I can finally calm down.”
He then knew that this man was an alpha because of those words. It is said that alphas cannot fight omega pheromones when they are in heat and will lose their minds because of it. Tokio had even heard that there were some omegas who would purposely approach the alpha they were aiming for while under the influence of their heat. But he never thought that he would meet the victim of such a scheme in person.
“That’s too bad. Well, I’m a beta, so I don’t know how hard it is.”
He couldn’t see the man’s face properly because the man was standing with his back to the streetlight. But, the man seemed to laugh a little.
“Well, I don’t care what happens to you. I’ve kept my promise so give me 50,000 yen now.”
Tokio stretched out his hand to the man without reading the atmosphere at all. The man then said, “Ah, right. I almost forgot” and started to hand over some 10,000 yen from his wallet. As Tokio received it, the man suddenly gripped his hand tightly.
“Did you just say ‘I don’t care’ to me?”
The man asked in surprise.
“That’s right. Any problem?”
“No. It’s just that this is the first time someone has said something like that to me….”
Tokio shook off the man’s hand while laughing.
“Congratulations. The only thing I’m interested in is this 50,000 yen!”
“….Is that so? I’m happy.”
He put his hand to his chin and pondered with a hmmm sound. Tokio, who did not want to get involved with people with strange ideas as much as possible, tried to start his moped quickly. The man then thanked him again.
“Thank you. It was fun riding.”
Tokio then spat out his words while sticking out his tongue.
“But it was a bother for me.”
“See you later.”
“I don’t want to see a man like you again! Take care!”
Tokio raised his middle finger at the man as he left. Somehow, the man laughed happily seeing him like that.
――That “incident” happened three days later.
Tokio was working at the cash register in a convenience store when a tall, brilliant man appeared in front of him. In his hand there was a bouquet, consisting of at least 50 flowers in it. He had silky chestnut-colored hair, a pair of clear almond-shaped eyes, a high-bridge nose――A beauty that makes the eyes unable to blink at all.
“Si… Sir?”
The man holding the bouquet just stood in front of the cashier counter and smiled at Tokio instead of asking Tokio to count his purchases.
“I come again.”
The man spoke those words in a low voice that sounded mischievous. A voice that made Tokio instantly remembered.
“Oh! You are that pheromone bastard!”
“So you named me like that.”
The man chuckled cheerfully. Then he pushed the bouquet in his hand to Tokio.
“What is this?”
Tokio pushed back.
“A thank you gift… and also my feelings.”
The man pushed it again to him.
“I don’t want it. What’s wrong with you? It’s disgusting!”
“Hehe, this is the first time someone has said that what I was doing was disgusting.”
The man scratched his cheek happily at the words that usually make other people angry. Tokio screamed in frustration.
“What are you doing?! You’re interrupting my work! Go home!”
At the same time, the female part-timer on the same shift as him finally noticed the commotion and shouted….
“Ah! Y-Yanagi… Ikuto!”
The man called Yanagi Ikuto smiled as soon as he saw a finger pointing at him while answered “Yes”. Several customers immediately gathered when they heard the word “Yanagi Ikuto”. Of course, even Tokio knows it is the name of a world class actor.
Ikuto pressed the bouquet again to Tokio who was still frozen. After that, he held Tokio’s hand tightly.
“I can’t forget you. Do you have a boyfriend now? If not, can I nominate myself to be your boyfriend?”
The famous actor slowly landed a kiss on the back of Tokio’s hand. The lips that touched his skin felt moist.
Who would have thought? In a remote convenience store, an alpha, who’s also a world famous actor, confessed his feeling as if he was reproducing a scene from a movie, to a beta, who had just stopped being a NEET――
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