TRIPLE 0 – PROLOGUE

“Damn it, what kind of rain keeps falling every other day.”

Clouds resembling fish scales gathered toward the coastline. Because the weather looked like a typhoon was coming, the captain completely canceled the scheduled departure.

It was a time when he could have rested since the boat couldn’t go out anyway, but the captain decided to take this opportunity to inspect the inside of the ship, which had been causing frequent problems.

He didn’t care about the circumstances of those born with special traits like Omegas or Alphas. Since Betas who had nothing to hold onto had to at least be diligent.

“This hunk of scrap metal. I should just sell it or something.”

Along with the captain’s grumbling, the sound of the engine running—‘clack. clack-clack. clack.’—played like background noise.

Just as he was absorbed in repairing the ship, thud, bang! There was a sound of someone knocking on the rusty iron door. Moving his gaze to where the commotion was coming from, a slim silhouette flickered beyond the hazy window.

Who on earth could be making such a fuss? He wondered if it might be one of the crew members who hadn’t received the notification about the departure cancellation.

“What is it, Mr. Park? Mr. Jung?”

“Um… by any chance, are you the captain of this ship?”

A soft, pleasant voice whispered through the gaps in the rusted door. Seeing how he was stuttering, he probably wasn’t a sailor who worked on his ship.

The captain, who had hesitated for a moment over whether to open the door or not, turned the doorknob with a suspicious expression. The screeching metal sound of the old hinges pierced his eardrums.

“That’s right, who are you?”

“That is… I saw the recruitment notice and came.”

As he lightly scanned the face, his eyes were naturally drawn to the delicate jawline visible beneath the pulled-down hat. Did he post a notice worth hiring such a frail worker? The captain slowly retraced his thoughts.

The time spent pondering wasn’t even that long, but the young man, perhaps unable to bear the wait, shoved a glowing screen forward.

“This… is the recruitment already over?”

Checking the text on the captured screen, he finally remembered.

It was a recruitment notice he had posted as a standing opening on a job board a few months ago with the help of a crew member who knew his way around a computer.

※Seungri-ho Dried Shrimp Fishing Crew Recruitment Notice※

▷High income guaranteed!!

▷Novices welcome, experienced workers negotiable.

▷Room and board (dormitory available) provided.

▷Seeking physically fit males (Betas).

Please contact 010-XXX-XXXX.

Why is there a saying that if the mines are the hell of the land, shrimp fishing is the hell of the sea?

Because it’s a profession always short on hands, they usually don’t turn away those who come and try to cling to the pant legs of those who leave, but… there was an implicit rule in this world as well.

That was the trait-bearers. Among them, specifically, they had to make sure not to bring Omegas, who were said to be rare, onto the ship.

“I am looking to hire, but… by any chance, are you an Omega?”

“No…. I’m a Beta!”

“No my foot, I can tell just by looking that you’re an Omega. It should be written in the notice there. That I only hire male Betas.”

If one were to ask for the reason for not hiring Omegas, there would be more than enough to list. But the most decisive catalyst among them was a major accident called the ‘Cruise Murder.’

A large ship operated by wealthy Alpha bastards had an Omega crew member on board. As it happened, that day, in the middle of the open sea, that Omega went into his first heat, which ended up causing a disaster.

People talk about suppressants and new drugs now, but it was different a dozen years ago. It was a time when there weren’t even proper contingency rules, let alone suppressants, so at the time, there was no way to endure it once a heat started.

As soon as the pheromones spread through the air, it didn’t matter who started it first. The Alphas, having lost their minds, started a knife fight to take him, and the cabin turned into a shambles in an instant.

The day the smell of blood covered the salty scent of the seawater. In the end, not only the trait-bearer bastards who caused the ruckus but even the Beta crew members were swept up in it, so it became an unwritten rule among sailors not to bring Omegas onto a ship.

“Even though my trait is Omega, my core is Beta. Please, couldn’t you at least let me have an interview?”

“How can an Omega do boat work? You’ll only get in the way of the men working, so go on your way. Don’t go getting yourself into trouble by having a heat or whatever it is.”

“I, I am also… a man….”

“Man, my foot. If you’re an Omega, you’re an Omega.”

The captain refused firmly, as if there was no room for reconsideration. Even if the young man outside the iron door hadn’t been an Omega, he didn’t seem like the right person for this job.

Regardless of his traits, it was obvious that someone who looked like he hadn’t eaten a proper meal would collapse without lasting even a day.

“I can take medicine to resolve the heat. I’ve brought plenty of suppressants.”

“I told you it’s not possible. Do you think boat work is a joke?”

“I can really do a good job. Can’t you give me just one chance? Even though I look like this, I’m strong, I cook well, and my hands are skillful….”

Despite the repeated refusals, the young man clung on as if he couldn’t easily back down. At his attitude of not knowing when to give up, the captain shouted as if he were annoyed.

“That’s why! Why would such a highly capable Omega be so insistent on riding a shrimp fishing boat!”

“Captain! Captain… wait a moment!”

“Stop doing useless things and get lost. Don’t go spreading that Omega smell everywhere and causing an accident.”

The captain, who had shot him a cold look, slammed the iron door shut and went into the cabin. The young man knocked on the door a couple more times out of lingering attachment, but there was no response.

The young man, who hadn’t even reached the threshold of an interview, let alone been hired, finally turned his footsteps away powerlessly. Since he had been rejected from every legal job he could find in this neighborhood, it seemed he would have to move to another region.

“Fine, damn it. It’s dirty, I’m leaving!”

The young man, kicked out of the Seungri-ho, spat out a belated curse, if only to himself.

What a shitty worldview.

Isn’t it too much that just because I was born with a cock, I don’t even get treated like a man? No, beyond being treated like a man, aren’t I not even being treated like a human?

“What is it about being an Omega that has everyone acting like this?”

Can’t do boat work. Can’t do manual labor.

If he were to apply for an office job at some company, his identity as ‘Omega Hong Siyeon’ would be exposed. And if that happened, the shameless couple hunting him would come looking.

“Should I just go into the mountains?”

Yeah. If the sea doesn’t work, I’d rather go to a remote mountain valley and live for a few years before coming out. If I live like a mouse, I’ll be forgotten.

The young man who made a decision in an instant. No, ‘Hong Siyeon’ hurriedly moved his feet while inhaling the salty air of the pier.

∞ ∞ ∞

Even while leaving the port and heading to the late-night terminal, Siyeon carefully scanned his surroundings. He had already turned off his phone data to prepare for tracking, but his anxiety rose because he didn’t know when or where that crazy couple might pop out.

“What sin did I commit in my previous life to…”

He was out of breath, and his breathing was shallow. He didn’t even have the leeway to wipe the sweat flowing down his forehead because he was carrying a heavy luggage bag.

He only had the thought that since he had already run away this far, he had to flee as far as possible. However, despite Siyeon’s persistent efforts, a familiar luxury sedan flashed its lights and blocked his path.

Unfortunately, the heavens did not seem to be on his side.

“Damn it, those persistent bastards already…”

Siyeon, sensing that his attempt to escape had failed, ruffled his hair roughly and spat out a curse. Sure enough, only after the vehicle door slowly opened did those enemies show themselves.

“Mr. Hong Siyeon. I believe I told you to refrain from going out without a word?”

One guy dressed entirely in black.

“Honey, if you wanted to go on a late-night date, you should have told me sooner. I just bought a new convertible.”

One guy dressed as gaudily as a peacock.

They were a couple indeed; the two of them showed up together just to catch one person.

Siyeon glared at the couple standing in front of him with a look of weariness. If one were to ask why I, who lived an ordinary life, became a fugitive?

He would have to answer that he, too, ‘could not know’ the reason.

‘Hong Siyeon’ from an orphanage.

‘Hong Siyeon,’ a middle school graduate whose dream was to get a high school diploma.

The 24-year-old ‘Hong Siyeon’ who was hired by a small printing shop and worked like a servant was who I was in my original world.

If I had one wish while I was as ordinary as a pebble kicked by a foot… it was just that I wanted to build a cozy family with a loved one in the future.

“Let’s go home. Mr. Hong Siyeon.”

“Honey, shall we sleep together as the three of us for a change?”

Of course, I never once wished to be entangled with that shameless couple, I swear.