BL Library - Alpha x Omega

Manhwa Review | Double Marks by MIRO

Title: Double Marks

Author(s): MIRO

Artist(s): MIRO

Ash is one of the few unbonded omegas at the aristocratic school of Seytan Academy. As an omega, there is immense pressure on him from his father, who demands the best and nothing less, or he will marry off his son to the highest bidder. The pressure is immense, but Ash has a secret weapon: his childhood friend and classmate Judah. Judah shows his answer sheets to Ash during every exam, even at the risk of failing himself. Why? Judah is an alpha, and he is hopelessly obsessed with Ash. In exchange for helping Ash cheat, Judah asks for sexual favors for his reward, which Ash reluctantly gives.

While this works for a while, the appearance of Isaac exposes their secret arrangement. Isaac is an alpha, and he has his eyes set on Ash. His attention on Ash leads him to catch Judah sharing his answers with Ash during an exam. He takes a picture, which he uses to blackmail Ash into having sex with him, too. Stuck between two alphas, one of which wants him all for himself, all Ash wants is freedom. But can an omega ever truly be free?

Title: Staff Only

Author(s): soorak

Artist(s): soorak

Hansol is a teacher and has lived his whole life under the assumption he's a beta. That is, until he starts experiencing some concerning symptoms. He goes to the doctor, assuming he's just got a cold, maybe the start of the flu, or he is dying when he receives an unexpected diagnosis: he's a late bloomer omega. While he's thankful that he isn't dying, he's a bit shocked that he's an omega after reaching adulthood. Still, it's better than the alternative. While the doctor tries to impress upon Hansol the importance of taking his suppressants, Hansol is busy thinking about dinner and any other mundane thing he has to worry over rather than the very pertinent issue of him being a newly manifested omega.

His laissez-faire attitude comes back to bite him when he forgets his suppressants. He barely makes it through class when he crumples to the ground. Thankfully, the gym teacher Chan is there to help Hansol get to the school nurse, Hansol's friend Yesung. There, Yesung realizes Hansol has manifested as an omega, something he had no idea about until now. Uncontrolled pheromones are a rarity in modern society, with most people legally obliged to have implants to keep them in control. Still, Hansol hasn't gotten his implant yet, so his pheromones are wild, and as it happens, Chan and Yesung are alphas. Will they be able to hold themselves back, or will Hansol's pheromones be too much to bear?

Title: Surge Towards You

Author(s): Cheongyeon

Artist(s): Cheongyeon

Cheong-ho is a prolific athlete. He's an Olympic-grade swimmer, but his position is constantly questioned with his diminishing records. His condition would be better as an alpha if he would have sex with an omega, but his fear and repulsion toward omega pheromones make it impossible. Due to a traumatic event in his childhood, Cheong-ho can't stand being around omegas, which is part of why he loves to swim because they can't trigger him in the water. With suppressants, he can achieve his goal of being a professional swimmer, but with them being banned as performance enhancers and considered doping, Cheong-ho's future in the sport is bleak.

At the end of his rope, he tries exposure therapy to overcome his repulsion. While in a park, he encounters someone hanging out on a bridge. The person looks unwell, which leads to them passing out and falling into the water below. Without hesitation, Cheong-ho jumps in to rescue them, but upon pulling them out of the water, he discovers that it is an omega in heat. Strangely enough, he isn't put off by them, but the reason is even stranger still: they're odorless. The person he rescued is Olympic figure skater Yi-rim, a “defective” omega with odorless pheromones.

Yi-rim has never been able to attract an alpha since no one can smell his scent, and, as such, he assumed his life would be lonely until he met Cheong-ho. Cheong-ho needs Yi-rim, and Yi-rim will give anything to be with Cheong-ho, even at the risk of his heart.

Title: Love Shuttle

Author(s): Aeju

Artist(s): Aeju

Doyun feels like he's only a half-omega. From the time he was small, it was clear he wouldn't be the standard, stereotypical omega. As the youngest of four, all his older brothers being alphas, he was the strongest and tallest. What's worse is that he has never gone into heat, which means he can't get pregnant, nor can he sense or put out pheromones to attract alphas. Doyun isn't all that concerned, content with his life as it is, though it does bother him when people assume he is an alpha based solely on his build. The main worry is that one day he might randomly manifest and won't be able to protect himself, but there is no sign of that happening anytime soon, so Doyun isn't all that worried about it.

One evening, after having his regular scuffles at work with his coworker Taehan, Doyun is hanging out at home, trying to sleep, when he is struck with a panicky feeling. His body is heating up, and his heart is racing. He's never felt anything like this before, but he's pretty sure he knows what this is: his first heat. He calls his doctor, who rushes over, only to find that the feeling he had is gone. The following day, at an after-work dinner with his coworkers, Doyun sits beside Taehan when that feeling hits him again. This time, though, he puts out pheromones that everyone at the table can smell. The only one who realizes it's coming from Doyun is Taehan, and when Doyun attempts to leave on his own, Taehan follows.

Rather than Taehan taking advantage of Doyun, Doyun ends up pouncing on Taehan, leading to Doyun's first night in full heat with an alpha. The next day, panicked, Doyun rushes away from Taehan, hoping he'll just forget the whole thing. While they agree to put it behind them, Doyun's body doesn't seem interested in forgetting, going into heat over and over again whenever Taehan is near. Why can't Doyun seem to escape Taehan's allure?

Title: Pian Pian

Author(s): HAESIN

Artist(s): HAESIN

This occurs in the nameverse, where individuals eventually manifest their soulmate's initials somewhere on their bodies. If the two ever meet and consummate their connection, they will be bound to each other forever, unable to be with anyone else for the remainder of their lives. The connection is so deep that being separated from your soulmate can cause irreparable health issues. This is a scary but romantic notion that Suha wants to live for himself desperately.

It's especially important to Suha, as he has saved himself for his soulmate since their initials manifested on his body as “GHB.” Most people get the initials on a normal body part, like their arms or legs. Maybe even their back. Suha, however, has his in a particularly unique and embarrassing spot: his genitals. That made the intensity of his need for his soulmate all the more vital, hoping that one day he'd be able to give his first time to his soulmate and have them be the first person to see their initials on his body.

While Suha's dream has always been to be with his soulmate, after seeing Chef Calix online, he also wants to become a chef. He feels so strongly about this dream, particularly about Calix, that he goes right to the restaurant where Calix works so he can learn under his tutelage. Working with Calix is just as amazing as Suha imagined, but it has an odd side effect. For some reason, Suha can't stop having wet dreams with Calix as the star of the show. As a result, working alongside the chef has been awkward, to say the least, and with Suha always imagining himself with a woman, it's even stranger that he would be so drawn to Calix like this. Can Suha refrain from giving into his lust, or will he forgo his promise to his unknown soulmate and pursue Calix instead?

Title: Delinquent Omega Belongs to the Beast King!

Author(s): Kumagoroshi

Artist(s): Kumagoroshi

Rintaro is a delinquent in a city that is steadily being overrun by crime. He has a unique sense of justice, trying to clean up his home even while being on the wrong side of the tracks himself. While fighting off some muggers going after a fortune teller, Rintaro picks up a strange mirror reflecting the image of a fantasy kingdom he's never seen before. Just as he's about to ask the fortune teller what he's seeing, the mirror sucks him inside, transporting him to the very fantasy land that it depicted.

Once there, he's faced with a scenario not all that different from the one he left behind. A man is bound and being robbed while two criminals shake him down for all he's worth. Rintaro isn't going to just let this slide, so he does what he always does: dispensing justice with his fists. He has no problem doing so until his body suddenly revolts against him. As it turns out, in this new world, there are different genders: alphas and omegas, and Rintaro happens to be an omega. Before the criminals take him, the man bound on the ground frees himself and picks up where Rintaro left off, saving Rintaro.

Rintaro is beyond thankful for the man, but it's hard to be thankful for long when Varuna, the man in question, turns out to be the lord of the land, and he believes Rintaro is his fated mate. Rintaro's new body is all too happy to go along with Varuna's stimulation, but Rintaro's mind isn't ready to accept it just yet. Can Rintaro learn to accept his new role in this world, or will he run away to try and forge a new path?

Title: Gold Gray

Author(s): Lee Green

Artist(s): Lee Green

Lee Rain has dreams of becoming an actor. He can sing, dance, and act, but having grown up poor and under mysterious circumstances, he's had to claw his way up to achieve the bare minimum, much less his dreams of stardom. Along with the daily struggle of surviving, Rain has an odd ability to smell what he calls “perverts.” They smell so good; unfortunately, they are drawn to Rain like flies. Frustrated, Rain has finally saved up enough for a hail Mary. He plans to drop everything and travel to the United States, hoping to make it onto Broadway or die trying.

On the other side, there is Won Lukas. He's a perfect alpha, bred and raised from the finest stock to take over Roenjoy industries one day. Unfortunately, following his father's death, Lukas learns of a disgusting stipulation left in his father's will for the company. The next president will be the child that can produce an alpha heir. The only way to create a perfect alpha is by an alpha having a baby with an omega, but due to a pandemic that swept through the world, omegas went extinct.

But Roenjoy has a seedy underbelly. Hidden from the public eye, they have managed to create artificial omegas, which they raise from fetuses to adulthood, and upon giving birth, they die within a week to prevent the secret from getting out. Lukas is prepared to artificially inseminate an omega to take his role as company president. Unfortunately, the building where all of the omega research took place is destroyed by none other than Joshua, a subpar alpha and Lukas' half-brother. With his brother vying for his position, Lukas is desperate to find an omega and make an alpha heir, but with all of the known omegas gone, there is little to no hope until Lukas meets Rain.

Title: Your Love Belongs to Me

Author(s): Honoji Tokita

Artist(s): Honoji Tokita

Mochizuki and Ishio have a lot in common. They are both captains of their respective martial arts teams, have secondary sexes, and hate each other. Mochizuki is an omega, and Ishio is an alpha, but they aren't drawn to each other. The only reason they interact at all is that they are forced to share a dojo, which results in numerous skirmishes between the teams. To assert their dominance, the two captains spend much of their time trying to embarrass or fight each other, with little to no success.

One day, while Mochizuki changes in the dojo, Ishio walks in on him. It is then that Mochizuki notices how shy and nervous Ishio gets around him when it comes to anything remotely sexual or affectionate. With this new insight, Mochizuki changes his method of harassing Ishio, which entails hugging, cuddling, and all but sexually assaulting him. Naturally, Mochizuki is beyond pleased with this development until Ishio makes it clear:

If Mochizuki isn't careful, Ishio might just mark him as his.

Title: Sating the Wolf

Author(s): Troy Arukuno

Artist(s): Troy Arukuno

Noah is a wolf, a carnivore, and in this world, most carnivores end up as betas or alphas, while herbivores manifest as betas and omegas. Noah, though, ends up manifesting as an omega, and due to his pack's history with male omegas being the cause of violence and death, he is banished. On his own, he travels from village to village, trying to hide the fact that he is both a carnivore and an omega to survive. After some time wandering about, Noah finds himself in a herbivore village. He tries to stock up to move on to the next village.

While shopping in town, he encounters a shopkeeper, holding two young rabbit children by their ears and accusing them of stealing his wares. The children claim they did no such thing, but they have no way of proving otherwise. Standing amid the growing crowd, Noah sees the true culprit, a weasel, trying to slip away. Wanting to help the kids, Noah captures the weasel and reveals that he is the one who stole. Thankful for his help, the rabbit children insist that Noah come with them to meet their brother Henri so he can cook a meal for Noah as thanks.

Henri and Noah meet, and although Noah is a wolf, the same species that killed his parents, and the village ostracizes Henri's family, Henri wants to take responsibility for Noah. Even more so when Henri manifests as an alpha because of Noah's heat. Can a rabbit alpha and a wolf omega make it work? And can their love withstand the prejudice and judgment of the society around them?

Title: Wolves Behind Bars

Author(s): Joy

Artist(s): SolWoo Lee

Kiyo is an omega and a struggling artist with an intense hatred for alphas due to his father. His father, a crime lord alpha, treated Kiyo and his mother as nothing more than commodities to earn money. Thankfully, Kiyo has escaped most of his father's influence and has been surviving on commissions from people while he holds up in his small apartment. Unfortunately, after taking a gory commission from an anonymous client where he painted various murder scenes and posted them online under a series known as The Game of Darkness per the client's instructions, Kiyo is arrested for the murder of various high-profile alphas, which were all depicted in his paintings with details that the police had never released.

Unfortunately, the client was using an untraceable online presence, and the payments all originated from the accounts of dead people, so Kiyo is the only one in the crosshairs for these crimes. He is arrested and taken to prison until his trial and possible sentencing are complete. Due to a clerical error, though, Kiyo is placed in an alpha-only institution. The head of the prison wants to avoid any complaints or scandals, so he quietly brushes the error under the rug while pushing for a transfer as soon as possible. In the meantime, Kiyo is forced to room with an alpha named Iri, placed there by the warden to protect Kiyo until he can be transferred out.

Iri doesn't seem good or bad, which in a prison teeming with alphas that want nothing more than to break Kiyo is better than nothing. Even so, it is impossible to tell if Iri is truly Kiyo's ally or his enemy, as there are plenty of people gunning for Kiyo both because he is an omega and because of his father. With no one else to turn to, Kiyo relies on Iri emotionally, but over time, he soon begins to rely on him physically. As Kiyo and Iri start a physical relationship, Kiyo does everything he can to fight against the overwhelming lust and love he begins to feel for Iri because what is more important is survival. Will Kiyo be able to survive prison? Even if he does, will he be able to prove his innocence? And what are Iri's true intentions for Kiyo?

Alpha x Omega

Manhwa Review | Double Marks by MIRO

Manhwa Review | Staff Only by soorak

Manhwa Review | Surge Towards You by Cheongyeon

Manhwa Review | Love Shuttle by Aeju

Manhwa Review | Pian Pian by HAESIN

Manga Review | Your Love Belongs to Me by Honoji Tokita

Manhwa Review | Wolves Behind Bars by Joy

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