Chapter Text
sung's whole world changed when his mother died. she had a terminal illness, one he didn't know about until her final day.
it hurt tremendously, her death. part of him wishes she told him about it but the other part understands.
what added to the pain was his father's remarriage.
it hadn't even been a month after his mother's death when the man told him there was a woman he's in love with. his protests were useless, he wasn't just verbally shut down, he was physically hurt after the argument. jisung felt betrayed.
what's worse, the woman had a son.
he was a day younger than jisung.
they were related by blood.
jisung's mother had been suffering long before the illness, that, jisung is sure of.
everything was too much for jisung. it piled a sufferable amount of stress and frustration.
it turned to anger. then depression.
the newly revealed brother was named felix. felix is an alpha with freckled skin and a lovely tan. it was like he was kissed by the very sun.
"do you... need help?" a deep voice asked while jisung was moving around boxes filled with his belongings.
his father sold their house and bought a new one. jisung had never felt so frustrated, so confused and so angry. he constantly cried of anger and stress when things didn't go his way, for example now.
he angrily kicked the box that refused to open aside. cursing it out while his eyes pricked with tears.
"no." jisung spat, not looking at the alpha.
despite jisung's refusal, felix made his way inside the omega's room. he bent down, picking the box jisung had kicked, and carefully cut the tape with the pocket knife he had pulled out from his pocket.
"there you go," felix set the box back down on the floor.
felix is also nice.
the alpha began to run the tip of the blade through each of the remaining boxes. jisung felt... relieved.
"i bought brownies," felix says softly after getting up, "want some?"
"um, sure," jisung nodded gently, remembering he hadn't eaten anything in the last couple of days.
he stares at felix's smile, liking the warmth it radiates.
they leave his room and make their way downstairs to get to the kitchen. jisung realizes he hasn't seen his father nor felix's mother lately.
"they're out on a honeymoon," felix says when he sees jisung's worried expression. "didn't your dad tell you?"
jisung shakes his head, "when did they leave?"
"yesterday, did he really not tell you?" felix takes a towel off of a box, revealing the steaming brownies.
"i thought you said you bought them," jisung pointed out, ignoring the previous question.
his father never tells jisung his business. if anything is directed at jisung it’s either an insult or a reminder of how inferior he is because of his secondary gender. (at this point he can’t differentiate them).
“i lied,” felix smiles, “i found this recipe and decided to make them.”
“does father know you bake?” jisung asks, certain that this would infuriate the man.
felix ignores his question, “here, try them.”
jisung hesitates before taking one, glancing at felix before taking a bite. he may be starving but his taste buds will not make him ignore how delicious the brownie is. he almost scarfs the thing down but he wants to show some composure after what happened upstairs.
“they’re really good,” jisung comments softly, feeling the weight of the last few weeks fall on him.
felix gleams, “i’m glad you like them.” he fidgets before continuing, “so i was thinking about checking the area out,” he watches jisung shove more brownies in his mouth. “want to come with me?”
jisung swallows, shaking his head. “i’ll pass,” he glances up at felix as he wipes his chocolaty fingers on a napkin, “i’m tired.”
“oh, sure,” felix backs off, “uhm, if you’re ever down just call me? our parents are out for a while and i just…”
“we’re adults, felix,” jisung stands up to throw his trash away, “do me a favor and understand that the only reason i’m still living under my father is because i don’t have a job or anything that gives me the opportunity to get away. unlike you,” jisung glares, “i have no reason to exist.”
felix frowns, not able to say anything as jisung walks back to his bedroom.
whether it was from his pent up emotions or the amount of brownies jisung had stuffed himself with, the omega’s stomach began to hurt. he huffed, falling onto his bed and feeling tears well up.
han minhyuk , he thinks as he closes his eyes and hugs a pillow, i hate you.
apparently jisung has to endure felix’s existence further. not only do they live in the same house but his father demands they do video calls with the two present at the same time.
“sorry,” felix says as they walk down to the living room, “he said you’d only listen to orders if they come directly from him…”
jisung huffs, rolling his eyes. his father knows damn well that jisung stopped obeying at the age of 17. he has his reasons and he’d spit them in his father’s face as many times as he has to until the man understands that jisung isn’t your average omega.
the orders were simple. and stupid. and stereotypical.
clean and cook.
jisung is 19 and fresh out of high school. necessarily, he has no dreams. he’s uncertain and that’s only due to his father being a picky man and insistent on the fact omegas should only leave their homes indefinitely if they’re getting mated. jisung getting a job isn’t something his father would be all too happy about but he wouldn’t deny it.
studies? jisung wanted to study music but he was shut down. ever since he mentioned it in his junior year, he got his dreams broken again and again and the more his father denied him, the more jisung denied him as well.
call him disrespectful or whatever but jisung won’t withstand old views and rules.
felix was always quiet when jisung and their father got in heated discussions. he quickly learned that their relationship was fractured and constantly on a thin string. he also learned that jisung has a burning passion of hate towards their father.
“felix,” mr.han said, snapping him out of his thoughts. “what was it you wanted to study?”
“well,” felix fidgets, “not exactly study but i wanted to try dance?” he’s unsure what the reaction would be hut he continues to elaborate, “it’s a good profession in local universities, i just wanted to try it out and see if i’m into that.”
“but dance is more suited for omegas, no? since they’re supposed to be graceful?” the man questions, directing the last question towards jisung with hidden intentions.
“no, actually,” felix smiles, “there are more betas in the feild, since they balance out with everything and everyone, but there’s a handful of omega’s and alpha’s. it wouldn’t hurt to try, right?”
“i suppose,” mr.han nods, “i’ll think it over.” he glances at jisung, who’s glaring. “and what do you want to do?”
“maybe kill myself, who knows. what else am i supposed to do? be your fucking maid?”
“jisung,” mr.han glares, “music is not a profession.”
“then explain to me how artists exist? are you ignorant? stupid?”
“ omega ,” the man uses his alpha voice, which jisung hates.
he shuts up, denying them the sight of his eyes stinging with tears. felix tenses, heart heavy when he realizes what his father had done. he’s pretty sure that’s illegal. yet…
“you know what?” the man nods, “how about you join felix in this dance thing? maybe you’ll learn discipline and order.”
jisung frowns further, “i-“
“you will attend,” he says, not giving room for argument. “felix give me the information of when classes start, how much it costs and everything there is for me to know.”
felix swallows, “yes, sir.”
“unless you want me to change my mind,” mr.han says, looking at jisung, “show me you’re useful as an omega.”
and the line cuts off.
jisung stands up, angry and embarrassed that felix had to witness such a thing. he’s going to go sob in the comfort of his bed and he wouldn’t give a fuck if felix hears. as long as he doesn’t do it in front of the alpha, jisung doesn’t care.
“jisung,” felix chases after the other, heart racing. “you don’t have to listen-“
jisung stops walking, standing outside his room. he looks over his shoulder and glares at felix, “you think i have that option? unlike you, felix, i don’t get options. we went over this.” he grits.
he walks inside his room and slams the door shut. he doesn’t feel guilty for always taking things out on felix.
the guilt comes later, when felix knocks on his door and tells him dinner is ready. the guilt comes when felix happily serves him and happily tries to converse with jisung.
few weeks into the two living alone, awaiting for the couple to return, jisung can’t help but feel guilty for being an asshole when he notices felix’s efforts. he can’t help but allow the alpha to get a little close. to learn a little about him.
and jisung allows himself to spend some time with felix even if it’s as small as going grocery shopping.
because jisung is lonely. he feels alone and felix starts to feel the closest to a supportive figure in his empty world. yet, he’ll probably forever fail to see how guilty felix feels.
"you're an omega, shouldn't you have some grace?" hyunjin sneers while turning around to glare at jisung.
jisung simply stands there, unsure what to do. he didn't mean to make the same mistake again, his feet are just killing him. no matter how much he tries to hide it, he can't force his body to do something it's currently incapable to do.
"listen," hyunjin towers over him, "this is due in two weeks. you will not get in my way, got it? keep practicing until you get it right."
and jisung can only nod dumbly, looking at the floor.
"go home." hyunjin growls, jisung obeys. “i can’t stand you for another minute.”
as soon as he's outside the practice room, he slumps against the closed door. a sigh escapes him, his thoughts wonder. usually he barks back but today is just not his day.
before he makes his walk to the bus stop, where felix had waited two hours ago, he takes off his boots. he secures his backpack over his shoulder and carries the boots as he walks barefoot to the bus stop.
it's been two months since he was submitted into dance classes. felix, was the only one that wanted to come here but his father and step mother decided to put them both in because one; jisung did "nothing but laze about all day, what type of omega doesn't tend to do some chores." two; it was cheaper.
since day one jisung did nothing but complain about the pain in his muscles. his body wasn't made for this. felix seemed happy to have his brother there though, he didn't feel like a loner the first two weeks.
but then felix stared having some sort of clique that jisung obviously didn't fit into, so midway the second month, when it was announced a major grade would be held and they had to partner up with someone, jisung was left out and left to be with hwang hyunjin.
the guy's not bad, he just has a nasty attitude. he didn't understand why no one wanted to be around the alpha until jisung got stuck with him.
what’s worse is that they’re given a major first thing into the course and jisung is dying. not only does he hate this but he has to deal with hyunjin’s bitchy attitude and mean remarks.
it’s one thing when your father insults you but it’s another when it’s a stranger. a handsome alpha.
jisung’s never been around alphas a lot. he’s always felt nervous and anxious over the idea of them taking advantage of him. he was scared of liking an alpha because the only alpha figure in his life was his father and the man is not the best. jisung’s fear is letting alphas in and hurt him like his father does if not ten times worse.
“felix, help me,” jisung orders, walking past his father without a greeting.
jisung had come later in the evening, he always does. that’s because hyunjin is stubborn and overworks himself as well as jisung.
as much as jisung hates to admit, he has learned some sort of discipline. he’ll only get so far if he pushes himself a little bit.
his plan was to do horribly until he gets kicked out but hyunjin’s scary and jisung doesn’t let himself be intimidated. especially by an alpha.
so despite felix not having the same dance as him, the alpha always knows where he’s lacking. whether it’s in timing, lack of energy or overflow of energy, felix is just a good dancer and jisung actually appreciates him.
he’ll find more ways to piss off his father. jisung doesn’t forget nor give up easily. hyunjin will not be his weakness.
hyunjin is… a little too serious. jisung likes to say he has a stick up his ass. to which hyunjin barks back with something about the omega but jisung shrugs it off and pesters further.
they got a good grade on the assignment, jisung is actually proud of that. what pissed him off is the fact hyunjin says they could have done better if jisung wasn’t a “lazy omega”.
the only person he’ll “take” that insult from is his father. no one else.
so what does jisung do? fight hyunjin, duh.
“hey!” felix yells when he walks inside the lockers and sees them grabbing at each other’s throats.
“seriously!” felix yells, shoving jisung away and holding onto him. “what’s this about?”
“if you have something against me, hwang, spit it out. unless kitty got your tongue because it wouldn’t get your sorry excuse of a knot.”
“that makes no sense,” hyunjin growls, still taking the insult. “but fuck off, i really don’t want you to be my partner anymore.”
“well too bad,” felix butts in, “unless we do more than two people assignments, you two are stuck together.”
they both tsk, walking away from each other.
felix ignores his subsided anger and smiles. they’re so… entertaining.
“hey, hanji,” felix calls as they walk out the building.
jisung has let felix get close enough to where he’d allow nicknames. he won’t lie, it feels nice. he himself has called felix something along the lines of lix and lixie.
“what.”
“want to get ice cream?”
“i’m craving more of a milkshake actually.” jisung crosses his arms as they wait at the pedestrian walking light.
“i think the parlor sells those too,” felix says, following jisung when their light turns green. “are you down?”
“sure,” jisung smiles, easing up a bit.
the parlor is down the street across from the dance academy. it’s a short walk and they’re more at peace when it’s just the two of them and have no rush to get home.
the parlor doesn’t sell milkshakes but jisung didn’t mind, he accepted the ice cream.
“if you were a flavor, what would you be?” felix asks.
that’s something jisung likes about felix. the alpha makes fun conversation and has fun and silly questions like those. jisung’s never had interaction like this, it’s something he wishes and hopes lasts.
mostly because he learned that his happiness can only last so long without something going terribly wrong.
“hmm,” he thinks while looking around while he pits a spoon of ice cream in his mouth.
he picks up a familiar scent, grinning.
“oi, hwang,” he calls sweetly, making felix perk up at the sight of the giant stopping in his tracks. “come here.”
hyunjin rolls his eyes, walking away. what were the chances of meeting here? 100. the chances were 100. the parlor is the closest and also a hot spot for students and parents with children on hot fays like these.
“give him a minute,” jisung says, smiling when hyunjin turns around, pissed off.
“what?” he grits.
“don’t be like that,” jisung pouts, “just a simple question now that you bless us with your unwanted existence.”
hyunjin grunts, glancing at felix.
“if you were a flavor, what would you be?”
hyunjin narrows his eyes, “how about you go first?”
“mmm, more like felix, he asked.”
the short alpha blinks, unsure what has happened to be in this situation. “uh,” he shoves another spoon of ice cream in his mouth, “cookies n cream.”
“awe”, jisung coos, ”and you, hyunjin?”
“vanilla,” hyunjin crosses his arms, waiting for a retort from jisung.
“i knew you were a basic bitch.” jisung cackles.
“and what about you? what would you be?” hyunjin argues.
jisung shooed him away, “that’s all, thank you, hwang.”
hyunjin growls, muttering something about jisung being an annoyance but obeys (to which jisung won’t comment because he wants to get home in one piece).
“what would you be?” felix questions as they walk out the parlor.
“vanilla,” jisung chuckles, “but!” he holds up his ice cream cup, grinning. “with strawberry drizzle.”
felix laughs, “you just love to piss him off.”
“yup,” jisung shrugs, smiling.
“do you actually hate him, though?”
jisung hums, thinking, “not really? he’s not that bad,” he shrugs, “he could just let loose a bit, that’s all.”
“do you think you’d get along?”
“as if,” jisung chuckles, “it’d take a lot to get along. his existence pisses me off like eighty percent of the time.”
felix rolls his eyes, shaking his head at jisung’s switch up. he makes no comment, smiling as they change subject and walk to the bus stop.
“by the way, hanji,” felix says as they wait at ghe bus stop. they’re alone. “has dad… bothered you lately?”
jisung scoops up more ice cream, shoving it in his mouth. “sort of. he’s ignored me for a few days though, thankfullly.”
“can i know why?” felix asks, hoping he could be included.
“nah, you’re good. his behaviors embarrassing enough.” jisung shuts him down.
felix sulks, but respects his brother’s privacy.
truth is, jisung would have told felix. except he couldn’t, not this time, because the reason he and his father argued was over felix’s mom. she was a beta, but someone who stayed at home wife. why was he getting shit for not keeping the house tidy and presentable when he’s a student and is out almost ¾ of the day, when she is home ¾ of the day.
not to be sexist, but she’s a woman, she gets luxury treatment and the least she could do is clean after herself and her husband. not wait until jisung gets home and watches him with a devious smile as he angrily does his best to tidy up the whole house.
so excuse him for calling her a lazy woman who only stuck around for the luxuries and recuses to get maids to watch jisung suffer. excuse him for cursing his father out when the man tells him it’s his obligation as an omega. excuse him for calling the man a traditional knothead and stimping away before he can even use his alpha voice.
because the one thing that man hates, is being ignored.
but what hurts jisung is that he now sees how different he had always been treated. how his mother had been treated. sure, she was always dressed nice and showered with luxury here and there, but she had submitted into his father’s misogynistic views and verbal and emotional abuse. she was never treated like felix’s mom is being treated.
and jisung wouldn’t be loved the way felix and she are loved. not later, not ever.
“wanna play video games if dad isn’t home?” felix asks hopeful, as they are waiting for the bus to get to their stop.
jisung stares at felix, vaguely wishing the worst for the alpha. but felix can’t be accountable for his father’s uglyness.
“sure.”
dance isn’t so bad, jisung concludes.
he still hates it, but he won’t deny that he likes having something to do. he likes the fact that he gets to share some knowledge of what felix is so obsessed with.
what’s “bad” is hwang hyunjin. the prick won’t give jisung any mercy.
“give me your number,” jisung said as he handed hyunjin his phone.
the alpha scoffed, eyeing him up and down. “you just come here on time and we won’t have issues. why would i have to contact you?”
jisung grunted, “it’s not that hard! what’s wrong with giving me your number?!”
“i’m not giving you my number, deal with it,” hyunjin walks past jisung, grabbing his bag from the floor. “again, come tomorrow on time.”
“so old fashioned,” jisung huffs, glaring. “didn’t want it anyway.”
“you were just asking for it,” hyunjin barks.
“go away!”
hyunjin glares before doing as told. again, always obeying the stupid omega. it pisses hyunjin off how he obeys only because that’s what he was going to do anyway.
as always, the next day, he is waits for jisung to come by the studio so they can start practicing what they’ll present at the showcase. it’s been a long year of dealing with the omega (who, to his amusement, manages to keep up) and the showcase marks the end of the year.
their composition was nothing hard, so he thinks, it’s focused to look elegant and sharp. both perfect for the song they had picked. yet something jisung lacks in. elegance, that is. jisung is sharp. well, most of the time. the omega wore boots to their first few sessions, no newbie can pull off using boots without having immense blisters and bruises.
“good morning loser,” jisung exasperates when he walks in.
hyunjin narrows his eyes and scowls. “rsspect your elders.”
“neh, gramps.”
hyunjin’s eye twitches, so annoying. “we should be able to get half the song in without mistakes by the end of today.”
“but the best part is the bridge!” jisung frowns.
“the bridge comes after we perfect the first half of the song. we have five days left before we present. we’ll work hard until we build muscle memory, two days the first half, two days the second half, two days the whole song.”
jisung pouts, “i guess.”
hyunjin eyes him before starting the warmups. they have nine hours to memorize this, if they start well and make even the tiniest of mistakes nearing the end, it should be covered by confidence and charisma. yet, the last th ing he wants is a mistake so he will drill this choreography into jisung’s soul.
“one, two, three-“ he calls out each step as he stares at their reflection intensely.
their last step in the chorus before the bridge is to stay still and slowly turn heads to face each other, arms reaching out to connect through their hands before jisung drops to his knees and will later slide along with hyunjin’s moving body. but they’ll stop this routine every time jisung kneels.
except their first try goes slightly horrendous, jisung keeps wobbling in his stances and even after he starts to find a good balance in the fifth try, when he kneels, his left knee goes over hyunjin’s foot and the alpha hisses.
“sorry, sorry!”
“you idiot! watch it!”
“i said my bad!” jisung fumes.
hyunjin winces as he sets his foot back down, it doesn’t hurt that bad if he dances through it.
“come on, again.” he pauses, “and watch where you’re landing.”
“hai,” jisung holds back his eye roll.
they fall back into the routine and hyunjin can’t say jisung isn’t making an effort. they’re getting better, a slightly sluggish demonstration for now but by the end of their practice time, jisung’s timing is a lot better.
“see you tomorrow,” jisung says casually as he walks out, leaving hyunjin alone in the room.
the alpha makes no comment, drying his sweat with a towel. once his body is vaguely cooled down, he puts it in his bag, rummaging through it fo see if he has everything before leaving, when he sees a necklace next to it on the floor.
he has half a mind to leave it but if his instructor finds it they’ll be scolded for being careless and blah blah, he picks it up either way.
felix should still be practicing with minho, so he makes his way down the hall where he knows jisung would be waiting.
“hyunjin! thought you left already!” felix smiles when he sees his fellow alpha, he’s carrying a box full of props, hyunjin assumes they’re for a theater play.
his eyes dart to minho, who nodded at him. he returns the gesture before looking around, “where’s jisung?”
“getting the last box,” felix smiles, “we’ll go drop these off in minho’s car, mind walking him? we’ll be in row 15 of the parking lot!”
he hums, not really appreciating the denial of option but watches them walk out the building. a minute and a half later, jisung stumbles out, huffing.
“i thought you left,” jisung says as he peaks at hyunjin over the stacked boxes in his arm. his backpack is also swung over one shoulder, tempting to mess with jisung’s balance if he moves incorrectly.
hyunjin stares at him, “you left your necklace in the practice room. i don’t want to pick up after you.”
jisung furrows his brows, “i didn’t ask you to, nor did you have to. now just put it on before i drop all of this. my arms hurt.”
hyunjin watches jisung turn around, insisting the alpha to go on. hyunjin huffs, displeased with having to do what jisung asks of him. if jisung wasn’t so irresponsible of his belongings, he wouldn’t have to put a necklace around his slender neck, where his scent gland is and where he exerts a soft scent of pastry… like chocolate cake or almost cheesecake now that jisung grows frustrated.
l
“i’ll just put it in your bag-“
“no!” jisung huffs, “i’ll forget to put it on! and my bag is messy, and full of stuff, just put it on me!”
“i don’t want-“
“hwang hyunjin, hurry the fuck up!” jisung hisses.
hyunjin grunts, giving in when a passing administrator eyes them suspiciously. he’d rather get this over with than have anyone think incorrectly of their situation. plus, jisung has such a foul mouth…
“there,” hyunjin says, ignoring the slight heat he feels from having accidentally grazed jisung’s skin. excuse him for never having been this close to an omega before.
“thanks, where did they go?” jisung asks, wobbling slightly as he turns around to walk towards the exit.
hyunjin stares at him, “row 15 in the parking lot.”
“cool, thanks. see you tomorrow i guess,” jisung says, not sparing him a glance.
he should help. jisung is taking steps that are way to slow and the boxes piled on him keep shifting around at every step. plus, his backpack looks heavy and weighing him down more. he definitely shiuld help.
but he doesn’t really want to interact with jisung any more than he already does-
“give me that,” he finds himself next to jisung, grabbing the top two boxes.
“i could do it!” jisung huffs, glaring.
“oh really? fine then,” hyunjin makes an annoyed expression and places the boxes back. “bye.”
jisung blinks, “at least open the door for-“
“you could do it,” hyunjin mocks, exiting and grinning to himself when he hears jisung’s insult.
jisung is so annoying.
the rest of the week goes simingly… interesting. well, to say the least. there are a few mistakes that jisung makes, but hyunjin is quite amused to see how quickly the omega is fixing his errors. on their last day, he can’t deny he’s a bit jittery for their final presentation, jisung is too. that’s probably why they almost mess up on the first few practices.
“it’s like presenting in front of the class!” jisung exasperates, “except there will be more people! it’s almost the same, we’re acting like we’ve never danced in front of people before!”
hyunjin whips around, offended, “ we !?”
“yes we!” jisung jabs, “don’t act perfect, i saw you lose your balance and lose timing twice.”
“you did worse!”
and they began to bicker. it’s funny, really, how used to this routine they are. vaguely, hyunjin feels pleased to end his day with jisung’s angry expression. the more he takes notice of jisung’s habits, the more he feels attracted.
wait.
“hey guys, how was practice!” felix bounces in, minho trailing behind.
“rough, we kept making mistakes.” jisung huffs.
“it’s just the jitters,” minho smiles, “we had the same issue.”
“how about we do our routines one more time? for each other?” felix suggests.
“we really shouldn’t,” hyunjin says, grabbing a towel, “we’re su-“
“supposed to surprise each other tomorrow? yeah, i know,” minho shrugs, “but we won’t have time to see each other’s performances, you guys are after us and we’ll be backstage catching our breaths and fixing up before going to sit down. by then you guys would probably be done.”
“i wanna see their routine!” jisung presses, looking at hyunjin, “it’s just us anyways, plus, with an extra pair of familiar eyes we could do this well one last time and maybe get some advice.”
hyunjin sighs, “fine. who goes first?”
they made hyunjin and felix play paper, rock scissors. jisung cheered when hyunjin won, only to whine when he realized the winner goes first. he complained about how they just finished their routine and now they had no small break before doing it again. hyunjin only smiled, feeling a bit good about practicing one more time before the big day.
minho and felix watched from the floor, against the wall to hyunjin and jisung’s left. it was a good view, seeing both the duo and their reflections on the mirror. felix screamed in awe at their bridge, amazed that their routine was quite suggestive. what pleased hyunjin and jisung the most was that they did it well and with enough charisma.
“that was amazing!” felix cheered, “us next, us next~!” he sings happily as he gets on his feet, minho following suit.
jisung gasps, plopping on the floor where the other two were at, rolling over to prop his elbow up and rest his chin on it. the floor feels so cool, he can’t hold himself up to even sit anymore. hyunjin rolls his eyes but sits next to him, excited to see felix and minho’s routine.
as expected from the top students of the class, their performance was spectacular. both hyunjin and jisung gawked at their facial expressions and their flexibility. their routine was extremely suggestive, hyunjin couldn’t help the blush that spread across his face at the sight. jisung was the same. seriously, minho and felix will kill this.
“lee felix, your mom will be there tomorrow!” jisung scolds, laughing.
felix blushes, “w-well i’m an adult! plus, it goes well with the song!” he defends as hyunjin and minho laugh.
“hey, how about we go eat?” minho asks, enjoying their atmosphere.
“you paying?” jisung teases.
“um, well sure?” minho shrugs, smiling.
“i’ll pitch in,” hyunjin suggests.
“me too, me too,” felix smiles, “i’ll pitch in for hanji too.”
jisung grins, “look at that, three alphas going ti eat with an omega”
hyunjin blinks, staring at jisung who laughs at their flustered expressions.
“i’m your brother,” felix nudges him.
“eh? really?” minho blinks. “you don’t look very similar.”
“different moms.” both felix and jisung say as they collect their things.
without another comment on that matter, they all exit the building.
“should we go in one car or?” hyunjin asks.
“we don’t have a car so you know,” jisung says flatly as felix fidgets.
“partners together?” minho asks, taking his keys out.
“sure,” hyunjin shrugs, “where are we meeting?”
“uh, follow me?” minho suggests.
“if we get lost or separated i’ll send jisung the location,” felix says.
“kay,” jisung follows hyunjin, feeling a bit tense when he acknowledges how this will the be the first time in the alpha’s car.
“you two go on public transportation?” hyunjin asks as he unlocks the car when they near it.
“yeah.” jisung says, entering through the passengers when hyunjin makes his way to the drivers door.
they talk no more. hyunjin turns the car on, jisung does his best to stay neutral when he sees how nice the interior of the car is and how good it smells. as they follow minho’s equally nice car, jisung questions if this nice smell is hyunjin’s scent because now that he thinks about it, he doesn’t even know what hyunjin smells like.
but this is hyunjin’s car. hyunjin is an alpha. they’re close in distance, jisung subtly sniffs the air.
it smells like cedar, argad wood and subte roses. it’s masculine but also soft and almost feminine. jisung thinks hard, piecing together what hyunjin looks like only to nod to himself. yeah, hyunjin is handsome and also very pretty. he may be grumpy most of the time he’s with jisung, but his features are still that.
“shit, wait is that minho’s car?” hyunjin asks, completely confused if he is still behind the other’s vehicle.
jisung blinks back to reality. he looks around, “uh- SHIT, HYUNJIN!” jisung screams when hyunjin suddenly slams the brakes and a car zooms past, so close that they could have crashed if they didn’t break.
they breathe heavily, eyes wide with fear and shock. they look at each other, horrified for what could have been.
when the car behind them beeps, hyunjin quickly goes to drive down the road, jisung anxiously goes to felix’s contact on his phone to check his location.
“yeah that was their car still,” jisung says, despite the heavy silence. he guides hyunjin for the next two minutes until they roll into the parking lot.
hyunjin parks, turns off the car and stays put. jisung taps his black phone screen, taking the risk and looking at hyunjin with pursed lips.
the alpha stares back. then they laugh.
“we could have died!” hyunjin exasperates, hand going to clutch his shirt over his chest.
“awe man, that was horrible!” jisung sobs between giggles, “i’m so glad you saw it in time.”
“i swear that’s never happened before, scared the shit out of me,” hyunjin says as he opens the door.
they exit the car, still laughing at their mini death experience. when felix and minho join them, they tell the tale and give them a good laugh.
“scared the hunger out of me, man,” jisung says as he sits down at a table after they enter.
“really?” felix giggles.
“no but i don’t think i can stomach anything heavy now.” jisung pouts.
felix pats his brother’s back, reading the menu to see what he’ll order.
despite what he said, jisung stuffed his face full of a large order he placed. even taking some food off felix’s plate. throughout their meal, hyunjin couldn’t help glancing over at the omega. seeing how his cheeks puffed up whenever he ate, hearing him be more boisterous than what he’s used to and actually enjoying this time.
he doesn’t go out often and felix mentions how they don’t either. needless to say, everyone was pleased with their day. they wished each other good luck on their performances for tomorrow.
felix was going to stay at minho’s, for they had their whole day planned together for the next day. hyunjin had liked the idea of it but because jisung was an omega, he thought it over and finalized it with a no. he still tasked himself with driving jisung to his house, for he didn’t want to look like a dick for letting the omega go through public transportation late at night.
“your car smells nice,” jisung blurts out, blushing, “sorry i just had to say it.”
hyunjin blinks, staring at the omega before looking back at the road. he feels… good. “thanks…”
his inner alpha feels good. an omega complimented his scent. yet, the sense of pride and happiness gets washed over with the reminder that this is jisung.
“could use a little dusting though, your headboard is dusty.”
“shut it.”
jisung smiles, cheeky and hyunjin can’t help the smile that appears in his face.
when he drops jisung off, he wishes the omega a good night. “be ready for tomorrow, i’ll pick you up,” he says, surprising jisung. “that way we’ll be on time and prepare together.”
“uh, okay, sure,” jisung nods, “see you tomorrow then. thanks for the ride.”
hyunjin nods, watching the omega walk up the driveway. his eyes flicker to the window, seeing a man stand there and glance between him and jisung. as soon as jisung rings the doorbell, he shuts the curtains and a few seconds later, hyunjin sees him open the door.
his job for the day is done, hyunjin shifts the gear stick to drive. yet he feels uneasy, his mood shifting when he catches a glimpse of jisung getting dragged inside the house harshly. he wants to ignore it, but truly, he doesn’t get a good vibe from what he just witnessed.
it bothers him the rest of the night.
when jisung wakes up, it’s because his father is banging on his door. despite how annoying it is to have the man bang and hit his door like a madman, he’s grateful he doesn’t actually bust the door open. he definitely can. you’d think he’d have the key to open the door, but jisung had changed the lock as soon as he arrived to the house, key hidden among his messy backpack and only he has it and knows where it is.
he grumbles, pulling himself up and glancing at his alarm clock. as soon as his eyes adjust and read 7:30, he shoots himself out of bed and screams.
“SHIT, SHIT.”
hyunjin wanted to be in the building at 8:00. he quickly brushes his teeth, pulls out the shampoo and conditioner from his bathroom to wash his hair in the sink. he doesn’t have time for a quick shower, so after he strips from his pjs and before he changes to the outfit they had prepared, he passes a baby wipe across his body. he fights against the relaxation of how cool the wipe feels on his skin.
he quickly grabs his makeup bag and shoves it in his backpack. he can't find his shoes fast enough and he's crying from his own frustration when his phone rings.
"i-i'm going, i'm going!" he yells at his phone, when he sees the caller id.
he fidgets with his phone before shoving it in his backpack, too busy looking for his shoes and going over what he's missing, failing to realize he hasn't hung up.
he's running, hot all over and messily putting his shoes (which were on his desk. why the fuck would he put them there?!) on as he runs out his bedroom, locking it before running out the house. he’s grabbed by the arm before he reaches the door. angry, he glares at his father.
“we’ll see you at the performance, i expect you to do well like felix. behave, for you seem to be partnered with an alpha. he looks high class too, don’t embarrass him.” his father says, shoving him ahead to continue his way.
jisung grits his teeth, feeling tears prick his eyes. darn it, he’s getting sensitive. he’s been nervous about this grade and he’s late, extremely, to hyunjin’s ordeal.
angry, he slams the door to the house, stomping to the car that’s waiting in the street. he quickly gets in, inhaling and exhaling heavily. he doesn’t realize how sour his scent is, he knows he looks a mess but not to what extent.
“good morning to you too,” hyunjin says, a lot more cautious. jisung’s scent is spiked, it doesn’t make him nauseous, instead, it makes his inner alpha feel threatened, worried and equally upset.
“sorry, hi,” jisung pats his face, sighing. “if you don’t mind, i’ll finish getting ready.” he says as he pulls down the divisor. he screams when he sees his reflection.
his hair is messy, puffed out and slightly frizzy. his face is pale but flushed with a light red, his eyes are slightly red too, from his crying and lack of a good night’s sleep. his lips are so dry and cracked, and FUCK HE FORGOT HIS EARRINGS. he covers his face, whining and complaining about how everything is going bad.
“you look fine,” hyunjin blatantly lies, driving to the school.
“liar!” jisung sniffles as he rummages through his belongings, taking out his makeup bag.
hyunjin purses his lips, mentally wondering if this is normal from an omega. he can’t help but overhear how jisung grunts out everything he’s missing but above everything, how he’s extremely upset he forgot his earrings. how he was supposed to look amazing but he’s looking like muddy water (to which then he laughs and tells hyunjin about a song named muddy water and how he should give it a listen).
while hyunjin drives, he thinks back to the call. he barely heard the voices, but he could hear jisung’s father well when it came to directing hyunjin. he assumed the man was traditional, for there have been many signs of that since he’s met jisung and felix, but he didn’t expect to witness it.
“jisung,” he says as he makes a stop at the stoplight.
the omega is patting down some foundation into his skin with a sponge, “hm?”
“will your parents be there?”
jisung glances at him, then he shrugs as he continues his routine. “dunno, maybe.” he picks up a lip tint, applying quickly before the light turns green and he risks accidentally smudging it past his lips. “will yours?”
“yeah,” hyunjin continues to drive when the light changes.
“cool, hope they enjoy seeing their pup throw some exotic moves.”
hyunjin sputters, hissing how their choreography is not that suggestive. jisung laughs his ass of the entire ride, making hyunjin forget the whole ordeal he’s experienced since last night.
they arrive a little late, but it’s okay, their classmates are still getting ready and they have to check in and do all that. jisung constantly asks hyunjin if he looks okay and hyunjin mindlessly assures him he does.
until jisubg grabs him and spins him around, forcing eye contact. “do. i. look. o. kay?”
hyunjin blinks, sighing softly as he has to actually take in jisung’s appearance. he takes a step back, eyeing the omega up and down. it only took three seconds but throughout them, hyunjin notices how snatched jisung’s waist is, how glittery his eyes are and how strong his scent is. for the first time, the first thing that comes to mind is beautiful. jisung normally dresses baggy, outfits based mostly on street wear, which is close to what they chose to wear today, yet today, as hyunjin took him in, he saw a certain glow.
“you look amazing,” hyunjin pauses, “your earrings could have made the fit look better.”
“UGH I KNOW!” jisung cries, stomping away to find the restroom.
hyunjin follows him, hand rummaging through his pocket. he walks in after jisung, seeing the omega stand in front of the mirror and check himself out. jisung doesn’t look very pleased (hyunjin wonders if omegas are normally this negative over themselves.)
“here,” hyunjin hands jisung clear bag, it holds two dangling earrings, silver and resembling a soda can’s ring.”wear these.”
jisung looks at the item hyunjin holds out before giving the alpha a bewildered look. “um, w-“
“i need us to give a good impression, so hurry up and put them on.” hyunjin grits.
hesitantly, jisubg takes them. “i mean, you-“
“i look good with or without, you on the other hand-“
“okay, fuck off.” jisung frowns.
“i’m kidding,” hyunjin grins, jisung vaguely thinks this is the first time he actually sees hyunjin look so bright. “let’s give it our best, okay?”
jisung blushes, turning around to put the earribgs on. “yeah.”
there’s lots of faces, the buzzing of their voices and laughs invade jisung’s senses. he really hopes his father didn’t come, but with felix being his pride and with felix also performing, jisung knew they were there.
he barely gets to talk to felix and minho, both of them equally busy getting ready and receiving directions from their mentors. it’s hot, jisung can’t tell if it’s from the nerves or the amount of people there are in this room.
slowly, everyone starts to leave to show their talent. to earn their grade. jisung feels parched, he drinks water but hyunjin scolded him for having to use the restroom so much in the span of thirty minutes. even as they head to the stage when it’s their turn, as minho and felix go down and they exchange thumbs up, jisung is too anxious to see it. to see felix whil his head back around when jisung passes him. too busy calming himsef down to feel it.
it’s only after hyunjin introduces them. it’s only after jisung locates his father and feels way too hat under his glare. it’s when, after focusing so hard to do the first chorus of the song correctly, he starts to realize.
that’s when jisung stops midway the song. the good thing is that his part is on the floor but the bad thing is he feels hot. hotter than what he normally feels during a performance. hotter, as mentioned, under the gaze of his father.
just as he has to move to slide to his feet, he feels something start to drip from his hole.
once he's on his feet, he freezes.
improvisation is not a card he can play. hyunjin hates improvisation. he forces himself to stay on beat, internally crying at his shaky movements.
on the bridge, when hyunjin has to be face to face with him, just as hyunjin's hands grab his face, he sees the look of confusion dwell over the alpha’s face. he smelled it- jisung’s heat. jisung has always been horrible at reigning his scent, always letting pheromones loose especially when he’s anxious, nervous or panicking.
this smells different. it’s too sweet, too strong. too alluring.
everything is ruined when jisung stumbles and collapses. one hand is covering his mouth and the other is clutching his stomach, specifically his abdomen. instinctively, hyunjin looks at his mentor/judge, equally shocked and panicked.
when jisung lets out a shaky gasp, cramps starting to take action, does hyunjin blurt out an apology while picking jisung up from his arm and dragging him out of the stage. with confusion and a heavy heart, hyunjin chooses to ignore the anger and displeasure their teacher emits. he chooses to forget the large x-shaped scribble over his and jisung’s evaluation page.
hyunjin doesn’t finish processing anything until jisung is seated in the locker rooms and the door is locked.
"i'm sorry," jisung sobs.
how was he to know his heat would start right in the middle of their presentation. he's never carried a heat pad around no matter how much felix told him to. he never payed attention to his symptoms. he's so-
"i'm so stupid, i’m sorry." he wipes away at his face, snot and tears dripping continuously despite it.
hyunjin groaned, "stop crying, it won't change the fact we got disqualified."
but jisung keeps crying, like a child that just fell and gained a scratch. the sight makes hyunjin falter.
"but you worked so h-hard for this," jisung wailed, "and all i ever did was hold you back." he coughs, "i always fuck up and i hate it. i ruined everything you worked so hard for."
hyunjin swallowed, scratching his head. he was never really good at comforting, usually he just gave them a pat or a hug and said nothing but jisung's an omega. in heat.
"let's just get you home," hyunjin pushes himself off the wall, walking over to jisung. "come on."
but jisung doesn't move. he's still crying but this time he's quiet about it, staring at the floor. his thighs rub together uncomfortably and hyunjin takes a moment to realize what it's about.
he sighs, taking out a jacket from his backpack. "here, wrap this around your waist and let's go," he drops it on jisung's lap before picking up the omega’s bag.
jisung stares at the jacket before picking it up, he makes sure hyunjin is walking to the door, back turned, before quickly standing to put it around his waist. as he adjusts the knot, he catches up to hyunjin's pace.
the whole time they're silent. jisung can't help but panic at the thought of his slick wetting hyunjin's seat, just how embarrassing would it be to stand up and see a puddle there? oh gosh he's about to cry again. he grips his backpack as they drive to his house, trying to even out his breathing.
"how long does your heat last?" hyunjin asks as he makes a turn.
jisung turns to him, eyes glassy but brows furrowed in concern. "why would you ask that?"
hyunjin shrugs, unsure himself. it just felt like he needed to ask.
jisung eyes him before answering, "three or four days, it's really short so it comes whenever the fuck it wants..."
"and that's why you didn't know it would come today?"
well, yes. jisung only nods, not wanting to talk about this.
"do you want me to stop by the store and get you anything?"
"no." jisung is uncomfortable, "just take me home."
hyunjin does just that. it’s so tense, hyunjin’s anger isn’t bubbling when it should be, which scares and intimidates both jisung and himself. and as they enter the driveway, hyunjin roughly remembers what mr.park had said.
“will you be okay?” hyunjin asks when jisung nervously bounces his leg.
“yeahc my parents are still at the showcase.” jisung says softly, it sounds like a normal comment, but hyunjin swears he felt some underlying meaning that he’s pieced together.
before jisung gets out the car, hyunjin speaks one last time. “you did great,” he blurts, “just… don’t beat yourself up about it.”
jisung stared at him before closing the door and basically running away into the house. the fuck , he thinks as he stumbles his way to his room. how can i not? he quickly finds his key and enters his room. he’s lying. he’s lying!
i’m in beat, he locks the door behind him. that’s why he’s being nice. that’s why he hasn’t lashed out.
he plops on the bed, ignoring the desperate heat pooling in his abdomen. a reminder of why he’s home so early.
you’re stupid. you ruin everything. you can never do shit right.
he hugs his pillow and sobs into it.
han jisung. you are dead meat.
"please, take me out," he begs, "i'll do whatever you want but i don't wanna go back there."
his father sighs, "fine. we'll get you a job at the company, you'll work as a receptionist, understood?"
jisung didn't argue, nodding. it was better than seeing hyunjin after all that, plus, he'd get money.
it’s been four days. after the showcase, they got a week break. felix was home. jisung spent his heat alone in his room and never came out, practically starving himself. yet, even in his hazy state, he knew what he had to do.
he couldn’t even bear himself. how would he bear hyunjin?
"we'll go by tomorrow," his father dismisses him, "rest up, you look like you'll drop any minute."
"right," jisung excused himself.
this is best. he always ran away from his problems but this time he feels happy about it. like a weight was lifted from his shoulders.
hwang hyunjin, he thinks as he passes felix, who seemed upset at the blatant ignoring jisung is doing. like everyone else, he falls into his bed, you’re better off without me.