Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

You looked up at the towering glass building with your heart in your throat. There were people walking in and out of the building with ease, likely workers or personal for JYP who didn’t think twice about their positions, about how much you longed to be a part of them. You had been gunning for this opportunity for years, but now that you were finally there, your feet refused to move. You turned your focus away from the building and spotted a group of three girls all huddled together with their eyes laser focused on the entrance, whispering to each other.

No doubt fans trying to catch a glimpse of their favorite idols.

You let out a sigh. “Okay, it’s okay. You can do this. It’s fine, you got this.”

With a nod to yourself, you dragged your feet forward and practically stumbled through the front doors. The girls from before giggled loudly behind you, and you refused to look back. You hoped nobody else noticed.

You walked over to the reception desk quickly, giving the receptionist a blinding smile to hide your nervousness. His scent reminded you of sugared candy and smelled of beta, but you of all people knew how deceiving scents could be. After all, it was the entire reason you were here to begin with.

“Ah, hello,” You said. “I’m here for a job interview? For the translator position?”

He nodded his head in understanding. You gave him your name and he pulled out a lanyard with the words ‘VISITOR’ printed on it, handing it over along with a quick explanation of where you had to go. You thanked him with a bow, and made your way to the elevators, repeating the direction to yourself.

Second floor, third door to the left. Second floor, third door to the left.

It wouldn’t do you any good to get lost before you even had a chance to get the job. The elevator was quick, the doors opening smoothly with a ding. There was a mirror at the back of the elevator, and taking advantage of nobody else being in there with you, you quickly adjusted your clothes and fixed a stray strand of hair that was sticking out, making sure your face didn’t give away your panic.

You also made sure to quickly smell your wrists, relieved that the perfume you had put on before leaving the house was still strong. The scent blockers would block out your own scent to the rest of the world, and it would draw too many questions from the company you were trying to interview for. The specific perfume you had on was a lovely jasmine scent, and clearly a beta scent.

It was essential for you, considering you weren’t a beta.

You were an omega.

The elevator doors opened onto the second floor and even though you knew where you had to go -Second floor, third door to the left-, you still took a moment to stop in front of the desk to double check you were heading in the right direction. The beta receptionist up here showed a lot more expressions than the one downstairs, giving you a blinding smile and wishing you luck. You thanked her with a small nod, and made your way to the third door to the left.

You paused right outside the door, taking another deep breath.

“You got this,” You whispered to yourself again.

You knew you were qualified. You had a recommendation from your last company, glowing reviews from your manager who had been disappointed to see you go, but knowing that you had bigger dreams than translating for a legal firm. Working in the entertainment industry was your dream job, and JYP was one of the top entertainment companies in the business. This was a big opportunity.

But you knew the one thing you had going against you, was your presentation.

JYP only hired betas. They had for years, and even as the world pushed for equal rights among Omega’s and Alpha’s, the truth was that so many companies hesitated to hire them due to their stereotypes and requirements. And while JYP openly accepted trainees of all presentations, their staff were held to a higher standard.

Omega’s were too emotional. Omega’s needed protection, staff members were expected to protect. Omega’s had heats and would take time off work. Omega’s would want to start families. Omega’s were more likely to develop romantic feelings.

Omega’s were a liability.

You frowned at your reflection in the mirror. All those harsh words that had been thrown at you every time you complained about all the jobs that turned you down. Words said by strangers, friends, even family. Every person who tried to excuse their own biases and refusing to change anything. You wanted to prove them wrong.

“You got this,” You repeated, nodding to yourself.

You were going to prove them wrong. You had to.

Even if you had to lie to do it.

You knocked on the door, and the woman on the other side called you in after only a moment. You made sure to bow to the three people in the conference room as you entered, sitting down at the opposite end of the table from them. You knew how this was supposed to go, since you had done it many times before.

‘I see here you speak 5 languages. Where did you learn them?’

‘You have traveled and worked in other countries? What was that experience like?’

‘We received a glowing recommendation. Why did you decide to leave your last job?’

And just like always, the questions began to get a little too predictable.

‘Are you married, or in a relationship?’

‘Why not?’

‘Are you interested in a relationship?’

And then came the dreadful question.

‘What’s your presentation?’

They always asked you that. Every time, even though you knew full well that they had your resume right in front of them, that they could see it for themselves. It frustrated you, because it had nothing to do with your work. Because you were still obligated to put down your presentation on your resume by law. Because employers would still discriminate against you because of it.

You forced a smile on your face. “I’m a beta, as you can see.”

It wasn’t a crime to lie about your presentation anymore than it was to lie about your gender. Your old boss made sure of it. He was one of the few employers who fought to have you on his team, even when so many other companies and workplaces advised against it, tried to tell him about the downsides to working with an omega.

He had scoffed at them. “Bunch of old fashions dumbasses.”

You loved your old boss.

So unless the company had access to your medical records (which they didn’t), or somehow found a copy of your birth certificate (which you hoped they didn’t, that wouldn’t make any sense), they had no way of doubting your lie.

Which is why you wore the fake scented perfume you had gotten from a lovely little store near your apartment that specifically targeted trans-presentations. You weren’t unhappy with being an omega (just unhappy at the way the world treated them), but the false scents they sold to help those who were had been a god send in making sure you appeared to the words as what you wanted them to think of you as.

If it helped you get the job, you would be a beta for as long as it took.

And with the forced smile still pulling at your cheeks, you were complimented on your outstanding qualifications and experience, and told that they would call you back soon with more information. You thanked them for their time with another bow, and although you weren’t in the clear just yet, let out a sigh of relief the moment you made it back out into the halls.

The young beta girl behind the desk gave you another smile as you passed, and you made sure to thank her for her hard work as you made your ways to the elevator. The beta from the front desk didn’t even look at you twice as you walked through the lobby, but you didn’t mind him, knowing he was busy and had work to do.

The girls from before were gone, and the doors to the building opened and closed as people entered and existed. Birds chirped from somewhere above you.

You crossed your fingers, and prayed.

-0-0-

“Oh my god! OH MY GOD!” You screeched.

“What?! WHAT?!”

Sooyoung, your roommate, looked up from her phone with wide eyes in a panic at your shouts of excitement. You held out your phone to her, but before she could even make out the words on the screen, you were already pulling it back to stare at it in awe.

“I got accepted!” You squealed.

Sooyoung gasped. “You got the job?!”

“I GOT THE JOB!”

“Ahhhh!” Sooyoung screamed in excitement, throwing her own phone to the side and jumping up next to you, both of you hopping around the room. “Oh my god, do you know what this means?”

“That I’m going to need a whole lot more scent blocker?”

“No- well, yes.” Sooyoung stopped hopping, looking up in thought. “Actually, yeah. You’re going to need a shit ton of that stuff. And more of the perfume, now that I think about it.”

You visibly drooped. “Man, it’s a good thing I’m going to be making bank at this job, because that stuff is expensive.”

“Not the point. I was going to say, we need to celebrate,” Sooyoung concluded with her hands in the air.

You laughed at her. “Celebrate lying to my employers?”

“Celebrate sticking it to the man! You are braver than I am, that’s for sure.”

You shook you head in amusement, but her words did make you want to throttle someone momentarily. Sooyoung had been dealing with the exact same discrimination you had, but as an alpha, her battle was targeted more towards those who questioned her aggression and instability, especially ‘as a woman alpha’, as one employer had put it. Seeing as Sooyoung was desperate to work in education, those harmful stereotypes made it impossible to get anyone to trust her around children.

She was making do working at a community college at the moment, but you knew her real dream was to work with preschool aged children.

“It doesn’t make much of a difference,” She had explained to you once. “I swear most of my students act like children anyways, the only difference is they don’t have the excuse of being literally 5.”

You had encouraged her to keep trying, that there was going to be a school out there somewhere that would see past her presentation, but she had already lost hope. You hoped that your own success might encourage her to do something similar, but you knew that wouldn’t fix the real problem. The deep-rooted issues and the systemic injustice.

But that was a can of worms you didn’t want to open at the moment.

Instead, you agreed to a night out on the town (as Sooyoung put it), and with her encouragement, went to go get ready. She had clicked her tongue at your first outfit, scoffed at the second, and rolled her eyes at the third.

“Babe, are you even trying?”

“What’s wrong with this?” You said with a pout, looking down at yourself.

You had chosen a pair of tight jeans that made your ass look good, and a cute white shirt that had a crisscrossing pattern that hugged your waist. If you threw your hair up in a ponytail and added some dark makeup, you would look like you were straight off the set of a kpop music video. But apparently that wasn’t the vibe Sooyoung was looking for.

“Don’t get me wrong, you look good,” She assured as she dug through your closet. “But we want you to look better than good. I want every man and woman to do a double take when you pass by. I want you to be the best dish at the table.”

You laughed. “I thought we were just going out for some fun. Some drinks, hit up a club or something … you sound like you’re trying to get me laid.”

She winked at you. “Who says we can’t do both?”

Typical of Sooyoung. She had been trying to hook you up with someone since you broke up with your ex a few months ago, but you had been so busy with work and then planning out your interview, so you hadn’t had time to think about sex.

Now having a new job and unknown responsibilities for the foreseeable future, getting one last hoorah before you had to be at work in two days sounded like a great opportunity.

You let out an exaggerated sigh. “Well okay then. Let’s see what you got for me.”

Turns out that while Sooyoung loved teaching kids, she could very well get a job as a professional stylist. You hadn’t even been aware that you had a black dress, but she had pulled it out of somewhere. It was … tight. It looked amazing on you, you would admit that, but it was so short and so tight that you felt like you were going to flash someone if you bent over. Thankfully, Sooyoung managed to pair it off with a slightly longer skirt that blended seamlessly with the dress, giving the illusion that it was longer than it actually was.

“Got to leave something up to the imagination,” She had told you.

With the way that the guys at the club were eyeing you, you weren’t sure that really mattered. You hadn’t cared at first, the drinks you had doing wonders in making you not care about the rest of the world and what they thought, but you had reached a point in the night where you didn’t want to drink anymore, but it didn’t seem like Sooyoung was ready to go home just yet.

Unlike you, she didn’t have a limit. She was still going at it strong on the dance floor, pulling some poor omega guy against her and stinking up the area with horny pheromones.

Although, its was a club. There was a lot of that going around.

The stares your were receiving combined with the heavy scents that were being released was starting to make you feel uncomfortable. It didn’t help that you were free of scent blockers tonight, and you were undoubtedly an omega to anyone who got a little too close. You hated their predatory looks turned downright sinister when they thought you would be easy.

“What’s a pretty little omega like you doing all by themselves?” One Alpha tried, and you bared your teeth at him when he released his heavy scent on you.

Your omega cried out at the thought of an alpha, but you were not controlled by your secondary gender. He obviously wasn’t expecting you to fight back, probably wanting some submissive and breed able omega that would let him do whatever he wanted to them. When you told him to fuck off, he gave you a nasty look, but thankfully did as he was told.

You were grateful he didn’t try to push It farther.

Sooyoung caught your eye from across the room, eyebrow raised in question.

You good?

You gave her a thumbs up.

All good.

Satisfied, Sooyoung went back to dancing with … you weren’t sure. It was a girl this time, but you couldn’t tell her presentation from this far away. Whoever it was, they looked like they were having fun. You downed the rest of your drink, and making sure Sooyoung saw you gesture towards the bathrooms, you went to get a break from all the lights and noises.

The hallway leading to the bathroom had a few patrons loitering around away from the loud music and chatting, but it was far less crowded than the main room. The bathroom itself was empty, and you just took a second to breathe.

After two hours out, you were starting to get tired. Sooyoung had a lot more stamina than you did, and she wouldn’t hesitate to end the night right now if you asked her too. But although she had used your new job position as an excuse to go out and have some fun, you knew that this was a night off for her just as much as it was for you. She needed this, and you didn’t want to end her fun just yet.

Besides, you had a plan of your own.

You had downed enough glasses of water and spent enough time off to the side that you had sobered up, and with your mind and thoughts clear, you decided it was time to go get some. You pushed your dress down a little to where your cleavage was on display, fixed your hair, and gave yourself a wink in the mirror.

“You got this.”

You exited the bathroom with the full intention of heading out to the dance floor and looking for someone to have a good time with, but you practically ran out and straight into someone else who was leaning against the wall right next to the door. You nearly knocked them over, and immediately reached out to steady them.

“Shit. I’m am so sorry.”

“Ah, it’s okay,” They reassured you, mouth muffled by the mask they were wearing. “I should have realized standing next to the bathroom door was a bad idea.”

“Oh no, that was all me,” You said, giving the guy a look over.

He wasn’t very tall, but not that short either. His mouth was covered by a black surgical mask, the kind most people in Korea wore when flu season made its rounds, or when the air quality wasn’t very good. It was odd to see someone wearing that kind of mask in a club, but not entirely unheard of.

Besides his black mask, he also wore an entirely black outfit. A black shirt, black sweatpants, and a black hoodie that his most of his hair, although a couple of dark strands could be seen from the sides. He looked more like a college student on their way back home from long hours of studying than someone who was out for a night on the town, like he would be more comfortable at home with friends than a club in the middle of the city.

“Ah, no worries. I guess you can say I fell for you.”

The guy chuckled at his own words, an awkward laugh to a stupid pick-up line that normally would have you rolling your eyes, but the way he said it, like an offhanded joke, had you giggling along with him. His scent wafted over to you in the narrow hallway, a mix of floral and fruity. It reminded you of the beach.

You bit your lip, looking up at him from beneath your lashes. “Well, what can I say. I guess I just have that effect on people.”

His scent grew stronger at your words, and though his eyebrows raised in surprise, there was a pleased hint to his scent. It smelled like alpha, and your omega perked up her metaphorical ears in interest.

“Ah, I don’t doubt that,” He mused, leaning against the wall and tilting his head at you, eyes darting down your figure.

Your stomach flipped under his gaze, your own scent undoubtedly giving away your interest, so there was no reason to play coy. Instead, you gave him a flirtatious smile, deciding to shoot your shot.

“So, what are you doing hanging out outside the woman’s bathroom?”

It was only once you had spoken that you realized how accusatory your words sounded, and you wanted to wince in embarrassment. The men’s bathroom door was directly in front of the woman’s bathroom. For all you knew, he was waiting for a friend, or maybe the stalls were all occupied, and he was waiting for someone to leave, or literally any other reason.

He let out a laugh. “That does look a little bad, huh?”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” You tried to explain, feeling like you had just completely vanished any energy that had started to build.

“No, it’s okay.” He giggled to himself. “I guess I was just waiting for a beautiful lady to fall into my arms.”

“I guess you’ll have to keep waiting, because I’m not exactly in your arms,” You shot back.

“Well that can be arranged.” It was your turn to raise your eyebrows, and the guy backed down immediately with an embarrassed laugh, hands reaching up to hide his face. “I’m sorry, that was a little much.”

Your legs moved forward on instinct, hands reaching up to grab his own in a soft grip. You pulled them away from his face until you could see him clearly, the small expanse of skin that you could see behind the mask turning red, dark eyes staring into yours. You swallowed, giving him a nervous smile of your own.

“Not at all,” You said, softer than before. Your eyes darted down to his masked face, and you wished you could see beneath it. “I … I wouldn’t mind.”

“Being in my arms?”

“Or anything else you offered,” You said.

The energy way back as if it had never left, a heavy haze falling over the two of you. His skin was warm, pupils dilating, and his scent became heavy with arousal, your body immediately reacting by pushing out your own vanilla scent in hopes that it would attract the perfect mate. From in your head, your omega was practically begging for you to make this man your own.

You were finding it hard to argue.

He flipped your grips around so that your hands were now in his. One of your hands was pulled up to his face, your arm twisted so that your wrist was now next to his mask, and you wondered just how much of your scent he was able to pick up from behind the mask. It must have been enough for him to understand because his eyes crinkled as if he was smiling.

“Anything I offered, huh?”

“I mean, if you’re offering,” You said shyly, batting your eyelashes at him.

He let out a huff of laughter, and you used the position of your arms to wrap them around his neck, pulling your body close to his. His grip dropped from your hands and to your waist, stopping you from moving closer.

“And if I said I wasn’t interested?” He asked.

You froze. “Well then this would be very awkward.”

“Ah, don’t worry.” He pulled you up against him completely, one of your knees hitting the wall behind him, a thigh slotting perfectly in between your legs, your chests pressed together. Your face was so close to his that you could feel the cloth of his mask brushing up against your nose. “I’m interested.”

“Great,” You replied, voice breathy.

“There is a bit of a hiccup, however-“

“Is it the mask?” You interrupted.

His eyes crinkled again. “Ah, am I that obvious?”

“I don’t mind,” You reassured him.

You didn’t care why he had the mask on. There were tons of reasons for it, from privacy to insecurities, that were none of your business. You told him as much, and his body seemed to relax slightly against your own, the tropical mix of his scent showing he was relieved at your acceptance. You found your nose drifting close to his neck, to the scent gland in front of you.

This close to him, his scent was thick enough you could practically taste it.

“We can make it work,” You told him, head feeling fuzzy from the sudden onslaught of alpha pheromones. Your omega was embarrassingly close. “Your place or mine?”

“Yours.” He didn’t even hesitate.

And that was how you found yourself pushing yourself into the crowd to get to Sooyoung, letting the alpha stranger that you just needed to give a heads up to your roommate. It wasn’t until she spotted you, letting out a yell of excitement and pulling you towards her, that you realized you didn’t even know the alpha’s name.

Whatever. I wasn’t like you were planning on marrying the guy.

You didn’t even need to explain much to your roommate, the face she made when she got a whiff of you telling her everything she needed to know. She yelled at you to wear protection and you flushed when the eyes of everyone around you turned in your direction, so you made a quick retreat shortly after.

It wouldn’t be until later the next day that you would explain the entire interaction to Sooyoung over a late afternoon brunch. She congratulated you for finally getting out of your rut (pun intended), and you found out that Sooyoung had managed to snag not just the omega she had been dancing with for half of the night, but also the cute beta girl who had joined them later on.

All in all, it felt like a successful night out.

-0-0-

It was only your first day, and you were already feeling a little overwhelmed at the sudden change in your environment. It wasn’t your first time translating in an official business setting, but law firms were much different than a kpop agency, and all the new rules and regulations made your head spin. Thankfully, you were used to doing paperwork, so the sheer number of NDAs you had to read through was familiar for you. It took nearly three hours of your time just to finish signing things, going through an orientation of sorts, and to be introduced to the office where you would be working. You understood why you had been called in so early.

Park Jeonhui, the head translator for JYP entertainment, sat you down around noon to explain the situation to you.

“The past few years, we’ve kept up pretty well with having only a few translators, only hiring extra when necessary, but recently we’ve had more groups to manage, which means more material, more opportunities, and unfortunately, more demand. Specifically, it’s no longer possible for the few translators we have to constantly be jumping from group to group when they are needed.”

You nodded in understanding, and she handed over a folder to you.

“Due to this increase in demand and the multiple world tours that are planned for the near future, it was the companies decision to hire translators who would focus on a specific group. Due to the languages you speak and your experience, we have decided to place you on the team for Stray Kids. Have you heard of them?”

You had, indeed, heard of them. While you weren’t a huge fan (you were much more of a Once than a Stay), you had heard their music and watched their music videos. You probably wouldn’t be able to recognize any of the members if you saw them on the street, however.

“You’ll be meeting with Stray Kids manager and their leader today to go over their current projects and your work expectations.”

“Sounds good.”

“Before that, however, I was wondering if you had any questions?”

It seemed like the perfect opportunity. You physically had to bite your tongue to keep from asking her why the company didn’t hire omega’s or alphas, knowing it was neither the time for that kind of question (you didn’t need to put yourself under scrutiny so soon), nor was it the person you should be questioning. Jeonhui was just the translation head, she didn’t decide company policy.

Even if it was a stupid policy.

“Well in that case, I’ll let them know we’ll be finishing up soon.”

When an older man knocked on the conference door to ask for Jeonhui’s help with something, you took the opportunity to pull out your phone and quickly check out yourself in the front camera, making sure you looked presentable. Your old boss had drilled into you enough time the importance of looking professional in front of clients, and while neither the manager nor leader of Stray Kids were your clients (if anything, they were your bosses), those old habits were kicking in. You were thankful that you decided to at least wear your best professional shirt, a casual white button down.

Jeonhui thanked the guy, and while the first man bowed and left the doorway, Jeonhui remained at the door. She stepped forward and bowed to someone else you couldn’t see, and after a quick exchange of words, she moved to the side.

Two men walked in.

The first one was a dark-haired guy who seemed young, but older than you. His beta scent was stronger than most people, but calm enough that it didn’t bother you. He seemed laid back and easy-going, wearing comfortable clothes as opposed to the professional outfit you had seen other managers use. He bowed at you, introducing himself as the Stray Kids manager, and as you stood up to bow at him in return, he took his seat at the head of the table.

And from behind him appeared a younger man, closer to your age. He was handsome with dark hair and soft eyes, his smile revealing dimples as he chatted briefly with Jeonhui. The normally stoic and polite beta woman seemed to melt in the stranger’s presence, a soft smile on her face. It was jarring. The young man then turned to you, and you once again bowed, but when you raised your head, all you could see on his face was shock.

You were confused, worried if you had accidentally done something you shouldn’t have, but then his scent reached you.

Floral and fruity, like sunscreen and pina colada and the hot sun on sand.

You froze, sharing the wide-eyed gaze with this complete stranger, who wasn’t actually a complete stranger.

Soft moans, fingers brushing up against your thighs as you were filled deliciously from behind, another moan forced out of your mouth as he wrapped his fingers gently around your throat, lips brushing up against the shell of your ear.

“God, you’re so tight.”

You nearly chocked on your spit.

The man you had unintentionally had a one night stand with two nights ago was the leader of Stray Kids.

Your boss.

“Alpha, please!”

“Just a little longer,. You can hold on just a little longer, cant you? Hmm? Don’t you want to be good for your Alpha?”

You were so close. Your body felt like it was on fire and your head spun, the darkness that seemed to engulf you left your nerve endings so sensitive, and you couldn’t see him, could think, couldn’t do anything more than accept the pleasure he was giving you. He seemed to know that you were at your breaking point, because as a whine began to build in your throat, he pulled away.

His fingers pressed right where you needed them most, and you found yourself spiraling.

“Cum for me, Omega.”

And he knew your secret.

Chapter Text

He recovered a lot quicker than you did. "Uh, hi! You must be the new translator ... it’s, uh, nice to meet you."

You blinked, unable to take your eyes off his face. Now in broad daylight, you could see that the dark hair you had previously thought black was actually a dark brown, and his smile, although forced, revealed dimples you wouldn’t have been able to see under the mask.

When you introduced yourself, your voice sounded off even to yourself. You coughed, hoping the other two would just think you had something in your throat.

"Right. I'm Bangchan- I mean, my stage name is Bangchan. But you can call me Chan! Or Chris, or Channie, or uh ... whatever you want."

"What do I call you?"

"Hmm, you can call me Alpha."

It seemed that he remembered your past interaction at the same moment you did, because he physically winced. It took every inch of your willpower and having to physically bite down on your tongue to keep yourself from mentioning it.

Jeonhui took a seat next to the manager. "Well, I suppose we should get started."

You pulled your chair out harshly, the metal legs grinding against the tiles with a high-pitched squeak. Chan sat down across from you, but neither one of you looked at the other.

What followed was the most uncomfortable 20 minutes of your life.

The manager, Soojin, talked to you about upcoming activities and the responsibilities you’d be in charge of. Promotional activities, concerts, statements, along with any help that of the other staff members would need with translations. It was a lot of work, but it was doable.

The only thing that stopped you from agreeing immediately-

You lifted your head, meeting Chan’s gaze for the first time since the meeting started. He looked embarrassed at having been caught staring, his eyes flickering to the windows behind you, neck and cheeks slightly flushed. His scent was faint, and it made you want to lean in closer.

You swallowed, forcing yourself to look away.

Soojin took your silence as your answer. "If the schedule doesn’t work, we can put one of the other translators in your place. Youd be in charge of two to three groups at a time, but you’d be working with someone else as well. Our former translators have more experience with the other groups, which is why we would prefer not to move them around, but if it’s too much work-"

"I’ll do it," You cut him off.

You knew their offer had nothing to do with you being an omega. As far as they were aware, you were just a beta. You could take the opportunity, work with another group you’ve never met, never slept with, and have no issues or drama to deal with. But even if it was a logical choice, there was a part of you that hated the thought of running away.

"Are you sure?" Chans eyes were burning a hole in the side of your head.

You met his gaze head on. And you raised your eyebrow. "Will that be a problem?"

His eyes darted down to your lips, then your neck, and they hovered over your clothed body. The smell of tropical fruit got stronger for a split second. You were close enough to smell the hint of arousal in his scent.

Lips pressed against your neck, sucking softly at the skin. You pulled away with a whine.

"No marks, please. I have work."

There was a hand on your stomach, and it pushed your shirt up. His lips disappeared from your still wet neck, reappearing against the tops of your now exposed breasts.

"I assume you mean no marks where they can be seen?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm." He pressed a kiss to your skin, tongue darting out to glide from the tops of your breast towards your nipples. He teasingly pulled against them as he passed, moving to press another kiss just to the side. "Is this okay?"

"Yes," You said, voice breathless.

Chan swallowed roughly. "No. No problem."

He looked away, and with the confirmation from both parties, Soojin and Jeonhui began to set up your workload. While Jeonhui would still be in charge of you at the company, you would report and answer to Soojin for as long as you were working with Stray Kids. You didn’t know how long that would be, but you were determined not to let your special circumstances get in the way of proving yourself.

If you were going to show that omegas could keep up with betas, you couldn’t back out just because it would be hard.

"Well, that seems to be everything for now. I'll have the work sent to you this afternoon so you can get started early tomorrow morning."

The two heads stood up, and began to leave the office room, but Jeonhui paused at the doorway as if suddenly remembering you existed.

"I have to get back to my work now, but if you have any questions, feel free to stop by my office. I suggest getting to know the rest of the Stray Kids staff and members, since you’ll be working closely with them for a while."

And with that she left the two of you in the room alone. The door closed shut behind her with a loud 'click'. There was a moment of silence, before you darted up, trying to make your way to the door as quickly as you could without running.

"Wait!" You paused with your hand on the handle. You didn’t look behind you, but you heard him push his chair back and stand up. "Look, I know this isn’t an ideal situation. But I think we should talk about this."

"What’s there to talk about? We slept together, we didn’t know we both worked for the same company, it’s an embarrassing situation, but it was a one-time thing."

He was silent for a moment, and you were tempted to peek at him, to see what expression he was making. His scent didn’t give anything away, which meant he was still next to the table.

When Chan spoke next, his voice was quiet. "What about ... your status?"

"Status? I’m single," You drawled, hand gripping the handle tighter.

"Thats not what I meant."

"Wasn’t it?"

"I’m just trying- Look, can you at least look at me? Please, I’m not trying to get you in trouble or anything."

You spun around, eyes narrowed. "Trouble for what? You know what I am, and if you really wanted to avoid causing any problems, then you should keep your mouth shut and never bring this up again."

"You're pretending to be a beta," he accused, taking a step forward. "You could get fired if they figure it out, or worse, they could sue you for lying on official documents."

"Don’t worry, I have a good lawyer," You shot back.

Chan took a step forward, and you held your breath as his scent wafted toward you. "How did you even do it? How long can you keep it up before they realize? You're wearing, what? A synthetic scent on you?"

"Synthetic scents have a distinct smell,” You said, looking at the windows. "Pheromone based perfumes don’t."

"Pher- You're wearing someone else’s scent? How do you even get that? Actually, forget it, I don’t want to know."

"You really don’t."

"Is this worth it? Faking your presentation to get a job? Risking the chance of getting blacklisted from the entire industry?! What are you going to do when you have a heat!?" Chan exclaimed.

You rushed forward, smacking a hand over his mouth. "Hey! Are you trying to tell the whole world? Keep your voice down." He blinked but didn’t move. "My life and my sub gender are none of your business. You and I both know those stupid company policies are bullshit, and I have every right to work here. I know the risks, I know the dangers, and I decided to do this despite them because it’s my dream. So don’t try and hit me with this fake sympathy of yours, because I’m not going to suddenly realize what a mistake I’ve made and give up. So do us both a favor, and just drop it, okay?"

You both stood there for a moment, the sudden silence deafening. Chan reached up slowly, hand lightly gripping your wrist and pulling your hand away from his mouth. "The rooms are soundproof."

"Huh?"

"The room? It’s soundproof. I wasn’t trying to reveal anything about you to the world, nobody would have heard."

You gave him a deadpan stare. "Seriously? Is that all you took-"

"And you're right," Chan interrupted. "Those rules are borderline illegal with how discriminatory they are."

You narrowed your eyes. "You're agreeing with me."

He tilted his head in confusion. "Did you expect me not to?"

"A minute ago, you were telling me that I was stupid."

"I never said you were stupid," Chan said, squeezing your wrist gently. Then he let you go completely, taking a step back to put space between the both of you. "Just this ... situation."

"And I told you, I know the risks."

Chan’s jaw clenched. "Do you?"

"I wasn’t joking when I said I had a good lawyer," You reassured him.

"It’s not the legal problems that worry me. There are worse things that can happen than just losing your job," Chan said softly, crossing his arms.

You blinked once, then twice, before it dawned on you. "Oh."

"This industry ... it’s a blessing and a curse. Believe me. But there’s a dark side to it. Even though you don’t hear about it, or see it, you know it’s still happening. And there’s nothing we as artists can do about it."

You swallowed. "Thats not legal."

He gave you a 'no shit' look, and you winced, looking away. The sky outside had begun to darken, storm clouds rolling in over the city, and the growing realization was beginning to make your stomach turn.

"Look, it’s not something you have to worry about. Okay? I won’t let them find out about you. I'll protect you."

You found yourself snorting at that. "I can protect myself just fine, Chan."

"I ... I don’t doubt that."

Silence settled over the two of you again, and you awkwardly hugged your middle, rubbing your arms to warm them from the growing chill.

Rain drops began to splatter against the windows.

"So, what now?"

Chan looked away from the windows and met your eyes again, giving you a shy grin. "You do your job. I do mine. We pretend as if today is the first time we ever met."

"And about ..." You gestured to yourself.

"I can keep a secret," he reassured you.

"Okay."

"Just-" Chan hesitated, biting his lip for a second before he regained his composure. "Just promise me you'll be safe."

"I will," You promised.

"And if you need help, come find me." There was a fire in his eyes, a determination to do right, but there was also a lingering worry in the way his lips pressed together.

You nodded your head. "I will."

-0-0-

You took Jeonhui’s suggestion, heading down to the first place she had shown you that morning. There were a handful of offices in the building for staff that dealt with management or advertisement, but the translators themselves only had two rooms, sharing the rest of the floor with the stylists. You had already met the other translators briefly, but if you would be working directly with Stray Kids, you would be meeting with their personal staff members a lot more than with other translators.

You figured you’d start with the stylists, since you knew where to find them.

The first person you ran into looked like they were in a hurry, carrying a box full of scraps, so you didn’t bother them. Instead, you walked over to a young woman with blonde hair. She was holding up a long-sleeved mesh shirt in one hand, a bright purple fuzzy crop top with the other. As you walked over to her, she layered the crop top over the mesh shirt, and you saw a vision begin to take place, the combination looking surprisingly good together.

“Who’s that for?” You wondered.

The girl looked up in surprise, giving you a wide-eyed look. “Uh, Lia. For their upcoming comeback.”

You nodded in understanding. “ITZY, right?”

“Yeah.” The girl trailed off with her response, eyes furrowed. “Sorry, who are you?”

“Oh, right. Sorry. I’m the new translator.”

She perked up. “Ah, I heard about you! You’re the one they’re assigning to Stray Kids, right? I heard they were going on tour soon, and they needed a personal translator. Something about having issues on the TWICE tour.”

“Yeah, they had a couple scheduling issues in America, almost didn’t get a replacement on time. They didn’t want a repeat of it happening again, so they decided to hire translators to work directly for them, that way they wouldn’t have to rely on finding one in each city.”

The girl smiled. “Well, in that case, welcome to the JYP family. I don’t think we’ll be seeing much of each other though.”

You nodded your head. “I was actually hoping to meet some of the stylists for Stray Kids? I wanted to get to know some of the staff.”

“Oh, I think Maya’s here today. She had to do some re-measurements for Changbin.”

“Don’t even get me started,” Another young woman said as she walked in behind you. Following behind her was a dark-haired man wearing an oversized hoodie, carrying three shirts in his arms. “I mean, two sizes in a month. I can’t keep making adjustments the day before your performances, Changbin!”

“Speak of the devil,” The blonde-haired girl muttered.

She mouthed ‘good luck’ to you and turned away, practically running off into the corner. The newcomer, who you assumed was Maya, had reached one of the many cluttered desks in the room to grab a pen and a piece of paper, angrily writing down numbers. The dark-haired man paused next to her with a pout.

“Sorry noona.”

“Don’t ‘sorry noona’ me. Just do me a favor and take it easy this week, okay? You keep building more muscle and your shirt will rip on stage. Or worse, your pants!”

“Okay, I understand.”

Maya turned back around, grabbing the shirts from Changbin’s arms, and moved to place them onto a pile of clothes stacked haphazardly on a spare chair. She paused as she put them down, eyes meeting your own.

“Um, hi?”

“Hi,” You said, lifting up a hand to wave awkwardly to her. “Maya, right?”

She slowly straightened up, eyeing you up and down. “Who’s asking?”

You introduced yourself to her, giving her a small bow. “I’m the new translator.”

“Right, nice to meet you. Do you need something?”

Her harsh tone threw you off. She had long dark hair that fell in soft curls over her shoulders, her eyes a piercing green that complemented her dark green sweater perfectly, and if it wasn’t for the ugly scowl she wore, you would have considered her beautiful.

You weren’t sure how to deal with this situation. You figured if you told her the truth, that you just wanted to introduce yourself to all of the staff members, she’d probably find it unimpressive. You felt like you had already gotten off on the wrong foot. You couldn’t find your words, mouth opening and closing twice as you struggled to come up with an excuse that wouldn’t make you look like a total idiot in front of this beautiful woman, and you were thankful for your scent blockers for hiding your distress.

Changbin came to your rescue without even realizing. “You’re the new translator? Hi!”

He distracted Maya enough that you came to your senses, immediately turning to the rapper instead. “Yeah, that’s me. I was told to introduce myself to staff and members, it’s nice to meet you.”

Introducing yourself to a stylist was apparently weird, but introducing yourself to a member of the team you would be working for? Totally logical.

They didn’t need to know that you had no idea one of the members would be here.

Changbin gave you a nod of acknowledgment, but Maya just shrugged. “Right, okay. Nice to meet you, you can go now.”

It was dismissive, and it rubbed you the wrong way. But you weren’t looking for a confrontation, not after your earlier one with Chan, so you reluctantly bowed to the two beta’s and took your leave. The blonde-haired girl gave you a sympathetic look as you passed her.

You made it to the elevator, deciding that maybe you should just give up on introductions and go home at this point, when a voice called out from down the hall.

“Hey, hold the door!”

It was Changbin, and he was running to catch up to you. You threw your hands in between the closing doors at the last second, stopping them from closing and allowing the rapper to make it onto the elevator. He shuffled in with a little huff of laughter, moving to stand next to you. The doors closed properly, and the elevator began to move down, but you noticed he made no moves to press any floor numbers.

“I’m sorry about Maya. She isn’t usually like that, I just left her in a bad mood,” He said, clearing his throat. “I hope you don’t hold it against her.”

You shook your head. “Don’t worry. I don’t mind, really. It's just been a long day.”

“Have you met any of the other members yet?” He asked you.

The elevator reached the lobby, and the doors opened, but you didn’t move. You thought about Chan, who you had left in the meeting room upstairs less than half an hour ago, and wondered what he was up to now. Had he disappeared off to the studio? Had he gone back home?

Did the thought of you affect him as much as it still affected you?

You took a deep breath, your nose assaulted with the smokey scent of burning wood. It reminded you of summer camp, making smores by the campfire, telling scary stories in the dark, and awkward first kisses with your schoolyard crushes. It was comforting, somehow.

The elevator doors began to move, and you reached out once again to keep them from closing. “Yeah, I met your leader earlier.”

“Nobody else?”

“Haven’t had the chance yet, no.”

The elevator closed on your hand again.

“Hmmm. You should stop by the practice rooms tomorrow. You can meet the other members, and I can introduce you to our makeup noona’s afterwards,” he offered.

You blinked in surprise. “That … that sounds like a great idea, actually. Thank you.”

He smiled at you, and it was cheeky and genius at the same time. “Happy to help.”

The elevator doors hit your hand once more, and you finally moved to leave the elevator. Changbin reached over to press one of the floor numbers, and as the elevator doors finally started to close, he winked at you.

You shook your head in amusement. You said goodbye to the man working the front desk, the same one from the day you had shown up for your interview, but he only glanced at you as you passed.

-0-0-

“No fucking way.”

“Yes way.”

Sooyoung shook her head in amazement. “You fucked your boss. Oh my god, you fucked your boss!”

“He’s not really my boss,” You said with a laugh. “He’s more like my client.”

“Still! I mean, you know what his dick looks like.”

You winced. “Actually, I don’t?”

“Ah, too preoccupied with other stuff, huh? You naughty girl.” Sooyoung gave you an exaggerated wink, and you laughed so hard you snorted.

“Oh my god, shut up. I meant that I didn’t actually see anything because I was blindfolded.”

“What?! Oh my god you kinky bitch, I should have known!” Sooyoung exclaimed.

“I didnt do it for me!”

“Oh my god, your boss is the kinky bitch?!”

“Sooyoung!”

She cackled, and it was contagious, making you join her immediately. The two of you had just finished dinner, a quick meal that Sooyoung had made, and were now sitting on the couch talking over a bottle of wine. You had let her complain about the Calculus teacher and their harsh comments for about an hour before you finally decided to let her in on your new development, knowing just how much she loved a good drama.

She was reacting just as expected.

“Wait, why were you blindfolded?”

“Well, I know now it was so I wouldn’t recognize him as an idol, but in the moment I kind of just thought maybe he was shy, or insecure, or something,” You explained.

“It definitely seems obvious to me that he was a celebrity of some kind, but I guess you were a lot more distracted with … other things,” Sooyoung said, wiggling her eyebrows at you.

You didn’t have the energy to argue. Especially because she was right.

“Tell me if it’s too tight,” He whispered, a soft cloth brushing against your eyelids.

His scent was heavy, your mind hazy from the arousal. When he finished tying off the blindfold, he leaned against your back, his mouth pressing a soft kiss to the juncture of your neck. You tilted your head to the side, an ache to feel his teeth pressing against the skin running through you and causing slick to drip down your thighs.

You let out a whine.

“Easy baby girl. I got you.”

His warmth disappeared, and you opened your eyes. The blindfold made it so that you could make out the shadows of the dark room, a vague shape of a person as they removed their clothes. You reached down to grab the hem of your own shirt.

“No, don’t,” He said, voice thick. “Let me.”

“So that’s it then? You’re just going to … pretend it never happened?” Sooyoung wondered.

You shook your head to clear your thoughts. “Yeah, I guess.”

Sooyoung downed the rest of her wine in one gulp. “You don’t sound very happy.”

“It’s not like I have a choice. This isn’t just some random one night stand I can call back when I need an itch scratched. We’re going to be working together,” You said, swirling your own wine around your cup.

“Ah, forbidden love. How tragic,” Sooyoung mused.

You rolled your eyes. “It’s not a forbidden love. It’s not even love.”

“Hmm, you sure about that?"

You stuck your tongue out at her.

“What about the rest of your day? Anything interesting happen?”

The two of you continued to talk about your day until you grew tired, deciding to retire to bed early. You got ready for bed, making sure your alarm was set for work the next morning, brushing your teeth, and getting changed into your pajamas. You paused as you grabbed your t-shirt from on top of your dresser, a familiar scent reaching you. You lifted your shirt up to smell it, but the scent was faint.

You leaned down and spotted a stray piece of fabric hidden under your dresser. You pulled it out, revealing a tank top shirt that was much larger than any other you would wear, the smell of it making your chest ache in recognition.

Chan had left his shirt.

You remembered him leaving shortly after you two had finished. He had received a phone call, and whatever was said made him rush to get dressed. He had told you it was a ‘work emergency’. You remembered him leaving with his sweater on, but you imagined that he had been unable to find his shirt where it had gotten thrown, and probably decided to just leave it.

You closed your eyes with a sigh, and your grip on the shirt tightened. The urge to breathe in his scent was strong, and it took everything in you to open up your bottom dresser drawer, the one where you held old or ripped clothes, and throw the shirt in.

You slammed the drawer shut.

Chapter Text

The next morning, you walked into the building with a pleasant smile, but the receptionist barely even looked at you. You considered the fact that he wasn’t judging you anymore as a win, but the indifference made you pout the entire elevator ride up.

The rest of the morning went by pretty smoothly. You weren't sure if your workload was on the lighter side because it would get harder once actually on tour, or if they were taking it easy on you because you were new, but either way you found yourself nearly done by the time noon rolled around. You were about to go make your way down to the cafeteria for some lunch, but as you passed by the stylist rooms, you spotted a lone figure.

The other stylist noonas must have already gone off to eat lunch, but Maya still remained at her desk. She was leaning against her desk, a forgotten half-eaten apple next to a pile of papers she was sorting through. She looked busy, so you quietly continued on. But her presence reminded you of the promise that Changbin had made the day before, and when you got to the elevators, you found yourself hitting the button for the practice rooms above instead of the cafeteria below.

You were second guessing yourself when you found an empty hallway, shuffling past the first few doors when a quick glance through the little glass windows showed empty rooms.

Maybe everyone had gone off to have lunch.

You had gotten to the end of the hallways when you finally spotted movement, making your way closer until you were pressed up against the door. The room inside was partially hidden from your point of view, but you spotted two men inside as they moved to the sound of music you couldn’t hear through the soundproof walls.

Even being unable to hear what they were dancing too, you were mesmerized by their movement, the fluidity and ease at which they danced along, and even the way they moved around each other like two pieces of the same puzzle. When one of the men suddenly stopped, hand jerking back and forth as if they had just forgotten the next move, the other pointed at them with a wide smile, shoulder shaking, and you could almost hear the laughter from the sight alone.

"Can I help you?"

You spun around in surprise. There was a man standing directly behind you, not only close enough for the scent of alpha to wash over you, but also close enough that you should have definitely heard them coming. That you didn’t hear him at all meant he was either the quietest person on planet earth, or you were just that distracted by the ongoing performance from inside the practice room.

You felt your cheeks get warm at the realization.

"Oh, uh. No. Right, sorry."

You stepped to the side, assuming he wanted to get into the room. He just tilted his head at you.

"Who are you?"

You gave him your name without a second thought, but he obviously didn’t react to it. Not that you expected him to. The cold stare he continued to give you made you feel uncomfortable, so you took another step to the side, hoping to edge your way around him and back towards the elevator.

His hand darted out to grab your wrist, stopping you in your place. "What are you doing here?"

"I was just looking for someone," You told him with a harsh tone. It was one thing to be in your space, but the physical contact was drawing the line.

You gave a small tug to your still restrained arm, but he didn’t budge. Your heart rate began to rise, fear curling in your stomach.

"Who were you looking for," The alpha asked, his voice holding a strange sharpness to it. "How did you even get up here?"

You were close enough to smell the harsh edge to his sweet scent, the tightness in his brows, the way his eyes darted behind you in worry. You realized that this wasn’t just some random alpha looking to bother an unsuspecting individual. You thought back to what it must have looked like to him, creepily watching the two boys from the door window in an abandoned hallway. He probably thought you were a fan, at best. You felt your muscles slowly loosen at the realization that you weren’t in danger.

"I’m a staff member " You explained, thinking it would be enough of an explanation.

His eyes darted back to yours in surprise. "Staff? For who?"

"Stray Kids."

In hindsight, you understood the sudden shift in his face. The confusion quickly dropped into anger, and the grip on your wrist rightened.

"I know all the staff members for my group, and I don’t recognize you. Why don’t you tell me who you really are?"

Fuck.

"Look, it’s not like that. I’m new, I’m the new translator. I’m just here to introduce myself to the members." You reached up to your chest to grab your staff card, the one you had been given yesterday, only to realize you had left it on your desk. "My staff card is at my desk downstairs. I can go get it for you-"

"And let you wander the building by yourself? Do you think I’m stupid?"

Your heart dropped as the once sweet scent of maple syrup turned sour, burning your nose. Your pleading was doing nothing to convince him of your innocence, and he looked seconds away from dragging you out of the building himself. Even with the scent blockers and the pheromone perfume, you began to worry that your distress would start to become noticeable, and your eyes burned at the thought of losing either your dignity or your job because of a simple mistake.

He narrowed his eyes at you, gaze darting down to your neck for a split second before the elevator down the hall suddenly dinged, the noise echoing in your head.

As if the heavens themselves were answering your prayers, both Changbin and Chan stepped off the elevator, followed by an unfamiliar face. The leader paused at the sight of you and one of his members, bodies so close together your chests were practically touching, but Changbin seemingly didn’t notice anything was wrong. He waved at you with a smile.

"Hey, you made it! I was starting to think you weren't going to show. I see you've met-" You saw the moment he got close enough to smell the bitter scent in the air, step faltering. "Minho, dude. You're stinking up the hallway."

Minho dropped your wrist as if he had been burned, and it took biting down on your tongue to keep yourself from yelping at the sudden sensation that entered your numb hands. You subtlety tried to shake it out from behind you, giving Changbin a smile of your own.

"Hey, I didn’t want to interrupt any real practice, so I figured I’d check in during lunch," You said, lying through your teeth. You had completely forgotten.

He hummed, still giving Minho a warning look. "We actually just got back from getting some food. I see you met Minho."

Minho gave you a slow blink, and you noticed that as the air once again filled with sweet maple syrup (which mixed deliciously with Changbins own smokey campfire scent, but you were trying not to think about that), there was a hint of regret to it.

You also realized you were still standing way too close, so you stepped to the side, nearly hiding yourself behind Changbin.

"Yeah, I was just explaining to him that I’m the new hire. Just ... wanted to introduce myself."

Changbin placed a hand against your shoulder, squeezing it softly. "Hmm, he wasn’t too mean to you, was he? He tends to be a little intense to new people."

You could understand the unspoken ‘are you okay?’

"Its fine, I’ve learned not to hold peoples first impressions against them." You told him, patting his hand.

‘im okay’

"Remind me to introduce you to Maya when she’s not mad. I swear, she’s normally a total sweetheart."

Tropical breeze and lemonade filled the air as the other two joined you. You gave a strained smile to Chan, who was too busy having a stare off with Minho to notice, and then turned to the last male of the group.

"Hi," You introduced yourself with a quick bow.

The omega gave you an awkward smile. He had boyish good looks framed by soft bangs, but his eyes were calculating as he introduced himself as Kim Seungmin. He gave a curious look to Chan and Minho, who were staring each other down, only looking away when Changbin clapped his hands together.

“Right, you’ve already met Chan. Lets go introduce you to the others!”

Changbin opened the door to the practice room, allowing a blast of music and the sound of laughter to fill the hallway. He held the door open, signaling for you to enter, and you nervously shuffled in without waiting to see if the other boys would follow. Once inside the room, you realized that there were 4 boys in the room, not just two. The blond-haired duo were still dancing, although they had now been joined by a dark-haired man in an oversized hoodie, enthusiastically trying to pull off the worm.

You paused at the sight, a laugh escaping your mouth before you could stop yourself.

You immediately clapped a hand over your mouth in regret, and while the three dancing men didn’t seem to hear you over the sound of the music, the last individual did. He was sitting off on the sidelines, much closer to the door, and he looked up at the sound of your laughter.

He blinked at you in confusion.

Minho pushed past you, grabbing a phone from next to the lone duck and turned the music down. The other three boys let out noises of complaint, but once they noticed you, they all drew quiet.

A hand from behind led you forward, and you only had a split second to recognize that the man standing next to you wasn’t Changbin, but instead Chan, before you were bombarded with multiple new scents.

"Guys, this is the new translator." He introduced you to them, his hand still warm against your back. "Be nice."

The mix of smells was hard to differentiate, but as the one on the floor suddenly stumbled to his feet, the air shifted enough that you could tell he was a beta.

"Um, hi! Im Han. I mean, my names Jisung, but you can call me Han. Han Jisung."

The blond next to him bowed, raising his head to give you a blindingly handsome smile. "Hi, my names Hyun-"

"Wait, did you see- how long have you guys been there?" Han interrupted to say.

"Jisung, relax. She’s not the first person to see you do something stupid," The blond who never got the chance to introduce himself said exasperatedly.

"But I’ve never embarrassed myself in front of someone so pretty before!" His cheeks went red as he seemed to realize what he just admitted.

"Wait, are you saying im not pretty?!"

Chan sighed from beside you. "Guys, I said be nice."

"Yeah, to her. Not to this asshole."

"Oh my god, Hyunjin. You're very pretty!" Minho exclaimed.

"Thank you!"

"Now shut up!"

Hyunjin pouted, and Han had decided to hide his still red cheeks behind his hands, which only left the other blond and the brunette next to the door. The first introduced himself as Felix, giving you a tired smile, and the latter waved at you from the ground.

"Im Jeongin, but you can call me I.N.," he said.

"Or Innie," Changbin piped up.

"Or Baby Bread," Seungmin joked. You assumed it was an inside joke from the way Jeongin groaned in annoyance.

"All right, that’s good enough on the introductions. We have to get back to practice, so if you need to go to the bathroom, go now," Chan told the group.

The others let out protests, but you weren’t sure if its because your meeting was being cut short, or if it was because they had to get back to work. Some of them dispersed around the room to various belongings settled against the walls, Hyunjin immediately pulled Felix back into their silly dance competition, and Chan turned to you with a strained smile.

"I’m sorry about them, they ... well I was going to say they usually aren’t like this, but that would be a lie." He sighed. "But I’m glad you got to meet them."

"I still have a couple of other staff members to meet up with. Mostly just the wardrobe and makeup stylists. Changbin offered to introduce me yesterday-"

Changbin seemed to magically appear at your side. "We can go after practice is done. Do you think you can wait 2 more hours?"

"Well, I could probably finish up my work for today by then," You said, giving him a small nod and a smile. "Do you want to meet up here?"

"Nah, I’ll come get you. Most of the stylists work on that floor anyways."

"Right."

As Changbin and you talked, from across the room, Minho called out for Chan. The leader turned slightly, but he hesitated to go. You could tell he wanted to say something, but it probably wasn’t something he could bring up with his members nearby, and you weren’t sure you wanted to talk about it right now. You didn’t want to think about the tension that still lingered between you.

So before he could ask you to talk later, or invite himself to your tour that afternoon, you bowed to the two boys and then said your goodbyes to the rest of the room.

Only a handful of them said goodbye in return, the other half occupied.

You made your way down to the now mostly empty cafeteria, deciding to get something to go and eat while you worked, since you had used up your lunch time talking to the group. With a moment of thought, you grabbed a second plate.

Once back onto your floor, you weaved past people who had gotten back from their break, the noise startling from the silence you had experienced before. As you passed by the room where Maya usually worked in, you took a second to wave at the blonde haired girl you never got the name of, and walled over to the messy desk.

"Maya?"

The girl in question looked up at you with a confused look, eyes widening when she recognized you.

"I noticed you didn’t have time to get lunch earlier, so I brought you some food," You said. "If you want it," You quickly added.

Maya pouted adorably. "Oh my god, thank you. You didn’t have to do that."

"I wanted to."

She accepted the plate you offered her, and after a second to properly place it on a free space so it wouldn’t fall off, she jumped to her feet and gingerly wrapped you in a surprisingly warm hug. The smell of honey and feeling of love surrounded you.

"Thank you, so much. And I want to apologize, for the way I treated you yesterday. I know it isn’t an excuse, but I was tired, and so I wanted the conversation to end, and I knew if I was snappy it would scare you off-"

"You don’t have to explain yourself-" You cut her off with a giggle. She joined you.

"But again, thanks. i want to make it up to you, both the being mean and the food." She looked down at her watch. "I don’t have time right now, but maybe we can get coffee someday? Get to know each other properly?"

Her soft smile was contagious. "Of course. I'll see you later."

As you made it back to your desk, you found yourself pleasantly calm and relaxed. The betas scent did wonders for your omega, even hidden as she was, and you could barely even remember the earlier panic and distress that you had felt.

That was until Changbin dropped by to get you.

It was almost 2 hours exactly on the dot that he appeared next to your desk, leaning against the edge to look over the words on your screen. You laughed at the bewildered face he made.

"Is that Japanese?"

"Yup. Its for the announcement of your world tour. I have to translate it into English next."

"Wah," Changbin shook his head. "Thats so cool. Just how many languages do you speak?"

"Hmm, how many do you think I speak?" You teased, watching him closely.

Changbin's eyes darted from the computer screen to your face, brows coming together for a second as he considered your question. He titled his head to the side, and strands of dark hair fell right in front of his eyes. On instinct, you found your hand darting up to brush them out of the way, hand bumping into his own as he moved to do the same.

"Five."

You both jolted at the sudden voice that came from behind Changbin, and you nearly groaned audibly at the sudden recognizable scent that hit your nose. You had been worried that Chan might have tried to tag along, but you didn’t even think Minho showing up would be a possibility.

Apparently, Changbin hadn’t either.

"Hyung? I thought you stayed back with Felix to work on something."

Minho shrugged. "I told him we could work it out later. He didn’t argue."

You both stared at the alpha as if expecting him to elaborate more (perhaps explain what he was doing there), but he didn’t. Changbin let out a cough which then turned into an awkward laugh.

"Right. Well, I promised you a tour-" Changbin held out his arm to you, and you took it with a giggle.

"Thank you, kind sir."

He beamed, and Minho watched you two with a blank face as you made your way passed him. You pretended not to notice as he followed the two of you as you made your way down the hallway, close enough that you could hear his footsteps, which made your omega want to bare her teeth.

Changbin also didn’t react, which made you wonder if the alphas behavior was normal for him, or if he just didn’t want to bring it up.

You decided to ignore Minho in exchange for trying to learn the names of the four makeup stylists Changbin introduced you to, as well as the other two wardrobe stylists (as you had already met Maya). Most of them were busy when you were introduced, and while they all gave you a smile and a nod of acknowledgement, you figured most of them wouldn’t remember your name either.

One makeup artist did capture your attention from the way she flushed when she noticed Minho. Her name was Minji, and she was apparently Felix and Hyunjin's makeup artist. She had acted fairly normal and almost playfully with Changbin, so you wondered if she had a crush on the dancer for her to suddenly get so shy.

Minho didn’t offer anything more than a nod to her as he trailed behind you two, and you found yourself thinking she could do better.

"Thats everyone. Of course, there’s also Maya, but you already met her."

"How come you have 4 makeup stylists, but only 3 wardrobe stylists?"

Changbin paused outside the elevators. "Hmm, well the makeup artists have designated members they work with, but wardrobe kind of all have to coordinate the entire group with each other. Having less stylists makes it easier for them."

You nodded your head. "I guess that makes sense."

The two of you got on the elevator when it arrived, and you gave an unamused look to Minho as he casually followed, leaning against the opposite wall to you. Changbin gave the alpha an equally unimpressed look.

"Hyung, what are you doing?" He asked.

Minho raised his eyebrows. "I’m not doing anything."

"You're being weird."

"I don’t know what you're talking about."

Changbin let out a sigh. "Minho-"

"I wanted to apologize," Minho interrupted, crossing his arms, and to your surprise, began pouting.

"Apologize for what?" Changbin asked in confusion.

"Not to you!"

You flushed under the sudden combined weight of both men’s gazes. The elevator opened, and a random staff member you had never seen before entered, two floors before the lobby. The elevator was suddenly filled with silence, and realizing how awkward the conversation would get if you stayed, you ignored the boys until the moment the doors opened.

You turned to Changbin with an apologetic smile. "Thanks for the tour Bin. I'll see you later."

The rapper stuttered, and you heard Minho call out to you, but you booked it out to the lobby and practically slammed through the front doors.

Neither of them followed you.

-0-0-

Hands against your waist, lips pressed softly to your cheek. Your head felt heavy. Arms moving to lock themselves around you, chest pressed against your back. There was a presence in front of you, eyes soft and loving, but there was a voice whispering softly in your ear from behind.

"Tell us what you want"

You woke up with wet cheeks, your chest aching. You took in a deep breath, but it felt like someone was sitting on top of you. With your head still fuzzy, half asleep, you pushed yourself onto your elbows. You felt like you had just lost something important.

When you slid into Sooyoung's bed, she only cracked open one eye. "You okay?"

"Nightmare," you lied.

You didn’t know how to explain to her that you had a dream so full of hope and love that it hurt you to wake up and realize it was just a dream. You didn’t know how to explain that you couldn’t even remember what the dream was about.

She hummed, pulling your head down so your nose pressed against the crook of her nose. It smelled like freshly made croissants, a strong but homey scent. The calming protection and reassurance of her alpha had your omega placated, head clearing and chest relaxing as you breathed in.

But you still found yourself wishing the scent was different.

Chapter Text

The rest of the week passed by surprisingly easily. You got around to meeting everybody else on the team, and you did your best to remember their names (thankfully most of them were older than you, which allowed you to easily pull the Oppa or Unnie card when you forgot). They were all kind and helpful, and at the worst indifferent to your presence, which allowed you to make it through the week fairly easily.

You were busy with promotional translations and working out the translation for a few videos that would be dropping the next week, so you saw little of the others as you spent most of your time on your computer. Even so, you managed to find some free time to meet up on Friday with Maya, who was swamped with picking out and modifying all the MV outfits that were scheduled for the end of the month.

When she plopped onto her chair with a sigh, you could only give her a sympathetic look. “Hey, you sure you have the time to have coffee with me?”

“I need a break. Believe me, this caffeine hit is the only thing keeping me going right now.”

“Looking forwards to the weekend?” You asked, knowing that she got Saturday and Sunday off.

“Hmm, I’m definitely going to enjoy my weekend,” Maya confirmed, sipping her coffee. “My girlfriend’s birthday is on Sunday, so we’re planning a small party to celebrate. What about you?”

“I think I’m just going to relax at home.”

You still had to come in on Saturday for a quick meeting to confirm the projects you had worked on that week before they were posted, but it would only be for an hour or two, which left the rest of the weekend free. Normally you and Sooyoung would go out, but you weren’t really feeling it, especially after what happened last week.

Maya lifted her head and gave you a soft smile. “Do you want to come to the party?”

“What time is it?”

“We’re planning for noon. A nice little lunch and then just a hang out afterwards. It’s just going to be me and my girlfriend, a few friends, and some coworkers,” Maya said.

You nodded in understanding. “I’ll probably stop by for a bit. Just send me the address.”

Both of you realized the issues immediately after you spoke, and she was pulling out her phone before you could even say you didn’t have her number out loud. The two of you exchanged numbers and had a comfortable conversation for a few minutes to finish your drinks. Your lunch officially ended when Maya received a text. She scowled.

You shared a knowing look. “Duty calls.”

-0-0-

The company building was practically empty this early on a Saturday morning. On the one hand you were mad at having to be awake so early on the weekend, but on the other hand you appreciated them getting this out of the way so you would have the rest of the afternoon free. The guard nodded in greeting to you as you passed to the elevators, and you smiled in return.

The meeting passed by pretty quickly, all things considered. Soojin, Jeonhui, and the head advertisement manager all joined you, along with a couple of other employees, and you went over the promotional material. You felt a little nervous when presenting your work, but nothing seemed out of place, and they quickly moved on to the next person with little to no words. Maybe somebody else would have been offended by the way they seemed to look past you, but you took comfort in the indifference, knowing that it was the lack of attention that allowed you to be where you were now.

The meeting was over just as the clock struck 11, and Jeonhui wished you a good weekend as you were leaving. A few of the other employees lingered behind to talk with each other, but you weren’t close or comfortable enough to any of them to join them. You just wanted to go home.

The elevator reeked when you opened it.

The smell of spoiled milk and rotten strawberries hit you, and you immediately clamped a hand over your nose. Disappointment, anger, fear. Your omega was immediately on guard, and you felt like your heart had dropped down to your stomach.

“Ugh, what is that scent?”

“Is that … an omega?”

The other employees who had been behind you walked over, and even when the elevator doors closed once again, the air still lingered with the smell of an omega in distress. It made your hackles rise, and you felt the need to find that omega and comfort them, while another part of you wanted to run. An omega in distress usually meant danger.

You swallowed hard.

The female employee wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Gross. What’s an omega even doing in the building to begin with?”

“Probably one of the trainees. They like to come around and practice on weekdays, as if the extra effort changes the fact that they’re an omega’s.” The male employee said, waving his hand in front of his nose. “Disgusting.”

“That’s omegas for you. Think they deserve the world just because they’re so dainty and fragile. Ugh, I can’t stand them. Why does the company even allow omegas to audition anymore?”

“I don’t think they do. Must have just presented.”

“Let’s just take the stairs. I’ll get a cleaner to sterilize the elevator.”

The two employees walked away, either ignorant of or completely unaware of your rapidly changing mood. Their words echoed in your head, and you found your eyes welling up with tears, not self-consciously, but in anger. Anger at the way they talked so callously about another person, most likely a child. They way they so nonchalantly and openly admitted the prejudice against omegas in the work force. And the way that neither one of them even thought for a second to go looking for that poor omega in need of help.

You weren’t like them.

You took the elevator, stopping on every floor you had access to and sniffing the air from the hallways. One of the upper floors, where the practice rooms could be found, had a lingering scent, but it was faint, which told you the omega had probably come from there. You then checked the office floors below them, but they were surprisingly empty. Finally, you found yourself on a floor that you had yet to see, but the second the doors opened you knew it was the right one.

It was the studio floor, which held recording studios as well as production studios.

And it reeked.

The scent in the elevator had already begun to dissipate, so the strong smell was a good sign that the omega was still in the area. Why a trainee would be on the studio floor was beyond your knowledge, but you were on a mission. Your own omega snapped her jaws at the thought of the harsh cruel words from your fellow colleagues.

Gross.

Disgusting.

I can’t stand them.

You knew even if you had been a beta those words would have been offensive to you, and the fact that they said it so easily made your skin boil. You were grateful for your own scent blockers because there was no way they wouldn’t have noticed your soured mood otherwise.

You followed the smell past the entrance area, which had a small kitchen area where coffee and snacks were available, for those who didn’t want to go all the way down to the cafeteria. Or, part of you considered, for those who stayed late enough that the cafeteria would be closed. You thought of Chan, the way the other staff members warned you to keep an eye on him.

‘He’s a workaholic,’ One translator had mentioned in passing. ‘It’s admirable, if not a little stupid.’

Thinking of the alpha made your chest ache.

It felt almost fitting that the farther down the hall you went, in the opposite direction from the recording studios and instead towards a series of locked and labeled doors, when you realized where exactly the scent was leading you. Nearly at the end of the hall, you found a door labeled ‘3racha’.

The door was closed, but the scent told you there was someone inside.

You felt most of your anger dissipating.

On the one hand, you found yourself almost relieved. If there was anybody that you had gotten to know in this past week that you would trust with a distressed omega, it was Chan. He had 2 omegas on his team. He was a comforting figure. And above all else, he was a good man. You trusted him to have the situation handled, and to provide the compassion necessary for the situation.

But on the other hand, your omega refused to leave without making sure that the other was okay. It was survival mentality, the need to stick together, especially in a world like this that would so easily shove the weak and underappreciated away. But checking in on the other omega would mean having to confront Chan, and you weren’t ready to have to deal with him just yet. You couldn’t look him in the eye without your omega’s want bubbling up, and this close to the surface, you wouldn’t be able to suppress it.

You didn’t really get to make your decision before the door opened, and you startled, legs tensing as you considered running.

A young girl who couldn’t be older than 15 nearly smacked right into you, and she quickly raised her wide-eyed gaze to meet with your own, mouth opening in shock and her scent hitting you with a burst of surprise. Strawberries and milk, sweet and pleasant despite the worry that it conveyed.

“Oh, I- Sorry!” She bowed so low that her hair flipped over her head, the strands hitting you in the face. And then she realized what had happened, lifting her head up with a gasp. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to- are you okay?”

You raised your hands to show her you meant no harm.

“Hey, it’s okay, no need to apologize.” You eyed her tear-stained cheeks. “Are you okay?”

She dropped her gaze. “I’m fine. Thank you.”

You wanted to pull her into a hug. You had to remind yourself she didn’t know you, and that would be weird.

‘It wouldn’t be weird if she knew you were an omega’ your own omega grumbled in your head.

You ignored her.

“You should go home, Jisoo. Your parents will get worried,” A voice said from behind the girl, and your eyes snapped up. “Don’t worry about today. Everything will be okay.”

“Thank you, Oppa.” Jisoo gave you a weary look, but bowed to you nonetheless. “Have a nice day, Unnie.”

“Get home safe,” You answered back, and her shoulders relaxed slightly.

You both watched Jisoo make her way down the hall, the newly presented omega now calmer and safe. Your omega settled at the confirmation, and you felt your energy level drop, prompting you to press your hand against your forehead and close your eyes to let out a huge sigh.

“You know, I think you’re the last person I expected to find on this floor,” Changbin mused.

When you opened your eyes, you saw the beta watching you with a curious look, and you winced. Now that you had calmed down and everything was okay, you realized your behavior might have seemed erratic and confusing to anyone who wasn’t aware of your true presentation. Which Changbin was not.

You suddenly wished that it had been Chan inside the studio instead.

“There was a distressed scent in the elevators, and I … was worried,” You explained, trying to make yourself sound nonchalant. “I just wanted to make sure everything was okay.”

He pushed his tongue to the inside of his cheek, eyes drifting from your figure to the wall behind you. “Well, it’s a pretty shitty situation, I can’t lie.”

“I heard the company isn’t allowing omega trainee’s anymore.”

“Yeah, they made the decision last year.” Changbin shook his head. “She’s devastated. I calmed her down, told her I would try to figure something out, but ….”

He trailed off, a frown pulling at his mouth. You couldn’t smell him, his sweater doing a good job of hiding most of his scent from you, but you could tell just by his body language that he was angry. You felt a sense of reassurance at that.

Maybe Chan wasn’t the only best option for this situation.

“Are you two close?” You wondered, thinking about the direct path Jisoo had made from the practice rooms. “She headed straight here once she realized what was going on.”

“Were not particularly close, but Chan has told the trainees multiple times that if they ever need anything, they can come to us for help. I just happened to be the one here today.”

You nodded. “They look up to you guys, don’t they?”

“I think all trainee’s look up to idols,” Changbin said, running his hand through his hair. “I kind of wish Chan had been here instead. Or maybe even Jisung. I’m not sure how much I helped her.”

“I think you did a good job. She didn’t smell distressed anymore,” You reassured him.

Changbin’s eyebrows twitched down for a second, even as he nodded. “Yeah, I guess.”

You both stood there in silence for a few seconds. Eventually, you sighed again.

“Well, I guess I should get going. Umm, I guess have a good weekend,” You said.

“You too.”

When you got to the end of the hall, right before turning the corner, you glanced back. Changbin was still standing at the doorway, watching you with a thoughtful look on his face.

-0-0-

Maya’s girlfriend, Isa, was an amazing cook, and judging by the gleeful look on her face as everyone practically devoured the food, you had a feeling she knew. You practically moaned the moment you took your first bite. A beta you assumed was one of her friends melted in his seat, and then jokingly asked Isa for her hand in marriage.

“You’ll have to fight me for it,” Maya joked.

“Don’t tempt me.”

You giggled, and Isa leaned over her side of the table to smile at you. “How’s the food?”

“I’m normally not the type of person to encourage the birthday girl cooking her own meals, but hot damn. I can see why they put you in charge of the cooking,” You praised.

Isa beamed. “Exactly! That, and Maya burns water.”

“It was one time!”

The rest of the table laughed loudly, and Maya rolled her eyes. The other guests began to converse between themselves, and Isa eyed you with a small smile.

“So, you’re the new translator,” She began, and you paused with your fork an inch from your mouth. You nodded. “How’s it going? Maya tells me you joined at an inconvenient time, what with the tour starting up soon.”

You raised your eyebrows. “Oh? She told you about that?”

“I’m her girlfriend, she tells me everything,” Isa said nonchalantly.

“Everything?”

Isa grinned, leaning closer. “Everything. Maya’s nice and quiet and gets her job done, so sometimes people are very loose lipped when around her. You’d be surprised by the amount of drama that goes on in that fancy building of yours that nobody every hears about.”

“Oh? Like what”

She simply winked. “I’ll tell you later.”

Later turned out to be while you were washing dishes, a task you decided to take up to get away from the room full of alpha pheromones. You knew they weren’t doing it on purpose, since they were under the impression you were a beta and had no way of knowing about your sensitive omega nose, but it was still enough for you to get overwhelmed.

Isa eyed the kitchen door where Maya was with the other guests, and then she was leaning in close to you as she passed by. “Two of the stylists are hooking up.”

“What?!” You nearly dropped the plate you were holding.

“JYP tried to get one of his nephews into the company, but he bombed his audition so badly that he couldn’t even use nepotism to save it.”

You let out a sharp noise of surprise. “Oh my god, Maya really does tell you everything.”

“Yup.” Isa smirked. “Want to hear more?”

“I’m not sure I should,” you protested, but after a moment of her just staring at you knowingly, you broke out into a smile. “Oh, who am I kidding. Tell me everything!”

“Well, I’m not quite sure about this one, because it’s more recent, but apparently one of the idols is having a lovers spat with another one of his members.”

You blinked in surprise. “That’s definitely news to me.”

“Yeah. She was complaining about how the recent photoshoot had to be delayed an extra hour because Felix refused to be in the same room as Chan.”

“Wait, Felix and Chan are the ones fighting?”

Isa paused. “Oh, yeah. I forgot you were working with them. Don’t let Maya know I told you anything, it’s supposed to be kept hush hush.”

“Right. I won’t say anything,” You promised.

-0-0-

“Why are you and Felix fighting?”

The words were out of your mouth before you could stop them. In your defense, you would have said anything in that moment, if just to end the awkward silence that had fallen over you and Chan when the two of you found yourselves alone in the meeting room.

You hadn’t intended to be alone with him. You weren’t even supposed to be in the meeting room in the first place. You had been passing by after dropping off some papers that Jeonhui had asked for, and just happened to almost get hit by a door as it opened, with Felix storming out. You both paused and stared at each other for a second in surprise.

“Oh, hey.”

Your eyes darted towards the open door, where you could see a dejected Chan standing with his hands on his hips. “Hey.”

Felix gave you a strained smile as he passed you by, and you watched him go for a second before you entered the meeting room yourself. Chan only lifted his head a fraction as you walked in. You closed the door behind you, and the two of you lingered in that awkward silence before you finally decided to break it in the most stupid way possible. You knew the question was out of line the second it was out of your mouth.

Why had you even walked into the room to begin with? Why hadn’t you just walked away?

Chan finally lifted his head completely, and you froze at the sight of his eyes.

They were red.

“Shit.“

Your hand reached blindly behind you for the door handle, but before you could grab it Chan was suddenly at your side, hand gripping your wrist tightly. Your breath caught in your throat, the sudden bitter scent of his alpha hitting you in the face.

He swallowed hard. “Don’t go.”

“I don’t think I should even be here,” You admitted, but you allowed him to pull your arm back in front of you anyways. “Chan, your alpha-“

“I know,” He whispered, closing his eyes. “It’s okay, I’m not … I can’t stand watching another omega walk away from me right now. Just … stay.”

With his alpha so close to the surface, you found it hard to refuse. While you could have just stood there, allowing him a moment to come down from his headspace on his own, there was something so painful about watching Chan battle with his own emotions and instincts. It was an impulsive decision, much like the choice to walk into the meeting room, much like the need to say something.

You grabbed his hand, the same one still holding you, and brought it up to your lips. With a soft kiss to the inside of his wrist, Chan let out a shudder, and he easily allowed you to pull him closer until his face was pressed against your neck. While your omega scent was still covered with the artificial scent of beta, it would have to do. You softly allowed him to scent you, and it only took a few minutes before Chan came back to himself with a sharp inhale.

He pulled away from you so quickly he stumbled on his feet. “Shit, I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be,” You reassured him, licking your lips. “You needed some grounding.”

“Fuck.” He ran his hand down his face.

You gave him a sympathetic smile. “That bad, huh?”

“Felix is really mad this time. I think I fucked up,” He said.

“Mind me asking what happened?” Chan was silent, and you took a hint. “Right, none of my business then.”
“No, it’s definitely your business.”

You paused from where you had started to turn back to the door. “Sorry?”

“Felix is mad because of the omega I slept with last week. You.”

“What?”

“He wants to meet you.”

“What?”

Chan let out a sigh, and he pulled out a chair to sit down. After a moment of consideration, he offered one of the chairs for you, and you were quick to take it since it felt like your legs were seconds away from giving out on you. The more he talked, the more dizzy you felt.

“Explain,” You said, staring Chan down.

“Felix knows I slept with an omega last week. I let it slip that I was still in contact with you, accidentally, and now he thinks that I might be having a serious relationship with you- well, the omega. He wants to meet you, and when I told him he couldn’t, he got upset. He thinks that … he thinks I might be trying to replace him.”

“That’s ridiculous,” You said with a scowl.

“I know. I thought it was just a petty little argument, but he … I think he actually believes it. He got so upset, yelled that me not wanting him to meet the other omega was suspicious and that if it wasn’t serious I would have just said that, and I obviously can’t explain it-“

“Because of me.”

“Because it’s complicated,” Chan corrected, rubbing his face again. “This isn’t on you, sweetheart. This is my problem.”

You scoffed. “Are you kidding me? Your omega is mad at you because of me, Chan. He thinks you’re replacing him with me. And if you told him the truth, none of this would be an issue.”

“If he thought it was just a one-night stand, then this wouldn’t be a problem anyways. I’m the one who fucked up here,” Chan argued.

“Why would he even think it was more than that anyways?” You wondered.

Chan froze.

You found yourself letting out a small laugh as he just stared at you with wide eyes, not wanting to believe the first thought that ran through your head. But the second thought, and then the third, all felt less convincing. Your smile dropped pretty quickly.

“Chan. Why would Felix think it was more than a one-night stand?”

He ran his fingers through his hair, then down his face, and then he shot to his feet to turn away from you completely. You shook your head in disbelief.

“You can’t be serious,” You breathed.

“This was before I knew you were a part of the company. I told him the morning after, before the meeting, and I obviously didn’t have the chance to explain what happened.”

“Jesus, Chan! You were planning on courting me?”

“Yes, I was.”

“Fuck.” You slumped back in your seat. “Why didn’t you just tell him I rejected you or something?”

“He would know I was lying. I wouldn’t have had time to ‘meet up’ with you this past week because we’ve been busy, and if he thought I did after her asked to meet you, he would have been even more pissed at me for ignoring him.” Chan explained. “It’s just … I thought I’d have time to come up with something, but it’s been a very stressful week.”

“Fuck,” you repeated.

Chan turned back around, giving you a tired look. “Yeah, fuck.”

He shook his head, and with his hands on his hips, he began to pace the length of the meeting room. You glanced a look at the clock and realized that you needed to get back to your desk before someone noticed how long you had been gone. You needed to finish your work for the day. You needed to leave the room and hope that nobody caught you here with Chan. What you needed to do was clear.

But you couldn’t think about any of that. You could only think about the strained smile on Felix’s face as he passed you by, the havoc that Chan had to have gone through for his alpha to take over, the fact that their relationship was being strained because of you. You closed your eyes, but you could still hear the footsteps as Chan paced.

“Tell him.”

The footsteps paused, and you opened your eyes to give Chan an even look.

He didn’t turn around. “What was that?”

“Felix,” You clarified, letting out a soft sigh. “Tell him the truth.”

Chan spun around with wide eyes. “Are you serious?”

“I’m not letting your pack relationships fall apart because of my choices.”

“You don’t have to do this.”

You tilted your head to the side. “Do you trust Felix?”

“With my life,” he said with no hesitation.

“Then so do I.”

The two of you stared each other down. Your head still felt fuzzy, but your chest no longer felt like there was a weight holding you down. You pulled yourself up from the seat, and only took a second to gain your composure.

You gave him a nod. “Well, I got to get back to work. I’ll see you later.”

“Wait, that’s it?”

You didn’t bother answering him, instead making your way towards the elevators with an urgency that only grew the further you got from him. The dizziness had gone away, and as the reality of the situation started to dawn on you, so did your clarity. Being that close to Chan, letting him scent you with his alpha so close to the surface, had been a terrible decision. Your body felt hot, and you were grateful for your scent blockers.

Today was chalking up to be a horrible day.

You were going into pre-heat.

Chapter Text

Sooyoung realized it immediately when she walked in.

“Oh wow, someone’s in preheat.”

You sighed. “Is it that noticeable?”

She dropped her bag on the counter. “Honey, it smells like you took a shower in unicorn pee.”

“Unicorn pee?”

“I can’t imagine anything else smelling so good and yet so overwhelmingly bad,” she said with a shrug, turning to rummage around the cabinets. “You going to take the day off when your heat hits?”

“Oh, um.” You shrunk down in your seat on the couch. “Not exactly.”

The alpha paused, turning around slowly with narrowed eyes. “What did you do?”

“Look, hear me out,” You started. “It’s only Monday. My heat will probably hit on Thursday, and then I’ll have to call in sick for two days.”

“Wow, two days off work. How tragic,” Sooyoung said sarcastically, still standing with her arms crossed.

You gave her a look. “However, if I can hold off my heat until after work on Friday, I can ride my heat out during the weekend. No need to call in sick at all!”

“Right. And go back to work immediately after your heat?”

You could tell that her alpha wasn’t pleased with the idea of you working after such a harsh experience. Most omegas took at least a few days off after their heat to recover, but it wasn’t impossible for you to function the day after.

Betas wouldn’t need a day off to recover.

“It’s only my second week at this job, Youngie. I can’t afford to be using up my sick days so soon!”

“And yet I know for a fact that you’ll use some other excuse the next time your heat comes up.” She paused, narrowing her eyes as she realized something. “Wait. The only way you’ll manage to delay your heat is with suppressants.”

You looked down.

“You know how badly those affect you!”

“It’s only two days!”

Sooyoung threw her hands up into the air. “Fine, you know what? Do what you like. You’re a grown adult capable of making her own stupid decisions. But don’t come crying to me at the end of the day when those symptoms wreak havoc on you.”

You watched through silent fury as your roommate practically stomped to her room. The door slammed loudly behind her, and you were tempted to comment on it just to get the last word in, but you held your tongue.

In reality, you knew she had every right to be worried. Heat suppressants were normally only used for emergencies, not because they had any negative consequences on the body itself, but because the symptoms were so horrible that no normal person would willingly subject themselves to them unless they absolutely had to.

Headaches, fatigue, heightened senses, heat flashes, brain fog, stomach cramps. Heat suppressants forced the production of pre-heat hormones and suppressed the actual heat from happening for a short period of time, but, as an unfortunate side effect, it enhanced all the pre-heat symptoms and dialed them up to a 100.

Compared to the milder heat symptoms (slick production and high libido) it seemed odd to want to endure two days of all that. But your heat would make your scent so strong, to the point that your scent blockers wouldn’t work anymore, so it was a necessity.

At least that’s what you told yourself.

-0-0-

You weren’t sure what to expect from the Alpha you were bringing home. The entire ride in his car, besides giving out directions, nothing was said between the both of you. Even now, awkwardly standing in your kitchen, he looked like he was losing the motivation he originally had, and you wondered if you would end up being left high and dry.

“Do you want some water? Or something else to drink?” You leaned against your counter, hoping that a simple conversation would help him relax.

He shook his head. “I’m fine.”

“You sure? You look like your seconds away from bolting.”

“Ah, am I that obvious?” He let out a chuckle, reaching up to scratch at his forehead. “I’ve never really done something like this before.”

You tilted your head in interest. “Oh? What makes me so special?”

He didn’t say anything at first, instead choosing to move forward until he was leaning against the other side of the counter. The two of you were close enough that you could reach out and touch him if you wanted, but part of you was curious to see if he would make the first move.

“I don’t know,” he answered truthfully.

“You sure it’s not my charmingly good looks?” You said it jokingly, but he rested his chin against his hand.

“No, it’s something else. Something … special.”

You felt your omega perk up at the compliment, and you could smell your scent begin to grow. You pulled back from the counter to stand up straight. If things were going to progress any further, you needed to take this back to your room. You didn’t want Sooyoung to have to deal with the scent of arousal lingering in the communal areas.

“Well then, mr. charmer. How about we take this to my room?” You held out your hand, and he took it.

His hand was warm and heavy in yours.

You opened up your bedroom door, and you found yourself staring at his ass as he passed. “What’s your real name anyways?”

“My real name?” The alpha looked around your room with a thoughtful look. “It’s not that important.”

You raised your eyebrows” What do I call you, then?”

“Hmmm.” You couldn’t see his face through his mask, but the way he gazed at you made you feel like you were being stripped apart to your bare bones, and you could imagine the curl of his lips. “You can call me Alpha.”

His scent began to come out stronger, like a breeze on a hot day, and you found yourself hoping it would linger long after he was gone.

You shut the door.

“Well, alpha,” You said, deliberately drawing the word out. “You going to wear that mask all night?”

He seemed to grow almost … shy. “I- actually, I think I’d prefer to keep it on.”

“It’s okay,” You assure him, not wanting him to feel insecure.

“I mean, I do want to kiss you,” He started, taking a step towards you. You could see the moment he hesitated to reach out to you, his hand dropping down to his side in a clenched fist. “If you want, that is.”

You let out a bark of laughter. “Oh sweetie, I’m pretty sure inviting you over was an invitation for much more than just a little kiss.”

This time he didn’t stop himself from reaching out to you, his hands lingering on your waist as his eyes flittered across your space. You reached up for his mask, the idea of kissing him the only thing you can think of. You wanted to know what he looked like. How soft his lips would be.

He grabbed your wrist. “I can’t let you see my face.” He sounded almost regretful.

“It’s okay,” You reassured him once more. “I can close my eyes.”

And you did. You stood there, eyes closed, and let your smile grow as he dropped your wrist, the sound of fabric shifting in front of you. For a second, he left you waiting. You didn’t open your eyes, but you did reach out to place your hand against his bare jaw.

His lips were as soft as you hoped they would be.

Your hands roamed down from his face to his neck, using your grip on his to pull him closer. It felt like he was inhaling your very essence, His scent covered you, and you moaned against his lips as his body pressed against yours. He smiled, lips still pressed against yours.

You pulled away from the kiss, but immediately pushed your face into his shoulder to keep yourself from the temptation of opening your eyes.

“You good?”

“I think it’s going to be a little hard to remember to keep my eyes close if you keep kissing me dumb like that.”

His chest rumbled as he laughed, grip on your waist tightening. “Sorry?”

“Hmmm, it’s not a complaint. Just an observation.” You pulled out of his hold completely, waving your hand in his direction. “Turn around for a second.”

You didn’t wait to see if he did as you asked, moving towards your closet with a goal in mind. It took a little bit of rummaging in the farthest corner of one of your drawers, but eventually you managed to find what you were looking for. You pulled it out with a shout of triumph.

“Is that a blindfold?”

“Yup!” You slapped a hand over your eyes and turned around, wiggling the cloth out in front of you. “Genius, right?”

“You just happened to have that lying around?”

The cloth was pulled out of your hands, and you turned around. “What can I say, I’m full of surprises.”

Warm arms wrapped around your waist. The heat of his body was hot against your back, and as his hands began to trace up and down your sides, you felt something in you shifting. You shuddered, body responding by releasing a wave of your scent, and he responded with his own scent of arousal that made your body feel almost pliant.

“So you are.” The blindfold was pulled over your eyes, and you shut them instinctively. The cloth brushed over your eyelids as he began to form a knot at the base of your head. “Tell me if it’s too tight.”

Your mind began to grow heavy as your omega pushed forward, the smell of alpha heavy on your tongue. When he finished tying off the blindfold, he leaned against your back, his mouth pressing a soft kiss to the juncture of your neck. You tilted your head to the side, an ache to feel his teeth pressing against the skin running through you and causing slick to drip down your thighs.

You let out a whine.

“Easy baby girl. I got you.”

His warmth disappeared, and you opened your eyes. The blindfold made it so that you could make out the shadows of the dark room, a vague shape of a person as they removed their clothes. You reached down to grab the hem of your own shirt.

“No, don’t,” He said, voice thick. “Let me.”

You grabbed his hands, using your newfound sight to reach out wrap your hands around his neck. This time, you were the one to initiate the kiss, eyes falling closed not out of necessity but on instinct.

“You okay?” He asked you again when your knees suddenly buckled.

“Like I said. Those kisses of yours are dangerous,” you breathed out.

He decided to take it as an invitation to pull you back in for another kiss, although this one was quicker and sweeter.

It almost felt like love.

His lips pressed against yours once, twice, and then a third time before he trailed them down to your jaw, sliding them slowly down to your neck. When he began to suck against the skin there, you pulled away with a whine.

"No marks, please. I have work."

He moved his hands under your shirt and began to pull it up. You could only barely see his figure as he leaned down, his lips reappearing against the tops of your now exposed breasts.

"I assume you mean no marks where they can be seen?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm." He pressed a kiss to your skin, tongue darting out to glide from the tops of your breast towards your nipples. He teasingly pulled against them as he passed, moving to press another kiss just to the side. "Is this okay?"

"Yes," You said, voice breathless.

He pulled your shirt off completely, pressing a kiss to your shoulder. He began to lead you towards the bed. Even without your sight, the mattress was familiar under your body, and you instinctively relaxed into the sheets.

You made grabby hands at him. He laughed, kneeling on the bed next to you and allowing your hands to roam across his skin. He still had on his boxers, and when you moved to pull them down, he grabbed your hands and pressed them gently down against the bed.

“Patience,” He told you, his voice rumbling.

You pouted, and he kissed your lips with another laugh. He continued where he had left off, his mouth on your breasts as his hands grabbed your thighs, pulling them apart so he could slot himself in between them. The motion pressed his clothed cock against your center, and you moaned at the feeling.

“Please,” you found yourself breathing out.

His mouth trailed kisses down your body, hands swiftly pulling both your pants and underwear down in one go. “Got to get you ready first, sweetheart.”

“Awfully confident in yourself, huh?” You joked.

“Hmm, something like that,” He drawled.

You expected him to get straight to it, but he took his sweet time. Laying kisses along your inner thigh, caressing your legs up to your hips. You wiggled your hips impatiently, but he just smiled against your skin.

“You’re doing a really good job at getting under my skin,” You told him, running your fingers through his hair. “If you don’t hurry up, I might just have to get myself off.”

He nosed your center, and your body flared up with want. “Good things come to those who wait.”

“Alpha, please.”

“That’s it.” He rewarded you by finally mouthing at your core, licking a stripe up to your clit where he sucked gently.

You were already wet with slick from all the teasing and foreplay, but his mouth on you made you gush, your core clenching around nothing, When he pressed a finger into you, you bucked your hips, and he laid a hand across your stomach to keep you from moving.

You let out a moan, fingers gripping his hair tightly as he ate you out. He added another finger, and the sound was filled with wet squelching sounds as he fingered you gently, softly crooking his fingers to press against your spongey insides as he sucked against your clit.

Your orgasm built up slowly, but it hit you quicker than you expected, your body writhing under him as you whined. He pulled away, his other hand reaching up towards his face, and you could only imagine the sight he made.

“Fuck, you taste so sweet,” he said, finger rubbing small circles against your clit. “Could stay here forever.”

“Please, alpha,” You whined.

“Please what?”

“I need you.”

He moved up your body. “Need me to what?”

“I want you to fuck me,” You said impatiently.

He grabbed your body and flipped you over so quickly that it made your head spin, and you pressed you forehead to your pillow with a gasp, “Ask and you shall receive,” He told you, and you could feel him moving around behind you.

You lifted your hips and presented for the alpha, your omega instincts taking over. His scent intoxicated you, filling your senses and making you feel dizzy, wanting nothing more than to submit to him in every way possible.

He took his sweet time once again, rubbing his member through your folds before he slowly pressed into you. He was right to have prepared you because he was thick, stretching you and filling you up completely. You couldn’t even moan, like your breath had been stolen. Your fingers dug into your blankets, eyes shutting behind the blindfold.

“Fuck.”

The alpha gave you a second to adjust once he had bottomed out, rubbing against your sides gently. “You good, omega?”

“So good,” You mumbled.

When he started to move, it made you whine. He thrust into you slowly at first, but his hips began to speed up slowly, the sound of skin slapping filling the room. You let out a moan as his fingers gripped your thighs, sure to leave marks. You pressed your knees against the mattress and moved to sit up, hands reaching behind you in an attempt to feel his skin against yours. He pressed himself to your back without having to be asked.

His warm breath against your shoulder, mouth teasingly close to your scent gland, had you reaching your release quickly.

You let out a whine.

“Shh, I got you,” he whispered into your ear. His hands roamed from your thighs up your chest and towards your neck, fingers gently pressing against your throat. “God, you’re so tight.”

You whined. “Alpha, please!”

“Just a little longer. You can hold on just a little longer, cant you? Hmm? Don’t you want to be good for your Alpha?”

You were so close. Your body felt like it was on fire and your head spun, the darkness that seemed to engulf you left your nerve endings so sensitive, and you couldn’t see him, could think, couldn’t do anything more than accept the pleasure he was giving you. He seemed to know that you were at your breaking point, because as a whine began to build in your throat, he pulled away.

His fingers pressed right where you needed them most, and you found yourself spiraling.

“Cum for me, Omega.”

You woke up with a start, your mind still heavy with lust and sleep. It took you a moment to realize that you had been dreaming, and then you were falling back to your bed with a groan, swiping a hand down your face.

It was your memories from that night with Chan.

It seemed like your pre-heat sex dreams were making their appearance. Usually they were some random fantasies, but you supposed it made sense that you would be hit with a memory this time around.

Your thoughts wandered to the shirt still in your drawer. It almost seemed to be calling for you.

You let out another groan.

This was going to be a long week.

-0-0-

You were convinced that heat suppressants had to have been created as a form of torture.

The headache made every noise feel like a punch to the brain, not helped by the fact that your hearing was so sensitive that everything above a cough sounded like an airhorn to your brain. Even the painkillers you took that morning were doing little to dull the hammering in your head.

And yet, you tried your best to keep a smile on your face, made ever difficult from having to deal with the managers.

You had been thrown for a loop when you found out on Tuesday morning that Felix had gone into heat. It was all the staff members were talking about. You hoped that the idol’s heat and rut cycles weren’t normally a topic of interest for the company, but you understood why this time they all were freaking out about it.

Stray Kids’ comeback was scheduled for next week.

It would be hard for you to have to go back to work the day after your heat ended, but finding out that Felix was expected to be on stage and promoting less than a week after his almost made you feral.

“What do you mean the comeback will continue as planned?”

Jeonhui gave you a hard look. You knew that as a new employee, and only a translator who was in the meeting to be kept up to date with the upcoming schedule, the idea of speaking out was unheard of. But when the news that the comeback would still be happening on the expected date, your mouth opened before your brain could catch up.

The head manager, Soojin, gave you a puzzled look. “Is there a reason we shouldn’t?”

The entire room was looking at you, but you forced yourself to focus only on the manager. “Felix finished his heat less than a day ago.”

“Yes?”

“Even for a normal person, a comeback is stressful. Long nights, early mornings, practices and schedules and stage performances and interviews … do you really think that’s the best thing for an omega who just had their heat to deal with?”

There was a moment where Soojin looked almost understanding, his eyes soft and a small smile on his face. You thought that you might have actually gotten through to him. You thought for a second that maybe you could make an impact on this company, give them some knowledge of the artists they were supposed to be managing and caring for, and that you could actually change the way the industry worked.

But it shattered with his next words.

“I appreciate the concern, but I assure you our omega’s can handle the load just fine. We’ve had both omegas and alphas going back to work right after heats and ruts, and there’s never been a complaint in the past.” The other staff managers nodded along as if what he was saying was common knowledge. “If they needed more time to recover, they would have said something.”

You thought about the pressure building in your head, the way your skin felt like it was crawling, the constant cramped pain your stomach was enduring, all so that you wouldn’t go into heat. All so you could keep pretending to a room full of betas.

All so that those same betas could make decisions about omega’s and alphas they knew nothing about.

It made you want to scream.

“Maybe,” You managed through clenched teeth. “They never say anything because they know that if they do, the company would use it as proof that omegas are more trouble than their worth.”

Soojin and the other managers gave you a surprised look. From the corner of the room, Maya was given you a proud smile, but the other stylists around her looked confused and even annoyed.

“Why do you care so much about this anyways? What are you, an omega expert?” One of them said.

And his words felt like a bucket of water had been dumped over your slightly overheated body. You immediately bowed your head, realizing that you had brought more attention on your head than was necessary, and it was obvious you were fighting a losing battle.

“I’m just … worried. Just seems like those boys could use some rest,” You mumbled in excuse.

Stupid. How could you be so stupid.

Now everyone would know you as that one translator who argued about an omegas needs. At best they would think you were out of line, but at worst …

“It’s quite alright,” Soojin assured you, although the look Jeonhui gave you told you that the two of you would be talking later. “But like you said, comeback is stressful for all of us, including the staff. This is why we put in all the hard work! I want to take a moment to thank all of the staff for helping make this a possibility-“

And just like that, your little outburst seemed to be forgotten.

It didn’t make you feel any better to know that your words were so easily dismissed. As Thursday turned into Friday, you made the conscious decision to not take your heat suppressants that morning, knowing you would need your heat to start either than night or early Saturday morning if you wanted your heat to end by Sunday night.

You ignored the looks Sooyoung gave you as you left for work.

Just as promised, you had been avoiding her all week. When the cramps hit you late at night and you cried out, you muffled the sound with your pillow to avoid waking her. She didn’t mention the quickly dwindling supply of pain medication (you reminded yourself to pick some up after work).

It made a part of you ache to know you had disappointed your friend. But it also made you feel proud to know that you were still doing what you had dreamed of doing for so long.

You just had to keep moving forward.

Friday went by normally, and almost easier than the past three days. The suppressants started to flush out of your system around noon, and the symptoms you had been dealing with started to fade, making it easier for you to work. The heat symptoms would come around soon, but you weren’t too worried about it hitting you fully until you were back home.

You were just finishing up your last assignment of the day when you caught the scent of a familiar smell.

“Oh no.”

Minho appeared at your doorway within seconds, and you secretly cursed the enhanced sense of smell that had yet to wear off, because the strong scent of alpha had your omega perking her metaphorical ears up instantly.

He had probably just finished dance practice judging by the sweat covered shirt he had yet to change out of.

You forced your eyes away from him and back to your screen. “Can I help you?”

“I’m sorry.”

You paused your typing, risking a glance to look at his face. He looked straight faced, almost bored at first, but you could smell the shame that was hidden beneath the rest of his scent, and you turned to face him completely.

“What are you sorry for?” You asked him.

He looked away. “I yelled at you when we first met. It was … inappropriate.”

“You were protecting your pack,” You corrected him, turning back to your work. “You did what you thought was right.”

Minho continued to stare at you from the doorway, not saying anything. You finished what you were working on and began to wrap everything up so you could leave. In the few minutes it took you to do that, he didn’t say anything.

You grabbed the files you had to drop off to your manager before you left. “I’m serious, Minho. It’s fine.”

When you stood up, a few papers that had been caught under your files fluttered to the ground. Before you could move to grab them, Minho was there, picking up the papers and tapping them on the ground so that they would be stacked up together, lifting his head up to look at you.

And you immediately felt something in your stomach twist, and your head spun.

He stood back up, unaware of your internal freak out, and handed you the papers. You took them with shaking hands.

“Thanks,” You breathed out.

Minho frowned. “Are you okay?”

No, you wanted to scream at him. I’m going into heat and a stupidly handsome alpha was on his knees looking up at me and now I’m losing my goddamn mind.

But instead, you forced a smile on your face. “Fine.” It came out squeaky, and you winced. “I, uh. Gotta go!”

You rushed out of there as quickly as you could.

As if your day couldn’t get any worse, you completely missed an equally sweaty and tired looking Chan as he was walking out of the elevator, and he had to grab your shoulders to keep you from running him over. His scent, equally as strong, only made your chest ache more.

Chan smiled. “Ah, just who I was looking for!”

You eyed him curiously. “Wow, I’m really popular these days, huh?”

“What?”

“What did you need?” You asked him as you walked into the elevator. He followed you in.

“I wanted to let you know that I talked with Felix.”

“Oh, how is he, by the way? I heard about what happened.”

Chan gave you a soft smile. “Ah, he’s fine. He …. He wants to meet with you.”

The elevator opened, and someone stepped in. It was a random staff member you didn’t recognize, probably not even a stray kid’s staff member, but both you and Chan remained silent until she left. You turned to Chan as the elevator made its way up to your manager’s floor.

“I think we should wait until after your comeback,” You told him.

“Yeah, that’s probably for the best,” Chan sighed. “We’ll have enough on our shoulders this week.”

You scowled. “Ugh, don’t even remind me.”

He let out a laugh. “Ah, I heard about what you did yesterday.”

You covered your face in embarrassment as the elevator door opened. “Uh, I’m just going to go before I say anything even worse.”

Chan was still laughing as you left, but he called out for you before the doors closed. His smile was one of the last things you saw as his words reached you.

“Thank you.”

Chapter Text

You picked up the box of painkillers from the convenience store shelf. You looked it over for a bit, deciding it was suitable for what you needed it for.

The bells on the door rang as it opened, another customer making their way into the nearly empty store. You supposed it was rare to get customers this late on a Monday night, but you wanted to make sure you restocked the first aid kit back at your apartment before you forgot, having gone through the entire stash back when you were dealing with your preheat.

At least, restocking was all you had been planning on using them for. But with the way your blood was starting to pound heavily in your head and the ache in your bones, you had a feeling that you might need to think ahead and get more than just one box.

You sighed.

Grabbing another box, you took a second to consider the slight grumbling in your stomach, and made your way to the next aisle over. Some snacks couldn’t hurt. You just went through your heat; you figured you had an excuse.

 “The chocolate flavored ones are the best,” A voice said from beside you.

You looked up from where you had been considering the selection of candies and blinked in surprise. “Jisung?”

The beta smiled at you. “Hi.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Oh, I-“ Jisung’s eyes went wide. He looked down at the ramen package in his hands, and you raised an eyebrow. “It’s not what it looks like! I know we have performances tomorrow, but I just … really had a craving for ramen.”

You rolled your eyes. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to tell on you.”

“It’s only this once, I promise!”

“Seriously, Jisung. I couldn’t care less about your diet.”

He gave you a sheepish smile. “Really?”

“Really.”

Jisung took your words at face value, and you found yourself matching his now genuine smile with your own. You reached out to grab your sweets, intent on passing by and going on your way, but the idol reached out to stop you as you made to leave.

“I can’t eat this back at the dorms without someone complaining of temptations,” He began, eyes focused on the package in his hands.

“Makes sense,” You quipped.

He shifted his feet nervously. “If you aren’t in a rush, I was wondering if you wanted to join me?”

“To eat?”

“Yeah.”

You reached out to pat his shoulder, and Jisung finally lifted his head to actually look you in the eyes. For a split second, you found yourself breathless with no explanation, the kind of feeling that you got when listening to your favorite song years after forgetting it or watching a plot twist for the first time. It made your entire body hum.

And then it was gone, and only the hums of the refrigerators at the back of the store remained. You swallowed hard.

“Sure.”

-0-0-

You watched as Jisung slurped up the noodles from his chopsticks, the red broth staining the corners of his mouth even as he licked up the remaining moisture. With a small smile, you reached over with a napkin to wipe it away, and he turned to you with wide eyes and full cheeks.

You snickered. “I can see why fans compare you to a squirrel.”

Jisung whined, but with his mouth full, he couldn’t say anything to defend himself. He chewed thoughtfully, staring out through the convenience store window. The soft rain and disappearing sunset gave the streets a hazy glow, and combined with the quiet music playing through the speakers gave you a sense of peace.

You looked over at Jisung again, only to find he was staring at you back.

He quickly looked away with an awkward laugh. “It’s, uh, odd to see staff here. Most of them take advantage of the free meals in the company cafeteria.”

“Hmm, I never turn down free meals. But they only have super healthy meals.” You shook the bag of sweets. “Sometimes you’re just in the mood for some junk food, you know?”

Jisung looked down at his instant ramen and nodded his head. “Yeah, I get that.”

“Besides, it’s not like I come here everyday. Although, if I knew I’d find such nice company, I probably would have come here sooner,” You said, pushing your shoulder gently against his.

“Ah, I don’t come here often either. Although, if you asked, I would definitely show up just for you.”

Jisung gave you a wicked grin, and you covered your mouth with a laugh in hopes of hiding your flushed cheeks, shaking your head in amusement. You didn’t know him that well, but you weren’t expecting something like that to come out of his mouth.

“Wow, Jisung. Are you flirting with me?”

He leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand. “And if I am?”

“It just seems like such a change from the first time we met,” You mused, leaning in close as well.

Jisung blinked in surprise, his mouth parting open a smidge as his pupils dilated. “Oh, wow. You smell really good.”

You frowned, feeling like reality had just shattered your hopeful fantasy. Jisung was lucky he couldn’t smell your actual scent because you were sure if it wasn’t for your scent blockers, you would be stinking up the store with your sudden mood change.

Jisung leaned back with a worried look. “I- I didn’t mean it like that. I mean, you really do smell good, but I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

He started to wave his hand around anxiously, and you forced your face to relax, reaching out to hold one of his hands between yours. He immediately stopped moving, his mouth snapping close and eyes staring deep into yours. You smiled.

“It’s okay. You didn’t make me uncomfortable,” You lied, because you couldn’t explain the truth to him.

He nodded slowly. “Yeah, right. Um. Good.”

“There he is.” You smirked, “Guess you’re not that confident after all, huh?”

“What!? No! I mean, I can be confident!”

You shook your head, grabbing his now empty trash and standing up. “Sure you can.”

“I really can!”

Jisung practically fell out of his chair in his rush to follow you. The two of you made your way out to the store and into the cold night air, a sudden chill forcing you to close your jacket around your shoulders in the pursuit of warmth. From behind you, you heard Jisung say his goodbye to the girl manning the cash register.

The second he walked out, a cold burst of air rushed through the street, and a few stray drops of water lingering from when it had rained earlier hit you in your face. Having already been bundled up in your jacket, you only felt the cold on your cheeks, but Jisung had just walked out of the store and had his own hoodie hanging from his arm, leaving him vulnerable to the sudden change in temperature.

He let out a squeak in surprise, arms tightening up against his body as he shivered. He then tried to pull his hoodie on as quickly as possible, but somehow his arm got stuck and he struggled to get his head in the right opening.

You sniggered.

“You’re doing a really good job showing how smooth you are,” You pointed out.

“Shut up.” He said, his voice muffled by the fabric of his hoodie.

He finally managed to figure it out, pulling the hoodie down and letting out a huff. The sleeves were a little too long for him, leaving the beta with an adorable pair of sweater paws and a flushed face (whether from the cold or the embarrassment, you weren’t sure).

“Aww, how cute.”

“Shut up!”

“No! You’re adorable, seriously.”

“I wasn’t going for adorable,” he grumbled, folding his arms. It only made him look even cuter, and you moved forward.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you upset,” you said, ruffling his hair. “It’s just that it’s hard to imagine you fitting the Stray Kids concept with those big wide eyes of yours. Especially some of the 3racha songs I’ve heard. They seem a little too hard hitting for you.”

Jisung tilted his head away from your hand, rolling his eyes. “Its different when we’re on stage. We haves stage personas for a reason.”

“Well, yeah. But those personas don’t come from nowhere. Where do you get all your confidence from?”

“Hmmm. I guess it’s easy when you’ve got a stadium full of beautiful people screaming your name,” He joked, nudging my shoulder with his own.

“Is that what it takes to get you going?” You teased. You don’t know what prompted you to suddenly lean in close, crowding Jisung in from where he was leaning up against the wall. His eyes darted down your face and back up in surprise. “Is that what you need to show me how confident you can be? Hmm? Want me to scream your name?”

“Watch it,” he muttered.

“I thought you were confident.”

Without another word, Jisung spun the both of you around so that you were now in his place. He pushed you up against the wall, not hard enough to hurt you, but enough that you could feel the strength behind his touch. To his credit, he immediately moved his hand away from your shoulder and to the wall behind you, his palm slapping loudly against the brick as he leaned in like it was a cheesy drama where the guy had the girl cornered up against the wall.

The idea behind the gesture probably would have been more effective if a cat didn’t immediately yowl from behind him, causing Jisung to jump in surprise.

You laughed loudly, and not even his glare could get you to stop. Even when he leaned in closer, his other hand coming up to rest on the other side of your head, effectively trapping you between him and the wall, you couldn’t stop the snickers.

“Yah! Stop laughing!”

“I can’t,” You said breathlessly.

“Seriously, you’re ruining the moment.”

You just laughed harder, eyes closed and chest hurting from the shakes that wracked your body. Hands grabbed your waist gently, and you titled your head down with a smile. Jisung looked up at you, eyes betraying his amusement.

“You done?”

You took a deep breath. “Yeah, I think I’m good. I’m sorry.”

“Good.”

It was then that you realized just how close the two of you had gotten since your laughing attack. His hands were still on your waist, face inches apart. You felt your smile drop slowly, eyes darting down to his mouth on instinct. Or maybe it was want.

It felt odd, because you couldn’t smell him. He was wearing scent blockers. And even if he could smell you, it wasn’t your real scent, and it wouldn’t be affected by your feelings. Neither one of you was being drawn in to each other based on instinct. And yet there you were, staring at each other in a knowing way, both of you too afraid to make that first move.

You didn’t even know each other that well.

His hand tightened on your waist, and you reach out to grab his forearms, not sure if you wanted to pull him away, or pull him closer.

Jisung let go. “I should get going.”

“Yeah.”

You forced down the disappointment. He gave you a hug goodbye, one you hadn’t been expecting but accepted less. You wished him a goodnight and spent the few seconds it took for him to make his way down the street staring at his back, wishing he would turn back around. Wishing he didn’t have to leave.

It was for the best.

So why did it feel so wrong?

-0-0-

Comeback season was in full swing.

The first few days were a bit of a chaotic mess at the company, but you managed to keep out of the way, unlike Maya and most of the other stylists. Most of your work took place at your desk, preparing for the upcoming promotions taking place in Japan later that month, and then the world tour that was set to take place afterwards. You were in contact with multiple news programs, city venues, promotional companies; more than a dozen phone calls were made every hour, and it left you feeling mentally exhausted by the time Wednesday came around.

The music video had been dropped early that morning, with captions in every language you knew, and more to be added soon. With every passing hour that nobody complained about any errors, you felt yourself relax a little more, the post-heat and stress finally catching up with you until your eyelids felt so heavy you could barely keep them open.

If it wasn’t for the fact you still had a meeting scheduled later that afternoon, you would’ve found a way to take the rest of the day off and crash. But alas, the job never ends.

Maybe Sooyoung had been right. You could have used a few days off.

Thinking about Sooyoung made your head hurt again. The alpha had been radio silent since last week, and when you let her know your heat had started, she had packed a bag to stay at a friends house. It was normal, something you had both been doing for months since you realized how much your heats and ruts affected each other. But even though it was expected, coming home to an empty apartment was still hard for you.

You tried not to think about the comfort that you sought that weekend. Instead, you tried to focus on the late schedule you were dealing with. The time difference with the stops the boys would be taking on their tours meant you had to stay up late to attend to meetings with other companies, but it also meant you were never up early enough to catch Sooyoung, who was back at the apartment and leaving early to get to the school.

It made it very hard to talk to her. To apologize. You felt like you owed her that at least, if not more for everything she did for you. For how much she cared, even when she didn’t need to. You were finding it hard to accept that.

That people cared. Could care. Would care.

For you.

You let out another sigh and pushed away from your desk. Maybe a coffee from the cafeteria would help your heavy eyelids.

There was heavy traffic in the hallways, most of whom you recognized as stylists. They were clothes on hangers, and some of them had makeup bags. You slowed down to let them pass since they had their hands full. You felt for the stylists. At least all your work was only mental and not physical.

As the doors to the elevator open up, the group shuffle in with their load, and choose to relax against the wall as your waited for the next one. For a moment, you let your eyes fall close. You still had your eyes closed when the elevator dinged again, signaling it had arrived. You opened your eyes and immediately met Changbin’s own eyes.

“We have got to stop meeting like this,” You joked, shuffling into the elevator.

He gave you a grin in response. “Going down?”

“Hmm. Cafeteria.”

“Long night?”

You hummed. “Yeah. You?”

Changbin let out a tired laugh. “Yeah.”

The two of you rode down to the cafeteria in silence. You walked with him since you were heading in the same direction, but upon entering you saw that Changbin was actually the last of the Stray Kids to arrive to what seemed to be a gathering. Even in a room full of staff and other idols, they seemed to be the loudest of all.

Jisung waved wildly to you when he spotted you, calling out your name. You winced as the people around you suddenly turned to stare at you.

“Han, dude. Inside voice,” Changbin reminded him, pushing the air in front of him down with his hands. “Calm down.”

“I didn’t know you two were on a first name basis,” Chan said, giving you an inquisitive look.

As if suddenly remembering that your outing earlier that week was supposed to be a secret, Jisung shrank back into his seat. “Ah, it’s not that. I mean, I just assumed since we were the same age-“ You crossed your arms, trying (and probably failing) to bite back a smile. Jisung squinted at you. “Actually, I have no idea how old you are.”

“Don’t you know it’s rude to ask a woman her age?” You joked at him. You shifted on your feet, unsure if you should stay or find a seat of your own. “How’s your comeback going?”

One of the younger ones, an beta if your nose was right, dropped his head onto his folded arms resting on the table with a groan. “Uh, don’t remind me.” From next to him, Hyunjin patted Jeongin’s shoulder without looking away from his ipad.

“Tiring, like always. But it’s going great. Stay’s seem to love the new song,” Chan said, leaning back in his seat with a grin.

You had to look away from him, unable to meet his eyes without thinking of that weekend where your omega wanted nothing more than to have the alpha in your bed with you, the need so bad you had found yourself digging out that hidden shirt you had in your bottom drawer to incorporate to your nest. The combined scent made most of your memories of your heat fuzzy. Although, on that note, Chan wasn’t the only alpha you had thought of in your horny heat ladled mind.

You eyed Minho carefully, but he was looking at his phone.

“I imagine you’re probably busy too. We have a tour coming up,” Seungmin brought up.

“Ah, I’ve been working on that stuff for the past two weeks. Since I got hired, actually,” You pointed out. The others looked up at that.

“That sounds rough. Having to deal with all that work so soon after joining,” Felix said, resting his cheek against his hand.

The position of the omega’s hands made his words come out slightly slurred as he squished his cheeks. You found your eyes resting on his mouth and how it was pushed into a small pout, the pink of his lower lip shiny. You shook your head, both at his comment, but also to keep yourself from staring.

“Nah, it’s not so bad. I haven’t been doing it all on my own, anyways. Since I’m still technically new, I’ve had plenty of help from Jeonhui as she shows me the ropes. I’ll probably be on my own once you’re actually on tour, though.” You smiled ruefully. “That should be fun.”

Changbin beamed. “You’re coming with us?!”

You blinked in surprise at his loud voice. “Yes? I mean, you guys are going on a world tour, and I’m a translator. I’d imagine it be kind of obvious.”

“Oh, right.” The others laughed at Changbin’s sudden embarrassment.

You spotted a small table being cleaned up and figured you should take the chance to get a seat before the cafeteria began to fill up again. You waved goodbye to the boys, wishing them luck in their performances, and made your way to the empty table.

Chan’s eyes followed you as you left.

“She’s nice,” Felix mused. “I’m glad she got some time to get settled in before we went on tour. She looked so nervous the first time we met.”

“That’s probably because Minho went all protective alpha on her,” Seungmin said nonchalantly, side eyeing the dancer.

Minho, to his credit, didn’t seemed bothered by all the looks the other’s shot him. “Eh, it was an honest mistake.”

“Hyung!” Jisung whined. “Why do you always have to scare away the pretty girls?”

“Pretty?” Hyunjin finally looked up from what it was he had been working on. “Since when do you care about pretty girls?”

Jisung flushed. “Never mind.”

“No no no,” Changbin teased. “Come on, I want to hear more about your little crush.”

“It’s not a crush!”

Chan smiled. He was glad that his members seemed to be getting along well with you, the mysterious omega who had grabbed so much of his attention. He had never intended to go home with anyone the night that he had met you, but the moment that you scent had registered in his brain, his alpha had perked up his ears in interest, something it had never done before. At least, not since he had met his pack mates.

He wasn’t delusional to assume that his interest in you meant that you would one day be a part of that pack. You had ever right to say no if, and when, he asked. But knowing that you had enjoyed your night together, and that you held no ill will against him, made him slightly more hopeful that maybe, just maybe, you would someday be open to him courting you. To joining the pack. To being his mate.

He glanced at Felix, the blond omega laughing at something someone had said or done, his eyes shining like there were a million stars in them. He could only hope that the others would also be open to his plans. After all, he would never imagine inviting you in without their permission. This was their pack just as much as it was his.

Chan let out a sigh. Soon, he imagined. Soon he’d get his answer.

Chapter Text

The Meeting (as you had taken to calling it in your head) was officially set for the end of the week. Specifically, on a Saturday afternoon at Chan’s personal studio, the perfect mix of comfortable and private, while also being somewhat profesional. After all, it wouldn't be good if you were caught out in public with Stray Kids. Too many questions would come your way. So you and Chan planned out The Meeting over text (you had finally gotten his number during their promotions), and now the minutes were ticking down.

You would have postponed it more if you could, nervous and worried about revealing what was essentially the biggest secret you had ever had, but you were already cutting it close as it was. The tour officially kicked off earlier this week with their concert in Seoul, and by Monday afternoon you would be on your way to Japan. If anything happened (and it was a big if, because you trusted Chan, as stupid as it seemed, and he trusted Felix), you would prefer to not be overseas when it happened.

So now you found yourself nervously shaking your leg as the elevator numbers went up, feeling a strange sense of deja vu as you made your way off and down the very same hall you had taken when searching for the distressed omega over a month ago. You never did find out what happened to her. You hoped she was okay.

You reached the same door, the one Chan had told you about through text, and hesitated before knocking. You were early, just by a few minutes, but you imagined that Felix had to be there already right? Surely Chan had already explained what they were doing there.

This was it. Your first leap of faith. Would Felix be okay with your position, your decisions, and even your past involvement with his alpha? Or would one wrong move leave you without a job once again, possibly black listed from the industry entirely.

You took a deep breath, and knocked.

And then immediately regretted it. It felt like your heart was going to explode right out of you chest with how hard it started beating, and you started to feel like your limbs were 3 times heavier and yet disconnected from you all together. You wanted to run, but your legs were frozen. It was only the sight of Chan’s face, the comforting smell of fruits and flowers and ocean breeze, that snapped you out of it enough to force a smile onto your face.

You had a feeling it came out more like a grimace, judging by the sympathetic look he gave you.

“Hey. You ready?”

You weren't given much of a choice as a second later, Felix was shoving himself in between Chan and the door. He was wearing a bright grin that slowly faded as he took you in. He said your name in confusion, and you shot Chan a look.

“You didnt tell him?”

“I wanted to wait until you were here! Felix, I told you to wait.”

“Wait, they're the ome-?!”

Both you and Chan moved in synchronization to hush the blonde, you pressing your hand against his mouth and the latter slapping his own hand over yours, effectively trapping your hand. Wide eyed, Felix seemed to have realized his mistake of screaming out in the middle of the JYP hallways, because he slumped against Chan in defeat.

“Shmy,” he mumbled against your palm.

You gave Chan a look, and he let go quickly, allowing you to remove your hand from Felix's face. Taking a step back your fellow omega let you into the room with sharp eyes, and you could practically see the millions of questions that were forming in his head. Sure enough, it was only after the door was finally closed and you had taken a seat on the worn couch at the back of the room that he continued.

“I thought you were a beta,” was the first thing he said.

You looked away. “Yeah, I'm not. I uh … lied, i guess.”

Felix was quiet, slowly walking from one side of the room to the other with a frown. Chan remained at the door with his arms crossed. And you sat stiffly on the couch, back rigid, feeling like you would rather be anywhere else but here.

Why did you agree to this again?

“So you … lied about being a beta,” Felix repeated. You nodded. “Anything else you lied about.”

You shook your head.

“I don't-” He placed his hands on his hips. “I just don't understand. Isn't it illegal to lie to your workplace?”

“It's pretty illegal to not hire someone based on their presentation,” You argued. “And yet it still happens.”

“The company doesn't do that,” Felix tried to argue.

You shot Chan a look, but he was staring down at the ground shaking his head. “Dude. Of course they do. It might not be official, because like you pointed out, its illegal-”

“They hire omegas and alphas all the time!”

“Are you kidding me? When have you ever seen anyone other than betas on your staff?!”

“They hired me!”

You scoffed in disbelief. “That's different.”

“How?”

“You're an idol! They dont give a shit about your presentation, all they care about is whether or not they can make money off you!”

Felix, bless his heart, actually looked shocked at the idea. He turned to Chan, you imagined for support, but the leader was now looking up, his jaw clenched. Felix pursed his lips, crossing his own arms.

Cinnamon burned your nose.

“Okay, fine. Let's say the company does discriminate. Why would you even want to work here if that was the case? Why not go find another job, one where you don't have to lie and hide who you are?” He wondered.

“Because this is my dream, Felix. Working in this industry, being a part of the process, getting to use the languages I busted my ass to learn.” You let out a harsh sigh and flopped back onto the seats behind you. “And even if it wasn't, why should I have to give up an opportunity just because the company refuses to hire anyone who isn't a beta?”

“You wouldn't have to lie,” Felix mumbled.

It felt like an accusation, a dirty shot to your pride, and your metaphorical hackles raised as a defense rested on your lips, ready to be shot back. But a small sound behind you made you pause. You turned back to glance at Chan, and for once, he was looking back.

He looked tired.

You hadn't noticed before, too busy worrying about the meeting. But now, really taking him in for the first time, you could see the circles under his eyes, the way the hoodie on his head was slipping back to reveal messy curls, the slump in his shoulders. Ironically, seeing his exhaustion made you feel tired, almost resigned.

You didn't want to fight with Felix. You had felt attacked, accused of doing something wrong, and had immediately flown into defensive mode. But this wasn't about trying to prove yourself right. You were here to get Felix to understand.

You took a deep breath, calming yourself. “Felix, what would you have done if the company had implemented the no omega rule when you were a trainee?”

Felix frowned. “I would have had to go somewhere else, I guess.”

“What if every company had that rule? What if you were no longer allowed to be an idol, just because you were an omega. How would that make you feel?” You said softly, seeing the understanding slowly grow on his face.

The blond was quiet for at least a full minute, staring intently at the wall as he thought. A range of emotions began to flash across his face, and the way the cinnamon in the air began to ease up assured you he was coming to an understanding. Movement at your side drew your attention to Chan as he sat down next to you, giving you a small smile.

“It doesn't seem fair, but that's how things work out sometimes,” He said. “Believe me, I wasn't thrilled at the idea at first. But I get it.”

Felix nodded his head. “Yeah, I get it too. I don't like it-”

“But you get it,” Chan finished.

“Yeah.”

You patted Chan’s leg. “I don't like it either, but I'm willing to do what I need to stay here. It's important to me.”

Felix let out a sniffle, and then a full on sniff. “I don't understand how you do it, though. You smell like a beta.”

“Dont worry about it,” You told him, shooting Chan a look.

The alpha blatantly ignored it. “It's a ‘Pheromone based perfume.’” He said, with air quotes and all.

Felix raised his eyebrows at that. “You're wearing someone else's scent?”

“I didn't steal it from them, if that's what you're asking,” You said, once again defensive.

Felix raised his hands. “I'm not judging.”

“Sounds kinda judgy,” you muttered.

He bit his lip, eyes flickering to where Chan sat next to you. He walked over to your other side, hesitating at the end of the couch until you let out a sigh, patting the seat. With your permission, Felix settled down next to you.

“I'm not judging you. I promise. I just don't … I dont like the idea of you having to hide yourself. It's not fair.”

Chan reached over from behind you to rest a hand on his omegas shoulder. Feeling the need to reassure him yourself, you grabbed one of Felix's hands with your free one (the other still resting on Chan’s leg, but you felt too awkward to move it now, guess it was stuck there).

“It's okay,” You tried.

“It's really not.”

And it wasn't, so you didn't bother trying to argue with him about it. Instead, you allowed yourself to melt against the two aussies, warmth flowing into your body from both sides. You almost felt tempted to fall asleep.

“I am kind of curious,” Felix said, breaking the silence with a smile. “What you really smell like.”

You turned your head towards him, nose brushing up against his cheek. You mumbled out a sorry, pushing yourself back, subsequently pressing your back to Chan's chest.

“Not in a weird way. Its just that Chan mentioned it before, when he came home that night-” Felix clarified.

“Way to throw me under the bus,” Chan mumbled in english.

“-and I kind of wanted to see if he was right.”

You tilted your head to the side. “Right about what?”

“If you really smell as sweet as he said.”

Felix was giving you a flirtatious look, but you found yourself more amused than anything.

“He said that, huh?”

“Really mate?” Chan was pulling away from you and Felix, and you let out a squeak at the sudden loss of temperature from behind.

And also because your forgotten hand was suddenly remembered by both you and Chan as he tried to get up, your hand slipping from his leg and towards the floor with nothing left to support it. You tilted to the side, and both Chan and Felix moved to grab you. In the rush to catch you, you ended up pulling Felix towards you by your still joined hands, and he reached his own free hand out to catch himself. Your legs flailed as you tilted, and a hand cupped your head seconds before it hit the ground. Chan gave you and Felix panicked looks as the moving bodies settled, bent over at the waist where he was cradling your head, the other raised in Felix's direction as if to catch him.

You were the first one to laugh at the situation, a snort forcing its way through your nose. And then Felix followed, a high pitched cackle escaping as he realized the ridiculousness of your positions. Chan let out his own chuckle, trying to help you up, but his own leg caught on the couch, and he fell to his knees, hand still under your head.

Felix laughed harder.

“Are you okay?” You said, smiling wildly.

Face an inch from yours, Chan grinned. “I'm perfect.”

-0-0-

Sunday morning was the moment you finally managed to get Sooyoung alone. She was home, and she didn't have any classes that day, and you were ready for her.

When she came downstairs that morning, looking sleepy, you sat up on the couch. She glanced at you as she made her way to the kitchen, and you gave her your best puppy-dog eyes, patting the seat next to you.

She paused.

“I understand if you're still mad, but I really would like to talk. Please.”

She blinked slowly at you, mouth pursing, and to your disappointment, she continued on towards the kitchen. You had almost lost hope until you noticed her grab two glasses from the cupboard, filling one up with water and leaving it untouched, downing the other one in one go. She walked back towards the living room with the extra cup.

Straight towards you.

She placed the cup in front of you. “Your face is puffy. You always forget to drink water.”

You didn't bother holding back your smile. “So, not mad?”

Sooyoung let out a sigh, and finally sat down next to you.

“I’m not mad,” She repeated softly, gaze focused away from you. “To be truthful, I regretted snapping at you the minute I left the room.”

“It wasn’t your fault. You were right.”

She snorted. “Of course I was right. But I understand why you didn’t want to listen.”

The both of you were silent for a moment. You could hear heavy footsteps from above, your upstairs neighbor once again proving their feet must have been made out of lead. It was something the two of you had talked about often before, and the sudden reminder of your own little inside joke had both of you glancing at one another with smiles.

It felt like the air was suddenly lighter. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry too.”

You didn’t hesitate to throw yourself across the couch, Sooyoung opening up her arms with little resistance to catch you. It made your chest flutter as you soaked in her scent. For the first time in two weeks, you felt like everything was going to be alright between you two.

-0-0-

You should have known that good things don't last. The relief of both talks you had been dreading surprisingly going well lasted all up until Monday morning.

As all things do, the disasters came in three's.

The first inconvenience came in the form of a malfunctioning alarm, which you were positive you had set up the night before, but for some reason never rang. Instead, you were shaken awake by a panicked Sooyoung, telling you that if you didn't leave soon, you would be late for your flight. And so, half asleep, still wearing your pajamas top (you threw a hoodie on in the cab when you realized), and with messy hair, you arrived at the airport 15 minutes late.

You were just lucky you had packed the night before.

But that's when the next disaster struck. Stray Kids manager was waiting for you when you arrived, and he guided you to the check in area. But there was something wrong with the luggage options on your ticket, and the airline wouldn't let you send your suitcase with the rest of the group's luggage unless you paid extra (which you didn't have the money for). Of course, you only had one suitcase, and Soojin was convinced it would be fine for you to just take it with you as a carry on. And normally, you would agree.

But the idea of bringing your luggage with you through security very quickly brought up another problem. You had your pheromone perfume in your bag, more than enough for the trips you'd take on the tour, but more than the allowed amount of liquids that could pass through security. You realized pretty quickly that if they pulled that bottle out in front of everyone, it could very well out your lie to everyone right here, right now.

You panicked.

The rest of the group were gone, having just finished checking in when you arrived. Soojin had only stayed behind to make sure you got through the check in, and he was already on his way towards security. You turned to the lady at the check in desk with wide eyes, pretending like you just remembered something.

“I have a bottle of perfume in my bag. That can't pass security, can it?”

The lady paused. “Oh, no. Sorry, you'll have to leave it behind.”

Yeah, that wasn't happening. 

“Actually, is it okay if I leave it in my friend's suitcase? I'm sure he wouldn't mind,” You said, flashing your best smile.

The lady gave a hesitant look to where Soojin had already disappeared around the corner, and then to the few suitcases still being loaded onto the conveyor belt by workers. After a moment of consideration, she gave you a nod, and you moved.

You grabbed your bag, quickly located the perfume wrapped in a towel (so it wouldn't break), and under the careful eyes of the check in lady you grabbed the only bag you were sure belonged to one of the members. It was a dark black suitcase that Chan had been pulling to the pile of other suitcases when you arrived, and you blindly shoved the towel covered bottle in as quickly as you could.

You got back to your feet fast, and with a quick bow to the lady and the workers, you grabbed your own bag and hurried after the rest of the group.

Soojin gave you a weird look as you finally joined him. “Are you okay? Were there any other problems?”

“Nope,” You said a little too quickly. “Just had a question.”

He didn't get the chance to question it, as the security called him through to the other side at that moment.

Thankfully, everything seemed to go well. There were no red flags, the group made their way to the gate- Maya was thrilled to find out she would be sitting next to you on the plane- and you all settled down in the waiting area. It was only then that you approached the idols cautiously, doing your best to pretend you weren't being watched by the other staff.

It was Minho who spotted you first, raising his head as you approached and giving you a curious look. With his attention pulled, the others followed suit. Felix's face brightened as he spotted you, and Jisung gave you a wave.

“Hey! We almost thought you weren't going to make it,” Chan said from his own seat.

Next to him, Hyunjin gave you a side eye, purposely looking away from you as if you were an inconvenience. You ignored the alphas' behavior in favor of returning Felix's smile, the omega patting the seat next to him with a mischievous look. Chan let out a cough that sounded suspiciously like a laugh.

“Um, I was actually hoping I could talk to you,” You told Chan, gesturing with your head to a part of the waiting area that didn't have a lot of people.

At this, both Hyunjin and Jeongin turned to look at you, and the others were doing a bad job of pretending like they weren't also listening in. Chan gave you a sheepish smile, turning to hand Hyunjin his sweater.

“I'll be right back.”

You gave the others a strained smile, quickly making your way over to a corner you felt was isolated enough that you wouldn't be heard. Just as a precaution, you lowered your voice anyway.

“Sooo,” you began, giving a glance to the group still behind you. There were far too many eyes on you, including Hyunjin's less than friendly look. You grimaced. “What's his problem?” 

Chan glanced back over his shoulder, and Hyunjin immediately looked away. “Ah. That would be … our fault.”

“Come again?”

He sighed. “Felix hasn't stopped talking about you since Saturday. Nothing bad!” He assured you. “He hasn't mentioned … you know.” He gestured to you. “It's just, you know. Bringing you up to the others, trying to see what they think of you.”

“Oh god, is this about the courting?” You groaned, remembering the question he had asked on Saturday.

“When are you planning on courting them,” Felix had said jokingly, nudging Chan on the shoulder.

You had shot the two a look. “Never. It's against the rules.”

Felix raised a brow. “Oh, now you're worried about rules.”

You shot him a look. “I'm serious, Felix. If the company found out I hooked up with Chan, I would be fired on the spot. They can't afford that kind of scandal.”

“I mean-” Chan shut his mouth when you turned your glare to him, raising his hands. “Hey! It's not like either of us knew. You weren't even staff back then.”

“Do you think the company would care? The media? Your fans?”

Felix pursed his lips. “But cant we at least tell the other members?”

“No.”

“Why not? They wouldnt say anything, you can trust them!”

“I wasnt even sure I could trust you,” You told him bluntly. “The only reason I changed my mind was because I didnt want it to affect your relationship with Chan. Dont make me regret that choice.”

Felix had slumped back with a pout. “Okay, okay.”

He had dropped the topic, but you could see he want fully convinced. And now, trying to ignore the harsh judging look you were being given by Hyunjin, you were reassured in your decision against telling them the truth. If thos was how he was acting just at the mention of you …

“He means well,” Chan said softly. “Its just Hyunjin gets jealous, especially when it comes to Felix.”

“Tell Felix to stop talking about me then. I really dont want to have any more issues on this trip,” you groaned.

“Anymore?” Chan's brows pulled down in worry. “Is everything okay?”

“Thats actually what I wanted to talk to you about. I had a slight hiccup at the check in.” You raised your hand to quiet him when he started to speak. “It's okay, everything is sorted out. But I had to stash something in your suitcase.”

He let out a nervous laugh. “It's not drugs, is it?”

You slapped his arms. “No, it's not drugs.” You both laughed at that. “I gave you my pheromone perfume. It would have been flagged if it went through security.”

Chan scratched the back of his head, looking confused. “I mean, yeah. That makes sense. But how did you know which bag was mine?”

You blinked slowly. “It was the one you handed to the workers, wasn't it?”

He still looked confused.

“Big, black? Wheels on the bottom?” No recognition on his face. Your heart started to beat a little quicker than normal. “Had a silver handle?”

He shook his head. “That doesn't sound like my bag, that sounds like-” He paused, and you had a sinking feeling in your stomach.

You both shared a knowing look.

“Whose bag was it?”

And as if fate itself was controlling your life, pulling the strings on irony, the third disaster reared its head in the shape of a jealous blond dancer.

Chan's head dropped with a bitter laugh.

“It was Hyunjins.”

Fuck.

Chapter Text

The 2-and-a-half-hour flight from Incheon to Narita was single handedly the most terrifying 2 and a half hours of your life. Sat in between a random girl in her early 20’s and one of the stylists, you clutched the elbow rests for dear life as the plane shook from turbulence.

The girl side-eyed you. “If you're going to puke, don't do it on me”

You didn't even have the energy to correct her on her assumption. You were sure anybody who glanced at your pale and pinched face would assume you were just a nervous flyer but guessing that your nerve wrecked frame was thinking about the metaphorical bomb currently resting down below in the cargo area was the furthest thing from anybody’s minds. Except, maybe, Chan.

Chan, who had tried to reassure you in the half hour before he boarded (you didn’t board until later, with most of the other staff), and who you hadn’t talked to since the flight took off.  Chan, who you knew from the few weeks you had been working with him would surely take responsibility for anything wrong that happened. Who held way too much weight on his shoulders. You almost felt guilty for needing his help, but at the same time relieved that at least you weren’t going to go through this alone.

The moment the seatbelt sign was off, you were determined to get some space. You licked your lips and forced a smile onto your face, turning to the stylist next to you. “Sorry, excuse me. I need to use the bathroom.”

She gave you an odd look but made no move to get out of her seat, instead leaning back in her seat and giving you an expectant look. You shuffled past her and practically ran to the bathrooms in front of you, almost entering the empty room when the curtains leading to the first-class section shifted to the side, and you blinked up at Felix.

“Oh, good. I was just going to go looking for you,” He whispered behind his mask, glancing behind you and then shuffling to the side. “Come here.”

The two of you moved to the smaller area where drinks and snacks were held, the area empty and out of view of the rest of the cabin. After confirming there wasn’t anyone watching, he dropped his mask and swiped his hoodie back, running his fingers through his hair.

“Please tell me Chan has a plan,” You practically begged, fingers gripping his arm a little tighter than you normally would.

“He has a plan,” Felix said slowly, looking like he didn’t quite believe the words coming out of his mouth.

You stared at him expectantly, but when he didn’t elaborate, you frowned. “Why do I have a feeling he doesn’t actually have a plan?”

“No, he does!” Felix insisted. “It’s just … probably not one you’d like.”

“What do you mean?”

He gave you a sheepish smile.

-0-0-

You were going to murder Chan.

To be fair, you weren’t coming up with any great ideas to deal with the problem you had caused to begin with, but when he told you he had a plan, you weren’t expecting to be directly involved. You paced in front of the elevator of the hotel you had been set up in, two floors below where the boys were settled in, waiting for the confirmation text from Felix.

It was a simple plan, which should have eased your worries.

Felix was roomed with Hyunjin. Hyunjin had a sensitive nose and liked to shower after getting off the plane. So, while he was in the shower, Felix would get the suppressant for you and hand it off before he finished.

Simple.

But your mind couldn’t help but go over the million ways that everything could go to shit over and over again as you anxiously waited, wearing a hole in the fancy carpet that probably cost more than a year of your paycheck.

For starters, if Hyunjin opened his suitcase to get a change of clothes before getting in the shower, the towel wrapped bottles would be right on top, ruining the entire plan. Felix assured you that Hyunjin usually grabbed his clothes after his shower (which provided an image you desperately tried not to think about), but usually was not enough of a reassurance for you.

Then there was the worry you would be caught on their floor.

As an employee it wouldn’t be totally out of the norm to be up there, but as only a translator it would be odd for you to be interacting with the members outside of work reasons, and you desperately wanted to avoid rumors or any attention to yourself at the moment. And if somebody caught you with the suppressants in your hands, it would also make this entire plan pointless.

Not to mention the time constraints.

You didn't have to worry too much about your company assigned roommate, since she was a makeup artist you didn't know too well, and she had excused herself to another colleague's room after throwing her bag onto one of the beds. On the other hand, the boys had an interview in 2 hours and would only be given an hour at the most to unwind, get changed, and then they would be leaving. You had to rely heavily on Chan to make sure the other members wouldn’t be roaming the halls or in the elevator when you had to go up.

And as if your thoughts had summoned it, your phone buzzed in your hands.

You froze, taking a moment to just stare down at your phone with wide eyes, and then you pressed the elevator button.

It took exactly 43 seconds for the doors to the fifth floor to open up, and you shuffled quickly down the hall to room 502, which unfortunately was at the very end of the hall. The very door you were heading towards opened a few seconds before you reached it.

Felix peeked his head out, face breaking out into a blinding smile when he saw you. “Hey!”

“Shhh!” You hissed, getting closer. “You got it?”

He pulled his hands out from behind the door, and you nearly cried at the sight of the toweled bundle. Everything had gone to plan so far.

“Here. You should get back soon, Hyunjin won't be long.”

You accepted the bundle, cradling it close to your chest like it was a baby. “Thank you.”

“Felix?”

The two of you shared a wide-eyed look as Hyunjin called out from the room. He waved you off before closing the door behind him, and you shuffled back towards the elevator while looking down at the towel to make sure both bottles were still in there.

As you were two doors from the elevator, the last door to the right suddenly opened, and Minho paused as you passed him.

It was only pure adrenaline that kept your feet moving when your entire body wanted to freeze. You cursed whatever god was listening.

Of all times.

A minute later and you would have been in the clear.

You pressed the button for the elevator and held your breath, waiting for him to say something. But he didn't, and you quickly got onto the elevator and pressed the button for your floor without looking up, too scared at what you might see. It was only as the doors began to close that you risked a glance, only to find Minho already walking away, his back the last thing you saw as the door shut.

You bit your lip hard enough it started to bleed.

Well, that went well.

-0-0-

For the entirety of the day, and then the following, you found yourself wondering if Minho would confront you.

Both Chan and Felix (who you had frantically sent a message to the moment you returned to your own room) assured you that Minho wasn't the curious type and wouldn't tell anyone, but you found yourself still staring at him every time you were in the same room.

Thankfully, the actual work at hand left you busy enough that your worries didn’t have time to fester into anxiety. Translating during interviews would be easier when in English speaking countries, but Japanese was a language that the boys were only familiar with from an idol’s perspective, so complicated questions had to be simplified, and slang had to be translated.

You were still impressed at how much Minho seemed to understand, and Chan did his best to answer what he could in Japanese, but more often than not, it was quicker if you translated for the interviewer. All in all, it was one of the last interviews of the week, two days before their first concert, and you were ready to wrap everything up.

And then the last question was asked.

At first, you had simply thought you misheard it and asked the interviewer to repeat the question, mentally going through the approved list of questions that had been confirmed weeks ago. As far as you were concerned, the questions should have been over. And then the question was repeated, and your mind seemed to catch up to the actual words being spoken by the middle-aged Japanese man as if he was asking about the weather.

You weren’t sure if his nonchalance made the question worse or not.

There was a moment of silence. You glared at the interviewer, he smiled pleasantly at the group, and the group were starting to realize something was up as they all looked expectantly over at you.

You refused to return their gazes, keeping your mouth shut.

After what felt like a minute, but was only a few seconds, the interviewer finally realized something was up. He turned to look at you as well, but at your continued silence, he then turned back to the group with an awkward laugh and had the audacity to start trying to ask the question in English!

It was butchered, the verb he was starting to use was the wrong one, but you didn’t even want the members to get even an idea of the horrible question he had thought was at all appropriate to ask.

You cut him off. “Thank you so much for this interview. Unfortunately, that’s all the time we have today.”

Even speaking in Japanese, you’re sure your voice gave away your anger, and a few of the members (even a staff member in the corner) all gave you wide eyed looks as you stood up, ushering the interviewer away.

You were thankful that the team’s security members, despite not speaking a lick of Japanese, were quick to pick up on the change in vibes, helping you get the interviewer out of the room. You spared only a short glance back at the group- at the confused and worried look that Chan had- before you spun on your heels and followed them all out.

The moment the doors were closed, the interviewer was rounding on you, pushing against securities hold on him. “What was that? I didn’t even get to thank them-“

“You’re lucky I don’t call the cops on you for that incredibly inappropriate question you just asked!” You yelled at him.

“Please, as if it’s a crime to ask a question,” he scoffed.

“It’s harassment, is what it is.”

“It’s a perfectly reasonable question in Japan-“

“I don’t care!” You shouted, and the security member closest to you gave you a look. You ignored her. “It should never, never, be appropriate to ask a pack about their mating cycles! The fact that you think it is, is disgusting! You should be ashamed of yourself. There is a reason we have a list of approved questions, and it’s so our idols do not get embarrassed or feel attacked by an interviewer.”

The interviewer shifted uncomfortably as he realized that the people in the hall were now all staring at the scene. “It’s a legitimate medical question. If they’re going to be on tour for such a long time, it’s bound to cause delays, a-and their fans are entitled to know!“ he stuttered out.

“Get him out of my sight,” You told the security guards in Korean, and without listening to the protest’s the interviewer tried to give, you walked back into the room you had just left.

You nearly hit Jisung in the face with he door, and he began to sputter as he realized he had been caught listening in. The other boys, all way too close to the door to not have been eavesdropping as well, at least had the decency to pretend they weren’t. You ignored them, making your way over to the manager.

You could feel a headache growing in your temples.

“I need you to blacklist that interviewer, maybe get in touch with the company he works with. He should never be allowed to interview any of our idols again,” You whispered softly to Soojin, and he gave you a worried look.

“Do I want to know what he asked?”

“No, you don’t.”

-0-0-

The first day's concert went by without a hitch. You translated anything the boys struggled to say in Japanese, but they had been practicing their lines, and any improvised sentences were simple enough that even the members less familiar with the language could react in their own way. There was one embarrassing moment where you had been too busy laughing at something Felix had said that it wasn't until the crowd's yells of confusion clued you in to the fact that he had spoken in Korean, not Japanese. You quickly translated his words over the exclamations of the other members.

It was only after the concert, in the hotel bar late at night, that you finally managed to talk with Chan since the flight. It wasn’t planned, but the moment you spotted the alpha sitting by himself at the end of the bar you found yourself heading in his direction, only taking a moment to make sure that nobody was looking in your direction.

There were only three other individuals in the bar, one of them the bartender. It made sense.

It was nearly 2 in the morning.

“Shouldn’t you be asleep?” You wondered, making yourself comfortable in the seat next to Chan.

He startled, eyebrows shooting up as he spotted you. He said your name softly, like he wasn’t really sure you were there, and then he smiled. “I could ask you the same thing.”

You shrugged. “Couldn’t sleep.”

Chan nodded. “Me either.”

In reality, you had woken up from a nightmare. You couldn’t remember anything that had happened in your dream, only that it had left you with a feeling of dread. The hotel bar wasn’t your original destination, but the restaurant had been closed, and you were suddenly glad you had decided to get a drink instead of laying in your bed for the rest of the night. Chan’s presence was surprisingly calming.

The bartender made his way over, giving you a tired smile. “What can I get you?”

You ordered your favorite drink, and it wasn’t until it was brought over, and you had taken a sip, that Chan finally spoke.

“Thank you,” He whispered.

“Hmm?”

Chan let out a sigh, straightening up and turning to you. “Thank you. For defending my pack against the interviewer yesterday.”

You stared at him with a blank stare for a few seconds, mind racing as you tried to figure out what gave it away. “Who told you?”

“One of the security guards speaks Japanese. We’re close.”

“Ah.” You were suddenly a lot thirstier, sipping at the rest of your drink to keep from having to speak until you realized that he had thanked you. “Right. You’re welcome.”

There’s a moment of awkward energy, where you’re suddenly not sure if you should leave or not, but then he lets out another sigh. He stands up slowly, placing a hand to the back of your chair as he passes behind you.

“Get some sleep,” he murmurs, and then he’s gone.

It wouldn’t be until you were finished with your own drink and ready to leave a few minutes later that you learned he had paid for your drink.

-0-0-

The second day was setting up to be fairly similar to the first. You were starting to get into a pre-show routine, which allowed you a moment of calm to listen to music and hang out in the staff resting area while the others were running around getting everything set up. You would only be needed right before the concert started, having already gone through sound check and made sure your microphone was working fine.

According to your phone, you still had around 40 minutes until you needed to head towards the backstage area you would be translating from.

You closed your eyes again and planned on getting in a quick nap.

Your earphone did a good job of blocking out noises, but you could still hear the door opening every once in a while, and people chattering, though you couldn’t make out the words. You were hidden somewhat in the back of the room, laying on a couch that was facing another couch with a table in between.

In between songs, you could hear footsteps approaching.

You had planned to ignore it, thinking it was just another staff member looking for some peace and quiet, but the footsteps weren’t heading towards the couches in the back. You paused your song and lifted your head, only to be met with an empty room.

Confused, you looked around.

The door was still closed, but you could have sworn the footsteps hadn’t left. It wasn’t until you sat up, the leather of the couch making a squeaking sound as your weight shifted, that you noticed the figure huddled in the corner.

Jisung stared at you with wide eyes, like he was also surprised to see you there. Considering your clothes blended in to the couch, he very well might have been.

“Oh, sorry-“ You paused, noticing his pale face, the way his shoulders were moving too quickly, and the fear that was starting to burn your nose.

Oh.

“Jisung, are you okay?” You asked him, even though you knew the answer.

He bit his lip, face falling before he hid it in between his arms, legs curling up against his body until he was protected from your sight.

The distressed scent grew stronger.

You swore softly, moving quickly but carefully towards the panicking beta.

For a moment, you were glad that he wasn’t an omega. The scent of a distressed omega would linger far longer than that of a beta, and that would bring way too much attention to you, regardless if it was your scent of not.

Jisung didn’t move even as you got close. You paused near the table in between the two of you, eyeing his shoulders carefully to make sure he wasn’t hyperventilating. It seemed as if it was more of an anxiety attack at the moment, possibly embarrassment at breaking down in front of you.

You grabbed a bottle of water just in case.

Less worried knowing that the beta was actually breathing fine, you allowed yourself to get comfortable on the ground next to him. It was silent for a few minutes, in which you sent a quick message to Chan from the number he had given you all that time ago.

Y: 'Jisung is in the staff lounge. He seems upset.’

You received a reply instantly.

C: 'Minho’s on his way.’

Y: I don’t think he wants any company right now.’

Despite being read instantly, you didn’t receive a reply. You assumed that there must have been a conversation of sorts, and Minho was either convinced not to barge into the room or had been held back, because the doors remained close until Jisung finally let out a sigh, lifting his head.

He eyed you with red eyes. “I’m sorry.”

You offered him the water bottle without a word, giving him a reassuring smile and then allowing him some privacy to put himself back together.

Your phone beeped from your alarm.

“You have thirty minutes before the show starts.” You gave a quick look over, noticing his stage outfit and tear-stained cheeks. “You should probably get a makeup artist to help with … you know.”

You motioned to his face, and he nodded, still looking unsure.

Even with the lingering pressure, Jisung made no moves to get up or leave. You allowed him another minute, and then let out a sigh.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Jisung huffed. “I don’t-“

“It’s okay if you don’t.”

“No, it’s okay. I just … sometimes I just have bad days,” He admitted, playing with the cap of the water bottle.

“Everyone has bad days,” You offered, then wondered if your words would be taken the wrong way. You quickly added. “People will understand if you’re not okay.”

“I know. But being an idol, it has so much … so many expectations. To go out there, to people who paid sometimes hundreds of dollars, who made plans to come see us, who might never see us perform again, just to not give it my all …”

He trailed off, wiping his eyes as they began to tear up again.

“I just don’t like feeling this way.”

You didn’t know what to say to that. You weren’t sure there was anything you could say. Instead, you offered him some emotional support, leaning your head against his shoulder and wishing that you were open as an omega and able to help him calm down with your scent.

But the next best thing came in the form of Seungmin finally opening up the door. He eyed you two carefully for a second, unsure if he should come in, but Minho pushed past him and didn’t hesitate to make his way over.

“Jagi,” he breathed, looking relieved once he was close enough to gauge that his fellow member was okay. Just in case, he asked, “are you okay?”

Jisung nodded his head, and you pulled away in worry that your presence might be in the way.

Seungmin walked in at a much calmer pace, pumping out the much-needed calming hormones. “You having a moment, hyung?”

Jisung laughed. “Don’t call me that you little gremlin.”

Minho and Seungmin both seemed to lose some of the tension in their shoulders at his reply. You were surprised when you made to get up, only to have Minho’s attention on you at the slightest movement. For a second, you felt like a prey animal about to be pounced.

He raised an eyebrow at you, and despite staring right at you, his next question was still directed to Jisung. “Do you need some more time?”

It was only as his gaze dropped down that you realized you were holding Jisung’s hand in your own. You flushed in embarrassment, but your reaction only drew a downright predatory grin from the Alpha. Seungmin sighed.

“We don’t have that much time,” He muttered, shooting Jisung an apologetic look. “If you want to sit this one out, you need to let us know now.”

Jisung shook his head, giving your hand a squeeze. “No, it’s okay. I’m okay.”

He said it almost to himself, but you smiled reassuringly when he faced you.

“Thank you,” He said, with more confidence than you expected. You watched as he got to his feet, remembering the conversation you had had not that long ago.

‘I guess it’s easy when you’ve got a stadium full of beautiful people screaming your name’

“I’ll be cheering you on,” You told him, raising your first and shaking it towards him. “Fighting!”

And with a genuine smile, Jisung left looking better than when he had arrived. Seungmin gave you a small nod as he followed, but Minho lingered long enough to watch you get to your own feet and begin to gather your things. You expected him to say something, but he finally left without a word.

-0-0-

Finding Chan in the hotel bar later that night wasn’t as much as a surprise as it had been yesterday.

You sat down without worry. “We’ve got to stop meeting like this.”

He laughed, giving you a soft look as he slid a drink over to you. It was the same one you had ordered the day before. You blinked in surprise.

“How did you know I was going to show up?”

“I didn’t,” He offered, looking down at his own drink. “But I hoped. I wanted to be able to thank you again, for what you did for Jisung.”

You shrugged. “I just did what felt right. He looked like he needed a friend.”

Chan continued to stare at the side of your face, and you hoped he would blame the blush that was starting to creep up your neck on the alcohol.

Once again, he paid for you as he left.

After everything that happened that day, you were more than eager to settle down and try to get some sleep. You would have a day off tomorrow and the day after, but there were a few more interviews scheduled for the weekend before you’d be flying out on Monday. So far, you were glad to know the first leg of the tour was almost over.

You entered the elevator without realizing you were being followed.

Minho slipped in next to you without a word, and you froze.

He didn’t say anything as the doors began to close, but he made no moves to push any of the buttons. It’s only when the elevator hadn’t moved for a few seconds that you realized that neither had you.

You tentatively reached forward and pressed your floor number.

He finally spoke when the elevator began to move up. “You and Chan seem awfully cozy.”

You swallowed. “He was just thanking me for helping out with Jisung.”

“Hmmm. And I suppose Felix was just lending you a towel the other day.”

You found yourself praying for any god out there that could hear for a way out of this conversation.

“I didn’t want to go down to the front desk. Felix had an extra,” You lied, hoping it would be enough.

“You want to try that again?”

You took a deep breath. “Are you accusing me of something?”

“I don’t know,” Minho drawled, giving you a predatory look. “Am I?”

You were on opposite sides of the elevator, but the step he took towards you suddenly put him within arms reach of you, and your heartrate jumped.

You almost laughed in relief when the elevator suddenly stopped. The elevator had reached your floor, but it seemed as if your prayers had finally arrived, if a little late.

Or maybe someone up there had a sick sense of humor.

The elevator doors made a strange screeching sound as they began to open, and you both turned to stare in confusion. Only halfway open, they stopped.

And then the elevator shifted, creaking.

You shared a wide-eyed glance with Minho, unable to even make a noise before suddenly the elevator dropped.

The sound that escaped you was something you didn’t even realize you could make. The elevator stopped almost as quickly as it had dropped, but through the still halfway open doors you could make out that the elevator had settled somewhere in between two floors. You shuddered as the creaking noise continued, scared too even make a move.

It was after nearly a minute of silence between you two that Minho finally spoke.

“Are you okay?”

You eyed his tightly clenched fists that were doing their best to leave their impression on the railings, the way his muscles were tense, the look of pain on his face.

“Are you?”

He let out a huff, releasing his grip slowly. And then he began to slide down the elevator wall until he was on the floor, legs spreading out in front of him. He let out another breath, and then another, and you suddenly began to grow worried he was hyperventilating.

You shifted forward, pausing to make sure the elevator wouldn’t move, but it seemed to be stable. Figuring it was okay, you walked the two steps until you were next to him, kneeling by his side.

“Hey, it’s okay. We’re okay,” You told him, reaching out to grab his shoulder.

He slapped your hand away. “Don’t!”

His voice was rough, almost a growl. You felt your chest tighten in worry and rejection, but he was still breathing hard. Was he going to pass out? You wanted to help him, but afraid to touch him again, you held your hands out in front of you to get his attention.

“You need to breathe,” You said softly, trying to hide your own panic. “Take a deep breath in.”

He shuddered again and then let out a bitter laugh. “That’s not- I’m not having a panic attack.”

“Well, you’re definitely not calm,” You argued.

Minho closed his eyes, his head slamming back against the wall hard enough to let out a clang, and you reached forward without thinking.

“Be careful!”

He grabbed your wrist, eyes opening only a sliver to glare at you. And then, as you stared at each other in anger, he suddenly seemed to droop. He let out a swear, dropped your wrist, and swallowed.

And then the scent began to reach you.

There, lingering in between the fear and anxiety that had originally escaped from the first few seconds of the elevator dropping, was an unmistakable scent.

Your mouth dropped. “Oh.”

Minho let out a groan. “I’m sorry. I can’t-“ He let out another shuddered breath. “I’m sorry.”

“I … It’s okay,” You offered, moving back.

Suddenly everything was starting to make sense. The lingering stares, the flared nose, the almost predatory way he had been behaving. No wonder he didn’t want you touching him right now; you were surprised he hadn’t bitten you with his instincts running this high.

Alphas could be very sensitive when in pre-rut.

You turned back to the bigger problem, pressing the emergency button on the elevator and hearing a soft ringing noise. Your first concern was getting the two of you out.

But there was a bigger problem you were starting to realize.

It was late. Really late. You had gotten out of bed without thinking about it, but now it was all you could think about. The fear and anxiety lingering in the air wasn’t just coming from Minho.

You didn’t have your fake pheromone perfume on right now, just scent blockers. And they were starting to wear off.

And you were stuck in an elevator with an Alpha going into rut.

“It’s going to be okay,” You reassured Minho when the emergency alarm didn’t immediately get attention. “We’re going to be okay.”

But you weren’t so sure.

Chapter Text

It took an embarrassingly long time for you to even think of calling for help. For the first 5 minutes, you switched from pressing the emergency button to checking in with Minho, glancing back at him to make sure he was still conscious. Although he was looking a little groggy, he confirmed he was still awake by meeting your gaze every time.

He was looking pale though.

You sighed. “I don’t think this is working.”

“Have you tried calling for help?”

He said it so nonchalantly that you almost snapped at him. What did he think you were doing? But then you realized that he wasn’t talking about the emergency button in the elevator, but actually calling someone. On the phone.

You pulled out your phone and confirmed that you had signal.

Then you wondered who exactly you were supposed to call. The hotel? No, you didn’t have their number. A manager? It was the middle of the night, your scent blockers were wearing off, and you were stuck in the elevator with a member of the group you were working for. There was no way that would look good.

There was only one reasonable choice, and Miho knew it too.

“I assume you have Chan’s number,” He said, titling his head.

You didn’t give him the satisfaction of answering him, turning around as you dialed the number in hopes of giving yourself some semblance of privacy.

Chan picked up after only 2 rings. “Hello?”

You didn’t even know what to say. What could you say? He said your name in confusion, sounding as tired as you felt. You immediately felt bad.

“I didn’t wake you up, did I?” You wondered.

“No, I was working on something,” he mumbled. “Are you okay?”

“I’m stuck in the elevator,” You said.

There was a moment of silence.

“What?”

“The elevator. It’s broken. And … I’m stuck. I tried pressing the emergency button, but I don’t think it’s working. I mean, I don’t hear anybody coming to help, and maybe if you could just … I don’t know. Get help?”

“Yeah, I’ll head to the front desk.”

“Don’t take the elevator,” You joked.

He chuckled. “I hope you’re not claustrophobic.”

“Thankfully I’m not.”

You could hear the sound of someone saying something on the other side of the phone, and then a door closing. You bit your lip, glancing back behind you for another split second, but he was still staring at you.

He could probably hear every word even with you speaking low considering the enhanced senses he would be experiencing right now.

“Chan?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m not alone in here.”

“Oh?” There was a moment when you could hear the stairwell doors squeak open. “This late?”

You glanced back again. “It’s Minho.”

“Minho?” His voice echoed. He sounded almost amused.

“He’s in rut.”

You could practically hear the record scratch as if you were in a movie. The footsteps on the other end of the phone suddenly came to a stop.

“And I think my scent blockers are starting to wear off,” You whispered, even though you had a feeling it would do nothing to keep Minho from hearing you.

More silence, and then softly you heard him swear.

The footsteps continued, faster than before.

“If Minho’s in rut, I have to tell my manager,” He said, and your chest got tight with worry. “It can wait until the morning though. The less people that know about this, the better.”

“They’ll find out he was stuck in the elevator. There’s no way the hotel staff won’t blab.”

“And they’ll ask me why I didn’t tell them, and I’ll make something up.”

“Chan, I’m not going to let you get in trouble just to protect me,” You said softly, pressing your forehead against the cool metal of the elevator.

“I’m not going to get in trouble. Have a little faith in me,” he said, voice slightly breathless. I could almost imagine him smiling, and his face in my mind caused me to smile in return.

“Always,” I whispered with a little laugh.

There was the sound of a door opening, and then the echo of his footsteps faded away. “I’m at the front desk now. I’ll call you back in a second.”

“Okay.”

He whispered your name and you let out a hum to show you were still listening.

“You can trust him,” was all he said before hanging up.

You stared at your phone even after hanging up, your forehead still resting against the elevator wall. The scent of alpha was starting to fill the small space around you, and it was making your head a little fuzzy, your omega metaphorically perking their ears up in interest. You mentally smacked it back down with your finger raised in warning.

Now was not the time.

From behind you, Minho spoke up. “Omega or Alpha?”

You nearly groaned in frustration.

Of course he had realized. It would have been hard not to in this situation, especially after your conversation with Chan. No beta would be this worried about scent blockers wearing off.

When you turned around, Minho was unsurprisingly already looking at you. He looked tired, head titled back against the wall so that he was staring at you from the bottom of his eyes. You slid down the wall in your own corner, legs stretching out in front of you until your feet were almost touching.

“What gave it away?” You wondered.

Realistically, there weren’t a lot of options.

“I’ve never seen a beta so worried about their scent blockers before,” he starts, giving you a weary smile. “You also seem far too calm to not have experienced someone in heat or rut before. Most betas would think I’d be dangerous.”

You laughed. “I’m more worried about you hurting yourself right now. How are you feeling?”

He let out a hum, eyes narrowing in thought. “I think I’m fine so far. It’s still pretty early.”

You weren’t sure about that, but you trusted his judgment. There was a moment of lull in the conversation, where both of you just sat with your own realizations. You could start to make out the faint smell of Vanilla as your scent blocker wore off.

Well, cat was out of the bag.

“Omega,” You finally said, and Minho startled.

“Huh?”

“I’m an omega,” You admitted, biting your lip. “Pretending to be a beta for obvious reasons.”

You hoped those reasons would be obvious to him too. You weren’t in the mood to have to explain his company’s hiring practices, or argue about whether or not it was right, or needed, or whatever else.

Minho seemed to understand. Or maybe he was just too tired to ask. He looked worse for wear, and when he didn’t react in any way other than to nod slowly, you started to worry. He didn’t react even as you crawled forward, placing the back of your hand against his forehead.

He was burning hot.

“Shit, Minho. You have a fever.”

“s’okay,” He slurred. “Normal.”

You frowned. Fevers were normal for some people, but you didn’t like the way he was out of it. Worried, you pulled out your phone and dialed Chan’s number.

He answered immediately. “Hold on, give me a second.”

There was a conversation happening on the other end, but you could only make out Chan’s voice. He seemed to be asking a question of time, and you assumed he was asking how long it would take to get you out of the elevator. For Minho’s sake, you hoped it wouldn’t be long.

“Chan?”

There were a few more words exchanged, and then a swish of air. “Hey, sorry. I was just getting some confirmation.”

“Did you let them know?”

He answered slowly. “Yeah. About that.” Your stomach twisted in worry. “There was an accident on the highway a few hours ago. It was pretty bad, apparently. The firefighters won’t be able to get here for at least another hour.”

You let out a sigh. “Fuck. And the hotel doesn’t have like, a key or something?”

“There was an error. It looks like the elevator is jammed, and they can’t get it working. The firefighters are our best bet right now.”

Minho let out a soft groan.

“Minho isn’t doing so great. He’s got a fever, and he looks out of it,” You said, softly pushing back his sweaty bangs from his forehead.

Chan groaned himself. “The fever’s normal, but Minho’s always a little bit more sensitive during his rut. He needs something to ground him.”

“Like an omega’s scent?”

“No, sweetheart. I can’t ask that of you,” Chan said immediately.

“He already knows I’m an omega,” I reassured him. “And I don’t want him to spend the next hour in pain.”

Another sigh, and then Chan said your name softly. “Thank you, really. I promise you, he won’t tell anyone.”

“He better not. I’ve already got you and Felix trying to court me, I don’t need another.”

Minho snorted. “Of course Felix is already trying to court you. Makes sense why he’s been talking about you so much.”

You pressed a finger to his lips. “Hush, you.”

“I’ll let you know when the firefighters are here,” Chan said softly. “Take care of him, please.”

Minho opened his mouth against your finger, hot breath washing over your skin. He was breathing hard, eyes half lidded as he looked up at you from where you were kneeling next to him. Even sweaty and pale, he looked like a vision straight out of your wet dreams.

You swallowed hard. “I think it’s me you need to be worried about.”

“Are you okay?” Chan said worriedly.

“I’m fine,” You reassured him. “We’re both fine. Don’t worry.”

You hung up before you could get him asking questions, trying to reassure yourself that you would be fine. It was just an alpha. You’ve dealt with plenty of those before. Even ones in rut. You thought back to Sooyoung, her heavy baked bread scent and her flushed skin, the way you once had to scent her to get her to calm down after a particularly bad drop.

“You going to save me, princess?” Minho slurred, eyes fluttering as he titled to the side.

You snorted. “Okay, careful. You’re going to hurt yourself.”

You brought your wrist up to your mouth, softly sucking the skin right over your scent gland. The bitter taste of scent blocker hit your tongue, and you wrinkled your nose as you licked it off, Minho watching you with rapt attention. You pulled away after you were sure you got it all, wiping your wrist off on your shirt.

“Okay, deep breathe Minho,” You warned him, pushing out as much of your scent as you could.

He grabbed your wrist when you presented it to him, his body almost instantly relaxing as the scent of omega began to wash over him. He let out a soft hum, eyes closing.

You sat back on your heels to get more comfortable. It would take a few minutes for your scent to fully pull him out of his drop.

Minho suddenly pulled on your arm, and you let out a squeak as you were thrown off balance, your only free hand grasping at the railing above you to keep yourself from hitting the ground. With your other arm still in Minho’s grasp, your shoulder crashed into the wall next to him and your wrist was pulled into an uncomfortable position.

You let out a cry of pain, and Minho dropped your arm in confusion.

It stung a little from where it had twisted, but it stopped hurting the moment you settled, your entire upper body somehow now pressed up against Minho himself.

“Sorry,” he muttered, blinking rapidly. He was probably still mostly out of it, but there was enough awareness in his eyes now for you to know he meant the apology.

“It’s okay,” You muttered, trying to push yourself back up onto your knees.

Minho shifted at the same time, arms coming up to help you back up into a sitting position, and you began to slide forward. Instinctually you pulled your leg towards you to help balance your body, and you missed accidentally kneeing him by a few inches. He flinched, and you pulled your leg away from his privates with a laugh, settling them on the other side instead.

“Sorry,” You chuckled, settling down.

Your position was much closer now, with you essentially straddling Minho’s knees, but when you offered up your wrist again, he didn’t refuse it. His nose pressed against your scent gland softly, his cheek then rubbing against it as he essentially scented himself with your vanilla mix. He let out a soft chuff, his own scent growing heavier in the air.

It took nearly 5 minutes for him to finally pull away. His face had more color, and you could feel through your curled fingers that his cheeks were a lot less warm than they had been before. He gave your position a confused look, slowly letting your wrist go and leaning back.

“Did I drop?” He muttered?

You nodded slowly.

“How much do you remember?”

Minho looked to the side. “You were talking with Chan, I think.”

“Hmm. It’s going to be a while, at least an hour.”

“Oh.”

He breathed in, brows furrowing. “You’re an omega.”

“Yes.”

You eyed him carefully, but he didn’t show any signs of being upset. Instead, he titled his head, blinking his eyes slowly.

“I thought for sure you’d be an alpha.”

“What?”

He lifted his gaze to meet yours, his face carefully blank. “That first day we met.” You stared at him in confusion. “You were afraid.” You nodded. “Your scent didn’t change.”

You blinked. Once. Then twice. “Oh. My. God. You’ve known since then!?”

Minho’s lips twitched. “I figured you had to be either an Alpha or an Omega. No beta would have to hide their scent like that.”

You let out a laugh in disbelief. “I can’t believe it. You never said anything.”

“It wasn’t my secret to share.”

He shrugged as if it was obvious, and you couldn’t help but feel a wave of affection at how simple it seemed in his eyes. Your vanilla scent grew stronger, and the way it mixed with Minho’s maple syrup made you slightly dizzy.

You yawned. It was close to 2am at this point, and way past your bedtime.

Minho’s finger softly swiped up your arm, settling against your shoulder. “You should get some sleep. It’s going to be a while.”

“You’re in rut, and you’re worried about me?”

“I usually sleep most of my rut off anyways,” Minho said, closing his eyes. “No point in both of us being exhausted.”

“An elevator isn’t exactly the most comfortable.”

He smirked. Only cracking open one eye, Minho gently cupped the back of your head and pulled you forward until you were resting against him. Your hands pressed against the back of the elevator, but after a second, you slowly wrapped your arms around his waist and found it was much more comfortable. Without hesitation, a warm hand rubbed small circles against your back.

“See? Comfortable,” he mumbled.

You laughed. “Yeah, I guess. Are you okay?”

With your cheek resting against his shoulder, he was easily able to shift his face until it settled near your neck. You didn’t even need to think about releasing a calming scent, sure that your omega was content enough in that moment to do all the work for you. Minho let out a soft sigh, and you could feel it in your chest with how close you were.

“I’m fine,” He assured you, and you allowed your eyes to close.

You were asleep in seconds.

-0-0-

You weren’t sure what time it was when you woke back up. You weren’t even sure you were really awake.

Your eyelids felt heavy, and you didn’t want to open them even as you registered the soft sound of voices speaking. All you could smell was pancakes, buttery soft pancakes lathered in maple syrup, the scent so heavy you could taste it on your tongue.

You licked your lips in search of the taste you were convinced you would find, but were met with skin.

Oh. Your face was pressed against something.

You lifted your head slightly, nose brushing up against skin, and suddenly the scent was stronger, and your head grew dizzy.

“Yeah, I got it. 10 minutes. No … yes, Hyung, I’m fine.” The voice was somewhere above you, but your head felt too heavy to lift completely. Instead, you dropped it back against the shoulder you had been leaning on and allowed your body to relax. “Yes, they’re fine too. Okay … yeah, bye.”

Your omega liked the sound of the voice. The rumble of their chest could be felt against your own, body pressed up against them so close it was almost as if you had become one. You just wanted to go back to sleep, but the body shifted.

You were suddenly all too aware of the weight pressing between your legs.

Even as the voice said your name, you focused instead on the ache that bloomed from your chest – a need to be closer to the source of comfort. You wanted to feel every inch of their body, to feel their scent in your throat, to sink your teeth into their skin and mark them as yours. Your skin was tingling under their touch, even as they shook your eyes back open.

“Hey, you have to- shit.”

Minho, your brain supplied to you. You were looking at Minho, his wide eyes framed by long lashes, pink lips parted slightly, the slight curl in his hair that stuck to his forehead. His cheeks and ears were red. He looked cute, your omega purred.

Or maybe that was you.

He said your name again, and you just blinked at him slowly, slipping forward-

“Omega.”

You paused, the hands on your waist preventing you from moving closer. You weren’t sure what happened next, between all the heavy scents and the ache in your neck, but you suddenly found yourself walking. You paused, brain trying to figure out how you had gotten out of the elevator. You remembered a flash of heavy doors opening, a group of firefighters, and Felix’s soft eyes as he pulled you close.

“Felix?” The omega let out a soft hum from next to you, and you turned to him in confusion. “Where’s Minho?”

“He’s okay,” Felix assured you. “Come one, last step.”

You blinked down at your feet, surprised to find yourself in the stairwell. A soft blue jacket that smelled like cinnamon was wrapped around your shoulders, and your fingers ran across the bumpy edges of the zipper.

“Where are we going?”

“To get you cleaned up,” he answered, opening the doors to the stairwell with his shoulder, hands reaching out to you like he was afraid you would trip without his assistance.

You did feel dizzy.

“I can get cleaned up in my room,” You tried to argue, brain supplying that you needed to get back to your own room.

You couldn’t remember why. There was something important you seemed to be forgetting. You also didn’t remember if Felix answered you, because then you were awake again, lifting your face from the soft silk of a couch pillow, and clarity seemed to hit you like a wrecking ball. You immediately covered your face and groaned.

You had a drop.

The fuzzy memories alone made that clear, but the headache and close presence of your omega solidified your worries.

It wasn’t often you had a drop. They usually happened during a heat, but you knew there was a possibility of a drop occurring during an intense moment or experience - In this case, your omega must have been affected by Minho more than you thought. Your chest still felt heavy, and Minho’s scent had lingered through the night (morning?). Either way, you were doing your best to work through it.

You moved to get up, when the soft grip of a hand suddenly tightened against your ankle.

Felix stared at you softly from where he was resting against the end of the couch you were on. You blinked at him in confusion, and you vaguely remembered him helping you out of the elevator.

“Lix?” You had to clear your throat after speaking.

He got up slowly with a finger to his mouth, casting a look behind him as he did. You followed his gaze, able to make out two bodies on the large bed. You could vaguely guess that one was Minho, and based on the scents in the room, the other had to be Chan. But the lighting in the room was dark enough you couldn’t make out who was who.

Felix walked back over with a bottle of water, and you took the offered drink gratefully. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I had a drop,” You whispered once you had gotten a few sips of water in. You looked down at the cap as you closed the bottle again. “How long was I out?”

“2 hours.”

You nodded, looking around the room again. “Who’s room are we in?”

“It’s a rut room the hotel provided. We – Chan and I, I mean – were hoping you could take a shower and get some more scent blocker on before you headed to bed. But then I realized you were in drop, and I thought it would be better to wait until you weren’t so out of it.”

It was a nice sentiment.

It was still early enough that you could get in a shower and head back up to your room with little questions. Maybe your roommate would just assume you had woken up early? Maybe they were still asleep.

“I’ve got some clothes you can change into, if you want.” It was a suggestion, but you both knew that your own clothes smelt too heavily of alpha in rut to not garner attention. With a knowing smile, Felix offered, “There’s a laundry room down here. I can wash them for you and bring them back up later.”

“That would be awesome, thank you.”

Your shower was quick. You did your best to scrub off as much of both Minho’s scent, and your own, before you toweled down as quickly as you could and began to apply your scent blockers. You found that Felix had also left you some concealer to hide the marks against your neck, and you were embarrassed to realize just how far you had gone last night. You applied the concealer generously.

It couldn’t have been more than 15 minutes by the time you emerged from the bathroom, freshly cleaned and wearing an all-black ensemble that was only slightly big on you, but somehow something had happened in that time frame.

Felix was pacing when you walked out.

You had a bad feeling. “What happened?”

A quick glance around didn’t show anything out of the ordinary. Chan and Minho were still asleep, the light from the bathroom finally allowing you to make out Minho as the one sprawled out on his stomach. You adverted your eyes from Chan when you realized he wasn’t wearing a shirt.

Felix leaned against the desk. “It was Hannie. He wanted to see Minho, but-“

“But I was here,” You finished, nodding your head in understanding. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’ll call him a few minutes after you leave, he’ll be fine.”

The way he said it wasn’t very reassuring, a frown still pulling at Felix’s lips. You wanted to press your fingers against the edges and smooth the unease away from his face, but you settled for resting your hand against his shoulder, watching as your fellow omega drooped in response.

“What is it?”

Felix shook his head.

“I had to lie to him,” he whispered, tilting his head back as he bit his lip. “I told him Minho didn’t want to see anyone right now, because it was the only way he would leave. Minho … he can’t spend his rut without Han. Never has.”

You were sure that would sting. To have someone suddenly pull away with no warning, especially when you can’t even be mad at them for it – Jisung wasn’t an omega, but even beta’s could feel rejected. You wondered if that’s was what the young rapper was feeling right now.

“He’ll understand,” You reassured him, mostly trying to reassure yourself.

But neither of you were feeling very sure. You thanked Felix for his help, for keeping your secret, but you wondered if he resented you. You remembered the sharp scent of burnt cinnamon when he had his fight with Chan, and as the stairwell door creaked behind you and the sound of muffled cries grew quiet, you wondered if Jisung would have a similar fight with Minho. You took the steps slowly, quietly, trying hard to listen to the shuffling above you.

You had never asked, because it didn’t feel like it was your place to, but the way Jisung desperately tried to muffle his cries behind his hand, body trembling where it was curled up in the corner of the landing, made you sure that Minho had to be his Mate. No other type of rejection could possibly hurt that much.

He stared at you with wide red rimmed eyes, body trembling from the force he was using to keep his sobs in, and you knew he had to feel ashamed, but you also knew how hard it was to stop the tears when they were coming out that strong. He wasn’t wearing scent blockers. He was probably assuming he wouldn’t need them, if he was helping his alpha out with his rut. You couldn’t remember what his scent had been before, but now it felt like a storm, where every sob felt like a blast of thunder going off above you.

You were on your knees in front of him in a blink, pressing your hands over his wrists. Jisung shut his eyes, and this time the sob he let out turned into a whine, his head dropping in embarrassment. He was struggling to breathe, and unlike before, you didn’t have any help to calm him down. There was only one person who could do that right now, and he smelt too much like vanilla, your scent lingering from the night before.

Jisung thought his alpha didn’t want him, and it was all your fault.

“Oh, sweetheart. I’m so sorry,” You whispered, even as Jisung shook his head. “I’m so sorry. I never meant to hurt you.”

You could feel the guilt building up inside of you. Felix’s face, cheeks covered in tears. Jisung’s wide red eyes. Hyunjin’s far away glares. You were tearing this pack apart one by one, and they were letting you because … what. Because Chan wanted to court you? Because you asked them to keep a secret? Your career couldn’t possibly be worth hurting these boys, making them question themselves. They had been a pack far longer than you had been a translator – no dream was worth this much pain.

Jisung didn’t pull away when you wrapped your arms around his body, allowing him to hide his wet face in your shoulder.

“I’m so sorry.”

He managed to get in a few gulping breaths, but they immediately turned into even more sobs.

“Minho doesn’t hate you, I promise,” you whispered, because you could imagine what his brain was telling him. The way his anxiety would twist the rejection into cold harsh words. “He loves you, and he wants you there. He’s not pushing you away.”

Jisung’s next breath was shaky. “W-what?”

“Felix turned you away be-“ You paused, staring intently at the wall. You refused to pull away from Jisung, unable to look him in the eyes. “because he had to. He made me a promise.”

“I don’-“ Jisung took a gasping breath. “I don’t understand.”

“I’ll explain everything, I promise,” You told him.

You made the decision then and there. This couldn’t keep happening – not because of you. Not because of your fears. You felt like you were at the top of the rollercoaster, about to plunge into empty air, stomach dropping in your stomach.

It felt wrong, but you knew it was right.

“Do you have a phone?”

Jisung finally pulled away, his cheeks hot and wet, nose sniffing as he fumbled around in his pockets. He handed It to you without any question, even though you knew he had plenty. He stared at you like you were something new, something strange, something …. You pulled your gaze away before you allowed yourself to really think about the way he looked at you.

It wasn’t hard to find the groupchat. It took even less to send the message, turning the phone off and handing it back off.

Jisung stared at his phone in confusion.

“Go, Jisung,” You told him, nodding your head towards the door you had come in. Jisung had barely made it half a floor up before he had broken down, and it would take him less than a minute to be back at the door. “Go be with Minho.”

“Why?”

You titled your head in confusion. You thought the beta would be running at the chance to be with his alpha. But he was still staring at you in the special way, and you didn’t know what to do about it. You needed to get going, you only gave yourself 15 minutes to climb up the 7 stories you needed to get to the boy’s floor, and even less to think about what you were going to say.

What were you supposed to say?

“Why do you call me Jisung? Everyone else calls me Hannie,” Jisung finally asked, and you blinked.

“Oh. I’m sorry, I can call you Han if you prefer-“

“It’s okay. I don’t mind, I just don’t understand … why.” He stared at the phone you had handed him, fingers turning the device over in his hands.

You licked your lips, and slowly stood up. “If I’m being honest, I forgot your last name. All I could remember was Jisung.”

He nodded his head dumbly. You looked up to the stairs you would need to walk up (-why did it have to be the elevator that broke, why couldn’t there be more than one elevator on this side of the hotel, why did the boys need so much privacy, why, why, why-) and contemplated just leaving the beta.

Did he not understand what you had told him? Did he still doubt Minho wanted him?

“Why would Felix lie to me,” Jisung finally whispered, and you immediately felt the pang of guilt again.

“Because he made a promise to me.”

“But why?”

You didn’t know how to explain. If anything, you had been hoping the beta would take his questions up with Minho and Chan and Felix – you were hoping he would have left by now. You didn’t understand why he was still here, and why he was looking at you.

You had 10 minutes. You would have to sprint up the stairs. You were going to make a horrible last impression, especially to a pack you had begun to think of fondly.

Would they think badly of you once they knew the truth?

“Felix doesn’t keep secrets. Not from us. Not … not from me.”

“I asked him to.”

Jisung looked up then, his face suddenly much more serious than you had ever seen. “And he listened. For him to trust you like that, to keep your secret from us,”

You swallowed, looking away.

That look on his face-

“He must really like you, huh?”

You shook your head. “I have to go.”

“Chan, Felix – they would have told us if they were going to court someone. They wouldn’t bring a new member into this pack without at least letting us know-“

“They’re not bringing me into the pack!” You yelled.

Jisung stared at you with wide eyes again, his cheeks puffed up in surprise. “Oh.”

“Go, Seungie. Minho needs you,” You whispered.

And he finally reacted the way you expected him to. His face contorted through different emotions, but then he slowly pulled himself to his feet and took off down the stairs without saying another word. You only waited until you heard the familiar sound of the stairwell doors opening before you took off in the opposite direction, sprinting up the stairs.

In 7 cellphones across the hotel, the rest of the members received one text message in their group chat. You were both hoping they would all be there so you could get it all out in one go, and yet dreading having to face the remaining 4 members on your own. You would do what you had to do to keep anyone else from getting hurt, and if you lost your job, than so be it.

You could get another job. Gaining back someone’s trust? That would be a lot harder.

‘Hyunjin, Changbin, Seungmin and Jeongin. Meet me in Felix’s room in 15 minutes.’

One way or another, the truth was coming out.

Chapter Text

When Felix had received a call at nearly 4 in the morning, his first instinct had been to ignore it. His hand had reflexively hit the volume down button, silencing the call, and he closed his eyes in hopes of falling back asleep. But then his brain processed exactly who had been calling him, and he got up so quickly his body got tangled in the sheets.

He answered the call as he tried desperately to untangle his leg.

“Chris?” He whispered, trying not to wake up Hyunjin.

“I need your help.”

Those were never good words to hear from his leader and pack alpha. It wasn’t that Chan never needed help, but it wasn’t often he would willingly ask for it, nevertheless this early.

Felix’s nerves were instantly at an all-time high.

“What is it? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” His alpha reassured, although he sounded tired. “It’s not actually me who needs your help.”

With a sharp tug, Felix let out a loud huff as he finally managed to free his leg. He shuffled to the bathroom as he answered.

“What is it?”

He closed the door as quietly as he could.

“Minho’s going into rut.”

Felix paused at that. Minho’s rut wasn’t as regular as Chan’s, but it normally happened at least every 3 months. His last rut had been in August, meaning this current one was about 2 weeks early. It was unexpected, but considering his own heat had also shown up as a surprise nearly a week ahead of schedule, maybe their pack bond was compensating.

It did make him worry slightly. Seungmin had his heat scheduled for the beginning of next year, but if it came early, the singer might miss their end of year performances.

It was something to think about later.

“Do you want me to get Hannie?” Felix asked, flattening out his hair.

“No, I need you to come down to the lobby. Take the stairs, the elevator is out of commission right now.”

Felix frowned, cracking the bathroom door open to check on Hyunjin. “Okay? Why don’t you want me to get Han first thought? If Minho’s going into rut, he’s going to want him there.”

“Minho’s stuck in the elevator,” Chan sighed.

“Oh.” Felix blinked in surprise.

“Hmm, and he’s not alone.”

-0-0-

Felix hadn’t run down the stairs once he had gotten the full scope of the situation, but he did move faster than he probably should have after just waking up. He was starting to sweat, and he had forgotten scent blockers, so the lobby was already starting to fill up with his cinnamon even before he spotted the firefighters, but then normally sweet spice began to burn as his anxiety rose.

Chan approached him with a grimace. “Felix, it’s okay. Calm down.”

“Are they okay? What did the hotel staff say? Can we get them out?”

“Lixie, breathe,” Chan said, and his own scent began to spread out.

Felix took a deep breath as he was told, closing his eyes at the familiar lavender and pineapple that he was met with. He shook his hands out.

“Sorry, sorry.” His own scent was pulled in.

“They’re both fine, I just talked to Minho,” Chan confirmed, rubbing a hand up and down his arms. It was chilly in the lobby. “The firefighters are working on getting the doors open.”

“What even happened?”

“They think a cable snapped. The safety mechanism kicked in to stop it from hitting the ground, but it jammed the wiring somehow. They’ll have to open the doors manually.”

Felix was glad Chan waited until the firefighters had arrived to call him, because he couldn’t have imagined having to wait over an hour just to be reassured that his friends were alright. Even the 4 minutes it took for them to pry the elevator doors open felt like hell.

He took his unofficial assigned job seriously, being the second person to greet the two figures exiting the elevator, with the head firefighter being the first.

He didn’t even pause at the odd sight that greeted him. You were staring up at him with bleary eyes, the corners tinged purple, and he wrapped his jacket around you as a pretense of keeping you warm, but in reality, he was doing his best to hide your scent under his own. To be fair, Minho’s scent was strong enough to cover both of you at the moment, but he didn’t want to take any risks.

You had trusted him with this secret. He would do his best to make sure you were okay.

Although at the moment, you were most definitely not okay. He almost felt tempted to glare at his hyung, who despite being in the beginning stages of his rut, was far more clear minded than you were.

The firefighters were checking on Minho, but one moved to stop you and Felix as he tried to guide you out of the elevator.

“Are they okay?” he asked in broken English.

Felix was grateful one of them spoke English, because his Japanese was not the best.

“Yeah, just a little tired. I think my other friend might need a little more help.”

He would feel guilty about throwing Minho under the bus another time, but you were starting to lean all of your body weight on him, face seeking out his neck.

Chan met his gaze as he passed, giving him a small nod.

Every hotel they went to had to have a designated heat/rut area for guests who needed a place to ride one out. The managers were more than happy to book a room for Minho for when he was released from the elevator (free of charge they claimed – an apology for the elevator breaking down), but both him and Chan had agreed it would be a good idea to get you into a shower, a change of clothes, and some scent blockers.

It was mostly a precaution to keep your presentation a secret before the managers would be informed on the situation (the fact that none of them had been alerted was both relieving and worrying), but now there was a more pressing need to get you into an isolated room, one where he could check on you properly.

He wasn’t sure what happened in the elevator, but you were in a drop.

Felix had his fair share of experiences with drops, both personally and from his members. Your omega was calling the shots right now, and he needed to make sure you didn’t do anything reckless while you were out of it. Already, he could feel you nosing at the scent gland on his neck.

“Lix,” You whispered, tongue darting out to lick a stripe against his skin.

His breath hitched, heart starting to beat faster. He was thankful that the stairwell was empty, because he didn’t think he had it in you to stop you if you decided to continue. Thankfully though, you simply dropped your head against his shoulder with a soft sigh.

You also started dragging your feet.

“Come one,” He hissed, moving to adjust his grip on you. “Work with me here. It’s just one more floor.”

The two of you were nearing the last few steps when you paused a second to look up at him, blinking slowly.

“Felix?”

He let out a soft hum to show he was listening, reaching out to steady you as you began to tilt forward.

Your brows furrowed in confusion. “Where’s Minho?”

“He’s okay,” Felix assured you. “Come one, last step.”

“Where are we going?”

“To get you cleaned up,” He said, although he was re-considering the original plan.

The idea had been to get you cleaned up and send you back to your room before your roommate noticed you were gone, but you were likely to be out of it for a little while longer. In all likelihood, you would probably need the rest of the night (or morning, his brain supplied him) to gain some control, at least enough that he could send you back up without worrying about you slipping up in front of someone who didn’t know your secret.

He bit his lip.

“I can get cleaned up in my room,” you slurred, leaning into him again.

Thankfully, they were close to the room Chan had booked.

“I don’t doubt that. But we want to make sure you don’t accidentally reveal your omega status to anybody else,” Felix explained, opening the door.

You didn’t answer, instead letting out a soft hum as he led you into the room.

The room was spacious. It had a large king-sized bed with a soft comforter and extra blankets at the end, a desk in the wall furthest from the door, and in the middle of the room was a couch and a small table over a large fluffy carpet. Two doors were to the immediate right of the entrance, most likely a closet and the bathroom.

It smelt sterile, like most heat/rut rooms did.

You didn’t seem to like that, your nose scrunching up adorably as you entered the room. Felix closed the door behind him, slipping his phone and yours onto the table near the entrance, watching as you stood in one place, eyes blankly staring at the room without seeming to take anything in.

He was close behind you as you began to move towards the couch, suddenly flopping down like a puppet who’s strings got cut. The only sign you were okay was the soft sigh you let out.

Felix settled carefully on the edge of the couch next to you. “How are you feeling?”

“Tired.”

That made sense. As you moved around to get comfortable, his jacket was thrown off and Felix was hit with your scent for the first time. He closed his eyes as vanilla began to invade his senses, a hint of cinnamon and maple mixing together into the sweetest combination he could imagine. Your feet pushed up against his thigh as you stretched, and Felix grabbed your ankle out of habit, thumb rubbing against your skin.

Your scent grew stronger in pleasure, and he had to swallow down the desire that began to grow in his lower body.

“Lixie,” You whispered, eyes only half open.

“I’m here,” He assured you, pushing out his own scent in hopes of calming your omega. “Get some sleep.”

You mumbled something, eyes finally fluttering closed.

Felix spent way too long watching you as you dozed, something in his chest feeling both heavy and lighter than normal, It wasn’t until the door opened with a click that he finally looked away, carefully quiet as Chan practically dragged Minho into the room, the dancer letting out a growl.

He had spent the better part of 8 years getting to know his packmates in their best and worst moments, and learning to understand their pushing points, so he wasn’t worried when it looked like Minho was seconds away from biting Chan. He simply watched as the eldest flicked Minho in the nose.

“Don’t give me that. I’m not giving you a hand job in the hotel hallways.”

Minho, with his sweaty hair pushed back and flushed cheeks, looked far too appealing for Felix, who was already struggling to maintain calm. The last thing he needed was the rutty alpha stinking up the room and pulling you from your sleep to satisfy his desires, which judging by the red strip of skin on your neck, it wouldn’t be the first time.

He cleared his throat. “You’re not going to be able to do that here either.”

It was only then that Chan noticed you on the couch, and his brows lifted. “What are they still doing here?”

“They’re in drop,” Felix explained, shooting Minho a look.

At least he had the decency to look embarrassed.

“That’s my fault. I might have gone a little overboard when scenting them.”

“You think?”

Chan clapped a hand on Minho’s shoulder to silence whatever reply he had been preparing, steering the alpha towards the bathroom.

“C’mon, you need a shower.”

Felix didn’t mention the obvious lie, knowing it was his leader’s best attempt to keep some decency in the room for your sake, even though you were asleep. He pretended not to notice the lewd noises that could be heard from under the sound of the shower, and he pulled his jacket back over your body to cover up as much of your scent as he could when they exited nearly an hour later.

Both alphas were too exhausted to do more than wish him a goodnight before they fell asleep. Even though he hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep, Felix stayed awake, his omega needing to watch over his pack at their most vulnerable.

He didn’t bother correcting his omega’s thoughts of you being a part of the pack. The mix of scents on your skin and the mark against your neck confirmed that it wasn't only Chan who felt the same. It was almost disappointing you weren’t interested in being courted.

But he wasn’t convinced you were entirely against it.

He respected your choices, but he was also hoping that someday you would change your mind, and he would finally get the chance to bring you in. It could take years, but Felix was willing to be patient. Even if he needed to wait until his career was over and was no longer an excuse. Even if he had to hold secrets from his members until then.

Felix had gotten attached, and he wasn’t willing to give you up without a fight.

-0-0-

If there was ever a reason to thank whoever invented elevators, it was now.

You understood why the hotel would place the heat/rut rooms in the basement (to prevent scents from affecting others), but it unfortunately left you having to jog up multiple different floors of stairs to reach the floor you would be meeting the boys at. You managed to make it the first 2 floors with little trouble, but then you began to grow tired and slowed down enough that you started to think about what you were going to say.

I’m an omega - Straight to the point? Probably not the best.

Maybe an introduction? They already knew who you were, but you hadn’t really talked to any of the remaining members except for Changbin. Should you give them some backstory? Explain how this all started?

You felt almost frustrated by your spur of the moment decision. You wished you at least had a chance to think about this, but you had only given yourself 15 minutes to work with, most of which was spent climbing the stairs. The one thing you were thankful for was the lack of people in the stairwell.

You did pass a couple who nodded politely to you, and there was the sound of a door opening and closing somewhere below you, but you were only two floors away at this point and your anxiety was starting to grow.

You took a moment to breathe, leaning against the railings with a sigh, and you began to notice the sound of footsteps that was growing in volume as it got closer. You frowned.

There was someone running up the stairs.

After leaning farther to get a look below you, you realized that the person running up the stairs was none other than Chan. And then you were left with worry that something had happened.

“Chan?” You called down to him.

He paused, snapping back to look at you in surprise, and a wave of emotions crossed his face before setting on something you could almost describe as relief. You stayed put as he called out for you, watching with confusion as he continued his race up.

Even as he grew closer, you didn’t seem to realize that you were who he was running towards until he was in front of you, chest heaving with the force of his breaths, his forehead pulled taught with the pull of his brows, a hand reaching out to touch your arm with a strong grip, like he was afraid you would run away from him.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he asked you, as if somehow you had made a bad decision.

You blinked. “What?”

“Are you-“ He paused at a buzzing noise from his phone, sticking his hands into his pockets to mute the call before he continued. “I got your text.”

“It wasn’t really meant for you,” Was the first thing you could think of, followed by, “Shouldn’t you be with Minho?”

“He’s fine, Han and Felix can look after him.”

“Oh.”

Chan looked almost exasperated, fingers digging into your arm. “Sweetheart, are you really going to tell them?”

You couldn’t tell whether he was happy or mad, a smear of scent blockers keeping his feeling close to his chest, and you could only stare at him wearily.

“Yes?” His eyes narrowed, and you instinctually took a step back, his grip on your arm dropping. “I thought that’s what you wanted.”

“What I wanted? Why would you think I wanted that?”

You were starting to grow frustrated. “You’re the one who said I could trust them.”

“And you can! But you’ve been so insistent on keeping the secret, and all of a sudden you want to just … tell them?”

“I don’t want to tell them,” You corrected, as his phone began to buzz again.

Chan ignored it. “Then why are you?”

“Because I can’t stand to see anyone else get hurt.”

“Get hurt? What are you talking about?”

“Jisung!” You yelled, finally raising your voice, only to wince as it began to echo. You took a deep breath. “Felix lied to him because of me. You were forced to lie to Felix because of me, and now Minho is going to have to lie to everyone. Every time your pack lies to keep my secret, someone ends up getting hurt.”

Even with scent blockers on, it didn’t take a genius to tell how you felt. Chan also seemed to know that telling you it wasn’t your fault wouldn’t do much for your guilty consciousness, and you were grateful when he didn’t try to contradict you or push you anymore.

Instead, he just let out a sigh, running his fingers through his bangs.

“Do you really think this is the right time for this?” He finally asked.

“There’s never going to be a right time,” You argued, even if part of you wanted him to talk you out of it. Convince you to do this some other time, give you a moment to think. But you were afraid that if you thought about it too much longer, you might never get the courage to go through with it.

You weren’t a particularly brave person to begin with. You tried to do what you thought was right, tried to be confident and stand up for yourself – but what you wanted didn’t always connect with what who you actually were. The fact that you had made it this far, having to lie everyday and work your way out of all the problems that came up, was insane.

You were thankful when Chan was stepping closer again, because his presence made your worries and thoughts waver.

“I don’t want you to think you need to do this for me,” Chan said. The creases in his face betrayed his calm voice, and you wondered why he was so bothered about this. Was it his guilty consciousness? Did he think you would blame him?

“I’m not doing this for you, Chan.”

“But you’re not doing this for yourself either.”

You were saved by Chan’s phone once again buzzing, and after a pointed stare, he finally pulled it out. He gave the caller id a quick glance before he once again muted it. He looked stressed.

“Is it Minho?” you wondered, but Chan eased your worries with a shake of his head.

“No, it’s my manager. He must have heard the news.”

“Shouldn’t you answer it?”

Chan gave you a look. “You’re avoiding my question.”

“I’m not arguing with you about this,” You told him, moving to make your way up the stairs. “I’m late as it is.”

His footsteps echoed as he followed after you, and it was then that you remembered that the two of you were basically out in the open, considering the out of commission elevators. Anybody could enter the stairwell at any point, and even though the two of you would have heard it, who knows what kind of rumors might start up.

Famous idol and female staff member seen alone in hotel stairwell. You could see the headlines already.

You shuttered at the sight.

“You should go talk with your manager.”

Chan followed after you quietly. It wasn’t until you reached the last step that he finally spoke, pulling your attention away from the dirty floor. “Why did you choose to meet them in Felix’s room?”

You paused. “It was the first one I though of. I wasn’t exactly thinking hard when I made the text.” You turned away from him in thought. “I just … Jisung was crying, and I made a split-second decision. All I knew was that I didn’t want to ever see him cry like that again.”

Chan was staring at you - you could see it from the corner of your eye - but you refused to meet his gaze. Instead, you maintained deep eye contact with a crack in the wall.

“I didn’t want any of you to be upset.”

He moved towards you, and you froze, heart beating wildly in your chest as he neared. Chan paused next to you, eyes heavy with something unspoken, before moving around you towards the door.

“Right. I’ll get going, send you a text when the coast is clear. Head straight to Felix’s room so nobody see’s you.”

“Chan,” You called out before he could leave, and he blinked at you in surprise. “Are you okay?”

You weren’t sure why you asked that. It must have been the lingering guilt – you didn’t want him to think you were mad at him, or resented him for what was your own decision, or, or, or –

“I’m fine,” he insisted.

“Are you sure?” You wondered, and you bit your lip to stop yourself from opening your mouth to ask, ‘are you mad at me?’ because that felt far too needy.

Chan’s brows pulled down. “I really am fine. I promise.”

And then he was gone, and you could only stare as the door slowly closed behind him, the sound echoing both through the stairwell, and your head.

-0-0-

He wanted to kiss you

Chan was normally good at keeping his instincts under control, but the urge had grown so strong that he forced himself out of the stairwell before he could do something stupid, like kiss you.

Would you let him?, he wondered.

It was something he had thought about before. It was something he thought about often, if he was being honest. When you and Felix first met, after the difficult conversation had ended and you were comfortable enough to actually sit down and talk with Felix. He had felt the urge build up as he watched his omega grow closer to you, could imagine the two of you growing closer in the future.

The urge had disappeared when you had seemed to realize it yourself. He had seen the way you grew quiet, hunching in on yourself like you had forgotten where you were. You had smiled at them despite the way your shoulders remained tense, and when you made an excuse to leave them, it was only to prevent Felix from finding out that he didn’t call you out on your habit of running away.

The urge to kiss you, to keep you close, to make you pack – it haunted him. He would never dream of actually courting you without the approval of his pack, and Felix knew that better than most. And when the omega had started bringing you up to the others to see their reaction, edging at the line you had drawn when it came to your secret, he knew he should have stopped him. But he didn’t.

Because deep down, he needed to know as well.

And it felt like he might actually have a chance as time went on. You trusted him on some level, enough that when you were in trouble, you didn’t hesitate to go to him for help. Even when he just wanted to use your mistaken luggage situation as an excuse to reveal your secret to the pack (it would help to ease the growing tension he could feel between Hyunjin and him), he instead chose to swallow down his wants and do what was right for you.

It made it harder to respect your choices when you made it so easy to fall for you. He wouldn’t find out until later what exactly it is that got you so upset, but somehow he knew that when you were dismissing the Japanese interviewer, it was in their honor. And then finding out that you were there for Han when none of the other members were available, and he found himself thinking about how well you could take care of his pack. That thought was still present in the back of his head when he could scent the faintest traces of your vanilla scent under Minho’s sickly sweet syrup after the two of you had been recovered from the elevator.

And in some instances, he felt almost responsible. He would be angry with Minho later for hiding his pre-rut symptoms from him (“I didn’t want to miss our first tour performance”), but he would also feel slightly annoyed that he missed them himself. The uncomfortable grimaces he brushed off as the eldest dancer overworking himself, the short temper he attributed to the approaching concert.

His biggest warning should have been the way Minho had been increasingly overprotective over Han, to the point of nearly shoving him out of the way to reach the beta when he found out he with in distress. You had texted him that you weren’t sure Han would want the company, but he didn’t know how to tell you that the alpha had already disappeared down the hall.

Part of him also felt guilty for the consequences that his inattentiveness might have caused. All in all, the elevator situation might have had the best possible outcome, but he struggled to fall asleep thinking about the what if’s. For his packmate to corner you on the elevator like that, his overprotective tendencies fired up through is pre-rut … Chan didn’t pin Minho as the violent type, but sometimes you could never be sure.

Minho had a harder time with his instincts. Especially his alpha’s need to keep his pack safe.

Chan was just glad that whatever happened in the elevator hadn’t caused any friction. If anything, it made the part of him that longed to have you in the pack harder to ignore, especially when he had finally seen you resting with your feet pressed to Felix’s thigh’s, the marks on your neck slowly turning a light purple shade.

Omega, his alpha practically sighed, ours.

Not mine – not his. But theirs.

Pack.

The word felt like a punch to the gut.

It was rare for a sub gender to claim someone as part of the pack like that – not when they didn’t have the rest of his pack’s scent, not when there was no claim on you, not when he couldn’t even be honest to the rest of his pack about how he felt.

He didn’t want to admit it, but when Han had shown up at their door asking to be with Minho and a lingering curiosity about you being an omega, he was glad you were opening up. It felt like the first step to making his wishes reality. He had rushed after you to make sure you weren’t experiencing any omega drop side effects, that this was actually something you were doing with a clear head and not just a spur of the moment decision.

But he was glad. He was so happy it felt like his chest was going to burst with the feeling, and so like you had so many times before, he found himself running away from you. Not because he was afraid to let you in, but because he was afraid of pushing you away.

You had made your boundaries very clear.

And if he wanted to kiss you, to scent you until his claim was clear, to bite down and mark you in a way he hadn’t felt since meeting Felix – well, that was something he could keep to himself.

For now.

Chapter Text

When Jeongin opens the door for you, the beginning of Jisung’s name is on his tongue. When he realizes you are, in fact, not the rapper in question, his brows shoot up in surprise.  He says your name the same way you say the name of your teacher when you see them at the supermarket – a strange combination of recognition for someone you know and embarrassment to someone you weren’t expecting. You just give him a shy smile.

“Sorry, I … uh, did you need something?” Jeongin asked, subtlety sticking his head out a bit past the door frame to glance down the hall.

Your smile turned a bit awkward. “Jisung’s not coming. I, um, I was the one who sent the message, actually.”

He blinks at you slowly, in a way that was scarily similar to Minho. There’s a few seconds of silence as he seems to process your words, his head slowly tilting to the side as he takes you in, and then seemingly coming to his own conclusions on the situation, the youngest moves to the side and allows you into the room.

His questions started up once you were actually past him, no longer able to escape. “Where is Jisung-hyung?”

“He’s with Minho. Um, Minho went into rut last night.”

With the way the room was laid out, you could see Seungmin sitting on the edge of the bed nearest the window, but the rest of the room was blocked by the bathroom. He looked up at your voice, and as Jeongin closed the door behind you, his presence a sudden warmth against your back, some long-lost part of your subconscious began to feel cornered. Caught between the beta at your back and the omega’s gaze in front of you.

You continued to force a smile as you slowly moved forward.

“Hmm, Channie-hyung told us. I guess it makes sense he didn’t text us. I can’t imagine he would want to leave Lino-hyung alone right now,” Jeongin continued.

You found his soft mumbles somewhat comforting as you reached the part of the room that opened up into the bedroom, two twin sized beds sitting comfortably in the small room. And it was small, at least in comparison to the rut room you had just come from, but it was the fact that it was the same size as your own hotel room that really surprised you. You had assumed that such a famous group under such a big company would allow their artists to be given bigger rooms.

“Is that why you’re here? To let us know about Minho?” Seungmin wondered, drawing your attention back to him.

You momentarily process that Changbin is sitting on the edge of the other bed, a tangle of blankets that nobody had bothered to pick up. On the other bed that Seungmin is currently sitting comfortably on, you could spot a bundle of blankets and the shape of a person underneath. Hyunjin. You can’t tell if he’s awake or not, because his face is buried in his pillow.

With a quick glance behind you (Jeongin joins Changbin on Felix’s bed), you decide to take a moment to breathe.

“No,” You admit, mulling over the words in your head.

Hyunjin shifts, but it’s Changbin that speaks first. “How do you know Minho went into rut?”

That was a question you felt a lot more at ease answering. “We got stuck in the elevator together. It took a while for the firefighters to get us out, and I guess he was in pre-rut for a while beforehand.”

You found yourself quickly running out of words, and the panic that you would have to stop stalling soon began to weigh on you, your heart speeding up.

“Idiot. He probably didn’t want to miss the concert’s,” Seungmin said, letting out a sigh and leaning back on his arms. “We have a week until our next performance, so I guess he planned it well enough.”

“Except the part where he went into rut in the elevator,” Hyunjin slurred, his voice half muffled by the pillow.

You blinked in surprise. You didn’t actually think he was awake.

To his credit, Hyunjin doesn’t look like he’s that awake either. But as he lifts his head, his hair slightly ruffled but looking far too put together for someone who was still squinting his eyes as you, the smell of cherry pie begins to grow as the dancer is brought into awareness. Hyunjin blinks a few times, and then-

“Why are you here?” He asks you.

Assuming he was probably asleep for your arrival, you begin to explain what you had told the others. Minho had gone into rut, you were in the elevator with him-

“I know. I meant why are you here,” Hyunjin says, one hand gesturing to the room around him as the other wipes at his eyes. “I thought Hannie was the one who sent the text.”

“No, I just used his phone,” You said, losing some of your confidence under the alpha’s intense stare. “I-uh. I sent the text because I needed to talk to you guys about something.”

The smell of cherries begins to grow sour.

Seungmin shifts to look behind him, wrinkling his nose. “Hyung, calm down. You’re going to stink up the place.”

“What did you need to talk to us about?” Changbin asked you, drawing your attention away from Hyunjin and back to the others.

Jeongin gave you a reassuring smile, and you found yourself smiling back.

“Well, for starters, it’s something the other members already know. That’s why they’re not here right now. Some of them found out a little more recently, and I’m sure I’m going to have to answer some of Jisung’s questions later,”

You muttered that last bit to yourself as you suddenly realized you hadn’t quite explained a lot to the beta in question. Seungmin, the only one close enough to hear you trail off, kicked his feet out as he switched positions - elbows now resting against his knees and his hands cupping his face - as he looked at you with a similar intensity to Hyunjin, only his gaze was more curious than annoyed.

“Is this about Chan and Felix wanting to court you?” Hyunjin said, his voice deep. You couldn’t tell if it was from sleep, or because he was holding back a growl.

The question caught you off guard.

You shouldn’t have been surprised, really. Felix didn’t seem like the type of person to be nonchalant or subtle, and you already knew he had issues with the boundaries you had laid out about not being courted. Where Chan had been willing to respect your wishes, Felix seemed like the type of person who wanted to push them.

If he was even a fraction as open with you as he was with his members, you would have been more surprised if they didn’t know Felix was interested in you. But Chan being added into the equation was a surprise – you had assumed the pack leader was more secretive than his mate.

“They’re not courting me,” You told Hyunjin, both to reassure him and to make it clear that wasn’t what you were here to talk about.

“I don’t believe you,” Hyunjin argued. “I know Felix. I know what he’s like when he’s interested in someone.” You tried to interrupt him, but he turned away from you with a huff. “If you came here to get our approval, then tough luck. Because you’re not going to get it from me.”

“Hyunjin,” Changbin said the alpha’s name softly, like he was amused, but there was an edge to his voice that felt more like a warning. “Let them finish.”

But Hyunjin wasn’t backing down that easily.

“What, like you aren’t mad?! That our pack alpha is sneaking around, making decisions without us, lying to us-“

“Right, because this is totally about Chan,” Seungmin muttered.

“What was that?”

Seungmin sat back up, turning his body to face the alpha with the type of confidence you wished you had. “You’re not mad because of Chan. You know he would never court someone without talking to us about it first.”

“I also never thought he’d sleep with someone outside the pack, and yet he did.”

You froze, wondering suddenly if Hyunjin knew more about this situation than you thought, but the rest of the boys seemed just as surprised at the revelation as you did.

“Hyung told you that?” Jeongin wondered.

Hyunjin frowned. “No. I heard him talking about it with Felix.”

“You eavesdropped on them?” Changbin asked.

“That’s not the point here! If Channie-hyung is willing to keep stuff like that from us, who’s to say he wouldn’t be willing to hide something else? Like courting someone.” And suddenly Hyunjin is back to glaring at you, and you step back on instinct.

Hyunjin was much more alert now than he had been just 5 minutes before. Your very presence had made him tense, and you would have been worried that he was likely to lash out if you didn’t have both Changbin and Jeongin in between you and the alpha. As it was, both betas were pumping out calming scents and the combined strength of it was heavy.

“They’re not courting me-“ You tried to argue.

“Bullshit!”

“Hyunjin,” Changbin warned, his eyes narrowing at the alpha.

“Look, I know you have no reason to believe me,” You continued, lifting your hands in front of you as a peace offering, “But I promise you, Chan and Felix are not courting me.”

But Hyunjin didn’t seem satisfied with your answer. “If they’re not trying to court you, then why are they lying to us?”

“They’re not lying to us about anything. If they want to have secrets between themselves, it’s none of our business,” Seungmin interrupted.

“Personally, I’m glad Channie-hyung and Felix-hyung don’t share everything with us. Sometimes they can get a bit graphic,” Jeongin piped up with a grimace.

You stifled your laugh with a cough.

Hyunjin also looked like he’s tempted to tease the younger beta, but the simmering defiance is enough to keep him on track, albeit with a pout. “Well personally, I don’t like it when our members are keeping secrets from each other.”

“Oh please, that’s not why you’re really upset,” Seungmin said, rolling his eyes.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“This is about Felix, plain and simple,” Seungmin continued, not one to back down. “You’re just mad he’s not paying you as much attention as he used to.”

“You little shit.”

Hyunjin actually did lunge forward then, but Changbin was quick to grab him, his face serious. You took another step back, loudly bumping into the dresser behind you, and wondered if you should leave.

“You need to calm down,” Changbin told Hyunjin, his voice no longer leaving room for complaints. When Hyunjin just mumbled, Changbin sighed. “Now.”

It spoke volumes about their years together, about their pack dynamics, that Hyunjin actually listened. He took a deep breath to calm himself, reeling in the wave of cherry that had spread out. Still upset, but no longer about to … you weren’t sure exactly what Hyunjin had planned to do. Seungmin, for his part, seemed unbothered. You imagined that the alpha wasn’t actually planning on hurting the omega – none of the other’s would have remained so calm if that was the case.

Somehow, you felt like Changbin intervening (his voice never rising, not surprised nor worried) was more for your benefit than it was for Seungmin’s safety.

As Hyunjin sat back down on the bed, Changbin crossed his arms and moved towards you, joining you at the end of both beds. He said something to you, and you didn’t actually hear it at first, too busy focusing on the pain in your hip from where you had hit the dresser. You turned to him only when he called your name.

“Hm?”

“You okay?” He asked you, and you nodded.

“Yeah, sorry.”

He dropped his crossed arms with a sigh, patting your shoulder lightly. “You had something you wanted to talk about, right?”

You wouldn’t say you wanted to talk about it, but you were already here. You closed your eyes for a split second, taking in a deep breath, and then opened your eyes back up with a clap. “Right. Okay.”

You opened your mouth … and found yourself hesitating.

Hyunjin’s pouty lips drew your attention, and you found yourself hating the attractive alpha for existing. Because his anger reminded you once again that your actions were driving a wedge between these men. Felix, Jisung, Hyunjin. Their faces, their fears, the betrayal they must have felt.

“Chan and Felix aren’t courting me.” Changbin shot Hyunjin a look, but the dancer was quiet for once. “But they … wanted to. Chan did sleep with someone, someone he met at a club. But he didn’t tell you guys, because I asked him not too.”

You were almost disappointed that they were still silent, allowing you to finish your explanation. At least if they interrupted, you might be able to postpone this conversation. But there was no more postponing. No more hiding.

You grimaced.

“I-“ You closed your eyes again, because you felt somehow safer in the darkness than under the heavy gazes of the four members in the room. “I’m an omega.”

You didn’t open your eyes to see the reaction, taking a moment to linger in the silence of their shock, and using the sudden relief at your secret being out there to continue.

“I was the one Chan slept with. It was before I got the job, and I didn’t know who he was. He wanted to court me, but then he found out I would be working with you guys, and I asked- no. I begged him not to tell anyone.” You opened your eyes then, but your gaze remained on the floor. “If the company find out I’m an omega, they’ll fire me. And because I wasn’t sure I could trust anyone else with this secret, Chan agreed not to tell anyone, but then Felix found out, and then Minho started his rut in the elevator, and I told Jisung because … I can’t have half of you lying to each other.”

Hyunjin’s eyes were wide when you met them. “I’m sorry, Hyunjin. I’m sorry for making you think Felix didn’t trust you, for causing problems with the pack. But I promise you, Chan and Felix are not courting me.”

You suddenly found yourself losing your momentum as you took in the other’s faces. Seungmin’s face was scarily blank, although his scent had grown stronger (lemonade, slightly sweet and not sour, which was a good sign) – Changbin and Jeongin both had surprised looks, maybe slightly contemplative.

The youngest was the first to break the silence, his voice soft. “Why would they fire you?”

“The company doesn’t hire omega’s or alpha’s anymore,” Changbin reminded him, looking very much like he knew exactly what you were getting at.

“But you’re good at your job,” Jeongin argued. “And maybe it’s difficult to deal with ruts and heats, but if we have to go through with them anyways, then it’s not that big of a deal. It’s not like you have to be at work everyday to do your job.”

Changbin rubbed his forehead with the palm of his hand. “To be fair, the company isn’t exactly happy to deal with us as it is.”

He gave you a look, and you were reminded of that day nearly a month ago when he had a similar look on his face. When Jisoo, the poor trainee who had presented after having trained at the company for most of her childhood, suddenly faced with the reality that JYP would never allow her to debut. And Changbin, reassuring her that they’d figure something out. You knew then that if anyone understood your position, it would be him.

And Seungmin, possibly, although the omega had yet to say anything. He was staring intently at the wall in thought. Hyunjin, for his part, seemed to be avoiding your gaze for the first time since you had entered the room.

“That doesn’t sound fair,” Jeongin muttered, brows furrowing in frustration.

“No. It’s not.”

You leaned back against the dresser, the weight that had once rested on your shoulders gone but somehow leaving you more exhausted now that it was gone. “I worked hard to get where I am, to do my job right, but the company doesn’t care about that. I’m a liability. Me being an omega, let alone that that has slept with one of the members-“

“They’ll fire you if they find out,” Seungmin finished, shaking his head.

The others are quiet for a moment. And then,

“We won’t let them find out,” Jeongin said.

You jerk your head up slightly to meet his gaze, but he just gives you a smile. Not soft, not awkward, but genuine. Seungmin flops onto his back with a sigh.

“Ugh. This whole thing is too complicated. No wonder Chan and Felix didn’t say anything.” He tilts his head to the side to look at you. “But Innie’s right. We won’t tell anyone your secret.”

“Your secrets safe with us,” Changbin pipes up, wrapping an arm around your shoulder. It’s heavy, and warm, and it does wonders in helping you relax. “I’m a little disappointed you didn’t trust me, though. I get we weren’t exactly close, but still.”

Although it’s hard to get a good look at his expression without turning your head (and you couldn’t, not with how close his face is to yours. Not without having your lips an inch away from his. You didn’t even want to think about that right now), You could tell he was pouting.

“It wasn’t really about trust. I think it was more about fear,” You admitted. “Not that you wouldn’t keep my secret, but more …”

As you start to trail off, you begin to come to your own conclusion. While you didn’t really know the members well enough at first to trust them with this secret, the truth was that by the time you had reached a decision, Chan had already made his intentions clear. First with Felix, and then with Minho.

The truth was you were terrified that if the other members knew the truth of you being an omega, of Chan’s interest in you, that the idea of them courting you wouldn’t be just a line in the sand anymore. You didn’t think that any of the members, let alone Chan himself (sweet, kind, self-sacrificing Chan), would ever risk your job just for the chance to court you, but it was hard to trust people these days. Or maybe you just had trust issues.

You shook your head. “I’m sorry.”

Hyunjin shifts in the bed, pulling his knees up to his chest. He still wasn’t looking at you, but at least he wasn’t yelling.

You wanted to talk to him about it. Maybe sit down and get his feelings - his hurt - out of the way. You weren’t even sure if it was worth it to try and talk to the alpha right now, but you didn’t like leaving the conversation where it was. There was still so much that felt unsaid.

But your phone buzzed, a message from your manager.

‘Staff meeting. Mandatory participation.’

Then directions to a lounge in the hotel where you would most likely be having a meeting to discuss the change in plans now that Minho was in rut. You were reminded suddenly that this was only the beginning of the day. You still had to rush back to your room to put on some pheromone perfume, and maybe find some time to talk with Chan later.

“I have to go,” You told the others, tilting your phone to the side so that Changbin could read the text for himself.

“Probably about Minho’s sudden rut,” Changbin said, and you nodded your head in agreement.

“Yeah.”

Seungmin lets out another sigh, loud in the quiet room, and then pushes himself up onto his feet. “I’ll go with you. I want to check in on Minho, so I’m heading in that direction anyways.”

Changbin lets you go with one last clap on the back, and Jeongin even gives you a little wave as you and Seungmin pass by.

“I really am sorry,” You offer the omega as the two of you exit the room.

He doesn’t respond right away, simply walking next to you in thoughtful silence. When you reach the stairwell, the familiar squeal of the door has flashes of your earlier conversation with Chan rushing back. As the door closes behind you, you find yourself much more aware of Seungmin’s presence— the way he walks straight ahead, hands tucked into the pockets of his hoodie, expression unreadable but scent calm. You’d think he was wearing scent blockers if you weren’t close enough to scent him.

You weren’t sure what to think of him. You weren’t sure what he thought of you, either.

There’s a few more seconds of silence, as your footsteps echo around you, before Seungmin finally speaks.

“You know they’re not going to give up, right?”

“What?”

Seungmin frowns, lowering his voice. “Chan. Felix. They’ve made up their minds already. That doesn’t happen often.”

You pause, looking over the edge just to confirm to yourself that you were really alone. Seungmin only stops walking when he realizes you aren’t following, only glancing at you.

“I don’t understand,” You whisper.

Seungmin tilts his head for a second, maybe in thought, maybe taking you in. There’s no noise besides a soft hum from the walls (are the elevators working again?), and you realize he might actually be making sure there’s nobody else in the stairwell as well.

When he steps closer, you tell yourself it’s so you’ll hear his quiet words. “No one in our pack has ever tried courting someone outside of it before. Not really. And the fact that they even thought about it?”

Seungmin give you a lopsided smile, not unkind, but with and edge to it. “They’re not going to stop. They’re not going to just let you walk away because you’re scared.”

You find yourself suddenly breathless, looking into Seungmin’s eyes, so close that the soft scent you had once attributed to lemons had a hint of something else, something stronger. You knew this entire situation was dangerous, knew that Felix was bound to cross a line, but the confirmation from Seungmin somehow felt more set in stone. Like the situation was unavoidable.

“They promised me,” You told him. Promises meant something to them, didn’t it?

Seungmin exhaled through his nose, taking a step back. “And they’ll keep their promise, don’t worry. But if there’s one thing I know about my members, is that they’re willing to do stupid things for those they care about. And the way Felix talks about you, the way Chan looks at you? Keeping secrets from us? Those are the kind of things they do when they care.”

He starts walking away, and you have a few seconds to realize he’s not going to wait for you before you’re rushing down the stairs to follow.

“What does that mean?” You hissed at him.

“I just thought you should know.”

“Seungmin-“

“Relax,” The omega said with a small cackle. “It’s not like they’re going to throw you under the bus or anything. I just thought I’d warn you because they can get a little intense sometimes.”

You thought back to Felix’s hands on your ankle, fingers gently rubbing circles against your skin as you began to drift to sleep. Chan’s expression as he left, like there was still something on his mind that he was holding back. You knew what they felt, were trying your hardest to pretend like you didn’t feel it too

“Intense” didn’t quite cover it, but you understood what he meant.

“You think they might try to court me anyways? If they get the rest of the pack’s approval?”

Seungmin glanced at you with raised eyebrows. “I think the only person who wouldn’t give them approval at this point is Hyunjin, and that’s just because he’s still upset about Felix.”

You swallow. “Right.”

“But no, they wouldn’t court you without your permission. The whole point of courting is to integrate you into the pack, and they can’t do that without consent,” he points out.

That wasn’t exactly true. Forcing someone into a pack was practically unheard of in this day and age, but you knew it wasn’t impossible. While forced mating bites were illegal, pack bonds could sometimes be formed without consent if the sub-genders had enough compatibility with each other. And if your night with Chan was anything to go by … there was most definitely compatibility there.

Still, you understood what Seungmin meant. They wouldn’t force you. Not unless you wanted it.

And you did want it. — the safety, the sense of belonging.

What you were afraid of wasn’t the bond.

It was everything it might cost you.

“They’ll wait until you change your mind,” Seungmin said simply.

And the worst part was, you couldn’t even argue with him. Not anymore.

At this point, it didn’t feel like a question of if — only when.

You reached the floor you needed to get to, Seungmin only pausing long enough to raise his chin at you in farewell. His face somehow managed to say good luck without the words ever leaving his mouth, and you found yourself staring at him as he walked away, hands still buried in his pockets, heart beating a little too hard in your chest.

Just what had you gotten yourself into?