Chapter Text
Jungkook wondered if there was any way for this day to get any worse.
He had been yelled at by one of his professors for not putting his paper in the right format. It wasn’t even included in the syllabus, he had checked. Twice!
He had been assigned a shift at work without being told beforehand, making him late and making his boss frown in disapproval when he finally did show up. And now he was late for the bus.
He stared in disbelief as it drove down the street just as he arrived at the bus stop, slumping he dragged himself over to sit down at the bench. Dropping his backpack down at his feet as he scrubbed his face in disbelief.
The sky didn’t even have the decency to go along with his poor mood, bright and shining sun beaming down its warm rays on everyone. The audacity.
All he wanted was to go home and curl up in his bed, away from the bustling noises of city life, away from the brightness of the sun, and away from the constant smells that surrounded him. On days like this, he really hated being an Alpha, there was no benefit, only misery.
Jungkook leans back against the plastic wall of the bus stop, glad for his shirt to keep his skin away from the irritating cheap material, even if the scent of thousands of people was now seeping into his clothes. A headache was starting to brew behind his eyelids, oversensitivity was starting to seep into his very bones.
The sound of a bicycle’s bell breaks through the stomping feet and zooming cars, the sound almost soothes his ears as it passes behind him. Then a scent hits his nose and divinity itself settles over him; rain on pavement, the fresh smell of mowed grass after a summer’s rain, and a hint of the first spring rain that comes after the dead of winter.
The scent eases the pounding in his mind as if it was never there to begin with. The feeling of a warm bubble bath encases his skin, taking away the itch of oversensitivity. He sits up and frantically searches for the source of this heavenly scent, but he only catches a glimpse of a bicycle wheel and a whip of blue fabric before it vanishes into the crowd. He’s almost ready to get to his feet and chase after it until a bus rolls to a stop in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. He knows that this is the last bus that will be heading down his route, so he reluctantly follows the crowd up the steps to get inside.
Even as he places his bus card against the reader, his head is still looking down the street where the bike had disappeared and his head is still filled with that scent. As the bus starts its slow journey towards his street, he can’t keep his eyes away from the window in the hopes of catching a glimpse of the bike again. But he had underestimated how many people biked around Seoul, without his nose to guide him, he’d never be able to pick out the right person from the crowd.
With a resigned sigh, Jungkook looked away from the window and tried to content himself with the brief encounter that had brought him some relief.
Even as he makes his way off the bus and down his street towards his apartment, the scent lingers in his mind. And nothing he does can shake it from him.
Two weeks later
“Kook, you need to let it go,” Jimin whines, shaking Jungkook’s shoulder to jolt him out of his sorrowful stare out the cafe window. “You’re starting to make me sad just by your scent and you know what I do when I’m sad.”
Taehyung gives a low whine as Jungkook shakes his head from his melancholy, “Please don’t make Jiminie sad, Kookie, cause if he starts crying then I’ll start crying and then Yoons will burst into the room and start crying with us.”
“Sorry, sorry,” Jungkook mutters, brushing Jimin off his arm to pick up his cold coffee. “I just can’t get that scent out of my head, I’ve been trying for days.”
“We know,” Jimin and Taehyung say together in exasperation, rolling their eyes when Jungkook shoots them a glare.
“Maybe you should…”
“I’m not going to a specialist,” Jungkook barks at once, ignoring the flinch the Omegas give to his harsh tone. “There’s nothing wrong with me.”
“We’re not saying that, Kook,” Jimin says gently, placing a gentle hand on Jungkook’s tense fist. “But this isn’t healthy, surely you must see that? Being fixated on a scent can lead to a lot of problems, especially if you don’t address it now.”
Jungkook huffs, standing to his feet and throwing his backpack over his shoulder, “I’m late for class, I’ll see you guys later.”
Jungkook ignores the calls of his friends as he makes his way out of the cafe, deep in his gut he knew they were right. It wasn’t healthy for him to be this fixated on the scent, to be constantly looking for it as soon as he left the house. And it was starting to affect him in ways he could’ve never predicted.
He was having trouble sleeping. His hobbies weren’t interesting to him anymore unless it involved going out to ‘hunt’ for the scent. Food tasted bland in his mouth. And he had no interest in trying to date anyone like he did before.
He sighs as he slumps over to a park bench, having no desire to make his way to class today. It’s not like he wanted to be this obsessed, but if they had smelled what he did and felt what he did, maybe they’d understand. He just wanted to have it one last time, then he could let it go.
Maybe he should see a specialist.
Jungkook sighs to himself as he slouches against the bench. Tilting his head back to catch the rays of sun that were peeking out through the swaying tree leaves and branches. He takes a long inhale of the refreshing air, the slight scent of autumn was creeping around the corner and the smell of dying leaves was peaking through yesterday’s rain.
He had spent the whole day outside on his balcony, trying to soak up as much of the natural rain smell and wet earth as he could. But it didn’t come close to what he had smelled that day.
Jungkook can feel his scent souring again, a touch of strong lemon coating his natural laundry scent. It always made Jimin sneeze. He tries to take calming breaths to ease his distress, if this continued any longer he’d have to…
A breeze picks up, bringing a scent across his nose that makes him sit straight up like a meerkat and jerk his head around frantically, it was that scent again. With exasperated sniffs of the air, he starts following after it through the park. The few stranglers that mingle around the path give him a wide berth as he sniffs his way around them.
He hears the sound of bicycle wheels against pavement before it starts going across wet grass just behind a large oak tree. His gaze zeros in on and he books it across the field.
Once he reaches the tree, he peeks around the trunk, trying to catch a glimpse of the rider. The wind picks up even more as he pokes his head around and he’s nearly brought to his knees by the influx of the scent he gets. Spring rain, plant fertilizer, and a hint of elderflower.
Jungkook grips the tree trunk, digging his nails into the bark, as he pants to inhale as much of the scent as he can. He spots the bicycle rider waving at a group lounging across the grass, before he hops off and lays his bike down to join them atop of the blanket. Jungkook sinks down to his knees, leaning against the tree for support as he watches everyone greet each other before books are being pulled out.
The position is perfect, his Alpha hums in satisfaction at the prime location downwind to smell the scent at their leisure but no hint of their own scent being caught. He simply watches the little study group while taking deep inhales of the scent intermingled with the others; it hardly bothers him, none of the others are nearly as strong as the one he wants.
He doesn’t even realize how scent drunk he’s getting until his head goes fuzzy and everything goes dark.
Jungkook jerks at the smell of antiseptic and scent neutralizer. He blinks in the brightly lit room as the scratchy hospital blanket grates against his skin as it falls, and the heart monitor jumps with his increased heart rate.
“Kookie! You motherfucker! You almost gave me a heart attack!” Jimin screeches, jumping from his chair beside Jungkook’s bed and smacking his shoulder. “What the hell were you thinking!? It took us hours to find you when you didn’t show up for class! What were you doing in the middle of the park?! Passed out no less! I had to call Jin to pick your fat ass up! What do you have to say for yourself?!”
Jungkook cowers down against the pillows at Jimin’s loud scolding, bringing the blanket up to his chin as if it will block the harsh words from his ears. “I’m sor…”
“Nah-uh!” Jimin barks, pointing an accusing finger into Jungkook’s face as he leans in closer to whisper deadly, “The doctors took your blood sugar, you were so scent drunk they had to give you an IV to bring it down. So try again. What. Were. You. Thinking?”
“I wasn’t,” Jungkook squeaks out, catching a glimpse of Jin’s amused face behind Jimin’s shoulder. “I wasn’t thinking, hyung, I’m sorry.”
“You’re damn right, you weren’t thinking.” Jimin huffs in agreement, pulling back and sitting down heavily in his seat. “You’re going to a specialist, today, once the doctor clears you. This won’t be happening again.”
“So, Jungkook-ssi, can you tell me what’s been happening?”
Jungkook shifts in his seat as Doctor Kim looks at him over her glasses, before adjusting them back up her nose as she shifts the notepad on her lap.
“Remember, this is a judgment free zone, Jungkook-ssi, I just want to help you,” Doctor Kim says kindly, her eyes darting to his bouncing leg.
“I know,” Jungkook says softly, taking a deep breath and he clenches his fingers together. “And… and you really think talking about it is going to solve my… issue?”
Doctor Kim blinks as she leans back in her chair, “Well, bottling it up won’t do you any good. And while I’m sure you’ve shared your situation with your friends, they clearly believe this is a bigger issue that needs professional handling.”
“I passed out in a park because I got scent drunk,” Jungkook grumbles, crossing his arms over his chest. “They’re acting as if it’s never happened to them.”
“I’m sure they have,” Doctor Kim soothes, writing lightly on her notepad. “I’m sure many of us have gotten lost during an intimate setting, even at a public park. It’s nothing to be…”
“I wasn’t with anyone,” Jungkook butts in, sinking in his chair when Doctor Kim looks at him in mild surprise. “I was… A few weeks ago while I was waiting for my bus, after having a really shitty day, I caught a whiff of a scent. It was nothing like I had ever smelled before and I felt things that… Well anyway, they had disappeared before I could find them and I’ve been… obsessed with finding that scent since. That day, I smelt it again and followed the trail through the park. I saw a glimpse of who it was, he was in a study group, and I just sat behind the tree and… inhaled as much as the wind was bringing me. I got scent drunk without realizing and woke up in the hospital.”
“I see,” Doctor Kim muses, writing a bit more on her notepad, the sound grating on Jungkook’s nerves in the silent room. “And was this… out of character for you? To hunt down a scent that appealed to you.”
“To this extent? Yes,” Jungkook admits, scrubbing his eyelids as he flexes his hand on his thigh. “I’ve never… I’ve never liked a scent as much as I like this one.”
Doctor Kim hums in thought, flicking her page over to look at the file beneath her notepad, “My records show that you possess a high sense of smell, even beyond that is common for Alphas. How has this affected your day to day life?”
Jungkook shrugs, “No more than any other Alpha, I suppose, I get headaches after long days of being exposed to other people’s scents. I can’t have other people’s scents on me for long periods or it makes my skin itch.”
“And I suppose that’s affected your intimate relationships, are you able to scent bond with someone else?”
Jungkook shakes his head, “No, I never have, not even as a pup. I get overwhelmed too easily, most relationships don’t last because of it.”
Doctor Kim nods, letting her paper fall back so she can write on it again, “I’ve come across Alphas, such as yourself, before Jungkook-ssi. Tell me when you smelt this scent, what would you have done with the person if you were able to meet them?”
Jungkook blinks as he ponders over this question, “I would… I would want to smother myself in them. Just wrap myself around them and cling all day.”
Doctor Kim nods, writing one last thing down on her pad before letting it aside and folding her hands over her lap, “My suggestion for you, Jungkook-ssi, is for you to seek out this person and see what comes of it.”
“Ah… what…” Jungkook gapes in shock. “You want me to… I can… I can keep looking for them?”
Doctor Kim nods, a gentle smile coming to her face, “I’ve worked with many Alphas like you Jungkook-ssi, most don’t ever find what you have. A scent that your body accepts whole heartedly. Given enough exposure to it you won’t get scent drunk as easily. Most scents to you overwhelm your senses and now your body is confronted with the opposite so it doesn’t know how to regulate itself. Given enough time, it’ll learn to.”
“That’s if whoever owns that scent wants anything to do with me,” Jungkook mutters, slouching in his seat once again. “I’ll probably come off as a creep.”
“Don’t set yourself up for failure, Jungkook-ssi,” Doctor Kim scolds lightly, smiling softly when he raises his gaze to her. “We’ll be continuing our sessions together and, when you are able to find the person that attracts you so much, maybe they can join us. I’m sure you’ll find them to be more than willing to help you through this.”
“I can’t believe she encouraged you!” Jimin barks, stomping roughly through the fallen leaves as they make their way through the park. “That was not her job!”
“I do believe the behavioral specialist for Alphas knows a bit more than you do, Jimin baby,” Jin scolds, coughing when Jimin elbows his side. “I’m sure she had her reasons.”
“If you had listened when Kookie told us about his session, you would have heard her reasons,” Yoongi drawls, huffing as Taehyung drapes himself across his back, basically making him drag the Omega down the path as they trail behind Jungkook. “Sometimes I think I’m too soft on you, Tae.”
“I’m your mate, Yoons, you’re supposed to be soft on me,” Taehyung reasons lazily, smiling widely when Jungkook looks back at them over his shoulder. “Catch the scent yet, Kook?”
“No,” Jungkook nearly whines, gazing around the park with irritation. “I don’t know why I even bothered to start here, he could have come just that one day.”
“This is a popular park, you know,” Yoongi points out, walking a little faster to come up next to him. “I know Seoul is a big city, but you’ve run into him twice already in the span of just a few weeks. It’s bound to happen again.”
“I don’t know hyung, maybe…” Jungkook stops, taking a long whiff of the air as a breeze flutters through his hair. It’s faint but it’s there, that scent of rain and he’s after it like a bloodhound.
He hears his friends call after him and the sound of their feet chasing him but he doesn’t let it slow him down as he runs down the path, swinging around trees, and leaping over bushes. By the time he’s made it to the open field where the scent is at its strongest, he’s panting and feels a trickle of sweat running down his face.
The first thing he sees is a bicycle leaning against a park bench, then long legs in dark blue jeans and a book propped against thick thighs. His eyes track up the soft hands that hold the book to the well defined arms. He skirts over the chest that’s screaming to get out of its fabric containment, he’d be locked there for a good minute before even seeing the man’s face. Then his eyes land on the man’s face and Jungkook knows he’s a goner.
The honeyed complexion of the man’s skin makes Jungkook’s teeth ache to sink into it. His cute button nose makes butterflies flutter in his stomach. And his plush pink lips have his knees go weak. All without knowing the man’s name, Jungkook feels himself already half-way in love.
He’s completely lost in his thoughts as he stares into the contemplative face of the man that owned the scent that had bewitched him so thoroughly. He doesn’t even notice his friends catching up behind him, or Yoongi shushing them as he comes to his side.
“Are you going to go over and talk to him, or just stare?” Yoongi asks softly, looking over at him as his dark hair billows in the wind.
“I can’t do that, hyung, he’ll think I’m crazy,” Jungkook whispers, his eyes never leaving the man’s face as he turns a page in his book. The man seems completely unaware of the pair of eyes gazing at him, Jungkook finds it absolutely adorable.
“And you’ll never know unless you try,” Yoongi says, a firmness in his tone that makes Jungkook look over at him. Yoongi’s eyes are soft but there’s a sternness in them as well, “I’ll give him this though, he’s sure unobservant. Even I would notice two dudes staring at me by now.”
“Ah, excuse me.”
Yoongi and Jungkook jerk their heads in surprise to see the man from the bench standing right in front of them. Jungkook’s heart swooned at how the man towered over him.
The man grins sheepishly, making a dimple flash in his cheek, “Usually I am pretty unobservant, but after two guys stare at you for more than a few minutes I think any idiot would be bound to notice. So, how can I help you?”
Yoongi scooches Jungkook forward a bit, “You’ll have to talk to my friend about that, I need to go make sure my mate hasn’t wandered off. Good luck.”
“Hyung!” Jungkook squeaks, watching as Yoongi promptly turns around and starts marching across the field towards his group of friends. He looks back over at the man when his friends, foolishly, shoot him thumbs up as Yoongi joins them.
The man raises an amused eyebrow as Jungkook smiles sheepishly, “Sorry about them, we really shouldn’t have bothered you. I’ll just…”
“Hey,” the man says gently, stepping closer as Jungkook tries to back away. “Hey, it’s no bother. I’m sure we’ve all been coerced into doing something stupid, I take no offense.”
Jungkook scrunches his brows, his shoulders slowly relaxing from their tense posture, “Coerced? What? Do you think we were going to prank you or something? Cause that’s not what…”
A breeze picks up across the field, blowing Jungkook’s hair across his face as it blows his scent straight into the man’s face. Jungkook feels his stomach swoop as the man’s nostrils flare slightly, it’s then that he becomes very aware that this man was as Alpha as he is.
“Have we… met before?” The Alpha asks, looking over Jungkook curiously, sniffing the air slightly. “You smell… familiar.”
“Ah right, well,” Jungkook stutters, brushing his hair back out of his eyes. He takes a deep breath then offers his hand to the Alpha to shake, “My name is Jeon Jungkook, I’m an Alpha, and my therapist told me to go find you.”
The Alpha gives a bark of laughter, but there’s nothing malicious in his brown eyes as he gazes at Jungkook. He takes the offered hand, “I’m Kim Namjoon, also an Alpha, and I’d be very interested to hear this story Jungkook-ssi.”