a/n: something went wrong with the format. I have been trying to edit. :3

Minseok had been his parents second pup. His noona had been an alpha. She had a commanding presence. She looked, breathed and talked like an alpha. Their dongsaeng, they loved her with a fierce possessiveness. To him it didn’t matter if he was an omega, he’d kill anybody who’d hurt her. He hadn’t presented till the age of eighteen. Usually, Betas presented late. Even then his parents and noona had known he’d be an omega because he was so small (according to them), he was all so white and delicate and cute. They were just waiting for him to present. They had even made plans to send him to SNU (back to their home country) for his education.

Kim Minseok wasn’t necessarily a shy kid. He had always loved playing. He played soccer with the boys of his neighbourhood, in school with classmates and seniors. He loved going out with his parents and sisters and cousins and uncles & aunts. He laughed a lot and joked a lot. But, then his parents separated. They had loved each other, his parents. But, for work, his mother had, suddenly, left Korea. She had taken him and his dongsaeng with her to China where he knew no one. He knew they had not really separated. But, the physical distance had been too much for him. He didn’t see his noona anymore every time after he woke up, he didn’t hear his father’s voice. His father, in his eyes, was the ideal omega and his mother, the role model alpha. He’d always wanted an alpha who’d look after his/her mate and pups.

At the age of fifteen, he had been left confounded with his parents decision. Why would two people in love do this to themselves and their family? Sometimes in the night, he’d find himself crying to sleep. He didn’t understand Mandarin, he found himself lost in Beijing, he didn’t know anyone who he could play with , who to be friends with. His schoolmates laughed at him. They for going to be a late bloomer and say things like ‘they’d make him bloom’. They too were convinced that he’d be an omega and not a beta. They’d follow him to canteen, to school gate, everywhere. He didn’t know who to say about all this. His dongsaeng was too young to understand and his mother, he didn’t want to make her worry for him. She already had so much work and tension. His parents together ran KEnt, Kims Entertainment. It was like a talent agency that recruited new and popular artists, and managed their lives and acts. They even occasionally produced movies and all that. It was quite later he came to know how much love, trust and respect his alpha had for his omega father to give the Korean division to him to run while she came to China and started their Chinese wing. His love and respect for his parents had increased then. He had decided to never mate with anyone who wasn’t like his alpha. He wanted an alpha who’d be responsible, loving, caring and a true provider for his future family. He had not only surprised others but, even himself when he had finally gone into rut and not into heat and had presented as an alpha. His mother, father and noona (who’d flown in on hearing the news) had been flabbergasted. He didn’t understand. What was wrong with his life? Why did it always want to surprise him? It was like life wanted to back stab him every single time.

And, he hated the way it felt during rut. He had wanted to break anything he saw. The second time it had happened, he’d hit his dongsaeng. He had been coming out of the kitchen (he was preparing lunch) and it had suddenly started. It had been like an intense pain in his chest and he had doubled over in pain and all the bowls had fallen over. The knife had dislodged from the stand and had fallen on the floor. His palm was all red. He had not felt that sting.

He saw everything red. His nose was getting assaulted from so so many strong scents. He had wanted it to stop. He hated it. He hated this pain. He didn’t know what it wanted. What was he supposed to do when he was in rut? He had known what to do in a heat but, rut? The knife had seemed like the best idea to his pain-clouded mind. A really stupid idea and just then, his little dongsaeng had come screaming “oppa, oppa” and he had wanted her to stop. She was tugging incessantly at his arms and crying and it had been all too loud. She kept begging him to stop. But, how could he have stopped it? He didn’t know how. And, before he knew it, he had snarled at her and flung her aside. Her surprised eyes wide with fear looking at him had snapped him out of his anger for a second. He had run to his room and bolted himself inside. He had broken the mirror in his room in a fit of rage. He just didn’t know how to control himself, his stupid stupid hormones.

In later years when Minseok would think about it, he’d laugh at his own stupidity. He’d been so childish and had over reacted so much. After that day’s incident, his alpha had taken him to a doctor who had told them that he had presented quite late for an alpha (an alpha presented the earliest) and his body was just trying to adjust to the sudden change and all the raging hormones. He had at that time not even a year left to join his university since all alpha/omega/beta universities took in applicants at the age of 19 for the first year. He had to get his together within those few months. But, him presenting as an alpha had spoiled his plans. His parents weren’t going to let him go to Seoul in such a condition. Because, in the months following him presenting, every time he went into rut (every damn month) he broke something, he’d howl in pain and scream day and night.

He applied in the Beijing University for Alphas (BUA). Just two months prior to his leaving, he had been put on supressants and since then, everything had been a bliss. He had been unhappy initially since he had wanted to go back to his home country since being in BAU meant he had to wait for three years before he could apply for the Students Exchange Programme and go to SNU for the last two years. To say he was apprehensive of his first three years was an understatement. His only stint at any institution in Beijing had lasted for three months. Those idiotic bully alphas had ambushed him after a soccer class and had beaten the out of him till a senior had found him and taken him to hospital. It cannot be said he had not fought. He had fought and fought till he couldn’t. Just because he was supposed to be an omega or, a beta didn’t mean he couldn’t fight. His name had been withdrawn from the school on his request. His alpha had wanted to find those scoundrels and punish them. But, for some reason which he never understood himself, he never told anyone who they were. He didn’t register any complain and just asked his parents to home tutor him. He saw his dongsaeng go to school, make friends with ease and he always wondered what had been wrong with him. Had it been his attitude? Those four years of being home schooled, he spoke and laughed lesser and lesser. He became more and more of a neat freak. Getting up on time, preparing meals for his family, planning outings when his omega father and noona came. He barely heard his own voice. He did all his work, the household chores studiously may be a tad furiously and that all his life was.

As the days approached closer, he got more and more anxious. He was not only going back to an institution where people spoke a language he still didn’t understand but also, he was going to stay in a large campus filled with alphas. Sure, now he also was an alpha. But, he had been an alpha only for around a year. He didn’t behave like one, he didn’t talk like one. He hated the way alphas were alphas. He knew how they looked at others- as every one else was a piece of meat either to be molested or, to be beaten. He had heard horrifying stories of the past and that, apparently, the society had changed by leaps and bounds. If he now wouldn’t have an alpha, he knew what sort of an alpha he wouldn’t be to someone else. Sometimes he was really really grateful he was an alpha. He was sure he wouldn’t have been able to find the type of alpha he would have accepted as a mate.

*****

His mother and sister had come to drop him off to the university. They had been excited and he had just been perspiring in nervousness. He had absolutely no idea how he was going to survive the three years. Of course, he wasn’t a coward. He was practical. He had never been around these many people of his age in years. He was n.e.r.v.o.u.s. With his mother and sister, they went looking around the campus before they had to leave. The only time outsiders were allowed in was the time the new students came.

He and his sister had stopped to watch the soccer match the seniors were playing at one of the fields. However, it wasn’t just seniors. Even new students were playing with them. He saw two new students join. (They too had the tags on them.) After some time, a blond haired senior came running towards him asking him to join. He froze in surprise but, his cunning dongsaeng pushed him into the field and he went in stumbling, face red. But, that senior was already going back to take his position.

“come quickly.”

He even had a nice.. Friendly-ish voice? It helped him calm a little bit. He took the other forward position. He could do this he kept telling himself, breathing in and out. Calm calm calm. It had been so so long.

But, once they had started playing, once he had started running, the nostalgia of it was overwhelming and to his surprise in a good way (was that even possible?). He wasn’t thinking too much. The rest of the alphas may be people he didn’t know, may be they weren’t the kids from his childhood neighbourhood nor his cousins but, that didn’t matter. The rush he felt in his veins, the wind against his face, ears, in his hair, the burning sensation in his calves, he was loving it. He could barely hear his sister and mother cheering for him over the loud thundering of his heart in his ears. At any other time, he might have been red with embarrassment but, right then, he was loving every second. He even helped in scoring a goal although it was that senior who had done the scoring. He had just passed the ball to him but, still. With that winning goal, their team had won and Min-seok had been ecstatic. He wanted to run some more and jump some more and shout on top of his voice.

He was still running till a heavy mass had crashed into him both of them coming to a staggering stop. Before he even knew, he was enveloped in the warmth of the said heavy mass and was lying on his back. His head was spinning. The heavy mass then, brought some space between them and the new alpha had to blink his eyes many times before he opened them real wide. A really pretty pair of eyes was looking at him worriedly.

 “are you okay?”

He even heard that nice friendly voice but, he was busy wondering why those blond locks were covering those leaf-shaped eyes. He moved those offending soft locks with his fingers and tucked them behind a nice looking ear. Those wonderful eyes went round and Min-seok grinned his gummy grin. Those eyes were cute. He was pulled up suddenly and a lot of the other players had crowded around them. He was being asked questions and all he did was nod. His sister had come running shouting ‘oppa, oppa’ and had hugged him. His alpha came and patted his hair and he smiled. He was smiling and he was grinning. They were saying him something and he was being tugged away till he heard that Friendly Voice shouting. He stopped and looked back. It was the senior running towards him again. It was him with those offending soft blond locks, with that voice and that pair of eyes.

 “Hey”, his voice rasped. He was panting, bending to put his hands on his knees. Minseok just watched him silently. “I thought you were gonna just leave.. You are good.”

“Thanks.”

“Where are you going?”

“ ... ”

He felt his sister tug at his sleeve. “He is coming to see us off. Are you Korean, Oppa?”

“Uh? No, no. I know just a little bit.”

When Min-seok felt three pair of eyes on him, he snapped out of his daze. “er..” He cleared his voice. “I am going to the Orientation programme after that.”

“Great. I’ll see you there.” The senior was stepping back.

“Which year are you in? You look too young.”

“Haha. I hear that a lot. Am in first year too.” He gave them a blinding smile.

“Oppa, you are too good looking”, his sister said cheekily.

“Thank you.”

“Shut up.”, Min-seok grumbled.

He raised his eyebrow in surprise. Min-seok simply stared back.

“It’s okay. You are pretty too.” The Chinese alpha said and turned towards his sister and winked.

“New students and older students are allowed to play?” He heard his mother ask.

“Yes, ma’am. In fact, the defender on the other team is my best friend’s cousin. He isn’t even a student here. It’s just for today though. ” He pointed at some guy. Minseok couldn’t tell who. He could only see the senior.

“A friendly match?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

His mother smiled at the senior politely. “We need to leave now. It was nice meeting you ..”

“Lu Han.”

“Nice meeting you, Lu Han-ssi.”

“It’s my pleasure, Ma’am.”

“Bye, Oppa.”

“Bye.”

Minseok just looked at him dumbly and smiled. But, then, the senior was walking away and he could feel his sister dragging him again by his arm. But, he was looking at the retreating figure and Minseok’s mouth was going an ‘O’ in surprise. Not because that Friendly Senior wasn’t a senior nor that he hadn’t realised He wasn’t a Korean with an accent. No, because he, Kim Minseok had done something he didn’t think was possible for him. Not now. Not ever.

The Not Senior guy had suddenly stopped and looked back at him. He smiled at him and waved him a goodbye and then, ran to the other corner of the field to the other alphas. He didn’t care if he looked idiotic right now. How it may seem to others: being dragged by his younger sister out of the field, his mouth agape. Minseok couldn’t stop grinning. He had fallen in love.

A/N: If you are reading this.. then, you could leave a comment too? It really helps. I'll know how it's going.. Chaebal! :p