~X~

Kim Jongdae aka Chen. 22 years old. Main vocal and resident troll of Exo. Beta.

He was loud. He was bright. He was always smiling. He was kind and caring but he was also sassy and witty. He loved a good laugh and he enjoyed making others do the same. These were facts about him that were no secret. All but one.

Kim Jongdae aka Chen. 22 years old. Main vocal and resident troll of Exo. Omega.

Kim Jongdae, despite popular belief, was in fact an omega. His family were well aware, so were the company, but s had no idea.

He wasn’t ashamed of his status. No, not at all. He was quite proud of it actually, despite the stereotyping that often came with it. The problem here lied with the company. It was them who weren’t too pleased about it. His status didn’t fit their requirements.

Jongdae auditioned at SM Entertainment in 2011 due to his best friends’ insistence. A then eighteen year old Jongdae found himself sitting in a chair outside of the audition room, nervous as all hell. His palms were coated in sweat, hands shaking and heart racing. He couldn’t believe he was actually doing this. He had always wanted to become a singer but he would just brush it off when his friends would urge him to audition to an entertainment company. ‘You voice is amazing Jongdae-ah! You should audition’ and ‘You could totally become a singer!’ they would say.

But now here he sat, waiting for his name to be called. He was so set on keeping himself from freaking out that he didn’t even notice when the seat beside him was taken. He jerked when he felt a weight settle on his shoulder, a hand, and follows the persons hand down to his arm and to his face. He is met with the smiling face of a boy who couldn’t be any younger than him.

“Hi. I’m Baekhyun!” identified the boy.

“Um. Jongdae.” he said simply, blinking dumbly but that doesn’t seem to offend the newcomer in the slightest.

“Are you auditioning? I am. I’m a bit nervous. I hope my voice doesn’t crack. Oh god, that would be mortifying. I think I would die. Well maybe not that far. I might just faint. That would also be embarrassing.” They boy rambled. “Aaaand I’m going to shut up now because I’m rambling.” Said Baekhyun in a hurry. Jongdae was surprised that he could even understand what the stranger had said due to the fact he was talking like a squirrel on a caffeine high.

While Baekhyun had been rambling, an amused smile had slipped onto Jongdae’s face and he found his nerves starting to calm. The others friendly demeanour and comforting omega scent was taking effect and settling him.

Omega’s had the uncanny ability to comfort others of their kind, so it was pretty common to see large groups of omega’s congregating together. Their scent could also bring alphas and betas down from extreme bouts of anger either ending disputes or stopping one from beginning in the first place. Traditionally omegas were seen as the peacemakers.

“I’m sorry.” Baekhyun said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his next in embarrassment.

“No, no. It’s okay.” Jongdae laughs and he sees the others eyes light up at the sound, happy that he hadn’t scared the other off. “To answer your question yes, I’m auditioning. I’m going to sing.”

“Ah me to!” Baekhyun exclaims. “I hope we both get through.”

“Same.” Said Jongdae and he meant it, though it wasn’t likely. It wasn’t often that they accepted more than one applicant per batch so the competition was tough. He could only hope.

That meeting sparked the start of their beautiful friendship. Their next meeting was 2 weeks later, to both of their surprise, in the vocal training room. They had made it. Both of them. And from that day on, neither was seen without the other. They spent their trainee days right by each other’s sides, encouraging, comforting and supporting each other.

Not even 4 months had passed before they were both taken out of vocal training and told that they would be put into a debut team. They were gobsmacked. They had barely had any training yet they had already been sorted into a group which was preparing for debut.

It had felt like a trick to Jongdae. This couldn’t be happening. There had to some sort of catch. There was no way a rookie like him would be chosen. There was no way he was anywhere near ready.

That same night, Jongdae was shaken awake. Blinking away his drowsiness, Jongdae was met with the face of one of the supervisors. He had seen him around the building on occasion, watching over the trainees and marking their progress.

“Mmm. Hello?” Jongdae asked, confused.

“Lee Sooman wishes to speak with you.” At the mention of the president of the companys name Jongdae stands in attention.

‘Why would the president want to see me?’

As quick as possible Jongdae reaches for a jumper and puts on the first one that he comes into contact with. Now adequately dressed, he slips on a pair of shoes on before he is escorted down the halls by the supervisor. In the elevator, Jongdae can feel unease creep upon him. The elevator beeped and the doors opened. The supervisor ushered him out of the elevator and towards a set of double doors. He knocked and a soft but firm ‘Come in’ could be heard, muffled by the closed door. Jongdae felt a little push and before he knew it he was standing in front of the one and only Lee Sooman.

“Ahh Kim Jongdae. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He says, face and tone betraying his words.

Jongdae does a quick bow. He’s tense. He can feel it in every nook and cranny of his body. He knows this isn’t a friendly visit.

“Congratulations on your hard work and making it into the debut team.” He pauses and it takes Jonngdae a moment to figure out he’s waiting for a response.

“Thankyou Sooman-nim.”

“Now, you’re probably wondering why I’ve called you here?” he says and Jongdae nods. He has no idea what he’s doing here.

“We’ve finalised the members of the group you’re going to debut in but we’ve encountered a little…problem.”

Jongdae gulps.

‘Has he done something wrong? Oh god. What did I do?’ he thinks, starting to sweat through his clothes.

“We have the perfect line up.” He starts. “But there are too many omegas.”

Jongdae’s blood runs cold and his entire body just freezes. ‘He can’t be saying what I think he is…’

“What I’m asking you to do will determine whether or not you will debut with the others that have been selected.” He says, staring at Jongdae with those calculating eyes. “In order to debut, you’ll need to be administered with the beta injection.” He finishes.

Jongdae’s hunch was right. The beta injection was given to omegas to hide their omega status, masking it with that of a beta. It was usually administered to omegas who wished to hide their status, especially those who lived in the rough areas. They could only be administered with the full consent of the omega, as well as a visit by the psychologist. However he had the whispers of instances where entertainment agencies would pressure their people in getting the injections to suit their own needs.

He had promised himself that he would never fall to that, but he could feel his previous resolve on the issue start to crumble. There were a great proportion of people in society who condemned the use of beta injections. Jongdae didn’t have anything against them but he had never seen the need for him personally to even think about getting one.

“I’m sorry to tell you this.” He says but he doesn’t even look the slightest bit sorry. “But you have two days to get the injection or your spot in the line-up will be replaced. At the end of the week the debut team will begin training together and preparing for debut and I hope to see you there with them.”

After that the office is completely silent apart from the ticking of the clock mounted on the wall. Jongdae’s minds in moving like crazy, thoughts darting so fast that it’s impossible to sort any of them out.

“You are dismissed.” Says Lee Sooman who waves his hand in dismissal. Jongdae turns to leave and the last things he hears before he exits the room is

“Make sure to bring your friend Baekhyun with you. You’re going to need the help.” He says like he already knows what Jongdae’s decision will be.

Jongdae walks back to the dorm like a zombie, not paying attention to anything around him. He receives some weird looks from people he passes in the hall but he doesn’t pay them any mind for they are the least of his worries at the moment.

When he finally reaches his room he lies down in his bed, eyes wide and directed towards the ceiling. That night, he doesn’t sleep.

2 days later finds him sitting in the company’s doctors office, Baekhyun a comforting presence beside him. Baekhyun had been displeased with what Jongdae had been told to do. He was more than displeased, he was furious. It took everything Jongdae had to stop the older boy from marching into Sooman’s office and threatening bloody murder.

“You can’t do this Jongdae!” he had shouted. “It’s not right.”

“I know. But what else can I do? Jongdae had said quietly. “This is my chance to achieve my dream. I can’t pass this opportunity up. But…”

Tears start to blur his vision and Baekhyun wraps his best friend in a tight hug.

“What should I do?”

It had taken hours for Baekhyun to calm him down enough for him to think clearly. After that he had finally come to a decision and while Baekhyun wasn’t happy with it he understood where his friends was coming from and he couldn’t say he would have done the same.

Jongdae and Baekhyun jump when the door opens and a woman walks in. She’s obviously a doctor if the cliché white coat is anything to go by. As she sits down she gives Jongdae a sympathetic smile and Jongdae just knows that this isn’t the first time she’s had to do this. Isn’t the first time someone has been in the same position as him.

“Hi, I’m Doctor Ahn Minah. You’re here for the beta injection, right?”

Jongdae nods and he knows that the doctor can sense his hesitance.

“Before I give you the injection I need to tell you a few things.” She smiles kindly. “Now the injection will need to be administered in one or your scent gland, usually the neck. The initial injection starts off the transition but to maintain it you need to take one of these pills once a week.” She shakes a bottle of pills in her hand. “The injection will turn your scent into that of a beta but it won’t be as strong as natural born betas. It will also stop your heats so you won’t have to worry about them but some people have said that they do feel a little warm or under the weather when their heats are usually supposed to start. Following so far?” she asks and both Jongdae and Baekhyun nod in understanding.

“There are side some effects that you need to be made aware of. It’s dangerous to miss taking your pills. Just missing one will stop the reaction from being maintained and everything will come crashing back. You’ll go into heat, regardless of the month and you’ll be hit with the force of all of the heats that you have missed which is extremely dangerous. Your body will be weak and you’ll start to overheat. They only way to stop it is to be knotted. Those who haven’t have died.”

The mood in the room suddenly changes. Jongdae’s eyes are blown impossibly wide and Baekhyun looks on at his friends in worry. He had never heard any of this before.

“Now it’s obviously different the longer you’ve been on it. Those who have been in it for a year have been able to make it through just fine. Dehydrated but fine so there is no need for them to be knotted. However if you’ve been on it for any longer than a year and a half to two years, this when it get dangerous. You will need an alpha to knot you, there’s no getting around it. They only thing you can do is to not forget to take your pills.” she finishes and the room is again silent.

“I-Is there anything else I need to know.” Jongdae says, voice wavering slightly.

Doctor Ahn smiles sadly at Jongdae. “Just that after the injection, approximately 20 minutes after, you’ll start to suffer from flu like systems like a fever, muscle aches, fatigue and possibly vomiting. It should only last for 24 hours but if it lasts longer please call me, you might be having a negative reaction to it. I’ll give you my personal number just in case that happens.”

Jongdae tries to absorb all of the imformation that he had just been given and though it scares him he’s thankful that Doctor Ahn had been so honest with him.

“Are you ready?” she asks gentle and after a moment he nods his head in confirmation. She gesture towards the bed that Baekhyun had been sitting on and he gets up to sit on it. Baekhyun goes to move off of it but Doctor Ahn tells him that he can stay, wordlessly voicing for Baekhyun to remain by Jongdae’s side for moral support.

Doctor Ahn pushes over a little trolley which has disinfectant, gauze and the needle on it. She quickly rubs the side of his neck with the disinfectant before getting the needle ready.

“Now I’m going to warn you beforehand that this is going to hurt. Scent glands are extremely sensitive and this has to go straight into it.”

Jongdae isn’t afraid of much but right now he’s scared. Petrified actually. His body is tense with fear. Suddenly a calming scent fills the room and well as a warn hand on his knee, squeezing lightly. He sees Baekhyun throwing him a reassuring smile which calms him down immensely.

Breathing deeply, he bares his neck, fully exposing his scent gland, ready for the injection.

“Okay, here we go.” Is the only warning he gets before he feels a sharp pain in his neck and he gasps. He grits his teeth in an effort to stop himself from screaming and grasping for something to hold onto to, he finds Baekhyun’s hand and latches on tight, for a second he’s afraid that he’ll break Baekhyun’s hand but dismisses that thought when the pain only gets worse.

The needle is in and out quickly but the pain remains for minutes after the needle is removed. When the haze of pain fades, there’s already a piece of gauze covering the injection site. Doctor Ahn is standing in front of him, a cup of water in her hand which he takes gratefully, gulping it down quickly.

As he sets the cup down he can feel his hand beginning to shake and his body starting to warm up.

“I suggest you get him to his dorm as quickly as possible.” She tells Baekhyun who nods and places Jongdae’s arms around his shoulder in support. “Make sure to keep him hydrated. You have my number if something happens.” Is the last thing she says before she watches as both boys leave the room and walk down the hall.

She sighs. This is the part of her job that she hates.

The next 24 hours are complete agony for Jongdae. His body is warm with fever yet he is racked by intense chills. He’s weak, so weak that he is unable to move without help from Baekhyun. He refuses to eat but Baekhyun manages to coax him into drinking some water but it’s not enough to leave him satisfied.

When the symptoms subside Jongdae wakes up felling exhausted and gross, coated in sweat. Still weak, Baekhyun helps him out of his clothes and guides him to the bathroom so he can have a shower. He thoroughly washes himself while Baekhyun prepares him a meal. He may not be a chef but he could whip up something simple.

After the shower Jongdae feels fresh, nearly brand new, if only a little tired. When he emerges from the bathroom his is met with the smell of stir fry, making his stomach growl in hunger. He wolfs the food down in record time, stomach full and satisfied.

“Glad to see you up and about.” Says Baekhyun and he really is. It pained him to see his best friends like that and there was nothing that he could do. “How do you feel?”

“Weird.” He says. “Weird and a little tired but that’s to be expected.”

“Weird how?” Baekhyun asks, curious.

“Well…” he frowns. “I can still feel my omega but it’s… not as noticeable, like it’s been pushed to the back of my mind. And my scent, it’s changed.” Baekhyun nods, he had noticed the change in his scent. “And like, I don’t know. It’s different but it’s not as potent. Does that makes sense?”

“Yeah, kind of.”

 The conversation halts for a moment, both lost in their own thoughts

“Baekhyun?”

“Yeah.”

“Did I make the right decision?” he asks.

Baekhyun sighs. “I don’t know Dae. I really don’t know.”

A few days later Jongdae and Baekhyun found themselves making their way towards one of the practice rooms. Entering it, they see five others already waiting inside, however unlike Jongdae and Baekhyun, they look like they have no idea why they’re there. The others boys, who are situated by the mirror on the other side of the room smile when they enter yet may no other efforts to greet them. Jongdae and Baekhyun smile back but seat themselves away from them.

Soon the room is filled with 12 bodies, some which Jongdae can recognise. There’s Junmyeon who had been here the longest, over 6 years if he remembers correctly. Next to him is Jongin, a dancing prodigy. He has naturally bronze skin and Jongdae thinks it’s beautiful. To be honest he’s a little jealous. At the far end of the room are a group of four, the Chinese trainees. He remembers hearing that Keven, or Yifan, he wasn’t too sure was casted in Canada. He knows that out of the four, Luhan is the most proficient in Korean. The other two, Yixing and Zitao, don’t speak much so the only thing he knows it that Yixing is a dancer and Zitao does wushu.

The others in the room he’s unfamiliar with, except the short boy with the chubby face and pointed eyes. He swears he’s seen him around somewhere. While both he and Baekhyun recognise most of the people in the room, they have never trained with any of them. They’ve been here for years while they have only trained for four months. The gap between them is great.

The door opens and they all stand in attention when Lee Sooman walks into the room. It’s not often that the president is physically present in the training rooms.

“Thankyou all for coming. I bet you’re all wondering why you’re here.” He says, pausing dramatically. “Well congratulations, you’ve all been selected to be part of the next boy group that we will be debuting.”

Across the room jaws drop in disbelief. That disbelief soon turns into excitement as the news finally settles in. for many of them this is a long time coming.

“Your group name will be EXO.” He says and looks of confusion are passed between the rooms occupants but Lee Sooman pays them no mind. “When I call your name come and stand to the left of me.”

“Kim Jongin, beta. Oh Sehun, beta. Kim Junmyeon, alpha. Do Kyungsoo, omega. Park Chanyeol, alpha, Byun Baekhyun, omega.” The ones called all move to stand in a line to his left. No one knows what’s going on.

“The others, when I call your name come and stand to my right.”

“Wu Yifan, alpha. Zhang Yixing, beta. Lu Han, omega. Haung Zitao, omega. Kim Minseok, alpha. Kim Jongdae, beta.” As he says Jongdae’s name and status, his eyes focus solely on Jongdae for a moment before directing them towards all of the now identified people in the room.

“As you can see you’ve been separated into two groups. The six on my left will be called EXO-K and the six on my right will be called EXO-M. Both groups will sing the same songs, however EXO-K will sing and promote them in Korean while EXO-M will sing and promote them in Mandarin.”

They all seemed stunned with the information. Jongdae looked at Baekhyun with wide eyes. 

‘Singing in Mandarin? But I don’t even speak it. I may have gotten good scores in school but I’m nowhere near fluent.’ He thinks.

Lee Sooman takes them out of their thoughts. “Tonight you’ll all be moving into new dorms to become acquainted with each other. Training will begin tomorrow. Schedules will be given to you in the morning.” Without another word he departs the room just as quick as he had entered, leaving no room for questions.

After the leaves everyone stands in awkward silence, not knowing what to do or what to say. The Chinese members turn towards him and his breath catches in his throat, he doesn’t know what to do.

“Uh… I don’t, I don’t speak Mandarin.” Is what comes out of his mouth and his face reddens in embarrassment. He thinks that they will scold him, but instead they smile in amusement at his little embarrassed outburst.

“I’m sure you’ll have lessons and we’ll be here to help you as well.” Says Luhan kindly. There’s no malice or mocking in his words and he relaxes. That seemed to break the ice and soon everyone was engaged in conversation, learning things about each other. Baekhyun had latched onto him and pulled him over to a giant with big ears and eyes who Baekhyun had instantly befriended and having only spending minutes with him he was befriending him as well.

He felt tapping at the back and he turned around to the male with the chubby cheeks and pointed eyes standing in front of him. Jongdae noticed that he was slightly shorter then him, but was really struck him was how handsome he found the other male. He was star struck.

“Hi, I’m Kim Minseok. It’s going to be a pleasure working with you.”

It’s at that exact moment that he realises it.

He thinks he’s in love. God help him.

~X~

Part 1 is up guys! I was really surprised to find that this story had garnered this much attention at only the foreword. Thank you all so much >.< This is my first attempt at an a/b/o fic so I hope that it doesn't too much. Part 2 should be up with in the next week and let me tell you it's gonna be a long one. This chapter could be considered as an introduction to the story, hopefully it's not too boring to read. I do have a question for the next chapter though. As you've seen in the foreword there will be , should I mark the story as M rated or just simply have a warning at the beginning of the chapter? Tell me what you guys think I should do.

See you guys for part 2!! (hopefully~)