016

 

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If there was one rule that Junhong never broke, it was the ‘no phones during intense cuddling’ rule. Cuddling with Yongguk was a hundred times better when they were both only paying attention to each other.

Yongguk’s warmth only ever gave him comfort, and he needed that now more than ever.

Junhong was settled on his alpha’s lap, resting his head on his shoulder. Yongguk’s arms bracketed around him tightly and they both sighed at the same time. They rarely got time to just be with each other, especially since Yongguk always needed to work.

Junhong had wanted to stay at the hospital with Jongup, Hyerim and Youngjae, but Yongguk insisted that they returned home. After their conversation in the hospital, Junhong was only more suspicious.

Yongguk had said something about Juhyeon having a vendetta against the BANG company, and Junhong was willing to bet that it had something to do with Jongup and Yongguk.

He couldn’t ask Jongup since the alpha wasn’t himself, and bombarding him with questions after he witnessed a brutal attack on his bodyguard seemed too cruel. He already asked Yongguk, and the alpha said nothing was happening.

He couldn’t help but feel that Yongguk had lied to him.

The omega tilted his head and mouthed lazily at the elder’s neck. Beneath him, Yongguk was drawing circles into his hipbone, slowly pushing down his boxers. Junhong’s heart raced with excitement and he moved so he could at Yongguk’s mouth.

Yongguk’s phone vibrated from the nightstand, and he tensed, but made no move to check the notification. They would’ve left it at that, and continued what they were doing, but Junhong’s phone beeped almost immediately after.

Junhong sighed and moved away to grab both of their phones, handing Yongguk’s back to him. He shifted so he could fix his boxers and moved to sit beside Yongguk instead of on top of him, unlocking his phone.

The teen immediately frowned when he saw who the notification was from.

“Is that from…?” Yongguk questioned.

“Yeah.”

Moon Juhyeon invited him to breakfast tomorrow, for an ‘announcement’. She attached a guest list – Yongguk, Youngjae and Hyerim were also invited.

“Maybe she’s finally going to explain,” Junhong couldn’t help but hope, “or even apologise!”

“I don’t want you to go,” Yongguk muttered quietly, his body still tense. The omega’s eyebrows pulled together and he turned to face the elder.

“Why not?”

“Just…don’t,” Yongguk sighed tiredly, as if regretting saying anything at all. “You don’t need to, Jun.”

The omega frowned, “No.”

“Don’t go,” the alpha growled. He looked irritated, even angry.

Junhong moved away from him, his heartbeat quickening. “No!”

“Junhong,” came Yongguk’s annoyed response. “You’re not going.”

“Because this doesn’t concern me?” the boy snapped, standing up. Yongguk’s face fell, but he still crossed his arms. Junhong took a step back, not wanting to argue – it was late, and he’d already gone through too much today.

“I’m going, hyung.”

“You’re not, Junhong!” he shouted, sounding livid, and Junhong backed up against the door in fear, eyes wide. Yongguk realised how loud his voice was and immediately stood up to apologise, reaching out to grasp the younger’s hand, but Junhong turned around and fled, running out of the alpha’s bedroom to his own. He slammed the door shut and dived onto his bed, swallowing down his anger.

Now that he knew Yongguk was hiding something from him, he was definitely going to the breakfast tomorrow. He could feel a sense of dread filling his stomach.

Whatever he found out tomorrow… was it going to be as bad as Yongguk made it seem?

 

“Jongup, I don’t know what to do anymore. Do you have Youngjae’s number? I searched for him all day today. Call me when you get this.”

Daehyun sighed, resting his head on his desk. By now, he reluctantly accepted that Youngjae was avoiding him, but he still didn’t know why. Was he scared?

The rejection wasn’t even the worst part. Daehyun couldn’t stop thinking about Youngjae, about how his voice flowed like honey, how his eyes lit up when he smiled, how his hair fell over his forehead when he laughed bashfully. How his fingers lingered on Daehyun’s face…

The idol reached for his notebook, flipping open to the last page. It was filled with crossed-out lines and messy scribbles, all failed attempts at song writing. Lately, his words hadn’t been coming out right, his music had seemed dull and uninspired.

He gazed out his window, sighing when he saw how dark it was already. The entire day wasted away as he searched for the elusive omega.

It would’ve been easier if he just asked Yongguk for Youngjae’s number, but he had a unspoken promise to Jongup that he would never talk to him Yongguk. It was hard, knowing that he could see the omega again, he was right under his nose.

Daehyun grasped a pen in his hand and flipped to a new page, letting his hand free across the paper.

Before he knew it, midnight fell and he was blinking back sleep. His hand continued scribing lyrics onto the pages, filling the notebook up with music lines and notes.

He hummed the small tune that he had just written and rubbed his eyes, wanting to stay awake. He couldn’t stop his hand from writing, couldn’t stop the thoughts flying through his head.

His phone beeped from where he had discarded it hours ago and he immediately grasped it, the hope waking him up.

Moon Jongup: Tomorrow. Come to the estate for breakfast. Youngjae will be there.

It was abrupt, but Daehyun couldn’t care.

Jung Daehyun: thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankYOU

He whooped and punched the air before immediately running to bed. He couldn’t see Youngjae with eyebags; he had to make an impression. The excitement running through his body made it hard for him to sleep, but he eventually did, a contented smile on his face.

Waking up was easier. His body would only allow him five hours of sleep and one hour of rolling around excitedly in bed before he was up and ready to confront the small omega.

Daehyun forced himself to read over the lyrics he made last night, surprised that they were actually good. Maybe he would ask his manager if he could release some of them in his next album.

His next album. It was scheduled for release in the next two months, but they hadn’t even finalised the songs yet. The tracklist required eleven songs, but he only had eight. His manager was going crazy with stress, but no one could find three more songs that matched his ‘sound.’

In a way, it was great; he didn’t really have any schedules until they found the remaining songs. Then he would be forced to begin preparations for his album promotion, starting with recording all the songs.

None of it mattered if a certain omega wasn’t singing his third track. He closed the notebook and threw it on the couch.

He had only known Youngjae for two days – even though one was spent chasing him around town – was it weird that he wanted to see him so badly?

There were only a few more hours until he could see him again.

Daehyun shoved his notebook under a couch cushion and flopped down to kill time by scrolling through his Instagram feed. A lot of comments were left in capital letters, screaming about how they saw him in concert and how amazing he was.

His train of thought trailed off and he began thinking about Youngjae again; if the omega had an account. With a sigh, he found himself searching for the omega, knowing that he was definitely desperate by now.

His eyes widened, seeing an adorable icon load, as well as the account ‘yjay94.’ He immediately clicked onto it, his heart melting as he saw even more cute pictures load.

In every picture, Youngjae was always dressed in casual clothes. Daehyun couldn’t stop thinking about how he soft he looked, especially in his latest picture when he was washing his car. A frown appeared on his face when he saw that it was dated almost nine months ago.

As he scrolled down, it only became more apparent how rarely Youngjae uploaded new photos. After he’d scrolled through many, many selfies, he found a photo of younger Youngjae with a red cape tied around his neck. He immediately smiled fondly – Youngjae had hardly changed in five years.

The singer felt an emotion unfurl in his chest and he glanced at the time. He whooped and jumped up, swiping his keys off his desk and running out.

He could hardly wait.

 

Junhong knew he shouldn’t keep grudges, especially against people who were special to him, but he couldn’t help feeling sour about what Yongguk did the previous night. The elder alpha did eventually agree to drive him to the Moon estate, but they hadn’t exchanged a word since they had left the house. Junhong could sense how annoyed the alpha still was, but he was also guilty. The omega was determined to find out why.

It was still pretty early in the morning, about eight, but Juhyeon hadn’t specified a time they needed to be there. Junhong assumed that was on purpose; she probably planned a breakfast so that she wouldn’t interrupt anyone’s schedules.

He sighed and got out of the car before Yongguk and strode towards the entrance of the house, raising his arm to ring the doorbell. Before he could even touch the button, the door flung open and he faced a beaming girl. He had seen her a few times before.

“Come in, Junhong-ssi!” she beckoned, and he walked in, knowing where to go. It wasn’t the first time he’d been to his best friend’s house, after all. He was halfway through the hallway when he heard the maid squeak, and the sound of the door slamming.

Junhong turned, seeing the maid hold the door shut. Her eyes were wide, and the omega registered that she had slammed the door on Yongguk.

“What’s going on?” he asked, coming up behind her, and she only stuttered in reply, her hands still firmly placed on the door. Junhong frowned; it wasn’t as if Yongguk was going to knock it down.

“All housemaids are told that Bang Yongguk isn’t allowed in the house,” she said quietly, looking afraid. Junhong’s eyebrows furrowed.

“He’s with me.”

“I know, Junhong-ssi, but…”

“He had an invitation from Juhyeon,” Junhong raised his voice. She looked like she was about to cry.

“Jinae, you can let him in,” Juhyeon appeared around a corner. She was fixing an earring, looking more interested in her appearance than in her guests. Junhong’s eyes narrowed at the sight of her, but before he could say anything, Jinae had released the door and Yongguk was by his side in an instant, immediately wrapping a protective arm around his omega.

“If you’ll excuse me, I’m still getting ready,” Juhyeon nodded her head. Both Yongguk and Junhong opened their mouths to protest, but she interrupted, “Breakfast is in the dining hall. I’m sure you both know where that is?” Juhyeon smiled and disappeared into a door. They both heard the sound of a lock.

The two shared a confused glance, but walked towards where the dining hall was anyway.

Hyerim was already there, making conversation with DAE, whose eyes lit up when he saw the dining hall doors open. Seeing that it was Yongguk and Junhong, his eyes dulled again and he turned to Hyerim, nodding once she finished her spiel.

“Boss, I hope you don’t mind that I took half a day off,” Hyerim apologised, and Yongguk shook his head.

“It’s alright.” He glanced around, “Are Youngjae and Jongup coming?”

Hyerim hummed, “They both spent the night at the hospital. Youngjae said he needed to go back to his place before he came here, so he should arrive soon?”

Daehyun’s face split into a grin. Junhong thought that was weird.

Daehyun and Hyerim were sitting next to each other, so Yongguk and Junhong sat across from them. It was silent, since Hyerim no longer wanted to talk casually around her boss, and Daehyun wasn’t really willing to either.

“Um, so, Daehyun-ssi... Why are you here?” Junhong asked quietly. The curiosity was pulling at him; the idol wasn’t on the guest list, and Juhyeon didn’t seem like the type to welcome surprise.

Before he could answer, the doors burst open and Daehyun’s head snapped up, eyes wide. His brain went blank as soon as his eyes landed on the omega he had been searching for. Said omega froze in shock, seeing the idol in front of him.

While Daehyun was glad to see that Youngjae was dressed warmly, wearing a cardigan, the singer’s lips soon pulled into a frown when he saw Youngjae’s red eyes and swollen cheeks. Junhong had no idea what was going on, but he could sense tension between the two. He raised a brow at Yongguk, but the alpha shrugged in reply.

After what felt like an eternity, Youngjae finally took a step towards the table. He carefully avoided sitting next to Daehyun, moving so he beside Junhong instead, across from the idol. The other omega offered Youngjae a smile, and he smiled back nervously.

Daehyun wasn’t on the guest list. If Youngjae had at least known, he would have avoided the Moon estate like the plague. He didn’t even know why he was invited; he had arrived because he wanted dumplings, not because he wanted a confrontation.

“Jongup’s not coming,” he said, looking apologetically at Hyerim. Daehyun stiffened at the sound of his voice, but Youngjae avoided looking at him. “He doesn’t want to leave.”

“Well, then we should start,” Juhyeon appeared from another door. Junhong seriously wondered whether she found joy in scaring the wits out of him. She took a seat at the head of the table and made a gesture, and then the doors were opening to welcome maids with plates in their hands.

Youngjae’s stomach growled, and Daehyun chuckled softly. The omega glared at the table between them.

His hunger was what got him into this position in the first place. If he had just bought a sandwich from the hospital vending machine instead of wanting to come to the Moon Estate, he wouldn’t have to see the stupid idol with his stupid grin and his stupid proposals.

Anger flared inside of the omega, but he swallowed it down, staring at the plates set in front of him.

“Are you okay?” Junhong asked in concern, having felt the sudden spike in emotion.

Youngjae nodded, his ears tinging with red.

All the plates had been set, revealing all types of food from sushi to croissants. Youngjae looked around until his eyes latched onto a plate of dumplings – his goal.

“Dig in,” Juhyeon encouraged, and Youngjae was just about to grab the plate when Yongguk interrupted.

“Tell us why we’re here first, Juhyeon.”

The omega’s hand pulled back and he frowned.

“That can wait until after,” the woman smiled, but it seemed forced. “Enjoy yourselves. If you have any requests, let me know.”

Youngjae looked away, his attention returning back to the plate – except it wasn’t there anymore. He panicked, before realising that Jung Daehyun had it in his hand.

The alpha wasn’t even trying to get any, he just held the plate in his hands. That stupid grin never left his face.

Youngjae clenched his jaw and his eyes swept across the spread of food, determined not to let Daehyun ruin his morning. There were other things he could eat that would be just as good, he was sure. He wasn’t expecting the alpha to offer the plate to him.

“Want some?”

The omega grumbled to himself, taking the plate without a word of acknowledgement. He ignored the brush of their fingers as the plate passed between them. Stupid Jung Daehyun.

He was certain that Hyerim, Yongguk and Junhong knew that something was going on between them now; an awkwardness filled the air due to the small number of guests, but Juhyeon didn’t seem to mind. Junhong was piling small parts of every dish onto his own plate, looking pleased with himself, and Hyerim helped herself to some pancakes. Yongguk didn’t eat.

Youngjae’s eyes narrowed when he saw that Daehyun was taking icecream.

“You’re going to ruin your vocal chords,” he grumbled, but the smile that lit up on the alpha’s face made it seem like he had solved world hunger. Youngjae averted his eyes and stuffed some dumplings in his mouth.

Junhong pursed his lips, wondering what their relationship was. He glanced to Yongguk beside him and frowned, seeing his empty plate. He was slouched in his seat, looking resigned. Junhong took a piece of sushi and nudged it against his lips, waiting hopefully.

As he hoped, the hint of a smile appeared on Yongguk’s lips and he ate it, his tongue darting out to the tips of Junhong’s fingers. The omega giggled and reached out to get more, as Yongguk finally relaxed. Before he knew it, another sushi roll was pressed against his mouth.

Junhong found so much entertainment in feeding his alpha that his own plate was forgotten after a few minutes; providing for Yongguk was strangely satisfying. Seeing the omega forget to eat, the alpha tutted quietly and speared a cherry tomato on his fork, feeding it to him.

“Thanks hyung,” the boy beamed, happy that the elder finally stopped tensing.

Yongguk could feel the attention from the others on them, but he couldn’t care less. Something was telling him that he didn’t have a lot of time left with his omega. He took Junhong’s hand under the table and sighed, feeling comforted by even the smallest form of contact.

Anxiety rolled off him in waves.

Junhong noticed, immediately pushing closer to Yongguk, “Do you want to share a waffle? They look good…”

Yongguk shook his head and forced a smile on his face. “It’s okay Jun, just eat up.”

The omega nodded slowly, and then reached over to grab a waffle. Yongguk’s eyes drifted over to Juhyeon, who was already staring at the both of them, the grip on her knife tight.

“It’s nice to see how much happier you are,” her lips curled into a smirk. Yongguk clenched his jaw, looking upset.

She didn’t say anything else until everyone had finished eating, and they had all pushed their plates in.

“I may as well begin,” the woman said and pushed her plate away from her. All of the guests except for Daehyun were looking at her – the idol was too busy staring at Youngjae. Juhyeon turned to Hyerim. “Firstly, I would like to apologise for the incident yesterday. Himchan has been a very important employee of the Moon family for the past four years. I understand that he wanted to quit?”

“He wanted to continue with his education,” Hyerim muttered, nodding. “I… He really liked working.”

Juhyeon nodded, a sad smile on her face, “I’m sorry. He was Jongup’s favourite bodyguard, but he would have been happy to hear that. When Himchan recovers, I would like to cover the costs of his schooling, as an apology.”

“Himchan wouldn’t want your charity,” Youngjae spoke up, wearing a distasteful expression.

“It’s an apology, not a charity,” the woman said. “But I’ll leave that choice up to him when he recovers. I’m just letting you know.”

Both Hyerim and Youngjae couldn’t say anything to that.

“As for you especially, Junhong…” The omega swallowed nervously, looking at the woman who stared at him. “I apologise for my mistake yesterday. I promised Jongup that I would find a way to cover it up, but I’m not sure how to yet… I can assure you that I’ll do everything in my power to ensure that the news won’t spread.”

Junhong nodded, not exactly satisfied, but Juhyeon had nothing more to say. Hyerim looked confused.

Youngjae took the hint and pushed his chair back, closely followed by Hyerim and of course, Daehyun. Unsure, Junhong began standing, but he hesitated since Yongguk was still seated.

“Thank you for the invite,” Youngjae said shortly, and Juhyeon gave a quick nod.

“Jinae will you out,” the woman said. “Junhong, Yongguk, if you could remain behind.” Junhong blinked and agreed, sitting back down.

Youngjae glanced at Daehyun, who was already looking at him. He wasn’t sure how he could get to his car without the alpha approaching him, but he was going to try. Without a word, he followed the maid outside, spying his car immediately. If he ran, would Daehyun be able to catch up?

“I hope you’ve enjoyed the breakfast! Drive safely!” the maid said, grinning brightly.

Youngjae smiled and waved, but immediately took off in the direction of his car.

“Yah, Yoo Youngjae!” Daehyun’s voice yelled after him.

The omega was about to run faster, but he thought about it logically – if he continued avoiding the idol, wouldn’t he just continue stalking him? If he really wanted Daehyun to go away, he should tell him to, instead of assuming the other would get the hint. Daehyun would probably never realise it, if he hadn’t gotten it by now.

He stopped and turned around, facing the alpha.

“Youngjae.” The idol’s eyes softened and a handsome smile broke out on his face.

“No, Daehyun-ssi,” he bit out. “Please stop.”

Daehyun froze.

“I don’t want to duet with you,” the omega continued, swallowing when he saw the singer flinch. “I only agreed because I was drunk and you were my idol. I’m sorry.”

“But you said…”

“I was drunk and on my heat, Daehyun-ssi. I don’t think promises made when intoxicated count, or promises on heat.” Youngjae said. It hurt, seeing the man look down sadly, but he reminded himself that Daehyun only looked that upset because he couldn’t make money off him anymore. “I would appreciate it if you stopped looking for me, since I’m not interested in a music career right now, or ever.”

The alpha didn’t say anything as Youngjae got into the car and began to drove off, trying to ignore the guilt tugging at his heart.

 

“Now that we’re alone, we can talk freely,” Juhyeon gestured for the maids and butlers to leave the room, and they followed her instruction.

“Junhong,” she said, looking at the omega. Junhong blinked. “If you have ever thought that I have disliked you, I’m very sorry. I actually am very grateful for your friendship with Jongup.”

“Then… Why?”

“I wanted to humiliate Yongguk, and I thought revealing secrets about you, his partner, would be the best way to do so,” she confessed. “It was very immature and manipulative, and I involved more people than necessary. Next time, I’ll go straight for the source,” she drawled.

The omega’s heart raced – she was going to do it again?

“Why are you so angry with him? He hasn’t done anything to you,” Junhong frowned.

“Oh, does that mean you don’t know?” the woman smirked in Yongguk’s direction. For the first time, Junhong felt Yongguk panic, his heart rate picking up as he stiffened.

“Juhyeon,” Yongguk gritted out through clenched teeth.

“Don’t you think your husband deserves to know?”

The alpha flinched, “Juhyeon, please.”

“Begging now?” she smiled sadistically. “Sorry, Yongguk, but I don’t think I can allow you to manipulate your husband, like you used to do with my son.”

“What?” Junhong felt confused.

She her lips, her smile widening as she saw Yongguk’s eyes widen.

“You’re not the first person Yongguk has married.”

Junhong’s breath hitched and he turned to Yongguk. He didn’t know what to say.

“Junhong, she’s lying,” Yongguk said quickly, grabbing onto the boy’s hand.

“Maybe you should ask Jongup, then?” the woman raised a brow. A snarl ripped from Yongguk’s throat in her direction.

Junhong took a step back, head reeling from shock – but everything made sense. Why Jongup and Yongguk hated each other, why Juhyeon didn’t like him…

The woman crossed her arms, looking satisfied with herself as she exited the room, leaving the two to argue on their own. She was proud. Taking Yongguk’s husband away was the worst thing she could’ve done, she knew that now. In the process, Junhong was also going to be hurt, but that was always going to be inevitable. He deserved to know the truth.

“Is she really lying to me, hyung? Or have you been lying to me the entire time?”

Junhong knew as soon as Yongguk hesitated.

“Jongup and I… yes. we were married.” Yongguk said honestly, and Junhong shook his head.

“You can’t tell me the truth now, hyung. I asked you a few days ago and you said nothing was going on between you guys.” Yongguk had lied. He had lied, in a perfectly calm manner, without even thinking about telling the truth.

“Nothing was going on! Before you, I hadn’t even seen Jongup in a year,” the alpha said desperately. His eyes fell onto Junhong’s hand, and the boy knew that he wanted to hold him, to tell him that it was going to be fine, but he also knew it wasn’t going to be.

 “You still should’ve told me! Avoiding the question like that might as well be lying,” he choked back a sob – he didn’t want to cry now. He couldn’t believe it. Rage built up in his chest. The only two alphas he had ever trusted had lied to him, kept a secret, played him. It hurt, and Junhong didn’t know who he was angrier at: his best friend of two years, or the man he loved more than anyone else.

And Yongguk knew how hard Junhong had tried, how much he had suffered, because he wasn’t an alpha, how he was always lied to, always kept out of the loop, because of his omega status – he knew, and he had betrayed him.

He swallowed, feeling the sharp prick of tears forming, and then the wetness on his cheeks. Yongguk made a strangled noise from the back of his throat, as if it hurt him physically to see his omega crying.

“Why did you keep this from me?”

“I… should’ve told you what had happened, or why I didn’t want you to come today,” he whispered. “I’m sorry, Junhong.”

He wasn’t answering the question, and the expression on his face spoke more than just regret – and when Junhong focused, he could only feel even more guilt, not just regret.

The omega stepped back even further, as if afraid of him.

“This isn’t the only secret, is it, Yongguk?” he asked quietly. “There’s something else you aren’t telling me.”

“Junhong–”

 “What is it, hyung? Why are you so afraid of telling me? Do you think I’m too weak to handle it, because I’m an omega?” He scoffed, raising his voice. “That’s it, isn’t it hyung? Because I’m a ing weak omega–”

“We’re not married.”

If Junhong was holding something, he would’ve dropped it.

“What are you saying, of course we are.” His head spun; their marriage was something he knew to be true. Junseo gave him the contract, he signed it with his own hand. “No, hyung, you’re lying to me again–”

“You signed the marriage contract on your heat, Junhong. The union is legally void.”

“But I was on suppressants. We’re living together,” the boy whispered, trying to convince himself. It wasn’t true, it couldn’t be…

“Doesn’t count. All omegas on heats, even with suppressants, can be coerced into signing contracts. It’s illegal,” the man told him, like he wasn’t taking away the only stability Junhong had.

“Y-You…” he stammered. “We were meant to be together.”

“I was giving you freedom,” Yongguk murmured. Freedom. Junhong didn’t want that, he wanted Yongguk.

The tears were unstoppable now, like rivers running down his face. He could hardly breathe, shuddering and sniffling. Yongguk reached out, but the boy flinched away.

Everything was a lie.

“Don’t.”

He took a single step back and then ran.

 

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catch me @junhng!

i bet some of you thought the drama ended last chapter haha. even though this was kind of a plot twist, its been hinted at since chapter 13, when law-genius youngjae said he couldnt sign any contracts with daehyun because he'd be on heat. maybe some of you guessed it?

dont worry though!! i wont write a fic that ends in angst;; that would be cruel bc i tagged this fic as fluff lol

comment/upvote if you feel like it! tell me what you think :D