019

 

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Youngjae felt like a child.

He was actually pouting.

“You’re leaving?” he asked Junhong, who was looking very amused. “I really don’t mind! You can stay here forever.” His eyes flickered sadly to the remainder of the dinner on the table – if Junhong stayed, Youngjae would get delicious food for the rest of his life.

“I can’t burden you for that long,” Junhong said, laughing. “You’ve done too much for me already.” A few days ago, Junhong would’ve said that Youngjae was only an acquaintance, but now, he was at least a friend – he was the first omega friend Junhong ever had.

Still, Junhong couldn’t stay with him; he was only twenty-one, supporting another person would be too much work for him. Jongup’s mother was loaded, and could house a hundred people if she wanted to, and, after all she’d done, Junhong didn’t feel bad about burdening her at all. Besides, Youngjae worked too closely with Yongguk, and Junhong worried that if Yongguk found out that he was living with Youngjae, the older omega would be punished.

“It’s okay, Junhong. I’m glad you’ve sorted everything out,” Youngjae said genuinely. He didn’t want the omega to suffer any longer.

“Not everything, but I’m alright,” the boy said, his eyes dropping to the empty bowl in front of him. A silence settled between them.

Youngjae noted his sudden quietness and frowned. “Junhong-ah, if there’s anything you want to ask me, or anything you want to say, don’t hesitate. I’ll try to help.” Junhong’s eyes lifted and he looked up to see the warm eyes of the other omega, and his bottom lip trembled.

“I think Yongguk only married me because he pitied me, hyung,” the teen confessed, spilling the thoughts that had plagued his mind for the past few hours. “I think that’s why he didn’t make it legitimate, so he could leave it any time he wanted.” He swallowed, trying not to shake. He thought releasing his thoughts would make him feel better, but they only made him feel worse.

Youngjae’s frown deepened, “But if he married you out of pity, he wouldn’t have stayed.”

Junhong shook his head, “I’m not finished. At first, it might have been about pity, but I think it turned into revenge.”

Youngjae’s frowned deepened.

“We became an actual couple the same night Juhyeon released that news report about our marriage — actually, it was directly after we watched her show.” He bit his lip. “I think Yongguk was trying to make a statement to her, by remaining happily married with me while I was still best friends with Jongup.”

The secretary looked upset, “You really think so?”

“Yeah,” Junhong sighed. “Do you think I’m overreacting? Be honest.”

“… I thought you were, at the beginning, but it does seem suspicious that you got together right after her report,” Youngjae admitted, his eyes looking at the other omega with pity.

“I thought so,” Junhong’s lips were pursed in disappointment, but he still appreciated Youngjae’s confirmation. His eyes stung, and he desperately tried to change the topic.

“Um, what did you do today? Did you just go exercising in the park again?”

Youngjae froze, eyes widening. “Uh, no, not really. I… I actually went to see Daehyun,” he admitted, feeling his cheeks heat up. Junhong smiled knowingly, but didn’t tease the other; he wasn’t sure if Youngjae was aware of his own feelings.

“I’ll clean everything up,” Youngjae said quickly, standing up and gathering all the plates. “You should go study, or something.” He was busy trying to hide the blush on his face.

“Youngjae-hyung, I should help, I–”

“Don’t worry about it Junhong, you cooked,” Youngjae gave him a satisfied smile. He carried the plates in his hands, ready to bring them to the kitchen. “It’s fine.”

The boy faltered, looking worried. Youngjae raised a brow, but Junhong simply nodded and ran away, back into the guest room, calling his thanks out before closing the door.

When Youngjae finally walked into the kitchen, looking like it had been hit by a bomb, he understood why Junhong was so eager to get out of cleaning. There were at least twelve forks littered around the kitchen – and the boy had made soup.

Instead of annoyance, Youngjae only felt fondness.

It was nice to have someone younger than him around, for once.

He was about to get to work when his phone vibrated in his back pocket.

Jung Daehyun: good news!!! My manager says you can come down to the studio anytime you want to record! You have to sign a few contracts but then we can start :)

Yoo Youngjae: So soon?

Jung Daehyun: yeah, album production is pretty quick. How does Saturday sound?

Youngjae couldn’t help but feel disappointed. As much as he would deny it, he had fun with Daehyun. The elder was certainly a very talented singer, and he was really funny as well – Youngjae was looking forward to spending more time with him.

Yoo Youngjae: Saturday’s good.

 

The next day, after Youngjae left for work, Junhong received a call from Jongup, telling him to go outside.

“Isn’t it too early to go to uni?” the boy questioned. It was only seven. He went anyway, ensuring to lock the apartment. Jongup hadn’t actually agreed to go back to school after missing three days, but he did offer to drop Junhong off, and pick him up when he finished. Junhong wondered if the alpha cared about his education, but he probably wasn’t too fussed about it. School was easy for him.

“We’re going to the estate first. Anyway, just come down, I have a surprise,” Jongup said vaguely, and Junhong frowned, his steps quickening. Jongup hung up, and Junhong frowned as he entered the elevator. He sent a quick text to Youngjae, letting him know he was leaving and that he locked up.

Jongup’s car was parked outside the building, but the alpha was still inside. Junhong opened the door, only to be greeted by the sight of his dog, barking loudly, and Jongup looking mildly uncomfortable.

“Mochi!” He cried, reaching over to take the puppy from Jongup’s hold. The dog yipped and his cheek energetically, wriggling in his grasp. Jongup watched the two fondly, reaching over to shut the door, since Junhong had forgotten to. He told the new bodyguard to start driving, reminding Junhong to put on his seat belt.

“How did you get him?” Junhong asked, finally calming the puppy down and his fur. Mochi seemed a lot more relaxed, after seeing his owner. Seeing the happiness on both dog and owner’s faces, Jongup was only slightly bitter that Mochi peed on him.

The alpha shrugged, “I just went to Yongguk’s place and asked.”

“Asked?”

“Demanded, actually,” Jongup admitted. “I guilt-tripped him a lot, but I couldn’t get any of your other things.”

The alpha didn’t want to tell him that Yongguk seemed extremely regretful already, but adamant about keeping Mochi at his apartment. He thought that, as long as Mochi was with him, Junhong would come back at least once. He was clearly heartbroken, but Jongup refused to tell him anything about Junhong, and took the dog.

Junhong’s smile faltered, and he nodded, looking out of the window. “Did… he look okay?” the omega asked quietly, avoiding the alpha’s eyes.

“No,” Jongup said truthfully. Yongguk’s eyebags shadowed his face, like he hadn’t slept in the two days Junhong was gone, and he constantly asked Jongup if Junhong was okay, and if he was coming back. “He asked about you.”

“Oh.” Junhong swallowed, not wanting to know any more. His heart ached at the thought of the alpha.

Jongup misunderstood, thinking that Junhong was worried about Yongguk coming to see him. “He’s still banned from the estate,” the boy said, eyebrows furrowing when Junhong stiffened. He had no idea what the omega was thinking about.

“What do you have planned for today?” Junhong asked, changing the subject.

“Before anything, I need to change out of these pants,” Jongup grimaced, feeling sick. He glared at the puppy, who snuggled into Junhong.

The omega laughed, and hugged the dog to his chest.

“I’ll go to the hospital after I drop you off at uni,” Jongup said, and brightened. “The nurses said that, even though Himchan-hyung is in a coma, he has some understanding of what’s going on around him, so I’ll tell him to wake up soon.” His expression was so hopeful, Junhong didn’t want to say anything that would ruin his mood.

The car pulled up at the estate, and Jongup immediately pushed the doors open, eager to change. He ran inside without a look back, waddling uncomfortably.

Junhong poked his dog’s nose, and Mochi snapped at his fingers playfully, a mischievous gleam in his eyes. The omega rolled his eyes and left the car, trailing after the alpha.

“I’m going to shower!” Jongup yelled through the halls, as soon as Junhong stepped foot into the mansion. “Pick whatever room you like!”

Junhong’s eyes furrowed at the choice. There were at least fifteen spare rooms, since Jongup’s brothers had moved out, but Junhong had never actually gone inside them. Whenever he slept over at Jongup’s place, they just shared a room.

He placed Mochi on the floor and walked through the hallways, picking the first door he saw. The omega tentatively opened the door, and his puppy ran in, immediately curling into a corner.

Junhong swallowed, seeing the large space around the already-made bed. He took a step forward, and sat down on the bed, feeling the springs sink underneath his weight.

The bed was comfortable, but it wasn’t Yongguk’s.

Without Yongguk, could he ever feel at home?

 

“Sir, is there anything you’d like me to get done today?” Youngjae poked his head into Yongguk’s office, his eyes widening when he saw the state of the room. Papers were strewn everywhere, and Yongguk had his head in his hands, eyes closed.

The alpha looked up, and immediately shook his head. “Everything you need to do today is outlined in your schedule. There’s nothing else that needs to be done.”

Youngjae stayed silent. His schedule was empty; he checked it first thing in the morning. Junhong’s departure must have really affected the CEO; Youngjae wondered how much he had actually worked in the past two days. He was about to close the door when Yongguk stood, looking over the papers on his desk.

He picked them all up and strode over to Youngjae, pushing them into his arms.

“Get rid of these.”

The secretary looked down, reading the first page.

Union of Bang Yongguk and Choi Junhong.

Yongguk was staring at him, his eyes bloodshot and hair messy. Youngjae took the papers and gave him a curt nod, a frown forming on his face.

“Should I shred them?”

“Anything is fine,” Yongguk muttered, and dragged himself back to his seat. He collapsed and heaved a loud sigh.

Youngjae left quickly, heading for the shredding machines. He had to force himself not to feel any sympathy for the elder; even if he felt bad for Yongguk, the alpha still lied to Junhong.

The paper shredder ate the first page greedily, loud whirring noises sounding its satisfaction. Youngjae shoved all of the pages in at once, watching as all forty-six papers were teared into unreadable strips by the machine. It was strangely satisfying, watching the heap pile up. Yongguk finally accepted that he couldn’t force Junhong to stay with him.

The secretary sighed, wondering if that meant he got the day off, since he had nothing to do. Before he knew it, he was picturing a day with Daehyun, going through their song again.

Yongguk wouldn’t care, he reasoned with himself, going to his cubicle to fetch his car keys. He took out his phone, dialing a number. His phone rang five times before Daehyun picked up.

“Hello?” A deep voice answered, sounding like a half-yawn.

“Daehyun-ssi… Did I wake you?” The omega bit his lip, already feeling guilty. It was barely eight, of course he was asleep.

“Youngjae!? No, you didn’t, I was already awake.”

The alpha was obviously lying; his voice was still husky from sleep. Youngjae frowned. Daehyun was too kind, pretending that the omega wasn’t bothering him.

“N-No, it’s okay, I’ll call you later.”

“Jae, what’s up? I was going to wake up soon anyway.”

“Are you sure?” Youngjae asked uncertainly.

“Promise.”

“Um, well, I’m free today, so I was wondering if I could pick up the contract today? Unless you’re too busy!” Youngjae burst out, immediately quietening. He was obviously too excited.

Daehyun chuckled, and Youngjae felt his cheeks heat. “Yeah, I’m free today. Could you come down to the recording studio in half an hour? I’ll text you the address.”

“I’ll see you soon!” Youngjae said cheerfully, his legs already moving. As soon as the call ended, he received a text from the alpha, telling him where to go.

Youngjae took the elevator down to the ground floor, feeling giddy. He was about to leave the building when a voice called out behind him.

“You’re leaving early, Youngjae!”

The secretary immediately turned around, a grin on his face. He walked over to Hyerim, deciding he could spare a few minutes to chat. He blinked, seeing Yongnam was already with her.

“Yeah, Yongguk said he didn’t have anything for me to do today,” the secretary said, nodding at Yongnam. Hyerim nodded, her eyes sad.

“He hasn’t been the same since the breakfast… What do you think happened?”

Youngjae glanced at Yongnam. Was Hyerim really trying to gossip about Yongguk in front of his brother? Surprisingly, Yongnam didn’t look fazed, looking at Youngjae as if wondering what he thought.

“Not sure,” Youngjae lied, and Hyerim drooped her shoulders.

“Maybe he’s stressed?” Hyerim wondered, and Youngjae shrugged.

“Don’t worry yourself with Yongguk’s matters,” Yongnam said coolly, resting against the receptionist’s desk. “He’s discovering what it’s like to be an adult and own up to your mistakes.” He smirked, but Youngjae could tell he was worried as well – there was no other reason why he was at the Bang Building instead of at home, where he usually worked.

Hyerim looked confused, but decided not to question him. She turned to the secretary, a smile on her face, “Where were you heading off to, Youngjae? A date? You looked pretty excited.”

“Oh, I’m just going to see a friend,” Youngjae answered, immediately wondering if Daehyun even considered him as a friend. He rejected the idea immediately; Daehyun probably only saw him as a duet partner. They barely knew each other, anyway.

“Oh, have fun then!” Hyerim said cheerfully, and waved. Youngjae did the same, nodding at Yongnam before practically skipping out of the door.

The recording studio was nearby, but Youngjae didn’t recall ever seeing it before. He was there in less than fifteen minutes, looking up at the intimidating building. It wasn’t as tall as the Bang Building – it was hardly ten storeys – but there was a huge poster of DAE covering the front, teasing his new album. He stared up at the giant poster, almost laughing when he saw the album name. DAENGER. How long could his entertainment company continue making album titles with his name?

Below the title name was a subtitle: COMING DECEMBER 5TH. Daehyun had already told him that the album was scheduled for release in two months; the secretary didn’t understand why there was so much promotion for it already.

Youngjae swallowed, staring up at the poster. Even though he thought Daehyun was the most attractive in real life, poster-Daehyun was almost as ridiculously handsome. His hair was styled up, showing off his forehead and his eyes gazing at the camera. A slight smirk played on his lips, and he leaned against a wall.

Youngjae didn’t know how long he stood there, staring up at the image, but fifteen minutes must have passed, since he only snapped out of his daze when he felt something press down on his head.

Daehyun grinned at him, and Youngjae reached up to adjust the baseball cap the singer put on him before giving the man a smile.

“Hi,” he said, and Daehyun’s grin widened.

“Hey.”

Youngjae turned to check himself out in his car mirror, and nodded, satisfied. He still looked good. “What’s the cap for?”

“Anonymity,” the man explained, taking Youngjae’s hand and pulling him towards the entrance of the building. “We have to see my manager first, but you don’t have to talk to him if you don’t want to,” the alpha continued. He opened the door and Youngjae blinked. It was mostly empty, but Daehyun didn’t mill around for long – he walked across the lobby and around a corner, leading them into a hallway.

“Why?” the secretary asked, following diligently whilst looking around in amazement.

“I have to collect the papers,” the idol smiled cheerfully. “Signing them probably take a few hours, since you’re definitely going to read all the fine print and stuff, huh?”

Youngjae nodded seriously, and the man laughed. “Okay, come with me.”

Daehyun walked into a room, and immediately balked at the sight of others, his grip on Youngjae’s arm releasing.

“DAE-sunbae!”

Youngjae froze as soon as he realised that they were trainees, a group of seven girls who were beaming at him. One of them was holding a selfie stick, and even from a distance, Youngjae could see that they were filming themselves. The omega pulled the cap lower, hoping it properly hid half of his face. If the girls even noticed him, they didn’t say anything.

“Are you doing a broadcast?” Daehyun asked dumbly.

 “Yeah!” one of them smiled at him. “Sunbae, would you like to say something?” She gestured at the phone, where comments began flooding in at record speed. Daehyun knew his image would depend on his response, even though he didn’t particularly want to say anything.

“Hey guys,” Daehyun waved at the phone – Youngjae wondered if talking to an inanimate object in front of others was weird for him, or if he was used to it, but he kept his head down. He overheard the girls whispering to each other as Daehyun was speaking.

“Hey, do you know who that is? A new trainee?”

“I have no idea. Maybe he’s a new manager?”

Youngjae flushed in embarrassment. He really hated receiving attention.

“Please give these girls a lot of support during their debut soon!” Daehyun finished, his speech short, but polite. He gave the girls a blinding grin. “Sorry, we can’t stay. See you guys!” He waved, pulling Youngjae out of the door they had come through.

As soon as he closed the door again, an apology rushed out of his mouth, and he stared at Youngjae guiltily. “I know you wanted it to be a secret, Youngjae, I’m sorry…”

“It’s fine,” Youngjae shrugged, looking away. “Maybe I hid my face well enough so it couldn’t be seen?”

Daehyun frowned. “I’m sorry. I should’ve checked before we went in…”

“Let’s just go see your manager,” the omega suggested, not wanting to dwell on the subject, in case Daehyun asked him why he wanted to be anonymous in the first place. Luckily, the alpha seemed guilty enough not to interrogate him, and walked through another room, making sure to check it was empty first.

“The offices are connected to the dance rooms,” Daehyun explained, and Youngjae tried to hold in his gasp. This dance room was the one that Daehyun did all his videos in.

The alpha strode across the room and reached to open the door, gesturing for Youngjae to follow him. Youngjae pulled the cap down and did so, already curious.

“This is… the person I’m doing the duet with. He wants to stay anonymous though,” Daehyun said, wrapping an arm around Youngjae’s shoulders and smiling at his manager. Youngjae couldn’t see what his manager looked like, since the cap was pulled down. “Can I have the contract?”

“He’s off his heat, correct?” a deep voice asked, and Youngjae looked up to see a kind-looking middle-aged man. Daehyun’s manager caught his eyes and smiled, and Youngjae looked down shyly.

“Yes, sir,” Youngjae murmured. Daehyun exhaled, a soft smile on his face as he gazed at the younger who was pretty much huddled next to him.

“Awesome, so, here,” the man held out a pile of papers, and Youngjae took them. “After you sign those, you can come and record whenever you like. Or just come and support Daehyun when he records, Daehyun seems to like you a lot.”

Daehyun bristled, looking embarrassed, “Are you done?”

“Yes, yes,” his manager chuckled and waved, as Daehyun hustled Youngjae out of the room. Youngjae clutched the papers tightly, already looking forward to signing them and getting them out of the way.

The alpha brought them back to the front of the building, where no one else could overhear them. Youngjae wondered how Daehyun got there; he couldn’t see a car in sight.

“I’ll sign these before Saturday,” the omega promised. He could already tell he was going to spend the next two days curled up at his coffee table, signing the papers while eating some crappy takeaway food and watching a lame TV show. “Thank you for doing this,” he said gratefully. “And I’m sorry about waking you up.”

“You didn’t wake me up,” Daehyun said automatically, and Youngjae gave a look that showed that he didn’t buy it.

“Well, if you’re free for the rest of today…” the alpha suddenly looked nervous. “Maybe we could go to a café together? You could start on those papers and I could get breakfast.”

Youngjae was about to agree, but he caught on his words. He had already told Daehyun that their duet was only business – Youngjae felt like he would only be heartbroken once he recorded the song and Daehyun wanted nothing to do with him anymore.

He hesitated, and Daehyun’s eyes saddened. “I’m sorry, Daehyun-ssi, but I don’t think that would be smart.”

The alpha paused. “Wait, what?”

“This duet is business only,” Youngjae muttered, swallowing. “I don’t think we should become close.”

“Is this about your friend you’re doing this for?” Daehyun asked. “I get that you need to do this for someone else and I don’t mind, but why can’t we…?” Realisation dawned on him, “Oh my god. You’re dating someone else.”

Youngjae spluttered, “What? No!”

Daehyun blinked, but his shoulders relaxed. “Then what’s the problem?”

“When this song is over… I’ll return to my office job, and you’ll continue being great superstar DAE,” the omega said, his eyes lifting from the ground to meet Daehyun’s, “There’s no need for us to fake friendship when we’re going separate ways anyway.” He winced at how harsh he sounded, but he wasn’t expecting to see Daehyun look so devastated.

“Is that what you think?” the man asked quietly, looking hurt. Suddenly Youngjae was filled with regret, but all he could do was shrug.

“I don’t want this to stop when we finish recording, Youngjae,” the alpha said, his voice steady, and Youngjae watched as Daehyun stepped closer.

“I’m not doing another duet,” Youngjae mumbled, instinctively stepping back.

“No, Youngjae,” Daehyun said, sounding exasperated. “I don’t care if you don’t want to sing ever again. I want us to continue, as friends, or…” he trailed off and his frown deepened. “You mean more to me than just a voice.”

Youngjae was staring at him, eyes wide.

“You’re my muse,” the alpha confessed, forgetting his earlier nerves. “Ever since I met you, I’ve liked music. I’ve written, like, twelve songs in the past four days, which is weird because I’ve only written four before in my life, and my manager says they’re actually really good, so two of the songs I’ve written are going to be on the album too, because of you.”

Youngjae was silent, jaw dropped.

“Could we be friends?” Daehyun asked finally, his eyes hopeful, and the omega felt his mouth dry.

“You… idiot,” Youngjae muttered. “You’re the celebrity, you shouldn’t be asking me this,” he said weakly, but there was a smile on his face.

Daehyun mirrored his smile and moved forward, capturing Youngjae’s hands in his own. “Is that a yes?”

The omega nodded, his gaze dropping to their intertwined hands.

“What café are we going to?”

 

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S E L F - P R O M O : @junhng :)

just a warning for a timeskip of a few months in next chapter, don't be surprised!

daejae becoming a couple is never explicitly written, mainly because i kind of consider this a confession anyway. it's like a friend/boyfriend confession, kind of. it's kind of obvious daehyun likes youngjae lol

 

 

if you liked this chapter make sure to leave a comment or upvote this fic!! (i sound like a youtuber lol)