“Better?” Tiffany asked, entering the kitchen having just taken her second shower of the day while Taeyeon was busy cooking lunch.

"What?" Taeyeon turned towards her, puzzled by the question.

"Do I smell better now, or do I still carry the scent of Sunmi?" Tiffany approached Taeyeon, her hair still damp from the shower.

"Who is Sunmi?"

“The .”

“Oooh, she has a name then.” Taeyeon crossed her arms, prompting a chuckle from Tiffany.

"Of course, she has a name..."

"So she's not just a common ..." Taeyeon replied cheekily. “So, you are interested in her? I mean, more than your go to casual ?” 

Tiffany hesitated, unable to give a straightforward answer.

"Is that a yes?" Taeyeon raised an eyebrow.

Tiffany looked away. "I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"I don't want her to be my partner or anything," Tiffany began, attempting to clarify. "But I do enjoy spending time with her."

"So, she's your backup plan for when you need to blow off steam?" Taeyeon suggested.

Tiffany chuckled, feeling a bit embarrassed by the truth. She decided to shift the conversation slightly. "Are you jealous?" Tiffany asked playfully, secretly hoping for an affirmative response.

Taeyeon snorted, turning back to check the pan. "Why would I be jealous? I don't want to smell like garbage."

"Yeah, right," Tiffany said sarcastically.

"No, really. I don't want that."

“You said I smelled good one day.” 

“Never.” Taeyeon shook her head, prompting a smirk from Tiffany.

"Yeah, you did. Is your memory as short as your height?"

“Why you talking about my height? It's not like you're much taller.” 

“I am taller than you.” 

“For a few centimeters.”

"Still taller than you," Tiffany insisted, causing Taeyeon to roll her eyes. Tiffany giggled and moved closer to Taeyeon, leaning against the kitchen counter. "What are you cooking?" she asked, peering curiously at the pot as Taeyeon lowered the heat.

"Ramen."

Tiffany's face showed displeasure. "Ramen, really?"

"What's the problem with Ramen?" Taeyeon inquired, looking at her.

"It just feels... kinda sad."

"Sad?"

"Yeah, you know, that image of nerds who do nothing but stay at home all day cooking ramen in their basement?"

"I'm one of those nerds," Taeyeon admitted, prompting laughter from Tiffany. 

"Well, the point is, you don't need to be.”

"Why are you talking about my food?" Taeyeon blinked. "Ramen is cheap and easy, and I'm not in the mood for anything fancy, so Ramen it is." She added the noodles to the boiling water.

"I don't know, it just feels sad. Besides, isn't Ramen mostly eaten at night, like for supper?"

"I'm going out tonight," Taeyeon revealed. Tiffany crossed her arms.

"Oh, are you?"

"Yes, meeting Heechul."

Tiffany chuckled. "You ask me to stop seeing my ',' and then you go meet your ''?"

"Heechul is not my ," Taeyeon clarified. "He's my friend."

"You see him every weekend."

"Well, yeah, because he's my friend and invites me to go to places with him."

"What kind of places?"

"Restaurants, pubs, norebangs, those kinds of places."

"Is he omega kin?"

"Of course!" Taeyeon replied matter-of-factly. "Do you think I'd hang out with him as much as I do if he wasn't?"

Tiffany shrugged her shoulders as if saying, "I don't know." "Can omegas develop feelings for other omegas?" she asked curiously. 

Taeyeon looked a bit confused. “What's stopping us from liking one another?” 

“I don't know. We alphas are not really drawn to other members of our kin. We hang out as friends but that's all. We don’t really pursue romantic relationships with each other."” 

“That's because you're s.” Tiffany giggled for her quick answer. 

“We are not s!” 

"Yes, you are!" Taeyeon retorted playfully. "You guys are s, douchebags, freaking ." Tiffany smiled, shaking her head. "And you guys could never thrive in an all-alpha relationship—too much pride and selfishness in the way. So you guys need to find your partners in other castes. But the rest of us?" Taeyeon turned her head to the left. "We are nice people. And we can handle each other just fine."

"Do you like him?" Tiffany asked, referring to Heechul.

"No," Taeyeon answered. "I mean, no more than a friend, that is."

"Have you ever liked someone? More than a friend, I mean," Tiffany inquired, still curious. Taeyeon turned her body to the side, shifting her attention back to the pot on the stove.

"Of course I have." Tiffany sensed a hint of sadness in Taeyeon's reply, and her smile faded. Intrigued, Tiffany decided to ask, "What happened?"

Taeyeon sighed. "Long story short? She got into heat and was marked by an alpha. A male alpha." There was a heavy silence in the dorm. “We were fourteen at the time.” 

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