‘Hey, Jun.’ Wonwoo leaned against the rail where his friend was on, looking around the beach. Unwrapping one of the ice creams he just bought, he offered one to the tanned man who quickly bit it and brought it to his own hand. ‘’Sup.’

‘You’re so burnt.’

‘Still handsome though.’ Wonwoo laughed through his nose at that confidence. Typical Jun. ‘So… about this Thursday…’

‘Uh-uh.’

‘I-uh… Jeonghan’s uhm…’ He didn’t know how to start the conversation. He was supposed to go back home to his parents with Jun in three days but he couldn’t do that anymore. Not right now. Because everyone will notice his unbroken bond and it would break their hearts; again. He didn’t want that to happen again.

‘Jeonghan said anything?’

Wonwoo looked back at the other, smiling weakly to show he was listening but returned to stare at the melting ice cream in his hand. Since the night he was notified about his bond, Wonwoo couldn’t even get himself out of the bed. He didn’t know how to get himself out of the situation alone, but he didn’t want to let the people around him know because he would let them down the second time. It was stressing him so badly he had random attacks as a result. For two days, Jeonghan told the others he caught a cold when in truth, Wonwoo was busy crying. It was clear he needed help but suddenly disappearing would alert the two betas, and the mere thought of that worsened his conditions. Feeling pity for the younger, Jeonghan offered a short-term solution until they can figure out how to move forward. ‘He told me about this uh, this vol-volunteer program at uh, a shelter. For people like me. And I want to join.’

‘Owh. Okay, when’s that? In Changwon?’

‘No. It’s in Seoul. For the summer.’ He paused, waiting for an answer. Jun was looking ahead towards the horizon, his face unreadable which made Wonwoo nervous. ‘The whole summer, so I won’t be back this time…’

There was a disturbing silent as Jun sat, biting his ice cream cone and chewing it slowly. He was thinking hard, ‘Do they need more people? I can volunteer too…’

‘No… it’s for omegas only.’ Which was a lie. Yes, he was volunteering at an omega house and the only ones not allowed are alphas but, he didn’t want Jun there. He knew his friend wanted to show his support but he needed his time alone to calm down and think. 

‘Really? Alright then…’ Jun wrapped one of his hand around Wonwoo’s neck and pulled him in for a headlock. Shocked, Wonwoo almost dropped his own ice cream on the ground. Thankfully his reflex was good and he caught the cone by his fist, crushing it in his hands.

‘WHAT THE HELL?’

‘That’s for getting sick during the break, you pale monkey! No ice cream for you!’

‘DIE!!!’ Wonwoo threw what was in his grip towards the darker male and jumped on the rail to the other side, ready to tackle and beat the man to his death.

*****

Looking around the gated and fully secured building, Wonwoo bowed at who seemed to be the head of the facility. The man with grey hair, probably in his late sixties bowed back to them and proceeded to hug the older omega, a look of familiarity evident on his face. Jeonghan responded with a tighter hug which caused the elder to cough a little as they both released each other with laughter. Wonwoo showed the old man an awkward smile when he was finally acknowledge, unsure of how to react.‘You must be Jeon.’

‘Yes. Jeon Wonwoo. I uh…’ He didn’t prepare any self-introduction. He thought they were going straight to doing volunteer jobs.

‘Your first time volunteering?’ he nodded. ‘Thank you. So wha-?’

‘It’s uh… big.’ The old man looked at him bemusedly before laughing and patting the confused omega’s back to which Wonwoo responded by looking at his brown-haired senior for help. How do one communicate with an elder? Should he laugh? He was so lost right now. Did he said anything wrong? Why was the man laughing?

‘Ahjusshi, he’s a bit tired. He couldn’t get any sleep last night.’

‘Really? We can’t have you stand up so long then. Come, let’s have some rest in my office.’ With that, the man guided both of them to a simple office with a desk and a few chairs. Jeonghan took a seat without being asked, leaving Wonwoo standing, not knowing whether he should ask for permission to sit or follow his senior. In a formal occasion, he should do the latter so he waited. Until the two other man laughed at him. ‘Yah, don’t be so stiff. I’m not that strict on manners.’

‘Wonu-yah. Come on.’ Jeonghan patted beside him and Wonwoo did as he was told. A teacup was placed in front of each of them but the younger was internally disappointed it wasn’t coffee. Apparently the old man couldn’t drink the bitter beverage because it makes him ‘poop’, but Wonwoo didn’t like tea. And he was really tired from lack of sleep. He really couldn’t concentrate on anything the man was saying. All he heard was something about helping with the cleaning and cooking, both of which Wonwoo was not very good at, and sometimes look after the smaller ones, which Wonwoo at.

‘Are all omega houses this big?’ He accidentally asked out loud while the other two were updating each other about their lives. Wonwoo never been to one so he was a bit curious. This place was as big as a school!

‘This place is also a shelter so it’s bigger than other houses.’ The man replied with a warm smile, ‘We have our own therapists and consultant, and dorms for the victims and volunteers. Normal houses only have a few rooms for emergencies. You want to go around?’

Wonwoo looked back at Jeonghan who smiled back at him to encourage the younger. He didn’t know what to do in the room since the other two were busy talking among themselves about memories they shared that Wonwoo was not a part of. Since he already finished staring at all the decorations and couldn’t drink the tea to distract himself longer, he was already bored. Too bored he was trying really hard not to yawn and stretch right there and then. ‘Ahjusshi, can we go to our room first? Wonwoo had a long day so he is a bit tired.’

It was a simple statement but Wonwoo was so thankful to Jeonghan for noticing. He managed to catch the momentary sad look on the elder’s face as he nodded to Jeonghan. ‘Sure. Of course. Go to your room now. Come down whenever you want. The schedule’s are on the board as usual. You know the drill.’ The man patted Wonwoo’s shoulder, squeezing them lightly and showed them the door.

Wonwoo looked around building, the main building opposite them is where every activities are held everyday, and the smaller building they were in was the accommodations for those who needed help. Just like their dorms back in campus, it was really quiet minus the sounds of children playing in the garden. He also couldn’t help but notice all the security cameras placed in almost every corner. As expected from an omega house.

Too busy turning his head around, Wonwoo bumped onto the older omega who was now unlocking an old-looking door. As soon as he entered the small room with a single bed, he noticed the pictures of young Jeonghan in a few frames. ‘Well. This is my room. Wait here, I’ll go get a mattress from the store.’

‘Okay’ Wonwoo put his bag on the floor and took a seat on a wooden chair. The room was really small, even smaller than their dorm rooms. There was the bed, a small cupboard, mini desk, the chair he was sitting on, and side table. Even his own room back at home was bigger than this. To think that Jeonghan spent almost six years in the room before entering university was just… impressive, in a way.

The door opened and Jeonghan set the mattress down with the covers. ‘They still have a few empty rooms you know. You sure you wanna sleep here?’

‘I won’t be able to get out of bed if I go to another room. Are you okay with me here though?’

‘Sure.’ Jeonghan patted his shoulders and proceeded unpack his stuff into his cupboard. It was still filled and decorated, as if he never left the room in the first place.‘You… still come here often?’ Wonwoo asked, curious.

‘It’s the only place I have to return to…’ The shorter male sat on the bed and took out a book from beneath his bed, flipping it and laughing once in a while. ‘I’ll move out completely next year once we find a good place. Finally. After ten years in this small room… our dorms feel like a luxury!’ He laughed lightly, not expecting the other to do the same. There was a hint of sadness in it, from the thought of leaving his safe haven for good. ‘By the way, like ahjusshi said, the therapists and consultants also live here. They work in shifts so you can go meet them anytime you want… If you want.’

‘I’ll think about it.’ Lying on the slightly hard surface, Wonwoo turned to his side to face the wall. ‘Hyung? Did you tell him?’

‘No. Why?’

‘Nothing.’ Wonwoo heard Jeonghan hummed, and some shuffling as he continued to unpack some stuffs from plastic bags. ‘Ahjusshi’s been here a long time you know. He’s seen and heard a lot of things. He can know things just by observing.’

He just know… That was somewhat unsettling to hear. What about the staffs here? Can they read people like a book too? How many people here that they passed through today knew about him? Do they only know about his marking? Or about his violators too?

Tucking himself inside the blanket, Wonwoo tried to close his eyes. Suddenly, he didn’t want to be here anymore.

‘You okay?’ Wonwoo didn’t want to answer. He wanted to sleep and run away. Hearing a sigh from behind, he decided it was okay to put down his defence and try to rest for real. He couldn’t sleep at all these past few nights, his nightmares had started to haunt him again, this time worse than before. The sleeping pills help him the first few hours but the effect didn’t last as long as they did when he first took them a year ago, and he would still end up waking in sweat and tears.  

‘And Wonwoo…?’ He waited for a reply which didn’t come. Jeonghan noticed the lack of movement but it was still too fast for the man to be fully asleep. It was obvious Wonwoo could still hear him, he just didn’t want to respond. ‘There are lots of programs for people like us. You are free to join if you want. You’re not alone here.’

Wonwoo let out a long breath. Opening his eyes and staring at the white wall, he suddenly felt sick to his stomach.

People like them… This place was filled with people like them. He thought he would be relieved to hear that but he wasn’t. It was disturbing. Because he saw people of all ages here. He saw children. There were many children.

Jeonghan grew up here too.

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