‘Dr. Mingyu, the patient’s inside.’ Mingyu nodded at the nurse, pouting to her as she patted his back, trying to hold her laughter. He lost a bet with one of his colleagues so he had to handle this one particular patient who apparently, had a huge crush on him and had been bothering the staffs for his information. He was lucky she wasn’t his department’s patient, but today, she was his patient. Because of the stupid bet he made with one Lee Seokmin.

‘She’s touchy.’ The omega nurse warned and Mingyu just wanted to run away if not for Seokmin and his other colleagues waiting outside with huge grins on their stupid faces. He held on to the nurse, begging her to go in with him but was rejected. Sighing, he put on his professional face, preparing himself mentally for the torture to come.

In the past few years, he finally made peace with the omegas; all thanks to the very professional omegas working alongside him, caring for his well-being just like they do with others. It was the first time he actually developed real, healthy relationships with them other than ual ones. He realized the reason why it was hard for him to accept them before was because that was how he had always seen them - as ual partners, or potential mates. Never once had he seen them as friends, or family, besides his real ones that is. And weirdly enough, Seungkwan was an exception. This unhealthy way of thinking made him doubt each and every one of those approaching him as having ill intentions - wanting his money or status, especially after the incident because, why else?

Only after accepting this fact did he started to notice that for one omega who was desperate for his attention, there were tens who would only admire him from afar, or didn’t show interest at all, just like how alphas or betas would react to attractive people in general. Omegas are just like them. Exactly like them. He just happened to be the attractive ones.

Beside, his desperation for one particularly attractive omega in the past was somehow very similar to those omegas’ for him. Which kind of made him ashamed of his flirting skills.

Mingyu sat behind the desk, pretending to be busy on the computer typing whatever while hearing the patient excitedly telling him redundant trivia about herself. He couldn’t wait for the result of his examinations to be announced so he could ditch this kind of jobs and start his training to become a neurological surgeon. Thanks to luck, and his superior skills and focus, in just a few years, he was quickly acknowledged as a genius and was granted the very rare opportunity to be trained as a surgeon this early in his career. He just needed a pass as a formality. Then he would be a step closer to achieving his dream.

A step closer to working as a specialist.

A step closer to working any hospital he likes.

A step closer to working in any country he likes.

*****

Mingyu sat on the chair of his new apartment as he some good Standing Egg songs to de-stress. The sky was already dark as usual, it had always been that way ever since he graduated. He rarely got back home when the sun is still up. The same nightscape greeted him who turned his back to pay attention to the new novel he just bought last weekend.

He was glad his grandmother still supported him by buying him a new, better apartment after he finished medical school because his current earnings could only afford him a small one. He wondered how much money his family had that they wouldn’t mind spending it on him, considering his extreme spending habits when he was younger. Although, he would never mentioned it but Mingyu secretly knew where he got it from - the old lady herself. Heck, she even bought new furniture for the apartment despite him having the ones in his old one because they ‘suit’ the place better. Even his kitchenware and cutlery were brand new! That was evidence enough of her bad expenditure.

That being said, he was also grateful that the old woman knew his preference to find one secluded from other places. He wouldn’t want to stumble upon his colleagues and patients outside working hours. The slight distance never bothered him at all, isolation was his first priority. The place was perfect.

Bzz! Bzz! Mingyu glanced at his phone to see a familiar name. Smirking, he quickly answered and placed the phone in front of him, finding the stand to secure it.

‘Gyu appa!!’

‘Aigoo! Hanna-yah!’ He chuckled when another pair of hands appeared as the newcomer tried to push his sister’s face to get in the screen. Now the only part he could see were the squished cheeks. As usual, the two started to argue, and as usual, he heard their mother screaming nearby.

‘Hanna-yah, let Seungie join too…’ He gently requested as Seungkwan finally appeared to break the two apart. Not long after, Hansol appeared with some food in his hand, palming his face at the commotion. By this time, the phone with Mingyu’s face was already placed near the television so both the kids could see him, and he them. Laughing at their cute antics, getting slightly tired at hearing them blabbering nonsense about their favourite toys, the alpha finally decided to speak with the parents who was now seated at the dining table, enjoying their night snacks.

‘Seungkwan, why are you getting skinnier? Shouldn’t you be bloated with all that food?’ He saw Hansol getting triggered by the comment and laughed loudly at that victory. Hansol never react to anything strongly unless it involved Seungkwan so Mingyu loved to do just that. The pregnant omega was already immune to him so it was no fun teasing without the younger alpha around. ‘I’m joking! Geez. By the way, why are the kids still up?’

‘The kindergarten closed today so they slept all day.’ Seungkwan answered, looking tired with his dark under eyes. Mingyu sympathized with him, having to deal with the two naughty kids while being pregnant with another must be tough on him. Though he missed having the sassy omega around the hospital to entertain him, he understood the man’s decision to stay at home. The two small beans were really handful. Mingyu would come by once in a while to help around whenever he could just to lessen the burden. Not that it bothered him, the kids loves him, and they are so precious.

‘Wonu-hyu-’ Mingyu’s heart jumped a bit when he heard that name. The movement at the upper right corner of his screen caught his attention - Hansol got up while covering his mouth as he spoke on the phone, making his way into his room and closed it. He swore he saw Seungkwan’s slightly guilt-ridden face which he was quick to cover. He pretended he didn’t hear it so things wouldn’t get awkward but he couldn’t help but be a little affected by it.

He knew there were a lot of ways Wonwoo could call Hansol but there was only one reason why Seungkwan would react like that.

His ex-mate was in Korea.

*****

Wonwoo threw his suitcase on the bed and loosen his tie as he jumped on the bed to roll around. Again, he sighed at the sight of the apartment. The fully furnished studio was pretty when he first came here, but now it was just filled with crumpled papers and books lying around. This was going to be his home for at least another two years and it was already not looking good.

Though he was over the moon the first time he got the project to design an office complex in Seoul, it soon turned out to be one of the worse projects for him, yet. In addition to him having to work alone without his colleague’s immediate support, Korean customers were really hard to deal with. He needed a lot of time to adapt with the unfamiliar business etiquette, which is a bit troublesome compared to back in France with all the bows and seniority systems. He was still learning the corporate culture. That alone was exhausting.

He knew he should be thankful because the company specifically asked for him, since for an architect in his 20s, to handle his own project was almost impossible. At the same time, he also knew this was one of the promotional tactics the company wanted to use for their new building - ‘Designed by a young Korean omega architect’ would make a very attractive tag-line. Which was why he had mixed feeling on accepting the job. If not for Piano encouraging him to take the leap, he wouldn’t even want to leave the comfort of being around his colleagues who were now like his own family.

Well, at least now he was closer to his real family. And old friends.

Looking at his phone, Wonwoo searched around his contact list for someone to invite out for a quick drink. Jun was out of the country for a job. Minghao, now a model, just got back from his hectic schedule so Wonwoo didn’t want to bother him, seeing how the man didn’t get to sleep last night. Soonyoung… was probably at home. But the omega just had a baby so there was no way he would leave his son, especially for a drink. Should he just go to Jeonghan’s? The man works at home writing books so he was his best choice.

…

He forgot the man had his book signing event in Busan. .

That leaves Hansol who has two kids at home, the most unlikely choice. But then again, Seungkwan was home too so maybe he could borrow his junior for a few hours.

Happy with his decision, he looked at his wristwatch and after confirming that it wasn’t too late, called the half-Korean man. To his delight, Hansol didn’t reject him, but asked him to wait as he asked his mate first. Smiling to himself, frowned a bit as another buzzing was felt on his cheeks. Looking at the screen, his heart fell.

It was his office in France.

Damnit. He forgot that today was their monthly meeting. He wanted to ignored it but since his colleagues moved the meeting from evening to early in the morning just so Wonwoo could still join albeit the time difference, it would be too rude to do so. Moreover, considering how he himself hated having meetings first thing in the morning, as much as he wanted to skip it for a good drink and chat-up sessions with his Korean friends, he couldn’t.

Accepting his fate, Wonwoo reluctantly apologize to his junior for the sudden change of situation. With a promise of an official visit to the young family’s house later, Wonwoo hung up and accepted the second call from the company, setting his computer up to take notes.

This was going to be a long, tiring night.

*****

‘Wonu! Look!’ The little girl ran towards him with her doll, trying to steal his attention from her parents. Seungkwan glared at her, strictly teaching her to call him ‘uncle’ but was completely ignored, frustrating him further. Wonwoo could only laugh as Hansol calmed his whiny mate. It was obvious the other omega was being extra sensitive because he needed rest, but he refused to do so as it had been a long while since he last saw Wonwoo. Five years, almost six.

‘Nonu! Uhk!’ He saw another chubby baby, running towards him in his tiny shirt and diapers, bringing his toy truck as he made his way behind his sister hastily. He heard Seungkwan whined again at Hansol, about how Hanna was teaching Seunghoon stuffs but both of them were babies, it shouldn’t matter yet. Assuring Seungkwan to let it go, Wonwoo decided to give the two kids his full attention. Every time Hanna told him about her unique-looking white plushie, the small alpha behind her would try to imitate her enthusiasm and bring up his own truck, which was amusing.

In the corner of his eyes, he could see Seungkwan smiling at his children’s antics while resting his chin on his hands, and next to him, Hansol adoring his mate. Seeing the two males who were younger than him already having this beautiful family made him feel weird inside. There was a sense of admiration but mixed with jealousy? Or maybe he just felt a bit overwhelmed.

Everyone changed so much since he left. They all went their separate ways, lived their own different lives, and the fact that he wasn’t there with them to see that change made it harder to swallow. He felt as if it was too sudden. As if he just time-slipped into the future. He still needed some time to readjust with his new life in Korea.

But all things said, he was thankful that one thing remained the same.

The bonds he developed with them from college never changed.

The babbling in front of him broke his trail of thoughts. Wonwoo chuckled softly as he realized how similar Hanna was with Seungkwan. She was already a very confident talker despite her limited vocabulary. And Seunghoon, the boy was really trying his best behind his sister. Adorably, with her taller built, only his truck could be seen. Finding himself no longer able to resist that chubby alpha, Wonwoo carried Seunghoon on his lap, so he could see both of the children, not forgetting to finally squeeze those cheeks. However, very quickly, Hansol grabbed Hanna and sat the girl on his own lap, facing her towards Wonwoo, ‘They get jealous with each other.’

That swift motion caught him by surprise, he couldn’t help but be amazed at how attentive the man was with his children even though he didn’t seem like he was paying any. Maybe being a father really changed him. Or maybe it was Seungkwan. He didn’t know. When both of them started going out, Wonwoo had been too busy trying to get his life straight to notice any change.

Taking the young parent’s advice to heart, he tried his best to alternate his attention and responses to both the kids. Seunghoon didn’t actually care, he just like being held by Wonwoo, already innocently attracted to his scent. But little Hanna would talk louder whenever he played with Seunghoon, so Wonwoo quickly learned how to handle them - by ‘talking’ to the girl while playing with the boy.

It was harder than it seemed. No wonder Seungkwan was so tired.

‘Gyu appa make me!’ Hanna pushed the plushie she named ‘Bong’ towards him. Wonwoo heard a soft gasp, looking over at Seungkwan to see his shocked and annoyed face. He took a quick peek at Hansol - the man was now covering his daughter’s mouth. Suddenly, everything became very awkward. It wasn’t silent though. Oblivious Hanna still tried to talk over her father’s hands while Seunghoon kept bouncing in his arms, excitedly screaming ‘Yu! Yu!’

‘I guess they really love their Gyu appa.’ He tried to break the silence and quickly, the couple released their held breaths. Hansol pulled his hand from his daughter’s mouth and caressed Hanna’s head as an apology. Not that the girl minded. ‘We’re really sorry. They didn’t know…’

‘It’s fine. You g