A/N: Happy belated Joy Day! Sorry for being late and please pardon any unedited errors, but here's a long chapter to make up for them. :3
Anyway, if you all would like some Kyumin fluff, here's a collaboration gift from me, Nay, Pooj and Mery: http://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/985059/devil-s-temptation-kyuhyun-kyumin-sungmin

Hope you all enjoy the new fic and this ch! :)

“Sungmin, are you okay?” Yoseob asked as soon as his alpha and Doojoon were out of hearing range. Sungmin took one last glance at the back of his alpha disappearing out of the classroom door, before ping his backpack for his pencil case.

“Sungmin?” He heard Yoseob calling out to him again, feeling the beta shift on his alpha’s chair to sit closer to him. “Leeteuk hyung would probably hold them up for some time, so you don’t have to worry about them coming back while we’re talking.”

“I’m fine. We don’t really need to talk.” Sungmin answered curtly, flipping aimlessly through his scheduler.

“What exactly happened yesterday?” Yoseob’s hand landed on one of the tender on his back, prompting Sungmin to glare at the beta though there was hardly any pain. The bruises, fortunately no open wounds, had healed mostly overnight with the fast healing speed of werewolves. But Sungmin used it as a convenient reason to push the beta away.

“If you didn’t realise, my back hasn’t healed completely.” Deliberately ignoring the beta’s retreating hand and the apology, Sungmin reached out for his Chemistry textbook under the table as a distraction.

“I know you have always been… mindful about the relationship between Kyuhyun and Ryeowook, but they’re just friends now, you know?” At the mention of the other omega, Sungmin’s fingers tightened around his textbook, crumpling the pages. “I’m sure the collar doesn’t belong to anyone or Ryeowook, but why didn’t you just ask Kyuhyun clearly yesterday if you suspect it was Ryeowook’s?”

Sungmin released his textbook, taking in a deep breath as he tried to calm himself down. He had woken up with the same question bugging him, initially reckoning that the feisty side of him was trying to see how far his alpha would go in hiding the truth. But when his alpha had asked him the reason again for refusing his omega collar while lifting his pyjamas to check his back, he felt the fear grip him so strongly. At that instant, he realized it was actually his submissive side being afraid of the truth coming to light. If he had said Ryeowook’s name, his alpha could no longer pretend that he was the other omega. It would mean that even the little amount of affection he had gotten as a substitute would be gone. His submissive side didn’t dare to break the lie; his submissive side preferred being a substitute than being abandoned fully.

Feeling the resignation taking over the anger, Sungmin looked up at Yoseob, pulling a strained smile onto his face. “It doesn’t matter now, does it? The collar is locked on my neck…” Sungmin wanted to say ‘forever’, but he remembered the possibility of leaving his alpha when his identity was finally revealed.

“Sungmin,” Yoseob held his hand, “Kyuhyun is insistent on you wearing this collar because it’s a customized one that—”

“Min!”

Sungmin pulled his hand away instantly at the call of his name, turning to see a panting Donghae at the classroom door, followed by Hyukjae who had chased after his omega.

“Mi’s been claimed! Quick!”

At Donghae’s beckoning hand and urgent tone, Sungmin fled out of the classroom, disregarding the chasing from Yoseob.

~--~

The usual corridor lined with lockers was filled with students crowding around a center of attention, the eerie silence a stark difference from the bustling atmosphere minutes ago when Sungmin had reached school. His heart thumped hard from both exertion and anxiety as his running slowed to a stop, his legs following Donghae who was pushing his way through the crowd, along with an apologizing Hyukjae. He could smell Zhoumi’s scent distinctly, having slept in the same room for years, but it was now mixed with another strong alpha scent… one that smelled ominously familiar.

“Ah. I don’t really like doing this, but…” Gasps escaped the crowd as Sungmin finally got a clear view of the source of commotion – Heechul’s lips were pressed firmly against his beta, Hankyung’s.

“.” He heard Donghae cursing, but his attention was drawn to his other best friend kneeling on the floor a metre away from the kissing couple.

“Mimi,” Heechul called out sternly to his newly claimed omega, whose head shot up to look at his alpha. “Watch.” The order was clear, compelling the omega to fix his eyes on his alpha snaking a hand around Hankyung’s waist, lips pressing against the beta’s again as the kiss turned wet and deep with tongues.

Sungmin could see the tears welling up in Zhoumi’s widened eyes, the heart-breaking pain and submissive aura radiating from his best friend rocking the calm waters in him that had hardly regained from last night. He wanted to rush over to block Zhoumi from view, but his feet were rooted to the spot, the pain resulting from his own jealousy of Ryeowook spreading across his chest again. Reliving the pain from the discovery of the engraving on his collar, he couldn’t fathom how hurtful it was for an omega to be forced to watch his alpha kissing another.

The kiss ended with an additional light peck, before Heechul turned to Zhoumi who had bowed his head again. The omega’s face was wet with tears when the alpha lifted his chin with a thumb and forefinger, the heartbroken look driving the rage in Sungmin. He was about to step out when a hand wrapped around his wrist.

“! Let me go, Hyuk!” Donghae struggled against his alpha, who was losing grip on him with only one hand.

“No, Min.” Hyukjae shook his head, tugging his wrist. “Help me.”

Sungmin glanced back at Zhoumi’s broken expression, gathering his courage to step out again. However, the dominant growl released by Hyukjae jerked his submissive self back to the surface.

“Stop it.” Hyukjae hissed at Donghae, who openly snarled at his alpha. The disrespectful act was returned with a harsh slap across Donghae’s face, which earned the attention of a few students beside them. Sensing Donghae was still insistent with the sharp glare he threw at his alpha, Sungmin reached out to grab Donghae’s arms, locking them in his hold as he shook his head almost pleadingly at his friend.

“If you make a mistake, the next show will be live for you.” Heechul swept the tears off with his fingers. “Understand, Mimi?”

“Y-Yes…” Zhoumi lowered his gaze, voice soft and broken with his trembling body. “H-Heenim.”

“Good.” Heechul held up his arm, a cue for Hankyung to walk over with a black leather buckled collar, which he handed to the alpha. Donning the collar around Zhoumi’s neck, Heechul patted the omega’s head once. “I’ll see you during lunch.”

With that, the alpha spun around jovially, shouting “Show’s over!” as he strode away with an arm around his beta.

Sungmin couldn’t find any strength to move his feet when Donghae shoved his alpha’s loosened hold aside, rushing over to Zhoumi, who had his face buried in his hands. He recalled the previous night when he had been on his knees, tears flowing uncontrollably because of his alpha. A particularly loud sob from his best friend jerked him out of his trance, prompting him to turn around. Sungmin pushed past the dispersing crowd, including Yoseob who had just reached him, sprinting in the direction of Leeteuk’s staff office.

He needed his alpha to help his friend.

~--~

Without hesitation, Sungmin rushed into the staff office that he was prohibited from entering without a teacher’s permission. Accidentally bumping another person, he immediately fixed himself into a low bow, repeating his apologies.

“Sungmin? Are you alright?” He looked up at the voice, relief spreading across his chest as he recognized his Chemistry teacher in a navy blue dress before him. “Lessons are about to start.”

“I—I have something urgent to talk to Leeteuk sonsaengnim about. Do you—”

“Oh. He’s in the meeting room… With your alpha, right?” His teacher pointed towards the corridor before he could finish.

Sungmin nodded gratefully, bowing again as he murmured a quick “Thank you.” Without waiting for his teacher to dismiss him, he hurried towards the corridor, knowing that his Chemistry teacher was one who couldn’t care less. She was an alpha society would consider obnoxious for her free thinking and disregard for rules, but one Sungmin truly respected.

“Your so-called discipline is unnecessary and your hatred for black omegas is unfounded! You know what happened then. Where did all your logic and reasoning go when it comes to this?” Leeteuk’s fierce outburst froze Sungmin’s fist in the air.

“There’s no proof at all for what you all said. How do you expect me to use logic and reasoning in this?” His alpha retorted, and Sungmin could sense in the tensed tone that his alpha was trying hard to hold onto his slipping control.

“You know that it’s true!”

“Leeteuk hyung—” Doojoon’s voice sounded softly, but was quickly cut off by Leeteuk.

“You’re so stubborn, Cho Kyuhyun. Are you going to blindly hate black omegas for the rest of your life? What if Sungmin was a black omega hur?”

“He isn’t.” His alpha hissed.

“I said what if! Are you going to break the bond and abandon him then?!”

Sungmin didn’t dare to hear his alpha’s reply, quickly cutting off the conversation by letting his fist land on the door in a knock. He knew there was so long he could stand there before his alpha sensed him anyway, and he didn’t want them to know he had overheard the heated argument.

There was a moment of silence, followed by the shuffling of feet, before the door opened to reveal Leeteuk. He stared at his teacher, suddenly unable to form any words on his mouth as he fought back the reverberating voices in his head.

“What’s wrong, Sungmin?” Leeteuk’s hand reached out for his face, gently sweeping past his cheek and leaving a wet streak. “Why are you crying?”

“I—” Sungmin threw his hands to his face at his off-pitch voice, carelessly wiping the tears away. He didn’t even know that he was crying, but he swallowed repeatedly, struggling to regain his calmness so that he could explain his purpose of coming.

“Sungmin.” His attempt was almost abandoned when he heard his alpha’s voice, followed by the warm hands that landed on his shoulders. But Sungmin pushed back the unknown fear growing exponentially, forcing hi