A/N: I apologise for the really long wait. Was overseas for the past two months... and writer's block is an annoying brat. >< 

“Where are we going?” The soft, almost uncertain voice called out behind him. A smile naturally donning his face, he turned, intending to cover that two-step distance between them only to freeze upon seeing the omega’s face.

His smile faltered as the sadness he had locked up deep in the back of his mind rushed out to take over him. Although he did not recognize it right at the start, the more time he spent with the omega, the more he could see the similarity in appearances. It was becoming strking, striking enough to stun him like this when Sungmin made certain expressions or actions. Nevertheless, the dangerous beauty of the omega was what stunned him the most and the most frequently. It was something different from the beta he once knew, something that he found out he was attracted to since the first time he met Sungmin.

Siwon caught himself before his emotions made their way fully to his face, maintaining that subtle smile. “We’re almost there,” he said, observing how the omega was partially distracted by the sound of the waves pushing onto the sandy shore before retreating calmly.

“There as in where?” Sungmin asked absently, gaze shifting to the sea reflecting the warm rays of the setting sun. Despite how the question was phrased, there wasn’t any suspicion or impatience in the omega’s tone, a consequence he hoped was from the improving relations between them. After the first time Sungmin had treated him civilly, perhaps even kindly, by healing the wounds he had received as punishment from his father, the omega had begun responding more positively to him. The hated glares, the resentful looks, the sharp smacks, the bitter snaps, they disappeared within that two days, especially after he had held the crying omega that night. Siwon was almost relieved, despite the discontentment from finding out that Kibum had spilled about his punishments to the omega. It seemed as though Sungmin was being nice to him because he felt that he owed him that much.

“You’ll know when we get there.” He imagined the smile on Sungmin’s face when the omega sees whatever was coming up later. He certainly hoped that it would bring a smile onto Sungmin’s face; the omega had been almost brooding since Saturday night and he was becoming concerned about the emptiness in the omega’s gaze. It wasn’t hard to guess the cause of it, especially with Sungmin’s red eyes and Kyuhyun’s weird request that night.

Sungmin didn’t reply, staring out at the waves longingly as he absently shook his right foot, letting the sand accumulate at the tip. Seeing the discomfort, Siwon kneeled with one knee down on the beach, reaching out for Sungmin’s foot without a second thought until the omega froze on his touch. He thought Sungmin would pull away, that the omega would revert back to the disgusted looks he often gave initially whenever they had physical contact, but Sungmin said nothing for that few seconds.

Taking his chances, Siwon slipped the borrowed shoe off, patting the omega’s socked sole before putting it on his slippered foot. “It’s uncomfortable, right? I’m sorry.” He overturned the shoe, shaking the sand out of it. “I should have thought of borrowing a pair of slippers for you.” He looked up at the unreadable stare the omega was giving him. “Do you want to swap?”

Sungmin stared for another two seconds before shaking his head. “It’s okay. This pair of shoes will be too small for you.”

“If you’re sure,” he answered, wearing the shoe back. Reaching out for Sungmin’s left foot, he couldn’t help the happiness bursting in him when the omega’s hand landed on his shoulder for support, naturally switching his weight to the other foot. Siwon repeated the process, frowning at the great amount of sand escaping the other shoe when he tilted it. “I really should have thought of the slippers.”

“It’s fine.” With one hand still on Siwon’s shoulder, Sungmin took his shoe back, sliding it back smoothly. “I’m responsible for my own needs.”

He frowned deeper at the weird response. “I’m responsible for your needs while you’re under my care. Besides, you wouldn’t know we would be coming to the beach.”

“I didn’t know we were even coming for a vacation.” Sungmin stomped his foot once, a soft sigh escaping as the sand flew everywhere and into his shoe. “I’m going to just take them off.”

“It might be dangerous to walk barefooted. You might cut yourself,” he responded instinctively, missing the apology that was at the tip of his tongue after the accusatory statement made by the omega. The concerned disapproval didn’t deter the omega from doing what he wanted – Sungmin removed his shoes and socks, stuffing the latter into the former. “And the vacation was a surprise for you.”

Sungmin picked up his shoes with one hand, face void of expression. “It definitely came as a surprise.”

He couldn’t tell if the omega was suggesting anything behind that statement or if the omega was ticked off by suddenly being whisked off to this island for vacation. He could understand why the omega was confused and unhappy about the situation – a vacation beginning on a Monday afternoon wasn’t a common idea for a schooling student like him. The weird timing had expectedly amplified the omega’s suspicion, but it was inevitable due to the omega’s and his injuries delaying plans. Siwon fought back the urge to explain, knowing that he couldn’t let the omega in on what was being disguised by the vacation. It had been agreed with Kyuhyun that they wouldn’t let Sungmin know anything until the very last minute of execution. For now, he could only play it as though it was plans for him to win over the omega’s heart, which he was sort of striving for, except that he was less ambitious. He just wanted to make the omega’s last thirty hours or so with him an enjoyable one.

“I hope the next surprise would be a pleasant one for you.” He flashed a smile as bright as he could.

Sungmin didn’t reciprocate the smile, instead asking plainly, “How long more do we have to walk to get there?”

“Hmm… Two minutes or so?”

Sungmin nodded. “Let’s go then.”

He briefly paused at the bare feet of the omega, the thought of piggybacking Sungmin flashing past his mind. However, he knew the omega wouldn’t agree to it. Instead, he took off his slippers, planning to use his own feet to test the safety of the path they were going to walk. “Let’s go.” Siwon gave a tilt of his head, signaling for the omega to follow.

If Sungmin had caught on on why Siwon took off his slippers or had any thoughts on it, the omega didn’t let it show on his face.

~--~

The lone set-up on the vast shore came into view much earlier, but the omega was too focused on the red and orange glow of the fading sun reflecting in the calm waters extending beyond the horizon. When they were close enough, Siwon paused in his steps, the action prompting the omega to stop and finally look forward.

With toes scrunching up and catching heaps of sand, he watched almost anxiously as the omega stepped past him, slowly nearing the sumptuous spread laid out on the wine-red tablecloth. There wasn’t the surprise he had anticipated, neither was there a trace of happiness, and his expression immediately mirrored the frown deepening on the omega’s face.  

“Do-Do you not like it?” He almost winced at his own stuttering. Since when did the bond start turning him into a lovestruck alpha afraid of being unable to please his omega? Despite questioning himself, he knew that it had happened since the bond was formed between him and the omega. Before the bond, all he felt was a blazing lust towards the omega, his dominant nature often breaking out of control and doing things that intruded into the omega’s privacy and comfort zone. However, since he had claimed Sungmin, the concern for the omega’s comfort had long surpassed the lust – it was as though all the suppressed lust had been satisfied in that night of bonding.

Sungmin turned back to him, an empty blink before a slight shake of head. “No, I… It’s nice.” The sides of the omega’s lips curled into a small smile that sparked fireworks in him. The grin was on his face before he knew it, and he abruptly caught himself from widening it, attempting to retain some of his alpha pride that the bond seemed bent on throwing away. The smile froze when the omega spoke again. “You don’t have to do this for me.”

“You don’t like such things?” He asked, though deep down he knew exactly what the omega was hinting at.

The frown etched between Sungmin’s eyebrows again. “I think I do,” the omega eyed the table before meeting his eyes firmly. “But you don’t have to do so much for me. I’m not worth your time. No matter how grateful I am to you, I cannot—”

“It doesn’t matter,” Siwon cut the omega off, not wanting to hear what the other was about to finish, not wanting to hear that no matter what he did, the omega’s heart would forever belong to Kyuhyun. “As long as I can see you smile, it’s enough.”

“You…”

“Come on,” he forced his smile up, moving to pull out the chair for the omega. “Sit down and let’s have dinner.”

He held the eye contact with the frowning omega for a few seconds before tilting his head at the chair again. Sungmin complied, silently accepting his gentleman behavior though the frown pressed on.

Siwon made sure the omega was comfortable in his seat, before opening the champagne bottle with a loud pop of the cork, filling the two empty glasses. Handing a glass to Sungmin, he clinked lightly, smiling at the omega. “To your smile.”

The beautiful smile unique to the omega spread slowly across the face, as the omega tilted the glass to observe the champagne. “Is that even something to toast to?”

“It’s worth a toast of even the most expensive wine,” he replied, hoping the attempt would amuse the omega further.

However, Sungmin ignored his flirtatious praise. “Is this alcoholic? I can’t drink.”

“It’s fortunate it isn’t then,” Siwon answered, truthfully feeling fortunate that he had chosen a non-alcoholic drink since he needed to stay on alert. Seeing the omega take a sip, he raised the glass to his own lips, making his way back to his chair across the table. Sungmin placed the glass down, another crease forming between his eyebrows as he picked up the utensils and pressed a knife to the steak.

“Is something wrong? Do you not like steak?”

The omega shook his head without looking up.

“Shall I cut it for you then?” He asked casually, but the eyes that shot up at him were unexpectedly wide in surprise.

Sungmin shook his head again. “It’s okay, I can do it myself. Thank you, Siwon-ssi.”

His raised utensils paused in the air, and he rested his hands back on the table. “You can just call me Siwon when there’s no one else around.”

The omega didn’t reply, but he didn’t push it as usual, letting the silence settle between them as they ate. It came a pleasant surprise when the omega was the one to break the silence next; Sungmin never bothered to start or maintain conversation topics with him previously. “Is it okay for you to miss school like that?”

“I applied for leave.”

Sungmin paused in eating, looking up at him confusedly. “I’ve never heard that you can apply for official leave using vacation as a reason.”

His smile widened at how adorable the omega’s expression was. “I never said it was official.”

“What?”

“I just told my homeroom teacher I would be missing school for two days.” When Sungmin stared at him without a response, he elaborated. “He just told me to study the lessons I’m missing by myself.”

“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised…” Sungmin muttered. “Omegas miss school as their alphas dictate and even that is acceptable.”

“High schools are different from the educational institutions for the younger.” He frowned at the underlying accusation behind the omega’s words. “The teachers stop keep tracking of students’ reasons for missing school; all claimed omegas’ rights are handed over to their alphas, while alphas missing school is common too—”

“Can you pass me the pepper please, Siwon?” The omega cut in, seeming to have not heard any of the explanation he had put forth.

He absently passed the bottle of pepper over. “It’s not as if I deliberately want to keep you away from school, but if you do like it so much, it would be safe enough for you to go back to classes soon—did you just call me Siwon?” His eyes widened at the realization.

Sungmin raised his gaze from the food to meet his eyes. “You were the one who told me to just call you by your name.”

“Yes, but—” The smile on his face widened into a full-blown grin. “Thank you, Sungmin.”

The confused frown the omega gave in return as though he was being atrocious didn’t bother him at all – the omega didn’t have to know how much it had meant to him.

“And I mean it. You’ll probably be able to go back to school soon,” he repeated, relieved that Sungmin only nodded instead of asking how soon it would be.

If the omega had asked, he wouldn’t be answer the question at all – Sungmin wouldn’t be his to send to school by then.

~--~

“Careful of the log,” Siwon warned, eyes following the omega closely as one hand held back the obstructing branch.

Sungmin paused before the huge log on the forest floor, eyeing it before reaching out for the bark of the tree by the side. Afraid that the omega would trip, Siwon instinctively reached out to grab the outstretched hand, barely registering that the omega grabbed his hand back in return and let go of the tree. He debated carrying the omega by the waist down from the height, but he knew it would make the omega uncomfortable.

He’s yours, carry him, his dominant alpha nature argued, but he pushed back the urges, suppressing his alpha nature. Somehow, it had become easier to control his alpha nature after he had made the decision to cooperate with Kyuhyun. It was as though his wolf was recognizing that the temporary mate he had gained was going to leave him soon.

“We’re almost there,” he informed before the omega would ask again, finally letting go of the omega’s hand when he had made sure the latter was steady on even ground. “It’s ahead.”

“So what exactly are we looking for in this forest?” Sungmin asked, sweeping his fringe that was wet with sweat out of his eye.

“I already told you,” Siwon turned to flash a smile, throwing in a wink. “It’s my secret hideout.” 

It took only another minute of trekking before he spotted the chalked sign he and the beta had once left on the tree marking the entrance, unable to hide the excitement in his voice as he waved at the omega to catch up. “We’re here.”

Pushing aside the bunch of branches, Siwon tilted his head at the hole between the undergrowth, signalling for the omega to enter. Sungmin hesitated for a second before complying, and as expected, stopped in his steps once he was in the clearing.

He couldn’t remember when exactly the last time was that he had come to this forest clearing. Was it a month after he had lost the beta for good, when he was grieving and went around to the places they had once visited to reminisce? It all felt so distant, so far away, although it had