After laying in bed for a while, Hongbin realized he wouldn't fall asleep. He couldn't stop thinking. Whenever he tried, his mind went off on another tangent to explore. His trail of thought was not entirely pleasant either. He imagined how life would be if he was born an alpha or even as an omega. He then pondered how imprinting felt. Wonshik tried to explain it once, but it was all too vague for the beta to fully comprehend. Hongbin then remembered how the alpha imprinted on Hakyeon, making the latter a permanent fixture in his life. And while they would have petty fights over nonsensical things, they were a great match for the other. It was cute and romantic, just like the movies, except he was the third wheel. Despite playful banter, Hongbin cared for his friends, but they would also make him jealous from time to time. Thinking about love only brought questions about if Hongbin would ever find that kind of love. He had his doubts. Heck, he didn't even know if his parents had actually imprinted with each other or not.

Groaning and rubbing his eyes, Hongbin decided he had enough time being alone with his thoughts. It was 10 o'clock at night but he decided to leave for the gym anyways just to clear his mind out for a bit. Getting his gym bag he left his room.

"Where are you going?" Hakyeon asked, still on the couch with Wonshik, turning to look over at Hongbin who was getting a water bottle.

"The gym, I'll probably be back by midnight or so," Hongbin answered, figuring he would probably shower and get a late night meal.

"Alright, be careful, don't stay up too late!"

"Please don't on the couch while I'm out," Hongbin said sarcastically, smiling overly sweet as he put on his shoes before leaving.

"I bought half of his couch so I can do what I want!" Wonshik called out, wanting to bed his boyfriend on the couch just to piss off his roommate. Hongbin simply rolled his eyes and had barely closed the door when the scents of the couple already spiked up; Wonshik's smoky scent mixed with Hakyeon's tropical fruit one. Over the course of the couple's relationship, this specific blend has grew to become grating on the beta's nerves at certain moments. He wondered why he didn't just move out, but then remembered how expensive it was to find a place just for himself to live. Plus, he didn't mind the couple for the most part in all honesty.

Deciding not to give the couple anymore attention, Hongbin walked the few blocks it took to reach his 24 hour gym. There wouldn't be too many, if any people there at this time on a Friday night. The majority of people choosing to go to the club as oppose to work out. Despite the vacancy, the gym was over powered by the smell of alphas. There was no one particular scent Hongbin could ever pick up on, it was generally musky, warm, and sweaty. It was because of the gym's permanent scent that no one couldn't really tell what class everyone was, save an omega in heat, but the beta actually preferred it this way. Hongbin had an ideal alpha body type, tall, broad shoulders, muscular. At the gym, others assumed he was an alpha through and through. He always thought it was cool, being able to pretend to be an alpha, at least for a little while. Although, what other perceived him as never changed what he actually was inside.

Stepping out of the lockers, Hongbin did his normal warm ups; planks, treadmill, and other stretches. He was on the pull up bar when his ears perked up a bit as he heard some grunting and punching noises. Curious about who would be at the gym this late at night, Hongbin dropped down and turned to look over to see who his companion was. As he turned to look, the other made eye contact with Hongbin. The sudden eye content made Hongbin jump, surprised that the other noticed him in addition to embarrassed that he was caught. What made matters worse was when the beta didn't direct his focus elsewhere, he kept staring at the other like a fool.

The other was tall and lean, with broad muscular shoulders and he could easily tell that the rest of the body was just as fit through the tight fitting sportswear he wore. Sharp cat like eyes, a long straight nose leading to pouty lips. His cheeks were round and flush with some sweat dripping down. His hair was hidden under a beanie though a few shaggy strands of ebony hair fell out of place, sticking to the stranger's skin. It only took moments for Hongbin to recognize the other as attractive, but his eyes refused to look away after he came to this conclusion.

After ten long seconds of staring and making observations, Hongbin finally realized how rude he was behaving.  He tried to smooth over his behavior with a friendly wave and a smile that turned out to be painfully awkward for the both of them. "Aaah.. uhmm.. Hi? Sorry," Hongbin struggle to get out, sweating and turning red from embarrassment. Quickly, he turned back to the pull up bar and continued to work out, trying to repress what had just happened.

There was a soft chuckle that broke the beta's concentration on repressing his memory as well as keeping a grip on the bar. Hongbin gracelessly fell to the floor. The mat cushioned his fall however it did nothing for his dignity. Hongbin let out a frustrated groan as his embarrassment grew. The other had to interpret his groan as one of pain since Hongbin felt the presence of the other quickly after he took his fall.

"Are you alright?" the stranger asked, biting his lip as he looked genuine concerned for him.

"I'm fine, just a bit embarrassed to tell you the truth," Hongbin admitted with a sheepish laugh, sitting up. From this distance, Hongbin could smell the other's scent a bit, though all he could pick up was the scent of warm roasted coffee.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's ok, I'm just... awkward, and clumsy apparently," Hongbin said, standing up and dusting himself off. "I'm Hongbin," he greeted in his second attempt to smooth over his awkwardness, holding out his hand.

"Taekwoon," the other introduced, shaking Hongbin's hand. Both bowed slightly with a nod of their head before letting their hands drop.

Not wanting to be rude, Hongbin decided to start a conversation, make small talk with Taekwoon. "Nice to meet you. So what are you doing here on a Friday night? Most people are clubbing right now."

"I don't really like clubbing that much... I'm terrible with alcohol," Taekwoon confessed with a shy smile. "I was just getting really stressed with work and I needed to punch it out. You?"

"Just getting too caught up in my head. I had this date today but she imprinted on another guy during it and... yeah that's what happened," he answered, exhaling as he thought about the crazy turn of events. Looking back on it, it was comical, even if he was the one who got dumped.

"Ah... I'm sorry to hear that."

Hongbin figured he had a grim expression on his face by the tone of Taekwoon's words. Waving his hand to dismiss the other's concern, he laughed, "It's fine. Better to know that it wouldn't work out at the beginning than later on when I'm attached."

"That's true," Taekwoon trailed off, not bothering to add more to the conversation.

There was a slight pause as Hongbin waited in case the other spoke more and to rack his brain for more to talk about. "So, do you box?" he asked after a few seconds, glancing down at the other's yellow gloves.

"A bit."

"Can you do any cool moves like Rocky?" the beta asked, inserting the first boxer that entered his head. He then proceeded to pretend to box, making swift and shallow jabs. Hongbin felt his ears prick, slightly embarrassed from acting so silly. However, he got a soft laugh from Taekwoon which made up for it.  

"I'm not that good, but I can show you some if you want," he offered. Hongbin nodded to take the other up on the offer before the two walked over to the punching bag. Standing off to the side, Hongbin watched as Taekwoon began to punch the bag; a series of jabs to the face area before a final blow to the abdominal, causing the bag to swing.

Impressed with the other's skill, Hongbin clapped. "You said you weren't good, that was really impressive."

"Aish, no, no not really," Taekwoon denied modestly, shaking his head and hiding behind his gloves.

"I think you're lying to me."

"Ah- do you want to try?" the alpha offered, trying to bait the other to change the focus on the conversation.

Hongbin took the bait as he replied, "Sure! If you don't mind... I don't know how to box, nor do I have any gloves."

"You can use mine," Taekwoon said, taking off his gloves and handing them over.

"Thanks," he said, taking the gloves and trying them on. The feel of the gloves was a bit unpleasant, not because of the size or anything but because he could feel the other's sweat still sticking to the fabric. He pushed the feeling aside as Taekwoon instructed him on a basic punch. When he gave his first punch, he wasn't expecting how much the bag would resist.

"Ouch," he muttered, shaking his gloved hand. "Yah, you made this look easy!"

Taekwoon laughed, covering his mouth. "Sorry, I guess I didn't think about it... maybe we should start off with a foam bag instead."

"You think?" Hongbin asked rhetorically, laughing to show that there was no bite in his words.

Taekwoon continued to show Hongbin the basics of boxing and after an hour or so the two had concluded their work out, ready to leave the gym.

"Thanks for everything hyung," Hongbin said. They had learn the other's ages during their session.

"No problem, it was fun," Taekwoon said, smiling as he swung his gym bag over his shoulder. "I'll see you around some time?"

"Neh, hopefully."

"Hopefully," the elder repeated, nodding before waving. "Bye Bin."

"Bye hyung," Hongbin waved goodbye, watching Taekwoon for a moment as they walked in opposite directions. While walking Hongbin didn't noticed that he was wearing a wide smile, instead he wondered if he should invest in some boxing gloves and lessons. He had enough fun with Taekwoon with the sport after all.