I

Baekhyun closed the bathroom door and took a deep breath, trying to calm down. He checked the time in his phone and saw with immense irritation that it wasn’t even nine in the afternoon yet. He desperately wanted to go home. He couldn’t take another second of Chanyeol’s family, or he might yell at someone, although he knew he was more likely to hug Chanyeol tightly while crying on his chest until the alpha took him home.

Chanyeol’s older sister, Eunmi, had invited them over to her house. She was also an alpha, who had been with her omega, Kiseok, for five years now. They had two pups so far, four-year-old twin boys. Chanyeol’s parents were also there, along with his aunt, his cousin, her partner and their child, a lovely three-year-old girl who insisted in asking Baekhyun, who was absolutely terrible with children, to carry her. 

Baekhyun had already met Chanyeol’s parents, but the rest were new to him, and he had been overwhelmed since he had gotten there. First, Eunmi had told him to go help Kiseok in the kitchen. Chanyeol had been busy greeting his cousin Minhee, and Baekhyun didn’t want to come off as rude, so he had gone to the kitchen, although he wasn’t especially great at cooking. Kiseok was very nice about it, but Baekhyun was still annoyed to spend the first hour of his visit washing dishes with the other omega.

“You should get some lessons now that you got a mate,” Kiseok had commented with a smile. “It shouldn’t be hard, Chanyeol and Eunmi eat whatever you put on their plates.”

“...Yeah,” Baekhyun forced a smile, drying his now wrinkled hands with a towel.

He had helped him to set the table and serve the food for everyone. To his frustration, Chanyeol only smiled and thanked him briefly when he put the plate in front of him, to then turn his attention to his mother, like Baekhyun was doing the most normal thing in the world.

He was the last one to sit down at the table, trying to calm down and convince himself he was overreacting. He thought he wouldn’t be as mad if Eunmi had asked him to help, but she had given a command.

“Is everything okay?” Chanyeol whispered at that point. Baekhyun nodded.

“So, Baekhun...” Minhee, sitting in front of him started saying.  

“Baekhyun,” his alpha corrected at once.

“Baekhyun, sorry,” she smiled. “Have you been adapting well to living with Channie?”

“We don’t live together,” Baekhyun replied, and the whole table went quiet.

“....They’re waiting until they have holidays to settle down,” Chanyeol’s mom amended, and ev