Monday. That meant school. That meant Jungah was coming to school.

If Jiyoo could only put these uncomfortable feelings away, she would. After all, she had the whole weekend to try and sort them out. The more she tried to think that the boys would still be friends with her, the more bad thoughts began to swarm her mind.

It was clear that Jungah being there meant that her presence wouldn’t exactly be exactly welcomed.

To her pleasure, she didn’t have Jungah in her first class. Jiyoo went through the first class in peace, then the second. As the bell rang for lunch, Jiyoo made it through the day without seeing Jungah once, which was a bit unsettling considering that she was a first year just like her and Jungkook.

“Hey Jiyoo, how were classes?” Jimin asks, immediately sliding next to her with his lunch.

“They were… Pretty good, I guess.” Jiyoo hums.

Jimin seemed satisfied and ruffled her hair. His hand combed through her locks and the feeling felt nice, though Jiyoo thought it stopped too soon. She looks towards Jimin and sees him staring at the lunch line, prompting her to follow his line of sight.

She finally saw Jungah for the day and she was with Jungkook. That much shouldn’t have been surprising, though Jiyoo felt something tug at her heart when she saw Seokjin, Namjoon and Hoseok with them too. They all laughed and chatted in line, the group looking like they were friends for years rather than for a few days.

“Don’t mind them Jiyoo.” Jimin mutters, looking down at her.

When she tries to smile, he pinches her cheek, causing her to yelp.

“Don’t make that smile either.” Jimin huffs, using his thumb to smooth over the part he pinched. “You don’t have to pretend with me.”

“Is she eating with us?” Jungah asks, sitting down without waiting for Jiyoo to answer.

“We always eat together.” Taehyung responds, stuffing his face with rice without looking up at Jungah.

Jiyoo looks at Taehyung, perplexed by the latter’s sullen expression. She made a mental note before to talk to him since he was looking a bit down, but that was a few weeks ago. Dropping her gaze, she eats her lunch quietly, not wanting to attract too much attention to herself.

Since she wasn’t doing too much talking, she was able to sneak peeks and see how all of the boys reacted to Jungah. It was obvious that Jungkook liked her, tending to her every want and need as if she were a queen. It bothered Jiyoo that Jungkook had made this sort of change within the timeframe of a few days, but at the same time it made her wonder if that’s how they used to be. Did Jungkook baby her like that? The thought made her cringe.

Seokjin didn’t hesitate to talk to Jungah either, as well as Namjoon and Hoseok. Suga remained indifferent while Taehyung’s attitude confused her. Taehyung rarely got mad, only when Jungkook would push him away from Jiyoo. In this situation, Taehyung didn’t bother getting closer to Jungah, but he still looked upset for some reason.

There was even an instance where Jungah told him to stop eating “like a barbarian” and Taehyung only smiled before talking with his mouth full, spitting out rice all over the table. The sight made Jiyoo laugh. It was then that the two met eyes, Jiyoo being shocked that he’d looked at her so suddenly, while the latter only shot her a smug grin.

Their days more or less continued the same way. Jiyoo found out after a few more days that Jungah had gotten her father to enroll her in the same classes as the boys, one class for each boy, though she never specified whether or not Jungah had specifically asked to not be put in any of Jiyoo’s classes. Frankly, Jiyoo didn’t want to know and was glad Jungah hadn’t said anything more.

It was only a week before Jungah had sprung the question on them suddenly.

“Jimin, do you not like me?” Jungah asks during lunch.

The table went silent, some looking at Jimin for answers, while others refused to be a part of the conversation.

“Yeah, you never talk to Jungah or come to hang out anymore.” Jungkook adds in, per usual since he always backed up whatever Jungah had to say.

Jimin looks at Jungah, “I don’t hate you.”

“But you don’t like me. Is that it?” Jungah presses.

Jimin resisted the urge to roll his eyes and instead let out a sigh. “Why do you guys always have to interrogate me?”

“Because it’s obvious something is up and you won’t let us be a part of it.” Seokjin chimes in.

“I’m always here during lunch, aren’t I?” Jimin says nonchalantly.

They let him go after that, not wanting to sour the mood even more. Jimin spoons another bite of food into his mouth, looking over at Jiyoo to find her writing in her planner. Seeing her use the matching planner he had with her made him smile, though his happiness was short lived.

“Jiyoo, why aren’t you eating lunch?” Jimin asks with a frown.

Jiyoo motions towards her planner, “I have a lot of homework coming up and just wanted to make sure I didn’t miss anything later this weekend.”

“But that doesn’t mean you should skip lunch.” Jimin argues.

“I ate a big breakfast today, don’t worry.” Jiyoo whines.

She continues to scribble into her planner to Jimin’s dismay, not stopping until she’s satisfied with what was listed.

“Are you gonna go grab lunch now?” Taehyung asks. “I can go with you because I need more food.”

Jiyoo looks at her phone and shakes her head. “There isn’t much time before class, so I’ll probably just skip it today.”

“But-”

Before Taehyung could speak, a package of bread was thrown across the table and into Jiyoo’s lap. She looks down and sees a familiar brand of milk bread, her head immediately snapping up to look at Suga who was almost glaring at her.

“You’re going to stay short forever if you don’t eat.” He says sternly, though Jiyoo could see the way that his eyes softened when he spoke.

Letting out a chuckle, Jiyoo opens the bread package and begins to eat, nibbling on the edges of the bread slowly. She wasn’t really that hungry. Jiyoo wasn’t sure why, but her appetite had been lacking ever since Jungah came into the picture.

“This is what I meant by you all baby her.” Jungah groans.

Once again, the table was silent. Jiyoo stopped eating her food to look at Jungah, who was clearly irritated. “I’m not being babied.”

“Yes you are.” Jungah retorts, “they all need to constantly tell you to eat and sleep, only because you’re not grown enough to know to do it yourself.”

Jiyoo wants to argue, but seeing that she was willing to skip a meal here and there made her keep shut. She knew she was coddled by the boys. It was a habit that formed when Jungkook used to do everything for her. Jiyoo knew she was too dependent on others, which is why she was trying to take the time she had to try and be more independent.

She thought she was doing a pretty good job at it. Jiyoo woke up on her own, usually Jungkook was there to make sure she was up on time and walk her to school. Jiyoo has been walking to school on her own too, as well as doing homework alone.

It wasn’t a lot, but it was a big step for Jiyoo.

“You’re right. I’ll try harder to be more independent.” Jiyoo smiles, not wanting to continue the fight.

This was another habit she developed after Jungah came along as well. Jungah was headstrong, always stating her own opinions when she didn’t like something. Jiyoo tried to argue at first, but when some of the others would back Jungah up instead of her, Jiyoo found it easier to just give up and agree with whatever Jungah said.

Jiyoo felt Jimin tense up next to her and she placed a hand on his thigh, silently signaling that she didn’t want him to try and argue for her. It would only further prove Jungah’s point that she relied on the boys too much.

“I guess it makes sense why you’re trying to be independent. We’re like rivals in that sense.” Jungah sighs, taking a sip of her water.

“Rivals? In what sense?” Jimin shakes his head.

“Well, mating with more alphas brings a higher status. So it would make sense to mate into a group with more alphas.” Jungah nods her head.

“How does that make you Jiyoo’s rival?” Taehyung asks, not understanding the correlation.

“You all are a group, aren’t you? Doesn’t that mean you’ll mate the same person?” Jungah deadpans, as if what she said was common sense.

Originally, the plan was Jiyoo to be mated with the boys. Now that Jungah was here, the course was slowly changing.

“Well if it’s a competition, you don’t have to worry about this short stack that much.” Jungkook laughs at his own joke.

Jiyoo felt her heart crush at his words. Jungkook had indirectly stated that she’d have no chance at being their mates. Although she wasn’t keen on the idea at first, it felt a lot worse to know that she was being casted out rather than being forced in. Jimin’s hand was the only thing keeping her from crying, his warm touch allowing her to keep her composure.

“He’s right.”

Everyone looks at Jiyoo. Jungah was surprised she’d be so willing to throw away her pride like that, while the boys were shocked to say the least. Jimin looked beyond furious at the situation.

Jiyoo grabs Jimin’s hand, looking at him with a smile. It wasn’t forced, but Jimin recognized that look in Jiyoo’s eyes.

It was the same look she had after the first time she had a meltdown in front of her. The had been skipped, only leaving the release of sadness.

“I told your dad that you were really pretty, and you are.” Jiyoo says simply, “if this was a competition, you’d win.”

Jungah nods her head, satisfied with Jiyoo’s words, but Jiyoo wasn’t done. There was something that would take the cake.

“After all, I’m just an Omega.” Jiyoo finishes cleanly.

It was only then that some of the boys were snapped out of their haze. What was going on wasn’t Jiyoo “waking up on the wrong side of the bed” or “pms-ing”. Namjoon felt himself wanting to disagree with Jiyoo, but the way her eyes reflected no room for argument silenced him immediately. Hoseok felt himself become angry, remembering how he’d protected Jiyoo from Joohyun. He’d done it to disprove that she wasn’t “just an Omega”, but why wouldn’t he say anything now?

“Hey Jiyoo.”

Jiyoo turns slowly, coming face to face with Yugyeom. He held a gentle smile on his face, but his eyes were filled with worry. Jiyoo merely smiles.

“Hey, what’s up?” She says softly, the smile not leaving her face.

“I, uh…”

Yugyeom wasn’t sure if Jiyoo was okay, but he couldn’t help but want to get her out of there. He’d overheard their conversation and felt his heart drop to his stomach when Jiyoo called herself an Omega. Technically, that was her title, but the way she said it was as if she had no character or personality of her own.

Looking at the others for some sort of explanation, he got the usual glare from Jungkook and a pleading look from Jimin, whose eyes darted from Jiyoo to the cafeteria door. It was like a signal for him to take her out of there.

“I need help with statistics again.” He breathes out, saying the first thing that came to mind.

“Sure.” Jiyoo puts the bread away in her bag to Suga’s dismay, “I’ll see you guys later.”

Jiyoo was about to walk with Yugyeom to class when someone stopped them. A loud sound resonated throughout the cafeteria, as if someone had slammed their hands against one of the tables.

“Why are you going with him?”

It was Jungkook. His fists were pressed against the table, the skin slightly red since he hit them against the wood so hard.

“Because we have the same class and he needs help with homework?” Jiyoo says calmly.

“But you can’t.” Jungkook maintains his stance, not wanting Jiyoo to go with Yugyeom.

“It’s not like she has a mate. Why do you care?” Yugyeom says, his voice bitter as he places an arm around Jiyoo.

He knew Jungkook wouldn’t like that, and hoped Jiyoo wouldn’t shy away from his touch. To his surprise, she doesn’t move, only looking at Jungkook with a blank stare.

“It’s fine to voice your opinions, but you can’t tell me who I can and can’t hang out with.” Jiyoo tilts her head a bit, keeping eye contact with Jungkook. “You aren’t my parents.”

Jungkook stiffens up. Before he could retort, Jiyoo was already walking away. He could only watch as she left without saying another word. Sitting back in his seat, he feels frustrated. Why didn’t Jiyoo listen to him anymore? And to think she would mention her parents who were as good as dead to her.

“Why are you so upset? She’s not wrong.” Jungah asks.

“Its… Nothing.” Jungkook shakes his head.

He wasn’t really sure what was happening either, but the more he thought about it, the more it irritated him.

--

A/N: Everyone is immature. That's it, that's the whole point of these next few chapters teehee