Seokmin opened his textbook and started to jot down some simple notes to prepare for tomorrow’s lecture. He heard this subject was impossible to understand on the spot and the low pass percentage so he was really determined to study it beforehand. He was only half of the first chapter yet he was already all confused and wanted to vomit. Figuratively. From all those complicated terms.

Getting up to pour himself some iced cocoa, he heard rushed footsteps and as he anticipated, the door slammed wide open. ‘You bastard! I’m back!!’

‘Hey Bam Bam.’ He greeted the now tanned man, not that he was any whiter. He smiled and returned to his desk, not really caring about the man already jumping on the bed, making a mess, scolding him for ignoring him over the summer. ‘I can’t handle two hyperactive people at the same time.’

‘If you can’t handle me at my worst, you don’t deserve me at my best.’ He muttered some random instagram quotes just to mess with the other.

‘Your best is not even worth it.’

‘If you can’t handle me at my worst, you don’t deserve my box of condoms.’ He continued, already walking around the room, messing the whole place while looking for some random stuffs. Seokmin was too preoccupied to care, he could just clean the room later. ‘Did you make me proud or what?’

‘What’re you talking about?’ He asked, pretending not to know, secretly wishing he can change the subject so he wouldn’t have to tell.

Bam Bam grinned widely. He knew Seokmin was hiding something, ‘You used it? Gimme what’s left. Hurry!’ He sounded like he was in a rush.

‘What??’

‘Something happened so I need what I can get. Come on man.’ He seemed really desperate and Seokmin was starting to panic. He scrambled to his suitcase and pulled out the box, handing it to his friend without further a due.

‘Woa…hoho! Lee Seokmin… What the hell did you do? There were forty inside!’ Seokmin widened his eyes at the sudden realization. He fell into the trap. ‘In three days?? You guys did it like animals?’

‘Nothing happened.’

‘So you using condoms? It that like a weird ?’

Seokmin rubbed his face roughly at the absurdity of that question. While he knew the other was just teasing him, imagining himself doing it was enough for him to turn red. ‘No. Fine. We did it.’

‘Ten times a day? Isn’t that a bit too much for him?’ Bam Bam howled while making ing movements before laughing himself down to the bed after seeing Seokmin’s horrified reaction.

‘So are you guys dating now? Woohoo! Dokyeom! Nice!’ Seokmin smiled bitterly at the excitement, hoping that would pass as a yes so he wouldn’t have to explain his situation. But no, that ambiguity doesn’t work with Bam Bam. ‘What?’

‘We’re… special friends…’ he swallowed his own words, a bit ashamed of it even though he knew the other has many of those.

‘Huh? Aren’t you head-over-heels over the guy? I would even believe it if you said you mated but friend? Dude.’

Seokmin inhaled deeply, trying to think of a way to say it so the agitated alpha would understand. ‘He has a boyfriend.’

‘THE HELL? See, I told you he’s not the innocent type. He even cheated! Dokyeom-ah, he don’t deserve you-’

‘No man… I made him…’

‘You forced him? Owh my god…’ Before Bam Bam could even mention the horrible things he might have imagined, Seokmin threw his pencil to shut him up because the man was being really loud and other people might hear him and think Seokmin really did that shameful act. Not wanting to take any chance, he had to tell the other what happened, exactly what happened - from the drunken , to the following heat, to him lying… everything. And he realized how pathetic he was as the words left him.

‘Owh man…. you’re screwed…’

‘Don’t you have many buddies?’ He asked back, trying to defend himself.

‘That’s different. We don’t like each other.’

‘What’s wrong if I like him?’

‘You poor bastard… Cus you basically just told Hoshi that you’re happy as long as you can have his body. That’s what friends are. No feelings involved. It’s worse than being in a friend-zone. Hoshi would think it’s okay for him to use you without returning your feelings.’

Bam Bam stared at his friend, feeling pity of his naivete. He was too innocent to be involved in this kind of toxic relationship. Unlike himself who had already experience love and heartbreaks, and chose to settle with physical relationship without emotional attachments, Seokmin don’t even know what first love feels like. He was really concerned about this gullible alpha.

‘What should I do then?’ Seokmin seemed really worried, his frown the deepest Bam Bam ever saw on him ever since they first met.

‘Ask him to choose. You can’t be hooked like this. It’ll hurt.’ He knew he was being out-of-character by being this serious about a relationship but he knew that feeling. He had been there and he knew the pain. ‘Trust your seonbae, Dokyeom-ah.’

‘We’re the same age.’

‘I have more experience.’ 

Nods, then nothing. ‘What if he choose his boyfriend?’

‘Then he’s scum-Ow!’ Another pencil hit Bam Bam’s forehead and he got up to headlock his attacker. He bit the man’s hand while the other pulled  on his hair. ‘YAAH! NOT MY HAIR!’

‘.’ Seokmin spat out of frustration.

‘Little .’ Was the response.

Both of them let silence filled the air. Seokmin needed space to think, and his usually noisy friend was kind enough to give him that. He stared at his notes, the words not making any sense. He placed the piece of paper inside the textbook and put it aside, making space for him to put his elbow on the desk to support his face. ‘I like us like this. At least he’s speaking to me…’

‘You’ll suffer.’

‘I’ll gladly take it then… I can handle it.’

‘No you won’t.’

‘He’ll change his mind…’

‘I doubt that.’ Bam Bam looked at his friend whose hair was messily ruffled. He was confused. ‘He’s not even that pretty. There are other omegas you can have if you want.’

‘Yaah!’

Sensing aggression from the other’s sudden intense pheromones, Bam Bam decided to let it rest and leave him for now. ‘Fine. Do what you want. I’ll be at the park goggling some y omegas.’

The now silver-haired alpha threw something on the bed which caught Seokmin’s attention. The former was already halfway out the door before the other launched himself on the mattress to identify the package. ‘What’s this?’

‘ing dried mangoes! Jesus! What did you do to deserve me?’ He voice getting softer as he returned to his room complaining about not getting any peaches. Seokmin laughed at the childish chatter as he got up and closed his door that was left wide opened. He turned around and stared at the bed. The memories from his first awkward encounter with Kwon Hoshi until their passionate trip replaying in his mind, invading his sanity.

He leaned against the door and let himself slide down to a sitting position.

. He was really screwed.

*****

Soonyoung took out his cola from the vending machine and sat down at the couch placed at the common room, switching the channel to find something good to watch. The new semester had already begun and everything went back to normal. Him enjoying his performance classes, trying hard not to daydream in his other general electives and planning his part-time shifts so he can have enough money for dates. One of his classes got canceled so now he was just wasting his time, waiting for the clock to turn five so he can meet Wonwoo for their little study session.

Finding nothing good on the television, he moved next to the window, looking at the bright sky that narrowed his already small eyes. Time was ticking really slowly….

He heard the door opened and another person walked in but was too lazy to even bother. Having nothing to do was draining his energy. The person switched on the television to a drama that was only just starting. She hummed at the opening song, and Soonyoung flipped his head to watch the drama with her. It looked interesting.

That girl...

The cheating omega with many boyfriends. The one he always see making out with different partners at different times. This was awkward. 

Soonyoung turned towards the window again, trying to hide his face. If he recognized her, she would him too. And he doubt both of them would be comfortable knowing that. Looking around for another exit, Soonyoung rolled his eyes at the position of the only door which would require him to walk either behind the television in front of her, or beside her, through the narrow space between the sofa and the glass wall. He was not really good at not making noise, and was not known for being graceful outside of dance so he doubt trying to squeeze through the sofa was a good idea. But walking in front of her would be really awkward.

He stared at her ponytail, trying to  find a way to escape.

‘Am I blocking your view?’ She turned around and smiled at him sweetly, shocking Soonyoung who rubbed his neck clumsily in response. He shook his head and returned the smile shakily. ‘I thought my ponytail was that high. Haha. You can sit here if you want. I don’t mind.’ She patted on the sofa, ‘I’m not really watching.’

Soonyoung gulped and laughed awkwardly. She was not the y girl he thought she would be. Weren’t all cheaters supposed to be jerks?

Cheaters….

Soonyoung cheated too. He was not a jerk though. At least, he think he isn’t.

‘Hey, aren’t you Kwon?’ She turned to face him again. ‘You dyed your hair! I couldn’t recognize you anymore!’

He stared at her. Did they knew each other? ‘Yura? We were teammates during orientation? You don’t remember? I had bangs. Owh I dyed my hair black too. My make up maybe?’

‘Owh… ‘ He might remember her. One of the omegas who ditched him once they reached the medic’s party. To be fair, they ditched each other once they were there so she was not really bad, he was just the only one clueless. The only naive one who thought they were there to dance. Such memories…

Speaking of which, he suddenly remembered what Seokmin told him a few month prior. A term foreign to him yet familiar to other alphas and omegas. friend.

It never occurred to him to look it up on the internet since he was determined not to do it again. And he was reluctant to ask his friends too, in case it would gave him a bad image. He was not willing to take that risk after he tried so hard to make friends for the first time since forever. But Yura, it was not as if they were friends, and she obviously has a few of ‘those’ friends. Plus, she seemed like a sweet girl. It wouldn’t hurt to ask.

Soonyoung swallowed hard, not knowing how to start the conversation. They have nothing to talk about, and he was too nervous for small talks so he should just go for it. ‘Ermm, Yura-sshi?’

She turned towards him again and Soonyoung decided it was better for him to sit beside her. Asking for something personal at that distance was not appropriate, come to think of it. He took his position, looking at her who had her bored face on. ‘So urmm… You… I saw you with uhh… different guys…’

‘Yeah, so?’

‘Making out…’ He bit his lips. This could be taken as ual harassment had he not been a fellow omega. ‘So.. uh…’

‘Are you trying to tell me to stop cus I don’t really care what you think-’

‘No. I mean. Is that normal?’ He spilled his thought at her sudden aggression. He didn’t really mean to invade her privacy so her getting defensive was scaring him a bit. ‘Is it?’

She stared at him in disbelief, still with her bored face before bursting out in a loud laughter. So hard she cried while holding her stomach while Soonyoung felt his face burning from shame. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh but are you serious? Like really?’

He didn’t know whether to laugh the embarrassment away or pull on a poker face to show his seriousness. Settling for awkward laughter, he almost got up to leave before she continued, ‘You mean you never had one?’

‘Another boyfriend? Or girlfriend.’

‘ friend. Durr… Wait, are you asking out of curiousity or do you have one?’ She searched his eyes for answer and continued to giggle, ‘Owh you have one.’

‘I don’t…’

‘You had with someone else but you already have a lover and you don’t really want to break up but you enjoyed the other’s touch so badly you want them too?’ She muttered as if she had rehearsed it over and over again before. Maybe she did, asking it to another experienced omegas, or maybe other omegas as confused as he was went to her for advice, just like him. ‘We are not betas. That’s normal for us.’

‘Why is that?’

She rolled her eyes as she placed her hand on Soonyoung’s knee, like they were close. ‘Cus omegas are ual beings. Duhh. We need just like other people need water and air. If your partner can’t provide that, is it wrong for you to look for it somewhere else? Should you starve just because your partner couldn’t buy you food when someone else is offering it to you for free? That’s suicide.’

Omegas are ual beings… That was the first time he ever heard of that concept. What she said was really starting to make sense once he think of their kind like that. ‘But should be done with someone you like.’

She laughed hysterically, scaring him. Was he saying something stupid? Because she kept laughing at him like he was some kind of clown. Maybe his conservative thinking was only applicable to betas so he was indeed, a clown in some way. ‘What about during your heat? If you’re not satisfied with your partner then you need to do it yourself. So are you cheating?’

‘Heats are…’

‘Necessities honey. Remember that. Until I’m bonded and my mate becomes the only one able to satisfy me needs, I don’t really see the point of sacrificing my health for the sake of being loyal. I mean, partners who demand loyalty yet were not concerned about your well-beings are jerks, don’t you think?’

Soonyoung was taken aback by that last comment. Wonwoo refused to touch him not because he was a jerk. In fact, it was the opposite. The beta didn’t want to force him to bed just because they were dating. They discussed it a few times and the man specifically told him not to force himself to do what other omegas are doing just to satisfy his ‘supposed’ role in society - as someone whose end purpose was to give birth and raise children. He wanted Soonyoung to be able to focus on his own career, living life as he always did without having to adjust to his presence as the dominant one in the relationship. Because the man was fully aware of omegas being submissive once they found a lover, letting the other control a part of their lives even from before mating. He even went as far as not making their relationship official, just to make sure Soonyoung was not affected in every way possible.

His ‘lover’ was not a jerk. If anything, he was just really concerned and respectful.

Sooonyoung knew that. He understood that really well.

And yet…

Soonyoung craved for those dominating pheromones enveloping him in a warmth and security. Exciting him… Calming him… Giving him heavenly pleasures he never knew was possible…

Necessity…

Lee Seokmin is a necessity.

To be continued…

New year’s update!! YAY!!!!!

Dokyeom just realized he dug his own grave and Hoshi was finally convinced to continue their special ‘friendship’. Dramas!! I warned you it was going to be bendy Soonseok *laughs at the lame joke*

By the way, I have nothing against Yura ^^;; It’s just that the first person who came to mind while writing about it was her and I can’t think of anyone else so… *laughs awkwardly*

Anyways hope you have a great 2018!! Here’s to more Soonseok interactions and fics!!!!