Soonyoung peeked slightly from the end of the hall and looked back one more time to confirm the absence of his next door senior. Somehow managing to survive the week without contacting anyone, he now realized another challenge he must face - avoiding Jeonghan for the day. Gripping the strap his backpack, he nodded as assurance to himself before dashing to his door. He almost screamed in frustration when he realized he forgot to get his key out of the bag first because now he had to spend some extra seconds in front of the door.

‘You’re back.’ Soonyoung almost jumped when he heard the light voice coming from the now slightly opened door. He smiled sheepishly while his right hand frantically searched for the key that he always throw in the small front pocket of the bag. Unfortunately for him, Jeonghan already had his food ready to be passed to the younger omega and was now waiting for the panicked man to unlock his room. Successfully doing so, he laughed awkwardly, and finally greeted Jeonghan.

‘Thanks…. I’ll go in now.’ He hesitated for a while and decided it was justified that he just get inside without having a small chat. Heats are tiring after all, and the older would understand that. He looked back at the other one last time before closing the door, still smiling to not appear too rude.

Taking a deep breath, he jumped on the bed and lied on his stomach. He swore he saw Jeonghan frowned slightly.

Jeonghan could smell the alpha’s scent lingering…

*****

Seokmin stopped to see the club members dancing outside in the cold autumn weather while on his usual evening jog. It was a Thursday and he was sure the club’s meeting was on Saturday morning. Furthermore, they usually hold it in the gym so seeing them at the park on a weekday was really surprising to say the least. He waited beside a nearby tree close to the bench that the members were using as props for their choreograph and waved at Lisa who was monitoring the members at the very front with the radio. She smiled brightly back at him and waited until the song was over before heading over.

‘What are you guys doing here?’

‘Practicing for the competition next Sunday!’ She replied with her weird and cute excited accent before a few more familiar faces greeted him as well. Seeing them made him missed the short time he had with the club, struggling to dance to catch Soonyoung’s attention. It was just a few months ago but it already seemed like a distant memory. Now, the members who joined the team at the same time as him were having their first competition alongside the intermediate members. He could have been one of them had he not retire, not the he really mind it.

‘That was a really cool dance! Are you gonna use a bench at the competition?’

‘Nope! A sofa, but we can’t bring them outside so we’re using the bench.’ Another guy grinned and rubbed the back of his neck to show his tiredness. ‘Soonyoung made a routine that involves sitting. That squint-’

‘Yah! As if you can make a better one. Stop complaining.’ The foreigner hit her friend’s shoulder lightly and Seokmin just smiled at the antics. Soonyoung choreographed the cool dance he just saw... Lately he only saw the weak and crying omega, who is also very active during his heat, that he forgot the man was actually a talented choreographer of a dance team.

‘Why did you and Bam Bam stop coming?’ Cap girl asked and he just smile sheepishly. He stopped coming because there was no reason to continue anymore. If he was being really honest. ‘No time.’

She almost tried to dig deeper before the others called for another practice. ‘Wanna watch?’

‘Sure.’ He stood at his place, enjoying the dance from the side, not wanting to distract the members. They were all really sharp with their movements and filled with energy, reminding him of the first time he met Soonyoung at Shining Diamond. The members were with the same mesmerizing aura, the same contagious energy as today, and it made him wonder whether it was the members or the omega’s choreograph that causes that.

And the Soonyoung back then too… so charismatic, so y, so passionate.  

Seokmin sighed softly. He should be happy he got to see the members again and yet he somehow felt a bit sad. Sure, he really like the weak and emotional side of the man which never fails to wake the protective of him but seeing the members today reminded him of the other Soonyoung - the one he first fell head over heels for. The man who enjoys being on stage and was confident with himself. The man who was focused and serious in doing what he likes.

Distracted by his own nostalgia, he finally noticed the Soonyoung’s presence, monitoring the dance and commenting strictly on mistakes he caught. The omega didn’t seem to notice his existence though, too focus on his work, and seeing that sight again carved a smile on his face. Indeed, Soonyoung is the most attractive when he is in control and not confused. He really look like a professional although he was still a student.

He didn’t realize he was staring until their eyes finally met, leaving the omega slightly blushing before turning his focus back to the team without saying a word. Forcing a small smile, Seokmin waved goodbye and continued his jog without waiting for the other to respond. As much as he wanted to talk to the omega, he knew he shouldn’t.

Soonyoung already made it clear that he didn’t want anyone to know about their ‘friendship’.

*****

Soonyoung stared at the white ceiling of his room, spreading all his limbs apart on the soft bed after a long day at the studio practicing another dance for his class. He wanted to rest but his mind was a mess. Although he had been doing it for a while now, he somehow felt a bit guilty for ignoring the alpha at club practice today. Maybe it was because the man had been there for a while instead of just passing by, so it was rude not to say hi. Greeting an ex-member was not weird at all. He should have at least do that.

‘Arghh.’ He scratched his head and rolled around on the bed until he fell off, staying in that position to calm himself. He really felt bad about his action earlier. To be completely honest, he ignored the man because Seokmin was a bit distracting, and he couldn’t afford to lose his focus. It was not because he didn’t want anyone to see him waving back at the alpha. Heck, the members were too focus to even notice anything else besides his voice anyway. He should say sorry.

But…Seokmin would understand, Soonyoung always ignore him whenever they met outside.

Soonyoung sat up and stared at the desk, listening to his own breath to distract himself from thinking about it. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he was too rude to Seokmin but he didn’t want to start apologizing either because then he would have to make up for it by greeting the man every time they meet. And if that happens, it would be awkward to just say hi without any follow-up. Then they have to chat. And it would be weird because he would have to watch out if there was anyone he knew around as they might suspect something if Soonyoung started to act extra friendly with the alpha. Everything will be really complicated then.

He got up from the floor and returned to lie on this bed. Everything would be fine. He was probably just overthinking.

*****

It was already Saturday night and yet there was no call from the alpha, not even a chat online. Maybe Seokmin was actually offended by his action that day…

No. He could just be busy. Basketball maybe? But basketball practice was in the morning and it was already dark outside so he should be free. Exams maybe? But Seokmin said he didn’t have any mid-terms this term so it wasn’t that either.

Soonyoung felt restless and brought out his laptop. Maybe he can see what the alpha had been doing from his page. Scrolling through his timeline, he saw the name Choi Yuna appeared frequently in all his posts. And the alpha replied too. They were chatting through the comment section. Soonyoung clicked his tongue in distaste. If they were going to flirt, why not do it in private chat? ‘Attention seeker.’ He muttered under his breath.

Soonyoung clicked on the name to stalk the lady and was relieved that it was not private so he can do the stalking without having to add her. It was written at the profile that she was also a medic student…

…She’s pretty. And she seemed really cool too, unlike the girly girl he was hoping to find. Somehow feeling a bit disappointed, he scrolled down the timeline and learned that she is a cheerleader for another basketball team from another university. Seeing how she always share stuffs related to basketballs, she was an avid fan of the sports too. Unlike himself who only know the basic. Now feeling a bit inferior, he continued looking around, hoping to find something he can accept as a flaw to satisfy himself. Still no luck.

Owh.

She uploaded a picture with Seokmin two months prior at a competition. Soonyoung remembered the alpha telling him about it. They won the game. He stared at the caption and rolled his eyes. The lady captioned the post with congratulations and calling Seokmin ‘the handsome shooting guard’. What’s a shooting guard anyway? Soonyoung keyed in the word and googled it, mouthing an ‘owh’ when he remembered Seokmin’s position in the team. He really needs to remember these kinds of things so he wouldn’t be clueless whenever they talk. He wanted to, but he just find it hard to remember things not related with his own major. Just like how he forgets everything Wonwoo told him about buildings, he forgot everything Seokmin told him about basketball too. No wonder the alpha stopped telling him about it.

Stalking the girl really made him feel disappointed with himself. Before closing the window, he decided to read the comment on the pic out of curiousity but only succeeded in annoying himself further.

Someone asked if they had anything between them and the girl replied ambiguously, as if they do. He scoffed at that. If they really have something with each other, Seokmin would tell him… right?

…

Maybe they DO have something together? Seokmin never said anything about having a girlfriend but they were not that close to tell each other everything in the first place. Not to mention, their relationship was suppose to be a casual one so just like Soonyoung still being in a relationship with his nerd, the alpha should be allowed to date freely as well. There was nothing that tied them together anyways.

Soonyoung turned to lie on his back and stared at the ceiling. He was starting to get attached to the medic student. friends are not suppose to bear feelings for each other so Soonyoung was doing it wrong. He was really curious about the girl but Seokmin would probably think he was meddling too much into his life and find him tiring. Sighing at the thought, he brought his phone above his face and flipped them open. Still no call. He must be sleeping or busy right now. Soonyoung let his right hand fall beside him and let go of the phone so it can disappear somewhere on the floor. Just looking at it frustrated him right now.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw a notification came in. Rolling to his side, he clicked on it, just to waste time, and crouched closer to the laptop when he saw Seokmin uploaded a new picture. It was him having dinner with the basketball team, the caption read ‘Late night snacking after practice is the best!’. Soonyoung could relate to that feeling as he usually stuff his face with food after coming back from practice early in the mornings too, but he would usually eat alone in his room. Dining outside with the team members must be really fun since they were all smiling in the pic.

Soonyoung was really tempted to comment on the pic, but contemplated on whether that was crossing the boundaries. The alpha didn’t greet him in chat like he would usually do either so maybe Seokmin was too tired to do anything. Satisfied with his reasoning, he turned back to the home page only to realize someone had already commented on that photo. It was Choi Yuna. And Seokmin replied a few seconds ago along with a smiley face.

Feeling a bit annoyed, Soonyoung closed the laptop and decided to sleep early.

*****

It was really bright and finally too hot it was uncomfortable to keep on sleeping anymore. Soonyoung groaned and walked lazily towards the window to pull on the curtain. He was really drained from practices this week and just wanted to sleep away his Sunday since this is a rare weekend when he didn’t have to go to his prt-time job. Before returning to his dreamland, he searched for his phone and looked for any new messages or missed calls.

A good morning message from Wonwoo and nothing. Seokmin really didn’t call him last night.

Wait. Why was he so disheartened by that anyway? Wonwoo greeted him and he still felt the butterflies so that was enough.

It should be enough.

Grunting softly, he hid his face beneath the pillow and tried to continue sleeping but he couldn’t focus. He had been closing his eyes for an hour already and still, he was conscious. He might as well do something else beside dozing off.

God he felt bad about Thursday! This was so frustrating!! Why was it messing with his head?! Seokmin must have been really mad at him to ignore him this long.

This won’t do. He needed to apologize.

He will apologize once, and then he would just wave to the alpha whenever they meet outside. No need to talk or say hi loudly. Yes. A wave would suffice. Like a friend would a friend.

Inhaling deeply, he chose the man’s name from his contacts. There was a really long ring and his heart beat was fast, indicating how nervous he was. After the third ring, he sighed, half-disappointed, half-relieved, and was about to cut the call before a familiar voice greeted him. Unconsciously, his body perked up in response.

‘H-hi! Hey. Uhmm… Yes, it’s me…’ What should he say? Should he just get straight to the point or ask him about his day first? Ask about Choi Yuna? No. That was a bad idea. Seokmin was very quiet. He was too quiet. , he was waiting for Soonyoung to say something. Was should he say?!

‘So… what time is the competition?’

Competition? What competition? Owh… ‘Uhmm… we’re at 11:30… I think. Need to recheck…’

‘It’s 11:30…’

‘What? Really? How did you know?’

‘The clock…’ Soonyoung looked at the time in confusion. It was 11:37, yes, but what? How?

Huh?

‘Erm… it’s next week…’ he muttered softly, not really sure whether they were on the same page. Did the topic change without him noticing? Did he misheard the question? Were they talking about the current time or the competition? He held his breath when there were no sound coming from the end of the line, it was dead silent he could hear his heart threatening to jump out of his ribcage.

‘Really? Aigoo… I must’ve misunderstood... Thought it was today!’ Seokmin finally laughed awkwardly and Soonyoung let out a sigh of relief. This was exactly the reason why he never start a phone conversation first.

‘You kinda freaked me out a little… I thought it was today too! Yah!’ He closed his eyes and cringed at the stupid attempt to joke with the alpha. Him? Thinking the competition was today? Owh if he could just undo that stupid comment….

‘Mianhae…’ the alpha laughed again, his voice gentle as he apologized, bringing a smile to the omega’s bloated morning face. Soonyoung bit the inner wall of his mouth, gaining courage to say the word the other had lightly said. It was just a word, there was no need to be so nervous…

‘Urm… Seokmin-ah… about Thursday…’

‘Thursday?’

‘Yeah… Thursday…’ Calm down. It was only a simple word.

‘What bout Thursday?’

‘MIANHAE!!!’ He realized he just screamed on the phone and folded it in shock, unintentionally cutting the call. Staring wide-eyed, he let himself fall down on the bed again and hid his face inside the pillow once more, kicking the air in frustration. He already practice the scene in his head where he was supposed to say it cooly, and Seokmin was supposed to say it’s okay, and they were supposed to laugh it off but why did he yelled it at the man??

Bzzz. Bzzz. Soonyoung stared again at the blinking phone playing his ringtone while vibrating. That must be Seokmin. Who else could it be?

Feeling a bit reluctant, he answered it anyway, trying to pretend he didn’t do what he did a few seconds ago. ‘Urm… hey. That was… someone, Jeonghan-hyung scared m-‘ Owh god, he couldn’t think of any excuses. ‘I uh…’

‘What was that for? Did you do something I didn’t know?’

‘Huh? No… I didn’t do anything. Haha…’

‘Did you steal my shirt or something? Cus one of them is missing and I-‘

‘I thought you were mad at me.’ He admitted to stop the other from muttering nonsense and accusing him of random little things. He did make an impact with his apology so it was only natural for the other to be curious of the reason. Though, he would really love if the man just forget about it.

‘Why is that?’

‘Cus I ignored you and you didn’t call me or text me for four days so I thought-‘

He heard a sigh and stopped mid-sentence. ‘I didn’t want to distract you from the competition… thought you needed to focus. Sorry if you misunderstood…’ Soonyoung felt his cheeks getting warm and brought the back of his hand to cool them down. That was really not what he had expected. In fact, it was the opposite.

There was an awkward silence where both men didn’t know what to say to each other. Soonyoung pursed his lips, thinking of something to say to ease the tension his misunderstanding caused. Somehow, he managed a simple hum instead.

‘So…’

‘Do you wanna come? To the competition I mean…’ He promptly asked over the alpha’s voice, ‘the members would love it if you can come and support…’

‘Really? Where?’

‘It’s a bit far but we’re renting a bus… You can join us if you don’t mind...’ he paused, realizing something, ‘owh yeah. Where. It’s in a club, but they’ll clear it out for that day.’

There was another long silence that Soonyoung dreaded. He bit his lips to distract himself from the nervousness.

‘Sure….’ Was the unenthusiastic response, as if he was hesitant to agree. ‘But… won’t your lover be there?’

‘I didn’t… invite…’ he swallowed the last word, somehow finally realizing that particular fact. But to be fair, Wonwoo would want to bring his playboy friend along because he was a bit of an introvert to be left alone in the crowded room, and Soonyoung did not fancy his friend flirting with the members. So yeah, as much as he wanted to, he didn’t invite his lover.

‘Thank you.’

Soonyoung smiled back even though the other couldn’t see it. ‘Yea…’

*****

‘I didn’t… invite…’ Seokmin was surprised to hear that Soonyoung chose to invite him instead of his own ‘lover’. Moreover, to the competition where all the members will be there. Which also meant that he didn’t mind being close to him in front of other people. That was a huge change. The one that pleased him.

Seokmin smiled at the realization. Soonyoung was really trying to open up to him more. He was also giving him the pleasure of seeing the omega dance on stage again, which he had been longing for since a few months ago.

He grinned brightly, ‘Thank you.’

To be continued…

First of all… SEVENTEEN’S THANKS IS LIT!!! I’m so proud of the members!!! They’ve gone so far and grown so much since pre-debut, like Hoshi made that freaking intense and magnificent choreograph and he was just a little squish!! And Dokyeom with his high notes and visual! Owh my babies T.T I’m so proud of them.

Second of all… Hoshi panicking on the phone is back!!! Bahahahaa! He felt restless after four days of no contact :3 and he made the move this time!!! *claps*

As always, thanks for reading and commenting guys <3<3 Love you guys so much!!!