Soonyoung looked at the mirror one last time, turning around to look at the team jersey he got from Seokmin. It fitted him perfectly, as in, a size bigger than his usual size. Which was good because his likes big sweaters. Looking at the picture the alpha sent him, he started to draw mascot of their team on his cheek, careful not to ruin it.

‘Owh Hoshi you’re so talented.’ He pointed at himself in the mirror, pretending to converse with another as he laughed cheekily. Looking at the clock on the top of his phone screen, Soonyoung was about to call his boyfriend but stopped himself. Obviously Seokmin wouldn’t answer. There were only half an hour before the match so they would be warming up right now. Speaking of which, he should get going if he wanted to wish Seokmin good luck before the game. Half running downstairs, Soonyoung’s step slowed down as he heard familiar voices down the hall, near the entrance.

‘You okay? The game’s starting in 30 minutes.’

‘Yes. Let’s go.’ Frowning, Soonyoung walked backward a few steps before turning around and made his way back up the stairs.

They were watching the game too. He should have known. Today’s match was against the engineering department anyways. And most of his ex’s pack were on the team.

No longer feeling the motivation to watch the game, not wanting to be in the same room as the other omegas, Soonyoung slowly made his way to his room. Staring back at the mirror, feeling guilty and regretful, he sighed and whined to himself, cursing the two omegas, questioning why Wonwoo would even go to a basketball match when he was not in the position to show his face in public, considering he was so hated by the other omegas right now.

Wait. Why was he being like this? He shouldn’t think about someone this way, no matter how much he hated that someone. What was happening to him?

. He was really messed up right now he felt sick.

Lying on the bed, Soonyoung hid his face beneath the pillow, hoping that sleep would ease him from his bad, suffocating thoughts.

*****

‘Captain! Drink?’ their point guard, Junhoe asked as he rest a hand over Seokmin’s shoulder. Looking over at the man, he turned to see most of his team already seated, with their supporters. They lost the game, but that wouldn’t stop them from having fun with their members. ‘Gimme a minute.’

‘Yeah sure. We’re planning in half an hour?’ He gave the other alpha a nod, ‘By the way, how’s your leg?’

‘Working.’ He turned his right ankle around, assuring him that he wasn’t injured after being stomped by the other team while the man was landing. It hurt like hell, but for now he was good. Tomorrow though, he wasn’t sure.

Walking towards the middle bench, where there were not so many people sitting around, he took out his phone. Soonyoung told him he wasn’t coming to support him today because something came up. Disappointed was not enough to describe his feeling right now but he didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. His team did lost, and he hurt his leg so it would have been a big embarrassment to him anyway. Not to mention, this was the first time his fox missed his competition since they started going out officially.

Sorry… I’ll go next time o(╥﹏╥)o - Hoshi☆

Smiling at the cute emoji, loving the fact that the omega had been using a lot these days, Seokmin sighed and leaned back, slowly until his back reached the seat behind, and rested his head. Staring at the ceiling. He really wanted to meet Soonyoung right now. The omega would probably say some weird things and started dancing to cheer him, and his teammates up.

He heard familiar laughter and looked down towards a group of people, Seungcheol’s pack, joking around with each other. The older alpha naturally had his hand over his mate, and Jeonghan did the same as they talked to each other. Seokmin couldn’t help but feel a bit envious. He wanted that. He wanted to be able to hug Soonyoung freely without the omega feeling self-conscious about it in public. Being official mates would give them every right to do so, though people wouldn’t actually care in the first place. He hoped bonding would eliminate that factor so Soonyoung could be more comfortable with himself, and their relationship.

As he was about to walk back to his own team, Seokmin’s eyes caught on a tall figure, standing not too far from the group, staring at someone from the other alpha’s pack. Following Mingyu’s line of sight, he traced it back to his batch-mates he befriended during orientation.

He wondered why the giant was staring intently, gasping to himself as he remembered one mention of a ‘lake fairy’. Studying the group, he tried to recall the description of the male the noble alpha met during orientation.

Seokmin smirked, he knew who the man was.

Should he tell? He was feeling down, and needed some cheering up. And there were around fifteen minutes left before his team would leave for the ‘celebration’. Not to mention, teasing his friend would be fun. Maybe he should.

Getting up, Seokmin skipped his way towards the tall, dark male.

*****

Soonyoung looked over at the young beta, squinting his eyes mischievously when he realized the boy stopped dancing. Chan gave him a sweet smile before turning back to the senior in front of him to practice the choreography for their upcoming competition. Somehow that smile made him feel better as he turned back towards the mirror and replayed the song on his phone, moving his hands around, trying to think of the move for Jihoon’s new song.

‘What song are you choreographing for?’ Chan sat beside him on the floor after the club dispersed, leaving the seniors behind to practice by themselves. Soonyoung gave the earphones to the younger male and pressed play, enjoying the positive reaction. ‘Cool song. What’s the name?’

‘Dunno yet. Woozi’s still thinking bout it.’

‘New song? Is Woozi a composer? Wow!’ He laughed at the excited man, very much like a child, especially with his small body. ‘Wait, do you know him? Can you introduce him to me? You think he’ll listen to my song?’

‘You make music?’

‘Yeah. I mean, I like to. Everyone in my family’s involve in music or entertainment.’

‘Owh…’ Soonyoung nodded, impressed. It must be really great having the whole family in the industry, at least they would always have the necessary connection to succeed. He had to rely on luck and hard work, having to practice his dance alone in his room, just watching the videos on the internet and making his own, wishing someone would stumble upon his video and support him. Thankfully it worked out well for him so he wasn’t actually feeling envious, just, impressed.

Hearing Chan talk passionately about his favourite kind of song, Soonyoung suddenly remembered one member of the Lee family who wasn’t involved in entertainment, or music field. In fact, the alpha is a total nerd whose passion was anime and trivia books. ‘Seokmin-hyung’s a bit different. He wanted to be a musical actor like auntie but…’ Soonyoung’s head perked up at the sudden information about his boyfriend. He never knew Seokmin had that kind of dream when he was little. ‘Hyung can sing and dance too!’

‘Really?’ the omega pretended not to know, deciding not to tell about Seokmin joining the dance club two years ago. His skill was mediocre, but though Soonyoung would never admit it, he always found himself entranced by the alpha’s serious face when he was focused on dancing. Seokmin just had this aura about him that attract people despite his skill. It was really a shame that he stopped coming after a while.

As for singing, that alpha sing in his sleep sometimes. When he was passionate enough, he would even do a high note and ad libs, sometimes annoying Soonyoung when he was too tired. Thank god he has a good voice. Now that Chan mentioned it, maybe it was the entertainer in him desperate to break free? That made sense considering the alpha would either be hosting or singing, sometimes reenacting a play of some sort. Maybe, if they go out for karaoke often, Seokmin would stop sleep-talking.

‘Are you guys getting married?’ Soonyoung almost cough out the water he just drank at the sudden question. Forcing himself to drink what was in his mouth, he took deep breath to readjust his respiratory. A few more second passed before he turned towards the young beta, wide eyed. ‘Owh. I mean, bonding.’

‘W-why do you ask?’

‘Just wondering. I like you. It’ll be great to have you join the family… I guess.’

Soonyoung pretended a laugh, trying to ease the awkwardness he was feeling. He doubt Chan realized it, based on his indifferent expression. ‘We’re still young…’

‘Owh? I thought you guys are serious…’ Chan mumbled the last words but Soonyoung could still catch it. The omega opened his mouth to speak but stopped himself halfway, not sure about his answer. They were serious, as in, they were not playing around with each other like they were last year, but he wasn’t sure if that meant he was ready to be someone’s mate. This and that were two completely different thing.

Right now he knew he love being around Seokmin, and he love being showered with attention from the alpha. He wouldn’t want the alpha to look at another omega, though that never happened, and he too never felt the need to look at another alpha either. They were serious. But bonding was still a bit early for them. Maybe. ‘We’re not playing though…’

Chan smirked at that, giving Soonyoung his earphones back. ‘That’s great!’

‘You like me that much?’ Soonyoung pulled the young dancer in a headlock and messed with his hair, earning him a whine of annoyance. ‘Shall I be your new mom?’

‘What? No!’

‘I won’t settle for less!’ He rubbed their cheeks together to annoy the beta more.

‘Ewww no!!’ Chan pushed him away and stood up, running backward, making the omega fell on the floor lying as he laughed his heart away.

*****

Laying on the floor, huffing, Soonyoung stared at the mirror to his own reflection. He was a mess. His blond hair looked really weird with the root already showing, his face red from exhaustion, body all sweaty, he was sure no alpha would even consider him as a mate candidate if they were to see him like this.

He wondered why Seokmin even liked him in the first place. Just look at the two angry pimples on his forehead. Should he just poke it an-

‘Are you guys getting married?’

Soonyoung sat up straight, suddenly feeling himself shivered at the thought. The hair at the back of his neck literally stood up, shuddering him so he rubbed it a few times until it wasn’t as ticklish.

Sure, they joked around a lot about it but that was when they were trying to get to know each other so the idea seemed unreal. But now that they became comfortable enough to be considered a real couple, the thought scared him. He had no idea how to be a mate. He had no role models. His grandmother was different, she married a beta, and by the time he started to live with them, she no longer had her heats. Both his grandparents were also retired and had no problems with their jobs so he couldn’t really use them as reference. His mother, she was not someone he could look up to. His stepmother? She was the closest person he could refer to, but they weren’t close and he only knew her for a short while before moving out with his grandparents.

He really have no idea how to be someone’s mate. Not to mention, the only kid he ever cared for turned out to by psychotic. He didn’t have the confidence to look after a baby. What if their children become as broken as his sister? What about his career? He was just starting to get recognized for his talent, he didn’t want to give that up just yet.

In short, he wasn’t sure he was ready to settle down.

That being said, he wondered if their relationship would actually lead anywhere. He remembered feeling relieved when Seokmin rejected his desperate request for bonding that night which meant that he was indeed, not ready fo-

Wait. Seokmin rejected his offer to bond…

Was there something wrong with him? Why wouldn’t the alpha accept it? Maybe he, too, didn’t see any future for their relationship?

But why? Because he wasn’t an ideal omega? But Seokmin said he likes him…

‘Aish!!!’ Soonyoung messed up his hair, cursing his thoughts. Looking up front, he frowned at his own reflection, feeling a bit disgusted with his unkempt appearance. Shaking his head aggressively, he got up and took his bag, already preparing to leave. It was earlier than his usual schedule, which was late at night and right now, the sun was still visible but Soonyoung just didn’t feel like being in a room filled with mirrors any longer. He looked disgusting. And tired. He just wanted to go back, take a refreshing shower and sleep.

And hopefully dream a good dream of a certain someone so he would forget all his worries.

*****

The songs Chan recommended kept him company as Soonyoung banged his head lightly, slowly walking his way back. The kid really had great taste in music, and not surprisingly, every song was a dance song. Bringing his phone up to give the beta a message, he laughed at the silly photo Chan sent him back, telling him that he was with Seokmin at the moment. Soonyoung saved the picture in his files filled with the alpha’s humiliating photos, in case he needed something to laugh about.

A few meters before he reached the entrance, the omega pulled out his earphones, as a preparation. So he would know if either of the two was around. So he could avoid them to save himself from the dreading feeling every time he sees them.

Unfortunately for him, the man he was avoiding was right around the corner. Literally at the corner, surrounded by two alphas.

Soonyoung quickly avoided looking at the group, pretending not to see. He shouldn’t let this affect him. He had a good time until now, he should just ignore the guy and get own with his life, like he had been doing this past month.

‘Dammit.’ He hissed at himself as the image of Wonwoo appeared in his mind. Something didn’t feel right. No, it was not that he still had something for the man. He was sure any feeling for the man was gone the moment he knew the latter had presented as another omega. It was the expression Wonwoo had on his face the few moments Soonyoung saw him just now. The former looked really pale and uncomfortable. If he didn’t know any better, he would’ve thought the man was sick.

…but he did knew better. Wonwoo told him about it. All freshmen omegas told him about it. Something about that situation just now was certainly, not right.

Soonyoung turned back, looking at the three males, not wanting to let his presence known. He was not ready for confrontation, and he didn’t know if his assumption was right. They could be friends for all he knew. Or not. Probably not. But what would he do anyway? Should he tell them to leave Wonwoo alone? Should he scream or just tell them politely? What if they get mad? He didn’t want to get beaten…

His eyes widened as Wonwoo flinched when one of the alphas tried to touch him. He really didn’t know what he should so right now. He should do something. His legs were itching to step forward but he was still reluctant move.

‘It’s okay…’ He whispered to himself as he finally walked towards them. Almost instantly, his heart  stopped as Wonwoo rushed pass him, not noticing him. It shocked Soonyoung so much that he just stood there, frozen. And it seemed, it left the two alphas speechless as well. ‘W-what’s wrong with him? He’s weird…’

The voice brought him back to reality. Soonyoung looked at the two males, one having a weird laugh as the other raised his shoulder. They obviously know Wonwoo, based on their conversation. ‘Something happened during summer I guess?’

‘What do-’ Soonyoung looked behind and started walking towards the dormitory, not caring about what the alphas were talking. He already knew what happened during summer. And he knew exactly why Wonwoo was acting like that. Why he had the look of terror on his face. As hard it was to admit, Soonyoung was extremely worried about the man.

In no time, he was inside the safety of their dormitory. Not surprisingly, the man he was looking for was not around anymore, most probably already inside his room.

Soonyoung sighed. His mind was a mess. He felt guilty, really guilty. He could have done something, the moment he saw what happened. He shouldn’t have waited until the alphas touched Wonwoo. He should have known that would happen, based on the other man’s expression. It was just, he never expected Wonwoo to react like that…

In the midst of hating his ex-lover, Soonyoung completely disregarded the fact that the man he was trying to avoid, was still haunted by what happened during summer. He knew about it, Wonwoo told him himself, but it never seemed real until just now. Somehow, he managed to forget the fact that Wonwoo was a victim of a violent crime.

That genuine look of fear… And to think that the only support Wonwoo had here was Jeonghan because everyone else had been busy hating him, including Soonyoung himself, who was busy crying over his situation to consider about the other person’s misfortune… It was amazing how he managed to survive even a month here.

Looking at the man’s closed door, Soonyoung decided it was better for him to just return to his room. Not that he could do anything for the man right now. He didn’t know if he was capable of handling it. He would probably make things worse.

‘Aish.’ He just couldn’t let it rest just yet. He wanted to know if Wonwoo was alright. He was worried.

Walking slowly in front of the latter’s door, he stood there, not moving, not making any sound, trying to listen to anything coming from the other side. A few seconds passed without any noise which made the smaller male panic. Then he realized, the door was closed, and this was the omega dorm, so of course he wouldn’t hear anything. Laughing at his silliness, Soonyoung suddenly thought of a weird idea. He couldn’t help it, his eyes just caught on the small opening beneath the door.

Getting down on his knees, he placed his ear near the opening. Somehow this felt like déjà vu.

Owh god. He shouldn’t have done this. Now he felt bad.

Wonwoo was breathing heavily on the other side of the door. He knew the man was sitting against it, he could see his shadows. And the voice was vibrating against the door. It was obvious.

Standing up, Soonyoung backed away, contemplating whether he should knock. This was so wrong. The man was having a panic attack, maybe crying, because Soonyoung pretended not to see and let it happen, right in front of his eyes.

‘Soonyoung?’ He almost jumped as his name was called. It was Jeonghan. ‘Is Wo-’

The younger male ignored the question and hurriedly made his way up the stairs, caught off-guard, and ashamed. However, something made him look back at his ex-neighbour. Indeed, the man had a worried face as he looked over at the door. Monotonously, pretending not to care, Soonyoung mentioned, ‘He’s inside… Some alphas surrounded him just now. Nothing happened.’

Again, turning back, Soonyoung bit his lips. Hesitantly, he continued, ‘He’s breathing heavily. You should check up on him.’

‘Thanks.’ He heard the older knocking on the door but decided not to stay any longer. He did his part. This should be enough.

*****

‘Hoshi!’ Seokmin exclaimed excitedly, waving at the now red-haired omega. Soonyoung half skipped toward him, acting like an excited toddler to match the enthusiasm, and for laugh. Chuckling in embarrassment, they both quickly got in the car, hoping nobody they knew would see them act like that. Obviously, they wouldn’t want to destroy their cool image in front of their friends.

‘How’s your leg? Still hurt?’ Soonyoung inquired, putting the pieces of samgyeopsal in his bowl, munching as he waited for the answer. Which he got, in the form of kicking, beneath the table. ‘Yah!’

‘I told you it’s fine!’

‘Well from the way you were crying on the phone, I thought it’ll take a month to recover.’ Soonyoung retorted, enjoying the smile from the alpha. No, Seokmin didn’t cry, he didn’t say he hurt his leg too. He heard about it from Chan and asked about it so the alpha answered, playfully pretended to act weak to gain sympathy. And they already met a couple of days earlier and Seokmin was fine then. He just enjoyed making fun of the younger like this. ‘By the way, what did you wanna ask?’

‘You free next Saturday?’

‘Since when do you ever ask for a date?’ He laughed through his nose, feeling weird all of a sudden. It had been a while since the other had asked him his schedule like this. Saturday nights and Sundays had naturally became their day since the start of the new semester, just like the weekends were last semester. Except for when they have other events that is, which then, they would tell the other beforehand.

‘My mom’s having house party next week and… I was wondering if you’d like to come.’

‘Wha-?’ Soonyoung stopped his chopsticks halfway, the urge to eat suddenly disappeared. He wasn’t sure he heard right. ‘Your house…?’

‘No big deal. It’s just a dinner. She likes to do it sometimes… she likes to cook.’ Seokmin realized the reaction from the omega and quickly tried to ease the situation. He had been thinking about what Seungcheol told him, about introducing Soonyoung to his parents. And, the best way he could think of was to invite him for dinner, since, the omega loves eating. And, because his mother loves cooking. Of course he already told her he wanted to have a friend over, and he knew she knew who he meant by ‘friend’. Being the sport she was, she already invited some people over just in case.

‘You- urmm… I- Dinner? It’s…’ He didn’t know what the omega wanted to say but he knew he was hesitating. ‘Isn’t it far? We’ll have to spend the night…’

. He totally forgot about it. The tiny fact about where he lived. The fact that he lied to the omega about it. Back then. And he never bothered to tell the truth about it.

‘About that… I… have a confession to make….’ Soonyoung looked up at him, half confused, half curious. Seokmin knew this was not a big deal, but somehow he felt nervous. As if he was confessing something really bad. ‘I don’t actually live next to your city.’

‘What do you mean? Where are you from?

‘Half an hour from here.’

‘In…?’

‘Yongin.’ Soonyoung eyes widened so he knew the man was shocked, but he didn’t know why. It wasn’t that different compared to the distance of Soonyoung’s hometown from Seoul. Well, only a half an hour difference, but still, not that shocking to be speechless over. Waving his hand in front of the omega, Seokmin smiled to himself, letting the man be dramatic by himself. Meanwhile, the pork bellies were burning on the grill.

‘Heol…’ Soonyoung exhaled softly, putting his chopsticks down while Seokmin was busy doing the opposite.

Yongin was south, his hometown was north. They were in completely opposite directions. ‘You mean… H-how do you go back- When you send me back home yo..?’ He swallowed, not really wanting to assume anything. It wasn’t a bad thing, but he didn’t want to believe that the alpha would do it for him. Because who would?

‘I get back to Yongin? Don’t worry, I don’t need to sleep in a hotel or something. It’s not that far.’ Seokmin grinned proudly, founding Soonyoung too cute that he was worried about those things. On the other hand, the latter’s head became empty as soon as he heard what came out of the other’s mouth.

Not far?? He literally had to drive back and forth, and further to reach his own home all these time he sent Soonyoung back. Two and a half hours! Not that far??

All these while, he only agreed because he thought the man lived in the next city. He wouldn’t have asked had he known it was the complete opposite! Six times! Seokmin drove him back, and from, six freaking times! ‘Wae? Why would you? It’s far!’

‘Well, cus I want to send you home. You wouldn’t have agreed if I told you.’

The older of the two couldn’t keep his jaw close as he tried to digest this new information. He was flabbergasted. This was shouldn’t be a big deal if Seokmin didn’t care, but it felt like it was. He felt like he had been using the man for transportation. This was too much for him to accept. Especially considering the fact that they just became serious for less than a year. Which meant he had been making Seokmin drive him all the way back, even when they were playing around. Which was obviously not appropriate.

Why would Seokmin do that?? What the hell is wrong with him?!

‘I’d… still like to send you back.’ Seokmin’s voice broke him from his thought momentarily. He could hear the hesitance in his voice, probably already caught on his concern. ‘The fruits there tastes good. My mom loves them.’ He joked, hoping it would bring them back to the main subject.

‘Yeah they’re good…’ the omega forced a smile, not feeling like eating anymore. He felt overwhelmed right now.

‘So… are you okay?’

‘Yeah. I’m fine.’

‘I mean, the dinner.’ Seokmin repeated the question, thinking the other had forgotten about it. He really hoped Soonyoung agreed because he already told his mother and she had been calling to check up on him, asking him about the omega’s favourite food and all. It would hurt her if he rejected the invitation. ‘It won’t be too late.’

‘Owh. Right. It’s close…’ Soonyoung had to repeat himself to focus. ‘Can I get back to you on that?’

‘Sure.’ Now it was the alpha who had to force a bright smile. But it didn’t matter that his omega didn’t give him the answer right away. He was sure Soonyoung would agree anyway.

Hopefully.

To be continued…

DK already made his move! And I dunno if you noticed, but there’s already a hint of what’s coming next. And just a recap in case you forgot, since it’s been so long, DK told Hoshi he live in the next city so Hoshi would agree to go to Daejeon with him in his car instead of the bus. He also told another lie, which may or may not be mentioned later *hint*

And for those who read my other fic, can you now guess why Hoshi did what he did later? It’s not that straightforward, but if you ever experienced it yourself, you’ll probably know ^^;;

Also, I recently re-read the first few chapter of this fic after a while, and boy, both DK and Hoshi changed a lot the last two years! Hoho!! I guess they mature along with the fic XD

Anyways, thank you for always supporting and showing your love for this fic guys!! Your comments and likes/votes always keeps me motivated to write more!! <3<3

Love you readers so much!!!