The double door was slammed open, a figure appeared from the other side and seemed to be very furious as he stomped across the room with an enraged expression after finishing the test and receiving the result that did not reach his expectation. Daniel gulped uneasily, sharing worried glances with Seongwu. Minhyun sighed at the side while Minki facepalmed. It’s going to be a long and heartbreaking day.

It’s initiation day, meaning that every student will go through tests to determine their so-called ‘hierarchy’ in society. Today, they’ll finally know their standing in the community, whether they are an alpha, beta or omega. Because the initiation only happens every three years, and only happens when your body is ready to undergo drastic changes, all college students from every faculty within the age of 20 to 24 are gathered together in the spacious school cafeteria to wait for their own turn to undergo the physical test. 

“I need to admit that I am very nervous right now,” Daniel whispered. His heel  couldn’t stop bouncing against the floor as he sat impatiently on the provided bench. 

“You’re the only one who’s excited for this day to come since we’re in high school,” Seongwu pointed out with a teasing smile. “Looks like the nerves finally got to you, huh? But it’s gonna be fine, puppy.”

As Seongwu ruffled Daniel’s head, the younger sensed the comfortable scent emitting from the older, basking in the comfort and leaning into Seongwu’s touch like a real puppy craving for his master’s utmost attention. 
“Do you think I can be a good beta?” Daniel questioned suddenly, voice slightly above a whisper. “Can I even be a beta?”

Seongwu laughed loudly and patted the younger’s knee. “Why are you suddenly so nervous? The only reason why you want to be a beta so badly was so you can finally take peter and rooney from Busan and raise them here.”

Daniel groaned and leaned his head on Seongwu’s shoulder. “Sorry I don’t have that much motivation to be an alpha or to be anything at all at this point. What’s the point on aiming a particular role? Why do you want to be an alpha, hyung?”

“I haven’t thought of a long-term benefit but I just want to appear at the cover of our annual university catalogue as the strongest alpha and get the fame and money, also an acting offer too if I can.” Seongwu smirked and flexed his lanky arms while Daniel laughed uncontrollably at the failed attempt to show off some muscle. 

Minhyun, ever the fatherly and observant dad friend he is, could only sigh at the nth time he is forced to witness Seongwu and Daniel’s interaction. 
“Can someone hold me back before I force them to kiss,” Minhyun declared to the group of friends who sat nearby. Seonho dutifully latched himself on Minhyun’s back in effort to anchor him down to the bench. 

“If I were you, I’d just storm there and tie them together until they confess,” Minki admitted casually while flipping a page of his magazine. “Less effort.”

“I’ll help you with the tying. I was a scout boy and learned about tying strong knots during camp.” Jaehwan puffed his cheeks and gestured animatedly with his hand of tying a rope. Minki patted him on the back for being a supportive friend.

The two boys were oblivious of being the topic of their friend’s discussion, too lost in their own world to realize everyone’s gazes.

“Why is everyone aiming to be an alpha anyway? Why do they have certain goals? Aren’t everything the same? We’re still a living thing after all.”  Daniel closed his eyes as Seongwu began carding his hair and massaging his scalp. 

“I don’t actually know, puppy.” Seongwu chuckled. “You ask awfully a lot of questions today.”

Daniel hummed. “I just feel bad for them you know? They’ll just get disappointed when the results say otherwise.”

 Suddenly the door that leads to the examination room burst open, a young female walks out while crying her eyes out, crumpling a paper in her hand. Must have been another case of unexpected diagnose. Her group of friends immediately went to her aid and began uttering comforting words and giving her the mental support. 

“Everyone after the test is either crying or attempting murder right now,” Daehwi voiced out. “Dongho hyung is doing the latter.”

Kuanlin began to cackle. “I was with Dongho hyung this morning since he got earlier turn than us and I had nothing to do so I waited with him. He was pretty excited to finally be presented as an omega and live his fullest as a male omega. But after he came out of the examination room, he was so pissed he ripped his result folder to pieces and ate five burgers in ten minutes.”

Minhyun winced. “Wow, dream shattered.”

“Yeah, I know right? The initiation crushes people’s expectation and self-esteem.” Kuanlin added as he bit on another vegetable cracker.

“He got a big bold A on his paper, didn’t he?” Minhyun questioned to make sure.

A nod from Kuanlin sent everyone to a tense silence.

“We hear him talk about his dreams of using the depressant fund from the government to buy a new couch. He was so ready to finally use his heat cycle as a reason to skip work and punch strangers in the subway,” Jaehwan said. “I did not have the heart to tell Dongho that his ideas and thoughts might be too aggressive for an omega.”

Daehwi suddenly sat right up in his seat. “Do you guys remember Kwon Hyunbin from my lit class? The tall lanky guy who would trip on his own feet and couldn’t even find the toilet for the whole day?”

“Could never forget that wimp,” Minki chortled at the memory. “What’s up with him?” 

“He presented as a beta this morning!”

The group gasped together out of shock. This seemed to finally grab Seongwu and Daniel’s attention as they finally pull apart and scooted closer to their friends.
“No way! I thought he would be like the lowest standard of being an omega in the history of natural science!” Jaehwan was now rubbing his neck in surprise. “This test is gonna kill everyone’s mood for the next three months.”

Daniel gulped harshly.
He had nothing against being an omega. His sister cousin is an omega and she is living quite an awesome and peaceful life except for the part where a painful and uncomfortable heat cycle comes every three months. He’s a tough guy so pain wouldn’t scare him the least but he really wants to be a beta.  His role model, his mother, has been one of the strongest and most influential person in his life without having to be an alpha and he wants to be exactly like her. Also, to legally own peter and rooney, he needed to be a beta. 

“I am officially scared,” Daniel announced.

“Fear is for the weak!” Minki shouted, voice echoing throughout the whole cafeteria. “If you have the confidence of being either an alpha, beta or even omega, be sure to yourself. If you can deceive your mind, you can deceive everybody else and you can deceive the initiating machine.”

A few people nearby managed to clap their hands in the midst of their mental breakdown and Minki took his bow in front of the audience.

“Thanks, I guess.”

“Cheer up, sports! A lot of people have been presented as a beta so far that means your possibility of being one is pretty high.” Minhyun patted Daniel’s shoulder to cheer him up.

Seongwu offered him a soft smile and Daniel heaved a sigh before returning it with a bright grin of his own.

One by one, names are called by the initiation staff towards the door and one by one, students strode out of the exam room looking haphazard and shell-shocked.

“Let’s make prediction!” Jaehwan finally decided to break the ice in their group. Silence rarely envelopes them since a loudspeaker, a clown, a maniac, three overexcited and overgrown pups, a jukebox and a diva are in one place at the same time but today is an exception.

“What prediction exactly?” Minhyun quirked an e