*** Chapter 3 ***

Monday came. The boys went to college in light feeling because Namjoon was home to take care of Jin who was still in heat. Jungkook did not want anything to ruin his mood that day, but when he entered his class, his expression was darkened again.

Kim Taehyung was already there, in his usual spot in the class.

It’s not that Jungkook did not like to see Taehyung. No. But it was only last week when he and Jimin urgently brought him to the clinic because he was so sick, and he was already here? Jungkook had it enough with omega or anyone who pretended to be strong when they were actually sick. He quickly walked to where the boy sat.

“Taehyung-ssi...” he greeted the boy once he was there.

The boy lifted his face from whatever sketch he was doing, and he was surprised to see Jungkook in an unfriendly expression.

“Hi, Jungkook-ssi..” the boy still tried to be nice. “Thank you for your help last...”

“Why are you here, today?” Jungkook cut before he finished his sentence.

“Ye?” Taehyung tilted his head.

“Why don’t you rest at home? Aren’t you sick?” Jungkook did not sound nice, and Taehyung was utterly confused for it.

“But.. I’m fine already...” the boy answered slowly.

“Don’t lie to me... I can see that you still look pale!”

Because of Jungkook’s words, Taehyung instinctively touched his own face. “Am I?” his eyes met Jungkook’s scary look. “But really.. I’m fine...”

“Haish... What a stubborn boy!” Jungkook cursed. “If I don’t remember that you are older than me, I will drag you out and take you home immediately.”

“Ye?” Taehyung blinked his eyes. “How.. do you know?”

“Your wallet,” Jungkook answered right away. “I saw your ID card when I took out your clinic membership.”

“Ah... of course...” Taehyung nodded calmly as it made sense to him.

But then his heart jumped a bit as Jungkook noisily slammed himself down the seat next to him.

“Don’t you... don’t you like to sit in front row?” Taehyung asked carefully.

“I’ll sit here today. Problem?” Jungkook replied shortly.

“Nnnoo... Of course.. no..” Taehyung shook his head, and he chose to concentrate on his drawing again, just so he did not have to pay attention to grumpy alpha next to him.

The rest of the day went rather peacefully although somehow, Jungkook did not stop tailing on Taehyung. Even when they moved to another class, Jungkook kept sitting next to him.

“Why do you keep following me, Jungkook-ssi?” Taehyung asked as they walked in the corridor.

“So that you won’t eat anything funny,” the alpha answered.

“I bring my own lunch,” Taehyung took out a thermos from his bag.

“What is that?” Jungkook questioned the small-size flask.

“Cereal.”

“You eat only cereal for lunch?” Jungkook widened his eyes.

Taehyung nodded, “With prescriptions from Dr. Song...” he pouted a little. “It’s enough for me though. I do not eat much anyway.”

Taehyung just never knew how his cute little pout had sparked something inside Jungkook’s guts.

“You better come with me,” Jungkook said after he snapped himself from the daydream.

“Where?” Taehyung did not want to come with him, but the alpha had circled his arm on his shoulder, and dragged the omega with him.

“To the canteen,” Jungkook answered. “Having lunch with friends is better than eating alone. Come...”

With Jungkook’s power, of course Taehyung could not go against him.

Hoseok and Jimin had been waiting in the canteen because the place was closer to the Dancing dept. Jimin smiled widely when he saw that Jungkook was dragging Taehyung along. He explained to Hoseok about Taehyung, and the older alpha always welcomed new companion.

Oh, Hoseok did not have to mention how he saw the way both Jimin and Jungkook looked at Taehyung.

With the excuse that he had to consume only what he prepared, Taehyung refused all the food the three alphas offered him. The alphas seemed to enjoy their time like usual, without realizing that Taehyung was feeling uncomfortable.

Well, it was not that he was uncomfortable in negative way, but Taehyung felt that hundreds of eyes were looking at him now. No wonder, he was eating lunch with the most popular pack on the campus, the Bangtan Boys.

Yes, everyone in this college ground knew of a pack of six boys that consisted of four alphas and two omegas; the super handsome and rich Seokjin, the badass omega killer -although he was also an omega- Yoongi, the Student Body President Namjoon, the B-boy champion Hoseok, the cute but deadly Jimin, and the ice prince Jungkook. When Jungkook was still in highschool, he came to the college often because Jimin and the brothers were there, so he was well known in the campus even before he enrolled.

They were called Bangtan since they seemed to be bulletproof from anything bad; the people who wanted to befriend them just to gain some profits; those who wanted to tear apart the couples and steal them away; those who wanted to lure the unmated Jimin and Jungkook to come to their beds; and those negative remarks who came for them from those who were jealous of them. Youth could do silly things, indeed.

While Taehyung, being easily there, having lunch with those alphas, he received jealous glares from the whole cafeteria.

“We need to head to our class now,” Taehyung said as he abruptly stood from his seat.

“Yeah,” Jungkook agreed.

“See you later, Kook?” Jimin asked as Jungkook had stood too.

“Uh-huh,” the younger nodded. “Bye, hyungdeul...”

Taehyung bowed politely, before he was drowned within Jungkook’s arm again, although actually, he was slightly taller than Jungkook, but his body was way skinnier.

The omega’s misery did not end easily that day since when the classes ended, Jungkook insisted on taking him home.

“I can go home myself, Jungkook-ssi. Don’t worry,” Taehyung tried to stop him.

“I can sense it from your scent that you are still sick, Taehyung-ssi. Even your body is still a bit hot, and your face is getting paler,” Jungkook did not want to lose to this stubborn omega. “Just agree with me, or do I need to call your brother to pick you up?”

“Nononono... please no...” Taehyung said right away when Jungkook mentioned it. “I don’t live with him anyway... And I don’t want to keep disturbing him...”

“Then...” Jungkook tilted his head. “Don’t tell me you live alone...”

Taehyung straightened his lips, and he nodded.

Jimin who was already there with them for some time could not help but to let out a soft smile. “And that’s the more reason for us to take you home.”

“But...”

“Taehyung-ssi, don’t worry, we are not planning to hurt you if you are worried about that,” Jimin continued. “We just want to make sure that you are safe. Your scent smelled so sweet but weak at the same time. Full moon is due tomorrow. We are worried that you might go across alphas in rut. It can be dangerous.”

“Yes, it’s true,” Jungkook added. “My rut was done last month, and Jimin-hyung’s rut will still be in months from now. Don’t worry. We are good.”

“It’s.. not that...” Taehyung still seemed to want to reject the offer, but he clenched his iPad tightly in his chest.

“Please, Taehyung-ssi...” Jimin smiled softly. He came closer to the omega and spoke gently, “It’s hard to beat Jungkook when he is so determined like this. I think you need to know that he is super sensitive that he can feel that you are not fully cured yet. He’s just being jumpy because our omega hyung was in heat pain these days. So, let us go with you... okay..?”

Taehyung could see the determined look in the younger alpha as he stood waiting, crossing his arms in his chest. Taehyung looked at the sweet and friendly Jimin again, and finally he nodded.

“Okay...”

“Good. Now let’s go,” and Jungkook impatiently dragged Taehyung around with him.

They took a bus. It did not take them long to arrive at Taehyung’s apartment as he lived near the college. Honestly, Taehyung just wanted the alphas to leave him alone. But since he knew that the alphas truly did not mean anything bad for him, he felt that it would be unfair to send them home just like that.

“Do you like to stay for some drink? It’s very hot outside,” Taehyung politely offered.

“Yeah, it’s hot, really. But thanks, Taehyung-ssi, we don’t want to bother you,” Jimin replied gently.

“No... It’s not a bother... And I haven’t thanked you guys properly for helping me,” the omega insisted.

“Don’t mention it, Taehyung-ssi,” Jungkook spoke up. “We just did what we have to do. We’re friends.”

Jimin could see that Taehyung blushed a little when Jungkook said that they were friends.

“Then, you won’t mind to stay for a while, will you?” Taehyung replied. “Although I’m sorry that my house is small and cramped.”

Jimin smiled softly to see that this omega could be persuasive too. He patted Jungkook’s shoulder, and finally they accepted the host’s offer to stop by.

It was true that Taehyung’s house was small. But the omega had organized it neatly that it was not looked cramped like what he said. His house was a studio apartment, about 3.5 x 5 meters in size. Right after they opened the door, there was a shoe cabinet on the wall to their right, and in the left was the bathroom. Next to the bathroom was where Taehyung put his bed. I was a single size bed with a set of drawers below the mattress. Right after the bed, they already reached the corner of the room where the desk was, complete with computer and any tools and stationeries Taehyung needed for his study. On the other corner, there was a mini kitchen where Taehyung could do all his cooking and washing. Next to the mini kitchen, right across Taehyung’s bed, there were the wardrobe and dresser where Taehyung kept all his belongings.

The room was pretty small, but thanks to the single bed and minimalist drawers, there was enough space in the middle where the boys could sit leisurely on the floor.

Taehyung took out a bottle of apple syrup from his fridge and busy preparing drinks for his guests while Jimin and Jungkook made themselves comfortable on the wooden floor.

Jimin looked around at the dresser where Taehyung put some photographs. He found the omega’s family picture. Taehyung seemed to have two younger siblings, but the alpha they met on the clinic was not on that picture. Jimin found that man in another photograph. There, Taehyung was smiling happily with that alpha, and there was another man who smiled genuinely too between them.

“Is that your brother with his..what.. wife?” Jimin asked as the picture showed that the muscular man was hugging the other man lovingly, and Jimin remembered that he saw a wedding ring on the man’s finger when they met that day.

“Yes. That is Sejinie-hyung with his wife, Jigaemae-hyung,” Taehyung answered as he brought the glasses of cold drinks down.

“And that is your family?” it was Jungkook’s turn to ask.

“Yes...” Taehyung saw where the alphas were looking, and he explained even before they asked. “Sejin-hyung is not my real brother. We are neighbors in Gochang. Our families know each other well, and he does feel like my own older brother.”

“Owh...” Jungkook and Jimin nodded knowingly.

“Then why don’t you live with him?” Jungkook continued. “I mean, Jin-hyung took me to live with him when I came to Seoul. This man seems to care much about you, and his wife seems nice...” he did not mean to be fussy by asking personal question like that. But sometimes he could not help it since in his logic, someone like the enormous alpha he saw in that clinic, would not easily let his beloved fragile omega friend/brother to live on his own.

“I used to live with them when I first came to Seoul,” Taehyung answered calmly, did not seem to mind with Jungkook’s question. “But Sejin-hyung is a busy person. He is a detective in the police department. When he is home, he should give more time for his wife. Yet he’s busy caring about me too,” he explained. “It’s not that their relation turned bad. They are happy, and Jigaemae-hyung is nice to me too. But... It’s been years since their marriage, and there are no pups yet... So when I finished high-school...”

“You asked to live on your own,” Jungkook guessed.

“Yeah,” Taehyung admitted.

Jungkook nodded. “Well, I can understand that.”

Jimin noticed that Taehyung turned solemn a little bit. He wondered if Taehyung had problems with his family, because in the picture, Taehyung was smiling happily. Without those funny glasses, the omega looks awesomely gorgeous. Jimin was curious if something happened that made the omega dressed himself like that.

But then he knew that it was none of his business. For heaven’s sake, it was only his second meeting with the omega. He should know his place, although Jungkook had been Taehyung’s classmate for more than one semester. Still, he chose to change the topic.

He saw a row of comic book in Taehyung’s bookshelf; he stood up to look at them.

“You like comics?” Jimin asked as he took out one book. “Look, this is One Piece! You like One Piece?” he got excited as he loved that comic.

“Yeah,” Taehyung admitted. “I love Digimon and One Piece. Those are just the newest releases. I have the complete series back at home.”

“Wow, that’s wonderful,” Jungkook said as he also got up and look at the books.

“Do you like to read webtoon too?” Jimin asked.

“Sometimes...” Taehyung answered calmly although Jimin looked overly excited to find Taehyung’s treasure. “I prefer the printed books over digitals, actually.”

“Oh, you should read them too. There is this one artist I love,” Jimin continued. “His pen-name is V. He is famous for his series Cypher. And now he is writing a new one entitled Boy in Luv. I love it so much.”

“Really?” Taehyung asked softly.

“Yes,” the cute guy admitted. “I look for his previous works too. No More Dream and Danger are also wonderful. This V guy is amazing. I highly recommend him. His drawings are simple but unique. Namjoon-hyung likes him too.”

“Oh yeah? I’ll...look for it... later...” Taehyung inaudibly gulped.

Jimin was so engrossed in the One Piece comic that he did not notice that Taehyung’s face were slightly blushing in pale shade of crimson.

*** to be continued **

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