Jihyo had the biggest budget to ever be allocated to anyone working on JYPE, why? Simple, she needed it. Usually, JYPE would give their employees a corporate card with a limit proportional to their positions and needs, hers suprassed Jinyoung’s himself. She was the leader of the company’s most popular group, her members and managers also had pretty generous limits themselves, but hers was just ridiculous. The reason might be simpler than one might think, but the circumstances made everything absurdly difficult.

 

Twice was a rather peculiar group, they had five alphas, two omegas and two zetas, not a single beta. Normally, alphas and betas were the ones to pursue the spotlight, being more fit for the part, zetas as well, but those were really rare, but omegas weren’t as uncommon as zetas, they were still not that good of a fit to the public life, given their nurturing nature. As one might think, not just having zetas, but having two zetas was a very rare occurrence, so the group turned heads wherever they went.

 

Betas were powered up omegas, to put it simply, they were stronger and stood in a grey area, where they could either mate omegas or be mated, their genetics would adapt accordingly. Zetas, on the other hand, were light versions of alphas, being stronger and more dominant than betas, by far, and having the ability to mate either omegas, betas or each other, although would also be mated by alphas. The zetas were a rather new mutation, having been around for the past hundred years or so, according to the historic registrations, so one could understand why it was baffling that two were found in the same group.

 

Obviously, the girls knew their zetas were great when needed, but that was the problem, with five alphas, they never needed to be. And so, the girls were stuck with Pabo 1 and Pabo 2, going by the stage names of Momo and Tzuyu, those two were the real children among them, their innocent souls evoked a protective instinct within the entire group, obviously, expressing themselves differently. 

 

It came as a very unfortunate surprise when Pabo 1 & 2 were mated by Idiots 1 & 2, Nayeon and Jeongyeon, now, there is a titanic difference between the titles, and that is, the Pabos were called that by their childish innocence and difficulty with korean, which made them a bit awkward on the daily. The idiots, on the other hand, were just a pair of es with a knack for trouble that had Jihyo on her toes every waking hour, she was surprised she was restraining herself from killing them for so long.

 

The other two alphas of the group, on the other hand, were two angels, a stark contrast to their partners, that would try and make things as easy as they could for their leader, usually they never managed to do much, but Jihyo always appreciated the sentiment. It wasn’t that they were inept, but having to control their mates who would get out of hand fast and try to manage two other troublemaking alphas, Mina and Dahyun often found themselves useless.

 

The two omegas, that behaved like zetas and felt like betas were another handful, Sana was, well, Sana, then again, Chaeyoung was Chaeyoung and that was enough to explain a third of Jihyo’s headaches. Mina managed to calm Sana down a lot after they mated, but Dahyun was a cupcake, a known fact, and she was useless in taming Chaeyoung, unless in heat where the inner alpha would emerge. But Jihyo loved them all and that was what mattered most.

 

Now to Twice’s head alpha, the one in charge, the captain of that mess that many came to love so dearly, Park Jihyo, she was a very powerful alpha, that was a given, unmated, she managed to subdue countless other alphas that decided to get funny with her girls, while they were still not mated, and the ones that would still do it after. Despite her looks, small, fluffy and adorable, she was among the crème-de-la-crème regarding her status, but there was something else to her. Of course there was, I wouldn’t be telling this tale if there weren’t.

 

Jihyo held so much of the ‘alpha power’ that she was able to extinguish any heat by simply being in the vicinity, no matter how strong it had came or to whom, mated, unmated, first heat, induced heat, post-suppressant heat, if she was near, it would be sated in a matter of minutes. She was tired of being called over by the company and/or other close groups to help whenever the situation turned bad. She remembers fondly one day when GFriend’s manager came running to her on the waiting room for music bank and pleaded (the woman truly kneeled) for her to help calm the group down, Sowon (a omega if you believe it) had gotten in heat and triggered the rest of the group, so they had three alphas and three omegas about to go wild in the dressing room.

 

The woman merely entered, sat down on a chair and played on her phone for a few minutes. It was all it took for the six unmated and heat crazed girls to calm down and come back to their senses, the abnormal heat being suppressed completely and no other mishap until it was time for the group’s real heat period. She got a very big fruit basket as a thank you from the manager after, it made her feel a bit bad for accepting but the woman was so adamant that she felt worse refusing, Jeongyeon and the Pabos made quick work of the thing anyways.

 

And that brings us to the reason Jihyo had the biggest budget in the company, she would suppress any heat, and that, as they found very soon into debut, was extremely unhealthy for all involved. So, having it simply extinguished the entire time had the group getting sick too often, and being sent to the hospital to have them all checked. Turned out, Jihyo had been causing it all, and so the medical team came up with a schedule that needed the alpha to be out of town periodically so the rest of the group could have their heat. They were too close, so simply leaving the dorm might not be enough.

 

With that, Jihyo got her license early on, was given a car and all the money she might need, then sent away so her members could go through their heat cycles. Usually, the company would try and have her attend solo schedules, or she would just go visit her parents, nothing much, and nothing that would consume as much resources as were available. Occasionally, she would splurge, that meant she would bring her mother to a massage and buy her sisters some clothes and her father a gift, nothing really big for JYPE, so nobody really minded.

 

The group, of course, was always apologetic about it, they felt terrible having to shoo the girl away from her own home just so they could get busy. Jihyo never spoke about her real feelings regarding, well, anything, but especially about the situation, Nayeon and Jeongyeon were firm believers that the girl was very hurt, Tzuyu and Mina had noticed Jihyo would get distant (more than usual) everytime heat day was approaching. Dahyun and Sana actually went out of their way and sat the little alpha down, demanded for her to tell them the truth, received a small smile and a ‘I’m fine’ and were told to stop worrying.

 

Truth be told, Jihyo was lonely, alone since birth, she was always the one seeing everyone around her find their mates and have someone by their side, while she was left behind. Eventually, she stopped trying to delude herself with the fantasy she would ever be wanted, her members were nice, sure, but she was an alpha, she needed someone to call hers, and that wasn’t going to happen, not for a freak like herself. So, she had been letting herself drown in those feelings for months now, then the time for her to leave came by once again, this time around she had some collaboration special to perform.

 

So, no going too far as she would have to come back into town to attend the meetings. Turned out, it was a JYP tribute stage, she would be performing with Suzy, Yubin and Sunmi, the group selected by Jinyoung himself. There were three stages, Nobody, Good Girl; Bad Girl and So Hot (the usual), so she just checked in at a hotel on the opposite end of Seoul, and hoped it would be enough, she really couldn’t bail on this. But, being utterly sad as she was, Jihyo decided she wanted to have… Company, for the evening. It wouldn’t be the first time she tried (key word being try), it never really worked, and she never really managed to get past greeting, but she wanted to do it too. 

 

An would come as she requested, the alpha would answer the door, the would come in, they would introduce themselves, and that would be that. Whatever man or woman that would come by, they always ended up sitting on the couch and talking to each other, as none could manage to rile themselves up to do the deed. It would be comic if it wasn’t so sad. Therefore, as usual, Jihyo was sitting on the couch, talking to the woman who was supposed to entertain her for the evening. She would always pay them, all spent their time listening to her, and she could say things she could never speak about with anyone else. 

 

PD-nim knew, but the rule was going to bars, something she never really did, and he would always interrogate all that came out of her hotel rooms himself. So, with a broken heart about what he would hear regarding his girl, and, if it helped, he didn’t intend to cut it off. The things the escorts would tell him were worrying, but he had his hands tied until Jihyo would come to him herself. Which, wasn’t happening anytime soon, not after his ‘a leader gives’ talk he had with them, he knew she would give up her entire self for the group, and he knew things were bound to go bad soon, but, for now, this was all they could do to try and help the girl.

 

Morning came, Jihyo hadn’t slept a wink the previous night, sure, she talked to someone, but it was never enough, her inner alpha was always raging, and she had no clue where to even begin handling things. She heard from Nayeon and Jeongyeon (a very uncomfortable conversation both had forced her into) that things came naturally when with your mate, but she didn’t have one, she didn’t have anybody that was even willing to help her with it. Momo and Tzuyu might have been able to shine some light on the matter, as zetas, but nobody was really expecting them to. Therefore, with a raging headache, a frustration that had made home within herself and feeling hungover without having consumed a single drop of liquor, Twice’s lead vocal showered, got ready and headed to MakeUs for the first meeting.

 

Things went well, despite Sunmi and Yubin seemingly having found a very interesting topic to discuss among themselves soon after she arrived. Suzy came in last, carrying a letter for her, from Nayeon (the girl was a mess but knew how to care for her dongsaengs). They talked, divided the parts and scheduled their rehearsals, all very formal, but it was a first meeting and those things needed to be discussed. Having known each other for years, they were already comfortable and the ‘getting used to each other’ phase was out of the window. Jihyo had gone over with her manager, leaving her without a ride when the woman was called in for an emergency and leaving her to ride with Suzy.

 

The group was well balanced, Having Jihyo and Yubin as alphas, Sunmi as a zeta and Suzy as an omega, Yubin had mated with Jo Kwon years back, it was a surprise for everyone, and Suzy was with Taecyeon for years now, that left Sunmi and Jihyo as the only unmated ones. Jihyo was young, so nobody really questioned, but Sunmi has had some candidates over the years, none had managed to tie her down, though, and the real reason was never really known. Nobody really questioned that much, though, with all the Wonder Girls disbanding, solo debuting and agency changing stress, people just really assumed she never had the time to really invest in a relationship.

 

“Jihyo, do you think you can get back by yourself? Tae just sent me a message saying he was coming to pick me up.” Suzy approaches her apologetically.

 

“Yeah, I can manage. Don’t worry too much.” 

 

“What’s up? Does our little girl need something?” Yubin came to and hugged her from the back.

 

“Oh, it’s nothing. I was going to get a ride back with Suzy-unnie, but she just said Tae-oppa was picking her up. So I’ll just get a cab or something.” Jihyo gives them a smile.

 

“Bollocks! Jo and I can take you back to the dorm. We can’t just let you go alone.” Yubin protests.

 

“Exactly what kind of unnies would we be if we just leave you at the mercy of public transportation.” Sunmi chips in.

 

“The normal kind? I mean, it’s not like I’ve never used public transport before. Plus, I’m not going to the dorm, so no need to get out of your way to give me a ride.” Jihyo tries to negotiate.

 

“That might be, but you weren’t Twice’s Jihyo back then. And where are you going? I could take you, I’m driving alone anyways.” The zeta questions.

 

“I'm going, literally, the other way across town. My manager had to tend to some emergency with the girls, and I am very much capable of getting a cab on my own.”

 

“It’s decided, then, Miyah will take you. Message us when you get to where you are going. Both of you.” Yubin declares, as she sees Kwon stopping the car at the door.

 

Suzy also bids them goodbye and leaves with Yubin, Taecyeon had messaged her that he arrived. Sunmi just hides her grin and takes Jihyo’s hand to guide her to her car. The first few minutes are silent, Jihyo was putting the address for her hotel on the GPS, then Sunmi can’t help herself but ask away. Both were always very open with each other, and reservations were a thing of the past.

 

“Hyo, are you gonna talk to me or do I have to pry it out of you?”

 

“Miyah-unnie, what exactly should I be telling you?” She was honestly asking.

 

“First, why aren’t you at your dorm? And how come you are staying in this super expensive hotel?”

 

“Oh, that’s a long conversation. But we could have dinner and you can ask me whatever it is that’s bothering you?”

 

“You got smarter…… And smoother.” Sunmi laughs.

 

The duo makes small talk for the rest of the ride, cracking jokes at each other, and catching up, it was a nice ride, and Jihyo didn’t think about her closed off feelings during that time. Sunmi was always good at making her not feel like a waste of space, the younger one felt comfortable, and the zeta was genuinely interested in how she was feeling, what she was thinking. Jihyo, in turn, liked the woman very much, always had, and made sure to never forget to show it. Soon, they’d arrived, had sent the collab group chat a message that they were eating together, and found themselves eating snobbish fancy food over teasing and laughter.

 

“Are you gonna have a serious conversation with me now?” Sunmi asks, as soon as they enter the room.

 

“Are you spending the night?”

 

“Don’t change the subject, Hyo.”

 

“I’m not, I just want to know if I should lend you some clothes so you can shower and get comfy before we talk.”

 

“You really are a doll, you know that?! Sure, I’ll spend the night. BUT! We are having this talk.”

 

“Yes ma’am. Now go shower, there is an extra toothbrush in there too.”

 

Sunmi laughs and proceeds to the bathroom first, Jihyo’s phone rings at some point, it was PD-nim checking in on her. She was ever thankful to him, the man did anything and everything in his power to help her, and felt like a father to her.

 

“Hello.”

 

“Jihyo-yah, Suzy told me she couldn’t give you a ride. Did everything work out?”

 

“PD-nim, good evening. Yes, Sunmi-unnie volunteered to take me. She is sleeping over, it has been a while since we talked.”

 

“Oh, that’s nice. Can I talk to her for a minute?”

 

“Sure, I’ll go and see if she has finished showering. Just a moment, please.”

 

“No rush.”

 

Jihyo waddles to the bathroom, not hearing the shower any longer, she decides to knock.

 

“Miyah?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“PD-nim is on the phone, he wants to talk to you.”

 

“Just a moment.” It takes just a little for Sunmi to open the door in her toweled glory.

 

“Here ya go.” Jihyo passes on her phone, gulping and trying not to dwell too much in the woman before her.

 

The younger swiftly turns around, deciding it would be a good idea to read the letter, maybe wallow in self pity a little to help her calm down. Why was she worked up anyways, it’s just Sunmi. Right, the letter.

 

Ji,

 

I’m sorry. We don’t want you to have to go and be left alone because of us, and it hurts that you don’t want to talk about it. We all know you are not okay at all, and we want to have a real talk when you get back. Please consider it.

 

Nadong.

 

Jihyo swallows the lump in , she doesn't want to talk to them. Not really. She loved her members, but they can’t understand what it’s like for her, and she doesn’t want sympathy either. Having people look at her with pity never failed to make her feel worse and spiral further down on her self loathing. Before she can keep thinking about it, Sunmi emerges from the bathroom, throwing herself on the bed and ushering the other to go and wash up too. The alpha gets up, forgetting the letter, opened on the bed.

 

While her cute, little alpha is showering, Sunmi mulls over her conversation with Jinyoung, she opens her arms and the left one lands on a piece of paper, Nayeon’s letter. Suddenly, she feels more compelled to fulfill the request she received. You see, Sunmi was not very ‘normal’ either, not only was she a zeta, her body decided she would go into heat like an omega, despite being supposed to be able to control it. She was predisposed to get her heat triggered by the most random events, and there hasn’t been a single zeta, nor alpha that had been able to help her. Not that she actually got to business with any of them, all gave up as soon as they would see her.

 

Jinyoung had asked her for a conversation the next morning, he asked her to really try and get to know and understand Jihyo that night, before she came in, it would be important. When asked, he simply said the girl was in a bad shape and needed a real friend, someone who could understand her, and Sunmi was just the one he was looking for. Like Jihyo heard her thoughts, she came out of the bathroom, steaming and looking very cuddly, Sunmi just demanded they lay in bed that instant because she needed to hug the alpha that instant.

 

“Alright, are we gonna talk about the elephant in the room?” Sunmi starts.

 

“You are not fat, don’t put yourself down like that.” Jihyo laughs.

 

“Funny, but you are not getting out of this. Let it all out, it’s just between us.”

 

“Like you can talk. Don’t think I haven’t noticed, ms Lee, you are holding something as well.”

 

“Ugh, fine! If I say it, will you say it? I’m just doing this if it’s an exchange.” Sunmi gives up.

 

“Sure will. Now, tell HyoHyo everything.”

 

“Before anything, stop hanging out with Hyoyeon unnie, that ‘HyoHyo’ thing you two insist on doing truly makes my stomach turn.” Sunmi speaks in a very annoyed voice.

 

“I’m telling Hyoyeon-sunbae.” Jihyo replies playfully.

 

“Good, then she can stop it too.” Sunmi spits, then sighs. “We are getting off track. I’m just gonna say it, so get ready.”

 

“I’m ready for anything you might throw. Give me your worst.”

 

“So, I’m a zeta. And we are kind of like betas, with our heat thing and all, although betas have to make a real effort to trigger one, us zetas don’t need that much, but can control when it comes, how long it lasts and whatnot.”

 

“I’m aware…. Not of all, but I knew the basics.” Jihyo almost hums, finding the comfort the older woman was providing bringing her to dreamland.

 

“Don’t you dare sleep right now, you brat!” Sunmi shakes her awake, it works. “Anyhow, I kind of can’t really control mine.”

 

“How so?” 

 

“I can manage to trigger mine when I want to, but once they happen, I can’t really control them very well. And that , I feel ty, and have to fight through the heat on my own. Many tried, but they never got past the looking at me part.” 

 

The older one starts crying lightly, and her friend just holds her that much tighter. They stay just like that until Sunmi has calmed down.

 

“If it makes you feel better, at least you can go into heat.” Jihyo speaks up.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I’m an alpha, and we have this weird presence thingy that makes others submit and calm down and all that jazz, right?!”

 

“I’m listening.”

 

“SO, I was born with this overwhelming alphaness that can calm down anyone. I can make any heat end just by being in the area. So, I can’t really go into one and whatnot, because no one can stay in theirs long enough for me to be affected.”

 

“You mean we are meant to have met, then?” Sunmi muses.

 

“Pretty much. But mine started early, right now I’m at the ‘hate myself’ stage. I matured when I was like, eleven.”

 

“I remember that, Sunye was having her heat early, then you matured suddenly and she calmed down and it was like nothing happened. I always wondered how everything went down.”

 

“Well, it was me. I was just there and then I felt…. Different? I can’t really describe it, but I felt like I was finally myself, yet I wasn’t. Then I smelled bubblegum, it was too strong to be someone chewing it, and it smelled good, like I had to have it too. But, just like it came, the scent was gone, later I was told I matured and there had been an omega in heat in the building.”

 

“And how did you find out about this? I found out about mine on my first heat, Jinyoung oppa had sent us to the States and it happened there. I was rushed back to the apartment we were staying at and it took a week for me to get out of it, then they sent me to the hospital and I was told there was a problem, then they gave me some custom made suppressants to try and regulate it better.” Sunmi finishes with a saddened huff.

 

“Wow, that must have been tough. For me, it was years after I matured. The managers had noticed I had never even hinted of being affected by anyone’s heat, so PD-nim sent me to the doctor and they did all the tests you might think of, some I didn’t even know could exist.”

 

“Oh, I can imagine. In my case the heat was there, but it just didn’t go away.”

 

“Yeah, they thought I was sick or something. Like, it was clear when I matured, everyone around could feel the alpha settling in, but that was just it. I’ve been told that the pressure I exert over people is huge, and there is no denying I’m an alpha, but I was never triggered by anyone.”

 

“Hmmm… You said you hated yourself.”

 

“I do. This thing, whatever it is, seems to only send everyone away. I mean, I know nobody could possibly have an attraction to me, but I can’t even get anyone interested. When you are rejected your entire life, it’s hard to keep your self worth.” The younger tries to hold herself from breaking again.

 

“Ji, you know we all love you, right?”

 

“It’s not the same.” Frustration starts to rise.

 

“I know, but we all still love you.” Sunmi tightens the hug a little bit more. “I don’t know what you might be feeling, I have the opposite problem, but I want you to know I love you very much.”

 

“I love you too, Miya.” Jihyo snuggles up to the zeta, falling asleep feeling a little better.

 

Morning comes and the duo is woken up by Jihyo’s alarm, they had rehearsals for the colab, and the hotel was rather far away from the meeting point. As Twice was still in their heat period, they couldn’t use JYPE practice rooms yet, they were headed to MakeUs again. Practice would go on all morning, from eight a.m. to one p.m., that meant Sunmi couldn’t go in and talk to Jinyoung until after lunch, and she made sure to message him just that. 

 

Jihyo had come in her own car, she had another schedule in the afternoon, and her manager asked if she could get there by herself, as he would be driving Momo and Tzuyu, who were to be in the photoshoot with her. She didn’t really want to see any of them at the moment, but work is work, and she was not about to be unprofessional, heat periods were hard on her self control, the alpha went down a rabbit hole of self hatred and wallowing in her emptiness.

 

Practice over, Jihyo runs off to shower and head to her next schedule, the day was far from over for her, and the second part of it wasn’t that appealing right now. Sure enough, the other two were waiting for her once she got there, the alpha wasn’t late, she never was, but the others were, for once, early. The manager greets her with an apologetic look, saying the zetas were insistent in coming before the schedule so they could talk. A deep, resignated, sigh and the little woman tells him it’s alright and she would handle it.

 

“Hey, Ji.” Tzuyu greets once she is close enough.

 

“Hey Tzu.” She manages to put on a smile. “Mo.”

 

“Jihyo, how are you?” Momo, as hard as it might be to believe, was a very serious person when needed to.

 

“I’m alright, Mo. Should we go in?”

 

“Will you talk to us?” The peach insists.

 

“I always talk to you, no?”

 

“Not what she meant, unnie.”

 

“I know, Tzu. Not today, okay?” Jihyo sounded broken.

 

“Can you, at least, think about it?” The youngest pleads.

 

“I have thought about it. I thought about it for our entire time together.” The alpha is not exasperated, and that worries the two very much.

 

“Have you eaten?” Momo decides to change the scene a little.

 

“I ate a rice ball earlier. I’m fine, Mo.”

 

“We still have time before the shoot starts. Let’s get you something to eat.” The older isn’t taking a no for an answer.

 

“Sure. Do you have somewhere in mind?” The leader is just defeated, the duo’s hearts break once more.

 

And so, with another hour to spare, they head to a small restaurant nearby, said to have great chicken feet. Tzuyu doesn’t really like it, but she will do anything she can to make her favorite unnie feel better, Momo is just happy to see Jihyo eating, as they all know she could go the entire week without it, if not forced to. It was always hard on the leader, they knew it became infinitely worse once they started mating, and now everything had already gone down the drain. They all knew, but none had managed to crack the very thick walls that surrounded the matter, and it got the girls very frustrated.

 

The photo shoot passes by in a blur, Jihyo just wants to get out of there and back to not interacting with her group for a while. She never failed to stay out for a few days after the heat period, the girls never got to know the reason, but truth was, the dorm smelled of them and what they did, and the alpha would feel even worse about herself. A conversation with Jinyoung and he agreed to allow her to stay away some extra days, how many she needed, in his words. So, even though they were about to get out of their heat in one more day, they knew their leader would still be out for another three to five days. 

 

By the time Jihyo came back to the dorm, the schedules were back in full swing and avoiding conversation was not that hard anymore. Not that anyone had forgotten, but Jihyo still had the damn special stage and between their schedules and her late night practices, Twice’s leader had become a ghost in the dorm, they saw her in the morning while getting ready but that was it. The lone alpha, on the other hand, was enjoying being busy very much, she didn’t have time to think about herself and hanging out with the older women never failed to give her new perspectives on everything. Also, Yubin and Suzy had already begun scheming to get the two unmated women together.

 

“HyoHyo!” Yubin calls out after one of their last rehearsals. 

 

“Binnie-unnie, is everything alright? You never come to the showers.” Jihyo had just finished getting dressed after washing up.

 

“Remind me to kill Nichkhun for that nickname, I still have no idea how it stuck. But also, we are all going for dinner, Zyzy just decided.” The older one explains. “Don’t ask.”

 

“I know very well not to question Zyzy-unnie when she decides something.” The younger laughs.

 

“Great, so call your manager and confirm with them you are going out with us. Suzy already called the company, but still.”

 

“Will do, give me ten minutes and I’ll be out.”

 

“Sure thing, kiddo. Oh, and don’t worry about going back, we’ll drop you off.”

 

Jihyo nods and proceeds to call, while tidying her things up. It doesn’t take that long, and her manager had already been warned by Suzy’s, so everything was fine. They do go to a very good restaurant and have a very big meal, the older ones had noticed their little girl was losing weight and looking sickly, so one of them would always try and make sure to feed the girl before sending her home. Coincidentally, neither Yubin nor Suzy could take Jihyo home that day, so they asked (subtly demanded) Sunmi to be the one to do so. 

 

And that’s how they are here, on their favorite hill, looking over Seoul, certain they weren’t being followed nor would be seen, given it was in the private and very exclusive neighborhood Sunmi lived. Enjoying their banana milks and trying to relax a little before the big day, sitting on a blanket the older produced out of thin air and looking at the city buzzing in front of them.

 

“Ji.” The girl hums in acknowledgement. “There is something I want to talk to you about.”

 

“You do know we are past the part of being cautious with each other, right?”

 

“I know, it’s just. I’m not very good with asking people out.” Sunmi blurts out, before she can register what she just said.

 

Both girls’ eyes got as big as saucers, Sunmi not knowing what to do with herself, and Jihyo pleasantly surprised and amused.

 

“Say what, now?” Jihyo muses.

 

“I- We-” The zeta huffs. “Look, to be very honest, I’ve always had a soft spot for you, at first it wasn’t like that, but then I saw you grow into this wonderful woman and couldn’t stop my feelings from growing with you. I mean, not that I wanted to stop them, but still. I-”

 

“Miya, you are blabbering.”

 

“It’s hard not to, when the woman you love is resting in your arms. Especially when said woman is THE Park Jihyo.”

 

“You are still blabbering. It’s cute. Can I be very honest here?” Sunmi nods. “I love you very much too, and I’m honored.”

 

“But…” Sunmi releases a sigh.

 

“But it will take some time for me to adapt to this.” Jihyo snuggles closer.

 

“So, you are saying yes?”

 

“I’m saying I could try with you. And I’m asking you to be patient with me, this dating thing never happened to me. The closest I ever got was hugging a friend.” Jihyo sounds defeated.

 

“I know, Hyo. And we’ll go at your pace, no pressure. All I want is to call you my girlfriend, and be allowed to love you at all times.”

 

“Well, then, miss Lee Sunmi, I think you might just have gotten yourself a girlfriend. We should talk to PD-nim, though.” Jihyo giggles.

 

“I might have already talked to him and he may or may not have been the one to suggest I ask you out already.” It was so fast Sunmi made a mental note to try rapping later.

 

“You are all scheming to get us together, aren’t you?” Laughter bubbles up from the smaller woman.

 

“Like I said, it’s been a while that I’ve been looking at you. And what do you mean with ‘you all’?”

 

“You really didn’t notice those two throwing me at you earlier?”

 

“Zyzy and Binnie? They couldn’t take you home, it’s fine.”

 

“Miya, you are lucky you are pretty. But yeah, they have been pushing us together ever since this collab began.”

 

“Hey! …... But thanks for the pretty.”

 

“No problem. So, how does this work?”

 

“How does what work?” Sunmi is honestly confused.

 

“This dating thingy. Like, what do we do?” Jihyo gets worried.

 

“Calm down. You are doing it right now. I do have to ask, though, do you want to be open about it, or do we wait to tell people.”

 

“I think we should tell PD-nim, and our managers. But I kind of want this to be us for now.”

 

“As you wish, ma’am. Now, let me cuddle you properly, we don’t have much time left.”

 

+++

 

And they spend the next half hour doing just that, before Sunmi had to take her brand new girlfriend back. Jihyo, very shyly, kisses the corner of the zeta’s mouth, before getting out of the car very embarrassed, she does stop by the door to recompose herself, Sunmi chuckles at the cuteness. The living room lights are on, that means somebody is up, and the leader was honestly hoping to sneak in and just sleep, but they had two free days, and staying up late wasn’t a problem then. Sure, she would still have to go for rehearsal, but that was it for her.

 

“You have been hiding.” Nayeon says as she opens the door. 

 

“You are not asleep.”

 

“Yes, we can see that.”

 

“Calm down, unnie. I just thought we were stating obvious things.” Jihyo huffs, annoyed.

 

“We are worried. And you did promise Momo and Tzuyu you would talk to us.” Nayeon softens.

 

“I told them I would consider it, and they know it.”

 

“So you are still holding  out on us?”

 

“I can try. But if I feel uncomfortable, I’m going to sleep and I don’t want anybody to follow.”

 

“Deal. Can I get a few minutes to tell them?” Nayeon hugs her leader.

 

“Sure, I should take off this coat and sneakers anyways.”

 

The eldest leaves and there are some hushed protests in the living room. The good side of having all the members mated, is that they got a dorm with five double rooms, and Jihyo is very much by herself, so escaping wouldn’t be a problem. The other good thing is that, by the design of the house, her room is isolated from the others, and very much sound proofed (the couples could get creative most times, and she did NOT want to participate). It was one of the moments where she made very good use of the budget she was given.

 

“Can you tell us how you are, now?” Jeongyeon asks as soon as the leader sits down.

 

“Hello to you all. How was practice, Jihyo? Oh, it was great, Yubin-unnie said we could go on stage already but Suzy-unnie insisted on more practice. That’s very good, and are you too tired? We would like to spend some time with you. Nono, I’m okay to hang out for a while.” Jihyo says, not allowing anyone else to talk before she finishes. 

 

Jeongyeon rolls her eyes, Mina and Dahyun giggle a little from their corner.

 

“Now that we got it out of the way. Would you stop avoiding the topic?” Chaeyoung speaks up, always the short fused.

 

“Ask what you will, I’ll answer whatever I want to.” The alpha concedes.

 

“How are you feeling?” The shortest deflates.

 

“Right now I’m very tired from rehearsal, but I’m very happy with how it’s coming out.”

 

“Tell us what you think about the heat period.” Tzuyu decides to test the waters.

 

“It’s a chance for me to have some ‘me time’. I do tend to go out and explore new things, sometimes go home and pamper my family a little. Nothing much.”

 

“And what goes through that busy mind of yours during those ‘me times’?” It’s Momo who asks now.

 

Jihyo doesn’t want to answer, so she just keeps looking at the older zeta with a smile and waits for someone else to speak. Mina takes the hint.

 

“Will you ever tell us the truth to Momo’s question?”

 

“Right now, my answer is no. I might rethink it in the future.”

 

“And why is that your answer?” The ballerina pushes on.

 

“I love you guys, but this is something you can’t help with. And I don’t want, or need, pitty from anyone. Telling any of you about whatever I really think won’t accomplish anything.” Jihyo is firm. “Now I’m taking my leave.”

 

The leader gets up and heads to her room, Jeongyeon tries to protest, but gets shut down by Nayeon, they all can only look on frustrated. As soon as the alpha’s door is shut, they all act on their frustrations, Jeongyeon curses, Nayeon, Mina and Momo just huff, Chaeyoung smacks the couch, Dahyun and Tzuyu just look on into nothing. It was the first time Jihyo really talked about it, and they already knew answers weren’t an option, but it turned out better than expected.

 

Tzuyu decides to give it another try, Jihyo always had a soft spot for the youngest, it wasn’t a secret to anyone, and she was very sure she wouldn’t be told off, at least, so she takes the others’ distraction and heads to the alpha’s room. Mina noticed, but she knew Tzuyu was the best bet at the moment. Now, the room was, pretty much, isolated, sound proofed, the door would hermetically close and, once it did, the room would become an environment on its own. Therefore, there was a doorbell if the girls ever needed their leader after she had shut herself in the room, luckily for the youngest, the door wasn’t locked, and she just went ahead and entered. 

 

“HyoHyo unnie?” Tzuyu calls, poking her head in the room.

 

“Come in. Is there something wrong, Yu?” Jihyo is, surprisingly, as calm as ever.

 

“No, I a- I just got worried. But you look fine?”

 

“Don’t worry about me, I’m fine.”

 

“But you are not?”

 

“You really got worried, huh?” The alpha laughs heartily.

 

“You never talk to us, and then you said you were not going to talk to us, and then you got very angry, and I felt a little scared. And-”

 

“Yucchan, come here and sit with unnie.” She beckons the girl to the couch. “Look, I’m sorry I made you scared, unnie didn’t mean to let her scent leak like that.”

 

“I understand why you did, but it was just the first time you ever got angry around us.”

 

“I’ll try not to do that again, okay?” Jihyo coos.

 

“But I want you to get angry more.” That gets the alpha confused. “I mean, you never show your real self to me, and I know you are not okay, but it makes me feel useless when I know you are sad and I can’t really do anything to help.”

 

“I’m sorry, Tzuyu-ah. Do you think you can forgive unnie?”

 

“There is nothing you should apologise for, unnie. I just want you to be mad sometimes, at least we would know how you are feeling.”

 

“Do you really want me to show you how angry I am?” the alpha considers.

 

“I would like that very much, unnie.”

 

“Remember you were the one who asked for it, Tzu.” Jihyo says, walking to the door to shut it.

 

“You mean you are showing it?”

 

“I just want you to remember that, no matter what, I would never do anything against you. And, whatever you might think, feel or your instincts might tell you, do not open this door, if you do, things will get really bad.”

 

“Okay, unnie, I promise I won’t open the door.”

 

Jihyo offers a fond smile to the woman on the couch. Tzuyu was always the one who could break through her walls, well, the outer ones. The door is secured, having her room isolated was something the little alpha was adamant about when they moved, she could lose control over herself during sleep, and last time it happened, she woke up with Nayeon and Mina enraged, on top of her, Jeongyeon pounding the door and Dahyun almost getting out of Chaeyoung and Tzuyu’s grip. After that, Jinyoung made fast work of moving them to another dorm so Jihyo would have her own room, before their current one.

 

Tzuyu moves to get a water bottle from the small fridge in the room, and tries to steel herself to what might happen. So Jihyo begins letting her scent loose, an alpha could be perceived through their scent alone, but this particular alpha had a perfect control over hers, they had never really smelled Jihyo, even during the incident, she still hadn’t released even a fraction of it. As soon as it begins, the youngest feels a shiver run down her spine, she feels constricted, an unmeasurable pressure coming from the head alpha, she feels small and insignificant.

 

Mere seconds after it begins, Tzuyu is shaking with the violent sobs that wrecked her body, Jihyo was showing her just a piece of herself and the zeta was already ripped apart, then it all stopped, the alpha saw it was already too overwhelming and decided to bring it to a halt.

 

“Yu-ah, can I touch you? I want to give you a hug.” The leader’s voice is low and careful. 

 

Tzuyu latches herself onto Jihyo before the other could ask again, the older manages to get the remote and turns on the room’s exhaust system, another great use of her budget, it allows her to let loose and not affect the others inside. It takes a moment for the youngest to speak again, this time much more calm, as the alpha scent had already been drained.

 

“Unnie?” Jihyo hums in acknowledgement. “Is this really what you feel like?”

 

“A small part of it, yes. I couldn’t bring myself to show it all.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“Because just this was enough for you to understand.”

 

“Okay. Unnie?” Another hum. “Can I talk to the other unnies about this?”

 

“Of course you can, Yu-ah. And my smell is already all over you, I doubt Nayeon would just let it be without an explanation.”

 

“That’s true, let’s just hope they don’t come and try to kill you again.”

 

“I intend to close the door as soon as you are out. I’m only coming back out tomorrow morning.”

 

“Okay, I should go, then. Be well, unnie.” 

 

“I will.” And so they say their goodbyes.

 

Jihyo surely locks herself up right after, this time she could really let herself go, she decides to call Sunmi and talk a little, it always helps, and girlfriends are supposed to be there for each other, or so the older one had imprinted on her mind. Back on the living room, Tzuyu’s return makes the others wince and turn their heads to her immediately