The city is at the tail end of the summer. The days are cold now as the trees drop more dry leaves on the ground, but the lingering heat remains in the air. Mino takes little joy in the season transition, burdened by mid-sem exams and assignments.

Seungyoon starts to frequent at his studio for studies after Mino offered him the spare keys.

("You're gonna need a place to study." Mino threw the keys to Seungyoon. "And you can't bring a table to that stairwell."

Seungyoon frowned. "I don't want to intrude."

"I need someone to air the studio once in a while."

"Did you just reduce me to a janitor? Wow, I'm so honoured," Seungyoon deadpanned, with a straight look.

Though, that little hint of a smile in his eyes while he looked at the keys back and forth revealed otherwise. Mino grinned. It was a wise decision to give Seungyoon the spare keys.)

It makes Mino feel at ease seeing Seungyoon wander around in the studio without that thick sweater. No more an uncomfortable look. No more vigorous scratching around the collar.

An improvement, he'd say.

A notification from his phone on the table has Mino looking up from his sketchbook. He slides the phone open. A text from Lisa.

"Lisa and her girlfriend are coming. They're bringing lunch too," Mino tells Seungyoon who sits across from the table, nose buried in notes.

"Ah, right. Then—uh oh," Seungyoon stops after a glance at his sweater bundled up on the bench next to him. He picks it up then levels Mino with a look. "Huh."

Right, that little incident, where he accidentally spilt some coffee on Seungyoon's sweater. Mino pulls an apologetic smile. "...Sorry?"

Seungyoon huffs. "I'll stay in your studio, then."

"Wait, no—" Mino interrupts. "Lemme just," and he goes to the studio, only to re-emerge with his white button-up shirt. He offers it to Seungyoon. "Here. Wear this."

Seungyoon blinks at the shirt. Then at Mino.

"It's clean," Mino promises.

Seungyoon takes the shirt. He glances at it up and down. Mino tries not to cringe as Seungyoon eyes the colourful stains on the shirt.

"I wear it when I paint only," Mino tries to assure him. "Well—it doesn't smell. I promise?"

"Yeah, okay." Seungyoon relents and puts it on. Then a surprised noise escapes him. "Oh, it fits."

It's not as if it fits Seungyoon perfectly—Mino purposely picked a slightly larger size of his own so he wouldn't feel restricted when he painted. On Seungyoon though, the shirt reminds Mino of... a boyfriend shirt.

Wow. Way to go, brain, Mino chides himself.

"Hey, hey, how do I look?" Seungyoon asks, excited as he spreads his arms wide.

"You... look fine?"

Seungyoon looks put off by that. He pouts. "I don't look like a painter? I mean, all the colours..."

Oh, oh! Mino gets the message. He snaps his fingers. "You're missing something, then," and he pushes Seungyoon into his studio.

"Hey, what are you—"

"Hold this." Mino gives him a used brush, dipped in pink. Unsure, Seungyoon takes it hesitantly. Mino leaves to retrieve his phone then comes back, just to tell Seungyoon, "Stand in front of the canvas."

"This canvas?" Seungyoon points at the painting of an eye that Mino hasn't completed yet.

"Yep." Mino searches for a perfect angle but finds something odd on Seungyoon's image. He trots back, sweeps up a brush dipped in dark colours and holds Seungyoon's hand.

Seungyoon gasps as soon as Mino paints some random lines around his fingers. "What are you—"

"For authenticity."

"Ooh," Seungyoon says, excited again, and Mino smears a line on Seungyoon's nose just because he can't help himself. Seungyoon scrunches himself away. "YAH, MINO!"

Mino returns to his previous spot, his camera phone ready in his hand. "Alright, pose."

"Like this?" Seungyoon pretends painting the canvas, his bottom lip pursing as if on focus.

Mino bites down his laugh, amused by those pouting lips. "Yes, like that. Another pose."

And just like that, they begin an impromptu photoshoot in the studio, with laughter and occasional 'YAH' from Seungyoon when Mino teases him.

"Oppa, we bring lunch~!" Lisa's voice chimes in from the front door.

"FOOD!!!" Mino shouts.

Lisa and Jennie dish out take-outs of jjangmyeon on the long table. Mino helps with the drinks while Seungyoon washes his hands.

"You bought them from the cafeteria?" Mino asks.

Lisa scoffs, "As if. You know the restaurant with the green roof down the street, near Baskin Robin? Yeah, we bought them there."

"And you carried them all the way from there?" Seungyoon asks, wide-eyed when he joins the table next to Mino. "You should've called us. We could've helped."

"It's okay, it's okay. Lisa's strong," Jennie reassures, patting Lisa's arm. Lisa looks smug beside her.

As expected, the food tastes great. The loud noise of slurping hints at Mino's love for the taste. Seungyoon and Jennie, as fellow Omegas, sink into a conversation that Mino doubts he can in.

"—Nope, the new suppressant hasn't yet been licensed here," Seungyoon says around a mouthful of noodles.

"Why not?" Jennie frowns. "Their clinical trials have proven the suppressant works. We need it here. Desperately so. It's not easy to function properly when your own body is riddled with unbalanced hormones."

"The side effects are the problem. My senior at my workplace was involved in this project, so I sneaked a peek at the report. It wasn't all pretty." Seungyoon wrinkles his nose in disgust.

"Side effects?" Jennie perks up.

"Nausea, insomnia, chills—"

"Mino-oppa," Lisa whispers, just loud enough for Mino to catch it. Mino acknowledges it with a 'hm?' as the noodles dangle from his lips. Lisa points her chopsticks at Seungyoon. "Is that your shirt?"

"Yep."

"Why is he wearing your shirt?"

"I got his sweater dirty."

"Oh," Lisa says before her face goes through a wide range of expressions. She in a breath between her teeth, sceptical. "It looks suspiciously like a boyfriend shirt to me."

"Uh oh, don't go there," Mino warns. "Don't make me poke you with these chopsticks."

Lisa doesn't care. "I mean, you two hang out together a lot, and he's wearing your shirt—"

"Stop it right there." Mino swings his chopsticks at Lisa, but she's faster than him.

"—I mean, shouldn't your shirt be smelly? You smell like garbage."

"I smell like roses, you witch."

"You smell like thinner and tobacco," Seungyoon adds in casually, so suddenly that it puts a halt on Mino and Lisa's childish Alpha quarrel.