The moving shadow seen from beneath the door confirmed the presence of the owner. Knocking a few times to announce his presence, Seungcheol opened the door and leaned against it, greeting Taeyong whom he hadn’t met in a while.

They used to be close, but being in different courses, they drifted apart naturally. Though they still hang out with each other once in a while, it was not how he had imagined their friendship to be at the beginning of their campus life. Taeyong is friendly with everyone so he was quick to form his own pack while Seungcheol could not fit in any – because he was not used to being in one.

Unlike other alphas, he had always been one half of a couple instead of a pack. Hierarchies and natural orders, albeit not a strict one, never felt natural to him like it did others. Not hanging out with other alphas as much, and spending time with his then-girlfriend instead, he turned mild. Seungcheol became more of a beta, trait-wise. When he was supposed to be testosterone-filled aggressive alpha teenager, he became mushy with love instead.  As a result, he wasn’t as easy to provoke, not eager to fight, and certainly, not crazy for other omegas. It occurred to him some time ago that the reason why their stronger kinds are meant to be with the weaker omegas, was to balance each other. It was a romantic thought, and he was always laughed at by his friends but he still thought it was true to this day, despite everything.

‘Yo Coups!’ Taeyong welcomed him with a hug. Groaning from the force, Seungcheol laughed, inwardly thinking of a way to ask for Jeonghan’s contacts without implying that he was interested in the omega that his friend was after. He thought returning the man’s book could be a good chance to do so, but now that he was here, he realized that was not enough reason. Still, he was already here with the book, it wouldn’t be right to leave with it. ‘Here.’

Taeyong’s face fell at the sight, surprising Seungcheol who was holding on to the man’s excitement so he they could talk about it. This, was unexpected. ‘You finally read it.’

‘Not really. I skipped a lot.’ He laughed, trying to ease the tension. ‘How’d you even finish it?’ he tried again, hoping the man would bite the bait but instead, he gave Seungcheol a forced smile.

What happened between them? Last time they saw each other, his friend was still eager to get to know Jeonghan and got very enthusiastic every time the name was mentioned. Now it seemed, he just lost interest. He was not hating the man, Seungcheol didn’t get that vibe. It was like, the obsession he had was just, gone. ‘I got into it. Maybe too much.’ A sigh. ‘Anyway, you can have that. I’m done.’

The air was solemn. Seungcheol could only gave him a bitter smile, a condolence for his lost. Though he wanted to let it be and give his friend space, he couldn’t help but be curious of the reason. Because although the omega might be cold with his words, he didn’t seem like a bad person. And, not to mention, they slept together so it must have meant something… If Seungcheol could talk to Jeonghan a few times after orientation despite their bad start, he doubt the omega would leave his gentle friend hanging.

Just, why?

‘He’s hopeless.’ Taeyong suddenly answered his question, understanding his obvious silence, ‘I mean, he’s attractive and all but he’s never gonna be a good mate.’

‘Owh…’ Seungcheol couldn’t help but frown at the comment. He didn’t know Jeonghan enough to make that judgement, but that was a bit harsh, especially coming from Taeyong who apparently had been adoring the other since a while back. It made him wonder what Jeonghan did to his friend to cause him to feel this way. ‘You know he sleeps around right?’

‘…yeah.’ Of course, he was infamous for it. But, Taeyong knew about it from the very beginning. That couldn’t have been the tie-breaker. Besides, from the rumours he heard, he would have imagined Jeonghan sleeping with different alphas all the time but the few times they met, he never smelled any alphas on him, not even the one he got into a fight with at the cafe. Sometimes Seungcheol found himself wondering whether the rumours were even true.

‘People like that won’t stick with one person for the rest of their lives right? You should know, your girlfriend’s just like him- ahh,’ Seungcheol felt a pang in his heart at the sudden mention of his ex-girlfriend. Although he was trying hard not to react, he could feel his jaw clenched as he swallowed to wet his dry throat. ‘Sorry Coups, I didn’t…’

‘You’re not wrong…’ he forced himself to speak, trying to laugh it off. His friend was telling the truth anyway, she did, cheat on him and sleep with other people.

‘I was just tryna make a point… He’s like a male version of Woo Ri so-’

‘Point understood.’ He cut the other off, not wanting to hear anymore excuse. He get what Taeyong was trying to say, he could also understand his reasoning, and honestly, he would have agreed completely had he not seen the way Jeonghan had been reacting towards the alphas around him. Most of their meetings, the omega had been avoiding alphas for one reason or another. The man seemed complex, but Seungcheol somehow got the impression that Jeonghan didn’t enjoy his experience with alphas as much as people thought.

But he could be wrong. He was wrong about Woo Ri, and he had only known Jeonghan for two months or less. Taeyong had been following the male omega for a few years, they even shared an intimate night together. It was obvious who should be the judge.

Not wanting to stay and torture his guilt-ridden friend, and himself from the reminiscence of his broken relationship, Seungcheol decide to leave Taeyong be. ‘I’ll take this away then.’

Making his way back to his room, locking the door behind, Seungcheol threw the book on the bed, staring at it. He knew Taeyong only mentioned his ex-lover to emphasize his point but having Jeonghan being compared to Woo Ri made him despise the former, for the few moments before he realized it shouldn’t matter. He was not interested in the male nor would he ever go out with the omega anyway so, trivial things like that should not affect him.

Yes, there was no way he would even consider going out with someone like Jeonghan. The man’s choice of lifestyle shouldn’t matter to him.

Also, he was not trying to get Jeonghan’s contact details so he could get to know the omega better or anything, he just felt bad for what he said yesterday and wanted to apologize. They should be back to being strangers after this.

Yes, he shouldn’t care about Jeonghan.

*****

‘So… do you come here every day?’ Jeonghan asked as he looked around the research group’s room, noting the refrigerator where Joshua probably keep all his banana milks. There was only three people in the whole room, two being themselves. With all the furniture and resources here, the room was almost like a private library and yet, there were only a few people which was such a waste. ‘What… do you guys even do here?’

Upon hearing the question, Joshua turned his head around and scanned the room, silently scoffed a bemused laugh at the situation, ‘Research, I guess.  I think the group gets busy from the end of the year.’

‘Research? What kind?’ Jeonghan found himself interested in the subject. He had free time, he followed Joshua back here when they met at the library yesterday and now, he was enjoying the relaxing ambience of the room. Too bad he could only access here in the presence of the foreigner hence why he had to ask if Joshua would be here before coming.

‘Erm… social etiquettes and stuff.’ Jeonghan read the titles of the books on the shelves. Unlike what he expected, the title was as boring as they look with no intention of catching the eye of new readers. Just, straight to the point. Widening his eyes which almost closed from boredom, he looked at what the other omega was doing, reading his writings. ‘Your Korean .’

‘Ouch.’ The man playfully responded, ‘Mine’s gonna be in English so no worries.’

Smiling at the answer, nodding his head just because, Jeonghan started to flip through the other’s notebook, trying to find something fun to do. Granted he came here to relax, but that was only because he had nothing else to do and spending time with someone seemed better than being in his room all alone hiding from people. He still hadn’t bought a concealer, and he was still a bit shaken from what happened. He doubt he would be going to the club for a while hence his mission to find a new hobby. ‘Josh, what do you do during your free time?’

‘Hrmm… reading?’

‘Heol, really? Like, right now?’

‘Urm, yeah. I joined a few clubs but stopped after meeting my girlfriend the-‘

‘Woah.’ Jeonghan stopped the man from continuing. Joshua just mentioned something really interesting and he wished to skip through it? Not going to happen. ‘Girlfriend?? Alpha?’

Joshua stared at him, closing his eyes a few times probably not understandi