Seungcheol stared at the stained bedsheet, unmoving. The reality hitting him like a ton of bricks now that his omega was gone and he was left alone in his room with his thoughts after the chaos outside.

He was mated.

He has an omega to take care of. He must become an adult right away.

‘.’ Seungcheol let himself fall to the floor and stared at the bedframe, suddenly feeling overwhelmed. How would he support them? He still received allowance from his parents, the part-time job barely able to pay for his outings. Where were they going to live? He couldn’t afford to pay rent. Obviously he couldn’t ask his parents to pay for an apartment for him and his mate…

. Why didn’t he think about this before? He only thought hard about being mates in the companionship aspect which he was ready. He thought. Because he really loves Jeonghan. But he didn’t think about the financial aspect. At all. And he should have, because he was the alpha and alphas support the family. Just like his father support theirs, and his grandfathers supported their own. How would he do it right now? Without a job??

And what should he do about his parents? They obviously knew he was dating Jeonghan, and they liked his omega too. But, his mother always advised him to focus on his studies first so he could get a good opportunity later. And he promised her he was doing just that. Which was not a lie. But, he also marked Jeonghan. Which technically was still not breaking his promise yet it felt like it. Being mates was in the romantic department, not academic.

Dammit. He was so screwed.

Pulling the sheets from the bed, Seungcheol hastily folded it and put it with his other laundry, not wanting to get the attention of the other residents of the dormitory. The coin laundry was at the common area where he had to walk to. If he carried his sheet there, they would take the opportunity to again. He didn’t think he could handle that right now. His mind was in a mess and he just wanted some alone time to think.

Ah . Someone was there. He thought those people would be back in their rooms sleeping the fatigue and hangover away hence why he decided to do his chores right away. Maybe he should do this at night. Seungcheol was about to turn around before,

‘Seonbae!’ The man called, to his annoyance. Seungcheol turned back around to give the junior a forced smile. ‘The other two’s free. I’m just waiting for mine. It’s gonna get done in a few minutes.’

‘Oh. Thanks.’ Seungcheol moved inside, still reluctant to start the machine. Because the kid, the Chinese dude who was in his own course if he remembered correctly, would be standing here all the while. Hopefully he would not ask about what happened considering he was a junior. Inserting the coins, Seungcheol set the washing machine and immediately planned to return to his room.

‘Seonbae!’ The man called, and Seungcheol sighed, now feeling like raising his voice for no reason. He knew he was not supposed to, but he was not in the mood to talk about what was complicating his life right now in a positive way. But he also didn’t want to think of it negatively because he knew it was a beautiful thing.

‘Wen Junhui. I’m in your course, I think? Wonwoo said you’re in Mechanical Engineering?’ Junhui went up to him, his face excited as he introduced himself. Seungcheol furrowed his eyebrows slightly, trying to figure out who this Wonwoo was before remembering the robot guy. ‘Yup. You know Wonwoo?’

‘He’s my bestie from when we’re little.’ Okay, so this might not be a conversation about the bonding. Feeling himself relaxed a bit, Seungcheol moved back inside the room and leaned against the machine showing his willingness to talk. Maybe this was what he needed to clear his mind – talk about other things. Knowing someone new was also not bad. This guy didn’t seem to know about the bonding, and considering he was a beta, would never know about it until someone tells him about it.

‘Can you help me choose the lectures?’

‘Sure.’ Seungcheol smiled, feeling a lot better that someone here was actually seeing him as someone other than Jeonghan’s mate.

*****

Sitting down on the bed after changing the bed sheets, feeling refreshed after a long talk with his junior, Seungcheol pulled out his phone to talk with his now-mate. Somehow the topic of dating came up in his introductory talk with Junhui, and he was reminded of Jeonghan offering to pay for hotel and the conversation that followed – his omega was aware of his financial status and was not unwilling to contribute. He realized this was a conversation that he needed to have with his mate, and preferably before breaking the news to his parents because he knew they will ask about this too.

‘Jeonghan-ah,’ He started, smiling at the other’s tired voice. Jeonghan must have gone back to his room to sleep, having taken the painkiller. Still, he wanted to ask what his omega was doing, just to make him embarrassed of his own laziness despite knowing that he deserved the break. ‘What’re you doing?’

Silence. His omega was annoyed. ‘I’m bowling.’

‘Oh really? Did you get a strike?’ He tried, knowing that the other had no idea what he was talking about. Jeonghan never went bowling and he did not like sports in general. He just wanted to hear if Jeonghan would keep with this play or give up. ‘I got full mark.’

‘A strike?’

‘Why would I get a strike? I hit all the pins.’ Seungcheol laughed loudly, loving how egoistic his omega was for the wrong reasons. Hearing the clicking of the tongue, the alpha apologized for interrupting his omega’s rest and making fun of him. With tears still in his eyes, Seungcheol decided that was enough fun for now and started with the reason for the call – to talk about their future plan together.

And telling his parents.

He couldn’t delay the latter because they often go for meals together during the weekend even though he could postpone telling them this week, he would need to do it the next week. And the longer they hold on into it, the ruder he felt it would be for his parents.

Which was why he wanted to do it tomorrow. On Sunday.

*****

‘Aah, you again.’ Jeonghan smiled at the sight of his alpha who was sitting on the bench near his dormitory. He mentioned that he needed to talk about something serious – their future life plans together hence why Jeonghan made an effort to get up despite still feeling a bit queasy. Not that, he was blaming his alpha for anything. He too realized that this was an important issue none of them ever seriously talked about before.

‘Didn’t I see you this morning? Are you a stalker?’ Jeonghan just pouted, not having the energy for a good comeback; exhausted from the pain on his lower neck. Had he been in a better condition, he would have made this guy beg for mercy for attempting to call him a stalker when he was the one appearing in his vicinity. Dragging his legs towards the alpha, Jeonghan sat down and leans against the man who has his arms opened, ready for an embrace.

‘Are you feeling better?’ Seungcheol asked to which Jeonghan shook his head. He did, he took the pill and slept so when he woke up, he felt rejoiced with the pain lessen greatly. But his mate was here, he just wanted to be pampered. What else is a mate for?

Getting all the attention he wanted from his mate who happily obliged with everything he requested, Jeonghan was now ready for the serious discussion. Maybe. He didn’t know if he would ever be. Because, well, he never planned on being bonded in the first place. So he never had a clear vision of how his life would be with another person. Heck, he didn’t even have a long-term plan for himself, only thinking of going with the flow until he achieves something.

Seungcheol, on the other hand, at least have somewhat of a plan in mind. Even though Jeonghan knew this was not in his original plan, he hoped that the man could change it to fit their situation right now. Because Seungcheol was his only hope right now. He literally had no clue.

‘So… I wanna tell eomma and appa tomorrow. Are you okay with that?’ Jeonghan nodded, scared but also hopeful. Because Seungcheol suggested it. Gosh, why was it so easy to just let go? Was this the bond? Because, damn, he liked it. He just trusted his alpha. ‘Before that… I think we need to have an idea of what we’re going to do from now.’

‘Like what?’ Jeonghan honestly did not have an idea what needed to be considered. Why couldn’t they be the way they were right now? What needed to change-?

‘An apartment? We will live together so we need to find a place.’

Oh yeah. They are mates so it was only natural that he would live with Seungcheol! Oh god, this was getting better and better. Just imagining waking up with his alpha every single morning and have with him whenever he wants without going to a hotel. He couldn’t wait!! Where should they live?

‘I-uh, I can’t afford to rent a place right now so I need to find a new job.’ Seungcheol confessed, and suddenly Jeonghan felt a pang in his heart. So, this was the serious part of the talk. Indeed, it was starting to feel like the reality because until now, he felt like he was in the clouds. Finding a job to be able to afford rent… Gosh, he thought that would only be his worry after graduation but now that they are mates who should be close to each other, they needed to start right away. This really fast forwarded a lot of things…

‘I’ll find some night shift jobs ‘cus they pay well. But-uh, that means I can’t go back with you…’

‘Oh…’ Jeonghan dragged his word, already not liking this new reality. He wanted to be with his alpha, even more now that they are mates. What would he do if he had another panic attack and his mate was working? Seungcheol was the only one who could calm him down, so would he be forced to get back to pills? This .

Being adult .

Oh, but Jeonghan had money! From his books, and scholarship. He could pay for rent so his alpha wouldn’t have to take another job! ‘I can pay for rent.’ Jeonghan looked at Seungcheol who seemed reluctant to accept that idea. He knew it hurt his pride, but under the circumstances, he should let Jeonghan contribute. After all, they were in this situation because of him. At the same time, he didn’t want to make his alpha feel little. They were still students; it was a given that they do not have money. He only managed to get some because of his unlucky past. ‘But only until graduation. Then we move and you pay. I want a big apartment.’

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