'You've been scared of love and what it did to you. You don't have to run, I know what you've been through'

~

Note: Both Youngjaes will be in this chapter. So when they are together, in order to prevent confusion, (C.) Youngjae will represent Choi Youngjae and (Y) Youngjae will be Yoo Youngjae. Thank you! And enjoy!

Jaebum woke up at 4 the following morning. He quietly climbed out of bed and made his way to the door. He gently opened the door and peaked out the room. He looked around to see the Youngjae kid was knocked out on his couch.

Jaebum sighed in relief. All he had to do was quietly make it to the front door and he was home free. However, as soon as he stepped foot out the bedroom, loud barking was heard from the other side of the room.

A small white Maltese pup came running his way.

“.” Jaebum cursed to himself. The dog’s barks echoed throughout the room. “Shhh….” Jaebum tried to hush the dog, but she only barked louder, growling at him.

Youngjae shifted in his sleep.

Jaebum tried to step away from the pet, but she followed, barking and growling continuously. “Coco, can’t it wait till morning.” Youngjae mumbled in his sleep, turning on his side. Jaebum tip-toed faster.

The small dog ran after him and tugged at his jeans. “Yah!” He whispered.

Youngjae turned again, groaning in his sleep.

“Let go.” Jaebum tried to pull away, but Coco had her teeth locked. “Stupid dog.” He grumbled. He couldn’t stand dogs. He didn’t understand why people kept them as pets. He couldn’t understand why people kept pets in general. As a kid he always thought it was strange. But he never liked dogs, because they were always the first ones that sensed their wolf and always went crazy. Coco pulled harder, this time causing the wolf to fall to the ground.

“Coco?” Youngjae quickly sat up at the sound of the loud thud in the middle of his apartment. He looked to find Jaebum on the ground and Coco still pulling at the bottom of his pant leg. “Coco! What are you doing?” he ran to them and picked up his dog. The dog continued to growl at Jaebum. “What’s gotten into you?” Youngjae furrowed his brow, petting her fur in an attempt to calm her down.

Jaebum grumbled to himself as he stood back up. “Are you okay? Does your neck hurt? Does anywhere else hurt? Did you hurt anything when you fell?” Youngjae immediately bombarded him with questions. Jaebum blinked a few times in surprise. He wasn’t used to all the questions about his well-being, even if it was just over something small. Stuff like that didn’t matter in his world, since their bodies healed themselves quickly. “No.” He answered, despite the low numbing pain in his lower back.

Youngjae nodded not entirely convinced. “I’m sorry about Coco. She’s usually not like this.” He quickly apologized. “It’s fine.” Jaebum said indifferently, though iti would’ve been nice to have known earlier that there was a dog in the apartment.

“What are you doing up so early? Did you need something? I can get it for you.” Youngjae asked, ready to help. “No. Actually I was leaving.” Jaebum confessed, feeling slightly embarrassed.

Youngjae’s eyes grew large. “I thought you said you were gonna stay.”

“I have to go to work, but I have to get my clothes from my apartment.” The wolf explained. “Uh…Oh~…” Youngjae’s panic vanished at the explanation. “Let me go with you.” He suggested.

“What?”

“Well, it wouldn’t be safe for you to travel alone. What if you pass out? Or what if you start bleeding again? You can’t go to the hospital, so you’ll need me there to help you out.” He smiled.

Jaebum stared at him. ‘What is with this guy?’ “Fine.” He sighed, still unable to say no to the human. “Really?! I’ll get ready now! I’ll be fast.” He quickly put Coco down. Coco growled at the werewolf. “Yah, Coco. Be nice.” Youngjae ordered before running into the bedroom.

“What’s wrong with him?” Jaebum shook his head. Coco barked at him as if she understood what he said. “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” He brushed off the smaller being. “He can’t be that dumb if he got int Med school.” He remarked glancing at the textbooks left on the coffee table.

Youngjae didn’t come out his room until 10 minutes later. “Ready!” he beamed. His blonde hair was neatly combed to the side and he wore a yellow polo shirt with black skinny jeans and white sneakers. “I don’t have any fancy suits if you work at one of those fancy jobs. This is the best I could find.” He said. “It’s fine.” Jaebum brushed off. Leeteuk wasn’t strict on dress code. “Let’s go.” He left first, not bothering to wait for the weird human. “Bye Coco~, I’ll be back~.” Youngjae waved to his precious dog as they left the apartment.

To Jaebum’s surprise, it didn’t take long for them to arrive to his apartment. It was only a 15-minute drive by taxi. “Whoa! This is your apartment?!” Youngjae exclaimed as they entered the high-end apartment. Jaebum hummed in response, taking off his shoes. “Awe! I always pass this complex on my way to school. Sometimes I imagine I’d live here one day.” Youngjae gawked at the tidy, spacious living area. Jaebum scoffed at this, but he wasn’t surprised that he’d imagine something weird like that.

“This place is huge. How many rooms are even in here?” The human asked. “3 bedrooms and 2 baths.” Jaebum answered shortly. Youngjae’s jaw dropped. “Is your family rich?” He asked bluntly. The alpha only shrugged. “I guess.” His parents were tow of the higher members of the pack and each had their own business. And he held a fairly high position under Leeteuk’s company.

Youngjae flipped through the channels of the alpha’s large TV while Jaebum changed and showered in his bathroom. Jaebum couldn’t help but wonder if it was a good idea to show the strange where he lived. He shrugged it off. He doubted that the human would try anything, and if he did, Jaebum would easily be able to take him down. “I’m ready. Let’s go.” He exited his room just to be greeted by silence.

The television was off, and the human was nowhere to be seen. Jaebum furrowed his brow. “Did he leave?” He questioned hopefully. However, his hope was short lived when he walked up to the couch and found the human sleeping away. “Hey.” He shook the human. “Wake up.” Youngjae slowly opened his eys and yawned. “Do you usally wake up this early for work?” He swung his body lazily off the couch. “I usually wake up at 5.” Jaebum answered indifferently,w alking to the front door. Youngjae dragged behind him, “That’s too early. I’m already exhausted.”

“Tch. You were hyper not too long ago.” Jaebum remarked. “Yeah because the apartment was cool. But then it felt heavy.” Youngjae yawned. “It feels lonely in here.” He muttered still half asleep as he slipped on his shoes. Jaebum paused at his words but quickly brushed it off. He shouldn’t be surprised by something he already knows.

“Don’t tell me you work here.” Youngjae said in disbelief when they approached the tall glass skyscraper. Jaebum hummed in response, entering the building first. Youngjae scrambled behind him. Jaebum showed the secretary his ID and she unlocked the second set of doors for them. Youngjae gawked at the sight of the lavish interior. “I can’t believe you really work here.” He said as they rode the elevator. “This is like the biggest company in the region! Maybe even in the whole country.” He exclaimed. “Where do you work?” “My office is on the second floor from the top.” Jaebum answered.

“You have your own office?! You must have a really high position then.” Youngjae said still in awe. Jaebum only shrugged, he wasn’t really one to talk about his job. “Ah, you must be really rich. But aren’t you pretty young to have a high position at such a prestigious company like this? I heard it’s super hard to get into here.” Youngjae continued, not getting the hint.

“What?” Jaebum questioned. “I mean, you must’ve worked really hard to get this position and even harder after you got it.” Youngjae said almost looking at the elder with pity. “Oh…Yeah. I always work hard. I’m nothing if I don’t.” Jaebum responded nonchalant. “Oh.” Was all Youngjae could say. He could feel the heavy, cold atmosphere that followed the alpha around.

Silence shortly fell between the two until the elevator doors opened. Youngjae followed Jaebum out the elevator and silently observed the floor in awe. There weren’t many people considering that it was still early. But he was surprised to see that there were still a handful of people already working at their desks.

He nearly bumped into Jaebum when the wolf suddenly stopped and bowed at a full 90-degree angle. He didn’t understand what was going on, but he did the same anyway. “Oh, Jaebum. I was looking for you. I came to check on you.” Youngjae looked up to see a friendly man standing in front of them.

“Ah, I’m sorry for my tardiness.” Jaebum apologized. The gentle man laughed at this, “Tardy? You’re an hour and a half early. Honestly, I would be pleased if you showed up late for once. You’re always two hours early.”

“Anyway, I came to see if you had arrived yet, and see if everything is okay. Jinyoung told me that you were at your apartment the last few days.”

Youngjae furrowed his brow at the strange statement. He wondered if the alpha possibly lived somewhere else. “Ah, yeah. I had a few things I needed to do. I’m sorry. But everything is fine.” Jaebum answered. “Don’t apologize, I understand.” The man assured him.

The man’s eyes moved to Youngjae, who was stood close behind Jaebum. “Who’s this?” He asked. “Oh! I’m Yo-,” “He’s a friend. I needed help with something, so I asked him to come along. But I guess I should’ve asked you first.” Jaebum cut Youngjae off before he could answer. Youngjae pouted at this.

“Oh no, it’s fine. I trust you.” The man turned to Youngjae and held out his hand to him. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Leeteuk.” He smiled. Youngjae was so taken aback by his warm smile that he was nearly lost for words. He took his hand and bowed his head. “Well, I’ll let you get to your work. Don’t work too hard.” Leeteuk patted Jaebum’s shoulder and walked past the two. “Who was that? His suit looks expensive. I’m starting to think I’m too underdressed.” Youngjae said, noticing the suites everyone wore, including Jaebum.

“He’s the owner of the company.” Jaebum answered, continuing their walk. Youngjae’s jaw dropped. “What?! No Way!” he looked back over his shoulder to get another glance of the nice man, but he was already gone. “Who! He works here? I thought owners never show themselves. They usually work from home or whatever.”

“No. He works closely with the company and everyone. He does the most work.” Jaebum answered once more. “I wonder why.” Youngjae thought aloud. “Because he has to.” Jaebum’s tone was much darker than before.

Youngjae didn’t understand, but he didn’t bother to ask. “He seems way nicer than I imagined. I usually think of big business owners as mean and stoic. But he seems so friendly and welcoming.” He said instead.

“Look who finally decides to show his face.” They were greeted by two more faces that approached them. Youngjae was taken aback by the new faces. Not only did they seem young as well, but they were highly attractive. What have I been doing wrong? He was beginning to reevaluate his life. “Ah, Jinyoung. You act as if I disappeared on purpose.” Jaebum responded to the taller member of the two. “Mm hm.” Jinyoung folded his arms. Youngjae started to feel uncomfortable under the shorter friend’s stare as he popped a lollipop in his mouth. Something about his eyes were cold and almost dangerous. Youngjae felt as if the stranger could see right through his soul.

“I’m Youngjae! What’s your name?” Youngjae introduced himself with a bright smile anyway. He didn’t want to be awkward. Jinyoung raised an eyebrow at the introduction and looked to his friend, anticipating his response. “I’m Yoo Youngjae.” He answered simply.

“Oh! Haha! We have the same name. Well it’s nice to meet you Youngjae.” The human held out his hand for a handshake. However, the other didn’t accept it. Instead he tilted his head to the side, “You’re human, aren’t you?” He asked. Youngjae was thrown off by the question. He wasn’t sure how to respond.

A crooked smile grew on Yoo Youngjae’s lips, “Lucky bastard.” He laughed and walked away. “See you around Youngjae.” He whispered as he passed the human. The way he said his name sent chills down the human’s spine. “I guess that’s my cue to go. Nice meeting you Youngjae.” Jinyoung said, following after the omega.

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