A/N: Apologies for taking so long. I won't be able to update regularly from now on, but I'll try my best. 

For Claimed Hyukhae drabbles (and perhaps other Claimed pairings in the future too): Seeking Equilibrium

He felt like he was back to the nine-year-old he once was – weak, helpless, lost.

Only that now he wasn’t lost because he lost his mother, but because he was at a loss of what to do with his newly-discovered love.

Kyuhyun pressed his ear tight against the cold door, closing his eyes to concentrate on his omega’s breathing. Reckoning that his omega was asleep from the smooth and slow rhythm, he quietly pushed open a gap, peeping in to double check. To his dismay, the omega’s back was turned towards the door.

Without making a sound, he tiptoed while balancing the tray of lunch carefully over to the bed, settling the food down on the side table. After three seconds, which he deemed long enough to determine whether his omega had stirred from sleep, he stretched his neck out, bending over to triple-check his omega’s face to ensure Sungmin was indeed asleep.

And when he was sure from the peaceful expression and unchanging breathing rhythm that yes, his omega was asleep, his shoulders slacked and the breath he didn’t even know he was holding in was released in a heavy sigh. Kyuhyun clutched his chest where his heart was beating furiously, sighing once again to himself.

What was he so nervous about? He was acting like a high school girl creeping up on her crush.

Shaking his head at his own ridiculous behavior, he moved to the other side of the bed, lowering right in front of his sleeping omega. The tranquil side profile of his omega unconsciously brought a smile to his face as his fingers gently threaded through the familiar black strands habitually. It was a soft, affectionate moment, but suddenly, the impulse to do more than just touch jumped to surface – he wanted to kiss his omega. Biting his lower lip, he fought back the urges, knowing he didn’t deserve to do so when he had yet to make the decision.

Since the moment he had discovered he was in love with his omega, the urges to be intimate with the latter had grown stronger and more frequent with time, especially with his omega walking around free with his omega collar on. The fear of hurting his omega had become irrational to his dominant nature, easily overtaken by the thirst to claim his omega as his own once again. But he couldn’t be selfish – not when there was a chance that he would be the one to erase the smile of the one he loved.

Taking in one last breath of the intoxicating scent, Kyuhyun pulled away without fulfilling his urges. ‘Just one kiss wouldn’t hurt’, his dominant side always reasoned, but after that one time he gave in at the hospital, he forced himself never to do it again. He shouldn’t take advantage of his omega, and most importantly, he shouldn’t give false hope to his omega any further. He didn’t even know whether he did right in telling Sungmin that he would protect him.

And in a renewed confused state of mind with the lack of resolution, Kyuhyun quietly retreated from the room, eager to get back to his work. It wasn’t because the Youth Council debate was approaching in three days; he knew he was just escaping from having to make that decision.

~--~

It was two hours later when a phone call disrupted his scouring through pages of past research.

“How’s Sungmin doing?” The first question that burst through the speaker of his phone caused an irritated click of tongue to escape.

“Shouldn’t you at least say hello first?” He muttered, fingers on his desktop mouse never stopping as he highlighted relevant parts of the paper he was currently reading. “I didn’t recall you were such a rude person, Yoseob.”

“He’s back to snappy, sarcastic, cold, lecturing mode!” He heard the beta exclaim to probably Doojoon, before there was a series of shuffling noises followed by the switch in voices. “Is everything alright, Kyuhyun?”

“If you’re talking about Sungmin, yes, he’s fine,” Though I should probably check on whether he has taken his food. “As for the debate, no.”

“You’re working on the debate now? We left to give you some time alone with Sungmin.”

“And who’s going to do all the work if we’re all doing everything else but work?” He snapped, irritation catching up fast on him at Doojoon’s accusatory tone. Was it a crime to want to let his omega rest peacefully?

“There’s always Changmin and the rest,” Doojoon stated matter-of-factly.

“If there is nothing else, I’m going to hang up and get back to work already,” he countered dismissively, knowing he couldn’t win the argument against Doojoon.

More background noise sounded before Yoseob’s voice burst into the speaker again. “Kyuhyun—”

Kyuhyun pressed the red end-call button, flipping his phone and slamming it onto the table. Throwing his head back, he took a deep breath, letting the lingering scent of his omega calm him down again. He shouldn’t be letting his frustration get to him – Youth Council had always been demanding, but their team always managed to work things out in the end—

He groaned at the vibration, snatching his phone and swiping the screen carelessly. “What exactly do you want, Yang Yoseob?”

“Bad day, Kyuhyun-gun?”

Kyuhyun’s eyes widened at the chuckle. Pulling his phone back from his ear, he checked the caller ID. “It’s rare for you to call, ahjussi.”

“What a cold greeting. I really miss the young bubbly you when you first visited my shop with your father,” Kyuhyun was about to interject when his father’s friend continued, “Speaking of shop, you can finally come down to collect the collar you ordered.”

“It’s… done?” The crease between his eyebrows deepened as the insecurities and confusion rushed in again. He had yet to come to a decision, and Sungmin’s new collar just had to be completed at this time, as though it was urging for him to make the decision.

“Yes, I apologise for taking so long, but it can’t be helped when parts of the chip go out of stock and you’re so uptight about the accuracy of the monitors and whatnot. Anyway, I’m sure your omega would like it, especially after almost a month of wearing what—a training collar? And you can finally relax a little with his vitals being monitored every single moment.”

“I have been monitoring his vitals for his safety,” Kyuhyun reasoned, not liking how the collar maker seemed to be implying that he was controlling too much. “The previous collar is working very well, so I suppose there wouldn’t be a problem with the new one,” He added as general courtesy of a customer.

“The previous collar? You mean the one made with the same technology?”

Kyuhyun frowned at the shocked tone of the collar maker. “Yes, is there something wrong with the technology?”

“Something wrong with the technology?” The collar maker repeated in an incredulous tone. “Everything’s wrong to give that collar to your omega!”

“What—”

“You gave your omega a collar with an engraving of another’s name? I know you have become cold, Kyuhyun-gun, but I never thought you were this heartless!”

“Wait wait wait.” Kyuhyun cut off the collar maker’s agitated rambling. “What engraving?”

“Ryeowook-gun’s nick! You requested for ‘Wook’ to be engraved inside. When Doojoon dropped by to collect that collar, he specially conveyed your instructions and asked for the name to be engraved on the spot. Don’t tell me you forgot, Kyuhyun-gun. I deduced you like Ryeowook-gun when I saw you two together from that one time, but how can you do this to your own ome—”

His phone slipped out of his loosened hold, knocking against the desk and dropping to the floor with a succession of thuds.

Wook’s name… on the collar. Doojoon.

His blood ran cold as the images flashed back into his mind.

‘I will wear another, but not this one. I don’t want this collar.’

‘I don’t want to wear this.’

‘It’s not mine!’

Kyuhyun stood up abruptly, his legs frantically carrying him out of the study as he ignored the crash of his chair against the bookshelves.

‘No… P-Please.’

The volume of his footsteps increased as he broke into a run, heading towards the room where his omega laid waiting.

‘The collar isn’t mine!’

Swinging the door open, he caught sight of his omega lurching at the loud slam of the door against the wall. His omega’s wide eyes blinked at him in surprise, “M-Master…?”

‘S-Sorry—Master—I’m—sorry—‘

‘It’s over, Sungmin.’

‘Sorry—Master—I’m—sor—ry—‘

‘You disobeyed. I punished. You learnt.’

‘Sorry—M-Master-S-Sor—ry—sorry—‘

Kyuhyun rushed towards the bed, stopping himself curtly before he could pounce on his omega. His omega slowly sat up in bed, observing