Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

The curtains swaying in the breeze on the last day of September, in front of the window overlooking the city ahead. Wonwoo was in his office, with his hands inside the pockets of his black slacks.

Everything was quiet. At that opportune moment, all was right with the world.

“The year's at the spring. And day's at the morn; Morning's at seven.”

A not-so-distant scent was fast approaching, as well as footsteps he managed to hear in the hallway beyond, combined with the pleasant breeze blowing against his face and some voices outside his office that he could pick up with his keen ear.

“The hill-side's dew pearled; The lark's on the wing; The snail's at the thorn.”

He closed his eyes and the blue sky with white clouds ceased to be his attention. The scent intensified, knowing what he expected from it. Or who.

A sweet and citrus fragrance, with lemon and vanilla, like a lemon pie, a dessert on the table to eat on the warmest days of June.

The footsteps outside approached and the presence that he didn't expect that morning that he considered calm until that moment, planted in front of his door.

“God's in His heaven – All's right with the world.”

He finished reciting in his deep voice just as rhythmic knocking rapped at his door.

Outside, Junhui, with impatience, called out to the man that he also didn't expect to see that day when he opened his eyes to calmly go to work without being suddenly called on a matter that he couldn't ignore as much as he wanted to. 

He was so engrossed in his irritation that he didn't notice he kept knocking on the door and nearly punched Wonwoo square in the face when he opened it without warning.

“Oh, pardon me.”

Junhui's first reaction upon seeing the other neutral-looking man was to take two steps back and regain his composure, frowning slightly but not losing his good manners. Wonwoo felt suffocated with the scent when he had the source in front of him.

“Good morning, Inspector Jeon.” The dark-eyed man simply blinked and Junhui held back an exasperated sigh. “You see, Inspector Choi sent me with you because I need some questions answered, since they called me to come here urgently but they still haven't given me the reasons, and you must understand that my work at the hospi--”

Wonwoo raised a hand to stop the brown-haired man's diatribe. His pheromones were everywhere and adding his quick words in that soft voice, the detective felt a migraine coming from behind his eye sockets.

Wonwoo sighed wearily. He already had the second coffee of the day and now he had to take care of an issue that he tried to avoid, without success.

“Is it necessary to talk about it right now? Is it really that urgent for you, Dr. Moon?” he asked, looking over his round glasses at the other man, who frowned deeply and crossed his arms indignantly.

“From time to time, I may be a consultant for you hounds, but my main role is to take care of my patients in the hospital, not to be surrounded by you who have only an ounce of empathy and always break into the hospital without respecting the patients!” he exclaimed in exasperation. “Apart from the fact that I was called here and I did not come out of pleasure, but because I have a certain obligation as a professional.”

Wonwoo fought the urge to look up at the ceiling and curse Seungcheol for leaving the whole explanation to him.

He stared at the other man and Junhui held his gaze for a few seconds, before turning his face away and biting the inside of his cheek.

“This man in front of me is the prodigy of Yabbay and yet he seems more alike to an impatient kid,” Wonwoo thought.

“So Seungcheol sent you with me to explain it to you.”

Junhui nodded.

“He says I'm going to work with you... again.”

“Again... No, please, God, this was going to be a good day, what have you done?”

Wonwoo couldn't help but look at the ceiling, but with one hand in his pocket, he stepped to the side and gestured inside his neat office with his usual stoicism.

“You keep accepting, that's why he keeps calling you.”

“And if Seungcheol called him, it's because we really need him”

“I'm bad at saying no,” Junhui replied, looking warily at the police inspector.

“Well, in that case, come inside, Dr. Moon, I'll explain everything you need to know.” He resigned himself. It was either doing his duty or having an upset omega on his tail. And not just any omega, but him.

The man of the same height and with brown hair and round eyes looked at him for a few moments and then nodded. For some reason he seemed to hesitate, but Junhui walked into Wonwoo's office, and as he passed by the raven-haired man, the inspector couldn't ignore the force with which that familiar scent (and one he had hoped to forget) suddenly invaded him.

He was going to need an aspirin and another black coffee as strong as the day that had just begun.

These two men hadn't expected to see each other again or work together once more, but little did they know what that morning's start entailed.

Fate really hated them. Or maybe it was quite the opposite.

The Forensic Investigation Center of Yabbay State stood like a tall polarized glass building in the center of the city, an imposing reminder that it was the most important police organization in the state and the country at large.

The FICYS (as they used to call it by its acronym) was in charge of all criminal matters related to murders and crimes of violence, as well as handling the intelligence involved thanks to experts to solve the cases.

When Junhui walked through the glass doors that morning and the front desk attendant let him in without asking his name twice or checking for his ID, the doctor knew right away that the morning call at the ass crack of dawn from Inspector Choi Seungcheol was no mistake or something he could ignore.

He went up in the elevator, watching police officers and forensic investigators going back and forth as he walked through the halls to where the General Inspector's office was, the one responsible for his presence there.

To his surprise, before he could get to Inspector Choi, he sent him through another policeman, Lee Chan, with Inspector Jeon.

At the mention of the man's name that Junhui could remember very well, the doctor immediately felt a shudder.

Jeon Wonwoo was the perfect definition of an alpha from head to toe and with all the advantages of literally belonging to the caste of the strongest and most intelligent in society, biologically speaking of course.

That man made him nervous because of his perfect control and his lack of emotions, or at least, he never showed them. He had a stoic demeanor and an air of aloofness around him that gave him the respect he had well earned, but for a man like Junhui, the two were polar opposites.

And not necessarily because Junhui was an omega who carried his heart on his sleeve wherever he went, but Wonwoo and him were like the moon and the night. They contrasted a lot.

So, inside the alpha's office, with his unique scent of eucalyptus and coffee mixed with tobacco and old books, Junhui couldn't keep still.

The hands on his lap kept fidgeting and Wonwoo noticed the other man's uneasiness and frowned slightly, waking to open the window further and let more air inside.

They had worked together in the past, requiring Junhui as a criminal profiler.

Dr. Moon Junhui was considered the prodigy of Yabbay, the only omega who had acquired the position of administrator of the Yabbay General Hospital, as well as acting as the head of the Department of Psychiatry, and to top it off, he possessed such cognitive ability that he was a beloved choice of the FICYS and had been hired with a special agent's license to act as a profiler for criminals.

There was no one better than him. So sure was Seungcheol of this that upon seeing the futile attempts to stop the new Yabbay serial killer that had appeared, he sought out Dr. Moon for help and to make it easier for them to catch the criminal.

And being his superior, Wonwoo didn't have a say in the decision.

Even less when he, being the Chief of Section 17, that is, the Science, Investigation and Criminal Behavior Unit, was more than clear that the help of the neuropsychiatrist was infallible. He was necessary.

That brought him to the current situation, in which the brilliant Moon Junhui was sitting in front of his desk, with restless hands and pheromones that he hadn't yet learned to control.

He was an omega after all, and Wonwoo was an alpha. No matter how imposing this man with many professional titles and the knowledge of a library was, he still had an instinct that could be unleashed at any time if he wasn't careful.

Both men, alpha and omega, were lucky enough to live in a society that had advanced enough in technology and morality to keep their relationship purely professional.

After all, they lived in a world where omegas could hold high ranks and professional positions, and be on the same page with the most prominent alphas. Current suppressors performed great miracles.

The genetics of the secondary genders were not discriminated against in a society with strict rules about rights for all people regardless of whether they were alphas, betas or omegas.

There was clearly a predominance of betas in the population, but in the case of alphas, they appeared with a single gene and inheritance was practically autosomal dominant. In the case of the even rarer omegas, inheritance was autosomal recessive.

Two genes and it didn't matter if the primary gender was female or male, the omega manifested as best suited to procreate in society and human preservation by instinct and nothing else.

In the end, it was not survival of the fittest, but survival of reproduction.

“So, I'm going to be asked to establish a criminal psychological profile once again? I haven't been on the news enough to have heard of recent case murders.”

Junhui finally spoke, looking at Wonwoo and his office being so neat and tidy that it made him anxious to move anything from the place. There were china cats arranged in a row and a silver fox paperweight.

He looked over to the desk where he found a bottle of medicine. From his seat he could read the label.

«Naltrexone»

The doctor raised an eyebrow, now seeing the back of Wonwoo who was looking out the window.

The alpha then turned and searched through some documents arranged in a folder, holding them out to Jun. His hand was trembling slightly.

Certain details couldn't escape Junhui's clinical eyes, but he didn't comment anything.

The memories he had of Wonwoo working with him two years ago showed a man who, despite having a charming and enigmatic scent, always carried with him the distinctive smell of whiskey and tobacco.

Now those scents seemed to have faded, but they were still hanging in some stormy spot that Junhui could figure out one way or another.

“The reason you or any other Yabbay civilian know nothing about the murders is that we've kept the whole thing out of the media. But we don't know how long this will be, considering the nature of the deaths and how theatrical they can be.”

Wonwoo crossed his arms. He wasn't far from being an observer either. His dark eyes took in the way Junhui began to flip through the pages carefully. The doctor was formally dressed and without his lab coat, he looked elegant, but the clinical aura followed him everywhere.

He inspected everything with a mind that surprised Wonwoo. He was empathetic and could visualize almost anything. His photographic memory was prodigious.

At the same time, his sensitivity was an attribute that was too prominent and characteristic of him, since emotions were expressed in his gestures, his voice, and above all, his actions and decisions.

The man in front of Wonwoo was the most imposing omega he knew. Moon Junhui was not only respected, but also highly coveted, but no alpha ever had the luck or fortune to be to the liking of that cautious doctor. No one was worthy enough.

“So you have kept the vultures out of this?” Junhui asked, putting the documents on the desk and rearranging the photographs for a better view.

Wonwoo couldn't help but crack a smile. Junhui's particularity was that, as professional and rational as he seemed, he had a very curious way of expressing himself sometimes. He was too transparent and direct.

Wonwoo had heard him refer to journalists and reporters as 'vultures' and policemen or law enforcement officers as 'hounds.'

“That's how it is. Seungcheol has done a good job of keeping them at bay.”

“I don't doubt Inspector Choi's diligence…” Junhui frowned at the photographs documenting the first two cases of the serial killer who had begun to torment Yabbay. “I don't know how you have kept it hidden, this is very conspicuous.”

Wonwoo crossed his arms again and looked out the window at the city of Yabbay below that tall building.

“Tell me what you think, Dr. Moon. This killer barely has two victims, but there is a visible pattern that can give him away.”

The doctor gave the inspector a quick glance, then returned his gaze to the documents and photographs.

“And this is where the key of psychiatry comes in, right? Tell me how much you will need me and what disposition I must have.”

Wonwoo smirked.

“Your license is valid for three more years. Welcome back to the FICYS, Dr. Moon, you will be working as a special agent again.”

The doctor shot the arrogantly grinning alpha an irritared glare.

“Am I going to have to work directly with this cunning fox?” he thought, his stomach sinking.

“I don't like bloodhounds,” Junhui said, closing the folder after putting the documents back inside it.

“I condemn my fate that now I will have to work along with this intellectual owl,” was Wonwoo's thought.

“And we don't like scholars,” Wonwoo replied with the same tone of voice as the omega.

They looked at each other across the space that separated them.

“You will be under my supervision since this is Section 17's work.” The black-haired alpha went to sit behind his desk, leaning back.

Junhui softened his expression and heaved a defeated sigh.

“You can't say no to the policemen, so I don't have much of a choice. As long as you are aware that my main work is in the hospital with my patients and this does not interfere with it, then I accept.”

“Deal. You should talk to Seungcheol though, he's the one who requested you.”

Junhui raised an eyebrow. “Clearly it was him.” His round eyes looked at Wonwoo in a way that seemed strange to him, never noticing such a glint in him. “And of course I'll talk to him... Now, I have to study these documents, before the journalists stain the image of a serial killer at their convenience and start diagnosing him indiscriminately.”

The doctor pushed back his chair and stood up. Wonwoo followed every move attentively, but without making a move himself.

Junhui took the folder with the documents and pointed at it with raised eyebrows.

“I guess I'm free to have access to this information.”

Wonwoo bit his tongue not to tell him that folder belonged to him and preferably he didn't take it away and impregnate it with his scent.

But at his silence, the omega nodded.

“I'll take that as a yes. It's a lending, I'll return it to you when I'm done and have a clear idea of what's going on in this criminal's mind.” He tucked the blue folder under his arm and reached across the desk. “I guess it's safe to say that it's a pleasure working with you again, Inspector Jeon.”

The jet-haired alpha stared at the offered hand for a few long seconds.

A pleasure? He didn't know how to define how much of a pleasure all that was. Perhaps because it was to some degree. Perhaps because he thought that he'd been spared from chains that he had once avoided.

He accepted the hand and gave it a firm squeeze.

“A pleasure indeed, Dr. Moon,” he answered, always stoic and a man of few words. The joining of their hands lit a strange flame on their skins, like an old fire returning to its place of origin.

Both men, by virtue of their sanity and good judgment, chose to ignore it.

Wonwoo's alpha kept quiet because of his firmness and discipline. Junhui's omega was sent to stay asleep because of his determination and stubbornness.

“I promise to return the documents in optimal conditions,” said the doctor, when their hands were released.

Still, their gazes remained locked.

“I don't doubt that, I hope they help you to render the criminal profile.”

And with those last words from the detective, Junhui nodded, turned around and walked out of the office that threatened to suffocate him.

Junhui's scent, unfortunately for Wonwoo, remained in the room, as if it wanted to remind him or reproach him for something.

“God is definitely in His heaven… But I don't think all's right with the world. In fact, the world couldn't be worse”

He whispered to himself, watching the city of Yabbay, its shadows still in daylight.

The neuropsychiatrist walked through the halls again, everything there was dark and minimalistic. Muted and formal colors, just the white lighting of the long spotlights. Glass doors with people working. The hounds doing their job.

“Junhui?”

He heard his name in a high-pitched voice he recognized well and turned in time to see Xu Minghao approaching him.

The medical examiner and forensic pathologist of Section 17 that Wonwoo was in charge of.

It was good to see the other man because he would have a colleague who could understand him well and he wouldn't feel so out of place there. Besides, both were omegas and had the same nationality. They shared a lot in common.

He moved closer to hug him and was surprised to recognize a different scent layering over the omega's natural scent.

Minghao had always smelled like roses with honey, fresh and sweet. But now there was a distinctive smell of chocolate and oak, warm and strong.

When they separated, Junhui stared at his old friend and the younger man raised an eyebrow.

“Now why are you staring at me like that? You don't recognize me or what?”

Junhui opened his mouth to ask him about the change in his scent, but Inspector Kim Mingyu, an expert special agent in crime scenes, also approached them as he recognized the doctor.

The alpha had his typical smile showing his prominent canines, and the doctor knew right away where that scent mixed with Minghao's came from.

“You two...?”

He pointed at them but kept the question hanging in the air because both men looked at him with curiosity.

If he remembered correctly, Mingyu and Minghao didn't get along. When he worked with them, they wouldn't stop arguing and always looked at each other directly in the eye as if they were having a staring competition.

Still, it made sense, they were too compatible. Anyone could notice it.

Junhui decided not to jump to conclusions about it and greeted the policeman as well, since he was glad to have him there.

“Are you going to work with us on the case? The Killer doesn't have a name yet, but the press will take care of giving him one,” said the alpha, placing a friendly hand on the shoulder of the doctor who nodded.

“Inspector Choi requested me, so yes, I will work with you, not that I can refuse.”

“You have to learn to say no, Junhui,” the other doctor said. “Though I'm glad to have another one of mine here.”

“Besides, knowing you, it's nice to have someone who can appease our stern and grumpy boss a bit,” Mingyu commented, scratching the back of his neck.

Junhui didn't have to ask to know that he was referring to Wonwoo.

“I don't know what you mean by that.”

He smiled innocently. He was aware that he and the alpha were complete opposites, and also, that Wonwoo acted cautious around him.

“Anyway, anything you need, you can lean on us.”

The doctor smiled again at the two younger men. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to come back.

He never intended to be part of criminal investigations, but by the time he became one of the most prolific psychiatrists, his reputation made him the first and best choice, not only of Yabbay, but of the entire country.

Once again, in those corridors, side by side with Wonwoo. It was just work and nothing more. As long as they got it right and they caught that killer, he didn't have to worry about other things that involved a part of himself that he preferred to leave quiet inside him.

…

“God's in His Heaven! Do you hear that? Who spoke?”