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It was on a Sunday evening, when he had barged into Matthew and Taerae’s dorm for an emergency sleepover, that Hao had to face his current predicament once again. His roommate, Park Gunwook, had gone out probably to do whatever teenage kids do these days and as much as he loved the silence, he got bored pretty fast.
Luckily for his eyes and his sanity, Matthew had been picking his outfit for tomorrow while Taerae had been lying like a starfish on their shared bed when he had arrived. If he were to see Matthew’s dick out one more time, Hao doubts he can live being the third wheel in their friend group.
“Did you seriously just come here to spend time on your phone?” Taerae asks, eyeing Hao who is visibly doing nothing but aimlessly scrolling on Instagram. Hao ignores Taerae’s comment, knowing he doesn’t actually mind him being here without any proper reason.
On his screen, he likes a post congratulating a successful Beta couple for finally catching. He doesn’t know either of them in real life but he’s been following their relationship journey for a while so he’s happy that their dreams came true.
After a while, he reaches the end of posts from the users he follows so he refreshes the page to see if anyone had added to their stories while he was mindlessly scrolling. A few people have added to their story but one in particular catches his attention. Sung Hanbin.
Hao immediately clicks on his story, smiling at the cute username. However, in contrast to ‘beeeeen_0613’, the said cute username, the story is a mirror selfie of Hanbin at a dance studio.
Shirtless.
Both his phone and jaw drop to the floor at the sight of Hanbin’s well defined torso. His phone, still on the floor, moves on to someone else’s story but Hao stays frozen. He feels dizzy but he’s not sure if it’s because of the picture or the fact that Hanbin posted that on his public story.
The thought of someone other than himself seeing Hanbin’s body, flushed cheeks, and messy hair, makes an unfamiliar knot tangle itself in his stomach. His scent bitters quickly, the once pleasant smell turning into a scent not unlike burnt roses.
Matthew, sensing the change in his scent, stops rummaging through clothes. “Hao hyung? Is something wrong?” And being the sweetheart he is, releases calming pheromones in the form of his toffee scent.
Hao runs a hand through his already ruffled hair and picks up his phone. “Matthew, can you do me a quick favour and check Hanbin’s Instagram story for me?” Hao asks, voice devoid of any emotion.
“Hanbin as in Sung Hanbin, right?” Hao responds with a quick nod. Matthew and Taerae are well aware of his feelings towards Hanbin so Matthew compiles without further questioning. “Uh, Hanbin hyung hasn’t posted anything on his story…?”
“What?”
“I’m serious, there’s nothing! Look.” Matthew shows his phone and just like he had said, there is no circle around Hanbin’s profile picture.
“But that’s impossible— I saw—”
Taerae’s voice interrupts Hao’s gabbling. “Matthew’s right, hyung. I checked too.”
“Now I’m curious, what exactly did you see?” Matthew questions.
“Hanbin. It was a mirror selfie and he was shirtless…” Hao trails off, beginning to realise how crazy he sounds.
There was no way he imagined all of that. His imagination could never have been that detailed to the point where he felt such strong emotions over a daydream, a figment of his imagination. Was he delusional?
He hears Taerae sigh, cutting his train of thoughts short. “Hyung, listen. We love you and we support your feelings for Hanbin hyung but this is a bit much, no?”
“Am I delusional? Have I finally lost it?” Hao voices his thoughts.
Matthew snorts. “Delusional, probably—” He cuts himself off because of the glare Hao throws at him, smiling sheepishly in response.
“Ugh, he’s so Alpha. His muscles, his height, his tattoos, his dick, everything.” Hao groans.
Taerae sits up and Matthew joins his boyfriend on the bed, knowing exactly where this conversation is about to go. But, they are the ‘BabyGirlz’ through thick and thin so they were going to allow Hao the freedom of ranting about his undying love for Hanbin.
“You know, Hanbin hyung is really sweet for an Alpha. I’ve been friends with him ever since high school but I have never heard him use his Alpha voice nor show any qualities usual Alpha’s possess.” Matthew says.
“No, Matthew, you don’t understand. Hanbin is unmistakably an Alpha which annoys me so much because our relationship will never work out! And there’s something about him that makes me want to hide him from everyone else, to keep him for myself only, while also showing him off as mine to the rest of the world.”
“Why wouldn’t your relationship work out? You two go well together and there are plenty of Alpha couples out there.” Taerae says.
“Because. I. Can’t. Bottom.” He grits out.
There’s a pause before his two best friends burst out into boisterous laughter. Matthew repeatedly smacks his own thigh, unable to stop laughing, and Taerae even pretends to wipe tears from his eyes.
Hao frowns, “It’s not funny!”
They eventually stop laughing at Hao’s misery, signalling for him to continue.
“I can’t believe you two are my best friends.” Taerae blows him a kiss which Hao replies to with his middle finger. “Ugh, you both know that my experience with bottoming was horrific.”
A few years back, Hao had hooked up with one of his friends in Fujian. He was a Beta who had wanted to experience being a top but he only managed to get the first knuckle of his index finger past his rim when Hao screamed in pain. Never again was he going to go through such agony.
“And I have a high libido so I am not going to survive dating Hanbin without sex.”
“Maybe he will bottom for you?” Hao shakes his head, dismissing the thought but Matthew continues. “He has two tattoos and they are meant to be painful, no? Hanbin hyung once told me that it was a pleasurable experience for him rather than a painful one. So if he’s a pain slu—”
“You do realise that him having a high pain endurance points towards him being even more of an Alpha, right.” Hao comments.
Taerae looks conflicted but he ends up agreeing with Hao. “If hypothetically Hanbin hyung was a masochist, even though the odds are very unlikely, taking an Alpha’s dick as an Alpha is a whole other level of pain. And can we please move on from this topic because the last thing I need is to imagine Hao hyung’s dick.”
★★★
The night passes by at an aggravatingly slow pace, leaving Hao with barely a wink of sleep. Fuck Matthew for putting thoughts of Hanbin being a bottom in his head. With little to no sleep, Hao gets ready for the day by taking a shower and putting on the hoodie and jeans he had packed yesterday.
By the time he’s ready, Matthew and Taerae are waiting for him. Perks of showering together, he assumes. The three walk out of the dormitory together, enter their university building, and head up to their lockers. Hao unlocks his, needing to put his bag away before his first class, but as he opens the locker door, something falls out.
On the floor is a single red rose with a note attached to its stem. His best friends stare at him with question looks on their face but Hao shakes his head, “Don’t look at me like that.” He picks up the rose, noting the lack of thorns, and peels the note off.
──────
hii!! uhh im not going to tell you who i am for now but
i really like you so i hope this makes you smile! ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶
ㅤ/ᐢ⑅ᐢ\ ♡ ₊˚
꒰ ˶• ༝ •˶꒱ ♡‧₊˚ ♡
./づ〜 :¨·.·¨: ₊˚
ㅤㅤㅤ `·..·‘ ₊˚ ♡
i hope this is the correct locker- if youre not hao hyung,
please ignore this and dont ever speak of it again… 😭
──────
The note had been printed off, likely on purpose so Hao wasn’t able to recognise the sender’s handwriting but there were four clues he could garner from the piece of paper. It was sent by someone younger than him as they used ‘hyung’ to address him, they are aware of his rose scent, they know his locker and it’s most likely an Omega or possibly a Beta.
A specific individual didn’t come to his mind straight away but he had to admit, the note was pretty cute.
“You really can’t defend yourself when you’re smiling like that, hyung.” Matthew deadpans. “At least show us what it says.”
He passes the note to him and Taerae reads it too, over his boyfriend’s shoulder. “Ooh, Hao hyung has a secret admirer.”
Unable to wipe the smile off his face, Hao places the rose back into his locker, carefulling positioning his bag so it doesn’t squish the flower. He also reaches for the note, slipping it into the pocket in his jeans.
“Whoever wrote that is clearly an Omega so you might as well date them if you’re so worried about your sex life.” Matthew says.
Hao fakes a laugh at his words, “Ha ha, very funny. I’m not going to date someone I don’t even know or like and besides, my heart belongs to Ha—”
“Hanbin hyung!” Matthew all but squealed, waving his hand to capture Hanbin’s attention from across the hallway.
Panicking, Hao glares at Matthew who grins back. “What are you doing!?”
“Helping you.” Matthew winks. “You can thank me later.”
How was yelling Hanbin’s name from the other side of the hall supposed to help Hao? If anything, it nearly gave him a heart attack! He does have time to scold Matthew before Hanbin walks over to them, a smile adorned on his face.
“Seokmae-yah!” Hanbin says as he ruffles Matthew’s hair, receiving a dirty look as a joke from the younger. With a smile, he greets the other two too, “Hao hyung and Taerae.”
“Hanbin hyung, you’re just on time.” Hanbin turned to Taerae in confusion, tilting his head like a lost puppy as if he was asking, ‘on time for what?’
“Matthew and I were about to head off for our business and management class but Hao hyung’s class is in the opposite direction. If I’m not wrong, you two have the mandatory course of sub gender stereotyping together, right?”
Hao lets out an awkward chuckle. “Ah, yes. I nearly forgot Hanbin was in my class.”
Lies, lies, and even more lies. He was very well aware of Hanbin being in his class, for fuck’s sake, he’s the reason Hao is partially failing the said class! If his stupidly-adorable-and-handsome face wasn’t, then maybe Hao would be paying attention to the lecturer instead.
“Hyung, I’m a bit upset.” Hanbin pouts. Fucking hell. He nearly makes a move to kiss the pout away but manages to stop himself before he potentially ruins whatever it is that they have between them.
“Sorry, Hanbin-ah. Hyung will pay more attention to you in the future. I promise.” And the pout on Hanbin’s face turns into a bright grin that brings out the whiskers on his cheeks. Hao feels like melting into a puddle because who gave this man the right to be so endearing?
Matthew and Taerae stare at the two as if they’ve grown multiple heads. Taerae clears his throat, hoping to snatch their attention for even a second. “We’re going to go now or we’ll be late, bye hyungs!”
“Shall we?” Hanbin asks.
Hao just nods and follows alongside him. The walk to their class is short, silent, and Hao thanks himself for managing to have a strong control over his scent.
★★★
Sub gender stereotyping was a recently created course that was made obligatory for every student. It was a simple class, as the name clearly suggests, about harmful stereotyping against sub genders.
Hao knew he wasn’t much of an Alpha in terms of physique but he possessed quite a few Alpha-like qualities. He is confident in himself, possessive of his belongings, easy to rile up, gets envious of others, and is a charismatic and high achieving leader. He is also dominant in bed but he’s not too sure if that counts.
He presented as an Alpha when he turned nineteen years old and ever since, he’s been mistaken as Omega more often than not due to his smaller build. But once people get to know him, it’s made clear that he is undoubtedly an Alpha.
Once Hanbin and Hao entered their designated classroom, he expected the other to take a seat at his usual spot with Gyuvin, but he followed Hao like a shadow and claimed the seat next to him. Gyuvin was one of Hanbin’s best friends so it made no sense for him to sit with Hao when the chair beside his best friend was free.
Hanbin didn’t explain himself, just smiling when he noticed Hao’s eyes on him. He places his notebook and a pen on the desk, ready for the lecture to begin, and Hao silently mirrors his actions.
Their lecturer began speaking but her voice was drowned out as the only thing he could focus on was Hanbin. His sweet, lovely Hanbin. He would be able to treat Hanbin so well, with love and care and give him all the happiness he deserves.
The love of his life was concentrating on the content the lecturer was explaining, absorbing the information and taking notes every now and then. Hao could stare at him all day and never get bored, well, if touching was allowed too—
“Your partner for this assignment will be your current seatmate. Everyone will be presenting their work this Thursday. That’s all for today, you may head out for your lunch break. Thank you.” She concluded.
Hanbin nods his head, closing his notes and attaching his pen to the spiral. “You already have my number, right? Is there a certain sub gender you want to focus on?” Hao nods then shakes his head. “Then I’ll zero in on Omegas, you can focus on Alphas and we can both work on the Beta section together. Is that alright?”
“Yeah, that’s fine with me. I’ll text you and we can create the presentation after we finish researching.”
Hanbin agrees and they part ways, Hanbin joining Gyuvin, while Hao makes his way to the cafeteria to meet up with the lovebirds who rudely abandoned him in the morning. He grabs himself a tray of food and spots them at a nearby table.
His best friends greet him enthusiastically but Hao frowns, playfully upset with them. “You fuckers ditched me to fend for myself.”
“Correction, I think you meant ‘we left you with the guy who you have a huge ass crush on’. Kids these days are so ungrateful.” Taerae jokes.
“Yah, I’m still older than you!”
Matthew brings a finger to his lips, signalling the two to stop bickering. “Be quiet you two, I need Hao hyung to spill the tea. What happened after we ever so kindly left you?”
Hao rolls his eyes. “Nothing extraordinary happened other than him sitting next to me instead of his normal spot with Gyuvin. We just went to class and he focused on the lecture while I stared at him the entire time. The usual.”
“That’s it?”
“And he and I were partnered up for the assignment which means I have to text him so we can work on our presentation. In other words, I scored myself a study date, if I manage to be delusional enough.”
“Wait, I don’t think we’ve ever gone out on a study date before.” Taerae muses. “Damn. Hao hyung’s getting his first date with Hanbin before they even start dating.”
Matthew snickers. “We never go out for study dates because we can never focus when we study together.” Taerae nods in agreement, muttering a ‘that’s true’, while Hao laughs in amusement at his best friends’ antics.
“Now that I think about it, Hanbin doesn’t act nor smell like an Alpha, and I sat next to him for over an hour… He also seemed rather unhappy about stereotyping against sub genders.” Hao scrutinises.
The couple, especially Matthew, agrees with his words, “You’re right, we’ve been friends since high school but I don’t think I’ve ever smelt his scent.”
“I’m pretty sure he wears scent blockers.” Hao comments.
Taerae ponders for a moment before adding onto the conversation. “Maybe he has an overly strong, leathery scent? That could be why he wears scent blockers.”
“Yeah, that’s possible.” Hao concludes with a moony smile. “Wow, he’s so considerate. This world needs more Alphas like him.”
He hears one of his best friends murmur the word ‘simp’ under their breath, but he pays no mind to them, too occupied falling even harder for the man of his dreams.
★★★
Later on during the day, Hao’s classes finally come to an end but before he can head back to his dorm and relax, his phone buzzes. When he checks it, he nearly screams in horror. There’s a long string of text messages left behind by his favourite high school student.
──────
yujinnie 🐇 5:15 pm
hao hyung?
yujinnie 🐇 5:16 pm
haohao hyung??
hello to my favourite hyung in the whole world??
this user will delete that message soon.
yujinnie 🐇 5:17 pm
im at our usual meeting spot
i dont see u tho
yujinnie 🐇 5:19 pm
uh did u forget about our violin lesson again???
yujinnie 🐇 5:20 pm
…ive been waiting for over 10 mins alr
yujinnie 🐇 5:20 pm
hyung this is embarrassing ppl keep staring at me
pls hurry up or im leaving soon
yujinnie 🐇 5:21 pm
umm hyung??? did u die?? should i call the police??
yujinnie 🐇 5:22 pm
i mean you would be kinda easy to kidnap…
but youre an alpha surely u can defend yourself
u have muscles USE THEM
yujinnie 🐇 5:23 pm
yeah no hyung im waiting for 5 more mins
then im coming to find u
did u faint? flush your phone down the toilet??
yujinnie 🐇 5:25 pm
DID YOU BLOCK ME????????
──────
Hao doesn’t bother replying to his messages, instead dashing straight to the music department. He curses himself for always forgetting that he promised to meet up with Yujin for his weekly violin lesson on Mondays. Today’s incident was the second time this month.
He reaches the building in around five minutes, his improving stamina only failing him towards the end of his sprint. There are still a few students remaining in the department: the ones with extracurricular activities, the few who have chosen to stay behind for extra practice, and— Yujin!
Still trying to catch his breath, he makes his way towards his tutee. When the younger spots him, he rolls his eyes. “You forgot, didn’t you?”
“I’m sorry, Yujinnie. I was just, uh… ”
Yujin sighs, done with his hyung’s nonsense. “It’s fine, hyung. You can leave your lame attempt at excuses for fooling someone who isn’t me.”
Hao throws an apologetic yet cheeky smile his way, moving to unlock the door of the practice room he had reserved for their lesson. He waits for Yujin to enter before shutting the door behind them, not wanting to disturb the students outside.
“Shall we get started?” Hao asks, and time flies for them. Before they even realise, Yujin manages to master the new piece Hao had been teaching him, and he applauds his student. “Ah, my precious Yujinnie. Hyung is so proud of you.”
Yujin smiles, slightly bashful but also pleased with himself for learning the more advanced item compared to the ones he had been playing on the violin before. “Thank you, Hao hyung. You staying back to assist me has really helped.” He says, expressing his gratitude, while packing his violin and bow back into his case.
“You’re welcome, Yujinnie.” Hao gently pets the younger one’s hair, breathing in the sugary-milk scent of an unpresented pup. It reminds him of how Yujin actually is, despite being a hardworking high school student.
He hasn’t known him for long, only relatively recently becoming his violin teacher, but he would do anything for him. “Now what was that before about me being your favourite hyung?” Hao inquires, half joking and half genuinely interested.
“That was the only thing you got out of my texts??” Yujin sighs, exasperated. “If we don’t include my brother, yeah, I guess you are my favourite hyung.” Hao’s heart swells in adoration. He’s not exactly the most fond of kids but Yujin had struck a soft spot, deep down in his heart.
“Aww.” He coos, barely resisting the urge to pinch Yujin’s cheeks. “Your brother is lucky to have such a cute younger brother like you.”
“Oh, that reminds me. Ricky told me you were looking for a boyfriend? Something about specifically wanting, more like needing an Omega?” Yujin asks, thankfully unaware of the implication.
Shutting his eyes in frustration, Hao groans. “There goes Ricky, blabbering his mouth to you again. Don’t listen to him. Please.”
Yujin starts giggling. “I was just going to propose my brother as a possible option?” His expression sours before he hurries to correct himself. “No, no, no. Not an option, he’s way better than that, but if you were interested in getting to know him, I think you two would go well together.”
This time, Hao gives into his urge and faintly pinches Yujin’s soft cheeks, relishing the moment before the younger swats his hands away, rubbing at the sides of his face. “Sorry, Yujin, but I already have someone I’m interested in.”
He frowns but nods in understanding. “I’m pretty sure my brother likes you a lot but it’s fine if you have a crush on someone else. I’ll let him know.”
★★★
Hao gets a decent amount of sleep that night, thoughts filled with an alternate universe where Yujin is Hanbin and his child. He’s delusional, he knows. An Alpha biologically can’t get pregnant, gender being insignificant. A dream is a dream for a reason.
His brian should have allowed Alphas to become pregnant in that parallel world, or at least allowed Hanbin to be an exception. His thoughts progress to ones of Hanbin catching and creating a baby of their own. They are about to reveal the baby’s gender when his alarm wakes him up, rudely shattering his dreams.
He dismisses it, getting out of bed to complete his morning routine before glancing over at his roommate's bed. Gunwook is still fast asleep. He doesn’t know much about the younger boy, not having given much thought into purposefully interacting with him.
Making a mental note to try and connect with him later, Hao leaves their dorm. He had received a text in the BabyGirlz group chat regarding a small get together for their friend group prior to class and with the promise of Hanbin showing up, Hao willed himself to enter their university building approximately forty minutes before his first class began.
The things he does for a stupidly handsome, dancing Alpha.
He heads to the business department where their usual hangout spot was. It wasn’t much, just an abandoned classroom they located during the first year of university but it remained unused for a while so they claimed it as theirs. They probably weren’t even allowed in the room but no one had scolded them for being in there.
He is greeted immediately as he pushes the door open, entering the room. A bunch of ‘Hao hyung!’s echo against the walls to which he smiles at the group. Hao does a quick scan and notices that he’s the last person to arrive even though he woke up so early.
“Am I that late?” He jokes.
To his surprise, Hanbin nods straight away. “We thought you slept in or weren’t coming, hyung.”
Hao laughs but the sound comes out of his throat strained. He moves to sit in the gap in the circle which was kept unoccupied for him, with Hanbin to his left and Taerae to his right. His best friend grins, “We were just about to start a round of truth or dare!”
Ricky groans. “What are we, twelve year olds?”
Despite all the complaints at first about a group of adults playing a game for children, they get absorbed into the game pretty quickly. Gyuvin starts off by wiggling his eyebrows and asking Matthew, “Truth or dare?”
“Dare!” Matthew exclaims, ready for a challenge. What he doesn’t expect is for Gyuvin, being the menace he is, to dare him to kiss Taerae on the cheek. His best friends aren’t always a PDA couple per se but Matthew took the dare like a champ, smooching a kiss onto Taerae’s flushed cheek.
“Hao hyung, truth or dare?” Hao blinks at the sudden attention as he was having fun teasing his best friends but nevertheless, he picks truth. “What’s your opinion on Won hyung?”
Seo Won was a cute Omega he had associated with a few months back. They tried dating and using each other as rebounds (this was one of the many times Hao tried getting over Hanbin) but their efforts were in vain so they chose to remain as friends.
“Won is cute, sweet, and is the perfect Omega any Alpha could want. It’s a shame we didn’t work out but now we’re good friends.” Hao answers. When notices movement in his peripheral vision and when he glances over at Hanbin, the younger is now sitting with his knees drawn up to his chest, staring right back at him with an incomprehensible emotion swimming in his brown eyes.
He pretends not to pay much attention to Hanbin’s puzzling expression, instead targeting Ricky who chooses to receive a dare. Perfect. Time to give Gyuvin a small taste of his own medicine. “I dare you to sit on Gyuvin’s lap for the rest of the game.”
Ricky, normally calm and collected (not really but he likes to think he is), blushes from the tips of his ears down to his cheekbones and his strawberry scent spikes. He awkwardly clears his throat and relocates himself onto his boyfriend’s lap. Gyuvin himself looks a bit embarrassed too but way more delighted than Ricky. He wraps his arms around Ricky’s waist and the two get comfortable like that.
The other Chinese male in the room glares at Hao and before he realises that he fucked up, Ricky focuses his attention on Hanbin. “I’m going to ask Hanbin hyung. Truth or dare?”
Hanbin looks similar to a deer caught in the headlights but replies after a moment of pondering. “I pick truth.”
Ricky acknowledges his response with a nod. “Hm, interesting.” There’s a pause for dramatic effect. “Do you like someone?” He asks with a perfectly groomed eyebrow raised.
The man in question turns pink, possibly even pinker than Ricky was a few minutes ago. He bashfully answers with a small nod of his head. The entire group ‘ooh’s at the sudden revelation and Hao perks up, turning sideways to face Hanbin, shock clear on his face.
Hanbin liked someone? It shouldn’t be surprising at all but Hao was perplexed at the new knowledge. Hanbin had never mentioned anything about liking someone, not even dropping the tiniest of hints. The unavoidable question leaves Ricky’s mouth. “Who is it??”
“I thought we agreed on only one question per round?” Hanbin mutters out his own question instead of answering, his hands making their way up to cover his flushed face in embarrassment. The whole group groans remembering they had agreed that before starting the game.
Taerae and Gyuvin’s turns pass in a flash, the former having to reveal his most embarrassing kink and the latter being dared to text his ex-girlfriend only to find out she had blocked him. Everyone gets a laugh out of Gyuvin’s dare but he becomes serious when he turns to Hanbin.
“Sooo, who is it?” Strange. If anyone would know who Hanbin likes, it should be his Gyuvin as those two are best friends. Him questioning Hanbin meant that no one knew who the person behind his feelings was.
Hanbin’s face is dripping with dread and unease and regardless of how badly he wants to know who his crush is, Hao feels bad for putting him on the spot like that so he suggests for Gyuvin to change the question seeing that Hanbin doesn’t feel comfortable answering. And maybe because he doesn’t want to get his heart broken. Alphas don’t exactly take rejection the best.
Gyuvin looks petulant at the suggestion but agrees much to Hanbin’s relief, clear as a lot of tension leaves his body. “Fine. Instead of who it is, are you going to confess to them?” At the use of ‘them’, it hits Hao like a lightning bolt that he is unaware of Hanbin’s sexuality. He obviously isn’t homophobic considering that most if not all of his friends are homosexual but what if he’s a hetrosexual who’s only supportive??
Snapping his train of thoughts, Hanbin replies with a small pout present on his lips. “No, they like someone else.” But before everyone can start pitying him, he adds on. “Don’t worry, I’m happy as long as he continues to smile.”
Hao can’t lie, it breaks his heart to hear Hanbin say that for two reasons. One: he is such a strong Alpha for taking the indirect rejection so well and being happy for his crush. Two: the said crush isn’t Hao because he’s made it very obvious that he likes Hanbin and isn’t interested in anyone else.
The words leave his lips before he can register them. “Whoever it is should be very grateful for your feelings, Hanbin-ah. But I refuse to believe they don’t like you back, who wouldn’t like the Sung Hanbin?”
Hanbin smiles but it doesn’t reach his eyes nor leave an imprint of his cat-like whisker dimples.
★★★
The thought of not knowing everything about Hanbin left an unsettling feeling inside his stomach, making him feel nauseous and dizzy. How much does he actually know about Hanbin? Exclusive to today, he’s found out that he is oblivious of his sexuality and his crush. He had gotten used to the feeling of knowing Hanbin like the back of his own hand, being able to read him like an open book.
The disturbing feeling continues growing inside of him until he feels the need to retch. He’s certain that his scent has spiked, leaving his nerves and worries to be laid out on show for everyone to see. Hao rushes to the bathroom but as he’s on his way, he passes the practice rooms in the dance department.
Hanbin should be in one of those. Maybe seeing him will make him feel better.
If he’s not wrong, Hanbin prefers practising in the furthest room from the entry, something about less people disturbing him. Hopefully he doesn’t consider Hao to be a disturbance, an interruption. As he places his hand on the door handle, he hears voices. Familiar voices.
One definitely belongs to Hanbin. The other one… Was that Gyuvin’s voice? Wait, was that Ricky laughing? He doesn’t hear any other voices so he carefully opens the door, doing his best to stay as quiet as possible. When it’s open wide enough that Hao can peek inside without being noticed, he peeks into the practice room.
The first thing he notices is Ricky sitting to the side near a speaker, holding up a camera to record whatever is happening currently. He breathes in a waft of the Omega’s scent, the smell of sweet strawberries clouding his mind for a moment.
Before he cranes his neck to glance at the other two, Ricky’s complimentary scent passes through the air. It’s Gyuvin’s chocolate scent. The two go well together, strawberry and chocolate being a delightful combination.
He doesn’t smell a third scent probably due to Hanbin wearing scent blockers like he had noticed yesterday but the weird feeling he had originally forgotten about returns in his stomach. Hanbin and Gyuvin are facing the camera, laughing about something which is completely fine.
What is not completely fine is that Gyuvin has an arm wrapped around Hanbin’s waist, pulling him in closer. Hanbin fucking giggles and squishes Gyuvin’s cheeks, doting on the younger one as if— as if they were more than just best friends.
It hurts. It hurts a fucking lot.
But Ricky seems more than fine with his boyfriend adoring another man, laughing along with the joke they’re sharing. For fuck’s sake, Hanbin and Gyuvin are best friends so why does he need to worry? Hao feels ridiculous and ashamed but there’s a pit remaining in his stomach.
Hanbin looks so happy. For all the wrong reasons. Hao should be the one making him smile, so hard that his whisker dimples indent in his cheeks. He should be the reason why Hanbin is happy. Not Gyuvin. Not Ricky.
There’s an acrid taste in his mouth and he bolts to the bathroom. Nothing comes out when he tries heaving into the toilet bowl so he washes off any spit around his mouth and heads back to his dorm, glad his classes are done for the day, not once glancing back at the practice room.
★★★
Once he enters his dorm room, he takes a nap, wanting to sleep on his current problems and hopefully get rid of the restlessness he’s felt all day. He couldn’t concentrate in any of his classes and he even got lightly scolded for not paying attention. It was unlike him to be so affected by…
What was he even feeling? Jealousy? Possessiveness? Hanbin wasn’t his by any means hence it made no sense for him to be so bothered by him possibly having a liking for others. But then why did it hurt him to think about Hanbin not being his? The dreadful feeling returned and Hao, unable to rest with his head in a mess, got up to get a glass of water.
“Since I can’t sleep, I might as well work on the project.” Hao thought as he sat on his bed, taking little sips at a time, not wanting to overwhelm his stomach more than it already was. He took out his laptop and did some research but mainly formed his opinion based on his own experiences.
It was a pretty simple task considering he had been mistaken as an Omega most of his life though he views himself a proud Alpha. After completing the writing of his opinion, Hao decides to take a quick break before making the presentation and exploring the harmful stereotypes that Beta’s face.
His plan was to spend a few minutes scrolling through Instagram but his attention shifts from his original intention to the orange circle with a one in the middle, next to the message icon. He casually clicks on it, wondering who the message could have been from.
──────
hanbin 🐈
4+ new messages
──────
Dumbfounded at seeing Hanbin’s name, he opens their chat. They’ve never messaged each other before, only exchanging contacts, so their chat is empty except for the 4 messages Hanbin had sent him around fifteen minutes ago.
──────
hanbin 🐈 6:11 pm
hi hao hyung! this is hanbin
hanbin 🐈 6:13 pm
here’s the presentation i created!
if you don't like it, idm if you edit it
hanbin 🐈 6:14 pm
shared file: sub-gender-stereotyping.ppt
hanbin 🐈 6:17 pm
i uh kinda completed the beta section by accident
IM SORRY 😭😭 i hope you don't mind too much
──────
“Why is he apologising? That’s less work for me. If anything, I should be thanking him.” Hao mutters, confused. With his two initially pending tasks completed by his project partner, he accesses the shared presentation and adds in his write up for the Alpha section.
Hao settles on taking a quick look over the other slides, just in case Hanbin rushed all the work and failed to add in detail but he’s astonished by the depth of information in the Omega section. There are various stereotypes, scenarios and he’s even explored the effects that stereotypes can have on Omegas.
The Beta section is just as thorough, only lacking ever-so-slightly in length when compared to the previous section. It’s admirable how much effort Hanbin has put into the project, especially considering that he’s an Alpha and doesn’t relate to the other two sub genders on a personal level.
The presentation itself is a simple but classy theme with a pretty and legible font for the text. Hao has to applaud Hanbin’s taste because the slides look aesthetically pleasing yet formal enough to be presented in front of their class in two days.
──────
hao 🦝 6:32 pm
hi hanbin
i added in the alpha section
hao 🦝 6:33 pm
dw i love the presentation
its perfect
hao 🦝 6:35 pm
dont be sorry- i should be thanking u
bc now theres less work for me yay
──────
As he finishes typing his response, his ears pick up the sound of the door creaking open. Knowing Gunwook is the only other person with a key to enter their dorm, he recalls his thoughts from the morning. Maybe now would be a good time to take a step forward. And it would also be a good distraction from Hanbin.
He hears the younger boy remove his shoes and drop his weight onto their couch. Before he rethinks his decision, he tip-toes out of his room. Gunwook is still laying on the couch with his eyes closed, probably tired from the eventful day he had. His coffee scent is relaxed and stable but small signs of exhaust remain.
He smells similar to tiramisu but that might be his stomach speaking. Hao watches him like a hawk as he lays unmoving with the exception of his chest rising as he breathes. After a while, he blinks his eyes open. The first thing he notices is Hao’s face and he screams.
“Ouch, what was that for?” Hao asks, covering his ears at the sudden eruption of noise.
Gunwook holds his chest, where his heart is and lets out a sigh of relief. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scream… I thought you were a ghost because I didn’t hear you come in.”
Hao can’t hold back his laughter at Gunwook’s words. “I was in my room but I came out because I wanted to talk to you. Sorry for scaring you.”
Now more clear headed, Gunwook sits up. “Is something wrong?”
“Why would something be wrong?” Hao furrows his eyebrows.
The younger one looks a bit embarrassed at his incorrect assumption. “Well… You’ve never really talked to me before so I thought something was wrong.”
Hao winces. “No, nothing’s wrong. I just thought maybe we should get to know each other a bit more? We’ve been living in the same dorm for a few months now but I don’t remember the last time we’ve interacted.”
“Oh.” Gunwook looks surprised. Then a smile blooms on his face. “Nice to meet you, I’m Park Gunwook.”
Hao blinks before realising what’s happening. “Lovely to meet you too, Gunwook. I’m Zhang Hao but you can call me Hao hyung. Since we’ve never met before, mind telling me a bit about yourself.”
And that’s how the rest of the evening goes.
He finds out that Gunwook recently presented as an Alpha, a bit before the start of this year which is why he goes missing every now and then, needing frequent checkups with his personal doctor to observe and keep note of his health. His mind is blown after figuring out that Gunwook is an entire five years younger than him.
Hao now knows that he likes taking walks, working out, watching and playing soccer, gaming, and eating lots of chocolate. He’s also at the top of his classes and has an older brother. He doesn’t have that many friends because he’s apparently too intimidating for others to approach and he’s too shy to go befriend people.
“By the way, hyung, is everything alright? Your rose scent is kinda off.” Gunwook asks after they’ve got to know the basic details about each other.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’ve just been having trouble focusing lately but it’s nothing concerning.”
Gunwook contemplates for a bit before suggesting, “Maybe you could drop in tomorrow morning at the university’s café? I’ve heard that coffee helps with concentration.”
It’s not a bad idea but, “Why would I go to a café when I could stir up some coffee myself?”
The younger Alpha gasps and fakes offence. “I work at the café and trust me when I say that our barista makes the best coffee to ever exist.” Gunwook working at a café makes a lot of sense because his coffee scent doesn’t give away his job, which is why Hao initially misjudged him, assuming he was a rebellious teenager.
“Fine. But, I’ll be the judge of that.”
★★★
Hao allows Gunwook to lead him to the café but his expectations are low. He’s been to multiple cafés but all the drinks he’s tasted have been mediocre. The coffee he makes himself is easily a better worth of his precious money.
When they reach their destination, he’s surprised to see how crowded the area is. The café is buzzing with university students and lecturers. The look on Gunwook’s face says ‘I told you so’ but Hao shakes his head, even though he’s beginning to doubt himself. People must be desperate for caffeine if the line is longer than his estimated lifespan.
They push through heaps of people until they get to the front counter where the cashier is busy taking orders. Gunwook tells him to wait as he disappears around the corner, returning with a cup in his hands. “Here. I gave our barista the challenge of making you fall in love.” He jokes.
The cup that’s handed to him transfers heat into his freezing hands and when he peers into see the contents, little hearts in the form of latte art stares back at him. Cute. He gingerly takes a sip, not wanting to burn his tongue, and the world stops for a second. “Holy shit.” The drink tastes like heaven.
He gulps down the rest of the drink in the matter of seconds, uncaring of the way his tongue protests against the scorching hot liquid. “What have I been doing with my life?” He asks, dazed. The coffee is delicious and although he is unable to detect what type it is, it’s undoubtedly five star worthy. “Gunwook, who the fuck is your barista?”
The younger is about to answer when he smiles and swiftly turns Hao around by the shoulders, pointing to someone who’s just come out to greet all the people in the café. “There he is. His name’s Hanbin. Sung Hanbin.”
What the fuck.
The world has got to be playing tricks on him because there Hanbin is in all his glory. There’s a white apron wrapped around him, accentuating his slim waist and broad shoulders. He’s wearing a brown long sleeve shirt and he smiles as he greets the customers who squeal under his attention. No wonder the café was so popular.
“Sorry for the wait everyone, it’s been a busy morning but we’re doing our best to get orders finished quickly. Thank you for being patient with us.” Hanbin says, being the sweet boy he is, and everyone squeals in delight, reassuring him that they don’t mind the wait.
Hanbin makes his way back behind the counter to finish up the orders with the rest of his employees and lots mourn the loss of his presence. He can hear multiple people praising Hanbin’s visuals and barista skills, simping over him like gushing fangirls.
It’s a bit annoying. They don’t know him like Hao does— Right? But, he didn’t know that Hanbin worked here while they all did… It’s like he has to share a piece of Hanbin with everyone here, leaving him with nothing.
Red blinds his vision. None of them deserve to see Hanbin smile, hear him speak and interact with him. Every smile, every word, every interaction, they should all be his. Hanbin should be his. He should be reserved for Hao and for Hao only.
He can smell his rose scent bittering, standing out from the rest of the ecstatic scents filling the café. The combination of everyone’s scents makes his head hurt. The feeling from yesterday returns at the thought of everyone here liking Hanbin. They shouldn’t be allowed to. Hanbin is his.
Each compliment thrown in Hanbin’s direction tightened the invisible vice around his gut, his stomach churning with the need to claim Hanbin as his. It gnawed at him, manifesting a heavy, almost nauseating feeling. Hao tried to shake off the discomfort, but it lingered, intensifying like the scents in the café.
Hao notifies (read: lies to) Gunwook that he’s going to head to his morning class and leaves. He desperately needs to clear his head.
★★★
There’s a special film production guest lecture organised for particular groups of participants taking any type of media and communication as one of their courses. Hao belatedly finds out that Hanbin was a part of the same lecture as him as he only realises when Hanbin walks into the designated room. Hanbin notices Hao and jogs over to him, taking a seat next to him, crossed legged with his hands settled in his lap.
He smiles, reminding Hao that he clearly didn't even notice his presence at the café because of how crowded it was. Fortunately, his inner turmoil is kept to himself, but he’s unsure of how to feel after what happened in the morning because being around Hanbin seems to provoke something inside of him that he didn’t even know existed.
Not long later, a man around their age enters the room. The students fall silent at his arrival, noting the high chance that he’s their guest lecturer. The man is rather handsome and maybe, just maybe in another life (where Hanbin didn’t exist), Hao might have fallen for him. He rids that thought immediately because he and Hanbin should end up together in every parallel dimension, if not, he can happily stay single.
The man makes his way up to the lectern, placing his notes on the slanted surface. He clears his throat before speaking. “Hello, everyone. My name’s Kim Jiwoong and I’m from the class of twenty-twenty. I graduated just a few years ago from this very program. Today, I'm excited to share some insights into navigating the film industry after university.”
Jiwoong continues with his well-prepared speech but Hao’s attention is on the man next to him. Hanbin seems very giddy at Jiwoong’s presence and the two keep making eye contact. While talking, Jiwoong seems to always have the time to smile at Hanbin. The feeling that Hao has somewhat begun being accustomed to resurfaces.
Their guest lecturer’s voice is like static background noise, only processing in his mind as he speaks the last sentence. “Building connections is key. I'll share how networking opened doors for me and how collaborations with fellow filmmakers enriched my projects. Spoiler alert: your classmates might become your greatest allies in the industry.”
As he sums up his speech, Jiwoong offers to answer any dying questions the students may have. Someone who Hao is unfamiliar with raises his hand and Jiwoong gestures for him to speak. “Are you single? If you are, can I have your number?” The student asks, eliciting laughter from the entire class.
“Ha, I meant questions about the film industry but that works too, I guess.” Jiwoong himself is amused by the question, a grin stretched across his face. “I am currently single but there’s someone I have my eye set on.” The student groans at the indirect rejection but Hao scrutinises as Jiwoong turns to simper at Hanbin.
After a couple more film-focused questions, Jiwoong ends his speech and the students applaud him. He does a silly little bow, walking off the podium as he strides to meet Hanbin, who had gotten up and sauntered towards him, in the middle.
Hao moves closer to where they are standing, positioning himself near enough to catch snippets of their conversation. He pulls out his phone and acts uninterested, absentmindedly scrolling through his texts with Matthew and Taerae, keeping his true intentions concealed.
Hanbin is the one who starts the conversation. “Hyung! I didn’t know you were coming in today, you should have told me.” He whines, and Hao knows that there’s a pout present on his lips. The grip on his phone tightens slightly but he continues to feign indifference.
“Sorry, Hanbinnie.” Jiwoong apologises. Hao bristles at the use of the nickname, a twinge of jealousy tugging at him. “I was busy preparing and I didn’t even get the time to skim over the list of students I would be presenting in front of.”
Hao glances up to see Hanbin nod, his lips still adorned with a pout. None of the other students appear to be paying attention, but as the class starts to dwindle, Hao realises with a sense of urgency that his time is running out.
He receives a text from Ricky, asking him to meet up at their lockers, but something inside him screams for him to linger for a few more seconds. Uncertain about whether he made the right decision to stay instead of fleeing like the rest of the students, he replies to Ricky’s text, telling him to wait for five minutes.
When he looks up, he witnesses Jiwoong affectionately nuzzling against Hanbin's cheek. As Hao feels his heart break, Hanbin looks at Jiwoong with a warm smile, reciprocating the affection by wrapping his hands around Jiwoong's shoulders, pulling him in for an embrace.
Jiwoong gently brushes his nose against Hanbin's neck, scenting him.
Heartbroken at the intimate interaction, Hao's emotions overwhelm him and his eyes start to sting with unshed tears. He hurriedly makes his way out of the classroom, determined to hide his distress, each step heavier than the last. Once he’s outside, he finds a secluded corner, leaning against the wall as a torrent of emotions threaten to spill over.
He takes a deep breath, desperately fighting back tears, unwilling to let his emotions control him in public. As he had observed earlier, Alphas don't typically handle rejection well. His chest constricts, a sensation like having invisible bands tighten around him, making every breath a struggle. It’s as if the walls are gradually closing in, adding to the difficulty of drawing in each breath.
Hao shuts his eyes, concentrating on his breathing. He takes measured breaths as he endeavours to regain his composure. After regulating his breathing, he wipes harshly at his eyes, ensuring no tears remain and retrieves his phone to confirm that he appears composed. He refuses to let anyone see him in such a vulnerable state.
A follow-up text from Ricky is what prompts him to head towards their lockers. The walk gives him a few minutes to collect himself. The strawberry-loving Omega is waiting for him there, and he observes in silence as Hao opens his locker. “What?” Hao questions, but his voice falters and sounds strained due to his breakdown earlier. He clears his throat awkwardly and repeats the question.
Hao’s heart feels a bit lighter at the sight of a small letter tucked away in his locker, easing a miniscule fraction of the pain. Ricky sighs but holds back from probing deeper. “If you need someone to talk to, I’m here, ge.”
Instead of indulging in the comfort Ricky offers, he queries, “Why do so many people like Hanbin?” Though it may seem like a trivial question, Hao yearns to hear someone else's perspective. Why do people want what’s supposed to be his?
The Omega appears taken aback by the abrupt question but answers nonetheless. “It’s pretty obvious, isn’t it? Hanbin hyung is incredibly sweet, caring, and loveable. He shines at everything he does and has a special aura to him. Not to mention, he’s visually attractive. If I wasn’t in love with Gyuvin, I bet even my ass would be after him.”
Hao waits for Ricky to take back his words, tease him and say it was a joke. However, Ricky remains silent. “Ricky?” No reply comes, and Hao's heart plunges into his stomach. The Omega just stares at him, the silence conveying more than words ever could. “You’re joking, right?” He chuckles, but it comes out more like an indistinct sound of disbelief.
“Don't worry, hyung. I'm in love with Gyuvin.” Ricky reassures, though his words seem more like an attempt to convince himself rather than Hao. His words make him want to feel sorry for Gyuvin but he can’t. Not when flashes of what he witnessed in the practice room replay in his mind. “I’m sorry, ge. The only thing I can promise you is that I won’t make any moves on him. My heart belongs to Gyuvin more than it does to Hanbin.”
★★★
Hao had rushed back to his dorm, wanting to be away from his family friend who he had once trusted. He was all alone as Gunwook was presumably working a shift at the café. He needed an immediate distraction from his emotions and realising the urgency of the upcoming project, which they were supposed to present in class tomorrow, he decided to focus on the task at hand.
He contemplates practising for the presentation but in the back of his head, knows that his partner is essential for their academic success. Hao sighs as he convinces himself to set aside his personal feelings, determined to maintain professionalism during their practice session. They would do a quick run through of their presentation and Hao would head back to his dorm.
Simple. No unnecessary interactions which would evoke unnecessary emotions.
It had been around an hour since the incident with Jiwoong happened so Hanbin should have headed back to his apartment by now. Even if he wasn’t home, Hao could use the walk to clear his mind. He heads out to Hanbin's apartment; the Alpha lives near the university but Hao assumes the younger’s ruts must be pretty bad for him not to stay in a dorm.
His inner Alpha screams at him for chasing after someone who indirectly rejected him but Hao excuses his actions with thought of Hanbin having done most of the project, therefore he would require at least one practice of the presentation with him to ensure they were on the same page with their opinions.
The walk there was swift, quicker than Hao would have liked it to be. He’s been to his apartment plenty of times as Hanbin is usually the host of their friend group’s meetups, yet this time, nerves clung onto him like an unyielding shadow. He knocks on the door, anxiously waiting for Hanbin's invitation inside.
The door swings open, revealing a male student other than Hanbin. He looks frustrated, clearly not happy with the unwanted visitor. Hao notes that there’s a high chance he had interrupted something important. “Who are you?” He asks, wearing a frown on his face. The man is definitely an Omega, his cinnamon scent strong and displeased.
That’s strange, Hao was certain that Hanbin lived in apartment twenty-eight. Maybe he got the number mixed up— “Hao hyung?” His head shoots up to see Hanbin standing behind the Omega. He whispers a quick apology to the other male who heads back into the apartment, not forgetting to glare at Hao.
“Hi, hyung. Sorry about that, I wasn’t expecting you. Do you need something? Is something wrong with our project?” He asks, his tone laced with concern.
And then the final piece snaps into place and the puzzle is complete.
Obviously Hanbin wasn’t expecting him tonight. He wasn’t expecting Hao but he was expecting someone else. He already has someone else. Someone who isn’t him.
He should have listened to his inner Alpha when it tried to warn him, showing up at Hanbin’s apartment unannounced was a terrible idea. Hanbin had been having an intimate moment with the Omega from before, maybe they were fucking for all Hao knows.
No wonder that student had acted so hostile towards him, any Omega would have reacted that way if their time with their Alpha was disrupted.
Hao is nothing to him. Hanbin is in love with an Omega because that’s what society deems correct. An Alpha and an Omega being in love. Eventually they will get married, and that male will catch and procreate children for Hanbin. He was stupid for thinking they could have worked out.
Why would Hanbin ever want another Alpha when he could have an Omega? An Alpha can’t be happy with another Alpha, but that Omega could please Hanbin the way he deserved. Hao is an idiot. An idiot for hoping that Hanbin would have bottomed for him, ready to satisfy him. Of course not, Hanbin was an Alpha.
He becomes aware that he has been silent for a while as Hanbin has already called his name three times without receiving a response. The project isn’t worth Hao’s dignity, or at least whatever’s left of it. Without responding to Hanbin, he runs off before the other can chase after him.
That night, he drifts into sleep with tears streaming down his cheeks and a painful ache in his chest.
★★★
Hao wakes up the following day, feeling groggy from sleep. It’s honestly an achievement that he managed to sleep with the whirlwind of emotions he felt yesterday but even with over seven hours of sleep, he still feels restless. Even worse, their presentation is today.
His phone, long forgotten last night, is flooded with texts from Hanbin but he skims past them. His heart feels heavy at some of the words his mind registers but he ignores the feeling, Hanbin shouldn’t care about him when he already has a lover.
Based on Hanbin’s schedule, which he totally doesn’t have memorised, he has dance in the morning and sub gender stereotyping for the second lesson. Hao luckily didn’t have a morning class today because he would have slept through it but now he needs to focus on the project.
──────
hanbin 🐈 8:25 pm
hao hyung??
hanbin 🐈 8:26 pm
hyung, did i do smth wrong? was it smth i said?
im sorry for whatever i did wrong, please respond
hanbin 🐈 8:28 pm
i didn't run after you in case you needed some time alone
but now i’m worried and maybe i should have…
hanbin 🐈 8:29 pm
:((
hanbin 🐈 8:30 pm
i checked over our presentation again
it's pretty good so i dont think thats the problem
hanbin 🐈 8:31 pm
but if it is, i'll redo the entire thing if you want
hanbin 🐈 8:32 pm
we can solve whatever is wrong together
please don’t ignore me hao hyung
hanbin 🐈 8:38 pm
…you’re probably asleep by now
goodnight hao hyung :(
i hope you have sweet dreams
hanbin 🐈 8:40 pm
once you get up tmrw morning
please text me so ik you got home alright
hanbin 🐈 7:15 am
please don’t ignore me hao hyung…
hanbin 🐈 7:16 am
i’m sorry
hao 🦝 8:56 am
everything’s fine
see you in class
──────
Hao is early to class, arriving before anyone else is present. Hanbin’s dance lesson should have ended approximately ten minutes ago but he hasn’t seen nor responded to the text he sent in the morning. Whatever, Hao shouldn’t care anyway. Their project was completed well so he isn’t worried about that but something unidentifiable has his stomach in a twist.
He pays little to no attention as students enter the classroom, only perking up at the sight of a gloomy Gyuvin. It’s unlike the younger one to not be all sunshines and rainbows but Hao can’t bring himself to care, not after everything that’s happened.
The entire class, except for Hanbin who hasn’t arrived yet, is seated and their lecturer is beginning to set up the screen so each pair can come up and present their project. As he glances down at his watch, he realises that Hanbin is late.
Hanbin is never late.
Panic surges through his veins. Even if Hanbin doesn’t love him back, he still cares deeply for the other. If Hanbin’s late, it’s possible that something bad happened to him. He feels nauseous at the thought of something happening to Hanbin and his scent sours.
Before he can rise out of his seat and storm out of the room to search for him, their lecturer starts speaking. “Initially, my plan was for Sung Hanbin and Zhang Hao to present their project first but their presentation will be pushed back to next week due to certain circumstances—”
“What circumstances?” Hao asks, impatient and desperate.
The lecturer doesn’t seem to mind that he had cut her off, instead continuing with what she was originally saying. “I don’t know many details but I was told Hanbin fainted during his dance lesson and was sent home.”
His heart stops beating.
Metaphorically, of course, but his surroundings blur and all he can hear is the repetition of ‘Hanbin fainted’ in his head. His rose scent spikes, out of control at the thought of Hanbin being sick and tired to the point where he fainted during class and had to be sent home.
In a daze, Hao, fixated solely on Hanbin's safety and wellbeing, hears the lecturer's words as a question, but he doesn’t care. He needs to ensure that Hanbin is safe and taken care of. He is the only thing that matters to Hao.
★★★
He feels conflicted at the sight of the door restricting him from entering apartment twenty-eight. The last time he had stood here, he found out that Hanbin had an Omega. The strong possibility of that individual being Hanbin's lover should have prompted Hao to leave, allowing him to care for the younger man. However, his inner Alpha, unsettled by the uncertainty of Hanbin’s welfare, wouldn’t allow him to leave.
Hao raps on the door. No answer. He knocks once more. Just as he’s poised to knock for the third time, the door swings open on its own. “Hanbin?” He calls out, but once again, receives no response. Consequently, Hao decides to enter the apartment.
The first thing that catches his attention is a potent wave of... cotton candy? The fragrance surrounds him, making him dizzy with desire, so he covers his nose, not wanting to be distracted by the alluring scent. There’s no remainder of the strong cinnamon scent from the Omega yesterday meaning it’s not him behind the sweet smell.
It carries the pheromones reminiscent of an Omega in heat.
That could be why Hanbin had passed out and gone home? His Omega could have been in heat and he was too worried, wanting to be with his lover instead of at school. But then that scent should have shifted into a saccharine smell if Hanbin had already taken care of the distressed Omega.
The other possible option is that Hanbin went into a rut. However, that wouldn’t explain the reeking aroma of cotton candy, a scent distinctive to an Omega. In the case that this is the reality and Hanbin simply possesses a sweeter scent than most Alphas, Hao heads to the kitchen and fetches a water bottle and some crackers. Based on his own experiences, Hao knows that ruts can be exhausting.
As he approaches Hanbin’s bedroom, he hears a noise that makes him freeze.
A whimper.
Hao is equivalent to a glacier, frozen in place. Alphas don’t whimper when they are in rut… Only Omegas do that when they are in heat. He hears more whimpers following the first one and he can’t resist the urge to open the door leading into Hanbin’s room.
He’s careful, pulling down the handle with caution, not wanting to startle anyone. As he peeks in, the scent of sweet cotton candy is almost unbearable to not give into but Hao persists. The bed is empty, stripped down to the fitted sheets. Unease spreads through Hao’s body at the lack of Hanbin, who he had expected to be on the bed.
But then he notices a large pile of blankets, clothes— Fuck. There’s a nest created on the floor and Hanbin’s laying down in the middle of it. Hao didn’t even notice him on the floor as he’s covered by layers of jumpers, t-shirts, sweaters, and Hao’s hoodie.
Wait, what.
He fully enters the room, closing the door behind him, to get a better view at the article of clothing that seems way too familiar not to be his. How did that get there?
Hanbin is alone in the nest, whimpering and squirming. He, surprisingly, is still fully clothed, dressed in a white t-shirt and a pair of black shorts. The tee sticks to his body, covered in sweat due to Hanbin overheating in the heaps of clothes and sheets. His shorts seem to share the same fate, glued to his lower body by what seems to be… Slick?
He advances closer to the nest. Hanbin hasn't noticed him yet, eyes shut tightly as he writhes in pain. Hao doesn’t want to scare him off but it’s for the best if he announces his arrival now before he oversteps. “Hanbin-ah?”
Hanbin blinks his eyes open only to stiffen and go pale at the sight of Hao. His cheeks, once flushed pink, now lack any colour to them, as he stares at Hao with wide, terrified eyes. He appears to be distracted from the pain he was feeling just before, so Hao hands him the water and crackers, taking advantage of his lucidity.
The younger takes the water with a shaky hand, takes a few sips, before nibbling softly on one of the crackers. “Hao hyung, what are you doing here?” His voice trembles. “I’m sorry for making you upset…” And the waterworks go off as Hanbin bursts into tears.
He hurries to cover his face, sobbing into his hand. As a result, the cracker he had been eating drops to the floor so Hao picks it up and places it on the tray with the rest. “Hanbin-ah, you didn’t make me upset.” He says, reassuringly but it doesn’t work in stopping the sobs that come out of Hanbin’s mouth.
“I didn’t mean to upset my Alpha—”
“Your Alpha?” Shit. Hao didn’t mean to say that aloud, the words slipping past his lips before he can even register them. It was a genuine thought though, so he continues. “When was I your Alpha?”
But that was clearly the wrong thing to say because Hanbin’s face and scent shifts from sadness to something even worse. His face is still half covered by his hand but now Hao has a clear view of the new set of tears that roll down his beautiful face. As he runs through the words in his head, he realises his mistake.
It sounds like he rejected Hanbin.
As stated before, Alphas don’t take rejection well as their egos can’t deal with it, but it’s different for Omegas. Rejection to an Omega, especially one in heat, hurts them physically. That would explain the way Hanbin reaches for his chest, placing a hand over his heart as he struggles to breathe.
He nearly missed the way Hanbin whispers, “I knew you would never want me.” And Hao’s heart breaks. The seven words replay in his mind as Hao scrambles to come up with a response. He is so confused but that would never be the truth. There is no life that Hao would not want Hanbin.
He carefully takes Hanbin’s hands off his face, gently forcing the younger man to look at him through his teary, red-rimmed eyes. “There isn’t a moment where I haven’t wanted you. I can promise you that ever since we met, you’re all that I’ve wanted.” That was not how he imagined confessing his love to Hanbin, but sometimes we can’t have everything we want in life.
Hanbin looks taken aback at the sudden revelation. “I thought you liked Won hyung?”
“No, silly, Won and I were something that happened when I tried getting over my feelings for you because I thought you didn’t like me back.” Hao reassures with a strained laugh. His attempts were never successful.
“But you said that he was ‘the perfect Omega any Alpha could want’.” Hanbin says with a frown on his face.
“Am I just any Alpha to you?” He asks, raising a brow.
Hanbin shakes his head immediately and that makes Hao smile a bit. “Of course not!”
“Won is great and all but I like you. Alpha, Beta, Omega, whatever. It doesn’t matter as long as it’s you.” Hao states, wiping away a tear that falls from Hanbin’s long, heavenly eyelashes.
He stares at Hao with pouty, trembling lips, still not believing him. “But Yujin told me you like someone else?”
With all that’s happened in the span of minutes, he knows better than to question how Hanbin knows Yujin. “That ‘someone else’ was you!” Hao confirms. Hanbin’s mouth forms into an ‘o’ shape, surprised.
Out of nowhere Hanbin clutches his stomach and cries out, in pain. “Ah! Hyung— Alpha! It hurts!”
Hao wants nothing but to take the pain away, to make Hanbin feel better. However, this is still a grey area for both of them. “Binnie, Alpha will help you in a second, but I need you to stay with me for a bit longer. Can you do that for me?” Hanbin’s ears turn red at the nickname, nodding his head even though the pain doesn’t falter.
“Thank you, baby. I, uh, happened to see Jiwoong scent you yesterday after class, what was that about? Also, who was the Omega that was here when I came?” Hao asks, placing his hand over Hanbin’s stomach to stop him from gripping the flesh.
“Jiwoong hyung is Gyuvinnie’s older brother. We’re pretty close and he scents me every now and then in case I need an Alpha-like scent on me to ward off anyone who tries getting too close to me when I go into heat.” He responds, holding Hao’s hand and squeezing it. “And the Omega you saw was one of my close friends, Euijoo, who came over wanting some advice for his relationship with Nicholas.”
Hao breathes out, the tension leaving his body now that he knows for sure that Hanbin is his. “So, you’re an… Omega? Not an Alpha?” He doesn’t want to upset the younger one, especially since he’s in heat and Omegas are usually sensitive during this time.
Hanbin smiles but there's a hint of sadness behind it. “Everyone thinks I’m an Alpha because of my physique. I’ve never bothered correcting them because I’m scared people will see me differently if I tell everyone I’m an Omega.”
“Bin-ah…”
Tears well up again but the Omega doesn’t let them fall, blinking them away quickly. He shakily laughs it off and continues, “I’m not the most ideal Omega that an Alpha would want—”
“Hanbin.” Hao growls, snapping the younger one from his self-deprecating speech. “I like you and I want you. I always have.”
The Omega has no time to respond before Hao says, “Now be a good boy and let your Alpha take care of you.” Hanbin just nods in response, unable to form a sentence with how his tongue is tied. It’s almost as if he’s fallen into a daze at Hao’s words.
“My poor Omega, you must be burning. Let’s get these clothes off you?” The younger man wordlessly raises his arms, as a way of consenting, but Hao pushes him to voice it.
“I need you to use words, baby.”
The heat seems to have clouded Hanbin’s mind completely as he whines but hurries to comply. “Yes. Yes, please— Alpha, please take them off!” And who is he to deny the love of his life?
Hao slips the t-shirt off, taking in the way it sticks to his sweaty skin. It shouldn’t be appealing, but it is. The sheen of sweat that glistens on Hanbin’s skin makes him want to lick it all up, savouring the taste of his Omega.
Removing the shirt, Hao thumbs at Hanbin’s shorts. “Is this okay?” Hanbin nods, and the older one begins to pull his shorts off, patient with the way the other has to arch his back off the floor so he can fully take it off. The shorts are completely soaked in cotton candy flavoured slick, Hao confirms, sniffing at the garment.
The Omega under him is beautiful. His skin is unblemished, with the exception of some faint stretch marks, mapping out on the plains of his inner thighs and ass cheeks. Hao gently traces his finger against the lines, wanting to remember every part of Hanbin’s body. The younger one has a body that Hao would voluntarily worship, even though he’s not religious.
The smell of cotton candy is insanely strong when Hao dips down further, exploring the lower half of Hanbin’s body. He spreads his thighs to allow the Alpha room between his legs and Hao feels insane, dizzy with want, at the sight that meets his eyes.
The Omega. Everywhere.