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It was spring when Baekhyun met Chanyeol. The cold air left by winter was gone, replaced by a refreshing breeze carrying the smell of flowers - a promise of a fresh start, with buds blooming and the sun peeking out of the clouds. It was a hard winter for Baekhyun, which was why the omega was happy that it was now over. Having had no alpha since his birth had made his winter nights extremely lonely and left him cold. There were blankets of course, and hot cocoa to keep him warm, however he often wondered what it would feel like to have an alpha hold him close and embrace him through the cold, transferring his body heat to him. It didn’t help that his fellow omega roommate and best friend Kyungsoo spent winter vacation outside the dorms, to his boyfriend, Jongin’s apartment outside campus.“Baek, I’m back,” Kyungsoo said as he made his way into the room. His vanilla scent mixing with the air.  He set the backpack slung over his shoulders beside his desk, as well as the duffel bags he was carrying containing his clothes. Seeing Baekhyun cocooned by the blankets and still looking very much half-asleep, he chuckled. “Classes resume today you lazy ass, better get up. You have class at 10 right? It’s 9:14 now. Hurry up if you don’t wanna be late.”Baekhyun groaned and he struggled, still sleepy, but he managed to sit up on his bed. “Soo? How-“ he yawned, cutting off his sentence. “How was your winter vacation with Jongin?” He rubbed his eyes laden with sleep.“It was fine, thank you for asking. We went out a lot, we cuddled a lot and did stuff I’m sure your virgin self would very much not like to hear.” At this, Baekhyun scoffed. It’s not like he was totally clueless about sexual stuff, it’s just that he hasn’t experienced it with anyone before.  He manages his heat by himself, anyways. He hasn’t had any boyfriends before. Sure, there were suitors, but Baekhyun never really liked any of them.“Thanks for sparing me the disgusting details,” Baekhyun said and got out of bed. He rubbed his stomach under his hoodie and went to the bathroom to wash his face. “By the way, Soo, do you have any food for me?”“Yeah, I brought leftover kimchi, japchae, and some kimbap.” Baekhyun got out of the bathroom and hugged his friend. “It’s leftovers but thanks, man. I appreciate it.”“You really should,” Kyungsoo chuckled and pushed Baekhyun off him. “Please stop being so clingy this early in the morning.” Baekhyun groaned.“Fine, give me the food so I can take a shower after and go to class.” Kyungsoo gave him a paper bag containing tupperwares filled with food his friend cooked. Kyungsoo was a good cook and Baekhyun was glad he got to enjoy the food his friend made every now and then. After eating, he took a shower and dressed himself with a knitted sweater that was kind of big on him making him look adorable and fluffy with black skinny jeans, accentuating his slim legs. He paired his outfit with his black Converse. He dried his fluffy black hair with the towel and said goodbye to Kyungsoo who had no classes for that day and went out of their dorm room.  He made it to class on time.Baekhyun was a freshman student taking up Creative Writing in Seoul Institute of the Arts. Ever since he was young he’s wanted to be a writer, being an avid reader himself.When his classes were done, he went to the library to start his shift. He worked as a student librarian in order to help pay his tuition. His family wasn’t that well-off and Baekhyun, determined to finish his studies and pursue his dreams, entered Seoul Institute of the Arts under a scholarship. He was studious and smart, so it all worked out well for him.College was hard, and Baekhyun found himself doing so much work, mostly essays, and there were nights wherein he had to sacrifice his sleep. He was happy nonetheless, for he’s studying at a prestigious school studying something he loved.He was arranging some documents by the counter when a deep voice and a wonderful smell interrupted him.“Excuse me, I’d like to borrow these books,” the voice said.Lifting his head up, he gazed up to the owner of the voice and smell. The man was an alpha. He was tall, like really tall. His eyes were clear and round, his lips plump, his skin smooth, and holy shit, Baekhyun thought, he looks really hot. His ears were kind of big, but they looked good on him, like only he would look good with those ears, and his curly locks were of the shade of brown. He looked like a god, and to top it all off, his scent which was peppermint and bergamot smelled so so good. The scent was calming, and it made Baekhyun feel safe. He found himself staring at the alpha with his mouth agape. The alpha stared back at him, looking surprised, as well. They stared at each other for a minute or two, until the alpha blinked and cleared his throat before speaking again.“Listen buddy, I’m in a rush, so if you could please just check these books out as soon as possible, I’d be really thankful.” This helped Baekhyun snap out of his daze and stuttered. “Ah, y-yes of course.” Baekhyun wanted to kick himself for being so nervous and almost drooling at the alpha. He looked at the books and they were all either about music theories or music history, so he concluded that the alpha was a music major. He was probably under the Applied Music course of the institution.“Your library card please,” Baekhyun was proud of himself when his voice didn’t falter. The man looked at him with boredom and handed him his library card. Their hands touched and Baekhyun blushed as red as a tomato. He looked at the card. 
Park Chanyeol.
 So that was the alpha’s name. He looked at the alpha, and he found the alpha, Chanyeol, looking at him with an amused smirk on his face. Baekhyun looked down at the books again and set to checking them out. When he was done, he handed the card back to Chanyeol without looking at him.“You have a week to return the books. Thank you for using the library.”“You’re pretty cute,” Chanyeol chuckled, and Baekhyun can feel the smugness in the other’s voice. “See you around, Byun Baekhyun.”“Wha-“ Baekhyun looked up at the mention of his name, but Chanyeol was already walking out of the library, leaving Baekhyun staring at the library doors in shock. He realized then, that Chanyeol knew his name because of the name plate pinned to his sweater. He sighed and tried to calm himself down. After his shift, he went back to his dorm room, and found Kyungsoo at his desk typing something at his laptop.“Soo, I’m back.” At this, Kyungsoo turned to look at him and greeted him. “Hey, how was today? How did it feel returning to classes after vacation? Was it unbearable?”Baekhyun rolled his eyes. “Today was fine. Of course, the professors assigned a fuckton of take home work, but other than that, it was bearable.” Kyungsoo hummed and turned back to his laptop, “Yeah? What about at the library? How was it?”When Baekhyun didn’t respond, Kyungsoo turned back to look at him, only to find him blushing and rooted to the spot he was standing in. Kyungsoo’s eyes widened at him, “What? Why in the world are you so red?” Baekhyun touched his cheeks, and sat down at his bed, dropping his backpack below.“Some alpha called me cute today.”Kyungsoo turned back to the laptop, snorting, “What, like alphas don’t call you that almost every day.”“Yeah, well, this one caught me off guard. Had to blush and shit a while ago.”Kyungsoo nodded his head, still typing away, “Sounds like a crush.”“Okay, maybe not a crush. Just someone I’m attracted to?”Kyungsoo huffed, “That’s basically the same thing, Baek.”“I don’t know, man. He just smelled really, really, really good. God.” He let out a sigh. “It felt safe, you know what I’m saying?” Kyungsoo hummed and nodded. “Yeah, Jongin’s scent does make me feel safe and content. So, what’s the guy’s name anyway?”“Park Chanyeol.” Baekhyun felt happy just saying his name.“Park Chanyeol who’s a music major?” Kyungsoo asked, seemingly surprised. Baekhyun looked at him with wide eyes. “Yeah. You know him?”Kyungsoo nodded, “He’s Nini’s friend. Apparently, he left as an exchange student in America for a while before we even enrolled here. Nini said he returned during winter break. He met with him one day during break.”Baekhyun went to his friend and kneeled before his chair, eyes sparkling. “And? Did you see him too? What did Jongin say about him? Is he nice? Does he have a beta or an omega already?”Kyungsoo shook his head and sighed, “I don’t know, Baek. Only Nini met with him. I didn’t want to go out at the time, and Nini didn’t force me to come. He didn’t mention much about Chanyeol.” Baekhyun slumped in disappointment. He thought he could gain information on the alpha whose smell was so enticing.“Anyway, what should we order for dinner? I’m starving,” Kyungsoo asked as he closed his laptop.“American food,” Baekhyun grinned. Kyungsoo rolled his eyes.“Because he came from America?”Baekhyun’s grin only managed to grow wider. “Hmm, maybe. You down for pizza and fried chicken?”“Yeah, whatever. You go order.”Baekhyun ordered the food and it arrived after half an hour. As they were eating, Kyungsoo asked, “So what’s with this Chanyeol guy? You want his knot or somethin’?” Baekhyun almost choked on the chicken he was eating, quickly reaching for his glass of water. After downing it, he almost screamed at his friend.“What the hell, dude?! Why you gotta be so crass?” Kyungsoo only laughed and chewed on his pizza, giving Baekhyun a knowing look. Baekhyun put the chicken down and glared at Kyungsoo.“And, no, I do not want his knot. I don’t even know if the guy’s an asshole alpha or a nice one. Anyway, I hope it’s the latter. I can’t stand jerks. I just want to get to know him, okay? I really like his scent.”“More like attracted to his scent,” Kyungsoo muttered while peeling the skin of the fried chicken in his hands, not looking at Baekhyun. Baekhyun just glared at him and chewed his chicken violently, reaching for a pizza slice after. Baekhyun didn’t see Chanyeol again until after three days, at the library. The omega was organizing the newspapers when the smell of minty musk entered his nostrils. He quickly snapped his head up, and saw Chanyeol making his way over him. The alpha looked very much amused at him, and the smugness was there again. Okay, Baek, let’s try to initiate conversation today, okay? “Hello, here to return books?” Baekhyun was answered with a snort from the alpha.“Yeah, obviously.” Baekhyun blinked at him. Shit, this guy’s pretty cocky. “Your library card please.” Baekhyun said irritated. The alpha gave him his card and Baekhyun was determined not to have their hands touch each other. He cheered inwardly when he managed not to have their skins brush each other’s. After finishing with the process of returning the books, he returned Chanyeol’s card, and again, their hands did not touch luckily for him.“You a freshman?” Baekhyun looked up at him, and he saw Chanyeol smiling at him softly, no trace of cockiness in his face. Baekhyun’s irritation washed off immediately, because how could he not when the alpha was smiling at him like that?  He nodded at the alpha. “Yeah, creative writing.”“Hmm. So that’s why you don’t look familiar. Creative writing huh? That’s pretty cool.”“Yeah, I guess so.” Baekhyun blushed. “Applied Music is amazing, too.” He blurted out without thinking.The alpha blinked at him, and he laughed, “How’d you know I was a music major?”Baekhyun struggled to explain, “O-oh, it’s just that, well, the books you checked out were about music, and well, I thought that maybe you were a music major, y-y’know?”The alpha smiled at him softly, looking at the boy with fondness. Baekhyun blinked and stared at him again, inhaling the alpha’s relaxing scent.“Yeah, okay,” the alpha whispered softly, still smiling down at Baekhyun.“Okay,” Baekhyun breathed out softly. He was screaming in his mind. Holy shit, why is this alpha so beautiful, and okay, maybe I was annoyed with him a while ago, but now he’s all soft and nice, what the fuck, and he smells really good, fuck.“Well, Baekhyun, it’s been nice chatting, but I have to work on a new beat at home. See you around,” the alpha said, smirking once again, and walked out of the library, not even waiting for Baekhyun’s response. The next time Baekhyun saw Chanyeol again was two weeks later. Baekhyun had been wondering why the alpha wasn’t visiting the library anymore. He didn’t see him at campus, either. Baekhyun had been down because of this and distracted himself with schoolwork. He just wants to meet the alpha again and maybe exchange a few words with him again. Which was why when Kyungsoo invited him to Jongin’s apartment to hang out, Baekhyun refused.“No way, I’m busy, and besides, I don’t want to be a third wheel to you and Jongin,” he spouted bitterly, typing on his laptop an essay for one of his classes. Kyungsoo rolled his eyes. “Luhan hyung and Sehun will be there too, Baek, please.”“Like that’s even better. Everyone will be cuddling except me, and I would be left witnessing you guys get all hormonal and maybe even make out and shit. No, thank you,” Baekhyun answered, still typing and not looking at his friend.“Don’t be so dramatic, Baek. Besides, trust me, you’ll want to go. You’ll seriously end up regretting not going.” Baekhyun huffed, “Yeah right, still no.”“Oh? You don’t want to see Chanyeol?” At this, Baekhyun immediately turned his head to his friend.“Chanyeol will be there too?” Now he looked interested at what Kyungsoo was saying.“Yeah, it seems that he, Nini, Luhan hyung, and Sehun are all friends, and they’re holding out this gathering to hang out since he just came back from America.”Baekhyun shut his laptop off and got off the bed. He went to his closet and started choosing his outfit.“God, I cannot wait to see who this guy is. Seriously,” Kyungsoo muttered under his breath. Baekhyun was nervous throughout their walk to Jongin’s apartment. Jongin’s apartment wasn’t that far from campus, which was why Kyungsoo often visited and stayed over at the older. When they got to the door of Jongin’s unit, Baekhyun’s heart started hammering in his chest. Kyungsoo knocked and the door was opened by Jongin. He smiled widely at them and pulled Kyungsoo closer to him, kissing his forehead. “I missed you, babe,” Jongin whispered against his temple. Kyungsoo giggled and said, “I missed you too, Nini,” wrapping his arms around his alpha’s shoulders.“You guys literally saw each other yesterday. God,” Baekhyun scoffed as he rolled his eyes and made his way inside the door. When he entered, he saw Sehun and Chanyeol chatting with one other, each holding a bottle of beer on their hands, sitting on the sofa. Luhan was leaning beside Sehun, eating some chips and watching a movie at the television in front of them. Luhan noticed Baekhyun and smiled.“Baekhyun! It’s been so long!”Baekhyun saw Sehun and Chanyeol both turn to him. Baekhyun met Chanyeol’s eyes, the alpha staring at him with a soft smile.Baekhyun blushed and turned his attention to Luhan, “Hello, hyung, how have you been? I haven’t seen you around.” He sat at the sofa beside Luhan and the two conversed.Jongin and Kyungsoo entered soon after. “Chanyeol-ah, this is Kyungsoo, my boyfriend, and that’s Baekhyun over there,” Jongin said, pointing at Baekhyun, “Kyungsoo’s friend and roommate.” Kyungsoo nodded and bowed at Chanyeol before looking at Baekhyun with a teasing smile. It was a smile that said now I see why you’re attracted to the guy. Holy shit, he does look good. Baekhyun rolled his eyes at him. He turned his gaze to Chanyeol, and the alpha was smirking at Baekhyun, as if he knew the mental conversation that Kyungsoo and he shared. Baekhyun blinked at him before blushing and turning his attention to the television.They decided to watch a horror movie, and naturally, the couples were cuddling each other.  Luhan and Sehun were cuddling on the other side of the sofa, sharing a blanket. Jongin and Kyungsoo on the other hand were cuddling at the love seat beside the sofa, sharing a blanket as well. Baekhyun didn’t know If he should be happy or sad that he’s beside Chanyeol on the sofa. Before the movie started, Kyungsoo gave Baekhyun a teasing grin. He and Chanyeol were close, but their skins weren’t touching each other. He just realized that Chanyeol hasn’t spoken to him since he entered the apartment and he feels himself pouting. Should he initiate a conversation with the alpha? No, no, he’ll just embarrass himself.During a jumpscare scene, he flinched, and subconsciously formed a fist with his hands atop his knees which were close to his chest. He heard a chuckle beside him. Turning his head to Chanyeol, he saw the alpha smiling at him. His heart sped up.“Are you bad with horror movies?” the alpha asked, his voice a deep whisper.“I’m okay with them, jumpscare scenes just make me flinch a lot. The music doesn’t help too, with them being so shrilly and intense.” He was glad that the alpha had finally talked to him. He had missed that voice, having to go without it for two weeks. The alpha just hummed and returned back to watching the movie.Before Baekhyun could stop himself, he asked, “Why haven’t you gone to the library?” He didn’t know how it happened, but his tone was whiny, and he just wants to go back to his dorm right now and hide from embarrassment.  The alpha turned to him and smiled teasingly.“Why? Did you miss me?” His voice was very much laced with mischief and teasing. Baekhyun blushed and he stammered as he answered.“I-it’s not th-that! It’s just, well, most students visit the library at least once a week, but you didn’t, so it was rare.” It was a lie. Some students at their institution graduate without even visiting their library throughout their college life. It was a lie, but what could he do? He can’t just admit that he has been looking for a curly haired alpha every day for the past two weeks.“Yeah right,” the alpha chuckled, obviously not buying it. He paused before answering. “I was busy. I had to work on a song and I was holed up at the studio. It’s to be submitted as a project.”So that’s why. Baekhyun was curious, what kind of songs did the alpha finish? He was sure they were good. He was chosen as an exchange student to be sent to America after all. He must be that good.“Is it done?” he asked the alpha, sounding excited. “Almost, I just have to edit some stuff and add some instruments and polish it up.”           “That’s amazing. Making songs must be hard. It’s really awesome how you create one out from nothing.” The alpha blinked at him, looking surprised, before smiling again, and Baekhyun has just now realized that the alpha had a dimple, and he thinks he just fell deeper in attraction at the alpha.“Do you want to listen to it once it’s done?” Baekhyun startled at this.“Sure!” he answered almost immediately, excited at the prospect of listening to what the alpha has made. But then, he realized that he probably won’t give helpful feedback or review, so he added “I mean, are you sure? Is it really okay for me to listen to it? I don’t know much about music, so I may not give you a good opinion, ah, but I do listen to music a lot and-““You’re rambling, Baekhyun.” The alpha chuckled. “I don’t really allow others to listen to my songs right after they’re done. I wouldn’t offer if I didn’t want you to.” Baekhyun blushed and nodded to the alpha before turning to look at the television again. His heart was beating even faster this time. He felt a head lean into his shoulder and when he turned to look, he was met with the alpha’s curly locks and the scent hit him again. The alpha smelled so so good, and it made Baekhyun feel safe, like no harm would ever befall him as long as Chanyeol was there. He stayed still throughout the movie, heart pounding like crazy. He wished the alpha didn’t hear or feel it. When the movie was finished, Chanyeol removed his head from Baekhyun’s shoulder and straightened his back. Sehun and Luhan excused themselves and went home early. Everyone knew that they had to do their deed, their arousal evident in the air. Kyungsoo turned to look at Baekhyun, and he gave him a teasing grin. Baekhyun glared at him, but the blush was still evident on his cheeks.“Ah shit, we’re out of beer and food. I’m just gonna go buy some. Soo, wanna come with me?” Jongin asked from the kitchen. He was answered by an agreement from his boyfriend and Kyungsoo once more grinned at Baekhyun. It was a grin that said this is a chance, you virgin, go and make that boy your alpha so I won’t have to feel guilty spending breaks at Nini’s while you’re back at the dorm room all alone and sad. Baekhyun scoffed at him.“Chanyeol-ah, we’ll be back soon. You okay staying with Baek?” Jongin asked Chanyeol.“Yeah, you guys take your time,” the alpha answered, that smirk on his face again. The couple left, leaving Chanyeol and Baekhyun alone.“So,” Chanyeol began, “how do you find the institution?”Baekhyun blinked at him before answering. “It’s okay, I guess. I’m really glad I get to study at such a prestigious school.” “What do you mean?”Baekhyun smiled embarrassed, “Well, my family isn’t really that well off. I’m studying at the institution under a scholarship and I work at the library too to earn some money.” Chanyeol hummed. “So that explains why you’re there. I just thought you were a bookworm volunteer,” the alpha teased while laughing.The omega smiled, a blush blooming on his cheeks. “I guess I am a bookworm in some ways. I do like books and working at the library never felt like work at all.”“That’s good to hear. At least you’re enjoying your stay at the institution.”“Yeah.”It was silent for a while. Baekhyun couldn’t help himself so he asked the alpha, “How do you know Jongin, Luhan hyung, and Sehun?”The alpha reached for his bottle of beer at the coffee table in front of the sofa, taking a gulp before answering. “I met Sehun and Jongin during freshman year at a party.” He smiled before continuing, as if the memory was something precious to him. Baekhyun found himself listening intently to every word.“It was a wild party, but I was drinking mildly since I had to drive. Two omega girls were making moves on me and I wasn’t really in the mood for anything, so I excused myself and went to the kitchen to grab some chips when someone bumped into me.” Baekhyun pouted at this. Chanyeol was just too attractive that he wasn’t even surprised omegas or betas would throw themselves at him.“It was Jongin carrying Sehun by the shoulder. Sehun was really drunk, you should have seen him. We later learned that he has never drank liquor until that day. He was passed out and he looked really sick. Jongin apologized to me, and I asked if he needed help. Jongin looked like I revived his dead puppy or something, he was really stressed carrying Sehun.”Baekhyun laughed at this, imagining how it happened. Chanyeol was laughing loudly too. “So, then,” he continued, “I offered to drive them to Jongin’s apartment. I was getting bored at the party too, anyways. We sat Sehun at the back of the car while Jongin sat beside me. Jongin was telling me the directions to his apartment when we heard a groan. It was during a red light so we turned to him, then the next thing I knew he was puking all over the back of my car.” At this, Baekhyun laughed even harder, almost becoming breathless, holding his stomach and doubling over.“Oh my god, that- that Sehun did that?” he said between fits of laughter.“I was really surprised, I mean that was a new car I just bought. I didn’t get mad, though. Sehun passed out again after emptying his stomach. Jongin and I just stared at him. Jongin turned to me about to apologize when I laughed. I remember being really amused at everything. I knew that Sehun didn’t mean it, and both he and Jongin seemed like nice people. I remember thinking I wouldn’t mind being friends with these two. Jongin looked at me with wide eyes before apologizing nonstop and I just brushed him off, saying it was fine and that I was the one who offered the ride. When we got to Jongin’s apartment, we brought Sehun to lie down at this very couch and cleaned him off of his own vomit. Jongin asked me if I wanted to crash at his place since it was late anyways. I refused and said I had things to do at home. He walked me out the door and thanked me nonstop.”Baekhyun was beyond shocked. “You- you didn’t get mad about the car? I would definitely freak out. How could you be amused?”“I mean, I had the car taken to be cleaned after that, so it’s all good. Besides, I still had another one. It wasn’t a big deal,” Chanyeol said like it was the most natural thing in the world.“I will never understand rich kids,” Baekhyun said with a roll of his eyes.Chanyeol just laughed at him. “So, anyway, come Monday, there was a knock at my studio. When I opened the door, Sehun and Jongin were there. Sehun immediately apologized and asked me how much he should pay for the damage he has done. I brushed him off and said it was all good, and both he and Jongin disagreed, saying they’ve troubled me so much. Sehun then offered to just buy me lunch and to join him and Jongin. Thinking I’ve been too holed up in the studio anyways, I agreed and went with them. We had samgyeopsal and it was during our meal that we introduced ourselves. That’s where I learned that Sehun and Jongin were both dance majors. After that, they started to hang around me, dragging me with them and making sure I leave the studio every once in a while.”“What about Luhan hyung?” Baekhyun asked.“Oh, Luhannie. It was during second year. Sehun was gushing about him, saying he saw a cute freshman at a café outside campus. He said he has never seen someone more beautiful and that his scent of cherry blossoms and fresh linen was the best thing he has ever smelled. He befriended Luhannie, and soon Luhannie joined us whenever we went out. Eventually, Sehun courted him.”“Ohh, so that’s how,” Baekhyun said, nodding his head.It was silent again after a while, until the alpha broke it.“What about you?” Chanyeol’s question made him turn to the alpha.“What about me?”“Judging from your scent, you have no alpha...?” Baekhyun nodded and looked at his lap, playing with his fingers.“Yeah, I’ve... I’ve never had an alpha or anyone, really.”“No one ever courted you?” Baekhyun looked at the alpha again, then looked around the room before letting out a smile.“Alphas have courted me before, of course. I’ve also tried going on dates with them before, but apparently they don’t want an omega like me.” He looked at Chanyeol again who had a confused face staring at him. “Ah, well, I don’t really like being told what and what not to do. I don’t like how omegas are seen as inferior and often taken advantage of. I want an alpha who would understand and support me in whatever I do.” Chanyeol’s gaze softened at him and he hummed in understanding.“Besides, I’m not even sure if I’m ready for a relationship yet. I don’t even know how it works. I’m a really awkward person at most times, and sometimes I feel like I’m hard to love, with me being so demanding about the alpha I want. Maybe that’s why they stop courting me. They can’t wait for an omega who’s indecisive as fuck,” Baekhyun let out a small laugh, looking at his hands. He doesn’t know why he’s spilling all of this to the alpha. He feels vulnerable voicing out the troubles always looming in his mind. It’s the beer’s fault he thinks. He drank a bottle a while ago while talking to Luhan, and he drank another after the movie ended and Chanyeol got off his shoulder, needing something to calm his racing heart.“It’s not that you’re hard to love. It’s not that you’re demanding too. Those alphas just didn’t deserve you.” Baekhyun raised his head to Chanyeol who was still looking at him with a soft gaze. Baekhyun felt heat rush to his cheeks, and suddenly he can’t look away from the alpha. “If they can’t wait for you to be ready, that’s their fault, not yours. You deserve all the time in the world. Omegas are so much more than someone to breed. You’re not wrong about that.” The omega felt his heart clench at how sweet the alpha is being. Most alphas would defend other alphas in their actions, not condone them. And most alphas wouldn’t agree with Baekhyun’s way of thinking.Chanyeol continued in a soft voice, “I hope you don’t think of yourself that way again. Don’t ever think that you’re a hard person to love, okay?”It was at that moment that Baekhyun realized that he likes Chanyeol. It’s not a matter of attraction anymore, he truly, genuinely likes the alpha now. How couldn’t he? When the alpha has been everything he’s asking for, someone kind, understanding, and supportive. He inhaled sharply and the scent of peppermint and bergamot calmed him and he felt like everything was right in the world.“Okay,” Baekhyun breathed out, smiling at the alpha, his eyes crinkled and his cheeks rosy.The alpha stared at him, his cheeks becoming flushed, and suddenly, he cleared his throat and looked away. He drank his beer again and muttered a soft “Okay, good,” looking at the television playing in front of them.They watched the show playing in silence, both content with not saying anything to one another. They remained like that until the couple returned. Kyungsoo mouthed at his friend ‘how did it go?’ and the other omega smiled, cheeks a rosy pink. They ate the food the couple bought for a while, Baekhyun avoiding the beers because he wouldn’t want to stagger while walking around the road, knowing his friend would just ignore him and walk at his own pace.“Ah, Baek, I’ll be staying here tonight, you okay going home on your own?” Baekhyun actually saw this coming, and he just nodded.“Yeah, I’ll just take a taxi or something.”“I’ll drive you,” Chanyeol suddenly offered. Both omegas turned to him with wide eyes and Jongin just gave the other alpha a raised eyebrow.Baekhyun waved his hands in front of him, “No- no need! It’s near anyways. Besides, I’m leaving like, right now, I still have to do a bunch of stuff back at the dorm.”“It’s fine, I’m also leaving right now.”Baekhyun was about to protest again when the other omega spoke, “Yes, Chanyeol-ssi, please do take him back to the dorm. He’s just acting modest, but he actually really wants a free ride.”Baekhyun scoffed at him. “I’m not acting modest, you little shit, I just don’t want to trouble him, okay?!”Kyungsoo just grinned at him.“It’s no trouble, come on,” Chanyeol said standing up. Baekhyun stood up as well, dusting himself off of crumbs.“I’ll see you, Jongin?” the alpha said to his friend.“Yeah, and when we do, you have to answer my questions,” the other alpha said, grinning.Chanyeol just rolled his eyes and called out to Baekhyun, “You ready?”“Uh- yeah.”Baekhyun stood up and followed the alpha out the door, Kyungsoo shouting behind him, “Go get him, Baek!” The omega flipped him off and slammed the door shut.He turned to the alpha who was chuckling, “So sorry about him, he just likes teasing me so much.” The alpha just shook his head.“It’s fine,” he said, amusement in his voice and led the omega down the stairs to the parking lot. What Baekhyun didn’t expect was to stand in front of a sleek silver car, and it’s not just any car-“Are you fucking kidding me,” the omega murmured.“What?” The alpha was clearly confused if he did something wrong.The omega turned to look at the alpha, “A fucking Porsche Panamera Turbo Executive? Dude, what the fuck, are you a chaebol or something?”The alpha just blinked at him, then his eyes turned wide, and mouth agape, “How did you know?”“Only chaebols could afford something like this” Baekhyun breathed out while running his hands through his hair. “I knew you were rich but not up to this extent,” he continued.“This car’s not even that expensive though,” Chanyeol mumbled, looking at the car, and Baekhyun just wants to smack him in the head. The amount of this car could get him through college, what the fuck.“Anyway, just get in, let’s get you home,” the alpha said, making Baekhyun snap out of his thoughts and nod. They entered the car, Baekhyun uncomfortable in the passenger seat after wearing his seatbelt, because what if he somehow stains or scratch these beautiful leather seats? He sat still as a rock, even while giving directions to the alpha. It didn’t help that the car smells so fucking much like the alpha, it made him dizzy, the smell overwhelming him, because it just smelled so so good. So, him being the smart person he is, took just little breaths every now and then.“Dude, chill out, you look like you’re not breathing,” the alpha chuckled and flicked his forehead while the car stopped at a stoplight. “You smell so stressed and uncomfortable. Do-” the alpha paused, looking forlorn, “does my scent bother you? We can open the windows if you-”“No!” Baekhyun flinched, and he squirmed, trying to get comfortable. He didn’t realize he was letting out stressed pheromones. “Y-you smell good, ‘m just- just tired and sleepy,” he excused. The alpha just gave him a look over and snorted, clearly not buying it.“Yeah, right. Look, the car’s not gonna swallow you whole, okay? Besides, why’re you acting like we’re strangers when we’re basically friends already at this point?” the light turned green and the car started again.Baekhyun made a pleased sound at the back of his throat, “Friends? We are?”The alpha chuckled, “Yeah, of course. We can develop into something more though...” The alpha turned to him and winked, before turning his eyes back to the road again.Baekhyun was blushing so hard now. He looked away and saw that his dorm building was finally near. He pointed to it and said, “That’s my dorm, you can drop me off just there.”The car stopped, and Baekhyun undid his seatbelt, looked at Chanyeol, and saw the other pouting while looking at him. “W-What is it?”The alpha was whining, “It’s just- it’s too bad the drive was fast. I’m not sure I’m ready to have your scent leave me so soon. I mean, sure your scent will still linger in the car, but still...” his voice quieted down towards the end.The omega could only stare at him with wide eyes, “Y-you like my scent?” to which the alpha nodded and smiled softly.“You smell like lavender and lilacs, I love those scents.” Baekhyun’s inner omega was howling in joy. It’s not the first time he’s heard someone say they like his scent, but coming from Chanyeol...“I-I’ll see you at school!” he said and got out of the car, holding the door. He turned back to see the alpha looking at him still with that soft smile, “Thanks for the ride,” he murmured.“Hopefully this won’t be the last time you’ll be in this car,” the alpha said smugly. Baekhyun slammed the door shut and went inside the dorm building, beet red.The alpha waited until Baekhyun was inside, chuckling, he started driving to his apartment.  “Ah... my soulmate, why do you have to be so cute?”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Being from an affluent family, Chanyeol had it all since he was an infant. The world was at his fingertips; everything he wished given to him. His family is very loving. He has parents who are very affectionate towards him, supporting him in whatever he wanted to do, and spending time with him whenever they could. His older sister, an alpha named Yoora, is the best sister he could ever wish for. Growing up, she often teased and played pranks on him, even until now, but, she’s very protective of him and teaches him everything she knows.  He truly had it all.   During his second year of high school, Chanyeol dated an omega, Ha Sungwoon, the son of the owner of an appliance company. Their meeting was nothing close to ideal, but for them back then, they didn’t think so. They believed they were fated and made for each other.The omega accidentally spilled his strawberry milk on Chanyeol’s uniform top during lunch break one day, the omega and his friends’ eyes widening in shock when they realized what their roughhousing has resulted to.“Oh, shit,” breathed out Minhyun, an alpha, when he saw who his friend has spilled milk on.“Park Chanyeol...” an omega named Daehwi was becoming very nervous as he thought they messed with one of the bigshots. Chanyeol‘s family could easily buy off their own companies if he felt like it for pissing him off.Sungwoon, who was staring at the stain on Chanyeol’s shirt the entire time, had slowly looked up and held his breath. He saw the stoic look of the alpha and the way he was staring at him.“I’m so sorry! We shouldn’t have been playing around and uh, I’ll pay for the cleaning and damages! But, uhm, oh we should clean that first, I’ll- ah I’ll wipe that off for you,” the omega was clearly flustered, mumbling and panicking, his hands shaking as he took out a handkerchief out of his pocket, wiping the dripping milk off Chanyeol’s shirt and the milk that managed to hit his arm as well.Chanyeol was taken aback, not by the situation but by the omega in front of him. This omega was the cutest being he has ever come across in his entire life. The omega’s skin was smooth and unblemished, cheekbones high but his actual cheeks round and squishy. His lips were plump and juicy and he had almond shaped eyes that were clear and bright.He looked so adorable - having such a small frame compared to Chanyeol’s. The omega was probably soft to touch too.Chanyeol stilled the omega’s arm and returned it to his side. It IS soft. He smiled, “No, it’s fine, I should’ve been paying attention to where I was walking too. I should’ve seen you.”“Our Sungwoonnie here is really short so even if you were paying attention, you wouldn’t have seen him. It’s totally his fault for being so small,” Daehwi teased and the other omega put him in a chokehold, threatening to spill some strawberry milk to his face.“What was that, you little shit? Don’t act so high and mighty! You’re only 5 centimeters taller than me!”The two omegas continued their banter, and Minhyun spoke up. “Well, there you have it. We’re really sorry, Chanyeol-ssi. Forgive us?” he grinned and tilted his head.Chanyeol only smiled, “Please stop apologizing, it’s really fine. Just Chanyeol is fine, too. By the way, I don’t think we’ve met before. I’m... Park Chanyeol, Class 1. What about you guys?” Chanyeol has concluded that this alpha already knew his name, still, he still introduced himself to not look too conceited.“Oh, we know who you are. Everyone here knows who you are, I think,” Minhyun grinned and Chanyeol only smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.“But well, to answer your question, I’m Hwang Minhyun, Class 3.”Daehwi, seeming to have heard the conversation, detached himself from Sungwoon and introduced himself as well. “I’m Lee Daehwi! Class 3 as well!”Chanyeol nodded his head to acknowledge their introductions and turned to the last omega, waiting for his introduction.The omega was smiling, pink dusting his cheeks, “I’m Ha Sungwoon, I’m also from class 3.” Ha Sungwoon... 
How adorable.
 “Uhm, about your uniform...” Sungwoon started, to which Chanyeol reassured him quickly to relieve the nervousness of the omega.“I’ll just have one of our house maids bring me a new one. There’s still a lot of time left for lunch break anyways. Please don’t worry about it.”“But I feel bad... Isn’t there something I could do to make it up to you?”Chanyeol was convinced his brain stopped working for a while because he suddenly blurted out “Go on a date with me then.”The omega and his friends looked clearly surprised. Minhyun and Daehwi started whistling and making cooing noises at their friend who had his mouth opening and closing. Chanyeol seemed to get his bearings together and he realized what he just said. He looked around the hallway and ran his hand through his hair “I mean, only if you want to of course, I don’t wanna force you or anything...”The omega was silent for a while before he said “Okay...”The alpha turned his gaze back to Sungwoon, and saw the other looking up at him, fiddling with the strawberry milk carton in his hands, a beautiful smile plastered on his face.They exchanged numbers after and things went smoothly between them. A month later of courting, the omega said yes to Chanyeol and became his boyfriend. They were both each other’s firsts.First boyfriend, first kiss, first love, and first time.   “Are you sure about this? We don’t have to rush,” the alpha rasped between kisses, panting, trying to hold himself back from just pouncing on the omega.The arousal was thick in the air. Chanyeol’s peppermint and bergamot scent was all over the place, mixing with Sungwoon’s strawberry and cotton scent.The omega just grabbed a fistful of Chanyeol’s hair, his other hand fisting the alpha’s hoodie. Nipping the alpha’s lower lip, he slid his tongue inside the alpha’s wet, warm cavern when the other let out a gasp, their tongues massaging each other sensually.They’ve done this countless times - kissing that is, but they’ve never gone beyond that. The farthest they’ve gone being the omega sitting on the alpha’s lap, making out while their hands wandered around.The omega pulled away from the kiss and caught his breath. He rested his head on the alpha’s chest, gazing up at Chanyeol, the omega’s look desperate and helpless. “Yes, please, I’m sure... besides, ‘m already wet, Yeol.”They were both virgins, but at this point, Chanyeol was just following his alpha instincts as to what to do.The alpha’s eyes darkened and he carried the omega, laying him down on his bed softly. He wants to be rough, but it’s both their first time, so he’s going to make this as gentle and memorable as possible. Besides, he doesn’t want to hurt Sungwoon.“Yeol...”“I got you, baby.” The alpha kissed Sungwoon vigorously, their teeth clashing. Hiking up the other’s sweater, skin was slowly being revealed. He pulled away from the kiss to completely rid the omega off the sweater. He looked down and his breath hitched, “So beautiful.” Sungwoon looked so fragile and soft, his skin pale and unblemished, so ready to be marked.  His pert nipples pink and rosy. Chanyeol couldn’t help but lick and suck one, rolling his tongue around the bud and nipping it. One of his hands mirrored his actions to the other nipple, his thumb and forefinger rolling it, twisting violently.Sungwoon arched his back, his hand grabbing a fistful of the alpha’s hair, his moans echoing in the room.“Fuck! Oh- oh my god. Fuck, fuck, Yeol- fuck-“ The omega sounded wrecked, his moans going straight to Chanyeol’s cock. He pulled away for a while, admiring his work,  the omega’s nipples abused, red, the one he sucked wet and glistening in his saliva.“You’re so goddamn beautiful, baby, you know that?” The omega preened at the praise and mewled, bringing Chanyeol’s hand to his pants. The alpha got the message and hiked down Sungwoon’s pants until they were removed completely, almost losing his breath at seeing the hard outline of the omega’s cock. There was a wet white patch on the omega’s underwear and his inner thighs were glistening with slick.Chanyeol licked his lips at the thought of the omega’s gaping hole, releasing slick, and it was all because of him.He parted the omega’s legs, situating himself in between, licking the slick in the omega’s inner thighs upward until he reached the omega’s clothed cock, licking once more and sucking where the wet patch was, assuming it was the head of the omega’s cock.The omega writhed under him, moans spilling out of his mouth loudly, and Chanyeol was glad all of his family members were out on a business trip in Japan. The maids and other workers were in the mansion, but he doubts they’ll hear them with the enormous size of their mansion.He bit a fleshy part on the omega’s right thigh, sucking it, nipping, and sucking again.“Oh god! Shit! Fuck! Fuck fuck fuck” The omega’s mewls were ringing out throughout the room, his breathing labored, mouth open, drool slightly running off the side of his mouth.The alpha pulled away to see the purple blooming, so visible against the omega’s pale skin. Feeling pleased with himself, he sucked more marks on the omega’s thighs.“Y-Yeol...”The alpha stopped his ministrations and kissed his boyfriend’s temple and inhaled his hair. “What is it baby? God, you smell so fucking good, fuck.”The omega tugged on the alpha’s hoodie, whining petulantly. “It’s not fair for me to be the only one on their underwear here! Your clothes need to come off too.”The alpha smirked at him darkly. “Undress me, then,” he whispered and licked the scent gland of the omega.Sungwoon whimpered, his mind foggy with lust, his limbs felt weak, and he was so so hard. He managed to sit up, having difficulty removing the alpha’s hoodie, but he managed to do it. The omega was greeted by the sight of a broad, strong chest, the alpha‘s barely there abs looking delectable.“Like what you see? I just started working out.” Chanyeol teased him and Sungwoon just rolled his eyes and grinned at him.“Well, it is the first time I’m seeing you naked, don’t be cocky.”The alpha laughed before he kissed the omega again, making Sungwoon fall back against the fluffy pillows. Sungwoon responded enthusiastically to the kiss, his hand cupping Chanyeol’s hard-on through the alpha’s jeans. He gave it a squeeze and Chanyeol hissed.He pulled away from their kiss, growling, “Stop teasing me.”The omega whimpered, it was the first time the alpha had growled at him, and it was making him feel... things. He secreted more slick, completely soaking the bedsheet below them.He made quick unbuttoning of the alpha’s jeans and the alpha dragged them off his legs, leaving him in his underwear, a wet patch visible. The alpha proceeded to kiss Sungwoon’s forehead. “I’m going to remove your underwear now,” he whispered, gazing at Sungwoon’s eyes. Sungwoon only nodded, and they both held their breath.Chanyeol slowly removed the omega’s last piece of clothing, letting out a shaky sigh at the sight of Sungwoon below him. 
He‘s perfect. 
His tiny cock was arching towards his stomach, already weeping. Chanyeol’s hand shook as he grabbed his boyfriend’s cock. The omega mewled loudly, letting out more slick and fisting the sheets. Chanyeol thumbed the head and smeared the precum to the omega’s whole length. He gave it a few tugs before gazing at Sungwoon’s face looking for any signs of hurt or discomfort. Sungwoon’s eyes were closed tightly, mouth open slightly, letting out moans.“You good?” he whispered to the omega.Sungwoon swallowed, taking a few breaths, eyes still closed before nodding. “So- so good. ‘s good, Yeol, fuck.”The alpha gave him a few more pumps before he removed his hand from the  omega’s cock, wiping it on the sheets below him, earning a cry from the omega. Sungwoon opened his eyes, tears gathering, and sniffled. “Why did you stop?” he hiccuped.Chanyeol felt sympathy for the omega. He kissed his temple and shushed him, running his fingers through Sungwoon’s hair. “Shh- it’s okay, baby, I- I wanna try something. Do you trust me?”Sungwoon nodded and kissed Chanyeol‘s cheek. “You know I do.”Chanyeol then kissed his eyelid, before going lower and bending the omega’s legs to his chest.“Yeol- what-““Hold these up for me, okay?” he rasped.The omega obeyed him, bending them up to his chest, holding them by the back of his knees.The alpha parted his ass cheeks apart for more access, marveling at the omega’s pink, virgin hole, letting out copious amounts of slick. It’s like there was no end to it. He breathed on it, making the omega‘s breath hitch. He licked the area around the rim clean, the taste of slick making him groan. “Fuck, you taste so fucking good.” He wanted more, compelling him to suck the omega’s rim. He could get more slick this way.Sungwoon moaned loudly, his breathing ragged. The alpha then teased the entrance of the tight ring of muscles, entering his tongue inch by inch. 
So fucking tight.
The omega’s head was shaking back and forth, his hands becoming shaky as well, making him almost lose his grip on his legs. “Yeol!”Chanyeol finally managed to enter his tongue as far as he can. He pulled it out, only to thrust it back in later, he repeated this movement multiple times, tongue fucking his boyfriend. He pulled back after a while, lower half of his face glistening with slick. He wiped the slick off his face, licking it off his hand, dark eyes locked with the omega who only whimpered.“I’m going to prep you now, baby, okay? Relax for me.”The omega nodded, letting go of his legs but still bending them at the knees, spreading them wide. The omega already looked so wrecked and Chanyeol can’t wait. Can’t wait to feel the omega around him. Chanyeol put one hand around Sungwoon’s hip, rubbing circles. With the other, he gathered slick with his pointer finger and slowly entered it into his boyfriend’s hole, looking at Sungwoon’s face the entire time for signs of discomfort or pain. When he entered it past one knuckle, he withdrew it, only to thrust it back in, slowly loosening the omega’s hole.“Does it hurt, baby?” Chanyeol asked later when his finger was fully inside Sungwoon. “N-not really? It- it just feels uncomfortable.”The alpha kissed the omega’s forehead. “I’m putting in another one. You ready?” The omega nodded. His middle finger joined the first one, slowly entering Sungwoon’s hole up to the first knuckle.Chanyeol watched Sungwoon’s face contort in pain, tears starting to gather in his eyes.“Fuck, it hurts.” The omega whimpered and Chanyeol kissed him on the lips in order to distract him from pain. It seemed to work, Chanyeol swallowing all the whimpers Sungwoon was letting out. He continued pumping his fingers in and out of the omega’s hole, scissoring his fingers when he was able to enter them fully inside. He thrusted his fingers in and out again, curling them around, exploring his boyfriend’s walls. At one point, he managed to hit a velvety bundle and Sungwoon moaned loudly into the kiss.He pulled away, stilling his movements as well, looking at the debauched look the omega below him has. 
So fucking beautiful.
“Y-Yeol, what... what was that? It felt so good,” the omega inquired between breaths.“I think that’s uhm, that’s your prostate? I- I heard a classmate of mine say, it’s supposed to feel really good when- when you manage to hit that.”Sungwoon giggled, his eyes turning into little crescents and Chanyeol feels warm and fuzzy inside. “It feels like we’re in Health class or something.”“It sure feels like it.” The alpha chuckled, kissing the omega’s cheeks. “Do you want me to hit that again?”The omega’s cheeks were red, he covered his face with his hands, and let out a muffled “yes please...”“Don’t hide that loveliness away from me,” the alpha chastised, removing the omega’s hands from his face and smiling at him softly.  The omega whined, “But- but it’s so embarrassing!”The alpha just chuckled at him and removed his fingers inside the omega, only to thrust back in with three fingers, aiming for the omega’s prostate again. It seems he got it the first try, because the omega was moaning loudly, hands fisting the pillow beside his head.“M-more, Yeol, please, please, please...”Who was Chanyeol to deny him? He continued jabbing at that spot, making the omega see stars, drawing out ragged and  continuous moans from him.“S-stop,” the omega stilled Chanyeol’s hand. “‘m gonna come if you keep doing that... I want you in me, I’m ready.”“You sure, baby? I- I don’t wanna hurt you.”The omega shook his head and smiled at the alpha. “You won’t, I trust you okay?” And the omega really did. As Chanyeol gazed into Sungwoon’s eyes, he could see how much trust and love the other held for him.Chanyeol removed his hand inside the omega, earning a choked cry. He pressed a long kiss to the omega’s forehead, cupping his face with his clean hand, making the omega giggle.Chanyeol sat up, removing his last piece of clothing, his cock bobbing to his stomach, so much precum gathered in the head. He hissed at the air hitting his sensitive cock, but he felt more relieved having released his cock, he had been so hard.The omega let out a moan at the size. Chanyeol knew he was bigger than the normal size, but to hear his boyfriend moan because of it was fueling his pride.With one hand, he gathered slick, coating it generously over his cock, groaning at the much needed friction. He then positioned his cock at the entrance of the omega’s hole, holding his breath. The omega instinctively wrapped his legs around Chanyeol’s waist, hands tightly fisting the pillow beneath him in anticipation.“I’m going in now.”The omega let out a shaky breath and nodded, gazing at the alpha lovingly.He slowly entered his cock inch by inch, his hands situated at the omega’s hips. He kept watching Sungwoon’s face for signs of discomfort. The omega would only furrow his brows every now and then or exhale shakily. The omega was so fucking tight and Chanyeol had to control himself from just fucking into the omega senseless.“You’re so big and thick, Yeol,” the omega whimpered when half the length was in, tears were gathering at the corner of his eyes.“Are you okay? Should we stop?” the alpha was panicking, not wanting to hurt the omega.“No! Don’t stop! I’m okay, just- just keep going, don’t mind me.” the omega blurted out, afraid the alpha would stop.Chanyeol swallowed and nodded, slipping his length further.  Almost there. When he was fully sheathed inside, both let out a moan. The alpha had to tilt his head back, breathing in and out heavily to hold himself  back. “You feel so good, baby. So fucking good.”The omega’s chest was heaving up and down, breathing ragged and he was fisting the pillows cruelly Chanyeol thinks he’s going to rip them off.Chanyeol let the omega adjust, rubbing circles into the omega’s hips. After a while, the omega breathed out, “O-okay, you can move now.”Chanyeol slowly pulled out, only to slowly thrust back in.“Ah- ahhh,” the omega gasped, his pupils blown wide, tears on the verge of spilling, mouth open, letting out continuous moans.The alpha slowly thrusted in and out, loosening the omega’s hole. “I already ate you out and fingered you, and yet you’re still so fucking tight, baby” the alpha chuckled darkly, his eyes locked unto the omega’s. Sungwoon let out a wanton moan, Chanyeol feeling him clench more around him.Chanyeol pulled out until only the head was inside, only to thrust in hardly, balls deep inside the omega, his hips flush against the back of the omega’s legs.The omega let out a sharp cry, tears spilling from his eyes, crossing his ankles at the alpha’s waist. “Oh g-god yes! F-feels so good, so so good, s’good,” the omega babbled, his head twisting side to side. The alpha bent his body forward, kissing the omega hungrily while he kept thrusting  in and out harshly. He set up a fast rythm, the squelching sound of the omega’s slick and precum echoing throughout the room. It was like there was too much slick inside the omega, spilling out, and Chanyeol was thrusting it back inside.Chanyeol pulled away from the kiss, making the omega whine, only to nibble on the omega’s scent gland, licking and sucking. The omega let out a shrill cry, babbling “please please please.” The omega doesn’t even know what he wants anymore. His mind is hazy, he can’t think straight. All he can feel is the alpha’s thick cock moving in and out of his hole and the alpha’s wet, hot tongue on his skin, not to mention on his sensitive scent gland. All he could do was to nuzzle the alpha’s neck inhaling his musky scent, which was actually a bad idea since the scent was making him more far gone, but he couldn’t care less. His nails dug into the alpha’s back, leaving red, angry lines making the alpha groan and bite onto his shoulder.The pain on his back was making the alpha tighten his hold on the omega’s hips, sure to leave bruises. He sucked and bit multiple spots in the omega’s neck, leaving blooms in their wake, making him feel proud and satisfied.On a particular thrust, the alpha hit the omega’s prostate, earning him another cry and pleads. “Oh my god, Yeol, please, please, that feels so good- don’t stop, please, please.”The alpha stilled his movements for a while and raked his fingers through the omega’s hair, shushing and kissing the his temple. “Shh, I got you, baby, I’ll take care of you.”The omega was moving his hips, trying to fuck himself back unto the alpha’s cock, Chanyeol held his hips again, stilling the omega, and resumed his thrusting, trying to hit that bundle of nerves again. He nuzzled the omega’s neck and breathed harshly. Sungwoon’s continuous moans were directly into his ear, sounding so wrecked, and Chanyeol thought that the other’s voice would probably be hoarse the next day. The omega was probably getting close, Chanyeol concluded. His cries were getting more high pitched each thrust, and his nails dug even harder on Chanyeol‘s back the alpha could feel blood seep out. “Chanyeol,” he gasped out, “‘m close.” Chanyeol pulled away from the omega’s neck, each elbow digging at the mattress beside Sungwoon’s head. He took a look at his boyfriend. His skin was flushed, a thin layer of sweat making his body glisten, bruises were blooming here and there, and he looked so so debauched. There were dried tears on his cheeks, his pupils blown wide, and his mouth kept letting out pleasure noises.The alpha just fastened his pace, wanting to see the omega fall apart from his cock. “You wanna cum, yeah?” the alpha husked.“Yes, please, please, I wanna- wanna cum, Yeol- Chanyeol-“The alpha growled, not slowing down his pace even a bit. “Come.”
Chanyeol witnessed how beautiful the omega was that night. How glorious- how perfect someone could be even while being completely wrecked. How much he loved his first love.
Sungwoon’s eyes closed tightly, his brows furrowed, his mouth open in a silent scream.“Chanyeol,” the omega gasped out, his nails digging into the alpha’s biceps that leave crescent shaped marks, his warm, sticky cum painting his own chest, some landing to Chanyeol. Chanyeol rode him through his orgasm, thrusting to prolong the feeling. Chanyeol slowly pulled out, not wanting to overstimulate the omega’s sensitive hole. The omega whimpered when Chanyeol pulled out, hole gaping at air, his body trembling and quaking from the orgasm. His breaths harsh and ragged. Chanyeol was still hard, he nuzzled the omega’s neck again, biting on Sungwoon’s collarbone. He shoved his hand between their bodies and started stroking himself. “Oh, God,” the alpha exhaled. He stroked himself faster, harshly twisting his wrist at the head every now and then, until he felt his knot inflating. He kept tugging, and when he felt that warm pooling in his stomach, he squeezed his knot, tightening and loosening his hold, imitating walls clamping down on his knot. Groaning, his cum shot long and hard on the omega’s stomach and chest, joining the omega’s earlier cum, and some landing on the bedsheets below them. “Shit,” he breathed out, vision darkening. He kept milking himself by squeezing, and when the last weak shots landed on the omega’s sides, he collapsed his body atop the omega’s. “Yeol! Get off! You’re so heavy!” the omega complained but giggled nonetheless, fingers raking through Chanyeol’s hair.Silence engulfed them, but they basked in it, comfortable even. Both of them were at peace, until the alpha broke it. “I love you.”The omega’s hand stilled.Chanyeol leaned down on his elbows, looking at the omega’s eyes deeply. “I love you, Ha Sungwoon.”Sungwoon was taken aback. They were both still, until the omega’s eyes slowly filled with tears, his hand coming up to cup Chanyeol’s cheek. Smiling, he softly said “And I love you too.”Chanyeol leaned down and pressed their lips together, his fingers massaging the omega’s scalp. It was simply that, their lips pressing together, and that chaste kiss was enough to convey their love for each other.The alpha pulled away, dopily grinning at the omega, “I’m so glad you spilled milk on me that day.” He pressed a long soft kiss to the omega’s temple.Sungwoon giggled, “This time you’re the one who spilled milk on me though.”The alpha cackled, his eyes twitching while laughing. “I can spill some more milk on you if you want,” he grinned.The omega’s cheeks went beet red and he smacked the alpha’s shoulder before covering his face with his hands. “Shut up,” he whined, rolling over to his side.Chanyeol simply chuckled and sat on the edge of the bed. “Baby, how about a bath, hm?”Sungwoon removed his hands from his face, and made grabby hands at the alpha. “Carry me.”“Really?” the alpha raised an eyebrow, his voice teasing.“It’s not my fault! My- my backside hurts, I doubt I can even walk properly!” Sungwoon whined, puffing his cheeks.The alpha grinned, “I know, I know, I was just kidding.”  Later, when the bath was filled, and the omega was sitting inside, head resting on the edge of the tub with his eyes closed, did Chanyeol drop a bath bomb.The bath bomb dissolved into the water, the color turning into swirls of purple, the fizzing sound pleasant to the ears.“A lavender bath bomb?” Sungwoon opened his eyes, before scooting over and letting Chanyeol sit behind him in the tub.“Yeah, I love this scent.”The omega only hummed, eyes closing as Chanyeol began to use the shower head to wet Sungwoon’s hair. He poured a generous amount of the shampoo on his hand and massaged it into the omega’s scalp. Sungwoon turned his head to the alpha and raised an eyebrow, “Lilac, really?”“Why not? Lavenders and lilacs smell so good,” the alpha proudly stated, righting Sungwoon’s position again and continuing to massage the omega’s scalp.“It smells like a fucking apothecary in here, Yeol,” the omega groaned out as Chanyeol rinsed his hair.“Yah! Stop badmouthing my favorite scents in the world!” he playfully whined.Sungwoon turned his head to him again, eyes narrowed, and he smells angry, Chanyeol notes. “So, my scent, strawberries and cotton, are not your favorite scents in the world?” “That’s not-““Do you know what my favorite scents in the world are, Chanyeol? Peppermint and Bergamot! Because they’re your fucking scent, you stupid alpha!” And tears began pouring out of the omega’s eyes, his hands coming to wipe them off, “I- I don’t get it, why, why do you always smell like lavenders and lilacs and not strawberries and cotton?” the omega choked out between hiccups. “It-it’s like you’re with a different omega, and not me.”The alpha was dumbfounded, he doesn’t know what to do, his boyfriend is clearly overreacting and being irrational.He started stroking the omega’s cheeks. “I’m sorry, shh, it’s okay, I was just j-joking. Your scents are my favorite scents in the world.”Suddenly, his heart felt heavy, he doesn’t know why it felt wrong to say that. Like, his inner wolf was hurt he would say something like that. Deny his love for the scent of  lavenders and lilacs. He felt so stupid to feel guilty of what he just said.He means, okay, every since he can remember, he’s always loved the scents of lavenders and lilacs, but so what? Can’t he suddenly choose he likes a different scent now?Sungwoon just sniffled before shaking his head, “No, sorry, that was stupid of me, I shouldn’t cry over things like that. My heat’s coming up soon, that’s why I’m horny and hormonal and emotional.”“No, it’s okay. Don’t apologize. It is weird I don’t smell like you when you always reek of me. I’ll- I’ll change my stuff to strawberries, yeah?” The omega beamed at him and gave him a hug.“Also, regarding your heat, I’ll help you, if you want?” the alpha smiled at Sungwoon and the omega only let out a squeal and an agreement. And Chanyeol did begin using strawberry-scented products from then on, ignoring the weird feelings he got whenever. What’s weird though is that his scent changed, but mostly to his own, peppermint and bergamot, strawberries were present as well, but very very faint. It was like his body was telling him either give me lavender and lilacs or I’m just going to make your own scent more potent.It was fine though, because for Sungwoon, he was just glad his alpha boyfriend didn’t smell like lavenders and lilacs again.Chanyeol was happy. He had it all. He had money, a great family, good friends, and a wonderful omega. Things always went his way, too. Until he didn’t anymore. Until they didn’t anymore.   Winter • Third Year of High School “What?” Chanyeol furrowed his eyebrows, gaping at his boyfriend in front of him, the sound of blood rushing in his ears, hands beginning to sweat.“You heard me. Let’s break up.” Sungwoon said nonchalantly, hands shoved in his oversized hoodie, looking at everywhere except the alpha.Chanyeol swallowed thickly. It feels like there’s a lump stuck in his throat, his heart was beating so fast it felt like it was going to explode. “Why?” he croaked out, like speaking was suddenly the most difficult thing to do in the world.“I’m going to follow my dreams. I’m sorry,” Sungwoon whispered. He’s still not looking at the alpha.“Dreams? I thought our dream was to grow up together, merge our companies together, travel the world, get married, and create little bundles of joy?” Chanyeol held the omega’s arm, as if afraid Sungwoon would disappear unless he held unto him. “Remember?”It was cold outside. So damn cold. Winter has just started and it’s already making Chanyeol feel like he’s going to freeze. Had he known he was going to be dumped when his boyfriend called him out to the park minutes ago, he would’ve worn a fucking thermal jacket and not this leather jacket that he knew his boyfriend loved on him.Sungwoon’s breath hitched. He exhaled shakily, clenching his jaw and evening out his breath. “Those... those were my dreams before. But, I have a chance to pursue my other dream now.”“That’s why I’m asking you what dream is that! You keep speaking of this fucking dream! Fuck, what- what dream is it that you have that you can just break up with me that easily?! Look me in the eye and tell me!”And Chanyeol‘s just glad that the park’s empty by this time or else they’ll be swarmed with meddling by-passers.Sungwoon looked at him, and when he locked eyes with the alpha, his lips started wobbling, his eyes breaking into tears like a dam. “I- I want to pursue my love for dancing, I, ne-never told you this, but I want to continue dancing. And- a- a talent agency scouted me the other day. I’m going to be an idol.” “Baby, that’s amazing,” Chanyeol smiled at him, cupping his cheek and stroking it with his thumb. The omega nodded, “But- I- I need to be a trainee first,” he swallowed thickly, “and dating isn’t allowed,” the last part was almost whispered.The alpha’s hands stilled, his arm returning to his side, and he bit his lips. “What did your parents say about this?”“My father was mad... at first. But my mother and I convinced him. My mother thinks this is also a good opportunity... She- she knows about my love for dancing, she helped me realize my love for it, and, and I have a younger sister who can inherit the company. My parents are still pretty young, so they can wait for her to take over,” Sungwoon softly explained, hand clutching into his arm, shoulders hunching, making him look so, so small.  It breaks Chanyeol’s heart. “Can’t we just date in secret?” the alpha exhaled, his voice desperate.“I’m not going to do that to you.” Sungwoon reached for the alpha’s hand and Chanyeol feels comfortable again.“What do you mean?” Curious eyes gazed into the omega, desperately searching for answers.Sungwoon bitterly smiled, more tears falling from his eyes. “I’m not gonna let you suffer because of me. Yeol, I don’t want you to sneak around like a criminal just because of me. I don’t want you to date someone who’s going to disappear and only reappear when he’s about to debut, I’m not going to let you date someone who’s like a ghost.” He inhaled sharply. “Besides, I don’t think I’ll be able to focus if we’re still together anyway. I’m probably gonna run off and quit as soon as I miss you just to see your big-eared face,” he giggled.Chanyeol remained silent, watching the omega play with his fingers. “Do it then, run off and quit if you miss me,” he croaked. Tears were also starting to pool at his eyes. He looked at the omega dead in the eye, “Why are you doing this? I thought- I thought we said we were meant for each other.”The omega was silent for a while, looking down at their fingers together.“How many people have you dated, Yeol?” Sungwoon whispered.“You know the answer to that.”“Just say it, Yeol, please. How many?”The alpha ran his hands through his face, removing his hand from the hold of Sungwoon, wiping his tears, his eyes red and his jaw clenched.“Fuck! Only you! You’ve only been the one I’ve dated! I don’t- I don’t even get how this is related!”“That’s the thing!” the omega shouted out.“What?” Chanyeol asked, voice unbelieving.“We’ve only dated each other, is that- is that even normal? We’re supposed to meet other people, experience heartbreaks and shit. Don’t- don’t tie down your life on me.” The last part was said in a whisper. “Follow your dreams, Yeol.” “You are my dream!”“What about that music program? Why did you give it up?”Chanyeol blinked, mouth opening and closing, looking everywhere except at the omega. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he muttered. “I heard you were supposed to go to Seoul Institute of the Arts. Applied Music. But then I remembered, when your last rut broke, I told you how- how nice it would be if our companies merged and that we’d become this power couple. That it was a dream of mine.” He grabbed for the alpha’s hand again, bringing it up to his face and kissing the knuckles, murmuring around it. “You easily gave up on your original dream just like that, Yeol. For me. To grant my own... You cancelled your application to the institution and applied for a business school. Just that easily.” A tear fell on the back of the alpha’s hand.“Baby, look, it- it’s fine, okay? I did that because- because I don’t even like music that much.”The omega chuckled bitterly. “You even go to lengths to lie just for me,” he paused, exhaling softly, “Sometimes you think I’m still sleeping but the truth is I watch you. I watch you play around with beats on your laptop, or writing lyrics on your composition notebook, humming some notes. I- I don’t want to hinder your dreams, Yeol. I love you. That’s why I’m going to set you free.”The alpha pulled away from Sungwoon’s hold. “What kind of bullshit is that,” he laughed, but it was hollow and empty.“I will always love you, Yeol. You’ll always have a special place in my heart,” the omega whispered, hands wiping the tears off his face.Those were the last words the alpha heard from the omega. Later on, he learned Sungwoon dropped out from school. The omega would be having online classes as to not interfere with his training.  Chanyeol was a wreck. If before, he didn’t pay attention to the omegas and betas throwing themselves onto him, now he did. He would sleep with different people only to break their hearts the next morning. He would attend parties, grinding to whoever he found attractive enough to bed. If before, he didn’t drink, now he did. He wasn’t legal yet but he would in parties his schoolmates attended. He created this fancy ass group of socialites, wasting away money and being conceited.His parents tried to give him space, letting him do his thing to cope with the break up. Yoora, on the other hand, told him she wouldn’t speak to him ever again until he got his shit together.When he heard that, he just scoffed and rolled his eyes, walking away. “Like I give a damn.”This continued until graduation. Truth be told, Chanyeol was failing, he wasn’t even supposed to graduate, was supposed to repeat his senior year. His grades during the first semester were incredible, the alpha being intelligent. His grades during the second semester though, were all fails. The reason being, the alpha didn’t attend his classes sometimes, or he would ditch them in order to fool around with someone. His family though, was filthy rich, and they paid a great sum to the school to manipulate Chanyeol’s grades. He graduated Salutatorian. He didn’t attend his graduation ceremony though. The board of the school made him Salutatorian, for if they actually computed his grades from freshman year until the first semester of senior year, he would’ve become the valedictorian.   They say time heals all wounds, and Chanyeol agrees. One night, he woke up, and he didn’t feel angry anymore. It still hurt when he thinks about his past with Sungwoon, but all in all, he’s okay. Better. Healed.Dialing his sister’s number, he waited until she picked up. “Noona, I’m sorry. Sorry for being such a dick and a horrible brother, or over-all a horrible human being. I got my shit together now.”A sigh. “About time, I was thinking of resorting to hypnotize you to remove your memories of- y’know.”Chanyeol chuckled, looking up at the ceiling, “Did you know that Sungwoon and I used to fuck countless times on this very bed I’m sitting on?”
“Gross.”
“Yeah,” another chuckle, “I used to hate sleeping here because it reminded me of him before, which is why I often slept around. I didn’t want to come home to this bed. But- I feel okay now. I mean, it still hurts of course, but I’m not mad anymore. I feel like, like I finally got out of being stuck in an elevator, finally able to breathe in fresh air.” “Hmmm, I’m glad. You’re an amazing person, Yeollie, that’s why I knew you would eventually get up and put yourself back again.” “Thanks, Noona. Anyway, I uh- I have a favor.”
“Yeah?”
“Applications for Seoul Institute of the Arts are already over, and I- I really wanna study there. Do you- do you have a connection inside? I promise I’ll work hard once I’m in the institution! I think I’m pretty talented when it comes to music, and I- I deserve to be there.” An airy giggle. “And here I thought you wouldn’t ask me. No need though. I already submitted your papers, as well as sample of your beats and other compositions. I told them you had a nasty case of flu so you couldn’t come to the practical examination. They were really impressed with your work, you know? They accepted you.”“You went into my computer?!” Chanyeol let out a disbelieving gasp.
“Stop complaining. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t be able to attend the institution. Be fucking grateful, aright?”
“You’re right,” the alpha laughed, and it’s been a while since he truly, genuinely laughed. “Thank you, Noona, I’ll do my best.” “I know you will.”   Entering the institution has made Chanyeol forget about Sungwoon completely. He met a lot of new people, made a lot of friends, and he was almost constantly buried in work. There was no space left in his time to reminisce his past with the omega. Chanyeol was happy. Not completely happy, since something felt missing. He has always felt that way. Ever since he could remember, he was always searching for someone. Someone not present, or someone he didn’t even know if they existed. Even when he was with Sungwoon, he felt like something was amiss. That weird feeling was mostly overlooked though, by him being distracted.  It was during a visit to his grandparents’ house did he find a clue.  Chuseok was often held at their mansion, his grandparents from both side would be driven by their servants and they would celebrate it together. That particular year though, his mother decided they celebrate Chuseok at her hometown, Daejeon. Daejeon was an hour and fifty minute drive from Seoul. Chanyeol had only been there once as a child. It was a fairly large house, the style similar to traditional Japanese architecture. The only thing Chanyeol remembers is that there are a lot of ancient stuff in the house. During their third and last day there, to which Chanyeol was grateful for, because he wants to go back to his apartment in Seoul to work on his project, did he find himself in an old looking storeroom.“How old is this storeroom?” he huffed out, annoyed. His mother had asked him to look for the old tea set she had when she was still single and living in this house. His grandmother told her it was in the old storeroom inside a small cedar chest. “God, let’s get this over with,” he grumbled, and started searching in the dark area with his phone’s flashlight. When he found it and was about to leave the storeroom, he felt a pull toward one of the shelves. The shelf had three levels, and each level had three stacks, each stack consisting of ten books.
Grab the second book in the middle row of the middle shelf.
He set down the chest to his feet and did what the voice in his head said.Grabbing the book, he inspected it, turning it over and over. It was an archaic book, similar to the ones used in the libraries of their forefathers, when they still lived in packs and still had the ability to shift.He flipped it open, skimming through the pages.“It seems like a diary,” he muttered to himself.He browsed through it until he found a particular page. 
5th day of Spring, 1127
 
                     Today is the happiest day of my life. Today, I met my soulmate.

After the pack had breakfast, I went to my secret place. It was the meadows beyond the forest that was past the river. After removing my furs and trousers, I shifted. It felt good to stretch my limbs under the sun and have my paws dig into dirt and not snow. The freesias and hyacinths have started to bloom as well. I love spring because my favorite flowers bloom during this season. The scent of freesias and hyacinths have always been my favorite scent ever since I could remember. At first, I did not know why I was so attracted to their scent, but I also found out the reason today.

It was after the pack had dinner. I was patrolling the borders of the territory, as is the duties of alphas. I’ve been assigned to the west side of the border which truly appalls me, because that side has always been my least favorite. It’s close to our neighboring pack, the Majuchida pack. The young wolves of that pack have always been liberated. They often do their deeds in the meadow in front of where we alphas on duty guard. Furthermore, they’re shameless, not caring at all if we hear or see them. We’re just glad the moon sometimes is dim, not giving us a sight to the shameless act in front of us. But since we do not want to engage in perverted acts such as witnessing them make love, in the end, we’re the ones who walk back to camp and get screamed at by the head alpha.  Something unexpected happened to me tonight though. There was a rustling and I already rolled my eyes before I could even chastise these young wolves. What I did not expect to see was a young omega woman, crouching around in the ground, as if looking for something. We stared into each other’s eyes, the full moon giving us enough light to see each other’s features clearly. The first thing I noticed was her scent – freesias and hyacinths. The second was how complete I felt. All my life, I felt like something was missing. But starting tonight, I became whole. Everything was in its right place and I felt like I have been born just to meet her. My wolf side was practically screaming in my ear: THIS IS YOUR SOULMATE.  I snapped out of my haze when she suddenly spoke and said my scent made her feel safe. Hiding my embarrassment, I asked her what she was doing and she said she was hunting down a rabbit. An omega hunting a rabbit? Unheard of, but that just goes to prove how amazing my soulmate is. I asked her name, and she said it was Yeon-woo. She is truly beautiful. Before I could talk more to her, she said it was time for her to go home or her family would notice her sneaking out. She smiled at me before running of to her pack’s camp.

Later on, I asked our head alpha about soulmates. He said it wasn’t a legend as most people make it out to be, but it is rare. I told him about the events earlier and he told me that it would only be the alpha to know that they are soulmates but the omega would feel a sense of longingness and familiarity for the alpha. Only when the omega has fallen in love with the alpha, will they know that they are soulmates with the alpha.

All my life I’ve felt lost, and now I feel like I know where I am.
 “What a load of bullshit,” Chanyeol  muttered, rolling his eyes. He slammed the book close, and tossed it atop the bookshelf, not caring in the slightest whether it would fall off or not. He picked up the chest again and went back inside the house.Despite acting indifferent, Chanyeol couldn’t help but ask his grandmother about the diary he found to which she only answered that it belonged to the oldest known Park in their clan. She then eloquently told the tale of how the Park family has always valued their belongings since ancient times, and how rich the culture of their clan is, to which Chanyeol painfully listened to.When the alpha got back to his apartment, he couldn’t get it out of his mind. Soulmates? Yeah, right, that’s some stuff that only happened in fairy tales and fictional books. He decided to forget about it, distracting himself with arranging the melody of a song he was working on.  It was during a visit to the library two years later did the alpha find the answer. “For your first project, I need you to submit to me an essay regarding the correlation of music history with music theories. I will collect the papers three days from now. You all know my desired format. Go follow that,” their Music History 301 professor bellowed, earning him a resounding groan from the class.“Furthermore, I want your references to all be from the library. Seriously, go pay a visit to the library and stop relying on the internet too much. That’s all. Dismissed.” The class voiced out their complaints when the man was out the door of the lecture hall.“Fucking fuck,” Chanyeol breathed out. He hurriedly went out the lecture room, walking towards the library. He planned to get the damned essay over with already so he could just hang out with Jongin, Sehun, and Luhan. “Fuck’s sake, I come back to Korea and this is what welcomes me back?”He entered the library doors, his anger dissipating a little when the smell of lavender and lilac welcomed him. He briefly wondered if they started using an air freshener in the library as he made his ways into the shelves, picking out the books he thought he could use. As he made his way into the check out counter, the enticing smell of lavender and lilacs seemed to be getting stronger.Perhaps the librarian had a Glade Scented Gel placed on the counter.When he got to the counter though, there was no Glade Scented Gel, just a small looking boy, head crouched down. He seemed to be arranging some documents.“Excuse me, I’d like to borrow these books.”The small looking boy, an omega it seemed, gazed up towards him. His scent... was lavender and lilacs, and Chanyeol- Chanyeol suddenly felt like he finally found the person he had been yearning for his entire life, his inner alpha howling in joy. 
THIS IS YOUR SOULMATE.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

To say that Baekhyun was flustered the moment he got back to his dorm room was an understatement. Once he opened the door, he immediately dropped the keys to a table, flung his shoes off, plopped on his bed and cupped his cheeks with his hands as he stared at the ceiling.His cheeks are warm. Ugh, he’s sure he’s red too. He just hopes Chanyeol doesn’t think he’s weird or something. He’s sure the alpha saw him red. In his defense, who wouldn’t get flustered over that? The alpha just said he liked his scent! Chanyeol just said they were friends and that they could develop into something more! The alpha was so nice and attractive, too! It’s annoying how he’s so perfect and smells so good and probably the best alpha out there!Baekhyun couldn’t help but smile. When he catches himself though, he sighs and stands up to go to the bathroom. He splashes some water onto his face and brushes his teeth to get ready for bed. He’d done most of his schoolwork anyways. The essay he was writing a while ago wouldn’t be handed in until two days later. He should take it easy while he still can. While. It. Still. Isn’t. Prelims.Shaking off his thoughts about prelims and a certain alpha, he steps out of the bathroom and goes to his closet to change. As he’s about to take off his sweater, he smells that wonderful minty musk scent again. He brings the sweater to his nose. It smells like... Chanyeol? How is that even possible, he wonders. It’s not like they touched or-“Ah, right,” Baekhyun says to himself. Chanyeol leaned his head on his shoulder a while ago. And they were confined in the car too... “That’s weird. It’s not supposed to smell this strong though?”He brings the sweater to his nose again. It’s amazing and confusing, he thinks, how a scent belonging to a person he just met weeks ago can smell like home and safety. Foreign, yet familiar. Biting his bottom lip, he changes out of his jeans and wears sweatpants instead.“I’m just maximizing the use of this sweater. That’s right, it’s because it’s not dirty yet and it’s comfy and warm and not because I want to somehow smell Chanyeol as I sleep. Right,” he mutters as he gets on the bed and under the comforter.As he tries to sleep, the omega couldn’t help but giggle and smile to himself every now and then. The memory of Chanyeol telling him he’s not hard to love and that he’s not demanding and that he shouldn’t think badly of himself anymore warms his heart. Nobody has ever said that to him before. Even if Chanyeol just meant it platonically, it still makes Baekhyun giddy. It doesn’t help that he can smell peppermint and bergamot because of his sweater. Actually, maybe it helps because sooner than normal, he feels himself falling to slumber. “Baekhyun, you little shit, wake up! It’s already 9:45!”He jolts awake, throws the comforter off him, gets out of the bed, and goes to the bathroom.“Shit, shit, shit! I have Modern Fiction at 10 with that old bat today!” he groans as he hurriedly makes his way to the bathroom.Outside, he can hear Kyungsoo sitting on his chair. “Oh shit, Jang, huh? Good luck, hope you make it in time.”As soon as Baekhyun’s done brushing his teeth and washing his face, he almost ran to his closet.“Why didn’t you wake me up?!” he shouts at his roommate as he fishes out jeans and a hoodie and hurriedly changes his clothes.“Uh- for the record, I woke you up as soon as I got home which was like 10 minutes ago. Besides, you normally wake up early or just in time on your own so how come you slept in today?”As if on cue, dream Chanyeol appeared on his mind again and he groaned as he went to his bed to get his backpack and phone. “I was probably buzzed out from the beer last night, that’s all. Okay, I’m leaving, see you later!”He was about to exit the room but Kyungsoo called him out.“Baek! Wait!” Kyungsoo shouted as he made his way to Baekhyun.“What?” Baekhyun helplessly said as he looked at his phone. 10:53. Okay, he can make it.Kyungsoo just chuckled at him and started combing his hair before patting it. “You got bedhead, dumbass.”Baekhyun grinned at him, “Aww, you’re so sweet, probably got laid last night, huh?”The other omega was about to smack him but his nose twitched and he started sniffing Baekhyun. With furrowed eyebrows, he looked at Baekhyun.“Why do you smell like Chanyeol?”Baekhyun’s eyes widened, and he started sniffing himself.“I thought I was just imagining it when I smelled him a while ago.” Kyungsoo sniffed one last time before looking at the clock. “But nevermind that! You’re gonna be late, go!”“Oh fuck, okay, okay, bye!” he shouted as he ran out the room and dorm building to the university.Shit, Baekhyun really wants to shower. Not that he doesn’t like the alpha’s smell on him, but it could cause a lot of misunderstandings. He’s late though because of the stupid dream he had. Was he really that thirsty that he dreamt of Chanyeol and him going out on a date? In the first place, he doesn’t even know why he smells so much like the alpha when they didn’t even have any physical contact (except for the head leaning on the shoulder contact) the night before. He just hopes he doesn’t see the alpha today in campus or at the library. It just feels awkward, because the alpha might be uncomfortable that Baekhyun smells like him so much. Baekhyun, at the moment, is having a bad day. Jang, the old bat, gave a surprise quiz in class and assigned two fucking essays and an analysis report on some book she fucking recommended. Secondly, he hasn’t eaten until his free period which was at 1:30 PM. Thirdly, almost everyone he knows kept asking him when he got an alpha. Fourthly, he prayed with all his might that he wouldn’t meet with the alpha today and he seriously thought that his prayer was answered until he was about to leave work in 10 minutes and the alpha shows up.Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. Baekhyun watches as Chanyeol walks into the library doors, a smile on his handsome face as he makes his way to the counter. As he gets closer, his expression morphs into confusion and his nose starts twitching. With widened eyes, he stops in front of the counter.“H-hey there,” Baekhyun says as he stands up from his chair and raises a hand, trying to look cheerful.“You reek of me,” the alpha blatantly says, eyes still wide as they look at Baekhyun in... amazement?Baekhyun scratches his head awkwardly. “Ah y-yeah. Crazy, huh? It’s not like we even scented each other or anything,” he says, letting out a nervous laughter at the end.Chanyeol doesn’t reply, though. He’s still staring intently at Baekhyun, raking his eyes over the omega’s features in wonder, taking him in, and Baekhyun feels himself getting red because why is the alpha doing that?There’s a rumbling sound that’s faint but Baekhyun still managed to hear it. The sound gradually got louder, and it seemed to be coming from... Chanyeol? Chanyeol’s chest? “Are you okay? You’re making sounds,” Baekhyun asks, worried.That seemed to snap the alpha out of whatever daze he was in and the sounds stop. He puts a hand over his mouth and turns away from Baekhyun for a while. Baekhyun’s just confused. Is the alpha okay? He looks really flustered. And then it hits Baekhyun. Oh shit, the alpha’s probably weirded out because some omega reeks of him. That explains the growling, he’s probably furious because he doesn’t want that. He may be unmated, but he’s probably uncomfortable about it.Before Chanyeol can turn back to him, he apologizes. “Sorry!” he says, which makes the alpha turn back at him, a confused expression on his face. “Last night, I noticed my sweater smelled like you, probably because of when you- uh- you leaned on me? And because of the car. We were in a confined space, and all. But I slept with the sweater on because I uh- I’m all about maximizing the usage of clothes, and well this morning, iwasnotabletoshowerbecauseiwokeuplate. So, I’m sorry, if you’re weirded out or mad that you even growl.”The look on the alpha’s face was one of bewilderment and something close to panic.“What?! No, stop apologizing. I’m- I’m not weirded out or anything and I wasn’t growling! I was pu-““Huh?” Baekhyun asked because the alpha cut himself off. But, oh thank heavens he’s not weirded out or anything.Clearing his throat, Chanyeol brushes his fluffy hair back and pauses as if to think of what to say. “It’s nothing. Look, I’m not weirded out and definitely not mad okay?” When he sees Baekhyun nod and let out a relieved ‘okay’,  he continues. “Anyway, I just thought you’d want to have some coffee together?”The omega can’t help the smile that forms on his face. It’s been a while since he went out for coffee with someone other than Kyungsoo. The last coffee date he went to was a year ago, when a second year alpha from the Film Department asked him out. They met through mutual friends, and initially, the man was very nice to him. Baekhyun honestly thought that he was the one, until he learned that the man just wanted to get in his pants.Baekhyun grimaces at the thought of the man, then scolds himself for thinking of this as a date. He and Chanyeol will be having coffee as friends only.He looks at the clock on the side of the library and turns to the alpha with a smile, “Yeah, sure! I still have six minutes left, though. You might wait for a while?” he says with a sheepish grin.“Oh, it’s fine, I’ll just go read a book over there and wait for you,” Chanyeol says and returns his smile.“Oh, okay.”He watches the alpha walk to some random shelf, pick out a random book, and sit as he shuffles through the pages. After shuffling for a while though, Chanyeol stops and starts to steal some glances at Baekhyun every now and then. The omega knows this not because he’s looking at Chanyeol, but because he can see it from his peripheral vision as he fills out some report form. And Baekhyun’s heart speeds up and a blush forms on his cheeks because, again, why is Chanyeol doing that?Baekhyun finishes his shift by heading inside the office and talking to the head librarian to hand in his report. The head librarian bids him goodbye but not before she teases him and asks him since when he got an alpha. Again, Baekhyun blushes and explains for the nth time that day that it’s a long story and he has no alpha yet.He sees the alpha using his phone, and when he gets closer, he pokes his arm.“I’m done! Thank you for waiting,” Baekhyun says, smile becoming wider when the alpha tells him it’s fine with his own smile as he puts the book back where it came from. They head out of the library, engaging in small talk as they walk. They talk mostly about work load since prelims are weeks away. Baekhyun learns that as a third year applied music student, Chanyeol is mostly dealing with actual products such as presenting songs and compositions rather than paperwork. Baekhyun tells him that he’s the opposite; everything he does is almost always papers such as reports and analyses.Conversation with Chanyeol, Baekhyun learns, comes easy and he doesn’t feel uncomfortable with him, unlike with other alphas. The conversation doesn’t feel forced too. There’s this naturalness to them.When they arrive at the campus parking lot, they get in the alpha’s car and Chanyeol drives.“Told you you’d be in this car again,” the alpha says with a grin.“Oh shut up,” Baekhyun says as he playfully rolls his eyes. He’s more comfortable now, not as stiff or awkward as the night before. This time, he lets himself relax to the scent of the alpha. Chanyeol did say they were friends after all.“Oh yeah, which café are we going to?”“Music Space Camerata,” the alpha says with a grin again.Baekhyun’s eyes widen, his mouth opening in excitement, because holy shit, he’s been wanting to go there since forever, but he’s been busy. He’d seen pictures of it on the internet and the café has high ceilings, cozy wooden furniture everywhere, a nice ambiance that screams relaxation, and audio equipment all around. As a music student, it’s probably heaven for Chanyeol.“What, really?!” he smiles his rectangular smile and Chanyeol looks taken aback.“Wait, you know about it?”“Uh, duh. It’s the hippiest café known to Seoul.”The alpha throws his head back in laughter, his deep laughter causing butterflies in Baekhyun’s stomach. His neck is bare as he’s still laughing away, and the omega wonders how nice would it be to bury his face-“Yeah, you got that right.”Scolding himself once more of thinking about the alpha that way, he shakes his head, and opts for grinning instead before looking out the window. “Woah, it’s even cooler in person,” Baekhyun mumbles as he looks around the café. The area is spacious and true to the pictures he saw on the internet, the ceilings are high, providing plenty of room to lights and decorations such as audio equipments and bizarre paintings. The wooden furnitures are uniquely shaped and carved, others sporting an irregular shape - blending nicely to the overall aura of the place. There are a lot of people, but it doesn’t look crowded courtesy of the interior of the place.“Is it your first time here?” the alpha asks him, an amused look on his face.Baekhyun stops looking around and grins sheepishly to the alpha. “Yeah, I’ve been wanting to come here, but I just haven’t had the chance to.”“You looked like a child when you were spinning around wide eyed at the area,” Chanyeol chuckles which makes Baekhyun puff his cheeks. “It’s cute, don’t worry,” he adds making Baekhyun blush and walk to the cashier to order to escape. Behind him, he can hear the alpha giggling.He decides he’ll get an iced caramel macchiato and a pistachio cake from the various delectable looking cakes. A cheerful beta greets him when it’s his turn to order.“Hello, I’m Minseok, what can I get for you?”The beta seems to be a bit older than Baekhyun but his face is that of a 5 year old’s. Baekhyun smiles and recites his order, “I’ll have an iced caramel macchiato with extra caramel - venti, and a slice of pistachio cake.”“Understood, that will be 9,500 won,” the beta, Minseok says with a smile. Baekhyun fishes out some bills from his wallet when an arm from behind him hands a black card to the cashier.“May I also have an iced americano - venti, and a spinach square,” Chanyeol says, smiling at Baekhyun who was looking at him incredulously.The barista cheerfully inputs the new order, and turns to Chanyeol. “Understood, the new total is 19,000 won. Just please input your pin here,” the barista hands him the payment terminal and Chanyeol does as he’s told.Baekhyun is still salty over what happened. Chanyeol just paid for him. He’s an omega who can pay for his own meals, thank you very much. What, did the alpha think an omega like him can’t provide for himself? He keeps himself quiet though, not wanting to have the conversation with others.“Thank you very much. Your orders will be taken to you shortly. Please take a seat wherever you like,” the barista bows and hands Chanyeol his card back with a pleasant smile.“Thank you, too,” the alpha smiles and turns to Baekhyun who’s keeping quiet, brows furrowed and looking away.“Baekhyun, are you okay?” the alpha asks worriedly, his smile fading.“Yeah, I’m fine,” he mumbles.The alpha looks at him as if studying him, sensing that something’s bothering the omega. He sighs though, then asks “Okay. Where would you like to sit?”Baekhyun looks around and sees that the seats near the wide floor to mid ceiling window are empty. He walks there and Chanyeol silently follows behind him. They sit in silence, only the lo-fi music playing in the background can be heard as well as the light chatter of the people around them.The alpha keeps glancing at him as he stares out the window with a pout. He hears a sigh, and then, “Baekhyun, did I do anything wrong to upset you?”He turns to the other in surprise when he hears the dejected tone of the alpha and his heart clenches when he comes face to face with the alpha looking a mixture of confused, worried, and sad. He feels guilty because, as much as he wants to stick to his own beliefs, he feels bad for making the alpha worried and acting rather cold to him.“I’m sorry,” Baekhyun replies, looking at the table. He can’t face the alpha because he feels horrible. “I just- I don’t like it when people pay for my meal just because I’m an omega. It’s what, 2019? Omegas are very much capable of providing for themselves and being independent. I just-““Wait, you think I paid for your meal because you’re an omega?” the alpha asks surprised. He lifts his head to look at Chanyeol. The alpha looks confused and partly relieved.“Well... yes, didn’t you?”The alpha lets out a light chuckle and flicks Baekhyun’s forehead making the omega whine and rub his forehead. “No, I paid for it because, I was the one who invited you out remember? I never did it because I thought you weren’t capable of paying for your own meals or that because I’m an alpha. I’m sorry if I made you feel that way.”Baekhyun blushes in embarrassment and waves his hand in front of him, “No, please stop apologizing. It’s my fault for jumping to conclusions.” He then hides his face in his hands “God, I’m so embarrassed. I’m so embarrassing,” he whines rather muffled because of his hands.Chanyeol just laughs and pries his hands away from his face, the contact making Baekhyun’s heart pound. “Oh, come on, stop that. Anyway, let’s just forget about that and enjoy our time in this hipster ass café,” he says, making Baekhyun laugh at the last part.Their food arrive and they talk to each other, the pleasant mood surrounding them earlier now back.“Ugh, how can you drink that,” Baekhyun says as he chews on his cake. “It’s so bitter.”The alpha laughs and shakes his cup, sipping before replying. “I don’t know how you can drink that, it’s so sweet with all that caramel and shit.”Baekhyun scoffs playfully before retaliating, “Excuse me, sweet dreams are made of this. The sweetness melts away the stress of school.”“Did you just quote a song?” the alpha asks amusedly.“And what if I did? Who are you to disagree?” he jokes and they laugh at the stupid pun. Chanyeol, when he’s having fun, Baekhyun learns, is adorable. He’ll clap his hands as he’s laughing, almost doubles over and falls out of his chair, and one of his eyes cutely twitches. Baekhyun’s heart warms at the sight.“Oh, god, we’re so stupid,” Chanyeol laughs rather out of breath, making Baekhyun giggle.“Oh, I have an amusing story to tell.”“What?” the alpha asks, already ready to laugh.“So, like, I smell so strongly like you today, right? Everyone I know, and I’m not exaggerating, everyone I knew at campus today, asked me since when did I get an alpha. Everyone assumed you were my alpha,” he finishes with a small chuckle at the end.Chanyeol looks at him for a while, before he flashes a smile. “Well, you did reek of me, so of course they’d think that,” he says rather pleased. “Isn’t it weird though?”“What is?Baekhyun cups his face with his hands and leans on his elbows, looking outside the window. “Well, you know... how strongly your scent clung to me. Not to mention, your scent seems somehow familiar despite us having just met this month,” he says absentmindedly, words turning into mumbles.The alpha doesn’t say anything and when Baekhyun turns to look at him, there’s just a soft smile directed at him. “Well, there’s probably a reason why. But, we’ll probably know about it when it’s the right time.” Baekhyun studies Chanyeol’s face, and there’s so much emotions in his eyes as he looks at Baekhyun. Baekhyun becomes  aware of the steady beat of his heart, becomes aware of his breathing, and his senses narrow to only him and Chanyeol, as if the others in the café have disappeared. There’s really something familiar about Chanyeol...He gets snapped out of his daze when his phone dings, revealing a message from Kyungsoo. 
Fave Roommate 💖

bitch

where r u
 “Is it your roommate?” Chanyeol asks him.“Yeah, he’s asking me where I am,” he replies with a grin, not taking his eyes off his phone. 
You

with Chanyeol hehe

we’re at a café

Fave Rooommate 💖

ohh look at you catching yourself some

knot ;)
 He blushes at the immediate reply of his roommate and types his own reply before locking his phone again. 
You

ugh you’re disgusting

bye im busy. go bother jongin and his knot
 He puts his phone down on the table and Chanyeol laughs at his red face. “Judging from how red you are, he probably said something about-”“Aaaah!” the omega cuts off. “Don’t worry about him. That’s just how Kyungsoo is,” he groans.“Okay,” the alpha laughs again. “Oh, that reminds me, I don’t have your number yet.”“Oh, you’re right,” he replies. “I don’t have yours either.”The alpha hands him his phone, “Give me your phone, let’s exchange numbers.”Baekhyun hands Chanyeol his phone and they exchange numbers. Baekhyun can’t help but smile widely as he saves Chanyeol’s contact.They talk a little more before leaving the café. Chanyeol offered to drive Baekhyun home after minutes of insisting. Baekhyun kept asking to just be dropped on campus, but Chanyeol insisted it was fine and no trouble at all. Eventually, Baekhyun gave in. When they get to his dorm, Baekhyun flashed the alpha his rectangular grin and said, “Thank you so much for today, Chanyeol-ssi, I truly needed that break.”“Just Chanyeol’s fine. Thank you, too,” the alpha replied before pinching his cheeks.“Arrghh, stop,” Baekhyun giggly says as he tries to remove the other’s hand.He exits the car and says goodbye to Chanyeol one more time before entering the dorm building.As he’s inside the elevator, his phone dings and he checks it. 
Chanyeol (´• ω •`)

I never said it, but i like how you smell like me

good night, Baekhyun :)
 Baekhyun stares at the message, heart beating fast, blush forming on his face. Once again, he’ll go back to his room flustered.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It’s way too cold.Even with two blankets over him— his and Kyungsoo’s, Baekhyun still shivers. The sun is shining pleasantly outside his window, as it always does during spring, yet its warmth does not reach him. The cooling gel patch placed on his forehead feels good, though it’s losing the cold it provides, and he finds himself burrowing further into the soft blankets. The omega coughs, making the other omega in the room to turn to him from where he’s currently dressing up for classes. Kyungsoo goes beside him and touches his cheeks and neck with the back of his hand. “Why isn’t your temperature going down? You also drank your meds already... maybe we should take you to the doctor?” Baekhyun shakes his head. He doesn’t want to go to the hospital and make a big deal out a fever and he most certainly does not want to waste his money. He coughs again. “N-no need, it’s probably just a nasty virus. If I rest, it’ll eventually go away,” Baekhyun answers, voice hoarse because of the of how much he’s been coughing and clearing his throat.Last night, he came home feeling tired and cold, so he immediately went to sleep thinking it was just fatigue which will go away with a good rest. When he woke up, it was however to a headache, shivers, and a burning temperature. He looked around the room and saw that his roommate has finally come home. He called to him and Kyungsoo immediately went to him, checked his temperature and put a cooling patch on his forehead. He also made him drink his medicine which he ran to the store to immediately buy.Really, the omega is so thankful for his best friend which he’s lucky enough to be his roommate. “I guess. You’ve always been susceptible to the nastiest viruses out there,” Kyungsoo jokes which makes him grin a bit. “Did you already tell your professors you’re sick and can’t make it to class?”He attempts to nod, the simple movement making his head throb even more. “Yeah, already emailed them.”“Okay, good. I’m sorry I can’t stay here to take care of you,” the other omega sadly says. “I have classes until 3 only, but I have to work with Ilhoon and Mina for our Furniture Design and Construction project. I promise I will do my best to finish my part on it as soon as possible and come home.“Baekhyun knows how much of a perfectionist Kyungsoo is when it comes to his design classes and as much as possible take his time to make sure each detail he passes in his projects is perfect. As expected of an Interior Design major. He shakes his head and smiles.“I have a fever, not a disability or whatsoever. Seriously, I can take care of myself just fine, Soo. I know how much you like to carefully craft your art so don’t rush or anything. I’m gonna be just fine, okay,” he sasses as much as one can with a fever. The other snorts at his words and shakes his head with a laugh.“Alright, geez. Just, promise you’ll call me if you feel worse, okay?”Baekhyun rolls his eyes but says okay nonetheless. Kyungsoo then changes his gel patch after Baekhyun whines that it’s lost its coldness and tells Baekhyun he’s going out to buy him congee from the restaurant near them. When he returns, he comes back with energy drinks, fruits, and the congee. The other omega helps him sit up and feeds him the congee.“I bet you’re thinking in your head how lucky you are to have such a friend like me. You’re welcome,” Kyungsoo says as he feeds Baekhyun a spoonful of the congee which he can’t taste at all because his tastebuds have decided to betray him.“No, I wasn’t actually thinking how much a peasant like you finally proved yourself to be useful,” he jokes, earning him a pinch to the arm. “Ouch!”“Other people become nicer when they’re sick, but I guess it’s the opposite for you, huh.”They laugh at that because deep down they both know that they are very much thankful and lucky for the existence of each other in their lives. When Baekhyun says he can’t eat anymore, Kyungsoo makes him drink his meds and tucks him into bed. He immediately feels the drowsy side effects of the medicine and drifts off to sleep.*Baekhyun wakes up to a noise and sees that rain is pouring outside. It’s quite surprising, seeing that it just has been pleasantly sunny outside just this morning. He looks at the clock and sees it’s 2:30, which means he slept for four hours. When he looks to his right, he sees that Kyungsoo has placed their little circular table beside his bed. There, the half eaten congee sits covered, as well as bottles of water, energy drinks, and bowl of fruits. There’s also another paper bowl which has a sticky note attached to its lid with chopsticks and a spoon beside it. He peels the neon green sticky note and reads it. 
baek,

eat this samgyetang when you wake up. afterwards, drink the medicine inside the small paperbag under one of the energy drinks. eat everything, okay?!!!! i’ll check the contents when i get home. you better finish it all or i swear i’m moving out lol

- kyungsoo
 He snorts at the threatening message and crumples the paper. The noise that woke him up seem to have not stopped and he belatedly realizes it’s actually his phone ringing. He grabs it from his nightstand and he’s positively certain his heart did a backflip when he sees the caller. With his heart threatening to get out of his ribcage, he answers the call and presses the phone to his ear.“Ch-Chanyeol?”
“Baek! Hey, I’m almost at your building and I just want to ask what floor you guys are on again? Is it 7th or 8th? I uh- kinda rushed here when Kyungsoo told me so I didn’t listen properly to his words. So, I’m not sure if it’s the 7th or 8th...”
Baekhyun will murder Kyungsoo when he gets home.“Oh, uhm, 8th...”“Okay, great, 8E right? No need to get up by the way, he gave me his keys so I could just enter without you leaving your bed. See you later,” the alpha’s deep voice says, weakening Baekhyun even further. “Oh, s-see you,” he squeaks out before he ends the call. “Motherfucker,” he hisses when he reads Kyungsoo’s message. 
Fave Roommate 💖

so like, someone told me that in order for your fever to be cured,,, you can just,,, pass it off to somebody else ((kissing and sex are some ways to do so)) how inch resting,,, right???????!! and omg what a coincidence that chanyeol *coughs* alpha of your dreams *coughs* is on his way there ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
 
You

i hope you don’t sleep too soundly tonight, who knows if someone is out there planning to stab you to death while you’re unconscious 🙂
 He hits text and finds out that he has three missed calls and eight messages from Chanyeol. He opens the messages, and soon enough, a stupid grin finds its way to his face as he reads them.

Chanyeol (´• ω •`)

i can’t believe i’m thinking about the tododeku ship while in class

I’m holding you responsible for this

You there?????

btw im gonna visit you at the library to annoy you as payback to the tododeku fanart you sent me yesterday

otw to the library haha

You’re not here??? Are you absent???

i just saw kyungsoo, said you were sick and i should visit you

omw there
 He has his hand over his mouth and he hides his grin there. He and the alpha have become close over the weeks after their café outing to the point where they have become comfortable with each other. They exchange memes, anime recommendations, fanarts (it’s actually only Baekhyun who sends some), as well as rants and stories of what happened in their days. The alpha has become a regular visitor at the library, sometimes dropping by just to exchange a few words with Baekhyun, while other times he waits for the omega to finish and they go to other hipster cafés.He smells the alpha before he hears him, and the scent is enough to make the omega sigh in contentment. For someone whose sense of smell is kind of dulled, he picks up the scent of the alpha pretty easily.There’s a knock on the door, and then an “It’s me,” before the door opens. Chanyeol stands there with his gray hoodie kind of wet from the rain and with a snapback put on backwards, showing his handsome face and cute ears. He’s holding two huge paperbags and he’s standing there kind of just staring at Baekhyun with wide eyes.“Hello, uhm, come in?” Baekhyun says, feeling his skin burn further which has nothing to do with his fever.Chanyeol seems to have snapped out of whatever daze he’s in and comes inside the room. He removes his shoes on the entryway and drops the paperbags on the table. He then removes his backpack and puts it under the table. “Hey,” he says, a hand rubbing his neck. “How are you feeling?”The omega almost closes his eyes in delight at the alpha’s scent and presence but forces himself not to. He and Chanyeol are just friends, he shouldn’t think of the alpha that way.“Oh, uhm, my head still kind of hurts, and I’m still coughing. My sense of smell and taste are also kind of dulled, I also still feel cold, but last night was worse.”The alpha bites his lip and nods, hand hovering over Baekhyun. “May I? Touch you? I mean, y-y’know check your temperature and stuff...”Baekhyun’s positively sure his skin is blazing and he’s kind of glad he has his fever to blame his red cheeks on. “Sure,” he says in a small voice.The alpha’s hand touches his skin and this time, he can’t help the sigh that leaves his mouth and how his eyes flutter close. The alpha’s palm feels wonderfully warm as it cups his right cheeks and as the back of his hand caresses his neck. “You’re hot,” he says in a low voice which makes Baekhyun’s heart jump and his eyes to open. Realizing what he just said, he withdraws his hand from Baekhyun’s skin and rubs the back of his neck again. Baekhyun swallows down the whine that forms at the base of his throat at the loss of contact. “I mean your skin is hot. It’s warm, hot, you definitely still have a fever.”Oh. Of course, Baekhyun should know better, he knows he’s not hot, specially not now that he’s sick. In fact, he’s sure he looks like shit right now.They’re silent for a while and Baekhyun feels the need to break it.“You don’t have classes?”“You have a nice room.”They speak at the same time and Baekhyun finds himself giggling while Chanyeol just smiles at him. “No, my last class was Music History 301.”“I see, right, it is Friday right now. I forgot,” Baekhyun says. “How’d you meet with Kyungsoo anyway?”Chanyeol sits down cross legged beside the table and Baekhyun’s bed. “Oh uhm, I was at the library to visit you actually, then when I realized you weren’t there, I texted and called you. When you weren’t answering, I was about to text you when Kyungsoo saw me. He was with his classmates or other friends, I’m not sure, then I asked him where you were. He told me you were down with the fever and that I should visit you. Then he gave me the key and told me what floor you guys were.”Baekhyun’s cheeks redden once more and moves around the bed, trying to hide half his face with the blanket to hide how red he is. “Oh, I see. I’m sorry, you must have been busy. That Kyungsoo can be a bit pushy. I’m fine though, you can leave if you’re busy.”“I’m not gonna come here if I didn’t actually want to, Baek,” Chanyeol says matter-of-factly. “I want to take care of you,” he says, gaze boring into Baekhyun’s eyes.Baekhyun’s heart keeps beating so fast he can actually hear it in his ears. He sniffles and nods his head. “Okay.”Chanyeol smiles at him, then he starts unpacking the paper bags he brought. In one paperbag, he pulls out two paper bowls of what he assumes is soup and a take out which suspiciously smells like bibimbap. In the other paper bag, there’s a bunch of energy drinks, bottles of water, fruits, and some bread. The amount of food the alpha brought warms Baekhyun’s heart, and he briefly marvels at the feeling of being taken care of by an alpha. Sure, he’s always told himself that being independent and not relying on anyone else is the best, but he can’t help but feel happy at the feeling of being cared for.“This must be the samgyetang Kyungsoo was saying,” Chanyeol says as opens the lid of the paper bowl. “Why haven’t you eaten it yet?”“I actually just woke up when you called,” he sheepishly says. “Besides, ‘m not hungry,” he answers with a pout before going into a coughing fit. The alpha quickly makes him sit up, rubbing his back and making him drink water.“You need to eat, still. Your body’s fighting off the virus and you need to compensate for the energy it uses. I’ll heat up the samgyetang, okay? It’s healthy and not too heavy for you. Do you have a microwave?”Baekhyun timidly nods, feeling like a child being scolded by his mother. Chanyeol’s hand feels pleasantly heavy where it’s rested on his back and his heart does a backflip once more. “On the kitchen countertop, beside the hot water dispenser.”“Okay, I’ll be back,” the alpha says, rubbing the small of Baekhyun’s back before standing up and heating the food. When he comes back, he sits on Baekhyun’s bed and scoops some soup out. He blows on it before bringing the spoon to Baekhyun’s lips.Baekhyun’s eyes widen at the realization that Chanyeol’s going to be feeding him and his cheeks burn even more and he feels his temperature rising.“Come on, say ah,” Chanyeol says, like he’s talking to a child, and Baekhyun really has no choice than to open his mouth and drink the soup. “Good boy,” he says rather absentmindedly and Baekhyun’s mind starts spinning. “Is it yummy?”Baekhyun puffs his cheeks to hide his embarrassment and glares at Chanyeol, though it just makes him look like a mad puppy. “Chanyeol! I can feed myself! And I’m not a child!”Chanyeol grins and coos at him. “Aww, come on, you’re sick. I’m here to take care of you and that’s exactly what I’m gonna do.”The omega rolls his eyes but opens his mouth to the next spoon brought to his lips anyway. When he’s finished eating the samgyetang, Chanyeol hands him a bottle of water and he drinks from it. He drinks the medicine Kyungsoo has told him and he lies back down on the bed. The alpha removes the patch on his forehead and replaces it with a new one, the coldness it brings making Baekhyun sigh in contentment. There are hands tucking him further into the blanket and a laugh causes him to open his eyes.“You look like a burrito,” the alpha teases.Baekhyun rolls his eyes but grins as well, his eyes feeling heavy once more because of the medicine. “‘m sleepy,” he murmurs.“So sleep,” the alpha chuckles, hand stroking Baekhyun’s hair. “I’ll still be here when you wake up.”The omega leans into the alpha’s voice and he lets out a sigh of happiness. “‘mkay. You look even more hot with that snapback on by the way...”*When Baekhyun wakes up, the sky’s already dark outside and the clock says 10:15. Shit, he slept throughout the day. The rain seem to have stopped already and he tries sitting up the bed. When he wakes up, he’s alone and the alpha is nowhere in sight.  “Chanyeol?” he calls out hoarsely before coughing up. His fever doesn’t seem to get better, his condition seems to remain the same. And he wonders if he should go to the doctor’s now. Silence answers him and he wonders if the alpha’s in the bathroom. He tries getting out of bed, his head still throbbing, thus his steps are kind of uncoordinated. He knocks on the bathroom door and when there’s no answer, he tries feeling the doorknob only to find it unlocked. He opens it, and finds only darkness. Tears well up his eyes and he buries himself in his bed once again.The alpha left him despite telling him he’ll still be here when Baekhyun wakes up. Baekhyun knows he shouldn’t cry because heck, it’s 10 PM and of course the alpha has a life too. It’s not like the alpha’s his alpha and he owes Baekhyun anything. Still, Baekhyun can’t stop the tears from his eyes, his chest feels like there’s a hole in it and he feels so empty. Five minutes of crying and he hears the door open, he pops out his head to greet Kyungsoo, but his heart starts pounding once more when it’s Chanyeol that greets him. The alpha’s eyes see his figure crying and he drops his luggage bag and immediately goes to Baekhyun. “What’s wrong? Do you feel worse? Should I take you to the hospital? Hm? What’s wrong?”“Y-you weren’t he-here when I- when I woke up. I thought you left me, and I- I felt so sad and helpless,” he hiccups and Chanyeol buries his head to his chest and strokes his back. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Baek. I should’ve driven faster. Actually, Kyungsoo messaged me a while ago and asked me to take care of you since he won’t be able to come home because of his group project. Which is why I went home to grab my stuff and some clothes. I thought you’d still be asleep when I came back. I’m sorry, you must’ve been so scared. I’m here now,” he murmurs softly as to not upset Baekhyun and the omega pulls away from his hug with wide eyes.“Kyungsoo said what?!”“He told me to take care of you for him... oh uhm! I’ll sleep on his bed, don’t worry. He also gave me permission for that. I’ll be here until Sunday or atleast until your fever is gone.”Do Kyungsoo is a sly motherfucker. Baekhyun sighs and he wills his heart to stop pounding so hard at the prospect of the alpha sleeping under the same roof and taking care of him. He’s just your friend, Baekhyun. He’s just your friend, he’s not your alpha.“I-I see,” he says. “Won’t you get behind your workload though? Are you fine with this? You don’t have to if you-““I already told you, Baekhyun,” Chanyeol cuts him off, “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want to. And I already brought all my schoolwork with me, so I’ll be fine,” he reassures the omega with that handsome dimpled smile.Baekhyun finds himself nodding along.  The weekend is spent relatively in peace. On Saturday afternoon, Baekhyun’s coughing stops and his temperature has lowered and the shivering has stopped. He and the alpha watched Whisper of the Heart on the alpha’s MacBook, with his back against the bed and the device on the table. On Saturday night, the omega reminds him of the song the alpha promised him to listen to and the alpha goes beet red as the song plays throughout the room. The title is Give Me That and it features the alpha rapping and someone else. They’re both good and Baekhyun finds himself clapping when the song has ended.“That was great! I didn’t know you rapped!”The alpha rubs his neck and looks at the ground. “Thanks.”“Who was the other rapper, though?”“Oh, that was Woozi, my classmate in some of my major classes. I’ll introduce you to him sometimes. He’s a great kid.”“Kid? Aren’t you the same age?”“Nahhh, he’s a sophomore. The applied music department has some classes with different year levels together.”“Ohh, I see. In my classes, we’re all freshmen hehe.”“That’s great. Atleast no upperclassman will make a move on you.”Baekhyun blushes at the alpha’s possessive tone. “I-I guess...”They spend the rest of the night watching Buzzfeed Unsolved and Baekhyun would be lying if he said he wasn’t glad he caught a fever. If it weren’t for the fever, the alpha wouldn’t be here right now, watching movies and series with him, making sure he’s fed, and taking care of him. Every night they sleep, Baekhyun wonders if the alpha doesn’t hear Baekhyun’s heartbeat all the way to the other bed with how fast it’s beating.*It’s Sunday morning and Baekhyun wakes up to his body heating up. He groans, his skin feels like it’s burning from the inside out and his clothes are actually hurting his skin where they make contact. The digital clock on his bedside table reads 04:17 AM, and the comforter over his body feels super uncomfortable so he removes that over him. He moves around his legs on the bed when he feels it. Slick.Just then, the alpha gets out of the bed, and goes beside Baekhyun’s bed. The omega doesn’t have time to admire the alpha’s adorable bed head and sleepy eyes when slick starts gushing out even more from his hole when the alpha’s scent hits him. “Baekhyun, are you alright?” his deep voice asks, raspier because he has just woken up. “Is your fever back? Do you want-“ He watches as realization dawns on the alpha’s face, how his eyes lost all sleep and they widen when his nose gets a sniff of Baekhyun’s scent filling the room.A whimper escapes Baekhyun’s throat. “Alpha...”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

All Baekhyun’s mind could process is the scent of peppermint and bergamot inches away from him, how the wonderful musk smell of the alpha entices him into baring his neck and asking for a knot.Baekhyun feels copious amounts of slick escape his hole, thoroughly soaking his underwear and pajamas. His skin burns from the inside out, his body craving and craving to fill that hole that feels so empty.It’s still dark inside the room, with it being the early hours of the morning, yet their eyes have somehow adjusted to the absence of light and they can see the features of each other.A whimper escapes him, uncaring of the embarrassment this will surely bring him later on. All he can think of is knot, knot, knot, an alpha’s knot.“Alpha...”Chanyeol stands there, unmoving before a growl escapes him, dangerous and low, the vibrations reverberating through Baekhyun’s body. What a sight Baekhyun must have been, with half lidded eyes pleading for the alpha, mouth slightly open, letting out pants, pupils blown wide, and a flushed face and body, slender fingers gripping the bedsheets below him.“Alpha...” he repeats, one hand moving to cup his erection and the other grabbing for the said man. Baekhyun wants to whine, for Chanyeol isn’t giving him any attention, just standing beside the bed, still growling, hands curled into fists, fingernails probably digging through his palms. Not being able to hold it anymore, Baekhyun grabs the waistband of his pajamas and briefs, ready to slide them off and give himself a relief already. “No!”Chanyeol stills his wrists, grabbing them and holding them above Baekhyun’s head.  The closer proximity makes the alpha close his eyes and he frees one of his hands, making one hold both of Baekhyun’s wrists. He brings his free hand to his lower face to cover his nose down and he takes a deep breath, as if in an attempt to calm himself down.Baekhyun trashes around the bed, trying to free his hands because it hurts, his body’s burning so much and his hole needs to be filled soon or else he’ll lose his mind. “No,” he whines, his legs kicking air and his body twisting to free his hands, yet to no avail. Chanyeol’s grip is strong, strong and tight that Baekhyun will sure it’ll leave bruises. Baekhyun is no match for his strength, more so with him being in heat. “Need to- need to touch myself, it hurts. Knot. Give me your knot, Chanyeol!”Chanyeol finally opens his eyes and turns to him, loosening his grip yet not loose enough that Baekhyun would be able to free himself. He removes the hand covering his face, and as soon as he did, he looks in pain, like he’s holding and controlling himself from pouncing the omega in heat in front of him. Baekhyun would appreciate and commend the alpha for not taking advantage of someone like Baekhyun right now any time, but his heat-state mind only wants to be filled.“Baekhyun,” he says, voice so firm yet gentle that the omega could only still and whimper. Baekhyun looks at the alpha with wide eyes full of unshed tears. He only wants the alpha to knot him, is that too much to ask? “Listen to me. You’re in heat, you don’t want this. You might regret this in the future and I don’t want our friendship to be destroyed. I’ll leave and call Kyungsoo as soon as I’m out the door, so he’ll be able to tend to you, alright?”At the mention of the alpha leaving, the unshed tears spill from Baekhyun’s eyes and he sobs. “No, no, no. Chanyeol, don’t leave me, please. Please, it hurts so bad. Need your- need your knot so bad. Please, I’ll be good. Pleasepleaseplease-““Baek, please, shh, I know. I know it hurts. I’m so sorry. Tell me where you keep your heat toys so I can bring them to you. Please, I need you to be rational for a minute, please,” the alpha gently pleads, seeming so in pain. His free hand reaches up to wipe the tears on Baekhyun’s cheek.A choked sob escapes Baekhyun’s throat. “Is it- is it because I’m ugly? Is my scent disgusting you? Is that- is that why you don’t want to knot me? Am I not desirable enough?” Baekhyun should have known. The only reason why no one really courted him long enough until he was ready was because he was not desirable enough. He’s ugly, his scent is disgusting, he’s hideous, he’s not beautiful, he’s nothing. Chanyeol must have been so repulsed by him that he wants to leave as soon as possible and not have to deal with a disgusting omega like Baekhyun.“What?” the alpha asks. “Baek, no, of course that’s not it. You have no idea how beautiful you are, fuck... And I’ve already told you how much I love your scent before, right? Any alpha would drool over your scent, fuck... But I really, really need you to be rational, Baek, please. Tell me where your heat toys are. I promise you I’m doing this for your own good.”Baekhyun could only sniffle as he stares at the alpha. Chanyeol looks so panicked, so in pain as he clenches his jaw hard, trying not to give in to the alpha inside of him. Chanyeol’s right, if the alpha takes him right now, Baekhyun would surely regret it later on. He doesn’t want his virginity to be taken during heat, no. He’s always dreamt of having his first time sweetly and gently, wants to savor everything and remember it as a precious memory, and certainly not during a hazed mind state.Baekhyun blinks a few times, and stays quiet for a moment. “The lowermost drawer on my closet. Hurry, please, it hurts.”The alpha finally lets go of his hands and hurriedly goes to the said closet to take the omega’s heat toys. Baekhyun takes this opportunity to lie down on his stomach and rut his aching erection on the bed. He moves his hips rapidly, feeling his ass cheeks stick together because of the slick. He moans, his foggy brain uncaring of another person being in the room. The relief of finally having some sort of friction on his cock makes him sigh and he ruts even harder, letting out pleasured sounds.He comes with a sharp cry, thoroughly messing up his briefs with cum mixed with the slick. When he lies on his back, his dildos and vibrator as well as his butt plug are beside him on the bed. He looks around the room and he’s alone, meaning Chanyeol already left. A cry spills from his mouth partly because everything still hurts and partly because the alpha he’s attracted to left him. Baekhyun wastes no time getting rid of all his slick and sweat soaked clothes and turns around once more. He flushes his chest against the bed and pushes his ass out in the air. With one hand, he spreads one asscheek. He inserts a finger inside his leaking hole and fucks it into his hole rapidly. One finger soon becomes two, and by the time he has three fingers inside him, Baekhyun thrusts his fingers inside out, moaning Chanyeol’s name and imagining it was the alpha’s fingers that are pounding inside him, kissing his back and neck and whispering dirty words and murmurs praises. He reaches for the longer and thicker silicone dildo he has, with a knot imitation at the base and inserts it to himself.“Chanyeol...” he whimpers, tears spilling out from his eyes at the relief of something finally, finally, filling him. He’s not a stranger to pleasuring himself when he needs relief and even more so when he’s in heats specially with him not being in a relationship. He often gets by thinking of a big, strong alpha dominating him and taking care of him to satisfy his needs, but  it’s always a faceless one. Now though, he thinks of Chanyeol. Big, strong Chanyeol with his minty musk scent and deep voice, telling Baekhyun what a good omega he’s being, taking his alpha fully and feeling so tight and good and hot around him. Moans after moans spill out from his mouth.Baekhyun thrusts the dildo even harder and faster, his hand almost cramping at the effort it takes. He can almost feel the familiar heat in his belly. He takes the dildo even deeper into him, until the knot imitation catches on his rim. The omega cries at the extra stretch. He imagines Chanyeol telling him he’s good, so good, for taking his knot and how the alpha will breed him. When it passes through his rim, he immediately comes in white thick spurts. “Ch-Chanyeol!”Ropes after ropes of cum shoot from his cock while a gush of slick squirts from his hole, soaking the dildo and making even more drip on his thighs and unto the bedsheets below him. The force of his orgasm hits him the hardest he has ever felt and he blames it on imagining it was Chanyeol pounding into him and with the alpha’s scent thick in the air. When his high comes down, Baekhyun collapses down on the bed, burying his face on his pillows, trying to catch his breath, not even removing the dildo in his hole, and letting the feeling of a knot stay inside him until his heat is sated and he needs an orgasm once more.Of course with the knot inside him just being an imitation, Baekhyun knows it’ll only be a matter of time until he needs to come again. He lies on his back when he’s regained his breath, legs spread and arms on either side of him. He can’t help the whine that he lets out when Chanyeol’s scent invades his nose once again. It’s so thick in the air, permeating even every nook and corner of their room. Looking back at it now, the fever was actually his pre-heat symptom showing. It’s not uncommon to have a fever before an omega hits their heat. However, Baekhyun didn’t think much of it because he’s never shown pre-heat symptoms that way, heck, he isn’t even supposed to have his heat until another month. He wonders if hanging out with Chanyeol, an alpha, whose scent affects Baekhyun deeply triggered and caused his heat.An itch to nest washes over Baekhyun. He looks to the other bed in the room, pillows and a blanket messily draped off the side. Then an opened luggage bag beside the said bed, with what seems to be clothes inside of it. The omega removes the dildo from his hole, whimpering at the feeling of his hole gaping at nothing but air and quickly replaces it with his baby blue plug. Standing on shaky legs, he walks to the other bed and grabs the pillows and the blanket. He throws them on his bed and arranges the pillows for him to put his head on while the blanket lays atop his bedsheet. He then arranges his own pillows off the side in an attempt to create a pillow fort.Baekhyun then picks up the alpha’s luggage bag, grabbing the hoodie and shirt from inside. They smell so strongly of Chanyeol and Baekhyun would probably be embarrassed later at getting off from Chanyeol’s scent, but his heat state mind doesn’t care right now. He arranges them on the bed and adds some more items until he deems his nest satisfying enough. By the time he’s done, he feels his heat act up again. He lies down on the bed, a sigh leaving him with the alpha’s scent surrounding him. He brings the hoodie to his nose, inhaling it while his other hand works his weeping cock up and down. He thumbs the slit, digging his blunt nail into it, making him mewl and pant. He teases the head, the sensitive nerves being stimulated, making him lose his mind. A few more pumps and he’s coming, eyes shutting close and drool wetting the alpha’s clothing.*It’s two more orgasms later when the doorknob jiggles and the lock clicks, the door opening and the lights being turned on. He sees Kyungsoo, panting and hair and clothes in disarray. He must have rushed to get home. “Baek!”The said omega whimpers. “Soo.”The door is locked behind Kyungsoo and he rushes to Baekhyun. He cups Baekhyun’s cheek while a hand runs through his sweaty hair.“Ch-Chanyeol, he just- just left me. ‘m hands are tired,” he sobs. “It hurts, everything hurts, I keep- keep getting hard and slick, there’s so much slick. Chanyeol- he- he doesn’t want me,” he sobs.“Shh, Baek. You know that’s not true, he just didn’t want you to make a decision you’ll regret. It’s okay, shh, let me clean you up.”Kyungsoo rushes to the bathroom and comes back with a basin of water and a small cloth. He sets it on top of Baekhyun’s nightstand and wets the cloth. He starts wiping the dried cum and sweat on Baekhyun’s body. At this point in their friendship, they’re comfortable enough to see each other naked and clean each other off bodily fluids and take care of the other during heats.“Chanyeol called me earlier, he sounded really panicked and worried over you. Thank god I was still awake when he called. He picked me up at Ilhoon’s and then drove me back here. Shit, I’m so sorry, Baek. I shouldn’t have made him sleep here.” The last part was said in a hiss, the guilt and regret evident in Kyungsoo’s voice.Baekhyun only hums as he listens to Kyungsoo speak, body overcome with fatigue. His eyes remain closed and he shakes his head. “‘s not your fault. You didn’t know I was gonna have a heat and I know you still have your group project to work on. You know Chanyeol was a nice alpha and he would be able to take care of me during my fever so I’d be okay. ‘s not your fault.”“Still...”Baekhyun cracks his eyes open and gives his roommate a small smile. He’s about to fall asleep anytime now and he could really use the rest. He knows he’ll wake up to another wave of heat soon.“Shut up,” he says with a chuckle. “‘s not your fault, I already told you. I’m really sleepy right now and I’d ‘ppreciate it if you don’t debate with me right now.”At that, Kyungsoo laughs and runs a hand through his hair, probably all sticky and gross. Baekhyun closes his eyes again and sighs at the absence of heat for now.“Okay. Okay. I’ll leave you to rest now, okay? I’ll be staying with Jongdae and Hakyeon next door. I’ll come back later to bathe you and change the bedsheets. I’ll put some protein bars and bottles of water in your nightstand so eat them whenever you can, alright?”“‘m kay mom,” he grins, eyes still shut. “What about your group project though?”“We’ve just finished it when Chanyeol called, actually,” Kyungsoo says with a laugh. “Thank heavens for that.”Baekhyun smiles a little yet his heart aches when he thinks about the alpha rejecting him. Baekhyun fully knows that what the alpha did was fucking commendable and right, but a part of him wanted the man he likes to take him, to assist him in his heat, despite his desire for a memorable first time.He doesn’t reply for slumber finally takes over him. He faintly registers Kyungsoo placing a kiss on his cheek and telling him to sleep well.*When he wakes up, it’s already morning, the sun shining brightly outside and his heat coming back full force again. He makes himself come by fucking the dildo in his hole, rutting some pillows while he buries his face in the pillow which bears Chanyeol’s scent. He also pumps himself while playing with his nipples and fucking his fingers in his hole all while having Chanyeol’s hoodie near him or bringing it to his face to sniff. It’s all so fucking perverted and Baekhyun is embarrassed beyond belief for he has never gone off to some alpha’s scent, even more so use items with said scent to help with his heat. What’s even more embarrassing for Baekhyun is the fact that he comes hard every single time, orgasm hitting him full force, and every cry is the name of Park Chanyeol. The imaginations even get wilder to the point he has thought of the alpha pounding into him while telling him he’ll look so good carrying his pups, all round and breasts swelling. The walls in the dorm are pretty thick, designed to be almost soundproof for when the omega tenants undergo heat and have their alphas help them, or in Baekhyun’s case, pleasure themselves. He’s certain Kyungsoo doesn’t hear him moan Chanyeol’s name, someone they have come to know as a friend and a part of their circle, yet Baekhyun feels guilty and dirty.Kyungsoo bathes him that day and takes care of him, feeding him and changing the sheets as he promised he would earlier and Baekhyun is fucking grateful for him. In fact, he even bawled his eyes and said he loved and appreciated the other and wouldn’t know where he’d be without him. Omegas are known to be hormonal and sensitive, easily crying or getting angry whenever they’re nearing their heat or are currently in heat. Baekhyun is no exception.The next two days pass like that, with Baekhyun not being able to attend his classes and Kyungsoo checking up on him every now and then in between classes, giving him baths, changing the sheets, and feeding him. After another day, the heat breaks and Baekhyun is thankful for his hands have cramped so much and he’s certain he’s missed a lot in his classes during his three days of absence. He’s emailed his profs already during those moments wherein he could think straight and not just about a certain alpha’s knot. They replied saying he’s excused and that he should just see them after he’s okay, which he plans on doing.If he’s being honest, he’s expected Chanyeol to send him messages asking him if he’s okay or just even random stuff about his day. Nothing is what he gets, though. Not a single message. Baekhyun has long given up on the idea of messaging the alpha first for he still feels like dying whenever he recalls how he rutted on the bedsheets while the alpha was still in the room, or asking for his knot,  or using his clothes in his nest and to get off or for getting off to the imagination of Chanyeol fucking and taking care of him. The last two make him feel guilty as hell.Baekhyun’s also expected Kyungsoo to tell him about Chanyeol asking him if Baekhyun was okay already, yet nothing comes up whenever the other omega bathes him, or feeds him, or changes his sheets. If Kyungsoo noticed the clothes smelling like Chanyeol end up in Baekhyun’s nest soaked with slick and stained with dried cum, he doesn’t say anything.*Thursday, Baekhyun is fully rested and have recovered from his heat. His classes don’t start until the afternoon so he immediately sets on washing off the alpha’s shirt and hoodie and his bedsheets from any bodily fluid and removing all scent from them. He wants to cry in happiness when he has succeeded and folds the alpha’s clothes before putting them back in the luggage bag.Before leaving for uni, he checks his phone, hoping Chanyeol has finally messaged him, only to end up being disappointed when he finds none.While walking to campus, he ponders about why the alpha has not messaged him yet. Is he perhaps walking on another track and has holed himself up in his studio? Or perhaps he’s now disgusted with Baekhyun, with how he shamelessly asked for Chanyeol’s knot and how he looked so desperate and pathetic humping his cock on the sheets, desperate for release.No, Chanyeol isn’t like that. He’s sure the alpha is only busy, working on beats and lyrics, probably having not left his studio for days now. Yes, he’s sure it’s like that. He pushes the negative thoughts to the back of his mind and thinks of how the alpha would visit him in the library later, either to annoy him or drag him to some café again.*Baekhyun attends his classes for the day before proceeding to the faculty rooms of each department his professors are in to see them. He then heads to the library to start his shift for the day. The head librarian greets him, asks him if he’s alright and to take it easy with a sweet smile. He thanks her and goes to sit on his counter. Some friends approach him when they see him at the library, giving a quick hi or short talk. Baekhyun only has two hours in his shift today, and it’s already ended yet the alpha has not even shown up. Outside the library, Baekhyun pulls out his phone and actually considers texting the alpha before guilt and embarrassment washes over him again and he puts it back in his pocket. The voice in his head telling him the alpha thinks he’s disgusting is getting louder and louder and Baekhyun tries hard to ignore it. No, the alpha is just working on a new track, he’s sure of it.He‘s near the gates, ready to exit and head home when he sees the alpha enter through the gates with a pretty girl clinging to his arm. Baekhyun stops his tracks and the way his heart clenches painfully shouldn’t even be happening. They’re talking and laughing, the girl, an omega it seems, has long blond curly hair, a small face, a healthy complexion, and a sexy physique.They keep talking and laughing as they walk and when Chanyeol’s eyes catch Baekhyun, the smile is wiped off from his face and he stops his tracks. The girl, upon noticing him stop walking, turns to him and tilts her head. “Oppa, what’s wrong? Aren’t we going to your studio yet? I wanna listen to the song you made!”Baekhyun’s heart pounds erratically fast and breathing seems to become difficult. Did he hear her right? Didn’t Chanyeol tell him that he doesn’t want people in his studio and not even Jongin nor Sehun has entered it yet? And listening to the song Chanyeol made? Chanyeol himself told him he doesn’t really allow others to listen to his songs right after they’re done, which is why Baekhyun felt special when the alpha asked and made him listen the track he made last Saturday, so why...“You go first, Soojung,” Chanyeol says, voice still as deep as ever, eyes giving Baekhyun a once over before looking away.The girl doesn’t seem to sense the tense atmosphere, heck, she doesn’t even seem to notice Baekhyun’s presence. She nods her head and turns to walk, smile still on her face.Chanyeol stands there, unmoving, hand rubbing the back of his neck. Baekhyun feels his feet walk in front of the alpha, his scent making his insides feel all funny and fluttery.“H-hello,” he squeaks.Chanyeol looks at him and gives a small nod. “Hello,” he replies, the usual gentleness and mirth whenever he talks to Baekhyun gone. “How’re you?” he asks, hand still rubbing his nape, not looking at the omega.“I’m— I’m fine. Heat— heat’s broken.” At the realization of what he said, Baekhyun feels his face warm and his hands sweat because fuck, Chanyeol actually witnessed him during said heat. Has seen him rut against the bed, ask for his knot and even have a breakdown.And Baekhyun understands if the alpha feels awkward around him or unsure of what to do. They’re silent for a few moments and Baekhyun gathers the courage to apologize to Chanyeol about the ‘incident.’“L-listen, Chanyeol, about the other day, I-““‘m sorry. I- I should go now,” he cuts off, looking at the ground instead of at Baekhyun. The alpha walks past him and Baekhyun follows him with his eyes until he can’t see him anymore.The omega stands there, mind still processing everything that has happened. When he’s done taking everything in, however, he hears his heart break.  Chanyeol is disgusted with him.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Are you sure you’re not coming again? Chanyeol will be there, you know,” Kyungsoo teasingly says from where he’s currently changing.Baekhyun’s heart drops to his stomach at the mention of the alpha’s name. It’s been two weeks since he’s last seen Chanyeol. Near the gates, where he’s been left alone because being near his proximity seemed unbearable to the alpha. Since then, Chanyeol has not come to see him even once in the library, no more random text messages, and no more café dates—outings, they’re café outings, Baekhyun, you delusional bitch. After the first week of Baekhyun realizing the alpha was avoiding him and wanting nothing to do with the omega anymore, he’s also made it a point to avoid the older. Just five days ago, Kyungsoo invited him to Sehun’s. The third year was apparently throwing a party at his and Luhan’s apartment as the prelims examination had  just ended (which Baekhyun was thankful for, for serving as distraction to his pathetic heartbreak) and everyone just wanted to get shitfaced. Obviously, their circle of friends would be there, meaning Chanyeol would of course, attend as well. Baekhyun didn’t want the alpha’s night to get ruined, so he declined, which surprised Kyungsoo because “Are you sure Baekhyun? Chanyeol’s gonna be there! Chanyeol!”It’s funny, how Kyungsoo keeps using Chanyeol as bait for Baekhyun to attend the parties the third years keep throwing lately, when he’s the exact reason Baekhyun isn’t attending.It’s also after that realization, that Baekhyun packed Chanyeol’s belongings, put them all in his luggage bag, and asked Jongin to give it to the alpha for him because “I’m really busy, Jongin. I can’t make time to meet Chanyeol and it’s to save him the trouble of going to the dorm anyways. Here, thanks.”He wonders if the alpha forgot all about his belongings in Baekhyun’s dorm or if he’s so repulsed by the idea of being anywhere near Baekhyun that he chose to just forget said belongings exist. Knowing it’s the latter brings a painful sting to the omega’s heart.Baekhyun heaves a sigh from where he’s perched on the bed, laptop on his lap and reading random PowerPoint slides just to look busy. “I can’t, Soo. I’ve got my hands full.” A fucking lie. “I have to study, we have a test tomorrow and I have a paper to write.” Total fucking bullshit, he’s totally free.Kyungsoo whines and goes beside Baekhyun’s bed. He’s now finished dressing and is wearing his leather pants which look more like second skin with how tight they are, a tucked in white t-shirt, and a black bomber jacket which smells more like Jongin than Kyungsoo. He looks annoyed, if that glare he’s giving Baekhyun is anything to go by. “This is the second time, Byun. God, live a little will you? You’re the only Creative Writing major who I know that actually reads those readings.””That’s because I don’t have the luxury to slack off because I have a scholarship” he shrugs, hoping Kyungsoo would just drop it and leave, so Baekhyun could mope around in peace.He should’ve known Kyungsoo wouldn’t.“Oh for fuck’s sake, you and I both know you’d still get good grades even if you don’t study. Last finals, all you did was watch anime and not study and you still made it as a Dean’s Lister.”“That’s because I crammed and studied last minute.”“Yeah, right,” the other omega says, rolling his eyes. “Seriously, Baek, what’s up with you? You used to get all excited whenever it came to Chanyeol, so what’s wrong? Did something happen when he slept over here?” He’s using that tone, that tone that he knows something’s up and he’s worried.Baekhyun replies almost too immediately. “Nothing! Nothing happened between us, okay?” Shit. Even to him, that sounds totally fake. “Trust me, Chanyeol has nothing to do with this.” Since when did he turn into such a liar?  “I’m just-“ Kyungsoo raises an eyebrow, “I’m just really, really busy, okay?”The other omega doesn’t reply, just has his eyebrows raised with that oh really? look. He studies Baekhyun’s face and Baekhyun’s pretty sure he now knows that something’s up. He then sighs and goes to sit on Baekhyun’s bed. “Baek, you know you can tell me if something’s wrong, right?”Baekhyun groans, throwing himself on his back exasperatedly. He just wants this conversation to be over. He loves Kyungsoo, glad that the omega’s such a good friend to him and cares about his overall being, but Baekhyun really doesn’t want to share about what he’s done and humiliate himself even further. “I know that,” he mutters. Kyungsoo’s gaze softens and he sighs once more. He then stands up and picks his belongings up. “Okay, fine. I’m leaving now, okay? I’ll be back tomorrow morning.”“Don’t you have classes tomorrow, you bitch?” Baekhyun asks with an eyebrow raised.“Minor ones, honey. Byeeeee!” The door closes and Baekhyun finally lets himself relax. He closes his laptop, puts it on his bedside table and sprawls himself on the bed.It’s not like he doesn’t want to attend the party and not see Chanyeol. Of course he wants to see Chanyeol! But if he attends, he’s sure he’ll just ruin the older’s night, maybe even cause him to leave the party early and make the alpha hate him even more. His lips jut out into a pout. He sniffles and burrows further into the blankets because his heart hurts, it literally hurts with the knowledge of the alpha hating him. It feels like there’s a cavity in his chest, making him feel empty and sad. God, even his wolf is sad. If he doesn’t come, Chanyeol will surely enjoy his night. The alpha’ll get drunk, have fun with his friends, and probably even bring his girlfriend, Soojung was it, and the two will make out and drunkenly stumble to one of the empty bedrooms and—. The last thought sends a sharp pang of pain to Baekhyun’s heart. His wolf’s whimpering and howling like a wounded bear. The tears he tried so hard not to form, roll down his cheeks and he sobs. He misses Chanyeol so much. He misses his cute ears, his almond eyes that always gaze softly at him, his eye twitching laughter, his voice that always manages to make Baekhyun feel all warm and fluttery. He even misses those dumb and random texts sent to him in between classes and in the early hours of the morning. Most of all, Baekhyun misses his scent. The scent that never fails to make him feel at ease and safe and contented.Why couldn’t he fucking control himself last time? Why did he act so lewdly and ask such shameless things? Why did he have to ruin their friendship? And why does he get so upset at the thought of Chanyeol with someone else? Baekhyun sniffles and wipes his tears with his hands. The alpha’s probably having a good time right now.  Chanyeol usually enjoys himself at parties, but lately, he doesn’t can’t find it in him to even laugh. Smile maybe, albeit forced ones, but hey, atleast his lips are moving. He can’t believe he’s been forced to fifth wheel these fucking assholes.“Yeol, you’re scaring all the omegas who’ve been dying to talk to you,” Sehun laughs from where they’re seated on the couch, Luhan seated on his lap who’s laughing along with him.Chanyeol gives them an unamused look. He doesn’t give a fuck about those omegas who’ve been eyeing him like their prey since a while ago. He doesn’t give a fuck about anyone, actually. He just wants to get out of this place. He’s drinking from his bottle of beer when Kyungsoo and Jongin take their seats to his left on the couch. God knows where they’ve been and what they’ve been doing. Judging from Jongin’s open fly and Kyungsoo’s unkempt hair, he could already tell.“What’d we miss?” Jongin asks, arm around Kyungsoo who’s resting his head on his alpha’s chest.“Just Chanyeol being the most popular guy tonight and scaring all those admirers,” Sehun helpfully supplies.The four assholes laugh and for the nth time that day, Chanyeol rolls his eyes.“How’re you gonna get laid tonight if you don’t let people talk to you, or let alone near you?” Jongin teases.Chanyeol only takes a swig of his beer. “Your fly’s open.”He hears Jongin let out a hissed curse followed by the omega’s giggles. He’s so single. God.Later on, Luhan and Sehun go dance while Jongin and Kyungsoo remain on Chanyeol’s left. He’s scrolling on his social media when a question catches his attention. “Why didn’t Baekhyun come, by the way?”Kyungsoo lets out a hum, and Chanyeol can hear the pout in it. “Said he’s busy, I dunno. Kept telling him to come though.” The omega’s gaze lands on him and Chanyeol realizes he’s turned his head in their direction in favor of listening to their conversation. A smirk is sent his way by the omega and he clears his throat and goes back to his phone. “Said he’ll make it up to me and come to Min Ah’s party this Friday though.”Chanyeol can tell that last statement is directed at him, but he doesn’t reply. He stands up from the couch instead and goes for the door.“Where’re you going?” he hears Jongin yell. “Home!” is all he replies. There’s no point in staying if he’s not here anyway. “Party at Min Ah’s tonight, we going?” Kyungsoo asks him, elbows propped on the counter where Baekhyun’s working. Working.“I don’t know, Soo... I already told you I’m busy,” he lies. He grabs the library’s report book and skims through the pages to double check the report he’s written for the week.The other omega whines and bangs his hands on the counter. “It’s Friday, Byun,” he hisses. “Besides, I don’t have anyone to go with! Jongin and Chanyeol are going to visit Chanyeol’s parents in Daejeon, while the HunHan couple have something planned tonight, too.Relief and disappointment aren’t something meant to be experienced together, but Baekhyun did, anyways. The idea of finally letting loose and attending a party to forget his sorrows makes him feel relieved. At the same time, however, the alpha not attending the party somehow makes Baekhyun feel less enthusiastic about going.“So?” Kyungsoo asks, which startles Baekhyun out of his reverie. A teasing smile makes its way to the omega’s face. “Hmmm, I don’t know... I’m really busy...”“I’ll kill you in your sleep, believe me. I will do it, Byun Baekhyun.”A giggle escapes Baekhyun and he holds both his hands up, like he’s surrendering. “Geez, I’m coming with you, alrighty.”*If Baekhyun had the choice between getting a chocolate bar or pushing Kyungsoo off a cliff, he’d choose the latter. “I can’t fucking believe you talked me into doing this,” Baekhyun hisses on the elevator to Min Ah’s apartment unit. He’s wearing an oversized purple hoodie, black highwaisted denim shorts, fishnet stockings, and white sneakers.“It’s important to let out your inner hoe once in a while too, Baekhyun. Trust me, I’m doing this for you.”Baekhyun rolls his eyes. “Not really convincing when you’re wearing the coziest outfit one could in this spring weather, while I’m freezing my ass off.”The other omega’s outfit consists of  a black sweater and sweatpants. Sweatpants! He looks all warm and toasty while Baekhyun’s legs are shivering from the cold Seoul spring air.“Oh, stop being dramatic. You’ll thank me later, you hoe.”*The smell of arousal and sweat is what welcomes Baekhyun when they enter the party. It is the weekend after all, so Baekhyun supposes that explains why there seems to be more people than usual. People are dancing around, grinding, and making out on the makeshift dance area while others are simply chatting around on the sides. The music is already loud from the door and Baekhyun feels the vibration of whatever EDM song is playing on his body.Min Ah, the host, spots them immediately and she goes to hug the both of them. “Kyungsoo! Baekhyun! Oh my gosh, I’m so glad you guys could make it! How are you?”“We’re fine, just wanting to blow off some steam and get shitfaced” Kyungsoo giggles and the alpha laughs too. “No Jongin tonight?”“Nah, he’s out with Chanyeol to Daejeon.”The alpha’s brows furrow and Baekhyun thinks it’s unfair how one could still manage to look pretty while doing that. He looks like he’s just eaten a sour lemon when he furrows his brows. “Chanyeol? But I thought I-““Anyway!” Kyungsoo cuts her off, and Baekhyun is too excited to get drunk he doesn’t question it. “We don’t wanna bother you too much, yeah? We’ll go get drinks now. You have fun too, okay?” “Okay, I’ll see you two around,” she kindly says and the two omegas go to the kitchen.There’s different bottles of beer one could choose from as well as red cups and bottles of tequila and whiskey. Baekhyun loves the feeling of getting buzzed and he thinks he deserves a break too, so he mixes cola and whiskey on his red cup. He’s a lightweight so he’ll probably get drunk after two cups, but he deserves a fucking break from his pity party and so he drinks. Kyungsoo from beside him just drinks beer. The other omega keeps looking around as if on the lookout for someone but Baekhyun doesn’t pay it too much mind.Minutes later, Baekhyun feels that blissful buzz in his body and he drags Kyungsoo to the dance floor. They see Jongdae and Junmyeon, both mutual friends with both their respective alphas and the six dance to their heart’s content. Baekhyun’s body follows the beat of the music and holy shit, it’s been a while since he’s had so much fun. He lets his body sway and dance, unknowing of the pair of eyes watching him from somewhere.“Soo, I’m just gonna go pee,” he shouts to the other omega who’s doing some weird dance movements with Jongdae.“Okay! Come back soon!”Baekhyun giggles at that and hurriedly goes to the restroom. There’s only two people lined up excluding him, so he thinks he’s fairly lucky. When he’s done doing his business and about to return to where his friends are, a hand grabs his wrist and corners him to an secluded area. There’s a palm on the wall on the right of his face and a startled gasp escapes him when he realized who it was.“K-Kyuhyun-ssi.”The man’s eyes rake Baekhyun’s body up and down and a wave of fear washes over Baekhyun. His left wrist is still in the older man’s grasp and it only tightened its hold when Baekhyun tried to break free.“Hello, baby,” Kyuhyun sweetly says, sickeningly so. The smell of alcohol is strong and shit, is he drunk? “Saw you dancing all sexily out there and thought you’d show me more how well your hips move. How about it, huh?”All the buzz in Baekhyun’s body has disappeared and has been replaced by fear. They’re in a secluded area of the house, the alpha has somehow managed to drag Baekhyun and the omega is scared he won’t be able to call for help. He smells Kyuhyun’s arousal in the air and a whimper helplessly leaves his mouth.The alpha’s eyes darken and he licks his lips. “You’d like that, baby?” A full body shiver washes over Baekhyun and god, he wishes the man would just stop calling him that. It’s annoying, and not cute. Baekhyun wonders how he found that cute a year ago when they were still going out on dates. Ah, but of course, it was because Baekhyun honestly thought the man was nice and not only wanting to get in his pants.Irritation replaces Baekhyun’s fear, and he pushes the alpha away from him. Kyuhyun is drunk so he sways back a little, but Baekhyun doesn’t give a shit whether he’s okay or not. The omega rubs his wrist and sees some marks forming where the alpha held him too tightly. “Don’t you ever come near me again, you piece of shit. You ever heard of consent, asshole?”Kyuhyun stumbles a bit but gets to his feet. He laughs and shakes his head. “Man, still as feisty as ever. You won’t be getting an alpha if you keep being like that, Baek baby, you understand?”“Stop calling me that, you fucker. See you never, you piece of shit.” Baekhyun’s never been more annoyed in his life. Alphas and their superiority complex, ugh. He turns to leave, but a hand grabs him again and slams his body to the wall. The alpha is impossibly closer now, his face inches away from Baekhyun, anger and irritation on his face. Their chests are flushed together and the alpha lodges his leg between Baekhyun’s leg, brushing his cock and god, holy shit, Baekhyun’s genuinely scared now.“Get off me, you fucker!” Baekhyun tries to push him away, but the alpha only presses his leg further to Baekhyun’s crotch. The rough material of the alpha’s jeans starting to irritate Baekhyun’s legs.“So you say, but you wear such enticing clothes and move your body like that. Just admit you wanna get fucked, Baek,” the alpha whispers to his ear and oh no, it’s gross and disgusting, and he’s being victim blamed, no, won’t someone come help him—The alpha’s about to lick his scent gland and tears form at Baekhyun’s eyes, when he hears it. Growling comes from the left, and when Baekhyun turns his head to look who’s come— oh. Being this happy at the sight of someone isn’t normal.Kyuhyun is pulled away from him in what seems like a millisecond and the events that follow next are blurry. One moment, Chanyeol has Kyuhyun’s collar in his hand and the next, his fist meets the second year’s face. Chanyeol’s growling so loud and the punches he delivers seem to echo around the secluded hallway that it must have attracted some of the people from the main area. They’re all watching because Park fucking Chanyeol, the campus crush and most desired alpha on campus is on a fistfight with someone. Baekhyun stands there, mouth agape, watching the scene before him in shock.Kyuhyun’s face is bruised, his lips are busted, and one of his eyes is swollen. The alpha has him pinned to the ground, and the punches he’s delivering have stopped, but his growls don’t. He’s breathing heavily and he fists the younger’s collar once more. “Touch him again, and next time I’m going to break your bones! Do you understand?!” he growls. Everyone watching the scene before them holds their breath at the pheromones the alpha’s letting out and the dominance he exudes.“I-I u-understand,” Kyuhyun mutters, a pained whimper escaping him.Chanyeol leans back then and lets go of the alpha, making his head thud at the hardwood floor beneath them. He stands up and steps away from the second year and makes his way to Baekhyun. He grabs the omega’s hand and leads them out of the apartment. The elevator ride is quiet but the alpha holds his hand tighter as they descend to the ground floor.No one says a word until they reach the parking area and Baekhyun spots Chanyeol’s black Porsche car. They stop beside the car and Chanyeol’s hands reach up to his face.“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”All Baekhyun could do is sob because the alpha smells so good, and his voice still manages to make Baekhyun weak, and it’s been two weeks. It’s been two fucking weeks, yet it feels like a year. “Hey, what’s wrong, Baek? Where does it hurt? What happened?” the alpha asks as he wipes the tears away from Baekhyun’s cheeks and no, why is the alpha so concerned and worried when he’s made it perfectly clear he wants nothing to do with the omega anymore?“N-no,” Baekhyun whispers. The alpha makes a questioning noise and Baekhyun pushes him away. "Stop! Why- you can’t- you can’t just- you can’t just show up again when you feel like it!” Baekhyun shouts, voice cracking, and tears spilling out from his eyes.“What? Baek, I-““No! You hate me right? I disgust you, right? You want nothing to do with me anymore right? So- stop- stop confusing me with mixed actions!”The alpha looks surprised at his outburst and Baekhyun feels anger rise up within him. “What? Baek, that’s not true-““It is true! You- you stop talking to me, and you avoid- avoid me,” he hiccups, “so stop acting like you care!” The omega’s breathing so hard, crying and shivering uncontrollably.The alpha stands there looking at him with  wide eyes before he softens his gaze. Before Baekhyun knew it, he‘s being pulled into an embrace.“Why would you ever disgust me when all I want is you?” Oh. “If only you knew of the things I’ve done and my thoughts toward you, you’d probably be the one disgusted at me,” Chanyeol whispers into his ear, chuckling lowly, and no, it does not warm Baekhyun’s heart, not at all. “It is true I’ve been avoiding you, but not because you disgust me, god, no. You’ll never. I’ve been avoiding you because I’m ashamed of myself.”The alpha leans back from the embrace and now that Baekhyun sees his face, he looks guilty and sad.“You’re pretty cruel, returning my clothes drenched in the scent of your slick and cum.” Baekhyun goes beet red at that. No, no, no, he’s sure he got rid of all the smell, what does Chanyeol mean, oh no— “And now you’re here in front of me, looking this beautiful. I don’t know how much I can hold myself back from embracing you again.”Oh. Baekhyun’s heart shouldn’t be beating this fast, it’s borderline unhealthy. He sniffles and the alpha wipes his drying tears for him again. How can he be this confusing, winding Baekhyun’s heart like this? Is he this sweet even to his girlfriend?  The thought of the alpha’s girlfriend shoots a painful pang to the omega’s heart. He pulls his body away from the embrace and if he wasn’t looking at the ground, he’d see the alpha’s hurt expression. “You shouldn’t say such things carelessly, especially if you have a girlfriend already,” he whispers.Silence follows and it shouldn’t hurt like this, the lack of denial that he has a girlfriend. What he gets instead is a “Can I please just take you home?”“K-Kyungsoo—““Jongin came with me, so he’ll be fine. I postponed our trip to Daejeon last minute, so.” Baekhyun so badly wants to ask why. Why the alpha was suddenly there at the party and why he cancelled his trip to Daejeon last minute. He doesn’t. “Okay. Take me home, please,” he says instead.*Baekhyun’s been in this car enough times but the silence wasn’t this awkward even during the first time. They don’t speak at all and the only sound around them is the soft rumbling of the engine. Chanyeol’s scent is all around him again and Baekhyun somehow does not want to leave the car. They reach his dorm, and the alpha stops the car in front of it. They’re silent and Baekhyun doesn’t know what to say when the alpha speaks.“She’s not my girlfriend.”Baekhyun’s surprised he doesn’t get whiplash at how fast he turns his head to the alpha. “H-huh?”“Soojung— I mean, the girl you saw me with before. She’s my younger cousin.” The alpha’s hand is rubbing the back of his neck and the sigh of relief that leaves Baekhyun isn’t subtle. At all.“O-oh, okay.”“Yeah.”They’re silent again and a selfish request forms in Baekhyun’s mind. He takes a deep breath, then— “Is it okay if you- if you cuddle me until I fall sleep?” The alpha turns his head to him in surprise. “You can leave when I’m asleep! I just- the earlier events still have me shook, and I’m sure Kyungsoo won’t be going home tonight if he saw us leave together, and your- your scent helps me feel better and safe and, uhm,” he finishes his rambling and dares to look up to look at Chanyeol’s expression. The alpha’s gaze is soft and a breathless chuckle leaves him. “You’re really cruel, Baek. But, yeah, I’ll gladly do that, yeah.”*It’s dangerous, Baekhyun knows. He might get too used to this, but god does it feel right, with his back flushed with the alpha’s chest, and his arm encircling Baekhyun’s waist. Baekhyun’s changed his clothes to sweatpants and a loose white shirt, which he’s so thankful for because it’s embarrassing being in the alpha’s proximity wearing fishnet stockings and shorts.He can feel every rise and fall of the alpha’s chest behind him and the tension in Baekhyun’s body leaves. He was still shook a while ago, what with what just happened with Kyuhyun, but being embraced by Chanyeol like this, everything that’s not them is forgotten and it feels so, so, perfect. The alpha’s breathing tickles his ears, and it feels so pleasant.The omega wonders if Chanyeol can feel and hear the erratic pounding of his heart. They’re silent, no one speaks at all, and Baekhyun lets his eyes fall closed.“I don’t like it,” Chanyeol growls, making Baekhyun’s eyes open. “That bastard’s scent’s still on you.” The possessive tone in his voice doesn’t go unnoticed. “You can scent me y’know. I don’t mind,” Baekhyun says after a while of silence.A shift behind him. “Are you sure? I might get too greedy, you know.”Baekhyun closes his eyes and smiles. Not seeing anything would make him feel less embarrassed. He’s pretty sure his cheeks are tinged pink but the room’s dark, save for the bedside lamp, so it’s okay.Baekhyun hums and lies on his back. “It’s the first time I’m letting someone other than my family and friends to scent me, but it’s you, so it’s okay.”A groan sounds from above him, and he thinks the alpha’s probably hovering over him. “You’re too cruel, Byun Baekhyun,” Chanyeol whispers. Then, a nose makes its way to his scent gland. Chanyeol noses it and embraces Baekhyun, so their chests are flushed together.It feels strangely intimate, but not uncomfortable. It feels familiar, even though it’s the first time they’re scenting. A calm washes over Baekhyun, and yeah, he can fall asleep like this. Before he fully loses his consciousness to slumber, he slowly hears his wolf chanting “soulmate, soulmate, soulmate.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Yeon-woo.” Baekhyun keeps walking ahead, a basket full of cherry tomatoes on his hip. Fall is coming to an end, which is why everyone is hard at work to make sure they have something to eat during the harsh winters. Baekhyun much prefers to shift and join the alphas with their hunt, but of course, a proper omega should instead do the easier tasks such as collecting berries and herbs, tending to the children, or cooking in the kitchens for the autumn festival. Picking berries seemed like a good way to distract himself and give him some alone time away from his mother who has chastised him when he voiced out his desire to go hunting, thus explaining the circular basket full of cherry tomatoes on his hip. “Yeon-woo.”Honestly, it’s preposterous. Just because he’s an omega doesn’t mean that he’s not capable of hunting or building houses and furnitures. He’s been practicing hunting ever since that damned Gunho started showing interest in him and claimed that if he were to wed the alpha, he would live a comfortable life, always having something to eat on the table with how good of a hunter the alpha was. How Baekhyun would love to see the surprised look on the alpha’s smug face when Baekhyun beats him at hunting. The omega is sure he’s better than him now anyways, especially since he trained with a particular alpha— yes, one with beautiful almond eyes, beautiful locks of hair, plump lips, large elfish—“Yeon-woo!”Baekhyun almost drops the basket on his hold, but thankfully, he manages to right himself. He glares to his right, searching for the damned wolf  who dared surprised him. His features relax almost instantly when he sees who it was.“Chanwoo!” Baekhyun tucks his long hair behind his ear and holds onto his long skirt before running towards the grove of trees where the alpha is hiding, careful not to let the contents of his basket fall. “Chanwoo,” he grins once more once he’s in front of the alpha, “you should’ve just walked straight up to me, you know! Why hide here?”The alpha has been someone he met last spring when he was out practicing hunting. The alpha has never left his mind since then. His scent has made an impression on Baekhyun and all the omega wanted was to be near him. Since then, he’d made it a point to sneak out in the late hours of the evening and use his hunting practice as an excuse to stumble where the alpha was stationed patrolling. Baekhyun learned that Chanwoo’s always assigned the west border of his pack’s territory. What he liked the most about Chanwoo was that the alpha never commented on Baekhyun’s desire to hunt. Instead, he offered to teach Baekhyun whenever he isn’t assigned to patrol, or when they were both feeling daring and the alpha would abandon his post and Baekhyun his duties.He and the alpha had gotten to know each other quite fast, although, they always had to meet in secret. It isn’t exactly prohibited meeting with someone from a different pack, but Baekhyun would be scrutinized if his packmates were to learn of a young unclaimed omega meeting with an alpha in the late hours of the night or alone in daylight. Now, they have become each other’s little secret.“Sorry, I wanted to see your face, and so I came here without really thinking,” the alpha shyly declares. There’s a blush high on his cheeks and his hand rubs the back of his neck— a habit Baekhyun has learned the alpha does whenever he’s nervous.Baekhyun feels his stomach fill with butterflies and he shyly ducks his head, causing his long hair to obscure his face. “‘s that so...” he murmurs, which earns him a hum from the other.They stay like that for a while, until Chanwoo’s hand lifts his chin and Baekhyun is left to stare deep into his brown eyes. The alpha tucks Baekhyun’s hair behind his ears and rubs the apple of his cheeks with his thumbs.“Yeon-woo,” Chanwoo whispers, eyes flickering back and forth from Baekhyun’s eyes to his lips. There’s fire in his eyes, as well as uncertainty, and fear. Baekhyun could only manage a hum in question. He’s always loved the way his name rolled off the alpha’s tongue. Chanwoo swallows a gulp and leans in. Baekhyun could only close his eyes as the alpha’s peony and suede scent intensifies. Before he knew it, soft lips press unto his. The alpha does not move. It’s just a light press of lips against lips. Baekhyun faintly realizes that the alpha’s giving him time to pull away if he wishes to do so. But Baekhyun wants him. Likes him. Loves him. Baekhyun in that moment realizes he loves Chanwoo. And Baekhyun just knew. Chanwoo is his soulmate. He’s made just for Chanwoo the same way Chanwoo was made just for him. Baekhyun drops his basket of cherries and loops his arms around the alpha’s shoulders. Below them, the cherry tomatoes scatter. Some would probably bruise and others would probably be stepped on by them, but Baekhyun doesn’t care. Yeon-woo doesn’t care. “Baekhyun!”Baekhyun wakes up with a gasp. He’s sweating all over, heart thumping fast in his chest. He blinks a couple times and tries to regain his breathing.“Baek, are you okay?”The omega looks to his right and sees Chanyeol’s worried eyes studying his face. Baekhyun jolts a little when he sees how the alpha’s holding him around his arms. He swallows, Chanyeol looking very much like the man from his dreams. Wait, what dream was it again?Baekhyun sits up and holds his forehead, feeling his head throb. Chanyeol wastes no time and gets up from the bed, offering a glass of water to Baekhyun seconds later. “Here, drink this.”“Thank you,” Baekhyun murmurs. He then downs the glass of water, the cold liquid soothing his parched throat. Chanyeol looks at him worriedly. “Bad dream?”Baekhyun tries to recall what his dream was, but cannot form any images in mind. All he knows was that it felt very vivid and real. He shakes his head, “Just— a strange dream.”The alpha nods and takes the glass from Baekhyun’s grasp. He then cards his fingers through Baekhyun’s hair, which makes the omega sigh in contentment. Chanyeol lovingly looks at him from where he’s currently kneeling beside the bed. “Are you sure?” he whispers.Baekhyun opts to hum, wanting the alpha’s hand to stay in his head a little longer. Once he’s calmed down, memories of last night come rushing back in, with it, Chanyeol’s confession— which the omega is not sure what to make out of, honestly.“You haven’t left yet?” he asks before he bites his bottom lip, glancing shyly to the alpha.The omega has to hold back the whine that forms on his throat when Chanyeol retracts his hand and places it on the bed. “Just— I know you told me to leave once you’ve fallen asleep but” Chanyeol looks away then, pink on his cheeks, his other hand rubbing the back of his neck, “my wolf wanted me to stay. And I didn’t want to leave, too.”He glances back to Baekhyun who’s positively sure he’s beet red at this point. The room probably reeks of his scent, spiking due to his excitement and happiness. “No, it’s fine. I want you here too,” the omega shyly mumbles. It’s silent after that. It’s morning, the light making their faces visible to each other to stare at. Baekhyun stares back into Chanyeol’s eyes. He can’t seem to pull away, something about the alpha’s intense gaze making him speechless and in a daze.“Thank you,” Chanyeol whispers. Baekhyun wants to ask what for, but the alpha leans in, close—  Baekhyun thinks he’s about to be kissed now. His eyes automatically close, anticipating the press of lips when— a hand pats his head twice. His eyes shoot open, and there’s a teasing grin on the alpha’s face. “Why don’t you shower first while I cook us breakfast?”Wanting to run away as soon as possible, Baekhyun removes himself out of bed and runs straight to the bathroom. He quickly looks at his face in the mirror and— he’s red, as red as Yeon-woo’s cherry tomatoes. He blinks at himself. Yeon-woo? Who’s that? He washes his face with water to wake himself up and promptly removes all his clothes before stepping inside the shower. He’s really made a fool out of himself earlier. He aggressively washes his body. It’s just morning but Baekhyun sure isn’t having much luck. After showering, he’s covered himself in towel, but also realizes he forgot to bring clothes inside the bathroom to change into.He wants to groan out loud but holds it in. Just how stupid does he have to be? He paces back and forth inside the bathroom, then remembering Kyungsoo’s words of “it’s important to let out your inner hoe once in a while too, Baekhyun.” Fuck, does he tease the alpha? He’s covered from his chest to his thighs anyways, so— it’s not like the alpha will see his chest or his privates. Only his arms and legs which are pinkish red from the hot shower will be seen, but god, it’s really not Baekhyun’s style.Teasing someone— in this case, Chanyeol, fuck, Baekhyun wants to. But it would be so out of character for him to do so. Kyungsoo will surely not let him live this down if he learns of it. Baekhyun debates with himself some more, taking a deep breath once he’s decided.He unlocks the bathroom door, twisting the doorknob and slowly walking out. He can see Chanyeol’s back cooking something on the stove. Deciding that nope, he can’t do this, can’t do the teasing shit he sees on manga and anime all the time, he quickly makes a run for his closet and pulls out some clothes. He’s fishing out a sweater when— “Hey Baek, do you mind if—“Baekhyun turns to the sound of a clang from the floor. The alpha’s hand is raised mid-air, his whole frame frozen at the sight of Baekhyun. His mouth is open, eyes repeatedly blinking. It’s silent for a whole ten seconds until Baekhyun feels his entire body heat up. He finishes getting his clothes and runs back to the bathroom to change.When he’s done changing— after a few deep breaths and a pep talk with himself in the mirror, he goes back out again. He finds food spread on the table and the alpha seated with his hands on his forehead.The omega quietly walks to the opposite chair and takes a seat. Chanyeol seems to only notice his presence once Baekhyun clears his throat. He raises his head to look at the omega and scans his body. He lets out a sigh of relief once he’s done scanning Baekhyun.With cheeks still very much red, Baekhyun speaks. “Sh-should we eat?”There’s also a faint dust of pink on Chanyeol’s cheeks and redness to his ears. Baekhyun assumes the alpha’s also embarrassed. He wants to giggle at how cute that is.“Okay,” the alpha stiffly answers and he takes ahold of the chopsticks on his right. Baekhyun then scans the dishes Chanyeol has cooked. There’s doenjang jjigae, gyeranmari, sausages, and seasoned mung bean sprouts. The omega is honestly surprised because he didn’t expect a chaebol like Chanyeol would be able to cook. He scoops some soup and tries it. His eyes widen and he lets out an awed sound at the taste. It’s seasoned very well, not too salty nor not too bland. It’s also light and not too heavy. “Wow, this is awesome. How’d you learn how to cook?” he asks wide eyed at the alpha.Chanyeol grins and his eyes almost sparkle. “I’m so happy you like my cooking. Well, my mom’s a really good cook. Growing up, she’d always tell me and my sister to watch her cook and to assist her and stuff. Then as I grew up, I became interested in trying out different recipes and eventually, cooking became a habit.”Baekhyun nods as he tries the rolled eggs and the bean sprouts. Damn it, they’re all so good. “I didn’t know you had a sister,” he says while chewing, making his cheeks full and his lips pouty.Chanyeol’s eyes crinkle at the cuteness in front of him as he smiles. He also begins eating and nods. “Yeah, she’s six years older than me. Her name’s Yoora. Our age gap is pretty big but we’re really, really close. I adore and fear her at the same time.” Chanyeol finishes with a dramatic head shake.Baekhyun bursts out laughing. He’s so glad they’re back to normal again. “Why is that?” “I mean, she can be really sweet and caring as a sister, but she can make me do her bidding to with just a glare.”“Oh! Just like Baekbeom hyung then,” Baekhyun declares, fingers snapping as he remembers his older brother. “My brother’s the same! He could spoil me, yet break my limbs at the same time if he felt like teasing.”Chanyeol nods with his chopstick in his mouth. “Being the younger sibling sure is tough, huh? We’re at the bottom of the food chain.”They laugh at learning they share the same experiences the other has gone through childhood at the hands of their older siblings. Chanyeol tells Baekhyun his alpha noona is currently married to an alpha male and is often out of the country taking care of their family business in their company’s branches abroad.Baekhyun on the other hand tells the alpha that his hyung, a beta, is also married, but to an omega female, and is living back in their hometown in Bucheon.“I never got to thank you, by the way,” Baekhyun shyly states once they’re done eating. “What for?” the alpha asks after sipping his water.Baekhyun shrugs and gestures his hands around. “For- for the food, y’know, and taking care of me when I was sick, and- for saving me last night from Kyuhyun-sunbaenim.”Chanyeol’s face hardens at the mention of the second year alpha’s name. “I should’ve broken all his bones last night,” he growls. Baekhyun feels goosebumps all over at the growl the alpha lets out. There’s a spike to his scent to, Baekhyun can smell rage, as well as a hint of regret. “I’m sorry I was late.”Baekhyun’s eyes widen and he vehemently shakes his head. “What are you talking about, Chanyeol?! If it weren’t for you, who knows what that bastard could’ve done! I- I was so happy when you came to my rescue,” he finishes with a broken voice. How can Chanyeol blame himself for that when it’s actually because of him that Baekhyun is safe and sound? Chanyeol shakes his head. “I should’ve kept a closer look on you.”“What do you mean?”He rubs the back of his neck again. “I heard Kyungsoo, you know. He said you’d come to Min Ah’s party on Friday. I was supposed to go to Daejeon with Jongin yesterday, you know that right?” Baekhyun nods. “Well, I actually drove to Min Ah’s instead of the expressway to Daejeon, so we were at the party way before you and Kyungsoo arrived. Jongin told Kyungsoo actually, but I’m guessing Kyungsoo didn’t tell you...?”Baekhyun lets out a gasp and shakes his head. “No, he did not! That little shit,” he hisses, making Chanyeol laugh.“Well he knew you probably wouldn’t come if you knew I was there so-““It’s not my fault!”“Yes?”Baekhyun pouts and glares at the alpha. “You were avoiding me so I avoided you too!”Chanyeol opens his mouth to retort but closes it almost immediately. He pokes the inside of his cheek with his tongue while he looks at the ceiling, thinking of what to say. “I- I had a reason behind that. Anyways!” he shouts when Baekhyun looks ready to argue again. “I was watching you. The whole time since you arrived. Not to be a creep of course! I wanted to talk to you again and patch things up, especially since we’ve both been... avoiding each other. I was just looking for an opportunity. Then some people talked to me and I sort of got distracted. The next thing I knew, you were gone from the dance floor. I searched for you everywhere, and when I saw you, that- that piece of scum was ready to take advantage of you,” he finishes with guilt evident on his voice.The omega can’t believe Chanyeol actually wanted to patch things up with him. He feels guilty for shouting at the alpha last night and pushing him away. He shakes his head and holds Chanyeol’s hand. The alpha’s spike in scent doesn’t go unnoticed. “That’s not your fault,” Baekhyun resolutely says. “I will forever be grateful for you saving me, Yeollie.” The nickname accidentally comes out but a purr comes from the alpha. “Wait, why are you making those sounds again?! Did I say something wrong?”The alpha catches the omega’s hand back in his grasp once Baekhyun makes a move to let go. He holds it tight and looks Baekhyun straight in the eyes. “It’s purring. I’m purring. It’s because I’m so contented and happy that you gave me a nickname. That time before too, in the library, I was so happy that you smelled like me. It made me think I marked you.”Baekhyun goes beet red at the confession and he covers his face with his free hand. “You can’t just say such things,” he says muffled. “What if I die because of arrhythmia,” he then says with a pout, looking at his empty bowl of rice. He glances upwards to the alpha who looks surprised, but then forms a shy grin on his face. His dimples are showing and his almond eyes gaze at Baekhyun softly. They clean up after that, a light and floaty atmosphere surrounding them. Baekhyun volunteers to wash the dishes saying Chanyeol has done enough already, but the alpha insisted anyway. In the end, Chanyeol dried up the plates that Baekhyun handed him. “Hey Baek, are you free today?”Baekhyun thinks about his schedule. He has some stuff he needs to work on, but of course the alpha doesn’t need to know that.“Yup! Why?” he cheerfully says, already anticipating a date— a friendly date, okay?Chanyeol sits on Kyungsoo’s bed, looking at his socks and fiddling with his phone. “Just— do you wanna visit my studio?”The omega’s eyes widen comically. “What, really?!”The alpha rubs his nape again. “Yeah. Only if you want to.” “I do!” Baekhyun excitedly shouts. “I definitely do!” Chanyeol looks at him then and chuckles. “Okay. I’ll go home first to shower. I’ll pick you up in an hour okay? We can have lunch first then head to campus.” * When the alpha left, Baekhyun rummages through his closet. He wants to look good, not for Chanyeol, definitely not for Chanyeol, okay? Just for the aesthetics in general. Believe him. Please.He’s been wearing sweaters and hoodies a lot lately, it’s getting boring. Maybe he should wear something more suiting to spring. He finds a white long sleeved buttondown top and an oversized pastel pink knitted vest. This! These two will work nicely! After finding cream trousers to go along with them, he changes into his spring lookbook worthy outfit. He must admit, he really looks cute. He looks at his phone when it notifies him of a message— the alpha’s apparently on the dorm’s lobby already.The omega checks the time and he can’t believe he’d been planning his outfit for almost forty five minutes.When a knock comes from his door, he checks his self one last time in the mirror and wipes his sweaty hands on his trousers. Chanyeol stands there, effortlessly gorgeous as usual, with his white turtleneck and loose denim pants. They stare at each other for a while, appreciating the view in front of them. Chanyeol clears his throat after a while. “You look super cute,” he shyly says with a smile, to which Baekhyun replies “well, you look delectable!” and let’s just say Baekhyun in that moment wished he had the ability to teleport to somewhere far away— the north pole perhaps. * It was a tasty lunch they shared. They ate pork belly barbecue at a good place Chanyeol knew, which had high quality meat and tasty side dishes. The omega insisted paying for his meal, but the alpha refused, saying it was him who asked Baekhyun out so it should be on him. After a bit of arguing and teasing, they’re now on their way to the building of the Music Department, where Chanyeol’s studio is located.They climb the stairs to the third floor. The omega follows the alpha to the furthest room on the right. There, a plaque on the door reads LOEY’S STUDIO.“Loey?” Baekhyun curiously says with a tilt of his head.“It’s Yeol backwards,” the alpha answers with a grin before pressing the passcode to the room. When the alpha opens the door and turns the lights on, Baekhyun steps inside in awe. It’s pretty big, with a leather couch on the left side and a rectangular table in front of it, littered with a bunch of take out containers.On the right side, a bunch of musical equipment can be found, as well as a  big computer table with two desktop computers atop it along with many music stuff. There’s a mini dresser inside the room, as well as pillows and a blanket. There’s a door to which Baekhyun believes leads to the restroom. An air conditioner can be found as well as an exhaust vent. Lastly, there are windows covered with thick grey curtains, which Baekhyun walks to. He pulls the curtains off and sees a great view of their university’s botanical garden. Rich people sure are amazing. They get to have such studios.He then turns to Chanyeol who’s looking at him expectantly. “I understand now how you can be cooped here,” the omega chuckles. “It’s like a mini house, cozy and nice.”The alpha laughs. “Yeah, I mean, it’s like my third home by now. Oh, you can go take a seat on the couch.”Baekhyun does as he’s told. He looks around once more. He really likes Chanyeol’s studio. He can see a bit of Chanyeol’s personality in it and the room smells like him too. He has to resist the urge to sniff and close his eyes.“Oh, that reminds me, Soo...jung?” Baekhyun tries to recall Chanyeol’s younger cousin’s name. “Soojung, your cousin, came here last time too, didn’t she?” Chanyeol turns the computers on and sets them up. Baekhyun sees the back of the alpha’s head as he shakes it. “No, she just waited outside last time. She has a crush on Minhyuk, a classmate of mine. We had a project together and he sang the song I arranged, so she was bugging me about it. I just gave her a copy on her flashdrive.” Chanyeol then turns to look at him. “You’re the first one that I’ve brought here. Not even my classmates nor my professors are allowed to come in here. Only you will I ever allow.”Baekhyun’s heart’s about to escape his ribcage. He feels warm all over and his stomach getting all fluttery as he and the alpha stare at each other. “O-oh,” is all he can say. Chanyeol’s sought out by the majority of the student population. He’s popular, talented, heck, it’s not even an exaggeration to say he’s a prodigy. Chanyeol truly has it all. What this man sees in Baekhyun, the omega doesn’t know. When Baekhyun can’t handle anymore of the alpha’s intent gaze, he clears his throat and points to the computers. “Is it okay if I listen to some of your compositions?”Chanyeol clears his throat too and nods. “Yeah, sure.”The alpha lets him sit on the swivel chair and hands him headphones. “I’ll be working a bit on the couch, is that okay? I just have a few arrangements to finalize. You can listen to whatever you want there,” Chanyeol says, that deep voice of him almost echoing around the room, his body so close to Baekhyun as he leans on the computer in front of the omega. His scent drives Baekhyun crazy.Baekhyun nods and excitedly puts on the headphones handed to him. He listens to a lot of arrangements at first. Once in a while, he removes the headphones and turns back to the alpha to compliment him and say his praises and honest feedbacks. Chanyeol’s ears turn red and he shyly thanks the omega. Baekhyun then listens to some demos, with Chanyeol’s voice sometimes doing them. Honestly, at this point, he wants to copy them to his phone too, and maybe listen to the alpha’s singing voice as he falls asleep. There’s so much rawness in his voice, the way he sings and spouts lyrics (during raps) is very emotional, very moving. Baekhyun can really see how passionate Chanyeol is regarding music and how moving all of his works are.He turns back to the alpha once more. He gets lost at the sight of Chanyeol. He’s working on something on his MacBook, his brows furrowed, and tongue darting out once in a while in concentration. He looks different, like he’s in his element— very professional and dedicated.The alpha doesn’t even seem to register Baekhyun staring at him. The omega then lets out a proud smile and when his hand gets his phone out of his pocket, he secretly snaps a picture or five of the alpha. Baekhyun lets out a light giggle and goes back to the computer.The omega stumbles upon the finished songs now. He listens to the raps and different genres of the songs the alpha has composed and featured in. It’s a lot of clicking later and digging around the desktop when Baekhyun finds a folder entitled ‘X.’ It’s not his intention to be nosy, but he thought the alpha isn’t the type of person to have something to hide, especially when he left Baekhyun alone unsupervised with his computer. He clicks on it, and finds another folder. ‘For Sungwoon.’Clicking the folder, he finds only one track inside it, entitled ‘If We Love Again.’Baekhyun tilts his head to the right, curious if this is a gift for a friend or for a family member. After all, this is the only folder with a name on it. “Chanyeol?” he asks, removing the headphones from his ears.“Hm?” “This folder— is Sungwoon a classmate of-“Before Baekhyun could even finish his question, Chanyeol was beside him and taking the mouse from Baekhyun’s grasp. He closed the folder, making his Rilakkuma desktop background appear. “Don’t open that ever again,” Chanyeol says with a glare. There’s something about the edge to his voice together with the unfamiliar glare he gives the omega that makes Baekhyun tear up and immediately leave the room.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The loud slam of the door echoes around the studio, signaling Baekhyun’s exit. Chanyeol remains frozen from his previous position, breathing heavily. The Rilakkuma desktop background is left on display, taunting him, reminding him of his stupidity and irrationality.It took a couple of seconds for the alpha to gather his wits.“Baekhyun,” he breathes out before he too is out the door and rushing down the flight of stairs. No, he can’t lose Baekhyun anymore, can’t afford to widen the gap between them that they just managed to fix. He’s the dumbest alpha in existence. Why did he do that to Baekhyun? Sweet, precious Baekhyun who was merely asking him a question. Baekhyun’s face was a multitude of emotions — surprise, hurt, and what breaks Chanyeol’s heart the most, fear. He made the omega feel afraid of him.Reaching the ground level of the building, the alpha runs towards the exit and out into the campus grounds. Outside, it’s pretty dark and cloudy. With it being Saturday, only a few students can be found rushing to and from classes to avoid the impending rain.The alpha breathes heavily, looking around in search of the omega. He was about to run ahead when a gust of wind rushed past him. Various scents could be picked out but there was one that stood out to him. He follows the heady scent of lavenders and lilacs. The alpha runs to the right side of the Music Department building before turning to the left, his already pounding heart about to burst out of his chest when he feels relief wash over him.Baekhyun sits against the building wall, knees pressed to his chest, face cradled into his crossed arms. He looks so small and Chanyeol wants to embrace him.The alpha slowly walks over to the omega, and only when he is directly in from of him does Baekhyun lift his head. The omega looks surprised to see Chanyeol. His droopy eyes are red along with his nose, his cheeks stained with what the taller assumes are dried tears. Chanyeol wants to beat himself up.Baekhyun stands up after sniffling once. He dusts off his trousers, hoping his cream trousers weren’t dirtied too much. In his haste to hide himself from the alpha, he hadn’t thought too much of where he was going and where he sat. Using the sleeves of his shirt, he wipes his face and steadies his breath. “Baek—““I’m sorry.”The two speak at the same time and Chanyeol’s remorseful face morphs into a puzzled one. “Why are you saying sorry? I’m— I’m the one who should be saying sorry, Baek.”Baekhyun shakes his head. “You didn’t do anything wrong. It was my fault, going through your files without your permission. I’m so sorry, Chanyeol.” Baekhyun looks down to his shoes, too embarrassed to look at Chanyeol directly. Baekhyun believes it is his own fault. He was too conceited to think that he could just go through all of the taller’s files. It was no wonder the alpha got angry a while ago. Now, Chanyeol’s even saying sorry, probably because he’s guilty that Baekhyun cried. The alpha was quiet. Mistaking it as the alpha probably feeling uncomfortable, Baekhyun clutches the alpha’s arm with both hands. “Please don’t hate me,” Baekhyun whispers.“That should be my line,” Chanyeol snorts. Baekhyun’s head shoots up. “I don’t know how many times I’ve hurt you and made you cry already,” Chanyeol softly says with a somber smile. His hand raises to caress Baekhyun’s cheek, soft and warm and so pink. He wants to protect this ball of sunshine forever. “I’m so pathetic, hurting the person I like. Please don’t hate me, Baek.”A bit stunned, the omega just jumps up and hugs the taller, looping his arms around Chanyeol’s neck and burying his face in Chanyeol’s strong, broad chest. Chanyeol hesitates but eventually reciprocates the action. “Dummy. Why would I hate you? I like you too,” Baekhyun confesses, a bit muffled, but Chanyeol heard nonetheless.The taller pulls back quickly in surprise to look at Baekhyun’s face which he found out has turned red. “You like me too?”“Don’t make me repeat it! It’s already so embarrassing saying those words,” Baekhyun complains with a pout before he’s back to burying his face in the alpha’s chest.Chanyeol laughs, that deep, pleasant chuckle that never fails to warm Baekhyun’s heart. Baekhyun also shyly smiles and inhales the alpha’s comforting scent.As soon as the two pull away to smile at each other, rain starts pouring hard and fast, drenching them both off guard.Chanyeol quickly grabs Baekhyun’s hand and they make a run for the entrance of the building. Once inside, they look out the door and see other students rush about to get shelter. The rain seemed to only get stronger and louder.“Why’s it raining, it was just sunny a while ago,” Baekhyun complains, trying to fix his hair and grimacing once he sees how the ends of his trousers got splashed with muddy water. He really just had to wear cream colored ones today, didn’t he?“I know. The weather’s getting more and more unpredictable,” the alpha says, ruffling his hair, making water droplets fly around. “There were dark clouds when I came out to get you though, didn’t you notice?”Baekhyun wrings his vest and sleeves, making a little water puddle gather on the floor. He mentally apologizes to whoever has to clean it up. “I didn’t. I was far too busy being dramatic.”The taller snorts and they both laugh together, the chilling sensation from their drenched clothes momentarily forgotten. Baekhyun observes the taller, Chanyeol’s boyish laughter, his dimple showing, his fluffy hair looking somehow curled, and he’s just so beautiful Baekhyun wants to cry.The sneeze that soon comes from the omega resounds along the deserted hallway. Baekhyun figures there aren’t a lot of classes held during Saturdays with the Music Department. He sniffles, bringing his wet sleeve to his nose.“Uhm...”“Hm?” Baekhyun turns his head to the alpha. Chanyeol’s rubbing the back of his neck again while looking anywhere except at Baekhyun, which means he’s either embarrassed or nervous. Sometimes both.“Well, it seems like the rain will just get stronger and we’re gonna get sick if we just wait out here. Do you—“ Chanyeol pokes the inside of his cheek, then he looks at Baekhyun. “Do you wanna wait it out inside the studio? And shower? There’s like— hot water and stuff. I have a couple of clothes in the dresser too that you can use. It’s just— well, you’re gonna get a cold if you don’t, y’know, change into dry clothes.”Heat rushes to Baekhyun’s cheeks. What the alpha said was absolutely correct, and he’s just looking out for Baekhyun, so why in the hell is Baekhyun’s brain betraying him and making him think of not-so-innocent things? The omega nods. * “Oh you’re done?” Hearing the restroom door opening, Chanyeol turns on his swivel chair to look at Baekhyun. The shower did a good job warming up Baekhyun’s body. Like the alpha said, there was hot water available and toiletries which Baekhyun was permitted to use. There was just one problem though.“Th-this sweater is too big on me, Chanyeol.”Baekhyun has been given boxers (the two were glad Chanyeol had new ones in stock), a white sweater, and gray sweatpants. The sweatpants had been designed to fit snugly so they’re just a bit loose on Baekhyun. The sweater however, was way too big on him that it was practically slipping off one of his shoulders.“Chanyeol?” he calls again when the alpha was frozen in place just looking at him, mouth slightly open.“Oh! Uhm, that’s— that’s actually the smallest size of sweater that I have here. Sorry,” the taller apologizes while rubbing the back of his neck again.Behind the alpha, the computers are turned on with some musical softwares open and stuff too complicated for Baekhyun are shown on display.“No, no, I shouldn’t be complaining when I’m the one troubling you,” Baekhyun shyly chuckles. “Shouldn’t you uhm, shower too? You might get sick if you don’t. Aren’t you cold?”Standing up from the swivel chair, the alpha ruffles his hair again in an attempt to dry his hair, which is close to getting there. “Not really, I turned on the heat mode of the air conditioner already,” he says before stretching his arms.“Oh, so that’s why I’m not feeling cold.”“You can adjust the temperature though if you feel too warm or still cold. Remote’s on the couch table. I uhm, already put the WiFi password on your phone a while ago right?” Baekhyun nods. “Okay just, make yourself comfortable, you can lie down on the couch or sit. I’ll uhm, I’ll take a shower.”The restroom door is immediately closed and Baekhyun finds himself walking towards the window. It’s become dark outside and rain still pours violently. The omega sighs and takes a seat on the couch. Might as well let Jongdae know where he is. 
You

hi soo, might come home late
 The omega hits send and knowing Kyungsoo, he’ll probably reply in a minute or so. Exactly a minute later, his phone dings, notifying him of the other's reply.
Fave Roommate 💖

yea i got home like an hour ago where r u???

omg

pls

tell me you’re with chanyeol

You

im with chanyeol

Fave Roommate 💖

!!!!!

okay but where? there’s a fucking storm outside

You

his studio

Fave Roommate 💖

ah the famous studio which no one has ever entered in the history of forever, except u
 Remembering the alpha’s words earlier, Baekhyun feels overly self aware.
You

well it was raining, we got drenched on then we had no choice but to wait it out here

you know he was so nice, lending me his clothes and all, he even let me shower 🥺

Fave Roommate 💖

a show eerr??? wowwowwowww snjdjsius

ok but like boyfriend sweater

bet he lost his mind when he saw you wearing his stuff. alphas are like that

they like seeing u wear their stuff and smelling like them
 Baekhyun then thinks back at how Chanyeol was kind of frozen in place after he saw the omega. Blood rushes once more to his cheeks.
You

you don’t know that, not all alphas could think like that

Fave Roommate 💖

oh sweetie trust me they do

where’s chanyeol btw

You

showering

Fave Roommate 💖

park chanyeollkk k campus heartthrob is shOwering in the same sPACE where u rRRR???

i mEAN JUST IMAGINE ALL THOSE ALPHA MUSCLES GLISTENING UNDER THE WATER 🤤🤤🤤
 Okay, now Baekhyun feels too much aware of his surroundings. Chanyeol’s just behind him, naked, showering... Baekhyun definitely feels warm all over now. 
Fave Roommate 💖

fuck, sorry, that was jongdae

we’re watching a movie together

he like fought with his boyfriend so he pestered me to watch and cry with him but he’s been swiping left and right on his phone’s dating app since a while ago
 
You

yeah well his boyfriend’s a knothead he should just break up with him

Fave Roommate 💖

as if he’ll listen to us

anyway bye don’t bother me anymore. this movie’s actually pretty interesting
 Baekhyun chuckles and locks his phone. He looks around the studio and smiles. Everything here is so Chanyeol. With Kyungsoo’s words coming back to him, he brings up the sweater’s collar to his nose and sniffs. Peppermint and bergamot— the alpha’s scent which never fails to calm the omega down. Suddenly feeling tired, the omega lies down on the couch. There’s a pillow propped against the armrest and Baekhyun rests his cheek against it and closes his eyes. The omega feels so at peace. Everywhere, everything, it smells just like Chanyeol.  * The scent of ramyeon is what wakes Baekhyun up. He sits up, making the blanket draped over him pool on his torso. “Chanyeol?” he calls for the alpha, rubbing one eye with his fist.“Sorry, did I wake you? It’s almost 9 and I figured you were hungry so I made ramyeon.”Blinking himself awake, the omega finds Chanyeol putting packs of seasoned laver on the table as well as sticks of sausages beside the cup noodles and bottles of water. The alpha’s already showered and changed into more comfortable clothes.“Where’d you get these?” Baekhyun croaks. He looks towards the curtain even though he can’t really see the outside and pouts. “It’s still raining heavily.”“Yeah, I checked Naver and they said the storm would pass around 3 or 4 in the morning. It’s a good thing I have food stocked in here, because going outside would be difficult right now. Now sit with me, the soup’s gonna get cold.”Baekhyun hums, removes the blanket off him, and sits beside Chanyeol on the floor. The alpha opens the water bottle for him and peels him a sausage. “Here.” Baekhyun puffs his cheeks and gets even more annoyed when Chanyeol even opened the packaging of seasoned laver for him.“Ahh, I can do it myself, you know?”Chanyeol has the audacity to laugh. “I know, but I want to be the one to do so. Here, chopsticks.”Baekhyun grudgingly accepts the chopsticks that were broken in half for him. They start eating and with each swallow, Baekhyun feels himself awaken more and more.“Thanks by the way, for the blanket. You put it on me, right?” Baekhyun asks, turning to face the older.The alpha avoids the omega’s eyes and swallows his noodles. “‘s not a big deal. I forgot to bring it out and you looked a bit cold so...”Silence washes over them, but it’s not uncomfortable. Baekhyun speaks a moment later. “Still, thanks.”“It’s really not a big deal.” Chanyeol chuckles and Baekhyun joins him. “But uhm, will you be okay sleeping here? I mean with the storm, you’re going to be stuck with me, and I only have a couch, I’m sorry.”The omega turns to the alpha and sees the alpha’s worried face. Baekhyun waves his hands around, shocked that Chanyeol would think such things. “What? No, no, stop saying sorry. I’m the one being an inconvenience. You’re taking care of me so much, it should be me saying sorry. The couch is also super comfortable and fluffy and nice. Besides, who in the world would hate being stuck in a room from the storm with the person they like?”When what he’s said has registered to him, Baekhyun’s cheeks start burning and he sputters. “I- that’s uhm. I mean-“Chanyeol gives him that boyish smile again. “Calm down, Baek. And don’t worry, I’ll sleep on the floor, you can take the couch.”“What?! No, why would you want to feel uncomfortable? You take the couch, I’ll sleep on the floor.”The alpha snorts and shakes his head. “You seriously don’t think I’ll let you sleep on the floor.”Biting his bottom lip, Baekhyun takes a deep breath and throws all his shame out the window. “Okay, how about we just sleep together on the couch?” When the alpha’s face turns to that of a shock, Baekhyun panics the alpha will think of him as a pervert. “I mean, we’ve done it before, sharing a bed I- I mean. Besides, the couch is too big for one person and you know, this is your studio. I don’t want you to sleep on the floor and you don’t want me to sleep on the floor either so—“Chanyeol pokes the inside of his cheek with his tongue and rubs the back of his neck. “Okay.” Once they’re done eating, Baekhyun cleaned up while Chanyeol worked on his music some more. Looking around the studio, Baekhyun concluded that one could really live here. Most of the basic necessities are present.It also seemed that while he was sleeping, the alpha hanged the omega’s wet clothes in hangers which was drying by the curtain rod. That included of course the omega’s underwear but Baekhyun decided not to bring it up to save himself from embarrassment.It was almost one in the morning when Baekhyun stopped going through his social media apps and felt himself get tired again. He went to brush his teeth (Chanyeol has a lot of spare stuff in his studio apparently) and with a pounding heart, sat on the couch.The alpha’s still working on his music, headphones on, and he looks concentrated, but it’s late and the omega  wants him to rest already.Standing up, Baekhyun walks to Chanyeol and pokes him on the back with a finger. The swivel chair turns and Chanyeol removes his headphones. His large, doe like eyes are wide with surprise and his mouth hangs open. “B-Baek! What is it?”“It’s one in the morning, let’s sleep,” Baekhyun quietly says, and he feels like a husband trying to get his disinterested husband go to bed with him.“Oh... okay, okay. I’ll just- turn this stuff off then,” the alpha replies, running a hand through his hair.Baekhyun nods and hurriedly goes back to the couch to lie down on his side, facing the backrest and draping the blanket over his body. He closes his eyes, listening for the alpha move on and about the studio. Once the alpha’s done brushing his teeth, he turns the lights off and turns the lamp beside the dresser on. Taking a deep breath, Baekhyun feels the alpha’s body against his afterwards. The alpha’s also lying on his side but facing the opposite. It is true that the couch is too big for one person, but with Chanyeol’s height and physique, almost all the space is occupied and they’re almost flush against each other.Baekhyun’s senses are overfilled with the alpha’s scent. It’s heady and musky and it’s all over the place but the omega needs more. Baekhyun just wants to bury his face in the taller’s neck, wants to coat himself with the alpha’s scent.It’s silent, save for the harsh patter of the storm outside. It’s about to come to its end, thus it’s been alternating between drizzles and heavy downpours. Sometimes, it would stop, and then it would start raining again.“Is this okay?”“Huh?” Baekhyun whispers, startled.A sharp intake of breath can be heard from Chanyeol and he’s probably licking his lips from what Baekhyun can hear. “Is this okay? Not uncomfortable?”“No. It’s... okay.”Once more, silence envelops them.“Can you—““Hm?” Baekhyun asks, turning his head slightly to the left but is startled when Chanyeol turns his entire body to face Baekhyun.“Will you call me Yeollie again?” He’s shy Baekhyun thinks. The alpha blinks and bites his bottom lip.Turning his body to face the alpha, Baekhyun smiles. “Yeollie.”Chanyeol lets out a chuckle and they smile in silence afterwards.The light coming from the lamp is bright enough for them to be able to see each other’s faces clearly.“I‘m sure you already know this but you have a lot of moles on your face, huh?” It was said in a whisper and Chanyeol smells like fresh mint, the soft breath coming from each word tickling Baekhyun’s features.“Yeah... I have,” Baekhyun chuckles, a hand coming up to shyly cover his face.“Don’t,” the alpha scolds, bringing the smaller’s hand down. “They’re as beautiful as you are.”If the room wasn’t dim lighted, the omega’s sure Chanyeol could see how beet red he is. “You’re such a flirt,” Baekhyun grumbles.“Only to you.”“Which moles are your favorite?” Baekhyun asked because Kyungsoo sometimes would point at his face and just announce which ones he likes the most.The taller hums and he lets out a chuckle. “Well, there’s the mole on your right temple, on your right cheek, then the two moles on your nose, but if you ask me my favorite...” A finger caresses the skin atop Baekhyun’s lip. “It’s this one, right above your lip. One day, I hope I get to kiss all your moles.”Embarrassed, Baekhyun punches Chanyeol’s arm. “Shut up.” Chanyeol chuckles, Baekhyun feeling the alpha’s deep voice reverberate from his chest.Before silence could overcome them again, “Can I scent you?”A sharp inhale comes from Chanyeol followed by laughter. “I’m starting to think you’re a sadist, Baekhyun.”“Wha-““Of course you can. It’s already driving me crazy, seeing you in my clothes and drenched in my scent too. What more if you scent me.”Baekhyun’s body is positively burning and at this point, he wonders if Chanyeol doesn’t hear yet how crazy fast his heart is beating.Once he’s done scenting the taller, both are content and sleepy. The rain has also stopped. In the silence and darkness of the night, two bodies cling onto each other, something they were not able to do in their past lives.