Chapter Text
Wonbin runs a hand through his shaggy black hair, a heavy sigh escaping his lips. His eyes momentarily stray from his laptop screen to focus upon the pretty alpha sitting at the desk across from him, grossly immersed in his work on his laptop in front of him. His thick black-rimmed glasses slip down the high bridge of his nose, and he absentmindedly pushes them back up with the tip of his finger. His dark brown doe eyes are focused, eyebrows furrowed, and plush pink lips slightly parted as his nimble fingertips tap away at the keys of his laptop. Wonbin’s fingers itch to smooth down an annoying tuft of dark brown hair sticking up on the alpha’s head.
Wonbin hardly notices when the other male, who smells of apples and cinnamon, stops typing and raises his gaze to stare up at Wonbin from under his long, dark eyelashes; he’s too immersed in thinking the alpha is just so fucking pretty it physically hurts him.
“Wonbin-ah, you’re staring,” Jung Sungchan—the drop-dead gorgeous alpha with pretty doe eyes and a pulchritudinous smile—says softly, a shy smile tugging into his plush lips.
Wonbin blinks back to reality, feeling his cheeks bloom in warmth. He sits up straight, clearing his throat awkwardly. “Uh. Right. Sorry.” He can feel the alpha’s knees brush against his under the table, the other male too damn tall for his own good.
“Were you just thinking about the assignment, or…?” Sungchan asks, tilting his head innocently.
“Ah. Yeah. Just stuck on this one segment,” Wonbin lies, adjusting his own glasses.
“Did you wanna work through it together? I mean, it is a group assignment.” Sungchan offers, completely oblivious to Wonbin’s inner turmoil.
“Nah, it’s fine,” Wonbin reassures. “I have my part, you have yours. Well. We’re kinda doing everything, huh?” He snorts.
Sungchan chuckles. “Yeah. I had a feeling the other two would be no-shows. Just my fucking luck, huh?”
“Mine too,” Wonbin rolls his eyes.
Sungchan grins. He then leans forward, resting his chin on his hand, elbow propped up on the desk. “Wonbin-ah. Were you really thinking about the assignment when you completely zoned out just now?”
Wonbin feels like pegging a pen at Sungchan’s stupidly perfect face. “Yeah. Why would I be thinking about anything else?”
Sungchan shrugs his broad shoulders, sitting back up straight. “I dunno. You seemed pretty out of it.”
Wonbin can’t tell Sungchan the truth—that he was thinking about how damn pretty he is—again. He knows Sungchan is no stranger to compliments, but he also knows the older male gets incredibly shy when complimented. So, he just keeps those thoughts to himself. Plus, it is a little weird for a beta like himself to be thirsting this badly over an alpha like Sungchan.
Wonbin likes being a beta, for the most part. He presented at fourteen, perfectly within the thirteen to seventeen age bracket. And for that, he was glad. No heat cycles, no scents affecting his hormones or actions, and, for the most part, no societal pressures.
Most times, he’s happy he blends in. He doesn’t mind being plain or boring, especially if it means alphas and omegas both leave him alone. He’s not the biggest fan of alphas, and he finds omegas pitiful, so being a beta is a blessing. His scent isn’t anything special either: blackberries and white tea. A plain yet kind of odd scent, but it doesn’t stand out enough for anyone to take notice.
Wonbin had always expected to end up with another beta, much like his parents. His parents are both betas, as was his older brother. He never found himself attracted to alphas or omegas, so he just assumed he’d just be attracted to betas, just like most other betas. However, Wonbin knew he was fucked the moment he met Jung Sungchan.
They met in their first year of high school; when he and his family made the move from Ulsan to a small town north of Daegu. Most of his fellow students were born and raised in the town and they all knew each other from elementary and middle school, so Wonbin was the outlier. Most of the students in his grade also hadn’t presented yet, Wonbin being one of the few who had already presented as their dynamic.
Sungchan is six months Wonbin’s senior, but both were in the same grade. Wonbin was fifteen turning sixteen, whereas Sungchan was already sixteen and had yet to present. They hit it off as friends, not incredibly close, but friends nonetheless. Wonbin tended to stick with other betas, whereas Sungchan—despite being a little awkward and shy—managed to draw other classmates in like a magnet, having many friends of varying dynamics. Because of this, they never really hung out together outside of school. And, as much as Wonbin hates to admit it, he was a little judgy towards non-betas, especially those who gravitated towards Sungchan.
Wonbin knew rather quickly that he was attracted to Sungchan. Who wouldn’t be attracted to someone like him? He was gorgeous. Still is. But, as time went by, Wonbin’s silly little crush blossomed into an infatuation with the older boy.
The way he was kind to everyone no matter what, the way his pretty smile made his eyes crinkle in the prettiest way, the way he was super competitive at sports yet super clumsy at the same time, the way this one tuft of hair on his head was always disagreeing with him—yes, Wonbin was absolutely infatuated.
They stayed somewhat close until Sungchan finally presented as an alpha at nineteen, well out of the normal presenting age bracket. Suddenly, everyone wanted to have him. Everyone wanted to be around him, and everyone wanted to be his friend. Omegas threw themselves at him, desperate for a chance with the attractive alpha, and other alphas hung around him just for that sweet popularity.
Wonbin felt insecure, considering he was just a boring beta and had no place in Sungchan’s alpha life. So, he began to distance himself from the pretty alpha. It’s not like they ever had the same friend group, but Wonbin began to only hang out with his beta friends and avoided Sungchan and his group of alphas and gaggle of omegas like the plague.
Perhaps another reason for Wonbin’s insecurities regarding his infatuation with Sungchan was the fact that a beta like him being attracted to an alpha like Sungchan was not the norm in society. Wonbin never used to care how society perceived him, but for some reason, after Sungchan presented, he began to care about how potentially odd it was for a beta and an alpha to be together (not that he and Sungchan would ever be together, he’s not delusional). Realistically, it shouldn’t be a problem for him to be with an alpha, but some people from their small and relatively traditional town definitely thought it weird. And Sungchan’s alpha ‘friends’ were honestly classist assholes, so he certainly wanted to steer clear of them.
To this day, Wonbin still doesn’t understand what Sungchan sees in any of them—Sungchan is so sweet, so kind, and just a genuine person, unlike the trash that surrounds him. Perhaps he’s just too nice to tell them to fuck off. Sungchan has always been a bit of a people-pleaser.
However, Wonbin’s attempts to continue to avoid Sungchan were in vain; they ended up at the same university in Daegu, in the same degree and the same classes. They’re now second years, and even though they still rarely spend time together, Wonbin sees him more often than not around campus. And now, for this one class, they’re in a group together for an assignment. And thus, his stupid infatuation has returned tenfold, leaving him wondering why he ever felt insecure, and why he ever stopped talking to Sungchan. He is like a rainbow at midnight; a rarity among alphas. He’s cute, shy, demure, and just so damn pretty. Wonbin just couldn’t help but fall hard for him all over again.
“Honestly, I’m just tired,” Wonbin answers, rubbing his sore eyes and returning to reality. It’s not an entire lie; he really was tired. He was up late last night and barely got any sleep. It is his own doing—a certain doe-eyed alpha plaguing his mind, but still.
“Do we wanna take a break?” Sungchan asks, slipping his glasses off his face and placing them on the desk.
Wonbin’s breath catches in his throat. Sungchan’s eyes are so damn large and round, he looks like a pretty deer. Bambi, specifically—a nickname he used to call him in high school. It’s times like these he’s really glad he’s a beta and doesn’t have a scent that changes depending on his hormones.
“Y-yeah. I could go for some coffee,” Wonbin stammers, clearing his throat and removing his own glasses.
“Okay, sounds good to me!” Sungchan chirps happily, beaming. His pretty smile is as radiant as a sunrise after a storm; it leaves Wonbin breathless. “I know a good cafe nearby, so we can even continue working there after we relax for a bit,” he pauses, cocking his head to the left like a puppy, “i-if you’d like to, of course.”
Wonbin notes that Sungchan’s cheeks are dusted in pink. “Yeah, of course. I like hanging out with you.” Wonbin says earnestly, and Sungchan’s blinding smile only widens.
As Sungchan begins to pack away his things, Wonbin internally curses at himself. He’s so pathetically down bad for this man that it’s downright sad at this point. The way he cutely scrunches his eyebrows when he’s trying to focus, the way he pouts his lips when he’s deep in thought, the way he always has a tuft of hair that never agrees with him are all components of Jung Sungchan that he's carried since high school that Wonbin absolutely adores.
“Oh, by the way,” Sungchan says, standing to his feet, swinging his beige tote bag onto his shoulder and holding his MacBook Air in his other arm.
“Hm?” Wonbin hums in response, not looking up at Sungchan. He packs his things away, picking up his glasses and resting them back on his nose.
“My…friends are hosting a party on Saturday night, and I was wondering if you maybe wanted to come?” Sungchan asks quietly, unsure.
Wonbin stares up at him, eyes wide and lips falling open in surprise. “Pardon?” He asks, confused.
Sungchan clears his throat awkwardly. “W-well, we haven’t hung out in a long time, so…I was wondering if you’d be interested. I could introduce you to my friends.” He rubs the back of his neck bashfully, his cheeks blooming in a pleasant cherry red. He looks shy.
Wonbin remembers how awkward and shy Sungchan used to be, before he presented. Nowadays, it seems to be a rare occurrence that shyness peeks through his confident exterior. He carries himself in a much more certain manner compared to when they were in high school, Wonbin often equated him to a newborn deer learning how to walk for the first time: wobbly, uncertain, and always tripping over himself. Oh, and cute. Very cute. Now, though, Sungchan is a confident alpha who rarely shows any hint of uncertainty or shyness, so seeing him all seemingly shy is a (pleasant) surprise for Wonbin.
He's oh so endearing when he’s shy.
“What do you mean we haven’t hung out in a long time? Isn’t that what we’re doing right now?” Wonbin questions, still abashed by Sungchan’s invitation and meek tone.
Sungchan snorts. “We’re doing uni work.”
“We’re about to go get coffee.”
“Still doing uni work.” Sungchan retorts.
Wonbin bites his lip. “I mean…I’m not huge on parties.” He wants to add that he’s not big on Sungchan’s friends either, but he decides to keep that to himself.
Sungchan pouts, watching as Wonbin stands to his feet and tucks his chair under the desk. “C’mon!” Sungchan whines, stretching the ‘o’ sound like it were elastic. “Please?” He hugs his laptop to his chest with both arms, bending slightly so he’s eye-to-eye with the shorter beta. “For me?” He bats his long eyelashes, his pretty doe eyes twinkling and his plump pink lips pursed into a cute pout.
Wonbin wants to kiss him. So fucking badly. His lips look so soft, so pink, so enticing; he wonders how they would feel against his own lips. And also…somewhere else, but he forces those vulgar thoughts away.
“Binnie-ya,” Sungchan says in a soft sing-song voice, tilting his head to one side. “Pretty please?”
Curse Sungchan and his stupid cute face and cute pout and cute eyes and cute voice. Fuck.
Wonbin groans, averting his gaze, trying to fight the stupid blush on his cheeks. “God, fine, just stop fucking looking at me like that.” Or I’ll fucking kiss you. “Not sure why you’re so insistent on me coming.”
Sungchan cutely cheers, standing straight to his full height. His eyes crinkle in the corners prettily as he smiles, and Wonbin almost doesn’t regret saying yes.
“Again, we haven’t hung out in a while,” Sungchan says, “and they’re students from our department.”
Wonbin quirks an eyebrow. “What kind of party is it, exactly?”
“A house party,” Sungchan responds, and the two begin to walk side-by-side out of the library. “It’s my friend, Won Jaesang’s, birthday, and he’s throwing a party at his house with just our group of friends.”
Wonbin scrunches his nose in distaste. “A house party?”
“Mhm,” Sungchan hums, “don’t tell me you’re backing out now?” He asks, raising an eyebrow, looking down at Wonbin.
“Me? Back out? Never,” Wonbin says, although he is tempted to back out. Parties are not his thing, especially not house parties of someone he doesn’t know. The name is…familiar, but he doesn’t know the guy. Must be one of Sungchan’s alpha buddies. “But…I’ll think about it.”
Sungchan pouts, stepping around Wonbin and stopping in front of him. Wonbin stops walking, staring up at the taller male. Curse him and his stupid long legs. And fuck, the pout again. Doesn’t Sungchan know Wonbin is weak for that cute pout of his?
“You just said fine!”
“I know, but I don’t know the guy, Sungchan,” Wonbin says, arching an eyebrow and ignoring his inner turmoil, “and I don’t like parties. I only agreed so you’d stop looking at me like a kicked puppy.”
Sungchan frowns, placing his hands on his hips. “What part of ‘I want to introduce you to my friends’ did you misunderstand? They’re good people.” He bends slightly so he’s not towering over Wonbin. Curse his stupid height.
Wonbin resists the urge to roll his eyes. He doesn’t want to argue with Sungchan over people he couldn’t give two fucks about. “Sungchan, there’s a reason I stick with betas.”
“I’m not a beta,” Sungchan quips.
“I’d hardly call us friends,” Wonbin says, and Sungchan’s eyebrows furrow. Wonbin instantly regrets his words at the hurt glistening in his pretty doe eyes. Sungchan has always worn his emotions on his sleeve, whereas Wonbin tends to keep his to himself. “Sorry. I meant that we aren’t that close anymore.” He apologises quickly.
“What about Sion? He’s an alpha.” Sungchan says, ignoring Wonbin’s comment and apology.
Wonbin puffs an exhale through his nose. “He’s not a douchebag.”
“What, and I am?”
“That’s not—”
“Doesn’t matter,” Sungchan mutters, adjusting his bag strap and standing back to his full height. “Don’t come then. I was just inviting you ‘cause I thought you’d want to hang out. But I guess not.”
Wonbin sighs. He does want to hang out with Sungchan, more than anything, but he doesn’t want to go to this random alpha’s house party, especially if he wasn’t invited.
“…if I go, you won’t just abandon me to hang out with your other friends there, will you?” Wonbin asks, raising his eyebrows. He grips his bag strap tight in his hand, not looking up at the tall alpha.
“Of course not,” Sungchan says, insulted. “I just…wanna hang out with you.” He mumbles, averting his eyes.
“Then why don’t we do something else then, if you wanna hang?” Wonbin asks pointedly.
“‘Cause I already told Jaesang I’d go to his party, and he said I could bring another friend if I wanted,” Sungchan explains.
“So…you didn’t want to go either?”
“…” Sungchan clears his throat, his cheeks pinking. “Not exactly, no. But I promised him, and that’s why he said I could bring another friend.”
Wonbin runs a hand through his long black hair. “Why didn’t you just say that from the start?”
Sungchan stares down at him with wide eyes. “Well…I didn’t exactly lie. I do wanna hang with you, and I do wanna introduce you to my friends.”
“Fine,” Wonbin relents. “What time is the party, and what’s the address?”
Sungchan beams, and Wonbin’s heart skips a beat. Sungchan really is too fucking cute for his heart to handle.
“Why did you agree if you don’t wanna go?” Sion asks, staring at Wonbin as if he had grown a second head.
Wonbin groans, burying his face into his hands. “Look. You didn’t see the way he was looking at me. There was no way I could say no to that face.”
Seunghan, who sits beside Wonbin on his bed immersed in a game on his Switch, snorts. “You sound incredibly whipped.”
“That’s because he is,” Sion says, leaning back on his hands on Wonbin’s bed opposite the beta duo. “You’ve been head-over-heels for him since high school.” Sion tilts his head. “I haven’t even seen you guys since second year, and yet you’re still simping over him.”
“You’re right,” Seunghan laughs, “how many years is that?”
“Hm…” Sion counts on his fingers, mouthing the numbers silently. “Three years. And you obviously liked him before I started, too.”
“Oh yeah, he definitely did.”
Wonbin playfully shoves Seunghan. “You weren’t even in our year!”
“No, but everyone in our group knew you were head-over-heels for pretty boy,” Seunghan chuckles, finishing his game and setting his Switch on the mattress beside him.
Wonbin groans, flopping back onto the bed.
Seunghan, a beta who smells of amber and hazelnuts, has been one of Wonbin’s closest friends since high school, despite being in the year below. Seunghan is nineteen, but they hit it off as fellow betas in Wonbin’s second year and Seunghan’s first year of high school. He’s always been Wonbin’s voice of reason, and honestly it feels like he’s older than Wonbin at times, he’s definitely the more mature one out of the two.
Then there’s Sion, an alpha who smells of chai spice and gingerbread, the one alpha that Wonbin actually tolerates. He moved to their small town at the start of their second year of high school, being the same age as Wonbin, but then moved back to Mokpo literally a year later. He and Wonbin really clicked, so they kept in touch, and Sion ended up moving to Daegu to go to Kyungpook University with Wonbin and Seunghan. Sion is nice, and definitely not like other alphas; his scent is unlike most alphas’ scents, and he’s not very confrontational either. Sometimes Wonbin forgets he’s an alpha.
“Well, who wouldn’t be? You’ve seen his face, right?” Wonbin says, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Sion rolls his eyes. “There are plenty of attractive people out there, Bin-ah. The fact you’ve been silently lusting after this alpha for three years—”
“—correction, it’s been four years, since first year. From what I’ve been told, anyway,” Seunghan chimes in, and Wonbin hits his thigh.
“That’s even worse,” Sion deadpans, “and you still haven’t confessed?”
Wonbin sits up, shooting his two friends a glare. “Why would I confess? He’s an alpha, I’m a beta. And like he would reciprocate my feelings.” He mumbles sourly. “Honestly, it was easier avoiding him and pretending this stupid crush didn’t exist.” He then groans. “Why did I have to get paired with him in this stupid group project? Now I have to spend time with him!”
Sion and Seunghan exchange pointed looks. “Isn’t that…what you want?” Sion questions with a tilt of his head, his fluffy blonde hair shifting slightly with the movement.
“Well…yes and no,” Wonbin mutters.
“You’re making things way more complicated than it needs to be,” Seunghan says. “Look, maybe he asked you to this party for a reason. You said he said he wanted to hang out with you more, so maybe he’s trying to rekindle your friendship?”
“That sounds reasonable,” Sion agrees, nodding enthusiastically.
“But why a house party for his friend? I don’t like his friends. Especially the alphas.” He groans.
“Hey, look, you’ve never personally met them, so who knows? Maybe they’re not half bad,” Sion shrugs. “But also, not all alphas are assholes.” He gestures to himself. “Unless there’s something you’re not telling me.”
Wonbin barks a laugh. “Sion, if you were an asshole, trust me, you’d know by now.”
“So…you going to that party?” Seunghan then asks, changing the topic. “What do you plan on wearing? Something reasonable, I hope.”
Wonbin feels like smacking Seunghan. “What do you take me for? Some kind of attention whore?”
Sion snorts. “Well, you are trying to get a certain alpha’s attention, right?”
Wonbin pins a weak glare upon the alpha. “No. Yes…maybe.” He sighs.
“And if Sungchan asked, you’d be his whore,” Seunghan pipes in.
Wonbin smacks him.
“No, Wonbin would rather the opposite,” Sion says with a giggle.
Wonbin gasps dramatically. “You didn’t just call my Bambi a whore did you?”
“No no, of course not,” Sion pokes his tongue out. “You’re misinterpreting things.” He teases.
Wonbin returns the teasing gesture. His friends certainly are annoying. But, they also know him too well. They know exactly how Wonbin wants Sungchan, and he doesn’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.
Wonbin sighs, running a hand through his hair, standing out the front of a very expensive-looking apartment complex, unsure of where the hell he’s meant to be going. He checks his phone again, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. This is definitely the correct address, according to what Sungchan had texted him.
He feels a little giddy having Sungchan’s number again, he changed numbers after high school when he changed phone providers and never bothered to get Sungchan’s number again since he was in his avoiding Sungchan phase.
Wonbin glances back down at his phone when it buzzes in his hand, Sungchan replying to his message.
Bambi:
I’ll be down in a sec!
Wonbin exhales a sigh of relief, and he pockets his phone into the back pocket of his faded denim jeans. He sees Sungchan exiting the building ahead of him, looking around, obviously trying to find Wonbin. Wonbin approaches him, waving.
Sungchan spots him and beams, happily bounding up to Wonbin like an excited puppy. “Binnie-ya! You came!” Sungchan greets cheerfully, gazing down at the shorter male. His cheeks are slightly red, and Wonbin thinks he may be tipsy already. That would explain the overzealous greeting he had just received.
Wonbin snorts. “Well, I did say I would come.” He tucks his hands into the pockets of his black jacket. He looks Sungchan up and down, admiring his alluring body.
Sungchan is wearing a tight black shirt that’s rolled back to his elbows, tucked into a pair of black faded skinny jeans, hugging his nice long legs in all the right places and accompanied with a belt that accentuates his nice cinched waist. It's a simple outfit, really, but Sungchan makes it look extraordinary on his extremely nice figure.
“Well, I’m glad you did,” Sungchan says, then Wonbin watches his dark gaze flit down his attire before quickly returning to his face. “You look good.” He says with a smile.
Wonbin’s cheeks flush, his eyes widening.
Does he look good? He likes to think he didn't put that much effort into his outfit, but he did pick his favourite pair of faded denim jeans and a tight black tank top paired with a thin black jacket, oh and he actually styled his usually unkempt hair, too (okay, maybe he did did put some effort into his outfit). He didn’t care about first impressions with Sungchan’s friends, but maybe he wanted Sungchan’s attention. Stupid Sion’s words from yesterday about wanting Sungchan's attention were true. He does want Sungchan’s attention. How dare he be right.
“Oh—uhh, thanks,” Wonbin stammers. “Shall we go inside? I’m dying for a drink.” And he is, he’s using this party as an excuse to get tipsy without having to pay for his own alcohol.
“Yeah, of course,” Sungchan says, beckoning Wonbin to follow.
Wonbin follows, gazing around the expensive apartment building as they enter, purposefully avoiding letting his eyes linger on Sungchan’s perky behind in those tight jeans as he walks ahead of him. God, his ass looks so good in those jeans it’s criminal. “So…where does this guy live, exactly?”
“In the penthouse,” Sungchan answers with a grin. “His dad is like…super rich. I’m pretty sure he pays for the apartment for Jaesang, actually.”
Wonbin frowns, a vein twitching in his forehead in annoyance as they wait at the elevator doors. A rich alpha? Dude already sounds like a jackass.
The elevator dings and the doors open, and Sungchan and Wonbin walk inside. Sungchan presses the button for the floor, then turns to face Wonbin.
“What’s with the sour look?” Sungchan asks with a pout, bending slightly so he’s at eye-level with Wonbin. Wonbin hates it when he does that. “Jaesang is nice, you’ll like him. You’ll like my friends.”
Wonbin huffs. I doubt that. “Yeah, okay,” he says instead.
Sungchan’s pout only deepens, eyebrows furrowing. “Binnie-ya…”
Wonbin bites his tongue. He hates it when Sungchan calls his name like that. It makes him wonder how Sungchan would call his name if he were pinned beneath him, fucking him nice and deep—
Park Wonbin you fucking pervert—not now!
He seriously needs to get his mind out of the damn gutter. He fights the blush on his cheeks, averting his gaze. “Don’t say my name like that.”
"Like what, Binnie-ya?” Sungchan asks, lowering his voice, eyelids hooded with his lips quirking up into a small smirk. He steps closer, his sweet apples and cinnamon scent overpowering.
Wonbin steps back, trying to put distance, any distance, between him and the beautiful alpha before him. “Like that. Don’t say my name like that.” He repeats, tilting his head to one side. Keep calling my name like that and I’ll lose my god damned mind.
Sungchan stands straight, pursing his lips once again. “Aw, but why?” He crosses his arms, puffing his cheeks like a child being scolded.
Wonbin feels like squishing his cheeks then kissing him breathless.
“Do you always get annoying when you drink?” Wonbin asks, raising an eyebrow and pushing away his impulsive thoughts.
Sungchan opens his mouth to answer, but the elevator dings as they reach their level. Wonbin bolts out of that elevator as soon as the doors slide open, wanting to be anywhere but right in front of Sungchan.
Sungchan easily catches up (curse his fucking long-ass legs), walking in stride beside Wonbin. “Do you even know which door is his?”
“…this one?” Wonbin stops outside a door, gesturing to it. He can hear muffled music and loud voices inside.
“Yeah. How’d you guess?”
“…Sungchan it’s the only door on this level,” Wonbin says incredulously.
Sungchan’s cheeks flush cherry red in embarrassment. “O-oh. I-I knew that.” He stammers, rubbing the back of his neck shyly.
Wonbin rolls his eyes, crossing his arms and stepping back from the door so Sungchan can open it. He watches as Sungchan reaches for the keypad next to the door, tapping in a few numbers before it beeps in a little sing-song tune and unlocks the door. Sungchan pushes the door open with one hand and reaches down to grab Wonbin’s wrist with the other. His breath catches in his throat as Sungchan’s long fingers wrap easily around his thin wrist, his palm warm against his skin. Sungchan gently tugs Wonbin inside, the door clicking shut behind them.
Sungchan leads him into the large, expensive penthouse apartment, Wonbin looking around and gaping. Everything around him is worth more than his entire life. Just how rich was this dude—his father—anyway?
“Jaesang! Wonbin is here.” Sungchan calls over the loud music, leading Wonbin into a large living room area. Wonbin gawks at the huge flat-screen television that literally covers the entire wall opposite the (very expensive-looking) leather couch. Sungchan lets go of Wonbin’s wrist, and they now stand before a small group of mostly alphas and a couple of omegas lazing about on the couch, drinking and vaping.
One of the alphas, who Wonbin assumes is Jaesang, stands from the couch to greet Sungchan and Wonbin. He puffs out a thick cloud of vape smoke, billowing straight into Wonbin’s face.
Wonbin coughs, squinting his eyes and using his hand to fan the smoke away from his face.
“Huh, so you’re Wonbin?” Jaesang says, towering over Wonbin, his dark eyes raking up and down the beta’s body, examining him.
“Yeah,” Wonbin answers simply, shooting a glare up at the tall alpha. Jackass. He is somehow taller than Sungchan, and stands close to Sungchan's side. “Jaesang, I presume?”
“You presume right,” Jaesang says with a grin, “he’s a bit on the short side, isn’t he?” He asks Sungchan, wrapping an arm around the shorter alpha’s waist and tugging him closer.
Wonbin’s eye twitches.
Sungchan laughs in response to Jaesang’s question, making no move to remove the other alpha’s arm from his waist. “No, I think we’re just kinda tall.” He says with a teasing grin.
“You sure you're not an omega? You're kinda pretty for a beta,” another alpha, who sits on the couch, chimes in.
Wonbin’s eyes linger on that hand on Sungchan’s narrow waist for a moment before he turns his attention to the alpha on the couch. “Last time I checked, I most certainly was a beta,” Wonbin responds in a snarky tone.
The alpha laughs, obviously finding Wonbin’s response amusing. He stands up, walking over to Wonbin, throwing an arm around Wonbin’s shoulders and pulling him into his side. Like all alphas, he towers over Wonbin, and has a musky scent Wonbin doesn't care to try and pinpoint; but he just knows he stinks.
“The name is Yongsoo,” the alpha says with a wink, his arm moving from Wonbin's shoulders to his waist. “You smell pretty nice for a beta, too.” He adds with a grin.
From the corner of Wonbin’s eye, he can see Sungchan stiffen, his eyes on the arm around Wonbin’s waist.
Wonbin curls his lip in distaste. “Have you never met a beta before?” he asks incredulously, reaching down and pinching the fabric of Yongsoo’s jacket and removing his arm from around his waist.
“Well, yeah. But they weren't as pretty as you.” Yongsoo flirts, that sleazy grin never leaving his lips.
Wonbin glares. “Are you seriously hitting on me? You’ve known me for, like, five seconds.”
Yongsoo flushes, spluttering. “What? No—I—”
“Anyway! Nice to meet you Wonbin!” One of the female omegas on the couch interrupts, pushing herself in between Wonbin and Yongsoo. She smells incredibly sweet and is very pretty—Wonbin is grateful for her intervention. “My name is Sunhee. Here, have a beer.” She hands Wonbin an opened beer bottle, and he graciously accepts it.
“Thanks, I appreciate it,” Wonbin says with a small smile.
One by one, he's introduced to the other members of Sungchan's friend group: the other female omega is Miyoung, and the other three male alphas are Sangwook, Beomseok, and Junghee. So far, he only likes Sunhee. Oh, and Sungchan, of course.
Before, he never could see what Sungchan saw in these ‘friends’ of his, but now, he really does not see what Sungchan sees in them; the alphas are loud, rowdy, annoying, and are a bunch of jackasses. Every second joke they cracked was about betas, and not one of them was funny. To them, the jokes were hilarious. To Wonbin, they were stupid. Sangwook, Beomseok and Junghee are moronic, but harmless.
It’s the remaining two alphas and one omega who are really testing Wonbin’s patience tonight.
Firstly, there’s Yongsoo; he’s clearly formed a surface-level interest for Wonbin, hanging off him and flirting with him every five seconds. No amount of ‘fuck offs’ or ‘get off me’s’ could get the message through Yongsoo’s thick skull. It seriously grated Wonbin’s nerves.
Then there’s Miyoung, who solely seems interested in Sungchan and Sungchan alone, always trying to sit beside him and bat her eyelashes up at him every chance she gets. It’s so obvious she’s into him, but Sungchan seems to not pay her any mind.
Lastly, there’s Jaesang.
He’s far too touchy with Sungchan for Wonbin’s liking. Always seated at Sungchan’s side, arm around his waist, chin on his shoulder, or hand on his thigh—it seriously irks Wonbin. He even flat out asked Sungchan if this was normal; if Jaesang was just a clingy drunk or if he did this all the time, and Sungchan just shrugged it off, saying he’s just a naturally touchy person. Sungchan seems to be impervious to the way Jaesang looks at him; to Wonbin, it’s so fucking obvious what Jaesang’s motives are. Sungchan laughs at stupid jokes Jaesang cracks, and doesn’t bother to remove his arm from around his waist or hand on his thigh.
Wonbin shouldn’t be feeling possessive over someone that’s not his. Yet, he feels green with envy.
It’s now nearing ten, and Wonbin is about four beers in. He most certainly is tipsy (after taking a swig of his beer every time he saw Jaesang’s hand on any part of Sungchan’s body; it was a surefire way to get tipsy quickly), and Sungchan is definitely drunk. He wonders how many drinks he must’ve had for him to be this drunk, considering he was tipsy when he came to grab Wonbin from downstairs.
Right now, they all sit in a circle on the floor of the living room, an empty beer bottle in the middle, playing a drunken game of ‘Spin the Bottle’ (well, some kind of conglomerate of ‘Spin the Bottle’, ‘Truth or Dare’ and ‘Never Have I Ever’).
Wonbin cannot believe they’re actually playing 'Spin the Bottle’, how old were they, exactly? He kind of wants to go home, but he told Seunghan to pick him up at eleven so he still has an hour to go. He also doesn’t want to leave Sungchan so soon.
He does have to admit, though, Sungchan is incredibly cute whilst drunk. He’s not a loud, angry or rowdy drunk, rather he’s a cute, happy drunk. He’s all smiles and giggles, cheeks flushed red, doe eyes dilated and glimmering. He chimes in every so often with a soft slurred voice, or laughing at his own stupid jokes—Wonbin finds it oh so endearing.
The only downside to all this is Miyoung and Jaesang both hanging off Sungchan, the oblivious alpha not paying them any attention, which only fuelled their attempts to gain his affections.
“Okay, okay,” Sangwook interrupts the chatter, reaching down for the empty bottle in the middle of the circle. “I dare the next person this lands on to do ‘seven minutes in heaven’ with the person it lands on after them!”
“‘Seven minutes in heaven’? Really?” Beomseok snickers.
“You’ll care if you get to do it with Sunhee,” Sanwook teases with a wink before spinning the bottle.
Wonbin ignores the continuing banter, watching as the bottle spins, taking a sip of his bitter beer. It slows down, then stops on him. His eyes widen, lowering his bottle.
“Ey, Wonbin!” Sangwook cheers. “Let’s see who you’re gonna do ‘seven minutes in heaven’ with!” He looks at Wonbin, who sighs in response. “Spin it!”
“Let’s hope it lands on me,” Yongsoo grins, leaning into Wonbin’s side, looping an arm across his shoulders.
A vein in Wonbin’s forehead twitches. He fails to notice Sungchan shooting Yongsoo a weak glare. “Let’s hope it doesn’t,” Wonbin grumbles, reaching up to remove the alpha’s arm. “Get off me, you reek.” He grunts for the millionth time that night.
Yongsoo feigns hurt. “How can I reek? I smell like sandalwood and—”
“Ah, that’s it, I’m allergic to sandalwood. No wonder my nose has been itching all night.” Wonbin bites back.
“It’s not real sandalwood?”
Wonbin shrugs, ignoring Yongsoo as he reaches down and flicks the head of the bottle, spinning it. He glances up from under his long eyelashes to see Sungchan staring at the bottle, watching it spin with a fierce (yet drunken) intensity.
The bottle lands on Sungchan, and the tall alpha’s eyes widen in surprise, his cheeks flushing a darker red. Wonbin’s breath catches in his throat, his heart stuttering in his chest.
“Aw no! That’s no fair! I wanted to do ‘seven minutes in heaven’ with Sungchan-oppa.” Miyoung whines childishly, pouting.
Sangwook laughs. “Aw yeah! Putting the beta and alpha in a closet together for seven minutes!” He stands clumsily to his feet, grabbing Wonbin’s arm with one hand and Sungchan’s with the other then dragging them both unceremoniously to their feet.
Miyoung whines and tries to grab Sungchan’s hand, but he just quickly pulls his hand back before she can touch his fingers. Wonbin glances down at Jaesang, the tall alpha pinning a dark glare on him. Wonbin meets his glare, reciprocating, before allowing himself to be dragged away by Sangwook.
The fuck is he glaring at me for? Sungchan doesn’t belong to you!
Sangwook leads him and Sungchan towards a small broom closet under a staircase, letting go of their hands and opening the door. Wonbin and Sungchan awkwardly stand side-by-side as Sangwook rummages through the closet, pulling out cleaning products and the like to make space for the tall alpha and not-so-tall beta to squeeze inside.
“Alright! Here you go,” Sangwook says with a grin, stepping back and gesturing to the now semi-empty broom closet.
Wonbin hears Sungchan clear his throat before slowly approaching the small closet, ducking his head as he climbs awkwardly inside. Wonbin bites his lip, following him in. The closet is cramped, poor Sungchan’s long limbs bending weirdly trying to fit himself inside. Wonbin faces him, his back against the opposite wall of the tiny closet, Sungchan’s firm thighs caging him in. Sungchan’s overpoweringly sweet apples and cinnamon scent infiltrates Wonbin’s lungs, a spike in his pheromones making his heart race.
“Have fun in there you two!” Sangwook teases before shutting the door and drenching the two cramped males in darkness.
They sit silently for a few moments, Wonbin just listening to the pounding of his heartbeat and Sungchan’s calm breaths. He shuffles slightly, his hands finding themselves gripping Sungchan’s firm thighs on either side of his hips, and he hears the alpha’s breath hitch.
“Ah—” a startled, strangled gasp escapes Sungchan’s lips.
Was that a fucking moan? Wonbin’s head is spinning. He wants to hear that sound again.
“Binnie-ah…” Sungchan whispers, moving his legs. His addicting scent spikes again, suddenly smelling sweeter—thicker, almost. It’s suffocating.
Wonbin quickly retracts his hands, Sungchan’s low yet airy voice making him feel dizzy. “S-sorry. Just trying to get comfortable.” He mumbles, one hand against the wall adjacent to his body, the other somehow finding itself on Sungchan’s narrow waist instead.
“B-Binnie, your hand—”
“Yes, yes, I know, I’m sorry,” Wonbin says, but in reality, he’s not sorry. He’s a pervert at heart. He wishes he could hold Sungchan’s lithe waist just like this while he shoves him up against a wall and fucks him senseless. “I’m just trying to get comfortable. Which is hard with your long-ass legs in the way.” He keeps his hand on Sungchan’s waist and pulls his phone out of his jacket pocket with his other hand, turning on the flash and facing it up so they can see.
Sungchan scrunches his eyes shut at the sudden white light, using one of his hands to shield his face. “Well, I’m sorry I just happen to be tall.”
“Are you calling me short?”
“Well, you’re not exactly tall,” Sungchan rebuts, opening his eyes and lowering his hand. He doesn’t look at Wonbin’s face, nervously taking his plump lower lip into his teeth.
“Huh, rude,” Wonbin grumbles, peering up into the pretty alpha’s face—they’re so close that Wonbin can feel his warm breath fanning across his wet lips. He can count each individual eyelash encasing his beautiful doe eyes. He can see a small, light mole on the left side of the bridge of his nose and just above his left eye—has he always had those moles? It’s cute. He can see the pores in the skin of his flawless face. He could easily kiss Sungchan if he just leant forward a few centimetres, and oh, he so badly wanted to kiss the pretty alpha senseless.
Sungchan’s already extremely sweet aroma hangs heavy in the air, the apples and cinnamon scent nearly choking Wonbin. He just chalks up to the unusual spike in Sungchan’s pheromones to him just being drunk.
“So…uh…” Wonbin stammers, feeling awkward. He needs to stop thinking about how badly he wants to decorate Sungchan’s neck with a constellation of hickeys and bite marks.
Sungchan looks up at him from under his long lashes, expectant.
“How’s your brother?” Why is his brother the first topic I think of? Fuck, this is awkward. “I remember you used to talk about him all the time.” He continues, ignoring his inner monologue and turmoil. He feels Sungchan stiffen, and Wonbin’s gaze falls back on the alpha’s face. His eyes are averted, pupils blown wide, cheeks red and lower lip taken by his teeth. “He’s a model, right? You could be a model too, if you wanted. I mean, ‘cause you’re attractive. Your brother is pretty attractive too; I think I’ve seen his magazines at the store—”
“Can you stop talking about my brother?” Sungchan suddenly snaps, interrupting Wonbin’s rambling.
Wonbin snaps his lips shut like a pair of tongs, eyes blowing wide. “S-sorry.” He apologises quietly, and Sungchan just sighs, slumping against the wall. Wonbin gently slips his hand just beneath Sungchan’s shirt on his waist, rubbing his thumb in soothing circles into the soft skin, the minimal action making Sungchan sigh once again, his shoulders drooping. “I’m sorry,” Wonbin repeats gently. Sungchan’s skin is warm, soft, beneath the pads of his fingers and thumb.
“…it’s fine.” Sungchan murmurs, still refusing to look at Wonbin. “You know…”
Wonbin looks at him, moving his hand down from Sungchan’s waist to his hip, ignoring the slight shiver he can feel beneath his palm.
“…you smell really nice.” Sungchan mumbles, twiddling his fingers shyly. This catches Wonbin off-guard. “Y-your scent, I mean. I really like it.” His voice falls even quieter, and if Wonbin wasn’t as close as he currently is, he wouldn’t have heard him otherwise.
“M-my scent?” Wonbin asks, astonished. “There’s nothing special about my scent.”
Sungchan blinks up at him, his long eyelashes framing his dark eyes prettily. “What do you mean? It’s your scent. Of course it’s special.” He mumbles, pursing his lips.
Wonbin wants to kiss him so fucking bad. “Do you even know what it is?”
“…white tea and blackberries?” Sungchan questions, furrowing his eyebrows. “I got the blackberries right away, but it took me some time to realise what the other smell was. It’s weird. It’s a weird combination.”
Wonbin frowns. “Yeah. I know. Betas generally have odd, boring scents.” He mutters.
Sungchan stares at him with wide eyes. “I—I didn’t mean it like that,” Sungchan says quickly, “it’s unique. I like it. I like it a lot.” He murmurs the last part, looking away bashfully. “Mine is too sweet for an alpha. I hate it.”
Wonbin wants to smack him. Sungchan shouldn’t hate anything about himself. He’s fucking perfect. His scent is unique, special, and drives Wonbin crazy. To be fair, everything about Sungchan is unique, special, and drives Wonbin crazy.
“Why?” Wonbin asks curiously, tilting his head.
Sungchan shrugs. “Alphas aren’t meant to have sweet scents. Omegas are. I’m not an omega.” He says quietly, and Wonbin presses his lips together into a tight line.
“So alphas aren’t meant to have sweet scents, just like how alphas are only meant to be with omegas, right?” Wonbin can’t help it. There’s no correlation, but in his tipsy brain, there is.
Sungchan furrows his eyebrows in confusion. “I mean, isn’t it only natural?”
Wonbin exhales loudly through his nose. But before he can respond, the closet door is yanked open, bright light flooding the dark and cramped closet. Sungchan squints his eyes, and Wonbin thanks the Lord for the seven minutes being up. He quickly clamours out of the closet, tripping over Sungchan’s leg in the process.
“Ow! Binnie, that hurt.” Sungchan whines, stepping out from the closet from behind Wonbin. He stretches his arms above his head, rolling his broad shoulders and sighing in relief as he stretches out his cramped muscles.
“Sorry,” Wonbin apologises, although it’s half-assed. He’s feeling sour now after his and Sungchan’s conversation in the closet. Is Sungchan one of those traditional people who only accept alphas and omegas, and betas and betas to be together?
Sure, it is natural for alphas and omegas to be attracted to one another, they belong together; so that just leaves betas to be together, right? Some people consider it strange for an alpha to be attracted to other alphas (alsexual), or omegas to be attracted to other omegas (omesexual), but it’s considered normal for betas to be attracted to one another. Wonbin knows not everyone thinks this way, just those who are more traditional in their beliefs.
Up until Sungchan presented when Wonbin was eighteen, he didn’t care about the fact betas were expected to be attracted to only other betas. It’s not like it was a rare thing for betas to be with non-betas, but it's just occasionally unexpected. And some people, the more traditional ones, didn’t seem to approve of betas being with non-betas, especially when the beta subverts the alpha’s or omega’s positions in the relationship.
Traditionally, alphas are always tops, and omegas are always bottoms. Betas are just whatever. If they’re with an alpha, they’re the bottom, and if they’re with an omega, they’re the top. That’s just how things worked. These are yet more components that construct Wonbin’s self-doubt in regard to his attraction to Sungchan.
There’s also the fact that Wonbin doesn’t like bottoming. He’s tried it twice; hated it both times. Every time he’s topped (which is only thrice), he’s actually enjoyed it. And it’s this dislike of being on the bottom that leads him to wanting to top Sungchan (well, that, and also the fact the alpha just looks fuckable. He just wants to make Sungchan feel good and worship that godly body of his, is that too much to ask for?), which further adds to his never-ending list of insecurities.
Perhaps Wonbin is thinking too much about Sungchan’s response; after all, he is drunk, and Wonbin is tipsy as fuck. He decides he’ll question Sungchan about it when they’re both sober, because now he just has to know. Perhaps it’d be a good thing if he’s a traditionalist; that would mean he’d never be with Wonbin and he can finally stop pining for a man who doesn’t want him.
Ah, who is Wonbin kidding. He’ll always want Jung Sungchan.
Wonbin sits on the couch, sipping slowly at his half-drunk beer bottle, watching whatever stupid American movie Junghee threw on the huge television and counting down the minutes until eleven when Seunghan is due to pick him up.
Sunhee (and Beomseok, for that matter; Wonbin guesses those two have something going on) had already left, leaving Wonbin sad that the only other non-jackass and non-Sungchan in the apartment abandoned him. Although, he isn’t entirely sure where Jaesang and Yongsoo went to. He does vaguely recall Yongsoo telling him not to miss him whilst he and Jaesang go out to get cigarettes and more alcohol, though.
Ahh, that’s right. Wonbin is glad they’re gone. Hopefully, he’ll be gone by the time they come back.
Which just leaves Junghee, who is passed out asleep on the armchair adjacent to the couch, and Sungchan and Miyoung, who are sitting beside him on the couch, half paying attention to the movie.
“C’mon, Oppa! Please.” Miyoung whines, and Wonbin grimaces.
Whilst Sungchan is most definitely drunk off his ass, Miyoung is probably tipsy at best, but is acting as though she is drunker than she actually is, and it’s so very irritating listening to her try to convince Sungchan to make out with her. She’s been trying for the last six minutes. Not that Wonbin was counting.
“Miyoung, I said no,” Sungchan responds pointedly. “I’m not interested.”
And really, that should be the end of it. But for the pushy, desperate omega, she keeps begging.
“Just this once? You never know, you might like it,” she flirts, pressing her arms together around her breasts to try to make them look bigger, batting her long eyelashes at him.
Wonbin exhales a sigh. Desperation is not an attractive trait, which for someone like Miyoung, who undoubtedly is an attractive girl, is disappointing to say the least.
But, Wonbin just wants her to shut up and leave Sungchan alone. So, in his tipsy state, he thinks it’s a brilliant idea to make out with her on Sungchan’s behalf.
“Jeez, here,” Wonbin grumbles, placing his beer bottle down on the coffee table beside the couch before he shuffles closer and gently grabs her jaw, smashing their lips together. She’s shocked, her eyes widening as he thrusts his tongue into her mouth, his hand now on the back of her head. She makes a pleased sound, her eyes fluttering closed as she kisses back. She’s not half bad, actually. She’s a good kisser, and her lips are nice and soft. Their mouths mould together, moving in sync as they messily kiss.
Wonbin looks away from her flushed face to gaze up at Sungchan who’s gone still like a statue. His doe eyes are wide, his whole face and tips of his ears blushing bright red. His mouth is agape; his pink tongue subconsciously running over his plush lower lip as he watches, mesmerised.
They make eye contact, and Wonbin smirks into the kiss, winking at Sungchan teasingly. Sungchan closes his mouth, quickly looking away and clearing his throat awkwardly.
Wonbin pulls back after making out with Miyoung for what felt like a millennia, a string of saliva connecting their swollen, kiss-bitten lips.
“You’re a good kisser,” Wonbin compliments in a low, sultry tone, slightly out of breath and licking his lips flirtatiously. He wipes some spit from his lower lip with his thumb before wiping it on his jeans.
“So are you,” Miyoung breathes, absolutely blissed out. She grins shyly, standing from the couch and walking away, giggling to herself giddily.
Wonbin snorts to himself, watching her go. Well, that was easy. He thinks to himself.
“Do you do that often?”
Wonbin turns to look back at Sungchan, whose face is redder than a tomato, his gaze on anything but Wonbin. “Do what?” Wonbin asks, feigning cluelessness.
Sungchan’s plush lips curl down delicately in the corners, still not looking at Wonbin. “That! Just now.”
Wonbin snickers. “What? You mean kiss?”
“That wasn’t a kiss. You basically ate her face.” Sungchan argues, the colour in his cheeks slowly simmering down into a delightful pink.
“It got her to leave you alone, right?” Wonbin asks, leaning back on one hand, grabbing his beer bottle and taking another sip of the nearly finished beer. He doesn’t actually know where she’s wandered off to, and he doesn’t exactly care.
“Well…yes…” Sungchan swallows thickly. “But…you—”
“I’m not some virgin, Sungchan,” Wonbin says incredulously, raising his eyebrows. “We’re not teenagers anymore. I’ve certainly kissed—and fucked—plenty of people.”
Sungchan splutters. “I—what? I didn’t—how many, exactly? And fucked who?” He rambles, doe eyes wide as he finally looks at a smug Wonbin.
“Jeez, Bambi, you’re acting like a total virgin right now,” Wonbin teases, his voice dropping an octave. He places his beer bottle back on the coffee table, before leaning forwards close to Sungchan, a teasing smirk tugged into his lips. “But if you must know—I tend to get around. I’m a bit of a slut.” He winks, his voice husky.
Sungchan looks shocked, eyes wider and cheeks redder than he’s ever seen them. “Wh-what?”
Wonbin then laughs, startling the drunk alpha. “God, you’re so cute sometimes, Bambi. I’m just kidding around. But I wasn’t joking about the virgin part.”
Sungchan bites his lip, looking away. “I mean…you’re attractive, so it only makes sense you wouldn’t be,” he mumbles quietly.
“Hm? What did you say?” Wonbin questions, Sungchan’s voice so quiet and a little slurred, he didn’t catch what he said.
Sungchan shakes his head. “Don’t worry about it.”
Wonbin licks his lips. “Are you a virgin?”
“No,” Sungchan responds softly, “but it was only one person.”
“Let me guess, that girl you dated in high school?”
“Yeah,” Sungchan confirms.
“She was older than you, wasn’t she?”
Sungchan’s eyebrows furrow in thought. “Um…maybe. I don’t remember.”
“I swear she was in uni or something,” Wonbin says, but he’s mostly talking to himself now. He remembers Sungchan’s ‘girlfriend’, and his dislike of her. She was older than Sungchan, which in itself isn’t that bad, but she was a second-year university student going after a barely seventeen-year-old in his second year of high school. Wonbin still doesn’t know why Sungchan went out with her, but he reckons it was just teenage boy hormones, since he didn’t have any dynamic hormones at the time. That, and perhaps some manipulation on her end.
“Maybe,” Sungchan looks away. “I don’t want to talk about her.” He looks back at Wonbin. “Do you kiss all your…partners, like that?”
Wonbin folds his arms across his chest, grinning. “Do I kiss them like what, Bambi?”
“Don’t call me that,” Sungchan mutters, once again averting his gaze. “And…kiss them like you just kissed Miyoung.”
“Hm…” Wonbin hums, tilting his head to one side as he feigns thought. “Well, if we’re fucking, I’m gonna be kissing them better than that.” He grins lopsidedly. “Why, do you want me to kiss you like that?”
Tipsy Wonbin is certainly more confident and direct than sober Wonbin, because sober Wonbin would die before he ever asked Sungchan if he wanted to kiss him.
Sungchan blushes, the tips of his ears flushing red. He opens his mouth to respond, but Wonbin’s loud ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ ringtone blares from his phone in his jacket pocket, startling them both.
Wonbin quickly pulls his phone out of his pocket—it’s Seunghan calling. It’s eleven, and he’s here to get him.
“Ah…my ride is here,” Wonbin says, coughing awkwardly, his confidence quickly diminishing just as quickly as it came. He quickly stands, and Sungchan stares up at him.
“Is it Sion?”
Wonbin looks down at Sungchan, an unreadable look etched into the alpha’s pristine features. Wonbin can’t exactly pinpoint that tone or the look Sungchan is gazing up at him with right now, but it’s one unfamiliar to him.
“No, it’s Seunghan,” Wonbin answers cautiously, and Sungchan’s shoulders relax slightly. “See you in class on Monday,” Wonbin says quickly, turning and walking away before Sungchan can respond.
He has so much to tell Sion and Seunghan. But perhaps he might leave some of the…finer details out.
Sungchan didn’t come to class on Monday.
Wonbin sat in his usual seat in the seminar room, nervously waiting for Sungchan to walk through that door and greet him with a bright smile as he usually would on a Monday morning. However, he never showed. Even their teacher was shocked at Sungchan’s absence; he’s never skipped a class.
Wonbin was sure he was the reason for Sungchan’s absence. He acted brazen and uncharacteristically confident at the party, flirting with the alpha and making out with some random omega girl to what—show off to Sungchan? Why brag about not being a virgin and about getting around? Why ask Sungchan if he wanted him to kiss him?
How mortifying.
Wonbin so desperately wanted to text Sungchan, to ask him if he was okay, to ask him if he offended him in any way, but he refrained from texting him. What if Sungchan is avoiding him? Honestly, Wonbin avoided him and ignored him for two years, so it’s only deserved, right?
Wonbin sighs, scrubbing a hand through his shaggy black hair, thinking back on that stupid party. He shouldn’t have gone. It was a mistake. Now, he’s probably ruined what little of a relationship he and Sungchan actually had. Not to mention what was said in the closet regarding Sungchan’s potential traditional values.
Sion walks beside him, the two leaving the university library together after studying all afternoon. The autumn breeze is chilly, gently blowing Wonbin’s long hair around his face, the sky shrouded in grey as an evening storm brews. Soft thunder rumbles in the distance, the sun setting behind the darkening clouds. The weather kind of matches how Wonbin is feeling right now.
“Bin, are you sure you’re not just overreacting?” Sion asks, breaking the silence between the two. “I mean, from everything you’ve told me, Sungchan didn’t seem upset or anything when you left him.”
“No, but he was drunk, and he was a happy drunk. He probably thought about how I behaved when he was sober and decided I was ridiculous.” Wonbin says, pursing his lips into a slight pout. “Sion, I was just…embarrassing. I made out with Miyoung and fucking winked at him while I had my tongue down her throat.”
Sion snickers, but quickly silences at the glare Wonbin shoots him. “Sorry.” He apologises meekly, adjusting his thick-rimmed black glasses on his nose. “Look, Bin, I think you’re reading too far into things. What if he’s just sick? You never know.”
Wonbin sighs for the nth time that afternoon, adjusting the left bag strap of his backpack before shoving his hands into his jacket pockets. “I guess. I don’t know, Sion,” he stares at the ground, “what if his friends said something to him when he was sober? They didn’t seem to like me.” He furrows his brows. “Actually, no, that’s a lie—Yongsoo obviously likes me.” He gags, and Sion laughs.
“Sucks to suck, I guess. That’s what happens when you have a pretty face,” Sion grins, poking Wonbin’s cheek.
Wonbin playfully slaps his hand away. “Why couldn’t Sungchan like me instead? Yongsoo was so annoying.” He then sighs in aggravation.
“Then maybe you should, I don’t know, actually confess?” Sion asks incredulously. The chilly wind picks up a little, blowing his fluffy blonde hair back off his forehead.
“Yeah, right,” Wonbin snorts, “for one, why would an alpha like him ever like a beta like me?” He frowns, his gaze on his feet as they walk. “Secondly, I could flat out tell him ‘I’m in love with you’ and he’d still not realise it’s a confession. You should have seen the way Jaesang was hanging off him last night, and he was completely oblivious. I even asked him if Jaesang was cuddly when he was drunk, and he said he was always like that.” He groans. “Jaesang so obviously has a thing for Sungchan, but he has no idea.”
Sion hums before responding, “Well, you never know, maybe he does know, and he just brushes him off and doesn’t pay him any attention, like he does with…that girl who also had a thing for him.”
Wonbin shrugs. “Maybe.”
Sion kicks at the ground, sighing. “The anniversary of your brother’s death is coming up soon too, right? Is that another reason why you’ve been so down?” Sion asks, the sudden subject change catching Wonbin off-guard.
If Wonbin is being honest (which he never is), he totally forgot about the anniversary of his brother’s passing. His mind has been preoccupied with university work and Sungchan (obviously), and now realising that the anniversary is indeed approaching, he feels insanely guilty. Perhaps subconsciously he knew it was coming and was beginning to feel down, but managed to forget all about it. Perhaps that’s why he brought up Sungchan’s brother in the closet at the party.
“Oh.” Is all Wonbin can manage.
“Did you forget?”
“Yeah.”
Sion stops walking. “I’m sorry.” He says quietly.
Wonbin stops too, turning to look back at his friend. “You’re fine, you didn’t do anything wrong. I should be thanking you for reminding me.” He chews his lip. “I can’t believe I forgot.” He mumbles.
Park Wontae was two years older than Wonbin, and they were extremely close. They did everything together; he was his best friend. That is, until a chilly autumn night in late November when Wonbin’s whole world came crashing down. The suicide note Wontae left behind was a hard read, and Wonbin felt useless for not noticing how much he was struggling. His absence left cracks in Wonbin’s family, fracturing his relationship with his parents.
Wonbin can’t believe it’ll be two years since that day in just a few weeks.
“Do you have any plans?” Sion asks, stepping up beside Wonbin and placing his hand on his shoulder.
“I won’t be able to go on the anniversary because my parents are going on the day. So I’ll go on the weekend instead.” Wonbin says quietly. “You know my relationship with my parents is still a bit rocky.”
“I know,” Sion squeezes Wonbin’s shoulder gently, before letting go and continuing to walk. “Sorry for dampening the mood, Bin.”
Wonbin offers a slight, genuine smile. “It’s fine, don’t worry.” He jumps up to wrap an arm around the taller boy’s shoulders, dragging him down to his height.
Sion yelps, stumbling as Wonbin begins to walk once again.
“C’mon, let’s get home before the storm hits,” Wonbin says, and they change the subject after that, walking, talking and laughing together until they part ways to go to their respective apartments.
The storm hit later in the evening, about six, and Wonbin decided to listen to the pounding rain, howling wind and clashing thunder whilst he cooked himself dinner rather than watching television. He ate and cleaned up from dinner in silence, leaving him to his thoughts.
He thinks about his brother, about the party, and about Sungchan. It might seem minuscule in the grand scheme of things, to be worrying about whether or not some attractive alpha hates him or not, but to him; it means more than it should.
It’s now nearing nine, and Wonbin is sitting on his couch, absentmindedly scrolling through Reddit on his phone while listening to the soothing sound of heavy rain outside. His hair is damp after his shower, a towel wrapped around his neck. He half-heartedly dries his hair with one hand, holding his phone with the other. He reads through a thread on the relationship advice Sub-Reddit, thinking perhaps he should be the one to message Sungchan first and ask if he’s okay. There’s no harm in that, right?
Wonbin heaves a heavy sigh, shuffling so his legs are curled up beneath him, before switching from the Reddit app to his iMessage app. He taps on his and Sungchan’s conversation, the last message sent by the alpha being the one he sent when he came down to collect Wonbin for the party.
He sighs yet again, before typing out a message.
to: Bambi
Hey you weren’t in class today, you okay?
He deletes it. He types again.
to: Bambi
You good?
He deletes it. He thinks for a moment, then types once again. He hits send.
to: Bambi
Hey can you send me what you got for your part for the assignment?
[delivered 8:46pm]
[read 8:47pm]
Wonbin’s heart leaps into his throat when he sees the ‘read’ tag. He waits for the typing bubble, for a response; anything.
After twenty minutes, Wonbin gives up. He tosses his phone onto the small coffee table in front of his couch with a loud sigh. It’s final; Sungchan hates him.
He’s about to begin rotting in self-pity when his phone suddenly begins to ring, the loud ‘Pirates of The Caribbean’ theme startling him. He quickly picks up his phone—it’s Sungchan.
Wonbin’s heart pounds hard and heavy against his rib cage, his breath catching in his throat. He swallows thickly, then swipes across the screen to answer. He holds the phone to his ear with a shaky hand.
“Hey, what’s up?” Wonbin asks, hoping his voice came out steady.
There’s crackling silence on the other end, but Wonbin can hear Sungchan’s laboured breathing and the sound of rain.
“Sungchan?”
“Hey,” comes Sungchan’s strained voice. “Can…can you come get me…?”
Wonbin’s eyes widen. “C-come get you?”
“I…” he hears Sungchan swallow, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know who else to call.”
Wonbin doesn’t think he’s moved so fast in his life. Sungchan pin-drops his location, so Wonbin can get him—he’s at a playground nearby. Why he’s out in the rain at a playground after nine o’clock at night is beyond Wonbin, but he sounded bad over the phone.
He sounded like he had been crying.
Wonbin races down to the playground, his umbrella barely keeping the heavy rain off his body as he runs. The ends of his tracksuit pants are drenched quickly, his arms wet from the rain.
He stops running when the playground comes into view, his breath laboured, sweat and rain dampening his forehead. He can see a silhouette of a body sitting on the swing, head down, hands gripping the chains of the swing, and he instantly knows it’s Sungchan.
Wonbin swallows thickly, before he slowly walks up to the downcast alpha on the swings. He stops before Sungchan, the alpha making no move to look up at him. He’s drenched to the bone, his skin pale and dark hair clinging to the side of his face.
“Sungchan…” Wonbin chokes out, and the taller finally looks up at him. His doe eyes are bloodshot, and his left cheek is swollen and blooming in red. Wonbin’s eyes widen. He reaches out, his fingertips gently ghosting along Sungchan’s bruised cheek, the other male flinching back, averting his gaze. “Who did that to you?” He asks, an ugly feeling swelling in his chest.
Sungchan remains quiet.
“Sungchan.”
“…can I stay with you tonight?” Sungchan asks instead, his voice barely audible over the heavy rain. He once again looks up at Wonbin, looking small and defeated. “I…I don’t have anywhere else to go.” His voice cracks.
“Y-yeah. Yeah. C’mon.” Wonbin says softly, reaching down to grab Sungchan’s hand, carefully unfurling it from its grip on the chain of the swing. He entwines their fingers, gently tugging the alpha to his feet.
Sungchan stumbles, and Wonbin’s hand is immediately on his waist, steadying him. The rain has dampened their scents, but Wonbin can pick up another smell mixed in with Sungchan’s sweet aroma, and he feels his stomach tie itself into knots.
Sungchan stands properly, and it’s now that Wonbin realises he’s in the exact same clothes from the party two nights ago.
What the fuck happened to you?