Chapter Text
The night was quiet when the clock struck midnight. A rare occasion to find such a big city to be filled with this kind of silence, and it was almost eerie. Zero traces of life, if you excluded the trees obviously. Even the moon and stars were absent this night as the sky was a total pitch black. The only other light sources were coming from the street lamps. If it was any indication, no one should be out in the streets at this hour. Yet, it was not the case with the pack of eleven who just left their first home for good. Three black vans drove past the streets trying to be as idle as possible to avoid attracting unnecessary attention. Behind these vans were three other vehicles — three box trucks. Although had someone seen them, it would be clear as a day what was happening — someone or some people were moving home. And the further they encroached on what was supposed to be the upper-class district of the city, the quieter it got. If it was even possible.
"Tell me again why exactly do we have to move at this hour?" the youngest omega who was in the first van asked a little grumpily while shifting uncomfortably in his seat as if he couldn't find a single comfortable position that allowed him to finally sit still.
"This is the fifth time you're asking that question in the last two hours, I'm not explaining again," said his manager from behind the wheel.
Everyone in that van knew that the boy who asked the question didn't really need someone to tell him again why since the boy himself knew exactly the answer to his question. He was just running out of things to say and was too bored to stay quiet, too jittery.
"Why don't you try to get some sleep and I'll wake you up when we arrive, Eric ah?" the oldest omega in the car chimed in, he could tell his mate was holding back from the temptation to just close his eyes and fall asleep. From the moment the van left their old place, Jacob who was sitting beside him had been trying to coax the younger to sleep but to no avail.
"Jacob's right, sleeping will make the time pass faster you know," said Hyunjae from beside the manager while looking up from his phone to stare at the younger through the rearview mirror. He could see how the youngest's eyes were screaming for a need to rest, not to mention the heavy eyebags under them.
"But I'm not sleepy" whined Eric, "I can't be sleepy"
'I don't feel safe because we're in a moving car heading to somewhere I have never been before' was the actual explanation for why he was too agitated in the middle of the night even when he was still surrounded by his own pack.
Without saying, they had a good grasp of why their youngest mate was feeling uneasy. Indeed, it was one of the main reasons they moved in the first place after all.
As one of the rising idol groups in the world, the continuously growing number of fans earned them perks of many things which was super wonderful. They were extremely grateful for the love they had been receiving from the start of their career despite still getting backlash for only having an alpha in the pack. Because what mattered was that they could still serve everyone a high-quality performance that satisfy every party. Truly, they were ecstatic to know that so many people loved them for who they were. Unfortunately, disfavor still existed along and it affected them to a scary extent. Not being able to go anywhere in the day without being followed by someone or some people was sadly one of them. It was frankly terrifying. Being followed nonstop to the point of knowing where they lived was not exactly something they were proud of.
As the only idol group with only one alpha to lead and protect his ten omega mates, palpably, it hadn't been easy. All those judging opinions, eyes, and rumors — even after about four years of being a pack — never stopped. Producers belittling them, people speaking ill like this was the company's plan from the beginning and no one believed that they were truly each other's soulmate, or that Sangyeon was too greedy, they had to endure it all just so they could be still be a pack. There were times when Sangyeon himself doubted his own competence to protect his mates, even though his mates continued to assure him that he was doing a great job. Nevertheless, they had tried their very best to never let those things affect them as much and they had definitely come far. Yet despite still facing all the discrimination, it wasn't the main problem they were currently facing.
Once, a crazy fan broke into their apartment when they were not home and took so many pictures. That person then went on the internet bragging about what a successful fan they were. Photos of their bedrooms, especially their nest which was the most sacred private place in a pack, now became one of the photos on the internet. A highly leaked out privacy that only gave them an accruing fear. It was such a nightmare to come home only for an unknown scent to penetrate their nose on the first step they took inside. Sangyeon immediately called the police and their agency. It had caused a big fuss and not long after, an article even came out.
A Fan Broke Into The Boyz's Dorm, The Said Fan Is Yet To Be Found
The police had tried to track the IP address of the person who upload the photos only to come back empty-handed. Surveillance cameras also ended up as a dead end as none was able to capture the person's face that was hidden by a hoodie, a mask, and a cap — tracking the person's movement from before they entered their apartment and after they left was a no-go too. Most of them still had occasional nightmares of that day, of the possibilities of how worse it could get if they had come home and the person was still there.
Likewise, that wasn't even their breaking point. It was what happened after that incident, a story for another time. Thus in fear for their artist's safety, the company finally decided to move their dorm to a new place somewhere with a better area of living. Albeit knowing the decision was for the best, it did not change the fact that everyone was still bumped that they had to leave their very first den.
They moved because they had to. Moving at midnight gave them little freedom to go out without being followed. Leaving their first apartment was harder than it seemed. But it needed to be done. They weren't safe there any longer. Even though the preparation was done in a hurry, they still managed to find a new place for a large pack with a high-security system and a nice living area. It was a little pricey but the group deserved nothing less with how much hard work they had put in these last four years.
Back in the van, Eric had yet to stop letting out a slight whine. The omega wanted to do what they told him badly to but his brain wouldn't let him, "I know you didn't catch any sleep last night" countered Changmin
They didn't understand, at least anyone in the car.
"It's okay, you don't have to sleep then," said Jacob, the last thing he wanted was for his mate to drop because of the pressure that they put him under, "But come here baby" he pulled Eric closer and laid the younger head on his shoulder as he wrapped up his arms around his body.
"Just lay with me, okay?" asked Jacob
Eric nodded slowly — he was thankful because Jacob always understand what was best. Under the soft caress on his hair, along with the sweet hum Jacob was making and the calming pheromones he was letting out, Eric found himself finally relaxing in his mate's arms half an hour later — not enough to make him fall into slumber, but at least enough for him to go wordless.
"We'll arrive soon enough, baby. I know you missed our old apartment already and I do too honestly, but it's gonna be alright. We'll just have to make a lot of new memories on our soon-to-be home" said Jacob
"Isn't it exciting? We could decorate our new home, our new nest, and our new bedroom again" said Jacob, so far he was doing a good job distracting Eric's brain from whatever distress it was in before.
"Although I'm sure Chanhee would want to take the lead for decorating, still, we could help him," said Jacob
"More like bothering him, you mean hyung? Until he gets mad and chases you around with whatever he could find as a weapon" chimed Kevin, "I don't know about you guys, but that sounds like a golden moment for me to capture"
Not once Eric engaged in his mates' conversation, which was such a contrast to his condition a moment ago. All he did now was simply snuggled closer towards the warmth the older was offering and enjoyed their chatter around him.
"Sangyeon hyung said that there's supposed to be another group living in the same building as us," said Hyunjae
"Do you know which group, hyung?" asked Kevin, "Do we know them?"
"No, Sangyeon hyung said the management of the building was forbidden to say who it was," said Hyunjae
"Do they know that we are moving in?" asked Changmin
"I don't think so," said Hyunjae
"Well, isn't that great? It means our privacy will be safe there as well" said Jacob, speaking in a low voice after noticing Eric was dozing off. It was fascinating how unsettled the omega had been a minute ago and yet now he was close to sleeping like a baby.
"Yeah, I guess you could say that," said Hyunjae
"I'm so sorry this happened, guys," said the manager suddenly, "I wish we could do more than this for you guys,"
Because when the manager thought about it, everything felt like he was pushing his artist to run away. And not to even mention, what if this way did not work?
"We understand, hyung," said Hyunjae
'This is the best way' it went without saying. And again, a lot of this went unsaid.
"It's time for us to move anyway" added Changmin
"Alright then, enjoy your free week starting tomorrow. You can unpack and get settled in first then your schedule will continue the week after that" said the manager
One free week, not bad right?
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It took a total of six hours of traveling by car from their old apartment building to the new one. Admittedly from the outside alone, this building looked so much better and fancier than the previous one, even the parking basement felt different.
"I can't wait to see the place with my own eyes," said Kevin, while clasping his hands excitedly. He was one of the people who had only seen the place through pictures and indeed he was curious to see it directly. Only some of them seemed to be still in full energy while the rest looked like they were seconds away from falling asleep while standing. Eric was now even grumpier while sticking like glue on Jacob's side as he had been so close to falling into a deep slumber when Jacob shook him awake. Just outside right next to the second van, Haknyeon was leaning his head on Juyeon's shoulder while the older was scrolling through his phone. Similar to the two, Sunwoo had his eyes fully closed and Changmin had his arm wrapped around the younger's shoulder, making sure he wouldn't fall like before. To be fair, the maknae line was looking more exhausted than the rest of the pack for a reason. Lastly, Chanhee was busy taking pictures here and there. For memories, he said.
A little bit further from the rest, Sangyeon, Hyunjae, and Younghoon were talking with the managers, the drivers of the truck, and another person who looked like a staff of the apartment. Obviously, they were trying to figure out the best way to transfer all of their stuff upstairs without attracting much-unwanted attention or disturbing the rest of the tenants.
Fortunately, the management had taken care of the new set of furniture for the apartment so they could at least sleep on a bed tonight. Although the nest room was still empty due to the decision regarding a pack's nest down to what kind of bed was better to be decided by the pack itself.
"Are you tired, baby?" asked Juyeon, putting his phone in his pocket before looking, or trying to at least, at Haknyeon's face which was a little hard considering the position they were in.
Nodding slowly, Haknyeon was barely able to form an answer, "My body's.... just... getting rid of the heat's residual on my system... I think,"
Speaking of heat, they actually just passed the heat cycle last week. While it had ended well, the heat they had this time still took a great toll on their body, due to the amount of stress they experienced lately. That was why Eric was grumpier than he usually was, why Haknyeon looked very exhausted, and Sunwoo barely had energy. The three youngest mates had it the hardest.
Juyeon released his calming pheromones the best he could, "Do you want me to carry you upstairs?" asked Juyeon
"B..but my stuff.."
"Don't worry about it, we have enough hands here to help. You, Eric, and Sunwoo could rest" said Juyeon, he was more worried about the three of them dropping than having to carry extra boxes.
"B...but I can't let the hyungs... carry my stuff" whined Haknyeon but he made no move to leave Juyeon's side.
"I promise it's alright, besides we won't be handling them alone. Remember, this is why we hired people?" asked Juyeon, caressing the latter's hair.
"Right.. right.." a yawn made its way out of Haknyeon's mouth, he wasn't sure how long he could keep his eyes open anymore.
"Let's go, baby," said Juyeon
Haknyeon looked like he wanted to protest further but eventually decided to refrain from doing so, he figured that this was better than having him accidentally drop the boxes had he chosen to force himself. Juyeon said it was okay so he would use the last thread of consciousness he had to trust the older one.
"Okay..." replied Haknyeon in a tiny voice.
"Tell me, front or back?" asked Juyeon
"You don't have to, hyung," said Haknyeon, looking away due to embarrassment.
Juyeon chuckled adoringly, "I want to though," said Juyeon, "C'mon choose or I'm gonna choose it for you, baby"
"...Front..." whispered Haknyeon, a tint of pink appearing on his cheeks.
"Okay, hop up then," said Juyeon
"Now?" asked Haknyeon, a little flustered.
Juyeon didn't answer him. Instead, he just pulled the younger gently so he was now standing in front of him. Then without warning, he scooped the younger up by his butt and tangled the omega's legs around his waist. Startled by the sudden movement, Haknyeon screeched before quickly wrapping his arms around the older omega's neck.
Embarrassed by thinking that there were people who weren't his pack to see him like this, Haknyeon was quick to hide his face in the crook of Juyeon's neck. His nose was right on the older's scent gland. It felt nice to inhale the older's sweet scent this close, it calmed him down better than he expected — worked like magic every time. The moment the sweet smell of caramel filled his nose, it was the only thing he could smell. A little overwhelming but in a good way.
"Close your eyes, darling," said Juyeon
And Haknyeon did as he was told so.
Not long after, Haknyeon could feel a third hand on the back of his head, caressing his hair gently that made him purr contentedly. From the size of the hand, from the stronger scent next to Juyeon's, Haknyeon knew very well it was Sangyeon. Admittedly, he wished he could stay in his mate's arms like this forever without having to worry about anything else.
"—go first—"
"—6th floor, 602—"
Haknyeon wasn't awake enough to hear the whole conversation around him but he could definitely tell when Juyeon started to walk. Though the omega didn't last long before sleep finally consumed him.
"He's asleep" announced Juyeon to his mates around him as Haknyeon's body went fully lax on his hold. They walked inside the lift and Hyunjae pressed the card, that was attached to their key, to a small screen above the number buttons. After that, the man punched the button with the number six written on it.
"He'll be okay, right?" asked Changmin who had a box on his arms.
"Of course, our pups just need a lot of rest and they would be back to themselves in no time," said Hyunjae
"I hope that's true," said Juyeon while adjusting his arms higher, it did not disturb Haknyeon at all who seemed to be in a very deep sleep already.
Juyeon might be an omega but he was certainly a dominant one. Aside from his sweet scene and his occasional heat, he could fool you as alpha at a glance. There were even times when his aura dominated a submissive alpha.
They arrived on the 6th floor soon in no time. And like what Sangyeon — the only person who had seen the apartment before this day — told them, there were exactly two apartment units on this floor. It was designed for large packs such as themselves. Precisely like what they needed, fewer units on a floor meant fewer people around. Hopefully, their new neighbor would not be a deal breaker.
"601..." mumbled Hyunjae as they passed the said unit and walked a little further down the hallway.
"602, this is us," said Hyunjae as they finally arrived in front of the door with the numbers craved on it.
"I'll just put him in the closest bedroom I can find then I'll come right away to help you guys with the stuff," said Juyeon as Hyunjae opened the door.
"Got it, just take your time," said Hyunjae, "Make sure he's comfortable first, I don't want him to accidentally wake up alone here while we're all downstairs"
"Okay, hyung," said Juyeon, disappearing into another hallway.
"Where do you want me to put this box, hyung?" asked Changmin
"Living room will do, we'll start unpacking tomorrow. Right now, let's just make sure that all of our stuff fit inside" said Hyunjae
Three hours later, after carrying plenty of boxes that they lost count, everything was finally inside their new apartment. The moving trucks had already left and as well as their managers. Right now, it was just them inside this new den.
"Get some rest guys," said Sangyeon, "We have the whole week for ourselves"
"What about the bedroom?" asked Chanhee. Undoubtedly, since they hadn't prepared their nest yet, it meant that for tonight everyone must sleep on their own bed. Now, the question would be which of the bed was whose.
"Well, I'm excited anyway!" giggled Chanhee lightly, "I can't wait to start decorating our nest, my bedroom, and this plain apartment"
Sangyeon was glad that the younger was taking this sudden change well. He truly hoped this would work out for them as he couldn't stop worrying for his mates' safety.
"Just choose randomly for tonight, I don't think we still have the energy to decide that now," said Sangyeon, "Oh, and Haknyeon is already sleeping there, so mind your volume, okay?" he pointed to the nearest bedroom on their left.
Everyone was nodding their head before scattering around. Sangyeon was about to do the same when a set of hands stopped him, "Yes baby?" asked Sangyeon
Turning his head, Sangyeon found Eric looking at him. The omega let out a little whine, his scent turning sour a little.
"Do you want to sleep with me?" asked Sangyeon, he could tell that Eric's omega was unsettled.
The whine turned into a bit of mewl and Sangyeon took that as a yes.
"Okay, let's go, baby," said Sangyeon, he pulled his arm from Eric's hands only to pull the omega closer to him. With a gentle movement, he lifted his mate in a bridal style.
"Hold tight pup," said Sangyeon
"Hyunjae ya, can you stay with Sunwoo tonight?" asked Sangyeon as they passed the omega.
Nodding, "Of course, alpha," said Hyunjae
"Take care of our mate, love," said Sangyeon
"Will do, you good with Eric?" asked Hyunjae
Sangyeon nodded, "We're gonna be okay," said Sangyeon
"Okay, good night, hyung" said Hyunjae
"Good night, love," said Sangyeon
After exchanging a little kiss with his alpha and after giving a soft kiss on Eric's head, Hyunjae started to walk away, heading to where Sunwoo was.
Hopefully, this would be a fresh beginning for them.
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Tbc