Chapter Text
“Riki-ah. Come and meet our new baker. This is Kim Sunoo.”
Life has been black and white ever since Riki presented as an omega at eighteen – having to suffer under his parents’ rage and disappointment, there never had been a peaceful day after his eighteenth birthday. And after moving to Korea, to escape the cage his parents confined him to, loneliness obscures everything around him like a fog when he finds himself alone in his apartment at night. It was peaceful and quiet in Korea without his parents’ constant criticism and their forceful deed of trying to marry him off to an alpha – ‘Try not to be a useless omega for once. Do us a favor and marry Hansuke-san’ – but it cost him all the friends, his dance team and especially his sisters who replaced the love his parents couldn’t give him by leaving them all in Japan.
Then, there’s Kim Sunoo who becomes a new staff member at the cafe he worked at as a cashier. It was one random day during summer, where Riki just arrived at the cafe and his manager decided to introduce him to the new guy, standing in front of him was an omega – a sweet marshmallow scent hits Riki like a gust of wind. Riki is not usually this attentive to a scent, but it’s the first time Riki ever felt something like this, the omega’s scent gives him a nice feeling and Riki found himself being attracted to the marshmallow smell.
“Nice to meet you, Riki-ssi.”, the new guy bowed to him, and when he looked up, Riki had felt like electricity ran through his body when their eyes met. Even Sunoo was startled as well, his pretty fox-like eyes widened at Riki, and he couldn’t help but think the omega was adorable at that time. Perhaps Sunoo had felt the same when their eyes met, but that would be impossible so Riki quickly pushes aside that feeling.
“It’s nice to meet you too, Sunoo-san.”, Riki returns with a soft smile. A small chuckle left Riki and Sunoo seemed to relax at the sound, the omega looked at him with glimmering eyes as if Riki had hung a star for him.
It didn’t take them long to get close. Sunoo was easy to talk to despite being two years older than him – the older omega turned twenty-one a few days ago before he worked. Riki quickly learns he’s an influencer with an adequate amount of followers on social media, and he’s also a culinary student who’s currently on his summer break. Riki had tasted his baked goods once, the taste of it completely swept Riki off his feet. And Riki finds himself warming up and opening his heart to the other omega as weeks pass by working alongside with the older.
Liking Sunoo is as easy as breathing. He was a sweet and extroverted omega filled with a burning passion for baking. He is everything Nishimura Riki can’t be, a complete opposite to Riki who was raised and trained like an alpha by his parents who wanted him to take after the family’s business. Bright and friendly personality that magnetizes people towards him, he attracts looks everywhere he goes, and maybe that’s why he got a lot of fans. Ever since Sunoo started working at the cafe, the omega accidentally reveals it to his followers, the cafe has been gaining a new bunch of customers in which the owner was more than happy that his business is growing.
Sunoo was his Sunshine-hyung, often refers him that way too. And having Kim Sunoo in his life brings colors to his empty world.
“You got a doctor as your mate?”
It was closing time, the outside was already dark when they got out of the cafe. Riki usually walked Sunoo to his neighborhood after their shift ended. Riki tends to get protective over him sometimes, worriedness always filled him up at the thought of letting the older omega walk alone at night after hearing all kinds of stories that left Sunoo’s mouth involving his past stalker. But tonight was different. Sunoo had informed him that he shouldn’t need to walk him home anymore since his mate had started working a day shift at the hospital so he will be coming to pick Sunoo up from now on.
A blush formed on Sunoo’s cheeks. “He’s still an intern. It was for his degree.”
“Oh. So a future doctor?”, Riki wriggled his eyebrows. “You bagged a good one, hyung.”
Sunoo lightly hits him on the arm. It was fun to tease the older omega, his reaction always got Riki chuckling. The older huffs in what Riki could see were faux annoyance. “Anyway, thank you for walking me home all these times. I appreciate it.”, Sunoo gave him a fond smile.
Riki could feel his ears grow hot at that warm smile he receives. “It’s nothing.”, he tried to play it off coolly by shrugging. However, when Sunoo had pulled Riki into a hug, the younger omega ended up breaking out of his cool facade and spluttering in response. “S-Sunoo?”
“You're a good alpha, Ki.” , Sunoo whispers.
Riki stiffened. Guilt prickling his chest. He has been lying to Sunoo. When Riki moved to Korea, the fact that he was an omega was buried in a secret. He has been living as an alpha in disguise – in his job resume when he applied for the cashier position, when he rented an apartment, everything. Pretending to be an alpha makes his life simple, he just needs to wear a scent blocker which has been normalized and people easily believe he’s an alpha by his physique. Riki is taller than average, even taller than most of the alpha he met in his life and he has a sharp feature that’s seen as intimidating. His parents had signed him up to a gym trainer back in Japan, even learned some self-defense, safe to say Riki had some muscles and he’s almost as strong as an alpha.
He knows he shouldn’t be lying to his first friend in Korea but he didn’t even expect he would get close to Sunoo in the first place. Riki bites his lips. A sickening horrible feeling came biting him as he forced himself to speak, his throat suddenly hurt. “T-Thanks.”, he stuttered. It’s fine. It’s better this way.
Sunoo pulled away and raised an eyebrow, he probably realized Riki’s awkwardness. “Oh, are you by chance not used to hugging?”
That’s not it. Riki stays silent. There’s conflict running through his head at the moment.
The older omega immediately noticed something’s wrong and reached his hands to caress Riki’s cheeks. “What’s wrong, Ki?”
“Nothing.”, Riki wraps his hands around the older omega’s wrists, lightly tugging it away from his cheeks and he ignores the way Sunoo’s lips dropped into a frown upon his action.
“You pushed me away, again .”, a soft mumble escapes Sunoo and Riki’s eyes widened. There’s a hurt on the older man's expression.
“Sunoo-”
“Sun.”, deep voice cuts Riki off and an arm pushes Riki’s chest making him stumble backward, pushing him away from the older omega.
“What the-”, Riki looked up just to see a man, a few inches taller than Sunoo but not taller than Riki, standing in front of him. A wide shoulder and a figure that clearly goes to the gym frequently – definitely an alpha if his sandalwood scent didn’t give him out. His thick eyebrows were furrowing at Riki, and if it weren't for the fact that he’s glaring at Riki, he would’ve said the man was above good-looking, almost ethereal.
Ah, this must be Sunoo-hyung’s mate.
Despite the man wrapping his arm around Sunoo’s waist possessively while having a look that he wanted to kill Riki, Riki remained calm at such intimidation. This is nothing compared to what Riki went through in Japan. And is it bad that Riki also has this urge to fuel the alpha’s anger? Besides, Riki is slightly annoyed at the way this rude alpha pushes him earlier. “Are you Sunoo-hyung’s mate?”, asks Riki composedly with a fake saccharine smile. The fake business smile his parents taught finally becomes useful.
The man continues to glare at Riki.
“What?” Riki blinks nonchalantly.
Sunoo looked between the two before he broke out of the man’s hold. “Sunghoon-hyung! Stop being rude! Sorry, Ki. This is my mate. He can get a bit out of hand sometimes.”
“It’s fine. I can see why he is… jealous.”, Riki smirks. The man’s eyebrow twitched and that somehow stirred the excitement inside Riki. He can’t believe he’s having fun in this, but Riki has always been tired of acting like a good obedient son in front of his parents. Coming to Korea gives him the freedom to be more of himself, his playful personality that he abstains from showing in front of his parents easily comes out. “Nice to meet you, Sunghoon-ssi.”
Riki holds a hand out, waiting for a handshake from the man, but instead of shaking it, Sunghoon just stares at it.
“Sunoo. Let’s go home.”, Sunghoon held the older omega’s hand, ignoring Riki’s.
“Hoon-hyung, wait-”
“And you.”, the alpha glares at Riki, eyes full of fury. “Watch yourself.”, his tone holds an underlying threat. And just like that, Sunghoon pulled his unwilling mate with him to the car parked in front of the cafe, Sunoo sends Riki a concerned look before he enters his seat.
“See you tomorrow, Sunoo-hyung!” Riki waved at them until the car finally drove off.
When the car is finally out of sight, he drops both his hand and his smile at the same time. A sigh escapes Riki, conflicted. “My life is a mess.”, he brushed his hair backwards. Sunghoon sounds like an asshole. Well, a good-looking asshole who happens to be protective and possessive alpha to his mate. Riki doesn’t even know who he should be jealous of. And… that electrifying sensation when he stares through those deathly gaze of the alpha, the same feeling when he first meets Sunoo. What’s up with these people? And what it is with this feeling?
Why does Riki feel like he will get more involved with them in the future?