Chapter Text
For the first time in her 21 years of existence, Wonyoung will be going into heat.
It’s strange. Just yesterday, she was living as a beta, going about her very normal day, free from the woes of alpha and omegas who have to deal with hormones and the like. One urgent and harrowing doctor’s appointment later after suddenly finding that she could smell other people, she has officially been declared as an omega.
A late bloomer, the doctor romantically dubbed her.
There is nothing romantic about it. Her life has been flipped upside down around its axis, and now she is suddenly thrust into a whole new world where scents, heats, suppressants and more are actual things that she has to be concerned about.
The doctor had immediately prescribed her suppressants, so that she can repress her sense of smell for the time being and manage her heat according to her schedule. The consultation with the doctor was an out-of-body kind of experience, because how is it that she’s an omega now? Surely she just swapped places with an alternate universe version of Wonyoung because this version should not be an omega.
But when the pharmacist at the counter placed a small ziplock bag containing strips of capsules in her hand, it suddenly felt real. Something about the tiny weight of the suppressants on her palm, and the way her full name was printed on the ziplock bag, along with the instructions “Take 1 capsule, twice a day”. It really dawned on her then—that she is now an omega.
She had just clutched the suppressants in her hand and her heart wanted to jump out of her throat.
Their manager had thankfully taken charge from there and her first order of business was to gather the members and sit them down to inform them of the situation, which is why she currently has to tolerate five pairs of eyes boring holes into her face.
Wonyoung learns that it’s downright embarrassing, coming out of the closet as an omega at the age of 21.
“I told you so,” Jiwon, a fellow omega now, rubs it in her face. “I knew you were too omega to be a beta.”
Wonyoung makes a face, “What does that even mean?”
“It means, you’re too submi-“ Gaeul, the oldest beta of the group, intervenes, claps a hand over Jiwon’s smart mouth. “Are you feeling okay, Wonyoung?” she asks.
Their manager thankfully breaks the news on her behalf, because how is she supposed to tell her members that she’ll soon be so irrevocably horny that she would not be able to function.
“Wonyoung will have to go into heat soon,” their manager says.
Even though the words aren’t coming from her own mouth, she still casts her eyes downward, unable to stop a blush from reaching her cheeks.
There’s a pregnant pause before their manager takes it as a cue to continue, “She’ll be taking the following week off. I’ll have to ask that you girls avoid the dorm for a while if you can. It’s her first heat so she needs to spend it where she’s most familiar.”
Sue Wonyoung, but she would rather kill herself than have it at home, where her parents and sister would be able to hear everything.
“You’ll be spending it alone? No heat partner?” Gaeul asks, and Wonyoung sees her briefly glance at Yujin, like she’s trying to send a signal.
Yujin, leader and the only unmated alpha of the group, is definitely in a position to help her through her heat. Just the thought alone of Yujin being her heat partner makes her flush. God, she must look so red right now. She peeks up at Yujin through her bangs—she has been strangely silent through out this entire exchange.
Yujin is gnawing on her lower lip, brows furrowed, and she’s looking at the ground intently. It’s an unfamiliar expression she’s wearing. She looks up, meeting Wonyoung’s eyes accidentally. Wonyoung immediately snaps her eyes away, lowering her gaze to the floor again.
“No heat partner,” Wonyoung confirms meekly.
Jiwon lets out a low whistle and pats her back sympathetically, “Rough. First heats are the worst.” Hyunseo nods and agrees, asks, “Yeah, will you be okay, unnie?”
Wonyoung falls silent for a while. It’s a loaded question she doesn’t quite know how to answer. She has never been through a heat and the way her members are reacting is making her a lot more nervous than she already was.
“Let’s make things as comfortable as possible for Wonyoung,” their manager says. Turning to Yujin, she instructs, “Lend her some of your clothes. An alpha’s scent would help at the very least.”
The leader nods stiffly. Wonyoung perfectly understands the unease the alpha seems to be radiating, even if they are best friends. It must be mortifying to be told to lend your bandmate some clothes so that she can smell them while getting off. She wants to say that it’s not necessary, but Jiwon’s words are making her hesitant to reject immediately.
“Alright, then we’ll stock up on some necessities. When it does come, make sure you avoid her room best as you can, especially Yujin. Rei, you’re mated but play it safe, okay?” their manager concludes, clapping her hands once.
They disperse, and they are left to their own devices. Wonyoung immediately retreats to her room, red-faced, not wanting to entertain any more questions. She’s had enough embarrassment for one day.
Alone now, she flops on to her bed, burying her face in her pillow. She can’t stop thinking about the fact that in just two week’s time, she’ll be trying her best to quell her heat on her own, to the scent of Yujin, and Yujin will be fully aware of it. It makes her want to scream.
She really hopes things don’t get too awkward between them. They’ve been friends for so long, they literally know each other like the back of their hand. Surely they would be able to move past this? It’s just one heat. So what if Wonyoung is going to get off to Yujin’s scent? It’s no big deal, right?
Wrong, she thinks, it’s a very big deal. She huffs into her pillow, punching the mattress multiple times. How are they supposed to move past this? This would cross every best friend boundary, every line they’ve drawn since the age of 13. As much as she would love for Yujin to help her with her heat, she can’t do this. Her heart sits heavy in chest whenever she thinks of that strange expression Yujin wore earlier. She needs to tell Yujin that she doesn’t need her clothes.
She doesn’t ever want Yujin to look at her differently.
Just as she has made up her mind, there’s a barely audible knock on her door. She unearths herself from her pillow, turning to face the door.
“Wonyoung.” Yujin is standing in her doorway, and in her arms are a bunch of neatly folded clothes.
“Oh, unnie.”
“My clothes,” she says, voice clipped as she sets the clothes down on her desk.
Wonyoung sits up to look at Yujin better. The older girl is rubbing the back of her neck, eyes fixed on the pile of clothes. Her chest feels a little tight, watching Yujin act this way. Yujin, who likes to tease her, who holds her hand with a gentle firmness, who always looks at her with soft eyes—she doesn’t even want to meet Wonyoung’s eyes now.
She clears her throat, attempting to dispel the awkwardness, “Unnie, about that- urm, I don’t think I need them after all.”
That seems to get Yujin’s attention, because the leader whips her head so fast to gape at Wonyoung in shock. “What? Why?”
“Well- I can handle it by myself, I think…” she trails off, because she’s not actually confident that she can handle it on her own.
“It’ll be your first heat though. Jiwon says it’ll be hard,” Yujin argues, frowning a little now.
“It’s fine! I don’t want things to get weird either,” she says, waving her hands in front of her.
Yujin blinks, and the little crease between her eyebrows gets even deeper as she asks, “Weird? Why?”
“Oh, you know! The whole scent thing,” she tries.
“What do you mean?’
Wonyoung is starting to sweat. Why does it seem like Yujin is hellbent on making Wonyoung spell things out? Does she not think it’s weird? Wasn’t she the one frowning earlier about this whole thing?
“I- I don’t need your scent!” she barely stammers out.
“Do I smell bad?”
“What? No?”
“Then why don’t you want my clothes?” Yujin insists, folding her arms.
She wants to cry, because Yujin is making it sound like she wants Wonyoung to do unspeakable things with and to her clothes.
“It’s weird! It’s-“
“What’s weird?”
“Getting off to your scent!” she bursts in frustration.
And there Wonyoung is, sitting on her bed, with crimson colouring her cheeks and ears, talking Yujin out of lending her clothes for her to masturbate to.
This is the most shameful thing she has ever had to do.
She curses under her breath shakily, lets out a pathetic whimper as she covers her face with her hands. The earth might as well open up and swallow her whole. She prays that time would just turn back on its own, back to when she was still a beta. Then at least she could still remain best friends with Yujin and not ruin their friendship with dumb things like heats.
“… I don’t think it’s weird,” she hears Yujin say.
Wonyoung raises her head so fast, she nearly gets whiplash. Her jaw falls open as she watches Yujin worry her lower lip. Ah, Yujin must have gone insane from processing the fact that Wonyoung is an omega.
“Unnie, are we still talking about the same thing?” she asks.
The alpha nods, sighing as she runs an exasperated hand through her hair. Closing the distance between them, Yujin kneels down on the floor in front of Wonyoung. She takes hold of Wonyoung’s hands and doesn’t let go, stroking her knuckles with her thumb, as if to soothe.
Yujin raises her head, looking at Wonyoung before taking a deep breath.
“Wonyoung, I… I want to help you through your heat,” Yujin admits.
What?
It’s absurd. It’s absolutely absurd. But Yujin is looking up at her with round, sincere eyes, looking every bit like a loyal golden retriever.
“Wha- What does that mean?” Wonyoung stutters, and so does her heart.
Yujin squeezes her hands, “It means that if you don’t mind me, I would like to be your heat partner.”
“You do know what that entails, right?” she asks, feeling her ears go hot.
Sex. She means sex. Wonyoung has no qualms about that, would gladly agree to it in a heartbeat because it’s all she has ever wanted, but she has never expected Yujin to ever remotely want the same thing.
Yujin averts her eyes then, blushing. (Pink looks so pretty on her, Wonyoung thinks.) The older girl takes another deep breath, steeling herself before meeting Wonyoung’s eyes once more.
“I know.”
Despite the pink dusting her cheeks, Yujin’s gaze is so resolute, it makes her heart threaten to leap out of her ribcage. Her best friend is determined to do whatever it takes to alleviate her pain—and that includes having sex with her.
Wonyoung mutters another curse, feeling heat spread to her neck as well. If Yujin is willing, then surely there’s no real reason to say no and deny herself of the very thing she has always yearned for.
Wonyoung is so incorrigibly greedy.
“You really want to?” she asks once more, giving Yujin one last chance to back out. (She would be devastated and heartbroken, but she promises she would understand. Even now, she thinks Yujin must have gone slightly insane to be offering.)
Yujin nods twice—a firm yes.
“Wonyoung, I don’t want you to go through this alone,” Yujin confesses.
Her shoulders immediately feel a ton lighter (she didn’t even realise she was carrying all that weight). Yujin’s admission makes her feel so seen.
Her best friend’s gaze is soft and gentle, as it always is whenever she’s looking at Wonyoung. It’s a gaze reserved entirely for her, and Wonyoung thinks, maybe, just maybe, Yujin will never ever look at her differently.
Oh, Yujin makes it so easy to fall in love.
“O-okay,” she sighs and relents, giving in to her own greed. “But it’s your job to break the news to the others.”
The alpha breaks into a dopey grin then, like she always does whenever she wins a petty argument. Silly Yujin, with her silly grins and soft eyes.
“Alright,” she easily agrees, waving both their hands happily like an excited puppy.
Her heart thumps hard in her chest, but with Yujin, she thinks everything will be okay.