Chapter Text
“Alphas! Ugh! They are so— so! Ugh!”
Yeosang forms a tense line with his lips in favor of stopping the rapid string of words that has just left his mouth. You need to calm down, Yeosang repeats to himself. The doctor advised him to regulate his emotions as his body gets used to its new self, and adjusting to his new reality means not only being patient with the changes his figure may experience, but also with the emotions that guide his heart and the thoughts that direct his head.
He takes a deep breath, seeking to soothe himself, and lifts his gaze to focus on the reason why he's there: melon liqueur. Expressing the sincerity of his emotions through crude words is unnecessary when he can swallow them and wash them down with the sweet taste of melon.
He was told that he could take whatever he wanted, and so there he is, stretching out his hand to try to reach the box of melon liqueur. He has to stand on his tiptoes and the tip of his tongue peeks out between his lips as he tries to drag the box forward. It's heavy and he could have used a stool, but he hasn't seen a stool around him and doesn't plan to let dumb alphas ruin another one of his nights.
Yeosang finally smiles when he drags the box, until his eyes widen as the entire weight of the box, and therefore the bottles, falls forward.
“Careful.”
Startled by the sudden voice that sounds more than a little close to him, Yeosang draws himself back and can’t help but tense up his shoulders after the box effectively leaves its place on the shelf, but no bottle falls to the floor and only a small discomfort accompanies his hand.
The person in front of him catches the box in his hands and rigidity hugs Yeosang's figure as he recognizes him as an alpha. The coffee accords of his scent are noticeable and his sense of smell has never once failed him —Yeosang wants to believe that the accuracy of said sense hasn't changed, even if his doctor has told him to expect several changes now that he’s presented as an omega.
“You have to be careful with these boxes, they don’t look heavy but they are,” Brown eyes, protected by brownline glasses, look at him and Yeosang looks away, forcing himself not to roll his eyes even though the tone of voice that has accompanied those words didn't sound condescending.
He already knows what will follow that sentence, you're lucky I was here, darling. Or why not, what's a cute omega like you doing here all by himself? He should have let Wooyoung accompany him as he suggested. Yeosang bites the inner side of his cheek as he can practically hear the words, let's leave this here and go back to the party, I'll buy you a drink and we'll see how you can thank me for preventing the box from falling on you.
“Are you okay?”
Yeosang doesn't try to mask his thoughts, and impressed, turns his head to rest his surprised gaze on the alpha in front of him. Now that he doesn't try to avoid eye contact, because on whatever being is up there, some alphas have come to think that he was interested in them simply because he looked at them; he denotes dark brown locks, half slicked back, as well as a buttoned nose and round cheeks.
“S— sorry?”
Handsome, his wolf offers.
Shut up, Yeosang retorts.
“Are you okay?” the alpha in front of him repeats. “Have you hurt yourself?”
Upon hearing those words, Yeosang gazes toward his hand to find a small cut. He must have hurt himself on the metal shelf after quickly pulling his hand towards himself.
“My hand, a little bit,” he offers, bringing his hand to his chest to wrap it with the other.
Despite not having already taken the moment to call himself a hero, he doesn't need the alpha in front of him to consider himself his savior simply for having caught the box, preventing an accident, and only getting a small, pink line to sting his hand.
The alpha nods instead of saying you know how to treat it, right? Since you're an omega and all.
“You wanted one of these?” he asks, pointing his head at the box still trapped in his arms.
“Mh, yes... if it’s not too much trouble...”
Yeosang's eyes, and therefore his attention, slide to the way in which the fabric of the black blazer the alpha is wearing, strains against the evident muscle present beneath it once he places his hand under the box to hold it as he takes one of the bottles with the other.
Strong, his wolf sing-songs.
He blinks when said bottle is offered to him.
“Mh—”
“It's okay, I’ll take care of it,” the alpha interrupts him before he can offer his help.
Now, while he remains with the bottle in his hand, the alpha adjusts the box back in his arms.
“Because I’m an omega and I have no strength?”
“No, because you just said you hurt your hand, and it’s just a box,” the alpha follows those words with a small amused smile before leaving the box where it was and dusting his hands off.
Embarrassed by his own comment, surprisingly unnecessary this time, Yeosang holds the bottle close to his chest.
“Thank you...”
“Next time you can ask someone for help, though I assume you don't usually do it, so, do you need help with that?”
Yeosang tilts his head. Did this alpha just imply that he's stubborn? Yeosang slides his gaze back to his hand when the alpha does so. He doesn't think he needs help with the small cut on his hand. He knows Wooyoung always has band-aids with him.
Handsome, strong, and considerate, his wolf lists. Yeosang is more than sure that this is the first time his wolf hasn't been grossed out by the presence of an unknown alpha.
Admitting that he's slightly intrigued, he agrees to be helped by an alpha for the first time.
“Yes, please,” Yeosang nods.
“Come, follow me.”
This time Yeosang's eyes fall on the alpha's back as he follows him, and he suddenly finds himself dusting off his sparkling silver high-waisted pants and making sure the collar of his black turtleneck is still intact.
He can hear the murmur of music from the ongoing party, and he doesn't feel alarmed, and neither does his wolf, to find himself alone with an alpha who definitely knows the place, since he guides him through the underground bar of the hotel they're in until they both stop.
“Let's see... the first aid kit should be around here...”
As the alpha searches, Yeosang peeks around and pulls up one of the available chairs to sit down and leave the bottle on the table next to it. He believes he's in a private area, or at least secluded. There's no one around and the place is just as luxurious as the rest of the places in the hotel he's seen so far, but he soon stops focusing on the dark color of the walls, the low lights, and the bottles of wine available, when the alpha moves the chair in front of him after leaving the first aid kit on the table.
“It's just a slight scratch, but let's make sure we treat it properly,” the alpha extends his hand towards him, and Yeosang's eyes fall on it.
He's been reacting so reluctantly lately, to any unknown person who has tried to touch him. Either by grimacing, withdrawing his hand, or shrinking into himself. He's sensitive, he's aware of that, and he wouldn't want to react in such a way when it's obvious that the alpha in front of him wants to help him, or at least that's what Yeosang wants to believe, and what his wolf definitely believes. It doesn't thrash around, trying to alert him, and continues to find itself just as intrigued as he is when he finally places his hand over the alpha's.
“I shouldn't sting, but let me know if it does, okay?” at the gentleness that accompanies both the alpha's hold and words, Yeosang nods. The alpha makes sure to avoid brushing his wrist at all times, Yeosang notes, and thus, his scent gland. Unlike those present on his neck, he hasn't covered those on his wrists with patches.
The antiseptic is sprayed on the small cut and it certainly doesn't sting.
Name, I need a name, this time it's not his wolf who asks for it, but himself.
“Thank you...” Yeosang leaves the sentence unfinished, and luckily, the alpha understands.
“Jongho. You're welcome...” He wants a name too! That's definitely his wolf.
“Yeosang,” Yeosang offers. “Thank you, Jongho.”
Jongho looks at him for a moment, it's a fleeting glance, one that he does with his eyes a little wider and his eyebrows raising a little higher. Jongho rests his eyes on him after hearing him say his name, and Yeosang hopes it's not because he's mispronounced it.
“You're welcome, Yeosang,” Jongho says, and Yeosang shifts in place when he hears his name leave Jongho's mouth.
If Yeosang could see his wolf, he's sure he'd watch it twitch one of its ears, interested in Jongho's voice saying his name. Yeosang wonders if perhaps, too, Jongho has previously watched him momentarily because he liked the way the letters of his name sounded in his mouth.
“Were you expecting some omega to need your help?” Yeosang asks him once Jongho lets go of his hand, since despite feeling comfortable and his wolf not getting restless, he's aware that he's alone with an alpha who oh so coincidentally had excellent timing to help him.
“No, trust me, quite the opposite,” Jongho lets out a small laugh that is somewhat sarcastic as he puts the spray in the first aid kit, and Yeosang is curious at the words he hears. “Were you expecting some alpha to help you?”
“No, quite the opposite,” Yeosang straightens up in his seat. “I wanted a bottle precisely because of alphas.”
“Ouch,” Jongho brings a hand to his chest, feigning pain.
“Not you,” incredibly, those words are the ones that leave Yeosang’s mouth, because, incredibly, at least so far, Jongho hasn't characterized his personality with the typical adjectives that, unfortunately, tend to describe the behavior of an alpha. He has already come across enough of them to have reason to try to avoid them, and failing that, look for a bottle of melon liqueur. “And... if you weren’t hoping to help an omega, what were you doing?”
“Avoiding omegas,” instead of bringing a hand to his chest, Yeosang pouts, both falsely to match Jongho's previous reaction and slightly confused. “Not you.”
Yeosang feels the corners of his mouth begin to lift as he realizes that somehow, he turns out to be Jongho’s exception, at least for that moment; until he quickly forces himself to curl the corners of his mouth into a line. He shouldn’t be so pleased to know that despite having been avoiding omegas, Jongho is still in front of him.
Once again he gets the chance to feel the gentleness that accompanies Jongho's gestures as Jongho covers the cut on his hand with a band-aid. When Jongho keeps on holding his hand to help him up even though Yeosang thinks he's sure he doesn't need help getting up from a chair, Yeosang curls his fingers over his.
“There you go, pup.”
Yeosang widens his eyes. His wolf cheers, overjoyed, and he feels his cheeks burn.
“Pup?”
“You just—” Jongho looks at him, and yes, Yeosang agrees with his wolf, Jongho is handsome. “Forgive me, that was so inappropriate of me. Forgive my comment. It's just that... well, it just slipped out of my mouth, although that's no excuse. The proximity allowed me to detect your scent and... you smell like... mh, freshly... presented.”
Jongho lets go of his hand, and instead of insisting that he hasn't been offended by the term pup, but quite the opposite, he's sure of it, Yeosang focuses on the last words expressed.
“You can smell me?” Yeosang asks him, since he's currently wearing a turtleneck precisely because he has sought to cover the patches that adorn both sides of his neck. His doctor recommended that he avoid anything that would cover his scent, but he got tired of hearing inappropriate comments about the floral scent that now follows him. “It kind of catches my attention because... I use patches since... well, yes... I have... presented, recently.”
The patches don’t work? But Wooyoung told him he couldn't sniff his scent, and he knows that Wooyoung hasn't lied to him because he pouts every time he wears patches.
“But I’m old enough to drink and be here, I assure you of that, I’m twenty-two,” Yeosang adds quickly, not waiting for Jongho to answer and not really knowing why. But as soon as those words and that reality leave his mouth, Yeosang looks away and forms a line with his lips.
Presenting at twenty-two, how ridiculous.
“You have nothing to be ashamed of,” Jongho says, getting Yeosang to look at him because he’s expected a judging expression and equally judging words. “I think the patches are perhaps a bit unnecessary because it must be bad for you if you’ve recently presented, right? But... maybe it would be a bit hypocritical of me, since I have them too, and besides, hey, alphas don’t comment on omegas’ decisions, isn't that right?” Jongho offers.
Yeosang tilts his head. He was able to detect Jongho's scent ever since he appeared at his side. An alpha who seeks to neutralize his scent rather than stink up his personal space with it, oh, Yeosang doesn't blame his wolf for buzzing happily.
“Think of all the heats you’ve skipped, that’s good, right?” Jongho adds.
A small smile finally appears on Yeosang’s face, and it only widens when he doesn’t miss the way Jongho momentarily slides his attention to said smiling gesture before looking back at him.
“Have you been through them?” Despite being sure that Jongho is an alpha, and even if Jongho himself has just mentioned that he's an alpha, he subtly tries to understand if Jongho actually is. He doesn’t like to judge people by their scents, their looks, or how they behave.
“Ruts,” Jongho corrects him, confirming his thoughts. “They're bothersome too, but not as much as before.”
Yeosang tilts his head.
“Before?”
“Well, I’m... I’m thirty-eight, so...”
Despite being mildly impressed since he’s expected Jongho to say he’s in his early thirties, if Jongho pauses for a moment, expecting him to grimace or walk away upon hearing that he’s apparently accompanied by an alpha sixteen years older than him, Yeosang doesn’t.
“Yeah, not so much fist fighting the air and unnecessary growling anymore,” Jongho finally adds, closing his fists and pretending to lightly and meaninglessly punch the air.
Yeosang watches Jongho, waiting to see if his wolf suggests that they should get out of there after hearing the age gap between them, but his wolf doesn’t do anything, so Yeosang decides for it. He giggles, imagining the ported alpha in front of him punching the air around him.
“Oh, sorry, Jongho-nim, I should—”
“Oh goodness, no, Jongho is fine,” Jongho cuts him off.
“Or mister...”
“Choi,” Jongho offers. “But Jongho is fine.”
No engagement ring, no mating bite, and no other scents strongly attached to his figure, his wolf insists on offering so kindly. His wolf agrees with him and he agrees with his wolf. So, even though he and Jongho are of similar height, Yeosang tilts his head slightly forward, then to the side, and blinks slowly.
“Pup is fine,” he says, opening his eyes a little more and hoping that the red glitter around his eyes isn't a mess. He wants to believe it isn't, as Jongho fixes his gaze on him. And ugh, he would continue to hold Jongho’s gaze steadily, if it weren’t for the small detail that his wolf has obviously missed, or chosen to miss. “Won’t your wife be missing you?”
Jongho might have taken off his ring, he might not have a mating bite but still be with someone, or the patches on his neck could be covering said bite, and the lack of other scents could be explained by different reasons.
“Wife?” Jongho chuckles, looking taken aback by that word. “Won't your partner be missing you?” he asks instead of answering. “Especially being recently presented. I would feel so... desperate to make sure my recently presented omega is with me, to take care of them, of course, not because they can't be left alone.”
“I don't have a partner.”
“And neither do I.”
“Well, or your children maybe.”
He could be divorced and dating someone new, dumbass, Yeosang reminds his wolf.
“Aren't you supposed to be from this more... sensitive generation?” Jongho asks him. “A wife, children. All that because I'm over thirty and I'm a man?” Yeosang can simply feel his wolf snickering at him. He doesn't know if it's possible, because he's still getting used to that little voice in his head and the company in his chest, but he swears he can feel it laughing at the clear ridicule he just made. “I assure you that no creature with my last name will appear since I don't want to have children. Should I assume that you want them because you're an omega, especially because you have recently presented as such?”
“I don't want to have children either,” Yeosang says.
Even if throughout his heat, his body and head have assured him that yes, he does want them and that he truly hopes for his belly to grow so that his supposed alpha and himself are more than happy. His first heat was so tiring, both physically and mentally.
Nothing like finding out that you're an omega at twenty-two years old.
“There's no mating bite on my neck, you should have guessed,” Jongho returns to accompany his words with that amused tone of voice he used before, and taps his own neck, where while Yeosang sees a mole and a translucent patch, he doesn't spot a lasting bite.
“My generation is more sensitive, since we don't believe that the absence of a mating bite implies the lack of family. Or because everyone seems to have commitment issues, too.”
“Well said,” Jongho expresses, and Yeosang raises his chin, trying to ignore the fact that Jongho appreciating his contribution leads him to feel proud of himself.
He doesn't miss the way Jongho lightly lifts the corners of his mouth before taking the first aid kit, and both of them finally stop standing in the same place after Jongho indicates that they should walk. Jongho hasn't invaded his personal space since he had to do so to prevent the box from falling on top of him.
“Are you spending the night at the hotel?” Jongho asks him, and before Yeosang can even wonder if Jongho is about to invite him to spend more time with him, Jongho continues speaking. “You should call the front desk in case you need something for your nest, to be more comfortable. They will be happy to assist you.”
Yeosang looks around, realizing that he would have wanted Jongho to ask that question with the intention of spending some more time side by side, and probably more; that he wouldn't have minded if he had, while with any other alpha, or at least the ones he's had the misfortune of crossing paths with so far, he wouldn't have been able to control the grimace on his face.
When he feels Jongho's gaze on him, Yeosang looks at him and clears his throat.
“No, and besides, my nests are ugly,” he finds himself saying. His wolf scolds him because he shouldn't express those words in front of Jongho, it won't impress him. “I used to make them even when I was a... beta, or at least I tried, but the truth is that being an omega hasn't changed that, they're still... ugly.”
“I'm sure you're being hard on yourself and they are actually pretty,” Jongho tells him once they finally reach the place where Jongho first grabbed the aid kit, and where he puts it back down at that moment.
Just like the omega who makes them, please say that, Yeosang thinks as he follows Jongho with his gaze, until he tears his gaze away because he's now aware that he's actively looking for Jongho to compliment him.
He's confused. He's used to wanting to cover his ears when attempts at compliments are sent his way, especially if those delivering them are alphas.
“Since I've only just presented, I haven't been given plushies or pillows to make cute nests since I was little like my omega friends,” Yeosang continues at the lack of a compliment. “But... the truth is that I don't accept any gift either, much less if it's from alphas insinuating that I use their gifts for my nests. I won't make them any uglier.”
At the chuckle that Jongho lets out, Yeosang looks at him.
“You don't like stuffed animals?”
“I do like them, a lot, but so far I haven't been given any that I like. They haven't given me anything I like.” Yeosang shakes his head, and he doesn't mind sounding ungrateful, not when the gifts he's received so far have disappointed him. “They haven't stopped giving me gifts for my presentation, but... none of them take the time to think about what I'd like. One of them even gave me a used blanket once, how disgusting. The scent was disgusting.”
“Are you sensitive to smells?”
“A little bit, I've always had a good sense of smell.”
“Well, something similar happens to me, I can't be so close to omegas because sweets aren't my thing, that's why I... found you. I needed air, an irony, I know, because I came to the underground bar.”
Hearing and understanding that Jongho is still in front of him despite having tried to get away from omegas, Yeosang thinks about the floral trail that has now become his constant companion.
“But I'm an omega, and you haven't walked away from me,” Yeosang purposely mentions.
“Your scent isn't sweet... your scent is... nice,” Jongho says before clearing his throat.
Yeosang holds a small smile, and it's the first time the urge to take off his patches instead of pressing them even tighter against his skin appears. Jongho is turning out to be an exception, and he likes the feeling.
“Some alphas treat me badly when I return their gifts so... sorry for my... slight hostility earlier, I promise I'm good,” he chooses to say, aware of the emphasis he makes sure to place on the last word he mentions.
Jongho swallows, and Yeosang smiles at him.
“Don't worry,” Jongho clears his throat again, this time a little louder than the previous time. “I hope I've shown you that not all alphas are rude brutes, at least for today.”
“Yes, you have.”
And much more than that, Yeosang thinks. Jongho doesn't say anything and Yeosang wonders if Jongho has just dismissed him with those words. He begins to be thankful that he didn't take off his patches as he begins to feel uncomfortable —luckily, his scent doesn't expose him.
Fortunately, Jongho speaks.
“You know... I can't let you think that we're all fools, and even though you just assured me that you think I'm not... there's a gift shop here, they have stuffed animals there,” Jongho says. “I'll give you one, for your presentation. It has to be something that you have to celebrate despite the bad side. Would you... would you like to—”
“Yes,” Yeosang answers, smiling again.
Jongho nods, and Yeosang lets out a silent breath as he finds himself walking behind Jongho once Jongho leads him through the halls again. He's used to not being interested in the alphas that approach him, so he doesn't know how to handle one that he is interested in, because he is interested in Jongho, he's definitely interested in Jongho.
But the question he still can't figure out is, is Jongho interested in him?
He follows Jongho until they find themselves back in the main lobby of the hotel. Yeosang doesn't remember seeing a gift shop before, and he probably understands why, since when Jongho mentioned it, Yeosang thought it would be open, not that Jongho would swipe a card through the system to then turn on the lights of the place.
Jongho works at the hotel, that’s for sure, Yeosang assumed that after Jongho found him in the underground bar and knew where the first kid aid was, even if he’s not wearing a uniform like the others and doesn’t have his name tagged on his blazer.
“Feel free to pick whatever stuffed animal you want, or something else if you want,” Jongho tells him.
Despite momentarily allowing his eyes to wander over the various items on display, Yeosang ducks into the hallway where he spots stuffed animals as soon as he notices them. He stops in front of the stuffed animals and scans them with his eyes.
“Is there one that catches your eye?”
Yeosang rests his attention on Jongho when he appears next to him, until his eyes end up falling on a brown teddy bear. He looks back at Jongho, slides his gaze down to his brown locks, and looks back at the bear.
“That one, it looks like you,” he points at the stuffed animal.
“Like me?” Jongho raises both eyebrows.
“Yes, like a bear,” Yeosang smiles.
Looking lost in thought by the comment, Jongho takes the stuffed animal, and Yeosang thinks it's the first time he's honestly felt so excited at the prospect of a gift.
“Well, then, congratulations on your presentation,” Jongho hands him the stuffed animal.
“Thank you!” Yeosang immediately hugs the stuffed animal and holds a more than bright smile on his face. He just gave us a gift, he just gave us a gift! his wolf chants.
Finally, a charming alpha gives him a gift he does like. Pushed by said joy and forgetting about the frustration that all the previous alphas have caused him, Yeosang dares to place a kiss on Jongho's cheek.
Jongho raises both eyebrows and Yeosang smiles widely, trying not to think too much about what he just did.
“Thank you...” he repeats, trying not to feel nervous because he just kissed Jongho on the cheek and Jongho does nothing but remain static in his place, although without taking his gaze off of him. “It's so soft...” he adds, brushing the stuffed animal's head with his cheek.
His wolf is more than pleased, and he can feel it in the way he holds the stuffed animal tightly in his arms, as well as in the way a soft rumbling starts in his sternum, until it grows, and grows, and grows, and Yeosang finally understands that he's purring.
It's the second time that such vibration has taken over his chest and that such a sound characterizes him, but it soon comes to an end when Jongho takes a step back.
“You’re welcome,” Jongho offers a small smile, and Yeosang straightens up. “You were at the party, before going to the underground bar, right?” Jongho asks. “Go back and enjoy the party, yes? And stay away from alphas that will make you want to drink, I wouldn’t want you to hurt your other hand looking for a bottle.”
Although Yeosang keeps the stuffed animal against his chest, he lightens his grip on it.
He just completely misread the situation, didn’t he?
“Would... would you help me if I hurt my other hand too?” he’s hopeful.
“Yes, but you better not, and be careful.”
Yeosang nods, again feeling lucky for using patches since he doesn’t doubt that otherwise, his scent itself would show the disappointment he’s feeling. He doesn’t quite know why. After all, Jongho has only been nice to him. He thinks it's a bit hypocritical of him, since he keeps complaining about alphas misunderstanding his words or gestures, and he just did it to an alpha.
"Thank you for the plushie,” Yeosang smiles at him nonetheless.
Jongho smiles back at him, and Yeosang soon realizes that the conversation has finally come to an end when Jongho steps aside, allowing him room to walk.
He still holds the stuffed animal to his chest and smiles at Jongho once more, and although he stops smiling as soon as he leaves the gift shop, he doesn't stop holding the stuffed animal in his arms.
Going back to the party isn't hard, not when the music is echoing through the halls, and he soon finds himself returning to the atmosphere he first left. There are many people gathered, and he remembers leaving as well to rest from all the scents, until his senses soon find that scent again. Well, that familiar scent finds him, since Wooyoung bumps into him.
“I was just about to come find you!” Wooyoung exclaims, and the concern in his expression is soon replaced by confusion as he slides his eyes down to the soft object that has created space between their chests. “Either I’m drunk or I’m seeing things because that’s not a bottle.”
Yeosang lets his eyes fall on the stuffed animal when Wooyoung looks at it, and only then does he fall back on the bottle he’s forgotten. Well, it doesn’t really matter, and he didn’t necessarily come back empty-handed.
“An alpha gave it to me,” Yeosang confesses as they look at each other.
Wooyoung chokes on his own saliva upon hearing this, and Yeosang can’t blame him for that reaction. More than once Wooyoung has ended up throwing away some of the gifts he’s received from alphas who thought it was funny to give them to him.
“And you... you accepted it?”
“Yes,” it's the first gift he happily accepts.
“You accepted a gift from an alpha but you're not smiling and you look... disappointed,” Wooyoung points out, and Yeosang doesn't blame him for those words either, nor for the ones that follow them. “I'm confused.”
“It's just that... it was a gift to congratulate me for my presentation, not to impress me,” Yeosang says, and yes, getting confused was definitely his fault, since Jongho did say those same words. Maybe not the last ones, but he's gotten so used to being given gifts to impress him, or at least to try to impress him, that it's only at that moment that it dawns on him that Jongho didn't do it with that intention. “He's not interested in me. I've done everything, Woo, everything.”
“Even your puppy eyes?”
“Even my puppy eyes.”
“Maybe... maybe he doesn't like omegas... or men... or is not into relationships,” Wooyoung tries to comfort him after leaving one of his hands on his arm.
“He probably thinks that I... that I don’t...” Yeosang doesn't even know how to finish his sentence.
While Jongho has mentioned that he doesn’t usually like omegas and their scents, he has mentioned that he likes his, and although he has corrected him and told him that he shouldn’t just say wife —Yeosang should have clarified that they now use that term for anyone; Jongho hasn’t been reluctant to the idea of a relationship.
That he's immature, and worse, a freshly presented omega, that is what Jongho surely thinks. He has become so used to putting up with a grimace every time someone has mentioned his late presentation as something good, that he hasn’t thought that someone could take it as something bad.
When Wooyoung squeezes his arm, Yeosang looks at him.
“What are you not telling me?” Wooyoung asks him.
He must have looked so silly accepting a stuffed animal and smiling because of it.
“He’s thirty-eight years old.”
Wooyoung brings a hand to his chest, obviously relieved.
“By the gods above and below us, I thought you were about to tell me that he’s a mated alpha.”
“Woo!”
Wooyoung laughs, and thankfully, Yeosang does too. Instead of voicing some comment like you can't blame me, Sangie, even mated alphas would, and certainly do, turn to see you, Wooyoung shakes his head.
“And?”
“I like him, and so does my wolf,” wolf who has been suspiciously quiet ever since Jongho subtly ended the moment between them. “Do you think these are my daddy issues manifesting? Well, my alpha issues.”
His mother is the alpha of the family after all, and the one who has admittedly been so weird ever since he presented as an omega. Constantly introducing him to alphas that do nothing but remind him why he always wants to insult alphas out loud.
“If only this alpha had been the one I was introduced to... I would have gladly accepted,” he adds. “I kissed him on the cheek. And I purred, Woo.”
Wooyoung widens his eyes, and Yeosang grimaces because he has only purred twice ever since he found out he's an omega. The first time with Wooyoung, when Wooyoung showed up to hug him and assure him that everything would be okay. And now with Jongho, an alpha he barely knows, well, doesn't even know, but somehow his wolf has decided to delight with the sound of his purring.
Embarrassing, Yeosang thinks.
“I'll just... I'll just go home, it's been a long day. Enjoy the party, I—” he widens his eyes when Wooyoung opens his mouth, to assure him that he hasn't finished talking. “—will talk to you tomorrow,” Yeosang adds.
He knows Wooyoung will insist on going with him, and he knows him too well, because Wooyoung does open his mouth, but soon remains silent when he hears him.
“Well, call me if you need anything, yes?”
Yeosang nods, and Wooyoung sends him off with those words and a kiss on the cheek.
After taking his leather jacket, and still with the stuffed animal in his hand, Yeosang thankfully gets some fresh air once he walks through the main doors of the hotel and waits for the valet to bring his car.
Jongho is definitely his exception. He happens to be the alpha who isn't interested in him. Maybe it's been good to meet Jongho, because it shows him, and reminds him, that as much as there are pushy and insistent alphas, there are also good ones who may not be interested in him.
He thanks the valet once he leaves the car in front of him, but as soon as he's about to close the door once he steps into his car, he hears footsteps approaching him quickly. He swears he's too tired to pretend to want to entertain any alpha.
“Mister Yeosang!” Yeosang peeks through the door to find someone hurriedly approaching him to stop right in front of him. “Mr. Choi has asked me to ask you if you could please wait for him, he's coming here as we speak.”
Surprised by the words of whom Yeosang has no doubt is one of the main managers, he doesn't know how to react, until he understands what he's heard and promptly nods. The manager is relieved to have been able to deliver the message and Yeosang closes the door of his car.
He blinks once, twice, three times, until he truly realizes that Jongho just sent someone to stop him from leaving, and more importantly, because Jongho himself is coming for him.
Yeosang looks at himself in the rearview mirror and smooths back some of his red locks before confirming that thankfully the red glitter in his eyes hasn't become a sparkly mess. He sets the stuffed animal on his lap, and after looking to the side, he feels his heart race and his wolf show interest again when he spots Jongho hurriedly coming down the steps of the entrance.
While he has always known that he doesn't want a knight in shining armor to appear before him, pretending that he had to climb to the highest tower of the castle to save him and only call himself his savior; it's at that moment, that Yeosang thinks that he wouldn't mind replacing said fanciful situation with the reality that involves the alpha quickly descending the stairs of the luxurious hotel, with a black designer suit instead of with silver armor.
He lowers the window of his car.
“Thanks, I'll take it from here.”
Both the manager and the valet walk away after hearing Jongho, and Yeosang follows him with his gaze until Jongho approaches him and leans down so he can talk to him.
Maybe he didn't read the situation that badly.
“I'm glad I caught up with you before you left,” Jongho says, catching his breath.
Ask for my number, ask me to come back to the party with you, ask me to stay, Yeosang repeats in his head.
“Your melon liqueur,” only then, once Jongho offers it to him, does Yeosang fall back on the bottle that he has certainly forgotten, and that Jongho finds himself offering him, for the second time that night. “I got distracted by you and—” As soon as Jongho expresses those words, Yeosang gets rid of the disappointment that started to creep up his shoulders when he thought that Jongho only sought him out to give him the bottle. Jongho has just said that he has distracted him. “I forgot to tell you that... there will be a party tomorrow here... a pool party, yes, there will be a pool party here. You're invited if you have nothing better to do. You can tell your friends. Just... say that you know me and security will let you in, yeah? Sounds good?”
Yeosang holds Jongho's gaze, processing all of Jongho's words and what they imply until he notices the way Jongho continues to look at him, evidently waiting for a response from him.
“Yes,” he finds himself replying, and there's no way, right, there's no way to misinterpret the relief that has just characterized Jongho's expression. “Sounds good,” Yeosang once again decorates his face with a smile, happy to have reason to hold said smiling gesture.
“Awesome. This is yours,” Jongho hands him the bottle again.
Yeosang accepts the bottle, and tries not to smile too much as he carefully places it in the passenger seat after his fingers brush Jongho's.
“Have a good night and rest well,” Jongho wishes him.
Silly alpha who makes him suffer, Yeosang thinks, so he hopes to affect Jongho as well.
No formal approach, no Mister, well, Yeosang has the perfect solution.
“Goodnight, Alpha,” he greets him.
It’s nice to know he’s not the only one who knows he’s affected by the pronunciation of a simple word, as Yeosang notices the way Jongho swallows and then licks his lips. Jongho doesn’t insist on calling him by his name, and Yeosang continues to smile at him.
“Drive safely... pup.”
The urge to lean in to place a second kiss on Jongho’s cheek is strong, but he chooses not to for the moment, content to hear that word leave Jongho’s lips again.
Jongho leans back, and they both wave to each other before he rolls up the window. Yeosang puts on his seatbelt, and notices the way Jongho follows his car with his gaze once he’s out of the park.
Yeosang’s eyes momentarily fall on the band-aid in his hand before focusing back on the front, still with the plushie on his lap. Perhaps his effective puppy eyes, as Wooyoung insists on calling them, haven’t lost their effect.
His wolf is happy.
“I know, me too,” Yeosang smiles brightly.