Chapter Text
When Roksu saw Cale in the street, it wasn't the visible breath or the lack of proper clothes that caught his attention first. It was that scent. Something that had completely nulled his scent. That was unusual. Part of Roksu is glad that his strong scent on Cale that resulted to an uncontrolled natural phenomena a week ago according to Lee Soo Hyuk is somehow gone—it's not gone, but more of restrained—and Cale can finally go to school without getting stares from their seniors and classmates (Only the people close to them that can smell them and got their second gender. It would have been a disaster if the whole school can smell it like a stinky—). Gosh, Roksu even had to face a few judging looks. Yet somehow... it made his heart clench when he caught a whiff of that smell surrounding Cale like a syrup. It's not Cale's, that's for sure. But it was a little too strong (almost like his) to be mistaken for Cale's.
"You don't wear gloves?" Roksu pulled himself away back to reality as Cale started to rub his hands on his hands. Cale does that almost all the time, giving him warmth, that is. Roksu can feel his scent glands tingling, feeling tempted to coat Cale with his scent again.
Later. I have to tell Cale about it as well... That time he had accidentally scented Cale for the first time was an accident. His scent glands were the ones at fault for suddenly erupting like that when Cale fed him a muffin. A forsaken muffin triggered that embarrassing situation. He was initially planning on scenting Cale—as an experiment and as a friend—but only after he reveals that he got his second gender first to Cale, yet it all backfired just because of a muffin. It also just happens that Cale said something about Roksu being an omega that stopped him from doing so... So you can't blame Roksu for lounging around and letting Cale assume things.
"Roksu, if you get your second gender and it turns out to be an omega, just call me." Cale suddenly broke their silence with a weird start. Roksu, who was lying beside him while staring at the clouds from the rooftop they were in, paused in his musing and turned to Cale. His eyes were probably clouded with confusion because Cale snorted and pulled something out of his bag. "It's just that I saw someone bullying an omega a while ago, and well, you know the rest."
"I thought my being an omega was an inside joke." Roksu sat up and leaned on the wall behind him, where Cale was also leaning. He saw the object that Cale took out of the bag and perked up at the sight. It was a muffin.
"Half and a half," Cale stated. Roksu shrugged. In truth, Roksu thinks Cale meets all the qualities of an omega, but he didn't dare voice out his thoughts. Moreover... Roksu already got his result and is an Alpha. He brushed off the thought and leaned towards Cale. Towards the muffin, to be more specific, don't start getting ideas. Cale didn't mind this and held the muffin firmly. Roksu finally took a bite. "There's always a probability." The sweetness exploded on his mouth, and it tasted amazing, just like the way Cale would bake it to his taste, and the smell was also—
...
Huh? What's that sudden—
"Kk—koff! Koff!"
"Hey! Oh my goodness, I just said it was a probability!" Cale flailed with his arms and quickly put the muffin down on his lap and grabbed his back to pull a bottle out.
"Koff! Koff!"
"Here," Cale pulled his head towards him and tipped the bottle over his lips. "Drink." He says as Roksu began drinking. The scent is still there. It's wafting around Cale like—
Ah... Kim Roksu is screwed. It was his scent. He thought the formation of his scent glands would be gradual. A day or two, his ass. It was already surrounding Cale; Roksu could feel it. He can feel the way the scent started coating Cale's hand, creeping further on his arms, until it reached his neck and further and further.
"Roksu, even if you're an omega, I will still protect you. I couldn't care less about any prejudice. My Hyung is one, but he never let it bring him down!" Cale said with an encouraging smile. That's not it, Cale. Thank you, Cale. Roksu feels fuzzy and warm with your declaration, but—
Shit. He knew Cale was his friend, childhood friend, anything you can think of as a friend, but the way his scent wrapped around Cale made Roksu think about the couple they passed by this morning. Surely, there won't be any misunderstanding... right? He's not going to be painted as a possessive—
"Damn, I knew you easily get jealous when Cale spends time with other people like that blonde, but isn't it a little excessive for just friends to have that much scent on you?" Choi Jung Soo jested and nudged his arms and gave him these irritating eyes, and for that, Jung Soo received a smack on the face. "Ow!"
Cale wasn't there to see the scene because a few moments ago, he had just been conveniently taken away by his project partner, Alberu Crossman. It was lunch, almost the end of lunch, and Jung Soo decided to bolt inside their classroom, smell Cale and smell Roksu, and put one plus one together and grin like a sly fox. "My scents suddenly erupted."
"For real? Lemme scent you too!" Choi Jung Soo pounced on him, and Roksu didn't have the time to react. Their classmates looked at them weirdly, and some shook their heads in exasperation. Roksu hated the way his scent also grabbed a hold of Choi Jung Soo before he smacked him away, again. Jung Soo grinned at this, and he sniffed himself.
This dog—
"Ehhh," He gave Roksu a knowing smile. "It's almost barely there compared to Cale's, eyyy, someone has a favorite—"
Pak!
"You're abusing me!"
"I don't care. You deserve it. My scent erupted a while ago around him, and you're making it seem like—" With that, Choi Jung Soo left their room with a bump of two.
Ping! Roksu received a text.
Choi Jung Soo: You can ask Hyung about your scent glands! I doubt your scent on Cale will wear off any time soon! It's too strong and almost stinky to a cause! Hmph!
And thus, Roksu made a call to Lee Soo Hyuk that day and is embarrassed to admit that it was a muffin that triggered his scent glands... Or rather, it was the gesture. It wasn't anything weird, really. Cale is simply a person who gave new experiences to other people, and that's why...
"Hey, Roksu, Choi Jung Soo is being weird, like his uncle." Cale suddenly spoke in the middle of lunch. His brows pinched together faintly, expression caught between suspicion and mild disbelief. A wild breeze softly moved a part of his hair to his eyes, which caused him to rub his eyes. They're currently on the rooftop, their usual place.
"What?" Roksu paused mid-bite. The chopsticks hovering near his mouth stopped completely as he turned his head a little toward Cale, dark eyes narrowing with lazy confusion.
"He's weird like Choi Han, except with smiles," Cale said, absentmindedly. He poked at the rice inside his lunchbox with his spoon, eyes narrowing slightly as his thoughts drifted back to Jung Soo earlier that day. The memory alone made him vaguely uncomfortable. Choi Han’s silent staring was already intense enough to make people feel cornered, but Jung Soo smiled while doing it. Calmly. Politely.
Roksu hummed in understanding and casually picked up another piece of food from his lunchbox. “They’re the Chois,” he blurted out naturally before taking another bite.
Cale slowly looked at him, utterly unconvinced. “That explains absolutely nothing.”
Roksu shrugged lazily, still chewing. “It explains enough.”
Cale let out a quiet scoff and leaned back against the low rooftop wall behind him, balancing the lunchbox on one knee. “Choi Han stares like a brooding soldier,” he said, gesturing vaguely with his spoon, “and Jung Soo stares like a sly detective.”
The breeze passed by again, carrying the scent of food and fresh air between them. And also Roksu's scent that only he can smell right now. Roksu finally glanced over at him, blinking once as if carefully considering the comparison. “Is that… so.”
“Yes,” Cale replied immediately, sounding deeply burdened by this realization.
Meanwhile, Roksu simply returned to eating, entirely unbothered, while Cale sat there questioning why every Choi he encountered carried a different flavor of intimidation. Not that he'll admit it.
"Your scent on Cale did not waver at all." Choi Jung Soo spoke quietly beside Roksu as the two of them watched the classroom doorway from across the room. At the classroom door, Cale stood with one shoulder resting against the frame while speaking to Alberu. Alberu looked relaxed as always, one hand casually holding the edge of the door while he listened with an amused expression. Meanwhile, Cale appeared mildly annoyed about something, brows furrowed as he spoke in a low voice.
“It’s only been five days,” Roksu replied flatly. Unlike Jung Soo, he looked entirely uninterested in the conversation. Jung Soo would beg to differ if that white knuckle of Roksu's hand can be evidence. Roksu's one hand retreated inside his pocket—when he saw Jung Soo staring at it, gripping the edge of his table—while the other loosely held a half-open bottle of water. His gaze briefly flickered toward Cale before returning forward again, only to see Choi Jung Soo giving him a knowing smile.
“Dongsaeng—”
“I’m not your dongsaeng.” The response came immediately.
Jung Soo chuckled softly under his breath at the sharp interruption. “Are you sure you’re not reinforcing your scent on him unconsciously?”
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
Roksu finally turned his head toward him then, eyes narrowing slightly in irritation. Near the doorway, Alberu suddenly laughed at something Cale said. Cale immediately frowned deeper at him. Roksu's eyes flicked to the scene before he shifted it back forward and sighed quietly through his nose. “You’re overthinking it.”
"I can't tell if you're saying that to yourself or to me with how you glance at them now and then."
Pak!
Cale heard them bantering and Roksu smacking Jung Soo. Alberu said something that made Cale hiss at him. The latter only smiled innocently and followed Cale inside when the bell started to ring, signalling the end of lunch.
Cale tilted his head curiously. "Did you?" He watched intently as a fraction of Roksu's eyes widened, almost unnoticeably. Cale thought the same person scented them, but the scent was stronger on their way to the apartment. Then Cale entered the room; it was almost subtle, but when he asked that question, his nostrils were suddenly ambushed by that scent. "Roksu, my nose wasn't clogged, and your scent is flaring up." Cale sighed and went over his childhood friend.
"My scent..." Roksu was staring at him, and Cale could clearly hear the puzzle pieces settling into place. "You got yours..." Roksu breathed out.
"Uh-huh," Cale plopped on the ragged floor beside the couch Roksu was lying on. "Why do you seem so surprised? Were you gonna hide yours until death?" Cale jokingly said, then he caught a whiff of something that made his heart clench. Huh? Why does it look like... Oh... Is this what they meant? You can tell your emotions by your scent alone. Cale turned to Roksu, who was suddenly silent.
"I wasn't..."
"Hey, I was just joking, don't feel so guilty, I also didn't tell my family yet." Cale now entered panicked mode.
"You just got it today, right?"
"Yeah," Cale replied absentmindedly.
Roksu suddenly sat up straighter. For a moment, he simply stared at Cale, expression frozen somewhere between disbelief and resignation. Then he dragged a hand down his face before reaching for his school bag beside the couch. The zipper caught halfway. He tugged it harder than necessary.
Cale blinked. "What are you doing?"
"Looking for my result."
His answer came a little too quickly. The papers inside rustled noisily as he flipped through them. To anyone else, he might've looked calm. Cale, however, had known him long enough to notice the tension in his shoulders and the way his fingers lingered on the same page twice.
"I was going to tell you today," Roksu muttered, finally pulling out a folded document. "But you beat me to it."
"Why didn't you tell me the past few days, though?" Cale can deduce that Roksu got his earlier, at least a week before, from Cale's past weird experience. "I'm heartbroken."
Roksu paused. The corner of his lips twitched. "You're not heartbroken."
"How would you know?"
"Because you're smiling."
Cale immediately flattened his expression. "I wasn't."
Roksu did not answer. Cale let out an inaudible sigh. He knew Roksu probably had his reasons for not telling him, and he could understand that much. Besides, Roksu said he'd tell him now. And the latter had a weird way of forgetting things, so it must be that. Cale thought back to his answer to Eric when he asked who he spent most of his time. Now that Cale thought about it, it's not exactly that someone scented him. More like someone spent too much time around him. Then his thoughts were cut off when a paper was suddenly shoved into his face, almost.
"This is it." Roksu was holding what Cale could only assume was his formal registration as an...
Alpha.
"Wait wha—" As if by nature, Cale's mind played another scene. From the times he teased Roksu, to the times he genuinely said he'd protect him, to the times Roksu would only nod and hum and ask, "What if I'm the Alpha?" Then Cale would respond with, "Then that might make the two of us..." But even if he said that, Cale knew there was a probability that he would be the omega one or even beta.
Oh gosh. How could he forget what Eric said? The person who scented him was an Alpha.
"Haa... I'm an idiot."
Across from him, Roksu tilted his head slightly. Amusement flickered through his eyes. Cale did not point this out, still feeling like a dumbass for forgetting that.
Cale could only sigh and rub his temple. "So? Why didn't you inform anyone?" For all Cale would know... Oh wait, aren't Jung Soo and Soo Hyuk—
"...Almost... everyone actually knows."
Cale stared. His eyes are flattening excessively.
Roksu paused before correcting himself. "Or more like, one person found out, and my scent was enough of an indication."
"And no one bothered to tell me?"
"...I guess so."
"Roksu!"
The latter had the nerve to look away.
"I'm your childhood friend!"
"....You are." Roksu softly said. If that made him feel things, it's not the right time yet.
"I'm the first you should tell it to!" Cale puffed his cheeks dramatically.
"When's that a rule?" Roksu muttered. Then, after a brief pause, he added, "And you are."
"Wait, I am? But you said—"
"They found out. I didn't tell them."
"Oh." That made more sense. "How?"
"Lee Soo Hyuk was there when I started smelling things and asked him why he smelled that way. Choi Jung Soo was nosy enough. The others were because of my scent."
Cale narrowed his eyes. Something about the way Roksu said that felt incomplete. "And?" Roksu remained silent. The room seemed to grow quieter. The distant sounds from outside faded into the background. "And?" Cale repeated. "You're not saying something." For a moment, Roksu simply stared at the floor.
Then he finally spoke. "And... because of my scent on you."
"..."
Cale blinked. Once. Twice. The pieces started arranging themselves inside his head. At the same time, another wave of scent brushed past him. Unlike before, it wasn't overwhelming. It felt... Uneasy. Guilty. Cale slowly lifted his gaze.
Roksu wasn't looking at him. His eyes were fixed somewhere near the floor. His shoulders looked oddly rigid, as though he were bracing himself for something. One hand rested against the couch cushion, fingers curled loosely against the fabric. Even his scent felt subdued.
Oh. Oh.
Cale immediately understood something. "Hey." Roksu didn't look up. "Hey." When that still didn't work, Cale snorted and reached forward and grabbed both of Roksu's cheeks.
Squish.
"..."
"..."
Roksu froze. His eyes widened slightly as Cale mercilessly compressed his face between both hands. After a moment, his eyes finally looked up. Cale smiled with triumph, then squished.
"What are you doing?" His voice came out slightly muffled.
"What are you doing?" Cale shot back immediately. He gave Roksu's cheeks another squeeze for emphasis. "You look like someone just informed you the world is ending."
"It isn't," Roksu deadpanned.
"Then stop looking so guilty." Roksu stilled. The reaction was subtle, but Cale caught it. His grip loosened slightly. Aigoo. Cale sometimes worries about what kind of thoughts run through Roksu's mind when he's not with him. "I was joking earlier." Another squeeze. "So what if you didn't tell me immediately?"
"..."
"You were going to tell me today anyway." For the first time since the conversation started, Roksu looked genuinely surprised. His eyes widened ever so slightly. Cale continued before he could say anything. "And honestly?" Cale continued. "I'm more offended that Choi Jung Soo knew before me." He snorted.
The corners of Roksu's lips twitched. There it is. Cale let one of his hands slip and pointed accusingly.
"See? That's better." Squish.
"..."
"Stop acting like you committed a crime."
The silence lingered. Then, slowly, the tension eased from Roksu's shoulders. His fingers relaxed. Even the scent hanging around him seemed lighter somehow.
Cale nodded in satisfaction before he finally let go of Roksu's cheeks. "There. Much better." Roksu stared at him for a long moment before quietly looking away.
"...You're weird." Weirdly endearing. Roksu cut the thought off. He can still feel the warmth of Cale's hand on his face. It stings. But Roksu doesn't mind.
"You're one to talk."