Chapter Text
“Seokjin! Seokjin!”
The call could barely even be heard on top of the noise of the busy Seoul train station but the omega instinctively stopped. Against his better judgement, the omega’s head turned back to see the source of the sound.
He glimpsed Taehyung jumping past the subway pass machine before he was suddenly locked in a tight embrace, his head tucked under the other man’s.
“Jinnie. Seokjin. Seokjin.” The alpha whispered like a mantra, a blessing to the gods that he had managed to find the omega.
Meanwhile, Seokjin’s state of mind returned to him. Furrowing his brow, fighting against his very soul, the omega pushed the alpha away. “Why are you here, Taehyung?” The words were acidic, the cruelty dripping from them alien even to the omega himself. “You shouldn’t have come here.”
“Seokjin, what are you saying?” The alpha’s response was coloured with disbelief, hysteria gradually building with every word.
Seokjin’s eyes flashed to the ground, unable to take in the sight of the alpha in front of him. Around them, a public service announcement blared out and people marched determinedly in and out of the train- completely oblivious to the heartbreak occurring on platform 9.
Taehyung’s shaking hands reached out, cupping the omega’s face gently, maniacally, bringing their foreheads together. In the proximity, Seokjin could no longer hide from the other’s gaze. The alpha’s black eyes were wild, full of unshed tears. His shock of electric blue hair was in disarray and he was still breathing heavily from the way he had rushed to the station as soon as he realised his apartment was devoid of the other man’s belongings.
The omega could feel his resolve faltering, the urge to comfort willing him to raise his own hand to cover the alpha’s, to entwine their fingers together and kiss the pain away. On its journey up, Seokjin’s right hand accidentally grazed his abdomen. Instantly, the omega regained his sense of purpose.
Taking a deep breath, eyes becoming steely once more, Seokjin spoke. “I’m leaving you, Taehyung.” Gesturing wildly at the backpack of knick-knacks lying on the dirty station floor, the omega continued, “I just can’t see a future with you. I know you know this too.”
When the alpha’s mouth opened, prepared to defend their relationship, the omega merely placed a finger to the blue-haired man’s lips. “Taehyung, you’re part of a fucking gang,” Seokjin stated determinedly, eyes blinking rapidly in a vain attempt to control his wildly oscillating emotions. “You’re always going to be! It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve told me you’re going to leave because the truth is you’re never going to. I can’t handle knowing that it might be the last time I see you when you walk out of our damn apartment door. I-I can’t do this anymore. I just can’t.” The omega’s hands instinctively wrapped around his belly, head bowing as a single tear dripped down his cheek.
Taehyung dropped to his knees, arms encircling his lover’s waist. His face looked up at Seokjin’s. “I-I’ll quit, okay? You know it was never meant to be a permanent thing. I just need to tie up some loose ends. This life- dealing drugs, having to look behind my back all the fucking time- it isn’t for me. I know that. I want to be better. You make me want to be better. I will be better. Please, baby, stay. Please. I’m begging you.”
Just as Seokjin began to reply, an announcement rang out. “Attention please. Train 83 to Sangdo-dong will be departing in one minute.”
Eyes widening in alarm, the alpha’s grip on his waist tightened. “Please. Jinnie. Let’s talk this over. Please.”
“Hey, you! With the blue hair! You need to come with me, sir. You jumped the machine!” An officer in a uniform was approaching them, waving a baton threateningly above her head. Taehyung’s head turned to the source of the noise, the distraction weakening his clutch. Taking advantage of the chaos, the omega wiggled away from the other man. He barely stopped to pick up his backpack before sprinting past the shutting train doors.
The door closed soundlessly right as Seokjin got on. His back to the door, the omega leaned down to pant tiredly. Instantaneously, thumping sounds resounded across the car, drawing his attention. His head turned to be faced with the heartbreaking image of his alpha ceaselessly hitting the train door, screaming his name.
Weak to the dawning realisation that this was really the last time he would ever see the other man, Seokjin’s fingers lay flat against the glass, mirroring his alpha’s flat palm. Staring at the alpha through the rivulets of tears streaming down his face, the omega took in Taehyung. The alpha was frantic, fists bleeding from the force he exerted on the metal. Behind him, the police officer from before were walking to him, now with three more companions.
Then, the train moved. In the span of a heartbeat, the image was gone and Seokjin was left staring at blank space.
“-jin? Seokjin?”
Seokjin blinked slowly, his eyelids feeling inexplicably heavy. His eyes fluttered open as he awoke from the trap of memories he often fell in.
“Welcome back to Earth.” His beloved friend and colleague Min Yoongi -a beta with a heart of gold hidden under his frosty exterior- drawled, standing over Namjoon’s desk.
Seokjin’s cheeks burned scarlet, ashamed at having been caught napping on his desk. He quickly surveyed his surroundings, grateful that the desks and chairs were unoccupied.
“Oh shit. Thanks for waking me up.”
Yoongi shrugged. “No problem. It’s Saturday and it’s already 12pm. We have the rest of the day off, seemed cruel to let you sleep the rest of the day away in the office.”
Abruptly, the other man jumped out of his chair in alarm. The absence of all of his other colleagues suddenly made an infinite amount of more sense.
“12pm?” Seokjin squeaked, frantically checking the wall clock to confirm one of his deepest fears. “Fuck.”
The beta merely watched in bemused concern as his friend hurriedly gathered his belongings before bolting out of the office, managing to almost trip over his own feet in the process.
“What’s the rush?” Yoongi yelled out at the running omega’s retreating back.
“I promised I’d take Jungkook to Vantae’s first comic book signing today!” Seokjin’s voice echoed throughout the empty office, leaving his friend to shake his head amusedly at his antics.
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Seven-year-old Jungkook tugged excitedly at his father’s shirt sleeve as they entered the large book shop. The child couldn’t help oohing and ahhing over the elaborately decorated area, squealing at the blown up posters and standees. He dragged Seokjin over to life-size display of V, the titular character of Vantae’s popular superhero comic book ‘The Very Thrilling Adventures of V’ that Jungkook was a major fan of. The omega parent only chuckled as his son pressed his face to the glass comically, eyes bugging out in absolute delight at V’s “coolness”.
“Dear attendees, please proceed to line up. The book signing will begin soon.”
At the formal announcement, the Seokjin took his son’s hand. Together, they headed over to the line.
Jungkook was uncontrollably jittery as they stood in line, fidgeting without stop. He was vibrating with so much nerves that even his V-themed backpack bounced. Even among the throngs of nervous youths, he stood out as especially agitated.
“Hey,” Seokjin said, kneeling down to be face-to-face with his son, “Why are you so nervous, Ggukie?”
The child didn’t reply, instead burying his face in his father’s shoulder. Seokjin wrapped his arms around his child, gently rubbing his wrists over the boy’s back to coat him in a comforting layer of scent. Distantly, the father processed the collective scream of the audience that meant that the elusive Vantae had finally entered the room. The parent paid his surroundings no heed, entirely focused on soothing his anxious son.
“Don’t worry, Ggukie.” Seokjin muttered, pressing a kiss to his son’s forehead. Jungkook didn’t complain like he usually would- being at the age where it was starting to be a lot less cool to let your Appa show you affection in public- but rather nuzzled in closer. After a few more moments, Seokjin finally let go of his much calmer son. The adult fixed Jungkook’s shirt- V, of course- before standing up again.
They moved along the line with Jungkook’s arms firmly encircling his parent’s waist.
“Let’s get your book out for Vantae to sign, Ggukie.” Seokjin suggested when the line in front of them seemed to have thinned out considerably.
“Okay, Appa.” Jungkook immediately reached to grab his book from his backpack, mood restored to one of apprehensive joy.
Despite himself, Seokjin found himself in a similar emotional state. Jungkook had fallen in love with the series after Yoongi had gifted him a copy of the first issue for his 6th birthday. Since then, Seokjin had become intimately familiar with the activities of V the saxophone-playing vigilante due to reading an issue of the comic book together with Jungkook every night. If he were to be honest, the omega would classify himself as a fan of the series. As thus, he was undeniably curious to finally be able to put a face to the mysterious author.
Vantae was an enigma. A comic book author that had burst into the scene four years ago, ‘The Very Thrilling Adventures of V’ was his debut work. The only information available online about him was that he was a 28 year old male, the same age as Seokjin.
Seokjin was promptly brought out of his reverie when Jungkook slipped his small hand onto his bigger one. The seven-year-old was gripping his copy of the first issue tightly in his other hand. Smiling, Seokjin bent down to press another kiss on his son’s fluffy head of hair. At the same time, he made sure to scent Jungkook again to ensure the boy remained calm and felt safe. Then, before he knew it, it was their turn to step up to the table.
The burly security men hiding Vantae’s sitting figure moved aside to let them near the table.
Like a tightly wound spring, Jungkook bounded enthusiastically to the table- pulling his father along. Eyes focused on his son’s grinning face, Seokjin let a grin split across his own face. Barely a few heartbeats later, as his gaze rose from Jungkook to the man across from them, his expression changed to one of incredulous shock.
“Taehyung?”