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"I'm so tired" Taehyung announces, entering the house. He tosses his shoes away in an uncaring manner and drags himself to the living room couch.
"Jeonggukie" He whines at the boy sitting on the couch. He falls on the couch, face first with his head on Jeongguk's lap. Small and beautiful fingers automatically start running through his hair. He smiles.
"I'm alright now," He says in a muffled voice.
Jeongguk groans, "You're so cheesy, hyungie" The hands don't stop caressing Taehyung's hair.
Taehyung rolls over to face his soulmate. He brings a hand up and softly runs it over Jeongguk's cheek. He says nothing, he just smiles.
"Is college breaking your back, hyungie?"
"Yes," Taehyung replies, heaving a dramatic sigh. "Your hyung is going to perish someday due to work, Jeongguk-ah". He drops his hand on his forehead and makes a weeping noise.
Jeongguk chuckles and rolls his eyes, "No, you are just lazy"
Taehyung flicks a finger under his chin and gets a whine in return. Jeongguk pouts at him.
"What about you?" Taehyung asks "It's evening and you are not doing your homework"
A faint blush paints its way across Jeongguk's cheeks.
"Yeah" He drags "About that" He mumbles and Taehyung nods softly on his lap, "I'm stuck. I can't get some sums right"
"Why are you embarrassed about that Guk-ah?" Taehyung says, caressing his cheek again, "Hyung's here to help you, right? "
Jeongguk nods. He lets out a gasp suddenly.
"Hyung! I tried to make dinner for us!" He says, excited.
Taehyung laughs
"It's a little bit bur-"
Jeongguk wakes up in cold sweat. It was a dream. He opens his eyes and stares at the ceiling. It was a dream.
There is no college-student Taehyung and middle-school him. They are not living happily in their small apartment. Why is there a hollow in his chest? That doesn't make any sense.
He is…happy. He and Taehyung are in a bigger house now…he should be happy. He nods to himself in determination.
The front door clicks and despite the dark thoughts in his mind, Jeongguk perks up with a smile on his face. He pushes himself up from his bed and leaves his room.
"Hyung! You are back" He leans his front on the back of the couch and hooks his chin on the top of it.
"I'm so tired," Taehyung says, his limbs are sprawling across the couch. Jeongguk could almost imagine him as the Taehyung he saw in his dream, moments ago. This Taehyung looks a lot mature though.
Taehyung turns towards him, lifts a hand and runs it through Jeongguk's hair. Jeongguk purrs.
"You are just a little kitten, aren't you?"
Jeongguk laughs and plows a muscled arm onto Taehyung's stomach. Taehyung groans.
"Jeongguk-ah! What the hell" He lifts his body up, and caresses his stomach. "Who told you to be a muscle kid?"
Jeongguk delivers another blow but Taehyung catches his hand this time. The veins in his hand pop out, almost making Jeongguk drool.
Jeongguk clears his throat and tries to shake off Taehyung's hand. "The first one was for fun. Second…which I couldn't" He squints his eyes, "was for calling me a kid" His nose wrinkles cutely.
Taehyung chuckles, releasing his hold and stands up. He stretches his body and groans at the relief. "But you are a kid, Gukkie" He reaches out to ruffle Jeongguk's hair again but his hand gets flicked away.
"I'm not a kid! Hyung, stop doing this" Jeongguk pushes himself away from the couch. Taehyung sighs.
"Jeongguk" The said person looks him in the eye, "Let's make dinner. Come on" Taehyung says. Then he walks around the couch and grabs one of Jeongguk's hands.
Jeongguk's shoulders drop but he follows him anyway. He is a kid, without any doubt. He is a 19-year-old Omega, in love with his soulmate, a 26-year-old Alpha, pathetically so.
He is going to turn 20 in a year. Why is Taehyung treating him like a kid?
What if Taehyung always thought of him as a kid? He did meet him when he was 14...Could it be…
His heart thunders at the thought that his soulmate does not love him, in a romantic way.
"Hyung do you…" Love me? At all? but the words get stuck in his throat. Taehyung hums and looks back.
Jeongguk shakes his head.
Nothing. Nothing at all.
Jeongguk just wishes for Taehyung to look at him as a soulmate, not a younger brother or something. He's 19, and roaringly so, with his hormones on rage and out of control.
It's not even about sex. The last time Taehyung had given him a kiss on his cheek was when he was 15. The last time they cuddled was when Jeongguk got a nightmare. He still gets nightmares…but he wants to prove Taehyung that he is a grown-up now!
Nowadays their typical life is almost the same. Jeongguk goes to school and Taehyung goes to work and sometimes to fashion weeks all over the world.
Jeongguk won't disturb his work though. He is proud of who Taehyung is today. An alpha male who is challenging the toxic alpha mentality with his Omega like fashion. An alpha who is trying to tell the world that clothes are just clothes. There should be no discrimination. Jeongguk is so proud of him.
But Taehyung comes late to home, almost every day. He is no longer the carefree college student who helped Jeongguk with his homework.
That reminds him, he is failing math in school. He groans.
"What happened?" Taehyung says, glancing between the pot he is stirring and Jeongguk at the counter.
Jeongguk's eyes widen a bit when he realizes that he has been cutting vegetables on autopilot. As his hands shake, he gulps and his breathing gets faster.
In an instance, Taehyung turns down the dial of the stove and lets the ladle clang on the counter.
"What happened, Gukkie?" He asks, approaching Jeongguk with a worried gaze. Jeongguk's lungs spasm. He has no idea why he is reacting like this.
"Guk, Breathe" Taehyung guides him to do so with a light hand on his back. Jeongguk calms down a bit after a minute or so. His hands gripping on the kitchen counter still have pale knuckles.
Taehyung looks at him with a careful expression. His hands only lightly touching Jeongguk's back and shoulder. He moves his hands back and forth.
"You okay?"
Jeongguk nods, looking at the knife. "Just this knife and vegetable n stuff" He mumbles. Taehyung cocks his head sideways, gesturing that he didn't hear him.
Jeongguk shakes his head and tucks his chin on his chest. "Nothing" He says and worries his lower lip with his teeth.
"Something's on your mind. You know you can tell hyung, right?" Now Taehyung is directly behind him.
Jeongguk takes his time. He has a lot on his mind. The knife thing just now, his grades in school and his relationship with Taehyung. Also, the nap from earlier has left him feeling bittersweet.
"Maths…" He says at last, followed by a sigh. "I'm failing maths, hyung"
"Oh,"
Jeongguk closes his eyes in anticipation.
It's not about failing maths, in reality. It's failing Taehyung. Jeongguk has always been good at everything, be in singing or dancing or poetry. Taehyung sometimes calls him a Golden Boy, because he was good at everything.
The only thing that he is bad at, so far, is academics. He was pretty average in middle school and early high school. Now in his senior year, he is in tears while studying.
"…You're failing maths…" Taehyung repeats behind him.
Jeongguk nods. He has to tell him anyway. His parents who live in Busan were called by the school. Sooner or later his parents will tell Taehyung about it.
"Do you want me to help you, Guk?" Taehyung says as he places his chin on his shoulder. Jeongguk looks behind at him with wide eyes.
"What?" He squeaks.
Taehyung has a patient smile on his face. "Do you want me to help?"
"Wha-I though-you woul-" Jeongguk stammers, turning his head downwards, back to the vegetables on the counter.
"I would what?" Taehyung's breathe tickles his neck. He feels blood rushing up his face. He blinks. What did Taehyung ask him right now?
"Um…uh...Oh! I thought you were going to take away my games or something" He stutters, heart pounding.
"Oh"
Fucㅡfudge did Jeongguk just give an idea to him? He wants to tape his mouth. He pouts furiously, chiding himself for this slip up.
The weight on his shoulder lifts as Taehyung leans back, standing straight again. "That won't magically raise your marks now, will it?"
Jeongguk looks back at him in awe. Taehyung is not like his parents at all.
Taehyung laughs, tapping at Jeongguk's shoulder. "Don't look at me like that. I was a student too. " He shakes his head, leaning in again. Just a little bit. "So, do you want help? If not me then I can ask Namjoon hyungㅡ"
"ㅡyou! I want you" Dang, that sounds dirty. Jeongguk's face reddens again. He fully turns towards Taehyung and leans against the counter. Careful with that damn knife.
"Okay," Taehyung smiles. "Now go sit down. You are definitely not feeling good" Jeongguk opens his mouth to protest. "No, Gukkie go sit. "
Taehyung turns his head towards his right and glances at the calendar stuck on the fridge. "Your heat is going to come too" He murmurs, tapping two fingers on his own face as he thinks. "Go sit"
Jeongguk nods and drags his feet to the table. Dropping his body on a chair he fixes his gaze at Taehyung. He is sulking and pouting but he gets a smile before Taehyung turns to pick up the knife.
I love you, hyung. He thinks, like many other times all these years.
…
Jeon Jeongguk is a man on mission and today he will get what he wants. That damn Alpha dick.
He wears his shortest booty shorts and tops it with one of Taehyung's tops, the Celine one. He dabs on a little bit of lip gloss and debates on further putting on some makeup.
There is a fire burning in his lower stomach. The preheat symptoms are in. He smirks in victory. But a shiver runs up his spine which forces him to wear a sweatshirt on top. He pouts. It's okay though, he still looks cute.
Today Taehyung will come home early, he had said so. He also said that he will help him set up his nest for the heat.
The front door clicks and Jeongguk perks up. He runs out of his room and slides his feet on the floor. Arms wrap around him to stop him. His face nestles on a warm chest with an ummph.
"Don't run, Gukkie" Taehyung says, smiling. He took the decision to perm his hair a week back and dang does it look good on him. He looks like an angel. Jeongguk can look at him forever.
"Gukkie?" Taehyung shakes him.
"Huh? What?" Jeongguk blinks and looks up where Taehyung's eyes are. Their faces are so near, he can feel Taehyung's breathe on his cheeks.
Taehyung blinks and withdraws his hands in an abrupt fashion. Jeongguk keens from inside. Is it working already? He feels the urge to smirk but he bites his lip to stop it.
Taehyung clears his throat and scratches his nape. "So…" He starts. Jeongguk wants to laugh now, but he just looks at him with his huge, watery eyes. He hums, tilting his head sideways. Is Taehyung noticing what he is wearing?
But his plan backfires when Taehyung suddenly wears a stoic expression on his face. "Jeongguk" He says in his deep baritone. Jeongguk suppresses the shivering in his body.
"Wha-what, hyung?" He asks. Shi-shoot.
Taehyung looks at him with a steely gaze. "No" He enunciates slowly and distances himself from Jeongguk, simultaneously breaking Jeongguk's heart in the process.
Jeongguk feels his eyes fill with tears. "Why?" He asks, in a voice so broken that he feels pathetic. He grips at the hem of his sweatshirt and looks straight at Taehyung. "Why?" He repeats.
"What do you mean by 'why', Gukkie?" Taehyung counters, careful not to use his alpha voice. Jeongguk flinches at that anyway. "Do you even know what you are doing?"
Now the tears flow freely down Jeongguk's plump cheeks. He lets out a cry.
"No!" Taehyung raises his voice but regrets when Jeongguk stumbles backward. "Gukkie, Gukkie, listen to me" Taehyung approaches him and wraps a hand around his body. "Let's sit down, yeah? You'll get exhausted" He coaxes in a soft voice.
He guides the crying Jeongguk to the couch and makes him sit down. Jeongguk lets out another cry when Taehyung pulls away. "Just a minute, pup, I'll fetch you water, yeah?"
Jeongguk sits there, crying like his life is ending. He just made a fool out of himself. What was he thinking? That he will seduce Taehyung into spending his heat with him?
He brings his hands up and buries his face in them. He is such a fool.
His hands get peeled away from his face. Gently though.
Taehyung shushes him as he runs a hand through Jeongguk's hair. With the other hand he gives him a glass of water which Jeongguk takes.
Wrapping both hands on the glass, ashame at himself, he brings it to his mouth and gulps it all. When he finishes, a knot unravels, making him feel better. Taehyung really knows what is best for him.
Taehyung smiles above at him from between Jeongguk's knees, where he has decided to squat down. He takes the empty glass from him and places it on the floor.
He wraps his arms around Jeongguk's waist and brings him closer. Jeongguk's thighs now touch Taehyung's sides. Jeongguk blushes.
Taehyung stays quiet until Jeongguk starts breathing normally. He tightens his hold around him.
"Gukkie, you can tell me anything, yeah?" Jeongguk nods. "Or you can keep quiet, hyung will understㅡ"
"ㅡNo hyung"
Taehyung nods and smiles to encourage him. Jeongguk lifts his arms in hesitation and places them on Taehyung's shoulders. Taehyung tenses for a brief second before relaxing.
"Hyungie," Jeongguk starts with a small voice. "Do you love me?"
Taehyung's eyes widen. "Of course I do, pup. Why do you doubt that?"
"You treat me like a younger brother" There, he said it. Taehyung raises his eyebrows.
"Oh, that's what you were thinking, pup?" He laughs. "That's called taking care of you" His hand moves lightly on Jeongguk's damp cheeks.
"Taking care like, like a brother" Jeongguk mumbles, dropping his head. Taehyung lifts his head up with a finger against his chin. He leans in a bit.
"Pup, where are you getting this idea from?" Taehyung asks softly.
"What do you see me as then?" Jeongguk asks back, a bit of frustration seeping into his voice. "I don't get what we are!"
"Pup," Taehyung says, running a hand up and down on Jeongguk's back. "Calm down, Gukkie" Jeongguk nods. He tries his best to.
Taehyung gives him a fond smile. "My precious pup," He whispers, making Jeongguk blush. "I love you." He takes Jeongguk's hands towards his face and places a kiss on each.
"Don't you get it? You are my everything"
Jeongguk squints his puffy eyes. "…Cheesy"
Taehyung laughs. "Okay, maybe that was cheesy, but it's true. I wake up in the morning just to see your face. I work every day just so that you get everything you want. I live just to make you happy, pup"
Taehyung squeezes his hands.
"But…hyung" Jeongguk looks down " Is there something wrong with me?"
Taehyung furrows his eyebrows.
"Pup, what do you mean?"
"I mean" Jeongguk pauses, pursing his lips before speaking again, "I mean…what is wrong with me that…that you don't see me as a mate?"
Taehyung's shoulders drop and for a second Jeongguk gets more worried. His heart beats are going crazy.
"Oh, pup" Taehyung buries his head on Jeongguk's hands and chuckles. Jeongguk tilts his head in confusion. Taehyung clears his throat and lifts his head up.
"Do you remember what happened when we first met?" He asks in a more serious tone.
Jeongguk is surprised at the change of topic but nods. "You were with Chim Chim hyung for vacation and we met. Why?"
"You remember not seeing me for two months after that?" Taehyung looks at Jeongguk's hands and starts rubbing them together.
It clicks in Jeongguk's head. "Oh yes! Then I and eomma and appa came to meet you in Seoul. "
" You were wearing an Iron man shirt like the cutie you are" Taehyung smiles and claps his hands together,
"Anyways!" He purses his lips, unsure how to continue. "You were very young so we didn't tell you… Your parents and I fought" He added, sheepishly.
Jeongguk gasps.
"Yeah, I mean…both of them had a point and so did I …so we fought" He interlaced their fingers.
"Why did you fight?" Jeongguk whispers. His parents are calm people and Taehyung himself is a very calm guy. It doesn't make sense in his world.
"You remember your age, pup?"
"Fourteen…i think"
"Yes, and my age?"
"Twenty-one…"
"Now imagine meeting a 21-year-old guy who claims to be your 14-year-old son's soulmate. That too an alpha."
Jeongguk gasps again, blinking as he realises. " That's why…for two months…"
Taehyung nodded. "But your parents gave me a chance" He seems to smile at the memory, but then his face is blank again.
" They panicked…soulmates can't live without each other once found and you ended up in the ICU. Remember, pup?"
Jeongguk nods. He remembers not being able to breathe properly. He didn't understand back then but he knows now that it's the soulmate bond. But why is Taehyung telling him this story?
"Your parents told me to prove myself worthy" Taehyung continues, " So I made a promise to them. I told them I have nothing in my hands, that I'm just a fresh college student. But I would protect their son from everything and work hard so that I could provide him everything. "
Jeongguk looks at him with shiny eyes.
"I also told them...I will never hurt you or touch you inappropriately. "
Jeongguk's eyes dim. He feels guilty about his act. Taehyung had made a promise to his parents...
"They eventually agreed…and helped me get our first home…it was a nice one right?"
Jeongguk nods, remembering the dream and all the fond memories.
"I know where all this is coming from, Guk" Taehyung refers to all the things Jeongguk has been doing nowadays. Taehyung looks up at him with earnest eyes.
"You are growing up" He pauses "You have grown up" He corrects and Jeongguk's heart bounces.
"Grown-up to become this wonderful person, the best mate I could ask for, ever"
Jeongguk blushes. Taehyung squeezes his hands again.
"So just like to your parents, I promise you too," Taehyung says, a serious expression on his face,
"I promise you…that after a year, I'll make you mine. In every way. Okay, pup? Will you be my omega, my soulmate?"
At that, Jeongguk's eyes tear up again, "Yes, hyung. I'll be yours. " He chokes out.
"Just a year, guk" Taehyung reminds him. "I'll wait for you, I did so for so many years. One more to go."
He smiles and stands up, pulling Jeongguk up for an embrace. "Just a year" Jeongguk says and buries his face on the crook of his neck.
He lifts his head up after a few moments and locks his gaze with Taehyung.
"Just a year" Taehyung repeats, his expression serious.
He leans down and pecks Jeongguk's lips.
It's a promise.