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Mark is bad at multitasking, so he doesn’t.
He used to though.
His track record starts even before most people even start aiming for something higher than the ground. Only in kindergarten, while everyone talked about the best way to secure the slide at the playground during recess, Mark thought about how he can start becoming the best. What would be the best way for him to earn the most stars that are displayed on the wall for everyone to see? Even though Mark knows with his six-year-old brain that his report book is nothing but an update for his mum to see how he is in school, he strives to receive only the highest praise.
It tired him to no end but when he heard praises of “Mark you’re so cool!” it just erases every fatigue that had piled up in his body. Even at the age of 10, becoming the first fourth-grader ever to be on the starting team of the table tennis club was not enough. Mark wanted to prove himself to be greater than anyone and everyone else even when he feels like his tiny limbs might fall out any time. He almost feels like his brain is about to explode from trying to juggle everything in school, performing subpar to his own standards because he is physically and mentally too weak.
Whenever his classmates and teachers tell Mark that he is amazing for juggling so much, Mark feels like tearing his soul apart. A child, yes, but he knows very well that he can be much better than this. That his skills are much higher than the results he is getting. His studies may have gotten him in the top 10 in his cohort but Mark knows if he could just juggle studying and his tennis club commitment better, he could be sitting right on top.
When living in a small town, word spreads around fast and everyone grows up together. Friends of friends, siblings of siblings, cousins of cousins. Everyone knew Mark to be an overachiever, earning a reputation of being the golden boy that lived with his single beta mother. So when Mark presented at 13 and not a single one, not even his mum, could tell what his secondary gender was, he became somewhat like a rare artefact to be studied at a museum. It was even more intriguing when his scent was obvious, everyone could smell his unique scent so it was not as if Mark’s presentation had gone wrong.
Going to the hospital in Seoul was an awkward trip. His mother could only find time and money to bring Mark to a hospital that wasn’t their local clinic three months after the town’s doctor had given the recommendation. The specialist clinic for teenagers with presentation problems had never encountered someone like Mark before and again, Mark felt like some sort of rare artefact. They told his mother to let Mark be hospitalised for a while, allowing the doctors to study Mark’s odd secondary gender that primarily relied on instincts.
The doctor said they would even pay them for it. Mark, knowing about their financial situation, immediately jumped on it. He tells his mother that he is interested in knowing more about his condition and the uniqueness behind it.
Although, Mark isn't quite sure if the unique condition he has is a blessing or a curse.
Finding out his secondary gender was a lot easier than Mark had thought. They simply had injected artificial pheromones and checked for the reaction. A triggered heat for omegas, a triggered rut for alphas, simply an increased release of pheromones for betas. Needless to say, it was an awkward moment that Mark would never tell a soul when he got into a rut and needed four nurses to hold him down until the artificial pheromones had worn off.
Figuring out why other wolves could not instinctively tell was the real challenge. The doctors gave tests including (somewhat) hunting for a rabbit in the park nearby, using his alpha voice, figuring out what the secondary genders of the other nurses were, and other activities that primal wolves once had to do to survive.
Mark failed all of them miserably. It makes Mark think about his inability to balance all his commitments and excel in them as well as he should be able to. Somehow even his wolf could not concentrate on more than one thing, even if it is the most innate nature that a wolf should have, an alpha should possess.
But the one thing Mark scored insanely high for was scent understanding. His nose could figure out any wolf he knew within a radius of 30 meters. Mark greeted the nurse by name even though his eyes were closed and she had barely walked into the room. Even though his ears were significantly not as good as other average alphas, Mark could tell when his doctor-in-charge was on his way to the room by scent.
"Imagine all typical instincts that an alpha or even a typical wolf should have and then put them all into your nose. Like a heightened sense of smell, except only for people and it's so heightened it lowers all your other abilities."
For some reason, Mark relates to this. The ability to excel in one thing but the moment other things are added into the mix, everything dramatically lowers together.
"Being good at picking up scents also can help you immediately tell someone's mood incredibly well. Empathetic ones like our nurses can tell when our patients aren't feeling well but you could probably tell that even if the patients are suppressing their scents. Perhaps your ability could see through even the toughest walls and locks."
For some reason, this became a turning point for Mark's identity. That isn't to say Mark didn't try balancing his studies, student council vice-president duties, becoming basketball vice-captain, and helping out the local community service club to clean up the beach. But by this point in time, Mark is satisfied with not being the best, not being president, not being captain, not reaching the top of his cohort. These are results of someone who is shit at multitasking, it is good enough.
High school Mark tried to switch things up. He can't multitask, so he doesn't. Freshman year and Mark decides to concentrate on basketball, becoming the only freshman to be a starting player and winning MVP at the nationals. Junior year and Mark took a step back to be a reserve player, opting to be a pseudo-coach for the freshman while the coach focused on the starting players. He instead joined the student council and with his overachieving reputation in his town, immediately gave him the position as president.
It's interesting because technically, he still has multiple commitments. But his basketball club felt more like a hobby, a time-waster instead of a place he has to excel in. Something like an almost exercise session that Mark doesn't actually need to try for. But running events to attract people from out of town to his local high school, increasing the town's population through ambitious plans that involved the town's chairman and the neighbouring town's high school. Mark's studies took a nosedive for obvious reasons in those two years. Still, Mark is too good of a student to sleep in class so he completes his homework and submits everything on time. His exam papers for the past two years have more Bs than As for the first time in his life but his mother still smiles at him all the same.
In his third year, Mark steps down as student council president and focuses his entire being on studying. Basketball club becomes his place to release exam stress, doing drills to get rid of the questions he keeps getting stuck on, throwing hoops from the three-point line to let go of his frustration. Then he goes home and studies for the next five hours until his mother yells at him to eat something before he faints. Time is always slipping by his fingers because he never looks at the time because he is bad at multitasking, remember?
University life in Seoul goes a little like this. City lights, a tiny apartment with mum, and a life mentor that probably never knew he had become one.
"I'm Taeyong."
Mark still cannot for the life of him figure out other people's secondary gender like everyone else. But the man in front of him exudes confidence with his scent indicating the emotions of pride, so sure of himself that Mark could not mistake Taeyong for anything other than an alpha. He may have bad instincts but his nose is never wrong, plus, there are a few typical emotions that most alphas have by default and Taeyong ticks them all.
Taeyong was everything Mark could not be. Alpha instincts that are a head above everyone else, almost impossible and Mark secretly calls Taeyong a superhero in his heart. It is so strong Taeyong actually knew Mark was an alpha despite his repressed condition. "I didn't guess, I just knew." Taeyong had said and Mark felt weak in his knees.
Most people assumed Mark was a beta and he just rolled with it. No point correcting others, it doesn't matter what they thought of Mark honestly. Everyone in his hometown knew he was an alpha and treated him the same as everyone in the city who thought Mark was a beta. So it was a surprise when Taeyong just knew and Mark felt some sort of acceptance spread across his body, engraving Taeyong to be someone of greatness that he should follow. If Jaehyun raised his eyebrow and accused Mark of having a crush, Mark would punch his arm in response.
The thing is, Taeyong had already graduated and was working in a car company called Genesis. So Mark would never have met him if it wasn't for Jaehyun, the faculty club's president who decided Mark is his favourite freshman of the batch. Invited to join his pack, he was taken to meet the other pack members and Mark, even with his shit instincts, knew Taeyong was pack alpha.
"If someone embodied the smell of a pack alpha it'd be you"
"I'll take that as a compliment."
Despite the strong scent, Taeyong was actually a softie. He bothered the other pack members, cooked for everyone, smiled sweetly, and was always so kind to anyone and everyone. A man who everyone in the pack needs help with and the way Taeyong manages so many people is just fascinating. Modern packs usually keep their numbers below 10, but Taeyong had to absorb Kun’s pack when Ten had an unplanned pregnancy. Kun had given Taeyong the authority, feeling guilty for adding a huge stressor to Taeyong’s pack. So the numbers almost doubled and yet Taeyong continues to remain calm, composed, cool.
“Kun, it’s fine. We can all help raise the child together. The more people to help, the better no?”
Naturally, the obvious solution was for Kun to take Ten into his pack as far as tradition goes. But at this point, Kun had been incredibly busy and it had been Hendery who had to act as a standing leader, something that took a toll on him greatly. When Ten shared this with Taeyong, the decision was made immediately and Kun had no objections to it.
Taeyong is amazing at multitasking, so he does.
His tasks included, but were not limited to, taking care of his pack, leading a team at work, visiting the hospital to take care of his elderly grandfather, taking care of his nephew on the weekends, visiting his parents out in the countryside once a month, saving Mark from situations that only Mark would find himself in.
It honestly sucks when everyone just gets it because their instincts are working perfectly fine. It seems that in the city, the gut feelings are somehow the reason why Taeyong yanks Mark away from a specific street only to find out in the news that there was a gang fight that happened there. Or when Mark blindly extends his hand to help a lady who was crouched on the floor and Taeyong had to hold Mark in an almost chokehold because Mark only realised the woman was in heat when he got much closer and bore his fangs out. “Aren’t you the master of scents? You can’t tell when someone is in heat?” Kun asked with his notepad out, eager to learn about Mark’s condition. (Ten yells “why are you such a nerd” to which Kun yells back “it’s kind of my job to be!”)
It makes no sense, it really does not. But Mark explains that his sense of smell extends to emotions and general health state but Mark’s alpha cannot understand anything else. Drawing an awful looking graph on Kun’s notepad, Mark tries to explain that he can understand when someone feels in pain, stressed, horny, but Mark’s alpha cannot relate these emotions to an omega being in heat. He does have to consciously categorise them in his brain and tells Kun “so from now on if I smell a random person feeling these three emotions, I will assume that person is an omega in heat” of which Kun says that alphas in ruts will experience similar emotions.
“Then if I smell anyone with these emotions, I’ll assume it’s either a heat or a rut then?” Kun nods at Mark’s answer.
Mark’s general instincts aren’t completely non-existent. He found out that Jungwoo was a beta when he went into a rut and was the first person who was there to carry him to Mark’s dorm. Somehow, somewhere in his weakened alpha state, he could tell that Jungwoo was indeed, a beta. “Oh my gosh, Jungwoo you’re a beta” even though Jungwoo had already told Mark that he was a beta, it was the most exhilarating moment of his life despite the pain.
When Mark told Taeyong about it, he honestly expected a cold nod or a shrug of the shoulders for it wasn’t a big deal. Mark knows it isn’t a big deal when every other human being on earth had the ability to tell people’s secondary gender without even a second thought. Yet, Taeyong broke the biggest grin and as if his son had won the Nobel prize, he told everyone else in the pack with the scent of happiness swirling through the air.
“Of course, I’m going to be extremely happy about it Mark. So what if other people can do it? You couldn’t for the life of you but you did it! That’s the important part here. This is about you and your progress with the wolf inside of you.”
Mark calls Taeyong a superhero in his heart who tells Mark profound words of wisdom and love. But he knows in his head that Taeyong is anything but.
When Sungchan has to be hospitalised from a high fever that keeps getting worse, Taeyong, the ever strong pack alpha, smiles and goes around calming everyone down. In the midst of consoling a crying Shotaro, Taeyong is on the phone with the hospital receiving updates from Sungchan's parents. There is this comforting scent that Taeyong releases to calm the pack and it helps a whole lot. Doyoung has stopped pacing around, Shotaro is sound asleep after crying, and Mark sees Taeyong’s smile falter for just a second.
An idea pops into Mark’s head.
"Let's go get bubble tea!" Mark pulls Taeyong's arm, ignoring Doyoung's nagging of "stop drinking unhealthy things" and "let Taeyong rest". Taeyong says along the lines of “it’s okay I’ll get everyone’s usual orders” but Mark has other plans, kind of. Sorta.
They walk side by side with Taeyong just a few centimetres in front. Everyone had gathered in Taeyong's house once they heard about Sungchan and the increased worry spiralled until Taeyong personally went to everyone to console them. But Mark has the one and only ability and can tell Taeyong had worried the most, his anxiousness seeping through his skin even if no one else has noticed yet.
When the turn to the nearest bubble tea shop came, Mark pulled Taeyong away from it. "Detour!" or something as Mark led Taeyong away from the original destination to Mark's intended place. Said place was just the Han River and pulled Taeyong to sit next to him.
It seemed to help Taeyong's extreme worry that he had been suppressing the whole time. Mark can smell the incessant worry released into the air, so much so that Mark can tell the glances he receives from strangers passing by are concerned about Taeyong. The air is cold and Mark lies down on the grass to look at the clouds. Silence envelopes them in a quiet hug as Mark sees Taeyong finally let his tears run down his cheeks.
"Your strange ability will save someone one day, like this."
Mark took those words to heart as he gave Taeyong a warm hug and cried as well.
(Sungchan eventually recovered and was discharged.)
“Shadow Mark for a while, it would be good for you.”
Mark had already been working under Taeyong for a year when a new guy was introduced to the team. Taeyong and Johnny had not expected their team to only comprise of their pack in the company and decided to seek out someone fresh. Apparently, a new graduate who had once interned in the company was the recommendation.
“Okay, what if Jeno joins our pack anyway? Wouldn’t it defeat the purpose of fresh blood from outside the pack?”
Johnny and Taeyong looked at Mark like he was talking nonsense. Mark could smell the confusion, the “are you really asking that?” and then the-
“Oh right you can’t…” Johnny trails off when Taeyong interrupts, “Jeno is already in a pack and gathering from his reaction, he is probably pack alpha too.”
Mark doesn’t know what reaction he means because all he could smell oozing off from Jeno, the new guy, was stress. So much stress and tiredness that Mark wonders if that’s the reason why Taeyong had entrusted Mark to take care of Jeno instead of Johnny who taught Jungwoo, Ten, and Mark the ropes.
Jeno smells like he might faint any time.
So Mark does what he can do, drag Jeno into a nice place to relax, let his emotions crack and flow into oblivion. It doesn’t quite work because Jeno suppresses his emotions like his life depends on it and continues to emit stressed pheromones every day at work. Jeno is constantly holding on to his phone with a clenched fist, running to the bathroom every time the phone so as much vibrates, leaving the scent of panic and anxiousness behind. When Mark tells that to Taeyong, he actually looks surprised and shares that Jeno must be really good at ensuring no one can tell how he feels.
“I could tell he is stressed occasionally, but I didn’t know he was so stressed out that you think he might faint,” Taeyong ponders, “you should take him out to walk more often, I can tell it really helps him focus on work more.” And while slacking off during work hours isn’t something Mark particularly is fond of, dragging Jeno away from work feels more like calming down a storm than actually slacking off and Taeyong agrees.
Mark doesn’t think he is helping because Jeno continues to smell like death whenever he walks into the office doors. It also doesn’t help that Jeno is the quietest person on earth and never shares his troubles with anyone. He is quiet at work, handing in projects before the deadline, constantly on top of his work without much help. And if Taeyong is right, Jeno is also balancing taking care of his pack. With so much on his shoulders, Mark wonders how Jeno manages to keep himself and his pack afloat with such vigour.
Unfortunately, Mark knows that one day Jeno would run out of steam and collapse, Mark is not someone who would let him do that. So he drags Jeno out of the race where Jeno runs full speed without looking back, carrying every burden he has without any complaints. Definitely not healthy, and definitely too fast for his own good. Instead, Mark decides to give Jeno detours, road divergence, a u-turn, and bringing the gear down to one. Taking one step at a time because Mark can’t multitask and can only do things one by one so he teaches Jeno how to breathe slowly, one breath at a time.
The first time Jeno cries, Mark is stunned out of his mind.
On a day where everyone has their head buried once again, Mark feels Jeno breaking down next to him. The air shifts from tired and stressed to just one guy feeling like he might explode into a billion pieces. Yeah, no, Jeno needs to take a breather for sure.
It is the same as every time, Mark drags Jeno out to buy bubble tea for the rest as a guise for Jeno to relax. Jeno cries his lungs out in Mark’s shoulder, the first time Mark has seen Jeno finally tear his heart out in the open and Mark holds this moment dearly. They are nothing but colleagues, seniors and juniors at work, but seeing the quiet, hardworking, and diligent boy cry tugs Mark’s heartstrings like never before. Finally, Jeno lets go of his stress and cries.
Jeno mutters out one name over and over and it’s the first time Mark has ever heard about Jeno’s personal life. The stressed-out, pained, almost like death scent eases into yearning, oh so much yearning. Mark could feel through his bones Jeno’s yearning for the name he chants like a prayer. The yearning is so strong Mark almost feels dizzy, the amount of love that Jeno has for this person is so strong it overrides every other negative emotion that floats in the air.
“I love him with my life.”
Mark can’t multitask so he has never dated. His one-track mind only allowed him to have one thing at a time or else he would fall short of his own standards. So to hear Jeno verbally state his yearning for another is something Mark has never experienced. It’s enviable how much this person must mean to Jeno and Mark is happy for Jeno. The air is light when they walk back with their hands full of bubble tea. So for the first time since they’ve met, Jeno smells like happiness.
Interesting how the moment Mark considers dating, his mum has a blind date ready.
“I met this lovely boy at the hair salon today! Here is his number, you have a date this Saturday don’t forget baby!”
Mark’s mum knows about his inability to know about people’s secondary gender and yet would not give a hint on the mysterious boy’s identity. Huffing, he steps into the cafe and scans around only to smell one very familiar scent. His eyes spot Jeno hunched in front of a laptop, pulling the boy next to him and whispering something. Jeno’s scent smelt like shock, confusion, panic, and something along the lines of “oh shit”. Mark wonders what that’s all about when he spots the boy he is looking for.
From: Blind Date
I’ll be wearing a yellow sweater so bright you will spot me from a mile away :D
Getting closer to the table, Mark smells anticipation, anxiousness, awkwardness. The boy doesn’t quite show it though with a bright smile and a cute wave. As Mark sits down, he realises the table already has two cups of ice coffee and one plate of cheesecake with two tiny forks placed next to it. Somehow that gets to Mark and he feels like the preparedness is such a sweet gesture he feels his insides melt into oblivion.
His alpha is swooned by the male in front of him, Mark has to remind himself that he can’t fall in love with someone he hasn’t even talked to. So he clears his throat and puts on a polite smile “hi I’m Mark” and the other responds easily with “Donghyuck” and Mark swears his ears start ringing “soulmate” out of nowhere.
The boy in front of him is pretty, exactly the kind of boy Mark would point at when his mum asked “what kind of person is your type?” The honey-like skin, the heart-shaped lips, the soft-looking eyes that stare straight into Mark’s soul. Judging from Donghyuck’s text, he must have a good sense of humour and is probably fun to be around and- oh no, he is so down bad now. Now Mark wonders if that’s the reason why his mum keeps tabs on every crush Mark has ever had – to find literally his ideal type in a bright ass yellow sweater.
(“No Jaehyun, I never had a crush on Taeyong oh my gosh. Am I incapable of holding platonic love for someone I highly respect?”)
“Your mum told me you’re an alpha so I was expecting a shady man to walk in, I even called back up in case you were weird. Instead, I see a glasses cutie whom my wolf cannot distinguish as safe or not so…” Donghyuck leans a little closer, a smirk on his lips, “should I send my back up to hunt you or shall I safely assume you’re cool?”
Back up?
Jeno?
“Jeno and the boy he is sitting with?”
Donghyuck is shocked out of his mind and his scent exudes fear, probably ready to yell and get Mark arrested. Quickly, Mark puts his arms up in surrender and pushes his chair further away from Donghyuck to show that he means no harm. Unfortunately, Donghyuck’s scent does not change and is still wary of Mark but at least his mouth is closed and Jeno is not about to run over and pin Mark down.
“Don’t yell for your backup please, I’m Jeno’s senior at work but he hid his face when I walked by just now so I just put two and two together.” At that, Donghyuck calms down and Mark smells the anxiousness and fear turn into curiosity, becoming intrigued, almost interested.
“So not a stalker, just smart?”
“I hope I’m smart.”
Donghyuck smiles at that.
“Jeno is my pack alpha and the boy next to him is the only other alpha in our pack but that’s not important.” Donghyuck drinks a sip of his ice coffee, “impress me with other things about yourself than being smart. I do like a capable man who can keep up with me.”
Oh gosh, Donghyuck has honey-like skin, heart-shaped lips, soft-looking eyes, probably an outstanding portfolio behind his back, kindness that comes naturally as Donghyuck neatly cleans the condensation on the table so the cafe workers don’t have to clean it up later. Mark is down bad and oh, if Donghyuck wants to be impressed, he has his ammunition ready to sweep off the other’s feet. Mark keeps quiet about his inability to multitask though because that part can wait after Donghyuck has heart eyes for him and him only.
So there goes Mark letting his achievements roll off his tongue, trying to sound humble and yet stating facts of everything he has done in his life. Mark knows his track record is outstanding, graduating with valedictorian in university is probably what seals the deal because Donghyuck’s eyes shine even brighter by the end of it.
“While I am very obviously trying to impress you, I do hope you know I don’t go around telling people my life’s achievements.”
“You’re trying to impress me? I never realised!” Donghyuck fake gasps and Mark has to resist the urge to reach over and squish his cheeks. “Don’t worry, I only find capable men hot and you sir, are one fine capable man.” Donghyuck winks and Mark blushes.
Watching Donghyuck get up to the cashier has Mark puzzled but the scent remains happy and interested so Mark stays put without any question. He turns around to see Jeno happily chatting with the other boy next to him and Mark enjoys the rare genuine smile before Donghyuck comes back. Mark lets his eyes linger on Jeno’s happy figure, his scent clearly radiating happiness and then turns to Donghyuck who bought a cup of ice chocolate instead.
“You drank the iced coffee, made a face but pretended nothing happened. So Mr Capable Man, care to tell me about your dislike for coffee?” Donghyuck passes Mark the newly bought drink and the blush that had settled down comes back in full force. “Yeah, I guess,” was all Mark could muster. He thanks for the drink and sips the ice chocolate, his heart completely swooned at Donghyuck’s observant behaviour and wants to propose to the other right then and there.
The date continues well with Donghyuck reciprocating the life story with his own with a list of activities he has done ever since he was a child. “I played table tennis too when I was younger, I learned ballet for a few years, I was student council president, I was volleyball captain in university, ah what else,” Donghyuck looks out the cafe window and ponders for a while before smiling back at Mark again.
“I’m also the only omega to be working at the virus testing lab in Asan Medical Center Seoul.”
An omega! Mark secretly thanks the heavens for Donghyuck casually sneaking in that information. (“It’s so awkward to just ask them like hey! What’s your sub-gender?” Mark curls into Taeyong’s side while Doyoung laughs on the other side of the couch.)
A trip to the bathroom to give Jeno a greeting (Jeno smelled like embarrassment but Mark finds it very endearing) and the date ends with Donghyuck fluttering his eyelashes and a promise for a second date. Mark’s heart swells and bounces happily home.
Mark had been going back and forth, wondering how he could balance his work and courting Donghyuck. He wants his gift to be perfect, something that would represent the laughter and the comfort that they both find in each other. But Mark is bad at multitasking and has been crashing at Taeyong’s place a lot more often to seek some sort of answer without actually asking for any advice. Because Taeyong has a lot to deal with, always has a lot to deal with, and also preparing to (finally) officially court Doyoung.
As always, Taeyong is a superhero and so he catches on to Mark’s worry from bits and pieces of information. From the random drops of “there’s this guy called Donghyuck” and also “how do you find time carving your courting gift?” and the very obvious “like hypothetically, how do you balance creating the perfect courting gift and working?”. Jungwoo likes to poke fun at Mark’s way of asking advice from Taeyong but Mark likes to think that Taeyong’s words are particularly special to him and doesn’t want to ask for advice carelessly.
“If you focus one thing at a time, that’s not multitasking right?”
Taeyong smiles and as always, Mark took those words to heart and gives Taeyong a big hug.
Mark schedules his time so that there is a specific timeslot in his schedule that is solely dedicated to carving out Donghyuck’s courting gift. He tells Taeyong to let anyone know that his phone would be far away from him and that he will disappear from the face of the earth every day for three hours. Mark told Donghyuck about it, unabashedly about putting his phone away just to focus on the courting gift and Donghyuck replied with excitement for the final product. Uncaring about the fact that Donghyuck will not get a reply from Mark as often as he normally would.
Mark skillfully handcrafts a miniature house with the two of them sitting on the floor laughing. It gives off the homely vibe and summarises the lazy days of just chatting their life away on the floor. “Because the bed is a dangerous place,” Donghyuck once joked but Mark can smell that Donghyuck was being truthful and kept the boundary by sitting on the floor.
“Donghyuck likes traditions,” Jeno once mentioned when Mark slipped that he was preparing to give his first courting gift.
When Mark receives a bracelet from Donghyuck, it looks so perfect that Mark wants to run to Donghyuck’s room to rip apart his gift and make a new one. The bracelet has two charms dangling, a jasmine flower and what looks like chocolate. Mark tilts his head in confusion until Donghyuck tugs his sleeve and sits both of them down on the floor.
“I know you can’t actually smell what my scent is.”
Yeah so the thing is despite being able to identify scents to the human who emits them, Mark is unable to pinpoint the exact fragrance or link the pheromones to real life. He knows when Donghyuck is near, he can smell him from quite the distance to the point trying to find him in the crowd is not even a challenge for Mark. But if you asked Mark what Donghyuck smelled like, his answer would be “Donghyuck just smells like Donghyuck duh” because that’s all he can tell.
So the warmth spreads into his body, always so thankful for Donghyuck’s careful observance but never pushing to talk more. It’s not something that Mark is ashamed about, but he wants to keep up the perfect image, the capable man as Donghyuck had called him on their blind date. Mark is dense but he isn’t blind and can tell how much Jeno looks up to him and is not one to falter at the pressure of keeping up his image. It has worked so far but this, condition, might be his downfall.
But one step at a time, because Mark can’t take multiple, he tells Donghyuck lightly about his medical condition. How his wolf had every other instinct at the lowest level and gathered into the one ability to smell emotions, general well-being, and health statuses. Donghyuck compares it to a game and only inputs skill points into the empathy skill and Mark agrees with it.
Most couples stop there, the tradition of giving the first gifts had become the modern take on romance. But Mark remembers what Jeno had said and continued his quest to create the perfect courting gift for Donghyuck. He kept it a secret from everyone, wanting to make it special just for Donghyuck. The next gift was a headpiece to be worn on the day before the mating ceremony and Mark is essentially letting Donghyuck know that he already sees a future with Donghyuck. Then again, the house should have been a dead giveaway.
The headpiece is glittery and Mark somehow manages to create it so that it looks like there is honey dripping down the top. Something to represent Donghyuck’s honey-like skin. There are tiny hearts that decorate the edges of the headpiece like little kisses because of Donghyuck’s heart-shaped lips. He adds cotton around to represent the soft-looking eyes that Donghyuck uses to gaze sweetly at Mark. When Donghyuck receives it, he smells like shock, happiness, yearning, desire, gratefulness, love, love, love.
So much love.
In the midst of waiting for Donghyuck to tailor a robe that Mark will wear for the mating ceremony, Jeno has started avoiding Mark. The scent is extremely jealous, hurt, and feelings of uselessness override every other emotion in the office and Mark has no idea where it came from. Not even sure when it started getting this strong. Feeling desperate to find out why Mark calls Chenle, “it might be work-related! Is there a rumour that you’re better than him or something?” No, so he calls Renjun, “sorry I don’t know why… He seems fine to me though?”. Asking Jisung and he gets a “Jeno gets jealous? Really?” and so he sighs and calls his boyfriend for some sort of enlightenment.
“He isn’t jealous cause I talked to Jaemin or something right?”
“No babe, everyone and their mums know that Jeno loves Jaemin. Jeno also knows that everyone and their mums know that Jeno is very in love with Jaemin.”
Of course, who else to ask about this other than the man Jeno is in love with? Mark calls Jaemin and he gets a “he sees you as a role model, if he is jealous of you then there must have been an incident where you did better than him and he feels inadequate. It’s not bad jealousy, it’s why couldn’t I be like him kind of jealousy.”
Mark doesn’t know what incident it might be but Mark feels like Jeno has nothing to be jealous about. A broken alpha with improper use of skill point allocation, a really horrible multitasker, and someone who still runs to Taeyong for help every time he stumbles even the smallest road bump. Someone who still needs a little help to diffuse the situation by asking Taeyong to order Jeno to go for a bubble tea run with Mark. “Because you’re his boss and he can’t refuse you right?” Mark reasons and Taeyong shakes his head, “this has got to be some sort of abuse of authority,” but Taeyong helps anyway because of course Taeyong would help Mark.
It seemed suspicious that Taeyong was the one ordering for Mark and Jeno to get bubble tea but Mark thanks the loaded stress on Jeno to not notice anything. Mark thinks how he can convey the message that Jeno is enough, oh he is way more than enough. In fact, Mark has no idea why exactly Jeno looks up to him other than the fact that Mark acts like he has his life together. Maybe that’s it? So Mark tells Jeno what he thinks is Jeno’s strongest suit, which is Mark’s biggest weakness.
Jeno cries for the second time ever but Mark isn’t stunned out of his mind for this crying session. He pulls Jeno even closer and he lets the stress, the pain, the jealousy, the anger, all dissipate into the air. They form clouds and slowly dissolve into a feeling of comfort, somewhat healing. One day, Mark will casually bring this up and ask what the situation was all about but for now, he will pat Jeno’s head and give him a nice big hug.
When Mark receives the robe from Donghyuck, he feels ecstatic. Wearing it around in his room to marvel at the green and blue decorations. (“You smell like the ocean and lemongrass in case you never knew.” Donghyuck chirps, “I actually didn’t know, thanks Hyuck!” Mark beams and kisses Donghyuck’s forehead.) Things are a little serious by that time, everyone in his pack had met Donghyuck much to his boyfriend’s surprise.
“You’re in a pack? I couldn’t tell- wait is this part of the whole medical condition thing?”
Mark nods and Donghyuck never pressed further. Instead, he greets everyone with a blinding smile and the pack all dote on Donghyuck as if he had known them for years. The last courting gift is the ring but Mark will wait until they are both ready. That doesn’t mean Mark is already preparing, ordering the diamond stone and seeking design help from Ten and Taeyong. Doyoung tells Mark that Donghyuck would be happy with a typical looking diamond ring and Mark glances at the uniquely crafted ring sitting on his fourth finger and strongly begs to differ. Doyoung laughs and tells him never to compare to Taeyong and while Mark understands that, he doesn’t believe in Doyoung’s words.
Jeno tells Mark about his gift to Jaemin at the gym and Mark almost pounces on him in happiness. Finally, he may not have witnessed the pining for as long as Donghyuck but the fact that even the gym owner knows about Jeno’s love for Jaemin before Mark even invited Jeno to the gym is probably very telling how Donghyuck’s description of “everyone and their mums know about Jeno being in love with Jaemin” insanely accurate. When Mark tells Taeyong the news of Jeno, Taeyong is quiet. Then he looks at Mark with his ever piercing stare that Mark knows is actually the look Taeyong gives when he has something profound to tell Mark.
Taeyong and his superpowers give Mark advice. And for the first time, Mark never asked for it.
“When the time comes, leave the pack. Even better if you could lead them.”
Confusion is obviously written in Mark’s face, nothing about the conversation they had ever insinuated that Mark needed to leave the pack. Even more confusing was the plan to have Donghyuck join their pack so there was even less reason to leave Taeyong’s growing pack. But this is Taeyong and Mark still thinks that Taeyong is a superhero despite the evident dark circles and eye bags and so he does what he always does.
Mark takes those words to heart as he gives Taeyong a long hug.
Because of course, Taeyong is obviously some sort of psychic there is no other explanation when Jeno sits his pack down at his apartment and invited Mark to join them. A pack meeting that should consist of only Jeno’s pack, even if Mark has become good friends with everyone for the past few months. Taeyong’s words echo in Mark’s mind and he readies himself to hear what Jeno wants to announce.
“What do you guys think of Mark as pack alpha?”
Donghyuck is about to retort that Mark is already in a pack, it looks like Renjun wants to argue along the lines of “but you’re capable Jeno as we’ve said a million times” while Jisung and Chenle are just thinking. Mark though, truly believing in his theory of Taeyong as a psychic smiles and simply tells Jeno “if you are all willing, I would love to be.”
Obviously, the first order of business before the ceremony would be to tell Donghyuck about the decision to leave his pack and take over Jeno. Although Mark isn’t sure how to let Donghyuck know about his slight obsession with his Taeyong superhero agenda, Mark can at least tell Donghyuck about Taeyong’s advice. “And so you’re joining us instead because Taeyong said so?” and well, it sounds a bit weird when Donghyuck says it like that but Donghyuck smells like he is teasing, with small bits of happy bubbles floating around so Mark thinks all is safe.
Mark’s adult life goes a little something like this, he sets alarms on his phone that indicate the task he should focus on. He sets aside specific dates to tell Donghyuck everything about his condition, including his awkward triggered rut awakening moment. Then he checks with Jeno when everyone can be free so he can explain his biological condition. An alarm is set to call individual members of his previous pack every day because he still misses them and wants to keep in contact with everyone. Mark has a calendar on his bedside table that dedicated dates to hang out with the pack. Work hours are for work and work only and therefore replies to Jisung complaining about Chenle stealing food after he gets home.
Whenever he smells Jeno descending into madness, they take a trip down to the bubble tea shop. On a random Friday afternoon during lunch, Jeno shyly reveals he was jealous of the way Mark handled Chenle’s situation with his parents. “Oh what? That? Right, that happened.” Mark replies and Jeno gapes at him. Taeyong is laughing so hard he sounds like his body has run out of air. Mark shrugs his shoulders and tells Jeno that he just did whatever he thought could help and Taeyong, for some reason, decides to laugh even harder.
During the rare occasions Mark smells the air is heavy and no one notices Taeyong feeling down, instead of calling for Jeno, Mark yanks Taeyong off the chair to walk behind the factory. Johnny, Jungwoo, and Ten are a little surprised but Jeno smiles knowingly.
Because what’s wrong with taking one step at a time, breathing in one breath at a time, one bubble tea at a time, one pack member at a time, one emotion at a time, one task at a time.
Because so what if Donghyuck has to drag Mark away from dangerous streets, whisper other people’s secondary gender when meeting new people, describe how Taeyong smells like cinnamon and oakwood, Jeno smells like rainwater in the forest, but then quickly stops describing because “only how I smell matter,” and Mark shakes his wrist, letting the bracelet charms cling against each other. “Jasmine and chocolates,” Mark says and Donghyuck gives Mark a wet kiss on the cheek.
Mark is bad at multitasking, so he doesn’t.
With a ring in his pocket, Mark only has one task for the night. He focuses on this important task and tries to not get distracted by the honey-like skin, the heart-shaped lips, the soft-looking eyes, the laughter that echoes in Mark’s mind for days to come. Unfortunately, Mark can’t multitask and ends up getting lost in Donghyuck’s presence.
Ah, it’s okay, he’ll kneel on one leg one day. One step at a time, remember?