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It took Kim Dokja a bit too long to realize that Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yoosung were starting to present. When he finally did realize, he managed to determine that Gilyoung was an alpha and Yoosung was an omega. Despite the former being an alpha, though, they would both nest, often together - not as a mated pair, but as two best friends seeking comfort from each other.
It was sweet, but it made Dokja want to join in too.
Dokja was an alpha. He didn’t know how to nest. He’d never needed to. And he had never dated an omega (or, well, anyone) who could have shown him how to do it. So really, he just stared at Gilyoung and Yoosung as they nested, which was an awkward situation for everyone, so he stopped doing it.
He wanted to make the two of them comfortable. He had practically raised them since the apocalypse started, and for some reason, the two of them still seemed to see him as some sort of father figure even afterwards. He just wanted to do this one thing for them, and he couldn’t.
But maybe, he realized, he could ask someone who did know.
For some reason, it was very easy for Dokja to forget that Han Sooyoung was an omega. Maybe it was because she didn’t act like a typical omega. Honestly, if Dokja couldn’t smell her scent, he would have assumed she was an alpha, or just a beta.
Yet Sooyoung was proof that their secondary sexes didn’t mean shit in the end.
Despite all of that, she was still the first omega Dokja thought of.
He found her reclined on a chair, fingers typing away at a new story. “You aren’t plagiarizing again, are you?” he questioned.
Sooyoung rolled her eyes. “I never plagiarized and you know it.” She looked at him. “Well, Kim Dokja? What is it?”
Dokja decided to just be blunt about it. “I need to ask you something. Something that pretty much only omegas will know.”
Sooyoung closed her laptop, narrowing her eyes. “Why don’t you ask Yoo Sangah-ssi?”
…that was a good question. Sangah would definitely be more agreeable than Sooyoung. But Sooyoung was right here and Sangah wasn’t, and though Dokja supposed he could wait, he felt he had waited long enough. If there was any chance Sooyoung would help him, then he had to try to convince her to do so.
“She’s not here,” Dokja told Sooyoung. “Is there any reason you can’t answer my question?”
Sooyoung rolled her eyes. “Well, I’m starting to reach a writer’s block anyway,” she said. “Fire away.”
Dokja had to admit he was a bit surprised at how quickly she had given in, but then realized she could just refuse to help him once she found out what his request was. Still, he asked. “Could you teach me how to nest?”
Sooyoung looked startled. “Huh?” She blinked a couple of times, then rubbed her eyes, as if she thought she were hallucinating. “Could you repeat yourself?”
Dokja took a breath in, out, then said, “I know I’m an alpha, but I’d like to learn how to nest to help my younger friends feel comfortable.”
An understanding spark lit in Sooyoung’s eyes. “Ah. Gilyoung-ah and Yoosung-ah.” Setting down her laptop on the table, she got up and said, “Well, come on then.”
“Where are we going?” Dokja questioned, following her as she began walking away.
“My room,” she said. “You can’t learn to nest without a nest, can you?”
Dokja had been in Sooyoung’s room before. They all had been friends for so long that they had all been in each other’s room. But this time felt different. Was learning how to nest really such an… intimate experience?
As Sooyoung threw clothes on the floor, Dokja asked, “Is this really how you make a nest?”
“Yes,” Sooyoung said. “Well, some omegas steal clothes from their pack members, but,” she shrugged. “This way is easier.”
Dokja stared at the heap of clothes piled on the floor. “Don’t you… arrange it? Not just pile them?”
Sooyoung sighed. “Yes, that is true.” She crouched down and began arranging the clothes, jerking her head to motion Dokja over as well. “Watch and learn. And then try yourself.”
Dokja watched for a few moments before mimicking Sooyoung’s movements. “It’s not that hard,” he noted. The section that he arranged didn’t look as neat as Sooyoung’s, but it wasn’t bad.
“The whole thing isn’t hard,” Sooyoung said. The nest finished, she gestured at it. “Well, hop on in.”
Dokja paused, then sighed and got into the nest. He tried to settle in naturally, but he had never done this before. It wasn’t natural for him.
“Take off your shoes,” Sooyoung said boredly.
Dokja took off his shoes and proceeded to throw them at her. She squawked indignantly, catching one shoe and managing to barely dodge the other.
“Hey!”
Dokja grinned at her, and she rolled her eyes in response.
“Am I doing it correctly?” Dokja questioned.
“Good enough,” Sooyoung said with a sigh. “You look like an awkward duck.”
“How about you show me then?” Dokja asked.
To his surprise, Sooyoung kicked off her shoes and got into the nest next to him. It was big enough that their knees just barely brushed against each other, yet Dokja was still aware of just how close she was to him.
“Satisfied?” Sooyoung asked dryly.
Dokja swallowed and managed to nod.
“Good,” Sooyoung said. She got out of the nest, and a small part of Dokja felt disappointed. “Practice, I guess. I don’t know. I’m not an alpha, I’ve pretty much always been able to do this since I presented.” She paused, then extended a hand to Dokja.
Dokja looked at the hand suspiciously, wondering if she’d let go and make him fall, then decided that it had already happened enough times for him to be used to it. Taking her hand, he was mildly surprised when she didn’t drop him.
“Well, thanks,” he said.
“Go show your newfound skills to your kids,” Sooyoung said.
Dokja didn’t even deny Sooyoung’s accusation about Gilyoung and Yoosung being his children. It was basically true. He had answered yes one time when he was asked if Yoosung was his daughter, after all.
“I’ll tell them all about the person who taught me,” he said, grinning. Sooyoung rolled her eyes and punched his arm.
It was nice, being with her like this. Maybe he could find a reason to stay with her a bit longer…