Chapter Text
“… Done-“
Four out of five weary bodies immediately dropped to the floor in exhaustion, wheezing and gasping for air. Only one remained standing, staring blankly at their dance instructor – Itzy’s single representative of tenacity, as always.
“Good job everyone. We’re wrapping up for the day… But you girls need to work on your stamina!” The instructor frowned. “Y’all dropping like flies too easily! Look at Yeji! She’s the leader and still standing!”
“… that’s ‘cause she’s not exactly human.” Chaeryeong muttered under her breath as she placed an arm over her tired eyes, causing Ryujin and Lia to exchange sly grins.
“You mean she’s built different from us generic beings,” Ryujin laughed quietly.
“… Alpha.” The four girls mouthed to each other silently when the instructor’s back was turned.
Silently, yet obnoxiously so Yeji could see them enunciate those words CLEARLY. She narrowed her eyes and frowned in disapproval, causing giggles to break out into the room.
“Y’all that happy to be done with practice?” Their choreographer was no less the wiser.
“Yep!” They cheered enthusiastically.
At Yeji’s sharp gaze, the four girls got on their feet to stand up straight and bow in unison.
“Thank you for your hard work and time, Teacher!”
After a few more bows, their instructor finally left the room, causing the restrained giggles the girls let out earlier to come out in full force.
“Look at Yeji’s face!” Lia laughed good-naturedly, as Yeji turned pink with embarrassment.
“That’s not funny! You guys are so mean!” The leader cried, causing Ryujin to throw her arms around the oldest.
“How are we mean?” Chaeryeong challenged, laughter still trailing from her lips.
“You promised to keep it a secret!”
“She didn’t see us, I swear! She didn’t catch us!” Ryujin insisted, hugging Yeji tighter. “And even if she did, we could always play it off!”
“Yeah! You’re our leader. Technically, that makes you our alpha!” Lia and Chaeryeong whooped.
“Arghhhhh!” Yeji let out another wail of lament.
As usual, their practice room was filled with noise, laughter, and joy as they spent time together. Teasing Yeji about her alpha status was also nothing new.
However, usually it was Yeji against four rebellious children. One was unusually silent.
While the commotion was happening, nobody noticed how Yuna had relegated herself to the corner and was quietly checking her phone every five seconds. She pouted after she turned her phone on and off for the 17th time and still didn’t receive any notification. She stared at the time.
7:23 PM.
The noodles were supposed to arrive at 7:30 PM.
But she hadn’t received a single reply or response from HIM today as to whether HE would show up or not. She pouted. HE never blew her off like this. That wasn’t like HIM at all.
Yuna’s phone lit up in notification, but she turned it off within a split second, blinking rapidly.
The noodles were here.
Yuna prided herself in having fast reflexes – it’s what made her good at sports and dancing. Unfortunately, she was never quite fast enough to avoid the all-seeing (aka nosy) eyes of her unnis, all of whom had gone eerily quiet and had honed their attention on her.
Her heart sank when she noticed the mirror Cheshire smiles on their faces.
“… Who was that?” Ryujin ALWAYS started it.
“Nobod- Nothing!” She quickly responded, looking down. “It’s nothing-“
“You’ve been checking your phone a lot today.” Lia sang-song.
“I’m always on my phone-“ She argued back, fighting down a blush.
“Jajjangmyun-“ Chaeryeong deadpanned, gazing down at the notification that lit up once more. “I hope you ordered enough for everyone.”
She raised an eyebrow at Yuna with a straight face before turning to the other girls, who mirrored her raised brows.
They only lasted three seconds before exploding with laughter once more.
Yuna glared at them and stood up, but didn’t say anything, ‘lest she wanted to embarrass herself even more.
“Oh my gosh! Look at our Baby!” Lia was laughing so hard, her eyes curved into crescent moons.
“She’s growing up so fast!” Ryujin sniffled, wiping her face of nonexistent tears.
“TOO fast!” Yeji agreed, shaking her head. “I worry sometimes.”
Yuna rolled her eyes at their faux dramatics and started making her way towards the door, unwilling to stay as the target of their fun any longer.
“So where do we meet you for jajjangmyun?” Ryujin teased, but made no move to stop her.
“You know DARN WELL it’s not for YOU!” Yuna sputtered.
“Yuna-“ Lia gasped dramatically, eyes tripling in size, which was hilarious given that her eyes were almost nonexistent just 10 seconds before.
“She’s changed-“ Chaeryeong agreed, quickly linking arms with Lia. “She’s forgotten all about us spinsters now that she has a boy-“
“He’s NOT my boyfriend!” Yuna sputtered, cheeks heating up as a pretty blush materialized on her cheeks.
“Your face says you’re lyinggggggg!” Ryujin purposely dragged the last word obnoxiously, the smugest grin on her face that any of them had seen all day.
“No! I’m not- He’s not- UNNI!” Yuna gave up, turning to Yeji with pleading eyes. “Unni! Please!”
“’Unni please!‘” Chaeryeong mocked.
“Unni please!” Ryujin echoed.
“Yuna please!” Lia added.
Yuna knew they were just teasing, that they didn’t mean anything by it. They never did. Her unnis would never try to hurt her. In fact, despite all their jabs, they always helped her meet up with him whenever she wanted to. But at that moment, she was feeling so vulnerable and hurt that he never returned her texts that she fell quiet.
“… I just want to eat with him… that’s all… I want to eat with him-” She became teary-eyed and her voice became so small that it caused her members to feel guilty.
Yeji immediately stepped forward to pull Yuna into her embrace, tucking the youngest under her head and into her neck, where Yuna could smell the faint but comforting pheromones of freshly cooked rice. Yuna closed her eyes and leaned in, taking in the delicious scent.
“Oh, my baby!” Lia cooed, coming over to wrap her arms around Yuna’s tiny waist from behind. She leaned forward to plant a kiss on their youngest’s face. “We’re sorry! We’re just teasing!”
“You know how we are,” Ryujin added, bringing Chaeryeong with her to join the group hug. “We can be obnoxious aunties at times. Sorry.”
“Sorry…” Chaeryeong echoed quietly.
They took a moment like this, basking in their closeness as they huddled together… Until a vibration interrupted their peace.
Yuna checked her phone.
The delivery person was getting impatient and threatened to leave without dropping off the jajjangmyun.
“… I need to go.” She slowly tugged herself lose from the group hug. “The delivery person is waiting.”
“Where are you going to eat?” Ryujin asked curiously.
“I don’t know yet.”
“Well, you’re going to have a hard time sneaking it in. Those containers are bulky.” Chaeryeong gave her a pointed look.
“… I’ll take the stairs.”
“I think it’s better if we all go.” Yeji walked to the door and held it open, beckoning her other members. “That way we can avoid suspicion.”
Yuna’s heart sank, but she didn’t protest as her unnis followed her out the practice room and down the elevator to the back lot, where the delivery man was waiting for her. While he raised an eyebrow at the entourage behind Yuna as she paid, he didn’t say anything more than a grumpy, ‘thank you’ before making his quick exit.
“… So are you guys going American-style now?” Ryujin asked.
“What’s ‘American-style’?” Lia laughed, as did Yeji and Chaeryeong beside her.
“Ya know… In Korea, older people pay. Or men pay. But in America, I heard they take turns paying.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?” Yeji chuckled. “It brings more balance in a relationship.”
“Yes…” Yuna agreed absent-mindedly, staring mournfully at her phone that still showed no sign of contact from him.
“Yes?!” Lia gasped as Chaeryeong’s jaw dropped exaggeratedly.
“’Yes,’ she says,” Ryujin snorted. “She’s not even listening… Are you? SHIN YUNA?!”
“I am.” Yuna looked up from her phone bewildered. “Take turns paying… brings balance in a relationship. I said I agree.”
“You never pay for me.” Chaeryeong scoffed.
“Never pays for any of us.” Lia laughed. “She’s our spoiled baby – our princess.”
“Seriously!” Ryujin shook her head as she gestured to the containers of food that all of them were carrying, except for Yuna. “… Also, how much did you order? Isn’t it just the two of you? Why’s there so much?”
“Jajjangmyun… Jjamppong… Sweet and sour pork… Kung pao shrimp… That’s what we always get.” Her brow furrowed as she quickly sent another message.
kiddo 🐱
oppa…
r u ok?”
“Wow…” Yeji gaped. “I think we gotta join the lovebirds today.”
“Seriously!” Lia giggled. “There’s enough food to feed an army. Yuna, we can join you right?”
Yuna’s face shot up from her phone, lips twisting into a pout as she glared at her members with almost teary eyes. They immediately erupted in ugly guffawing laughter.
“Fine… Fine! Be that way!” Ryujin’s lungs were hacking away.
“Did you see her face?!” Lia was laughing so hard, tears were rolling down her eyes. “Oh my gosh!”
“You’re terrible, SHIN YUNA!” Chaeryeong wheezed, holding onto Ryujin for support. “Making… Making a f-face… at e-eating with your u-unnis-“
“F-forget about i-it then!” Yeji could hardly breathe, holding her stomach tightly as she hooted with laughter.
In fact, everyone was completely amused by this situation… save for the youngest, who was very unhappy she was currently ghosted and abandoned to her teasing unnis. Thankfully, he always knew when to message her.
Oppa
sorry sorry!
practice ran late!
meet u in the small room in 5~
Yuna’s lips curved up into a smile, her heart instantly brightened at his response.
He answered! They were finally going to meet!
“I take it he finally answered his phone.” Yeji came alongside her to link arms.
“Obviously,” Ryujin smirked, the last of her snickers escaping her lips. “She’s practically glowing right now.”
“Hurry up and tell us!” Chaeryeong groaned, hoisting the metal containers up. “It’s heavy!”
“The small room…” Yuna put her phone in her pocket and immediately started walking briskly back to the practice rooms.
“And she’s leaving us behind… Shin Yuna! Slow down!”
Four disgruntled girls huffed as they lightly jogged behind her, carrying four bulky metal containers full of Korean Chinese food.
“-I don’t know why you have to meet in the middle of the week,” Chaeryeong groaned. “Isn’t he busy with comeback too?”
“It’s tr-
“’Tradition,’ we know,” the older girls sang, effectively cutting their princess off.
Yuna huffed, but didn’t say anything else on their walk to the small practice room.
The small practice room was one of the few spots in the JYP building where there wasn’t a camera in sight, because its occupancy was intended for single or one-on-one sessions. Nobody ever used the room, unless they were taking vocal lessons (and sneaking in food like Yuna was doing).
"-what the... Shin Yuna! There's already food here!" Ryujin dropped the container on the floor with a loud clang.
There really was. An assortment of jajjangmyun, jjamppong, sweet and soul pork, and kungpao shrimp already decorated the floor in a neat circle.
"You guys didn't coordinate?" Chaeryeong scoffed, also letting her container fall from her hand to the ground.
"I guess we get to eat-" Lia sang.
"No!" Yuna grabbed a few of the bowls off the floor to shove them into the older girls' hands. "Eat these! You can't eat the ones I bought!"
"It's literally the same thing!" Ryujin stared at her unimpressed.
"No, it's not!" Yuna felt her ears and cheeks burn at their judgmental stares, but kept her chin up stubbornly. "It's not!"
"It's not the same because she bought it for him." Lia giggled. "Aww... How cute."
"Whatever." Chaeryeong and Ryujin exchanged glances before putting the bowls back onto the floor. "Forget it... You can eat ALL of it with your Oppa! We're getting our own."
“And you have until 9:20 PM to eat. I told the manager to come pick us up at 9:30, so be down at the lobby by then.” Yeji’s eyes hardened as she gazed firmly at Yuna, who sure enough, eyes began to wobble with unshed tears.
“… That’s so short-“
“It’s almost an hour and a half!” Chaeryeong barked.
“You’re fine.” Ryujin agreed. “One and a half hours is PLENTY.”
“10… Unni, please! 10…” Yuna pleaded, eyes turning sparkly and teary like they always did whenever she wanted something.
“No.” Yeji wouldn’t budge. “You have school tomorrow. 9:30.”
“I haven’t seen him since Valentines’ Day.” Yuna practically threw herself on the floor with a pathetic whine. “I-
“Technically you shouldn’t be seeing him alone at all.” Chaeryeong said bluntly. “If management finds out, you know what they’re going to do to you? To US?!”
“… But we’re not doing anything.” Yuna hated whenever they reminded her of possible consequences that hadn’t happened yet. “… It’s just eating.”
She looked down sadly.
It was true. They just ate. That’s all they did. Ate and talked about their weeks. Yuna was pretty sure he didn’t even see her as a woman, just a child that he was entertaining. But still, she wanted to meet with him. She wanted to see him. And as long as he indulged her, she would.
“Oh Baby…” Lia cooed and wrapped her arms around her comfortingly. “We know… That’s why we’re on your side.”
“Yeah… Management is sensitive but none of us are saying you can’t eat together.” Ryujin quickly added.
“I’m just saying… be careful.” Chaeryeong finished, feeling a slight twinge of guilt at making the youngest look so saddened.
Yuna looked up confusedly.
Be careful?
“I know. I always am.” She blinked.
Of course she was. She had to be.
Yuna saw how Ryujin and Yeji exchanged uneasy glances.
“It has nothing to do with his secondary gender!” Chaeryeong added hurriedly, not wanting the younger to think she was acting prejudiced.
“I agree. Secondary gender aside… Yuna, he’s a boy.” Lia’s lips curled in a frown.
“Oppa’s not like that!” Yuna bristled, but didn’t pull away from Lia’s arms. “He’d NEVER hurt me!”
“He wouldn’t.” Ryujin readily agreed.
“But still… you can never be too careful.” Yeji nodded thoughtfully, tucking a stray hair behind Yuna’s ear affectionately. “You, especially...”
And while Yuna hated it, she knew her unnis were right.
Because his secondary gender didn’t matter, but Yuna’s sure did. A lot.
Because she was an omega.
~~~
Yuna always knew she’d present as an omega. Call it instinct or gut feelings, but she just knew. Kind of like how some kids just know they’ll hate or like certain foods even before trying them. It was innate.
She knew she was an omega by the way she was so eager to nurture, always being the first to support her mother, father, and older sister with whatever they needed. She’d give her dad a massage after work, trying to soothe and untangle years of toughened muscle with the best effort a five-year old could give. She’d volunteer to carry over fruits and water to her older sister during exam periods, adding cute notes of encouragement filled with stickers and ‘fighting’ words each time. She’d tend and fuss during her mother’s heat, rushing back and forth between the kitchen and bedroom to bring wet towels, water, snacks and anything else her mother needed.
She was certain she was an omega by the way she loved physical comfort. Cuddling, nesting, hugs, kisses – any acts of affection, she basked in. Her most favorite moments were afternoon summer naps with her mother, cuddled close together as they lay on the bamboo mat right underneath the window to get just the right amount of sun exposure in their air conditioned living room. Yuna would bury her face into the crook of her mother’s neck, inhaling pheromones that she was unable to sense just yet, but still attempted to all the same.
She knew she was an omega by the way she craved excessive pampering. Words of affirmation, gifts, quality time, acts of service, physical touch – she needed all five love languages. She absolutely delighted in receiving indulgent affections. She felt loved the most when she was spoiled, by anything or anyone really.
So yes – she knew in her very core that she was an omega. What she didn’t know, was WHEN she’d present. And her body chose the WORST possible timing in the WORST possible place.
At least that’s what she initially thought. But thank goodness, perhaps God sent her the BEST person possible to support her when she presented.
~~~~~
It had just happened to be the worst day of Yuna’s life.
She flunked a midterm exam. Her mom forgot to refill her school card so she didn’t have any money for lunch. Her teacher screamed at her because she fell asleep in class. The older unnis blasted her for lagging behind on choreography. She was late in turning in homework assignments. And on top of that, she was feeling hot and itchy all day, uncomfortably so.
In other words, it was a doggone TERRIBLE day.
The only thing positive thing about today was that it was April 14th so she at least had jajjangmyun to look forward to. One of the JYP Staff had promised to take the girls out to eat and Yuna couldn’t wait to stuff her face to drown her sorrows before crashing and forgetting about this terrible day.
Too bad the terrible day seemed to never end.
“You girls forgot to lock up? Yuna, you go.” The staff member coldly dismissed.
Yuna bit her lower lip to stop herself from letting out a frustrated scream. She stiffly nodded her head and slowly turned around to go back.
“You’d better hurry back! If you don’t come back in time, you’re missing out on jajjangmyun!” The cruel staff member sneered.
She broke into a sprint, desperate to go and come back.
Jajjangmyun. That was all she wanted.
Jajjangmyun.
She ran up five flights of stairs because the elevators took too long, rushing to the room to lock it… only to see it was already locked in the first place.
She couldn’t stifle her frustrated groan this time, but held herself back from breaking down into a complete meltdown. After all, if she allowed herself to get emotional now, she wouldn’t be able to make it back in time.
Jajjangmyun. Focus Yuna! Jajjangmyun.
She had barely taken five steps down the hall when she was hit with a wave of immense pain.
She immediately crumpled to the ground, the pain of a thousand knives stabbing her stomach as an invisible force grabbed her throat, suffocating her. She felt wet all over, sweat on her brow and stomach, and embarrassing things on other parts of her body.
Suddenly, she was made aware of too many things all at once – scents and fragrances, pheromones and emotions, whispers and shadows… all overwhelming her to the point it felt like a pounding hammer in her head. It was as if she had experienced an enhancement of her five senses, able to smell too much and feel too much at the same time. And the worst part of it was hearing. She could hear things. Terrible things. Things that she never wanted to know. Things involving topics that she’d never dream even in the worst of her nightmares.
Do you smell that? It smells…
… Sweet. Slick?
An OMEGA?!
Omega!! Who?!
Delicious… where?
I’ll take care of that! She wants me!
A loser like you? Omega needs a REAL alpha! I’ll take care of it!
She burst into tears, shaking as her body was wracked with sobs at the horrible things she was experiencing all at once.
Save me! Please! Please! This is scary! It’s so scary! Save me! SAVE ME!
Tears streamed rapidly down her eyes as she prayed desperately for someone to save her, trying to drown out the voices of malicious intent with her own prayer. She heard stomping footsteps in the floors below, people losing themselves to their inner beasts as they ravaged the practice grounds for a vulnerable omega.
God, please! Save me! Please! God please! This is scary! It’s so scary! Save me! SAVE ME! Take them away! Save me!
Suddenly, she heard new footsteps approaching and her heart raced even faster. She buried her face into her knees, arms wrapping protectively around herself as she curled into a ball.
No, please! Go away! Please! Get away! This is scary! It’s so scary! I don’t want it! I don’t-
“Hey! Hey, you ok?!” The voice was familiar.
But Yuna stubbornly held herself tighter and kept her head down.
“Kiddo!” The voice was too loud and the footsteps were too close.
It’s too late.
She tearfully lifted her head and found herself face-to-face with a worried-
…Oppa? Jisung Oppa.
She froze, tears and heart stopping momentarily at the unwelcome stranger who came to encroach on her space in the most vulnerable moment of her life.
“Kid…” Jisung repeated in a low tone, slowly getting down on his knees to approach her, as if he were being careful with a frightened animal.
His eyes were filled with concern and clear of the lust she’d heard and smelled from below. But she was still paralyzed from shock and horror, and her mind screamed warnings at her that it was too good to be true and that she needed to escape him NOW.
Then his scent hit her.
Fresh flowers in the rain, infused with vanilla and mint… Cologne…
Jisung was a BETA.
Oh, thank GOD!
“O-oppa-“ She burst into tears once more, her arms immediately reaching for him. “I-it hurts! I-it hurts!”
“I got you!” He ripped his grey jacket off himself to wrap it around her. “You’re gonna be ok! You’re safe now!”
“It hurts-“ She took short inhales and exhales, his cologne slowly diffusing the other terrible pheromones into nothingness. “It hurts so bad!”
“I’m sorry. I’m sure it does… But I’m gonna need you to get up, Kiddo. We gotta move you somewhere safe. Can you stand?” He gazed at her apologetically, his voice full of regret at having to ask her to move when he knew she was in pain.
“Huhng-“ She keeled, reeling over at another excruciating spasm in her abdomen.
Luckily e caught her as she fell over, preventing a concussion or any other potential injury that might have occurred.
“Oppa, I can’t! I-I can’t! No… No-“ She sobbed, pressing her head against his shoulder as she shivered. “I-I can’t… It hurts-”
“Just breathe, ok? Breathe for me, yeah?” Jisung was doing his best, but the panic in his voice was evident, the young beta obviously not equipped to handle an omega in heat. “Hang on! I’ll get-“
“No! Don’t leave me! N-no! D-don’t-“ Her fingers latched onto his shirt, preventing him from moving. “Pe-people are scary-scary… N-no! P-please! S-stay! Stay-“
Her voice cracked as she started bawling hysterically, fear washing over her like a tidal wave at the mere thought of him leaving her behind and abandoning her to worser fates.
“Hey… I’ll stay! I’ll stay!” He allowed her to pull him closer, sitting down beside her. “You’re gonna be ok. Just breathe for me, yeah?”
He tried to tug his shirt loose, but Yuna refused to release her grip. Even as tormenting spams of pain continued to shock her body, she refused to release her hold on him, her fear of being left alone greater than the agony her body was going through.
“Kiddo, I’m not gonna leave you! Promise! But this isn’t my shirt! Hyunjin’s gonna-”
She let go immediately. Even in her hazed state, she knew better than to add fuel to the fire of Hyunjin’s and Jisung’s animosity.
She didn’t let go for long, latching onto his arm tightly. He didn’t seem to mind, clasping one of her hands and giving it a firm squeeze. The coolness of his palm acted as relief against her hot skin.
“I already called for help. Someone should be on their way. Just breathe ok? Deep inhales. Deep exhales. Yeah, just like that! You’re gonna be ok.”
With his free hand, he reached out to stroke the top of her head affectionately. The gentle gesture caused a new wave of tears to spill from her eyes.
“… I-I just w-wanted-“ She choked. “I-I just w-wanted to eat ja-ja-jajjangmyun! That’s all I wanted!”
She cried bitterly, tears streaming down her face, snot running down her nose – everything happening so fast that her vision became blurry.
“That’s all I w-wanted! W-was that s-so h-hard for me to h-have? W-why is everything so-so-so… AWFUL today?!”
Before she let out another wail, she was tucked into a broad shoulder, Jisung pulling her against his side so she could lean against him, keeping their hands clasped together.
“Hey…” He patted her head once again comfortingly. “We all have those days. You’re not alone. There… there… It’ll be alright. You’ll be ok…”
She turned her face to his neck and cried and cried, his warm skin and steady pulse lulling her to sleep as it were a soft embrace.
After that, he didn’t say another word. But in that moment, that was the best thing he could’ve done. He didn’t tell her not to cry. He simply sat beside her and let her cry until she cried herself to exhaustion, sleep overtaking her like blanket.
When she woke up, she found herself under an actual blanket– not the one in the dorms, but the one at home. Home-home – comfortable under the softest blankets on top of a firm mattress with an ice pack over her forehead. And a familiar face hovering over her.
“Baby?”
“… M-mommy…” Her voice was hoarse and her throat stung.
“Oh, thank goodness!” A stray tear escaped her mom’s eye as she immediately bent down to kiss her on the cheek. “I was so worried!”
Yuna ended up staying home for the week, under the watchful eye of her mother. Aside from the first day, the rest of the week wasn’t too bad – more uncomfortable than painful. She felt too warm all over and too exposed, as if all her pores had opened up at the same time. In addition, all the new scents she was now exposed to made her feel nauseous, overwhelmed by too many pheromones happening at the same time.
During this time, the one thing that kept her grounded was his grey jacket. The smell of flowers and rain faded after two days, but hints of mint and vanilla remained, albeit faint. And it was soothing.
She’d sleep with her nose buried into the jacket and it felt absolutely homey, her pheromones cooling and discomfort subsiding. She’d feel ripples of soft satisfaction arising instead, purring as she clutched to the jacket and slept with its scent all around her. And the best part were the dreams she had – pleasant dreams, where she’d meet a familiar handsome face with a bright grin that she adored.
A part of Yuna dreaded going back to practice. She was pretty sure everyone knew she had presented and she wasn’t stupid. Yuna had seen how omegas were treated – how the boys made stupid comments and leered at them, how the girls became catty and glared at them.
But to her surprise, nothing was out of the ordinary when she returned. The lights were still on and the A.C. was blasting. The practice rooms were still filled up and musty. Teachers were still strict and the older girls were still nagging. Practice still ran from after-school to stupid-o-clock-in-the-morning. In fact, it was SO normal that it felt eerie.
What on earth happened while she presented?
Luckily for Yuna, there was no mystery at JYP that stayed a secret for long.
“-Awwww… The boys won’t be joining us for movie night.” Somi whined, flopping to the floor dejectedly.
“For reals? They’re STILL in trouble?!” Chaeryeong’s eyes doubled in surprise. “It’s been like a month.”
“I don’t know why they were being so stubborn about it.” Another trainee snorted. “They should’ve just told the staff. What’s the point of hiding it?”
“Everyone has a right to privacy.” Chaeyeon shot the girl a side-eye. “No one should be forced to reveal their subgender.”
“Not when it causes half of the JYP building to go psychotic over pheromones!” The trainee clapped back, rolling her eyes. “Seriously! This is why we can’t have any omegas in idol groups! They just bring trouble!”
Yuna felt her blood freeze as she became absolutely still. She must’ve had a strange look on her face because Ryujin sauntered over to her lazily.
“… You missed out.” Ryujin slung an arm around her shoulders. “Somebody went into heat three-four weeks ago.”
“Oh…” That was all Yuna could say, her heart slowly constricting with increasing anxiety.
“Seriously! It was crazy! I’ve never seen that many people go psycho!” Somi lurched, sitting up as she looked around with wild eyes. “And that’s not even the craziest part! The REAL tea is that it was a BOY!”
Huh? A BOY?
Yuna felt so lost as the girls around her broke into a ripple of nervous giggles.
“… Girl or boy, what does it matter? And how do you know it’s a boy?” Yeji looked around disapprovingly. “We shouldn’t speculate.”
“Speculate?!” The older trainees scoffed. “We all clearly saw how Chan Oppa and Jisung carried that boy out the building!”
“-Oppa did?” Yuna heard herself speak, her voice moving faster than her brain processing what was happening.
“Yeah! JiSUNGz carried a trainee bridal style!” Somi sounded way too excited for someone who had claimed to be tired just 5 minutes prior. “Like this! While the other oppas formed a wall around that person! Like bodyguards guarding a prince and his bride!”
So thanks to Jisung’s quick thinking, Yuna’s subgender was a secret from everybody at JYP…
Minus Jisung Oppa. And Chan Oppa…. And all the other oppas involved in protecting her. Oh my gosh, Yuna was so embarrassed, she wanted to DIE!
But even after this conversation took place, everything was normal. Soon, all talk about the omega in heat disappeared in the face of evaluations, eliminations, and stress that came with being an idol trainee. Nobody had time to worry about a faceless omega when they were all too busy trying to survive themselves.
In addition, no guys approached her at all. None of the oppas even blinked or made eye-contact with her whenever they passed each other in the halls. Chan seemed to look straight through her whenever they interacted. All the other oppas were nonchalant and apathetic, as usual. In fact, the only one who paid close attention to her after her presentation was-
“-Oppa…” Yuna blinked hard thrice to focus her doe eyes as she stared up at him in surprise.
“Heya!” Jisung grinned with that boyish grin – the same grin that she saw in her dreams.
“… Hi.” She felt her own lips slowly curve into a shy smile.
“Follow me?” He winked at her.
She’d follow him anywhere. She stayed close behind him as they quietly raced down the hall, footsteps as silent as ghosts and eyes darting around back and forth to make sure no one caught sight of them. She asked no questions as they dodged the watchful eyes of staff members, security cameras, and other trainees, slipping under his arm obediently as he beckoned her into the smallest practice room from the doorway. As soon as she entered the room, she stopped short, body freezing against her will.
“… What’s this?” She asked in a soft voice.
Yuna felt a torpedo of emotions wrapping around her heart like a gentle embrace as she stared at the various plastic bowls on the floor. Everything was covered in saran wrap, but the food was clearly visible.
“You said you wanted jajjangmyun.” Jisung sat down and started tearing them open. “Let’s eat.”
Lips curved into a huge grin and eyes as bright as the moon in the sky caused butterflies to dance in her stomach.
~~~
“-Kiddo?! Kiddo! Sorry! Sorry!” Jisung burst into the room panting, interrupting Yuna’s reminiscence of the past. “We went over time! And I forgot to charge my phone last night so it was dead! Barely charged it and answered when I saw your text! I’m sorry!”
Had it been anyone else, Yuna would’ve sneered or pouted. She would’ve sulked and held a grudge about how she was being neglected. She would have thrown a fit and made it known loud and proud that tardiness was an act of disrespect and lack of affection.
But the person tardy wasn’t just anyone. It was Jisung Oppa.
Jisung Oppa, with wide apologetic eyes, a regretful voice, and sweat dripping from his brow from practice and running over to meet her. Jisung Oppa, whose boyish smile still caused her heart to thump in her chest almost painfully. Jisung Oppa, whose artificial scent of fresh flowers in the rain combined with musty sweat was the most comforting scent in the world. JIsung Oppa, whom she was always, ALWAYS happy to see.
“No problem! Oppa… let’s eat!” She cheerfully patted the space on the floor beside her.
“-So I started messing up on purpose-“
“On purpose?” Yuna giggled, causing Jisung to let out an exaggerated groan.
“Not you too! Yes! On PURPOSE! So I could get them to pause for dinner-“
“Does Oppa ever mess up on purpose?” She teased with a mouth full of sweet and sour pork.
“Hey! Don’t start with me!” Jisung barked, although his wide grin and sparkle in his eyes indicated that he wasn’t offended in the slightest. “I only do it to get out of difficult situations! If I didn’t do that, who knows when we would’ve ended? I would’ve kept you waiting!”
“Yes, yes.” She nodded emphatically. “Oppa messed up on purpose to have dinner with me. Oppa is the best!” She gave him a big thumbs-up, winking for a good measure, causing him to laugh.
“Exactly! It was all for YOU! Cute little kid- hey… Why’s there so much food?” Jisung blinked, eyes scanning around the floor as he was noticing the feast for the first time. “It’s only two of us… right?”
“You didn’t answer your phone!” Yuna laughed at his furrowed brows. “Silly Oppa! I wanted to treat you this time. Since you buy food all the time. I told you I’d buy today! Silly!”
“I buy food all the time…” Jisung slowly looked up to stare at her.
“I make money now, you know!” Yuna blushed, looking away from his intense stare. “… I don’t want to leech all the time… I can buy too sometimes. You’re always taking care of me. You buy food every year.”
“I do…”
That was funny. Why did Oppa say that as if it were a question?
But the furrow in his brow quickly faded into his usual grin so Yuna dismissed the fleeting thought. He was probably just tired from comeback promotions. She was too.
They resumed eating and talking, chatting about their future comebacks, Yuna’s school life, Jisung’s side music projects, and everything else they could think of since they’ve last seen each other. Yuna treasured moments like these the most – moments where they just ate and talked, just sat together and enjoyed each other’s company; moments where Jisung was Yuna’s Oppa, and she, Jisung’s Kiddo. Moments where Jisung was solely hers.
“… Oppa-”
“Hmm?” He looked at her, wide-eyed and cheeks puffed with noodles as he paused from eating.
It was funny. He was pale from lack of sleep, with heavy black under-eye bags that weighed his face down. He had wrinkles on his forehead and cheeks, lines of worry and stress marring his skin. He looked as grimy as could be, with wild hair unkept from dance practice and lips stained with the sauce of black bean noodles. In short, he was a mess, an absolute mess.
But at that moment, Yuna thought him as the most beautiful mess she had the privilege of seeing.
“… Thanks for eating with me.”
She immediately averted her eyes, pretending to focus on her own noodles while trying to fight the rosy blush on her face.
“… You’re welcome Kiddo.”
She furtively glanced up and he grinned at her through jajjangmyun stained lips. Yuna smiled back just as brightly, completely careless as to how her own lips were stained with the sauce of black bean noodles.