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“When I close my eyes and lie down, you are floating in my head”
— NCT DREAM, It’s Yours.
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What was Jisung to him?
The alpha's mind was spinning around that question.
Jaemin doesn’t remember when was the last time he thought about having a romantic relationship. Since he dropped from Medical school to focus on getting a job, he hadn’t minded being alone. He isn’t quite sure why though.
Maybe he wasn't feeling like dating, maybe he didn’t have much free time and energy, mostly money, to spend on a partner… Or maybe, he simply hasn't found his 'one and only' yet.
The alpha chewed his lower lip, sweeping the living room as his thoughts started to get messier.
Was Jisung the one?
That's a question he’d like to answer with an affirmative. But to be honest, Jaemin was a bit afraid of being only a mere whim; something superficial, passenger, even harmful or toxic.
You never know with relationships. They could be unpredictable.
He had heard about a couple that only lasted one week and then both hated each other's guts. Johnny, a friend of Mark, told him that. Also that one story of an ex-girlfriend updating a post burning their photo. Jaehyun, another friend of Mark, told them. Even a three-year-long relationship, that almost gets to marriage, ended in one day, each one walking a path that would never cross again. Yuta, also a friend of Mark, told them while chuckling.
Oh, but Jaemin didn't find it funny, not at all.
How could you be with a person for three whole years yet become a stranger in just one day? He trembled and shook off a nasty sensation crawling up his spine.
The alpha left the old broom leaning on the wall and grabbed the green rag he had prepared for the wood furniture. His thoughts continued to spiral around his insecurities.
Was he ready for a relationship?
It was a big responsibility, even more since Jaemin was the alpha who approached Jisung for courting. Not harming the omega was a need.
Jaemin sighed, sitting on the sofa.
His last romantic relationship had been so meaningless that he didn’t even remember much about it. After a short romance of two months that started and ended too quickly, he was left alone before anything got serious.
Without realizing it, he started tapping the floor while his eyes stared nowhere.
“Stop overthinking, I could hear you from the bathroom, ” he said, walking into the room, with wet hair and already dressed to go out.
“I’m not overthinking, ” he glanced at him.
“You are.”
The golden brown-haired alpha stopped moving and turned to face his best friend, who walked straight to him and crossed his veiny arms over his chest.
“Okay, yes, I am, but it has nothing to do with you,” Jaemin stood up, avoiding the intense gaze of the other alpha and reaching for the broom.
“Hmm, and it has something to do with Jisung?” Jeno teased. The broom fell off his hands, then Jaemin weirdly smiled. “Look, I don’t know why you are doubting right now, but you should go for it and formalize, Jisung is as much into you as you are into him, I can tell.”
Jaemin frowned, “you think so?”
“We all can tell, why can’t you?” Jeno growled at him.
Jaemin subconsciously backed off two steps, then stayed still, eyes fixed on Jeno. He saw him sigh and head to the kitchen.
It was barely 9 am, and Jaemin already had him sighing. New record.
Since they had known each other for years, Jeno would welcome Jaemin anytime he needed in his apartment and he would be bugging him for a few hours. It wasn't a new situation for them.
Although, last night when Jaemin knocked on his door, Jeno knew something was off. His best friend needed a safe place, and the black-haired alpha didn't hesitate to let Jaemin in.
Usually, they didn’t say much, but this time Jeno managed to get him to confess what was worrying him before going to bed. He laughed in his face, and Jaemin punched him in the stomach for it.
After months of dating, almost seeing each other every week, and getting closer and closer, to the point that Jisung was now part of Jaemin’s life. All of it had been a big change in the alpha’s life plan; getting a job still being one of his top priorities but caring about the omega was now added to his list.
Jeno knew this phase would come.
The phase of insecurities, doubts, distrust of himself, and anxiety. A phase every young alpha who wants a serious relationship would experience. It even happened to Mark.
The alpha told them many times how he would lock himself in his room, staying up all night writing in his journal messy thoughts. He said it wasn’t hard to get over it, but Jeno knew that Jaemin would have a hard time. The golden brown-haired alpha has unusual coping mechanisms, such as overthinking while cleaning. That’s also one of the many reasons Jeno lets him stay at his apartment, he gets a free cleaning service.
“You know it’s okay to not be okay,” the black-haired alpha came back with a cup of hot tea.
Jaemin bit his lip while letting himself fall on the sofa, looking straight at the ceiling, then sniffed the scent. It was mint tea, the one calming tea Jeno would always make for him.
“Stop troubling your mind about it and do something instead.”
“Easy to say, you're not the one about to put his heart on the table,” Jaemin accused as he picked up the cup.
Jeno stuck out his tongue and watched him take a sip.
“If you are so desperate for advice, then ask Mark Hyung,” both looked at each other. “He’s in a serious relationship, and even though they have fights, they had never broken up.”
Jaemin had considered it.
It’s not like he disdains Mark, of course not, but for some unknown reason, deep down, he didn’t want any help to figure this out. His inner alpha was willing to suffer and discover the answer on his own. Call it pride or cowardness, but he rather waited a bit more before going to Mark.
After warning him not to neglect himself, Jeno went to work.
Jaemin turned on the TV while vacuuming the couch, but he ended up falling asleep due to the calming tea. His body was lying comfortably on the couch, looking knocked out, with the vacuum in his hand.
By the time he woke up at the sound of a notification, the sky was covered by orange and pink colors, many clouds and rays of the sun baring farewell. He stretched out lazily and let a big groan out, moving his hand to pick up his phone.
‘Nana, can we Facetime? I have something good to share :D!!!’
Jaemin didn’t think twice nor hesitate, his finger moved automatically before he could even wake himself up properly. The alpha leaned the phone on a metal base over the coffee table and casually brushed his hair, watching how Jisung appeared on the screen with a gummy smile.
“Hello there, cute baby,” he greeted with a raspy voice.
“Oh, did I wake you up?” He seemed a bit troubled, but suddenly the omega raised an eyebrow, holding a chuckle. “Were you napping with a vacuum?”
Jaemin felt his ears turning red, he quickly placed the cleaning device far away and played the fool.
“Anyway, what’s up, cutie?”
Now that he was fully awake, he fondly looked at the omega.
Jisung was wearing his specs that made him look tiny, and a baby blue shirt that seemed comfortable, probably his pajamas. Meanwhile, Jaemin was still wearing his sleeveless dark-gray top and showing a puffy face.
“Well, do you remember I told you about the week of the National Neuropsychology Congress at Busan?” Jaemin nodded. “It begins this Monday, and as you know, I was helping Professor Jung with his presentation’s material…” A big smile and giggles of happiness interrupted the omega.
“Calm down and tell me,” Jaemin chuckled softly.
“He asked me to assist him with his presentation!” The omega shouted, with sparkly eyes and a wide smile.
Jaemin opened his mouth a little but nothing came out of it, slowly understanding what it meant.
“A-Are you…?” He hadn’t even finished but Jisung was already nodding. Jaemin suddenly got a lot closer to the phone. “Are you going to Busan!?”
“Yes, I am!” Suddenly, their audio was filled with cheers. “Other students are going too, we’ll have permission to miss classes and I’ve already told Chenle to get me all the notes.”
For the rest of the call, Jaemin heard all plans that Jisung had for his trip, about the other exponents' topics and many popular authors of neuropsychological books that would attend, and that Professor Jung promised to take them around Busan. Jisung barely took time to rest while speaking and even started trembling at some point.
After the call ended, reality hit him; in two days, Jaemin would be without the omega for a whole week.
Is it okay for him to feel relieved?
He didn’t know.
It was as if the universe was giving Jaemin time to think, time to decide and understand what he wanted before hurting Jisung, or himself. And the alpha accepted it gratefully.
Jeno came to an empty apartment, finding a note from Jaemin saying he went home after leaving his house as clean as possible, and saying he owes him $50.
The black-haired alpha scoffed.
Sunday morning, a barely-rested Jaemin got up from his desk and turned off his laptop, which had opened a webpage for selling second-hand stuff. He had posted his old medical books last night.
He didn't like the idea of selling them before, but now Jaemin could use some money. And the books were only gathering dust on the shelf of his room. He still remembers when he bought them, and even if he loved them, it was time to let go.
The alpha headed for a shower. The young omega asked him to come for breakfast since his parents would be going out. And, they wanted to spend time together before the omega went on his trip to Busan.
Jaemin loved to be alone with Jisung in such a comfy place. For a few seconds, he could pretend it was their house, in which they lived happily as an established couple. He refused to admit it out loud, but it gave him so much peace.
After shaking his head, he continued shoving his pants up. Recently, Jaemin had found himself thinking more and more about establishing his relationship with the little omega into something official.
More and more.
Jaemin guessed it was because he was going to be alone, without his Jisung daily doses for a week. His alpha instincts were getting greedier about spending time with the omega.
Without noticing, he arrived at the Park’s house. He tried to comb his hair a bit before knocking on the door.
“Oh, Jaemin-ah! Come on, get in,” Mrs. Park greeted him with a kind smile and hugged him lightly, making the alpha bend down a bit since he was a lot taller than the woman.
“Hello, Mrs. Park, long time no see,” he greeted politely and entered the house.
“Sunggie is already making your coffee, go on,” she pointed to the kitchen, taking Jaemin through the drawing room.
“Thanks a lot, Mrs. Park,” he said as he bowed his head, smiling charmingly.
She nodded and headed upstairs, it seemed she was getting ready to head out.
The alpha passed to the living room, full of the family and baby Jisung’s pictures, which Jaemin had already squealed over thousands of times, a few fake flowers that Mr. Park had bought to give more color to the house, and the very snuggly black-leathered couch in which he and Jisung cuddled on movie’s nights.
He chuckled after seeing the omega’s earphones lying carelessly on it, he picked them up and after rolling them he lied them down on the coffee table, then continued walking.
Jaemin stepped into the soft sand color-themed kitchen, with contrasting dark wood furniture. It was spacious, enough for five people to use at the same time, it also had a bar to use. He loved this place, it had a lot of cooking utensils since Mr. Park loved to try many different recipes for cooking. Jisung’s dad also kept it clean and shiny, making Jaemin's heart happier.
He saw Jisung near the coffee machine, pouring the dark liquid into his mug.
Oh, yeah, Jaemin had his special mug.
It was not gigantic but big, with a cute white rabbit on it, the cup all black with a handle perfect for Jaemin’s hands. The alpha was pleased to have his items in Jisung's house, and he couldn’t help but feel special. It's the same feeling he gets every time he goes to Jisung’s bathroom and sees his toothbrush beside the omega’s.
“Hello there, cute baby,” he greeted softly, leaning on the kitchen bar with a smirk all over his face.
Jisung got a bit startled and turned around quickly only to smile at him.
“Nana, I got your coffee ready,” the omega said while walking closer to hand him the mug, Jaemin stared down at it and then moved his eyes back to Jisung’s. The younger one frowned a bit. “W-What is it? Take it…”
The alpha shook his head as if being disappointed, by this point Jisung made a pout. Then, Jaemin put his face right in front of the omega and tapped his lips lightly.
“First my morning kiss, please,” Jisung’s face blushed but obediently pecked him. Jaemin was satisfied enough to finally accept the mug. “Thank you, beautiful,” he said and gave the omega another tiny kiss.
Jisung shyly walked away, grabbing his hot chocolate. Jaemin looked at it and raised an eyebrow in discontent, then dramatically gasped.
“Why are you not using the cup I gifted you?” He nagged energetically and earned a glare in return.
“I’m not using it because it’s a baby training cup!” Jisung complained and shook his head.
“Hey, it’s from Frozen and anti-spilling!” The alpha said, putting down his mug and walking over to the cabinets. Jisung whined out loud when the alpha found it. “You’re drinking from this one,” he walked closer to the younger one. “Give me that,” he said while putting out his hand, but only got Jisung’s refusal.
“No, I don’t want to,” the omega said firmly but quickly felt weak under those intense hazel eyes.
“No?” Jaemin slowly trapped him between his body and the wall. “Are you being rebellious to me, Park Jisung?”
The omega felt his legs going frail.
When Mr. and Mrs. Park got downstairs they found a very pleased Jaemin with his arm wrapped over a grumpy Jisung, who was drinking from a baby training cup. They didn’t ask any questions, and rather than anything were willing to not know about it.
“We’ll be back before 5 pm,” the kind omega kissed her son’s forehead. “There’s food on the fridge or you can as well cook,” she said after adjusting her dress.
“Okay, Mommy, thanks,” Jisung said, putting faraway the empty cup, a bit ashamed that his parents saw him drinking from it.
“Goodbye, boys,” Mr. Park said, grabbing his keys and wallet. “Behave and Jaemin, please watch that Jisung doesn’t burn my kitchen,” both alphas silently made a deal, while Jisung frowned.
“Apa!” he complained, but only got a pat on his head in return.
As soon as they got out of the house, Jisung cuddled closer to Jaemin, still pouting and grumpy. He took the alpha’s hand and distracted himself with it, caressing and moving Jaemin’s long fingers as he pleased. The older one admired him and noted his mood.
“Don’t throw a tantrum,” Jaemin chuckled, finding cute the omega's reaction cute.
“They trust the kitchen to you but not to me,” he mumbled, “and I’m their son!”
“Well, you did burn a lot of things-”
Jisung put one finger over the alpha’s mouth, not wanting to hear it.
“Don’t help me.”
Thursday night.
Alone in the park, seeing the sky full of stars, Jaemin was throwing and catching his red ball in a loop, not letting it fall. It was a gift from Donghyuck, which he had used a lot recently; his squishable and bouncy red ball.
Those days without Jisung were almost over, and he was feeling like slowly being pushed down on the lake he created out of a puddle, but also like the warm light he was hoping for was reaching his suffocating darkness.
The omega left early on Monday morning and has been very busy since he arrived at Busan, he texted Jaemin that he could only text him at night or during breaks. The alpha understood and told him not to feel under pressure; he’d wait.
It’s weird though.
He didn’t have much interaction with the younger one for days, yet it was the only thing on Jaemin’s mind.
While walking to buy some groceries in the morning, he saw pairs of cute socks on display and took a photo for Jisung, even before he could think twice. After visiting Jeno at work, he learned that hot chocolate could use some marshmallows to taste sweeter, and he immediately wanted to tell Jisung.
It wasn’t new to Jaemin to think about the younger one so often, but two things were to remark here; one, he had always assumed that since Jisnug was a regular in his daily life it was also normal to think about it him often, and two, why after realizing the younger one wasn’t available to talk or give him attention was making him sad?
The alpha stopped moving and let the ball hit him in the face. He stared at the sky chilling on a bench, not worrying about how late it was. The sky was beautiful tonight, and the time seemed to slow down for him to admire the stars and moon peacefully.
Was he the one for Jisung?
Jaemin still needs to find a job, and he didn't have much experience in courting or being a good alpha, most of all, he had kissed Jisung many times already but they weren't a couple yet… wasn't that disrespectful?
The alpha had been thinking about it, and although he loved the soft and addictive lips of his cute baby, he often repeated himself to have self-control and not devour the omega.
Was Jaemin doing a good job at courting?
All his life was turning meaningless, he just wanted to answer all the doubts in his head yet he seemed to be afraid of finding an answer he didn't want.
In the middle of the park, staring at the dark sky, Jaemin let out a scream full of frustration. His throat hurt a bit, his lungs emptied as he was running out of breath, and he finally got it all out; all his ill feelings.
Surprisingly, now he was calm; he stretched as he stood up to pick up his ball, shoving the object into his pocket.
Then, Jaemin walked away at a slow pace.
He used to do this a lot back when he was a med student, it would help him with his stress and it was a good opportunity to do the bare minimum of exercise he needed for a healthy life. After he dropped out, he would do it regularly when he felt at his lowest, although Jaemin stopped coming so often after he met Jisung. Gradually, he also stopped overthinking so much, getting anxious about meaningless things, and feeling a weight on his shoulders as some unknown voice screamed right into his ears ‘You’re useless’.
Jaemin used to hear those mean words all the time by that unknown voice, and even though he knew it was his own he preferred to ignore that fact. Such thoughts often happened when he couldn’t reach the standard he had set up for himself. Call him a perfectionist or an idiot, he doesn’t understand why he was like that either.
But after the omega appeared in his life, Jaemin slowly started to be surrounded by gentle words, compliments, and lovely smiles that made him feel that no matter how bad he could think of himself, his actions, or his mindset; there was Jisung who thinks he’s a good person, an alpha that deserved to be loved and accepted just as he is.
As he was walking, Jaemin felt like wailing. He quickly bit his lip as he got his phone out to call.
How did he end up at Mark’s place drinking citric-flavored vodka? Jaemin doesn't know, but he does know for sure it had something to do with Jeno. He sipped down the liquid and stared at the ceiling, hearing the voices of his friends.
“Dude, don’t think too much about it and just do it,” the older alpha said while chuckling at how worried his friend looked. “He’ll say yes.”
The worst thing about it, it’s that Jaemin already knows that. The thing that concerns him isn’t being rejected.
“I feel…” he said as he stared nowhere, “That I can’t start a relationship with him unless I’m one hundred percent sure we’ll be okay.”
Mark seemed to understand what his friend meant, but Jeno rolled his eyes at him and prepared himself another shot.
“You’ll never be one hundred percent sure,” he assured, earning Jaemin's attention, “and that’s what being in a relationship is; having faith that you’ll make it work. Right now, you’re doubting yourself but wish so hard that everything was easier, the thing is, Na Jaemin, you’re not making it any easier.”
Jeno glanced at both alphas, drinking slowly.
“By not deciding if you want to take the next step, you’re sending signals to Jisung that you’re not ready, and the more you keep him waiting, the more insecure he’ll feel,” Mark’s voice sounded so firm that Jaemin felt like being lectured.
The older alpha had been patient and tried his best to not jump directly to sermonize his friend, but after three hours of seeing him doubt made Mark decide to be the one to push Jaemin into action.
“If you don’t make a decision now, one of two things could happen; he takes the next step or he steps out, once and for all.”
The room stayed quiet for a moment. Jaemin's mind was analyzing his words while his eyes wandered through the fried chicken wings he was munching.
“Wow, I didn’t expect you to be so deep about it,” Jeno murmured and earned a smack on his head from the older alpha. “It was a compliment!”
“Didn’t sound like it.”
The golden brown-haired alpha stopped listening to his friends argue as he thought about what Mark just said.
After Jeno left, Mark made Jaemin stay overnight, not wanting him to be alone. He wanted to refuse but the older alpha growled at him before he could even start nagging. So now Jaemin was laying down on the couch, just showered and hugging Mark’s pillow with a pout.
“I’ll leave early tomorrow, gotta go to the studio,” he said while turning the lights off. “Want me to wake you up and drop you at your house?” He offered while seeing the grumpy alpha on his couch.
Jaemin considered it.
“Can I stay?”
Mark’s eyes softened then nodded, acting as if he didn’t want to squish Jaemin’s cheeks.
“As long as you need, just don’t cook me a feast, okay? The one you did last time took me a whole week to finish.”
“You had a lot of food! And you loved it,” he complained.
“That’s not the point! I earned weight, Hyuck even kissed my belly rolls!”
Both chuckled and after sharing that moment, Mark left to his room, leaving a thoughtful Jaemin to admire the ceiling and trouble himself to sleep.
On Sunday, Jaemin arrived at Jisung’s house only to find the adorable omega sitting outside his house. He was shining under the sun’s rays and his eyes were focused on his phone, scrolling down. Jaemin admired him for a few seconds, taking note of his wet hair, comfy clothes, and colorful sockets.
“Hello there, cute baby, what are you doing all alone?” The alpha asked, smirking. “Fancy some company?”
“Nana!” The omega stood up and ran to him. It made Jaemin’s heart melt. “I missed you,” he murmured once he hugged the older one, snuggling his nose on his neck.
“Owww, I missed you too,” Jaemin held him tight, kissing his forehead.
After a few minutes, they held hands and started walking down the street.
Jisung was more the listening type of company. Most of the time he was the one to hear every little thing that Jaemin wished to share, but this time he couldn’t stop talking. The boy didn’t miss a thing. He started his story at the very arrival at the hotel where they spent the week and ended with how when they came back Professor Jung invited all of them to eat.
The older one was so delighted to see how Jisung would suddenly speak too fast and then have a moment of silence, trying to remember details for Jaemin to feel like he was there. But just as the young omega was talking, the alpha noticed how Jisung switched their sides on the sidewalk, leaving him on the side contrary to the street. Of course, Jaemin tried to switch it again but the omega refused and continued his anecdote.
“I’m telling you, it was such a great experience,” he said. “The only thing I would change is you being far away from me.”
“Well, if I can get enough money, for the next one I’ll go with you,” he said, not missing the way his hand was squished. “Only if you promise to explain everything I don’t understand.”
“Deal!”
They went to a coffee shop nearby, and right before Jaemin could reach to open the door, Jisung quickly and gentlemanly opened it for the alpha to enter first.
“Oh, such an educated boy,” he said, smirking. “Thank you very much, cutie.”
After that, he saw the tiny smile on Jisung’s face.
Jaemin asked for their usual hot chocolate and iced americano. He had the intention to pay for it but in the second he walked away to grab sugar and straws, Jisung paid for their order. He stared at him with his arms crossed.
“W-What? I can treat you too, you know!”
The alpha didn’t question it, but the warm sensation inside him grew up by that simple action.
With drinks in hand, they continued their path to the park. It was a nice time, with fresh wind, a bit cloudy; something everyone wanted in summer to rest from the hot sun rays.
“Are you not hot? You should have asked for something cold,” Jaemin glanced at the omega.
“I’m okay, Nana,” he said, “besides, this shirt’s fabric is thin, I’m not hot.”
Both spend the time talking and talking, about everything and nothing at the same time, but it was getting evident that Jaemin didn’t want to share what he did on the days Jisung was away.
“Why don’t you want to talk about it? Something is troubling you?” As always, the omega was keen on Jaemin’s behavior.
The alpha felt his tummy weird, he had been trapped. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, but how was he supposed to hide the fact he had been overthinking? And most importantly, about their relationship and his intentions for Jisung.
“No, I just…”
Jisung sighed, drifting his gaze to the clouds.
“It… It has to do with me, isn’t it?”
Jaemin looked at him way too fast, and the young omega closed his eyes.
“You were thinking about us…” He was no longer questioning.
The alpha felt his heart stop for a second, his mind filling up with so many words that he wanted to say but he was lagging. He could only put both of his hands on Jisung’s thigh, asking him to wait.
“It’s not like that,” he said.
“You know, Nana? On this trip, I realized that I want to be in an actual relationship with you,” Jisung finally turned in his direction, his eyes teary. “I like you so much, and I wanted to be with you so badly, but having you here feels weird, as if you have something you wanna tell me but fear stops you.”
Jaemin’s mouth dried.
“Hey-”
“I’m patient, I try to understand you and give you time to figure out what you want but I can no longer do that,” his voice trembled, making Jaemin move closer to him. “I realized that I want us to be mates, to be boyfriends, to finally call you my alpha.”
The omega seemed so vulnerable, twiddling his thumbs while his chest agitated due to his breathing.
“I can’t wait more, you’ll hurt me if, in the end, you don’t want me,” his voice cracked.
Jaemin's heart ached, and he pulled him into his embrace.
“My cute baby,” he soothed him, waiting for their eyes to meet. “Listen to me, I like you so much that it makes me feel dizzy,” he caressed the young omega’s face. “I want you too, I want you so much that I’ve been resisting the urge to mark you and make you my omega for weeks now.”
Jisung blushed, but the alpha continued speaking and noted for his future self to smooch that adorable face later.
“I was debating if I was good enough for you, this whole week and days before you went to Busan, I’ve been questioning myself if I could give you everything you need and be a good alpha to you because I don’t want to let you down,” he said, watching the omega stand up, leaving Jaemin on the bench.
“I know what you’ll say, but I needed to go through this, I realized that our relationship won’t be perfect, but that’s okay,” he hurried to explain at the pout on Jisung’s face. “I trust we can work it out together.”
He stood up too, and placed his hands on the young omega’s waist, pulling him closer.
“You’ve brought to my life the light I deeply needed. I fell in love with you and your adorable smile, the cute way in which you scrunch your nose, your interesting facts about random things you learn, and the subtle habit you’ve of playing with your hair when you’re embarrassed,” he said, calming down his breathing.
Jisung could only look at him with sparkly eyes.
“You're the most caring, smart, and comprehensive omega I know. You’re like stars in my lonely nights and like the smell of freshly ground coffee that energizes me. My world is filled up by you and I can’t stop thinking about how to make you happy, I’m sorry I was so caught up in my head that I made you think I could ever leave you,” he placed his hand on his rosy cheek, caressing it.
“Nana…” He sounded so amused.
“There are many reasons why I like you so much, and I won’t end if I tell you all of them. You deserve the best and I was so afraid I couldn’t do it, but I’ve realized that even though it might be hard, I wanna be your alpha.”
Sunset colors covered them and the gentle breeze made their hair dance, they kept looking at each other eyes, trying to tell so many things without saying a word. Jisung placed his hands on the older one’s shoulders as if they were dancing to a song they could only hear. Then, Jaemin closed the distance.
Soft and coffee-flavored lips gently moved on the tear-wet ones, creating a connection so intimate that Jisung felt like crying again.
The alpha pressed himself against the smaller body, wanting to be over the omega but knowing he couldn’t, not in the park at least. Instead, he focused on devouring the sweet little mouth of Jisung.
“Open more,” he commanded.
After his order was obeyed so nicely, Jaemin’s instinct won.
He moved quickly and grabbed Jisung’s ass to lift him, surprising the omega and making him jump. Somehow, Jaemin managed to sit down on the bench, now with Jisung sitting on his lap.
“My cute baby,” he cooed at the shyness on the omega’s face. “Would you give me the pleasure to let me be your boyfriend, your mate?”
Jisung malfunctioned a few seconds, then hugged him so tight Jaemin thought he would break him. Since when Jisung was so strong?
“Yes!”
After the alpha pleaded, Jisung finally accepted that it was late and they should head back, not without making Jaemin promise to visit him soon so they could cuddle again. They kissed again at the front door of Jisung’s house and finally said goodbye to each other.
Maybe it wasn’t the most cheesy and romantic proposal, but Jisung called Renjun and Chenle as soon as he was alone in his room, trembling with excitement and with a big smile on his face, not to say that Jaemin ran directly to Jeno’s house and yelled at him right before hitting a barely awake Mark on the back.
And all of their friends could only think of one thing; fucking finally.
The alpha relaxed his grip on his folder, realizing he was wrinkling it. Then, Jeno appeared and placed a hand on his shoulder, making him return to reality from his plan how to run away.
“You’ll do fine, it’s just my dad,” he said.
“I know that, but I have zero experience as a barista, zero!”
“I’ll teach you,” Jeno assured, but Jaemin blinked, emotionless.
“God save me.”
One hour later, the alpha was sitting in front of Jeno’s dad, eating choco-chips cookies and casually talking about his romantic life with him. His curriculum was laying on the desk, nobody minding it, and the anxiety in his body had faded.
“Nono told me he has offered you the vacant so many times and you should have seen how happy he was after you called him last night,” he said, smiling. “He was an excited puppy.”
“Oh, I can imagine it.”
“He wants to help you with anything he can, I couldn’t refuse when he even told me he would teach you personally,” the omega chuckled, grabbing a cookie. “Can I ask what changed though?”
“Hm?”
“Why do you want to work here after rejecting all the times?” Somehow, a little indignation could be heard, and Jaemin’s hands sweated.
But he was honest with his answer. He didn’t have anything to be ashamed of. And it seemed that it softened the omega’s heart because minutes later, he hugged him and patted his back gently.
“Okay, we can discuss now your schedule and payment,” he said as he guided Jaemin to his desk, where he finally sat down and looked more like a boss than Jeno’s dad.
Thanks to Jaemin’s status of not studying, he could work a full-time shift. But the omega only let him do that three days a week, and not consecutive. The payment, in return, would be equivalent to the hours he did, earning $12 an hour.
Jaemin exited the office of Jeno’s dad, now his boss, and faced his whole group of friends reunited at a table, chatting and drinking while Jeno delivered a drink on the counter. The alpha spotted Jaemin right away and dashed to him, pulling him to the table where everyone was.
Jisung immediately made everyone quiet, earning a pout from Chenle.
“He hired you, right? Tell me quickly, I can still go in and convince him,” Jeno said in his friend’s silence.
“Please tell him, he’ll piss out of anxiety,” Donghyuck said, getting an angry look from Jeno in return.
“He did hire me,” everyone blinked and Jaemin finally smiled, “and I’ll make $12 an hour!”
“Omg! I knew he- Wait, did you say $12? He pays me $10!” Jeno complained indignantly, making everyone laugh. “This can’t be, I’m his son!” He then went directly to his dad’s office.
Meanwhile, everyone congratulated Jaemin, Mark made sure to give him a big hug and Jisung stood up to smooch his face with many kisses. After a while, Jeno returned.
“What did he say?” Chenle asked, trying his best to hide his smile.
“That Jasmin's reason to apply for the job is more noble than mine and that he can pay whatever he wants to his employees,” he repeated soulless.
Renjun was the one to let the curiosity in him win.
“What was your reason to work here?”
Jeno turned away and continued his shift, not without patting Jaemin’s head and congratulating him.
“I bet he said something like because it’s your business, Dad.”
“I have a tingle that tells me he said I’m bored and poor.”
“Stop guessing!”
While resting his head on Jisung’s shoulders and being surrounded by his friends, Jaemin’s mind took a rest and focused on the present, letting the alpha enjoy the moment.
I want this feeling to last forever.
.
ღ
.
“The things I worry about are all, all for you”
— NCT DREAM, It’s Yours.