Work Text:
being the heir of a prestigious fashion empire sounds cool and luxurious.
as long as you are not the one working day and night seven days a week with no free days.
as long as you are not hoseok.
"you look awful," jimin says as a greeting.
"thanks, asshole."
now don't get him wrong, the prestigious jung fashion empire stands tall and stronger than ever, known even abroad not only for its exquisite designs and impeccable taste but also because of the precise and smart management hoseok’s father maintained throughout his entire career, snatching deals right and left with important providers and other high-end brands.
it was the perfect management, really, anyone would say that, even the competition, but it’s been three years since hoseok’s father retired.
three years since he had to step up and take his place.
but his dad’s sudden retirement from the industry isn’t the worst part; hoseok wishes that was all. the worst part started years ago when hoseok was nineteen and, against all odds, presented as an omega.
it would’ve been so easy to turn out as an alpha, like everyone expected. even presenting as a beta would’ve been fine, he thinks sometimes. it wouldn’t have been as easy as being an alpha, but surely easier than being an omega in a position of power, one determined to break the mold and live up to the ridiculously high expectations everyone put on him, waiting anxiously for his downfall.
for three years now, hoseok has poured his entire heart and soul into the company, into the team, into this god-awful position that tied him to an endless fight against literally everyone around him, trying to prove, again and again, that his status as an omega didn’t make him any less smart, any less efficient, any less worthy of leading the family business, not the way every single alpha has tried to make him believe.
it works, to some degree. he has managed, not without fight, to earn his place in the industry, in the fashion world, not just as a pretty face wearing fancy, delicate clothes but as a reliable businessman and ceo who knows exactly what's best for him. he made it, and as with everything he ever did, he made it big– but success doesn't come free of cost. as days blend into nights, time slips through his fingers, and he's come to a point where he looks into the mirror just to realize that he doesn't recognize the person looking back at him.
the weight of all those stupid expectations made him exhausted, threatening day after day to break his spirit, rob him of himself, and tear him apart, the same way it did with so many others of his kind.
he never wanted it to turn out like this, but before he realized it, hoseok's days blurred into an endless cycle of meetings, negotiations, and design reviews. his nights spent over his desk, eyes squinting at the bright light of his computer screen, looking over blueprints, overseeing production, and dealing with partners overseas who always expect him to be available at the time zones that are convenient to them, not caring that for him, those accommodations mean picking up the phone at 1 am.
sooner than later, the pressure to prove himself drives him to the brink of burning out, burning up, and disappearing into a pile of ashes.
work is so wild, so demanding that it comes to a point where he almost forgets about the people around him— the people he loves the most.
luckily for hoseok, his friends could never forget about him. both namjoon and jimin watch from the sidelines, eyes filled with concern, the way hoseok’s light dims day by day until they can't hold it back anymore. they both gang up on him, in the most delicate but also direct way—because they’re both amazing and kind and sweet and the best, but hoseok is stubborn and overworked and tense– they confront him.
it was a particularly hard day, running around the office building and dealing with less-than-friendly faces, so when jimin called him and didn’t ask, but informed him, that they were all going out, hoseok had half in mind to just make up an excuse to skip.
he should have known, by the way jimin fervently insisted, that this wasn’t a normal hangout.
the intervention was long overdue, after all.
"hoseok, you're pushing yourself too hard," namjoon finally says, an hour into the meeting. he says it gently, the way the beta says pretty much everything, his voice laced with worry, his faint berry scent carefully controlled.
jimin, who's sitting almost over namjoon's lap, nods in agreement.
"you can't keep going like this, hyung. you're human, not a machine," the alpha says, one of his chubby hands extending to cup hoseok’s face, a privilege not many alphas are honored to have, "we’re worried about you… that you’ll end up hurting yourself."
hoseok’s first instinct, as always, is to put on a smile and brush his friend’s worries away. to reassure them that he’s fine, just having a hard day, and that things will get better soon, as soon as he finishes the project he’s working on and finally gets a minute to relax.
he realizes before the words can actually escape his mouth that the lie wouldn’t take him far. there are only so many times he can put on a brave act.
finally, the omega sighs in defeat, his shoulders slumping as he takes a sip of his drink.
"i know, guys," he mumbles. "i know what it looks like, but you know i have to do this, you know how hard i’ve worked for it."
blame the alcohol and his terrible resistance, but he has to try his best to not tear up, to not let himself fall apart. by the worried look namjoon and jimin exchange, he knows he’s not really doing a great job.
"hobi, taking a break doesn't mean you're giving up," namjoon says softly. hoseok doesn’t make eye contact; he can’t. but he sees, from the corner of his eye, how the beta places his hand over the table, a clear invitation for hoseok to hold, and he does, because of course he does. when he breathes next, his nose is filled with sweet, calming pheromones.
"taking a break means that you're taking care of yourself so you can come back stronger and do even better."
"remember when we used to dance?" jimin chimes in, smiling kindly, "you loved dancing, it was our escape from the world. you need something like that now."
hoseok’s gaze softens as he finally musters up the courage to look at his friends. they are right; he knows that. they are right, and they are worried. they're just trying to help, trying to help him , the asshole that’s been pretty much ghosting them and pushing them aside because lately, work is everything he has time for.
they are right. he knows that because they both know him, they love him, and only want the best for him.
they are right, hoseok realizes. he can’t keep going like this, can’t let this industry tear him apart. he needs to take a break, breathe deeply, inhale, exhale, prepare for the next battle, and come back stronger than ever.
but for that, he needs to find a way to heal, to help himself before helping others.
maybe jimin’s right. maybe dance is a good place to start.
"okay," he finally sighs. "okay, i’ll give dancing a chance."
he knows, by the way his friends’ faces light up, that he made the right choice, at least for now.
—
‘1997 studio’ the sign in front of him reads, and hoseok honestly can’t tell if the butterflies tickling his stomach are because of excitement, anxiety, fear, or all of the above.
he suspects, by how quickly jimin found him a long list of very well-known and private dance studios, that the pair must have been planning to bring this up for a long time, and as sad as it sounds, he can’t say he’s surprised.
it’s been a long time since he has danced, or at least since he has done it seriously. it used to be a good stress reliever when he was in business school and classes were piling up, up, up over him, trapping him in a room full of anxiety. he liked how dance made him feel free, weightless, unimportant, all in the best way.
he and jimin used to dance a lot together, sharing endless nights practicing fun choreographies and then stuffing their faces with the cheapest, greasiest food they could find available, more often than not squeezed into a hole-in-a-wall kind of place that was one of the few things aside from convenience stores that remained open the whole night.
hoseok not only liked dancing, he might have loved it, but as with many things he loved, he had to let it go when it came time for him to graduate and make his way up the family business.
shaking his head as if trying to spook the thoughts away, the omega makes his way inside the building. he carefully opens the heavy glass door and bows to the receptionist, who greets him with a smile before politely asking for his personal information and guiding him to one of the studios where he’d meet his new instructor.
there, under the bright lights and in front of a full-length mirror, he sees him for the first time.
the first thing that hits him is the careful, almost clinical lack of smell. it might be because of suppressants– maybe the guy just has a too strong scent for his line of work– whatever it is, it makes hoseok feel on alert.
he carefully scans the room, searching for the person he'll be dancing with for the next hour and a half. maybe a beta? he reasons, trying to calm himself down. he knows it's not fair for him to judge someone based on their scent, he knows it's rude and that he's probably an asshole for reinforcing such stupid stereotypes, but he can't help the way he usually feels... uneasy around alphas. his line of work might be to blame for it, but he's just too tired of being talked over at the office to also endure it during his scarce free time.
in front of him, he finds a guy, probably younger than him. he looks youthful, full of energy, but a little out of breath. his black hair is tied up in a half bun that allows hoseok to have a proper look of his face, of his sharp features, a lip piercing glinting under the lights, strong eyebrows, and a defined jawline. the guy looks strong —way stronger than hoseok expected.
the second thing that catches his eye are the tattoos, the full sleeve that’s one of the few body parts visible, since the guy is wearing a set of extremely baggy clothes that, even in that size, doesn’t manage to make him look smaller.
as he takes a step in his direction, he also notices that the guy is a bit taller than him. not enough to tower over his figure, not quite as tall as namjoon, but taller, broader too, for sure.
in any other context, hoseok might have been wary enough to raise his walls high before the guy even had the chance to talk. at a bar or in a club, hoseok would have tried to keep himself as far away from a person like this as possible; rank be damned, he has been played by too many big guys at this point. but before he can judge him too hard, the kid’s face breaks into a big, polite smile, his front teeth peeking out at the same time that his nose scrunches up adorable.
"you must be jung hoseok, right? i’m jeongguk, your instructor for today," he greets, quickly bowing down at him.
his posture exudes a level of confidence that hoseok could only dream of ever actually having.
"jung hoseok, yes, it’s a pleasure to meet you, jeongguk-ssi, please take care of me," he introduces himself, quickly following jeongguk’s lead and bowing too.
"likewise," jeongguk nods, the few stray hairs framing his face bobbing cutely, "ready for your first class?"
yes, hoseok thinks. so ready.
—
"five, six, seven, eight, tuk-tuk-tuk-bba, pay attention to your arm!" jeongguk instructs him for the thousandth time today, "c'mon, hoseok-ssi! one last run!"
he makes it through the choreography, but not unscathed.
"oh god, i'm going to die," he wheezes, supporting his weight on his knees, taking deep breath after deep breath, "i'm so old."
"you are not!" jeongguk laughs, turning off the music and jogging in his direction, "you did great, really, you are picking up this way faster than i expected."
doesn't seem like it, if you ask hoseok. it's their fifth lesson so far, and every time he comes to this place, he crawls out with another muscle he didn't even know he had hurting like hell.
jeongguk's a great teacher, don't get him wrong, he's very good at his job, and he's an amazing dancer. his friendly demeanor could ease anyone's nerves, and he's infinitely patient, breaking down the routine's steps as many times as hoseok needs him to, giving helpful pointers and advice to find his rhythm. the first classes were chill, mostly jeongguk seeing what hoseok can do, putting on different genres and letting him improvise, fooling around a bit with him so he feels comfortable enough to fully let go and move freely with the music.
he seemed to be very impressed, which inflated hoseok's ego a bit too much, sue him. he genuinely thinks he's doing a great job, wooing his cute dance instructor with his amazing rusted abilities, just like the girl in a bad romance movie who says she can't sing just to turn out to be the next beyoncé.
after that, jeongguk starts guiding him a bit, and the rediscovered sense of structure gives hoseok the last push he needs to get fully into it, shedding layer after layer of accumulated stress and feelings he didn't even know he had stored inside of him.
his guidance is always precise yet very gentle, making sure to accommodate steps that hoseok might not feel too sure about, and it's alright.
then he starts teaching hoseok a choreography, and that's when it all goes to hell.
the kid is insane, fucking crazy, out of this world. as far as hoseok is concerned, he's not a human at all.
jeongguk deems the lesson finished, but that doesn't help hoseok's state at all, he's still breathing fast, he's thirsty, sore, and he wants nothing but to take a shower and then sleep for at least two years.
"are you okay?" jeongguk asks, offering hoseok a bottle of water and softly rubbing his sweaty back.
his heart races in his chest, not only from exertion but also because jeongguk's touch makes something funny swoop inside his stomach.
uh-oh.
worst part of it all is that it doesn't get better, because when he looks up, jeongguk's infectious smile radiates with the strength of a thousand suns, and if hoseok's knees feel weak, it's no one's business.
"good," he manages to mumble in a somewhat acceptable tone.
"you did a great job today, hoseok-ssi, you have a lot of talent," jeongguk praises, his voice filled with enthusiasm.
hoseok smiles back at the best of his abilities, gratitude and exhilaration bubbling up and turning into a nervous giggle.
"you can just call me hyung, jeongguk-ssi, no need to be so formal after you destroyed me like that."
it's only after he says it that he realizes how fucking bad that sounds.
"uh," jeongguk mumbles, also giggling nervously, "okay, hoseok hyung." his cheeks are pink, hoseok notes. it's fucking adorable, "you can also talk to me informally."
"cool, jeongguk-ah," hoseok smiles, more relaxed now. his breathing has finally evened out, and his heart doesn't feel like making a run out of his chest.
he gathers his things silently, already fantasizing about making his way over to the showers because he will not, under any circumstances, get into his car smelling like this.
"see you next week, then?" he asks jeongguk when he's finally ready. he seems to be lost in his head, staring straight ahead, the bright red flush going all the way down his neck now, and hoseok feels mildly concerned. "are you okay, jeongguk-ah?"
at the name, he seems to jump into consciousness again and quickly nods in hoseok's direction, hurriedly guiding him to the door. "perfectly fine!" jeongguk assures him, way too chipper to be natural. "see you next week, hyung, bye!" he waves, and then closes the studio door right in hoseok's face.
odd.
anyways, the shower calls.
—
he doesn't see jeongguk next week, because the instructor cancels on him under the excuse of being on medical leave.
he has no way of contacting jeongguk to ask if he's okay, if he needs anything, or if there's any way hoseok can help.
it's not normal, he realizes after a long minute of anguish. it's not normal to worry like that for a normal teacher, not unless... not unless he's...
"i think i might be into jeongguk," he blurts out, as soon as jimin picks up the phone.
"your dance instructor?" jimin asks, not missing a beat, not even mad at the fact that hoseok didn't stop to at least say 'hello'.
"yes," hoseok confirms, holding his head in his hands.
"well, that's a surprise for literally no one," the alpha says, and he sounds totally unamused.
uh, what?
"what?" hoseok asks.
"hyung, you reek of fresh laundry like an enamored puppy every time you talk about him. it's obvious to anyone with a functioning nose that you have a crush on him."
well fuck.
he has a thing for jeongguk—a very obvious thing, it seems. okay. he waits for the panic to set in. one, two, three seconds.
nothing.
he's not panicking.
actually, now that he thinks about it, liking jeongguk makes a lot of sense.
hoseok might not be the sharpest tool in the drawer.
"what do i do now?" he asks jimin.
he knows what he has to do, he's not that useless, but he wants his best friend to confirm, alright?
"ask him out," jimin says, like it's the easiest thing in the world. hoseok can almost see him shrugging, like it's nothing.
"okay," hoseok agrees.
"okay?" the alpha asks, and he sounds surprised for the first time in the whole conversation.
"yeah, next time i see him, i'll ask him out."
—
turns out he doesn't have to wait that long because, barely two days later, he gets a text from an unknown number.
it's jeongguk, he realizes, giggling like a madman. it's jeongguk, and he's asking to meet up, today, outside of the studio, not for a class.
he agrees, of course, and as one does when you are the ceo of a literal fashion company, he spends hours going through every single piece of clothing he owns, looking for the perfect 'casual, but also very, very put together' outfit for a coffeeshop date.
hair and makeup take even longer, which is a surprise to absolutely no one, and three hours later, hoseok is in his best attire, pushing the door of the café open, trying to relax his face muscles so he doesn't smile like an idiot.
it's easy to spot jeongguk because hoseok's head over heels for him, and he's so excited to see him outside of the absolute nightmare of the dance studio that he doesn't have time to notice how anxious jeongguk looks. not until he sits down and the scent hits his nose. it smells like cookies, like freshly baked goods, tinted with perks of vanilla and slightly burnt cinnamon.
omega, hoseok realizes, and he can't help the way his mouth waters at the scent. omega, jeongguk's an omega, this is what he smells like, this is him.
but before hoseok can properly enjoy the newfound smell, the hints of burnt cinnamon grow stronger, too strong to ignore. jeongguk's nervous, he's scared.
"hey, gguk-ah," he greets him carefully.
his own omega feels restless with the need to protect, to soothe, so he does his best to keep his worry out of his own scent and instead, make it as friendly as possible, full of calming pheromones.
"hi," jeongguk replies, still looking down at the table. his voice sounds so small, so different from how he is normally at the studio, that it breaks hoseok's heart.
there's no point in beating around the bush. jeongguk obviously came here to talk about something, and by his scent alone, hoseok already knows it's bad.
"what is it, hm?" he encourages gently, "you can tell me, hyung won't be mad."
"i–" jeongguk stutters, chewing on his lower lip.
hoseok has to put all his energy into not reaching out and prying it away, because he's a hundred percent honest when he says he won't get mad. he really, honestly thinks he couldn't be mad at jeongguk even if he tried.
"hyung," he finally whimpers, almost in a sob at the same time that he looks up at the omega's face, "something bad happened, and i need to tell you so you can decide if you want to keep seeing me or not," he admits.
hoseok feels the need to talk, to somehow reassure him, to help in any way he can, but he knows the best he can do right now is to remain silent and let jeongguk speak.
"i'm kind of... a late bloomer," he finally starts, "as you might have noticed, i didn't have any scent last week, but now i do, and that's because... i never presented."
he bites his lip again, and this time hoseok can't help but cup his pretty face with his palm and pry the red flesh back to safety.
"i tried to convince myself that i was just a beta with a very very mild presentation, but then... hyung–" he whines, and it sounds even closer to tears now, "the other day, when you called me 'jeongguk-ah,' i didn't only present… i imprinted on you."
"oh, gguk," hoseok coos, and it's all it takes for jeongguk to burst into tears. "don't cry, sweetheart, it's alright, hey, hyung's not mad!" he reassures him, "i'm not mad, i swear i'm– shit," he curses.
his omega feels restless, he needs to do something, needs to fix this. "jeongguk-ah, can i hug you?"
jeongguk nods immediately, and it takes less than a second for hoseok to get around the table and sit next to him, holding him tight, his hand instinctively going to pet jeongguk's soft hair.
"i'm sorry," the newly presented omega whines, and his scent is still sad but not so anxious anymore, more like... relieved.
"gguk, hyung's gonna tell you something now, and i need you to listen to me well, okay?" hoseok says, reaching out for a handful of napkins to pass to jeongguk, who quickly distances himself from him and cleans his face, looking sad and embarrassed. "look at me, hm?" he prompts, and jeongguk follows the instruction instantly.
"i came here today fully convinced this was a date," he confesses, smiling a bit embarrassed, too, "i know you are going through a lot of things right now, and presenting and imprinting at the same time has to be hard, but if... wolves don't always imprint for romantic reasons, you know that, but if yours did…" he takes a deep breath, "i'd love to try, take you out on a date, maybe."
jeongguk looks at him for a long moment, like he's looking for the lie, for the hesitation, for hoseok to laugh at him, but when that doesn't happen, his scent starts getting sweeter, so much hoseok feels almost like he can taste the cookies he smells like.
"really?" he asks, his voice full of hope and excitement.
"yeah, pup, i'd love to."
—
weeks go by, and both hoseok's dance lessons and his love life improve drastically, all because of jeongguk.
it seems like once all their feelings were out in the air, they couldn't get enough of each other, spending all their free time together like the other's the air they needed to breathe. together, they share stories, dreams, laughter, but also tears. hoseok talks about his struggles at his job, how even if he knows he's in a privileged position, he hates the fact that he can't enjoy any of it, can't trust anyone in the industry without feeling like they're trying to get close to him just for his money.
jeongguk shares his insecurities about his late presentation, about how he's totally inexperienced in dating and all that entails, so they decide to take it slow.
hoseok's friends are quick to notice the changes. they throw him playful, amused looks every time he talks about jeongguk, and praise him for how healthy and well-rested he's been looking lately.
in each other, they find understanding and solitude. hoseok keeps taking new exciting steps into his healing journey. even if a relationship obviously doesn't fix everything, having someone showing him so much love and care, reminding him that proving himself doesn't require sacrificing his well-being, that bad days are okay, and that being mad at the world is fine, helps a lot.
jeongguk helps a lot, but not only that, hoseok also admires his strength, his determination, and his ability to overcome challenges, how his uncertain presentation didn't stop him from pursuing his passion and building a stable career around dancing.
they haven't been through the exact same things, but jeongguk just gets it, he always does. conversation always flows easily between them, even in tense moments when one of them is in a bad mood or doesn't want to talk much. their special connection becomes a soothing balm for hoseok's bruised heart, and jeongguk quickly becomes a pillar of support, a safe space for hoseok to be himself, to be small, and scared, and silly, and childish, and just him.
but it's not only hoseok who gets more and more comfortable. he starts noticing that particular sparkle in jeongguk's eyes every time he looks at him, every time he discusses dance styles, music genres, or his new favorite street food.
as he sways around to the slow ballad jeongguk put on, he curls his arm around his omega's tiny waist, who throws his head back because of how much he's laughing.
they're not supposed to be in the studio right now– he was supposed to just pick jeongguk up so they could go out for dinner– but the dancer didn't want to leave before perfecting the choreography he was working on, so hoseok had to step in and bribe him away from his own head by pulling all sorts of silly shows.
"gukkie," he says, while they're still spinning around the room, "i want you to know how much you've helped me, just by being in my life, you have made it so much better."
jeongguk smiles brightly, his eyes shining with happiness and affection.
"hyung, you've brought so much light into my life too. being with you is incredible, i still can't believe it's real sometimes."
his words make hoseok's heart flutter, and as he meets jeongguk's gaze, time seems to slow. the unspoken tension hangs between them, a magnetic pull.
"i don't want to rush this," jeongguk says softly, "but i really, really wanna be your boyfriend, hyung."
hoseok laughs loudly, his heart racing.
"yah, brat, i was gonna ask in a super romantic way!" he whines.
jeongguk laughs too, and his fingers brush against hoseok's, sending shivers down their spines. "you were taking too long," he pouts petulantly.
"i've spoiled you too much, haven't i?" hoseok jokes, booping jeongguk's nose, eliciting a happy giggle like every single time, "jeon jeonggukie, the most precious omega i've ever, ever seen, will you be my boyfriend?" he asks then.
jeongguk pretends to think about it, but he quickly breaks character as he throws himself at hoseok, clumsily connecting their lips.
"about damn time."