Chapter Text
When Channie met Innie
It had been a week.
A long, awful week that Chan never wanted to ever go through again.
His body hurt from the tip of his snow white ears, all the way down his tail and his half frozen toes. His heart still ached deep inside of his chest, despite the fact that he knew that he had plenty of friends around him who were going to love and support him no matter what happened. It was one of the many reasons why he was curled up against Sana’s side even as they walked around the company building, hoping that the lovely bright scents of the Twice omegas would drown out his bitter bluebell that was filled with nothing but sadness, pain and an ache that would not go away.
This close to one of his oldest and closest trainee friends, Chan could smell the anger and the need to go punch some certain alphas in the face but she was masking it so well that if he hadn’t been so close he would have never noticed it. The others of course did, they were so close knit as a pack that they could practically read each others thoughts.
Though he was pretty sure that Mono and Tzuyu were all over Jihyo just in case she caught sight of any of the Got7 members. Their alpha was generally soft and kind hearted, but she was not happy with any of the other band right now, even if it had been a company decision to cut Chan from the line up. That she could take, because it had been hell going through ‘Sixteen’ back in the day as she didn’t dare make any moves on anyone until they were all confirmed to be members debuting together but Got7 had started a pack bound before they were finalised.
So when Chan got cut, he had to be removed from the pack bound.
It was why the omega was staying in their dorms, out of the way of anyone who could cause him any further grief or hassle, especially after a triggered heat because he had been that traumatised by the whole event. The managers had worried that fans would complain, until Nayeon had posted up a message about always being there for fellow omegas when bad things happened and no one really questioned it further. Plus Chan kept himself out of the way, hiding mainly in the heat room where cameras weren’t allowed regardless and hugged all the plushies he could find to his chest.
Jihyo was going to punch Jinyoung on the nose though when she saw him, because he had been a bloody idiot and obviously needed some reminding in behaviours. Yes she was being overly protective right now, but she had every last right to be. As alphas were not supposed to be this stupid and possessive, especially in their industry. Jihyo had very strong opinions on that and would allow no one to step out of line on her watch.
Chan was glad that she was willing to defend him, even if he was worried for what it could mean for her if she did indeed get caught punching Jinyoung on the nose but put the thoughts aside for now. Especially seeing as there were rumours going around that JYP himself had heard what had happened and was mad. Chan did not know what that meant so kept himself tucked away with the Twice girls as a form of protection and safety.
Plus seeing as they were putting him in the MV for their upcoming debut song, it gave them all an excuse to just keep a tight hold onto their omega friend without anyone getting too angsty or flaky about the situation.
Which is what lead them to walking around the JYP building, heading to the designated practice room which was afford to Twice for their own exclusive use when there came an overpowering scent of spoilt baby milk from one of the larger training rooms.
Nayeon was the first one to spot it, her head raising up high with a frown covering her pretty face, “What is that smell?”
“Oh please, don’t start that game again,” said Jeongyeon, “We had enough of it yesterday.”
Nayeon stuck her tongue out towards her packmate but was cut off from speaking by Mina going, “Cubbies…upset cubbies.”
That was more than enough to get everyone’s attention fully focused and sniffing the air. As one the group turned their heads towards the door nearest them where there were already several other omegas crowding around with confused expressions on their faces. It was one of the group practice halls, generally where the newbies of the company would start their training and a place that they all remembered with mixed feelings. It was their starting point, where they had all begun but some of the instructors were so mean that it was hard to get by at first.
From the waves of distressed cub scent that was seeping out of the room, it was clear that one of the instructors was getting more than a little annoyed and snappy which never really went down that well. Chan pulled away from Sana to actually go up to the door, standing on his tiptoes to see into the room beyond via the little window and confirmed pretty much instantly that there were around twenty or so cubs all in various stages of upset whilst one of the choreographers, an beta named Yuni, was looking on with an expression that was caught between annoyance and pity.
Chan was pushing open the door before anyone else could think of something to say and walked confidently towards the cubs who all looked at him with wide eyes. He smiled as best as he could, letting his dimples pop and held open his arms. Within moments he was swarmed by half of the class and the rest of the omegas piled in after grabbing all the necessary blackmail photos and footage that they could because it was good to see Channie back to his happy self again.
Yuni looked as though he was about to start bossing around but Jihyo gave him one of her infamous commanding looks and the beta sensibly left the room to go and take his own little breather. Yuni wasn’t a bad instructor, not in the slightest, but there was a lot of pressure that went with the job so it was understandable why he would get cross with the youngsters. Chan remembered all the times that he had been shouted at for not getting a move right when he first started, and hugged the cub currently in his arms just a little tighter, purring contentedly.
Several messages were sent to the group chats and more omegas turned up, as well as betas and alphas with snacks, drinks and a bunch of other things to just distract the cubs for a bit. They tried to keep everyone in little bubbles like this because it was easy to become out of sorts with yourself otherwise, but they were also careful to not elicit too much bounding in case someone had to leave. That was a big no-no as far as the company was concerned
Chan found himself oddly alone at one point, just leaning up against a mirror whilst he chewed on a Haitai bar as he spotted Bambam and Mark peak their heads in and he quickly turned away to look at some other corner. Most of the seniors would know to keep the pair completely away from Chan so he wasn’t worried about seeing them but it did make his heart do some funny lurches. He didn’t want to be afraid to run into his friends, but he also couldn’t quite just leave behind the things that had been done by said friends. It wasn’t really their fault either, which was the worst part about the whole situation but it wasn’t one that he wanted to deal with right now and if he could avoid it then he was certainly going to do so.
Blinking his dark brown eyes, Chan focused on a large pile of coats and school bags which had been flung into the corner. It wasn’t that unusual a sight as everyone just kind of threw their things in one place but what was strange was that there were several snow white tails sticking out of it. As well as the sweet scent of dango milk which was distinctly different from any of the other cubs. Allowing his curiosity to get the better of him, as well as thankful to have a good distraction, the young omega crept closer to the pile of bags and coats to take a closer look.
Sitting the middle of the pile, which had been carefully and craftily made into a little den was a small cub with snow white ears and many tails which were the exact same colour. Chan blinked in surprise, never having seen anyone who matched his fur colouring, with the exception of his mother as it was said that she came from a long distinguished line of wolves who wanted to keep the pelt colour as it was rare and unique. She had never spoken much about her family and Chan could only ever recall one maternal aunt whom he met when he was little but it was nothing that was too worrying. Then he blinked again when he realised that the ears on top of the boys head were much larger than that of a wolf and clicked to the fact that he had many tails of snow white fur.
The cub in front of him was a kitsune.
Kitsune were rare in Seoul, Chan was aware faintly of like three in the entire area and only because one of them had an Instagram account which he followed with total fascination. The other two were spoken of in hushed whispers of excitement as they both apparently held high jobs within the entertainment industry but no one could pin down exactly who they were. There had been rumours about it being someone from 2NE1 and Big Bang but that had all been quelled by YG Entertainment extraordinarily quickly.
To see a young kitsune though, was unheard of as the rumour was that kitsune rarely left their homelands unless they felt the call to do so.
“Hey buddy,” Chan found himself saying, kneeling down to match the height of the still silently sobbing youngster because regardless of anything else, he was still a cub in distress and Chan’s omega was wanting nothing more than to pull the cub into an deep hug and smother him in their bluebell scent. “Why you here all alone when everyone else is out and getting all the hugs they want?”
The boy did not respond for a few moments, pulling his knees closer in to make himself as small as possible. Clearly he was distraught and Chan felt his heart go out to him, “It’s going to be okay, you know? Everyone makes mistakes and Yuni’s not so bad once you get to know him. He’s strict cause he wants you all to do your very best and if you weren’t good then you wouldn’t have even made it into his class.”
One of the large ears flicked and Chan had to resist the urge to reach out to stroke it because he was curious to see if it was as soft and gentle as it looked or not. “Come on, we’ve got some juice boxes and some sweeties, or do you like chocolate more?” Chan continued to coax the cub out, “Or maybe some crisps, I know that a little salt can go a long way when you’ve had a bad day, can’t it?”
The little kitsune boy finally raised his head and Chan felt his heart stop. The boys eyes were large, round and so irresistibly cute that they were melt worthy. They were coloured a light brown with many streaks of different colours held in them that created an slightly unusual effect of when he tilted his head in different ways his eyes would appear to be slightly different shades of brown. They were mesmerising eyes that drew anyone in but Chan felt something different as he stared at the cub in front of him. He felt as though something had just clicked in his head and heart, that the little cub in front of him was someone so precious to him and that he would never be willingly parted from him ever again in that moment.
The cub seemed to come to the same conclusion as suddenly he was untangling himself from the knot he had worked himself into and was flinging himself into the waiting arms of Chan with a half cry that caught several peoples attention. Chan found himself getting crowded by Sana, Jihyo and Mark but he did not care in the slightest as he held tightly onto the little cub in his arms and rocked him back and forth slowly.
“There, there, my Innie,” Chan spoke softly to the cub, “Channie’s got you and you’re going to be fine.”
“Aww, whose this little one?” Sana asked, wiggling closer out of a mixture of curiosity and concern because she wasn’t entirely sure what had just happened.
The kitsune started at hearing another voice and turned to look towards the very pretty young lady who was addressing him right now, blushed a deep red and hid his face back into the comfort of the wolf in front of him. Chan cooed affectionately towards the kitsune, running his hand through the long strands of black hair that had fluffed up a little due to his cramped out position. “His name is Jeongin,” Chan spoke with reverence and pure joy.
Sana blinked, “Aww he’s a cutie, hey sweetie what are you doing here all by yourself.”
Jeongin shifted slightly, still practically buried into Chan’s chest as if it were the safest place in the world to him right now. The omega just found it adorable that he peered out at the world like this, almost as if it were a perfectly natural thing even though they had barely even connected. It was strange and part of his rational mind was questioning how it could be like this with a cub he barely knew but his instinctual brain was overpowering that thought with an ‘ah fuck it, lets enjoy hugging our cub’.
Mark tilted his head in confusion towards Chan, he knew the omega was great with cubs, always had been since the day they had met but this whole thing felt different and he wasn’t entirely sure how to deal with it. But when he opened his mouth to ask questions, a hand came gently onto the back of his neck, not quite scruffing him but enough of a warning that the person behind him would do so if needed. Turning his head up, he saw the sorrow filled eyes of Jinyoung who quietly shook his head and indicated silently that they should be going. Mark pouted and looked back to see Chan beaming towards the cub who was looking up at the omega with the most adoring eyes ever. Like the kitsune was Chan’s.
The pair disappeared silently after that but Chan did not register any of it. Instead he was just fascinated by the feeling of already wanting to protect and love this little lost cub of his until his last dying breath. Sana poked him in the dimple to get his attention, “Earth to Channie.”
Chan blinked, realising that he had been called for several times but was too busy playing with Jeongin’s ears to really notice. “Oh sorry,” he said quietly, a blush on his cheeks, “Kinda got…”
“It’s okay, was just going to ask if you and Jeongin wanted something to drink as I’m guessing you’re both a bit on the dehydrated side,” Sana kept on going, wondering how to direct the conversation around without it sounding like an attack. “Cause I bet this little one has been dancing for a long while and needs some refreshment.”
Jeongin’s ears wriggled slightly at that as he shifted back a little, looking a little less dazed but refusing to let go of Chan’s hand. He nodded softly, keeping his eyes cast downwards. Sana wanted to immediately fuss the cub, cause he was just too cute and adorable but also didn’t want to push her best friends buttons. She recognised an imprint when she saw one, having watched several of her pack members go through it before but this was clearly different. Plus she got the feeling that Jinyoung had recognised it and would be reporting it in.
It wasn’t against the rules, because it was next to impossible to do anything about once it occurred, but sometimes things would get a little on the complicated side. However Jihyo seemed to be ahead of her omega and plonked down with several bottles of water and a gentle hand to the small of Sana’s back which spoke a thousand words that did not need to be said aloud. The female alpha smiled and passed the pair an bottle each, “Practice is due to resume in about twenty minutes, so that’s all the cuddle time you’ll get today, I’m afraid.”
Jeongin’s ears drooped down along with his tails that made the alpha immediately want to take it back but knew that she couldn’t. Reaching out to pet the cub, she just smiled endearingly towards him, “Aww little cubby, don’t worry, you’re not going to loose this one that quickly.”
Jeongin’s head raised up with a question clearly on it but Jihyo had already turned to look at Chan with an gentle expression, “Management want to talk after this…” she said softly, not wanting to startle anyone, “Apparently they were planning to catch you during our practice but this has moved it up.”
Blinking dumbly for a few seconds, the omega was still clearly riding high on all the good pheromones that had come from the imprinting to think straight, Chan suddenly came to with an shocked expression. His own ears dropped in worry, flattening almost to the point that they were in a perfectly straight line whilst the constant air of defeatism which had clung to the omega for the past few terrible days returned full force. Jihyo mentally cursed as she realised that she hadn’t even noticed that the dark feelings had lifted from her friend and knew that if they tried anything fishy then she was going to go and tear them an new one. Damn her debut, she was not going to leave Chan in a dark mess after a series of events that were not his fault.
Before either Jihyo or Sana could even begin to say something even remotely comforting towards Chan, Jeongin beat them to it. The kitsune raised himself up onto his knees and crowded straight into Chan’s personal space, wrapping his thin little arms around the wolf tightly and snuggling close as if he were trying to drown out the rotten vegetation smell that was coming off Chan with his own dango milk scent. It strangely worked, which shocked the elder wolves and Jeongin finally said, “Don’t be sad, they just want to make sure you’re doing okay and that I didn’t do something terrible to you.”
“What could you possibly do to Channie?” Sana asked, petting Jeongin carefully, “Other than make him instantly adore you and want to mother you for the rest of your lives.”
Chan blushed, “Noona.”
“What?” Sana challenged, “It’s what you’re going to do, no matter what. Management knows all about imprinting and would be idiots if they tried to keep the pair of you apart. Stop automatically presuming the worst, JYP is not going to get rid of you, he just wants to put you somewhere else.”
The male omega opposite blinked and automatically pulled Jeongin in closer, his eyes betraying all the negative emotions that were swirling around in his head and heart.
But before anyone could speak further, one of the management team came up, a kind beta by the name of Sojune who smiled. “Hello Sana, Jihyo, Chan and this little cub I’ve yet to be introduced to.”
Chan sat up a little straighter, “This is Jeongin, he’s my kitsune.”
“Ah, well hello there Jeongin. It’s nice to meet you,” Sojune continued, “Can both you and Chan come with me, we just want to have a little chat with you both but it’s nothing serious and no one is in trouble.”
Jeongin whimpered regardless but Chan stood up and helped Jeongin up after a few moments of reluctance from the cub. Hand in hand they followed Sojune out of the practice room and then sat together during a meeting which was no where near as scary as either of them were worried about. It turned out to just be a check up meeting for the things that had gone down with Chan and then an confirmation of the imprint that had occurred so it could be registered as Jeongin was a minor. There were talks of getting the pair their own dorm room, the sooner the better, as keeping them apart was not going to work and Chan didn’t really need to be in his old dorm after all that had happened.
Everything would be sorted the next day however so it was just the arrangements for the upcoming night.
Which of course led to Jihyo virtually barging down the door, with a bag of food for Mina to cook and a duffle bag for Jeongin to put his own stuff in as the girls had more than enough for Chan at their place. She wouldn’t even hear the slightest bit of an argument from the management about who could and could not stay in the Twice dorms, even though they were merely trying to say that they more than expected that the pair would be there for the night.
That all done, Chan and Jeongin went to the youngers dorm to get some bits and pieces, then headed to Twice’s dorm were they merely ended up cuddled together in the middle of the pack bed, content to just be in one another’s arms with the rest of the world hidden behind the closed door for now.
Chan snuggled against his dango milk smelling cub, scenting him maybe a little overly much but Jeongin was not complaining in the slightest and was happily purring as well. “Well, I did not expect this at all when I woke up this morning,” he said gently towards the cub, “And I’m happy for it.”
“Me too,” Jeongin replied shyly, “I knew one day I’d find a wolf mama, I just didn’t know when.”
Chan’s heart boomed deeply in his chest as he smothered the cub for that comment, laughing brightly as Jeongin wriggled in discomfort but never once let go. They eventually fell asleep together, soft and happy in a cuddle pile of cuteness that had a million photos taken of and shared with every conceivable group chat going because the cuteness as just far too much for anyone to handle.
(Got7 did receive as well and despite a huge feeling of jealously, they were all thankful that they hadn’t fully broken the omega.)