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Donghyuk tugs at the hem of his light blue button up shirt, straightening it out while he takes a quick glance at the clock hanging over the television. It’s just a little past six in the evening, and Junhoe still hasn’t come home. He was suppose to be here before six so that they could leave together, but he’s still not here. Grumbling to himself about his good for nothing roommate, Donghyuk resigns himself to retrieving him from his new boyfriend’s apartment. Hopefully he’s at least dressed up a little decently so they can just go.
Pulling on a pair of nice, clean tennis shoes, Donghyuk turns off the entryway light before ducking out the door. He takes the staircase at the end of the hallway down two floors to the twelfth floor, then walks down the hallway to apartment number 1207. Still grumbling, he rings the doorbell.
It only takes a short moment before Bobby opens the door for him. The Alpha seems surprised by his presence, but he invites the omega inside nonetheless. “Where’s Junhoe?” Donghyuk immediately asks as Bobby moves further into his apartment. “We’re suppose to have dinner with Hanbin and Jinhwan tonight but he still hasn’t come back, and no one is answering their phone.” God, he spends almost all his time here now.
“Oh. Oh, God! Is it time already?” The Alpha asks, alarmed. “I’m so sorry. I guess we weren’t paying attention to the time. I’ll go get him.” With that he quickly disappears down the hallway, probably to his bedroom.
Rolling his eyes, Donghyuk starts to follow after him but pauses just at the end of the hallway. He’s never really been to the Alpha’s apartment, to be honest, and he feels a bit awkward venturing inside. He can hear Junhoe cursing inside one of the bedrooms and - god - they better not have been having sex. “Do you have a better shirt I can borrow?” he hears Junhoe asks.
“Nothing that fits?” is Bobby’s response. “Just go back to your apartment. You live two floors up.”
“No way,” Donghyuk complains, “we’re already going to be late at this point. Just hurry up and put on something decent!”
One of the doors opens, steam filtering out from the room, and Donghyuk catches the faint smell of a beta through the heavy steam and smell of body wash filtering out of the bathroom. A moment later, someone emerges - naked save for the towel wrapped around his waist.
“Ah! Oh, my God!” Yunhyeong wraps his arms around his naked chest when he notices Donghyuk standing at the end of the hallway.
Donghyuk stares. The thought that this must be Bobby’s roommate filters somewhere through the back of his mind, but mostly he’s preoccupied with staring at the half-naked body in front of him. The beta ducks back into the bathroom and slams the door shut. A muffled “sorry,” comes from the room a second later. The omega pouts in disappointment.
Junhoe comes out of Bobby’s room at that moment, wearing a nice grey overcoat - that he clearly borrowed from the Alpha - over his t-shirt. Donghyuk takes in his dark skinny jeans and thanks the Gods that his roommate didn’t come over here in a pair of shorts. At least he looks decent enough.
The taller omega grabs him by the wrist and pulls him back towards the front door. Donghyuk makes a distressed sound in protest, craning his neck to stare at the bathroom door, but no one comes back out again. Bobby follows them to the front door where Junhoe slips on his shoes. The Alpha waves the two omegas off as they leave. “Have a good time,” he says.
“We will,” Junhoe responds because Donghyuk doesn’t.
When they’re on the elevator the taller omega finally notices the strange expression on his roommate’s face. Furrowing his brows at Donghyuk, he rudely asks, “What’s wrong with your face?”
The smaller omega narrows his eyes at his friend. “There’s nothing wrong with my face,” Donghyuk snaps before turning his head to face a different wall of the elevator.
“You look weird,” Junhoe notes with a quirk of his eyebrow. “Like this.” Then he proceeds to imitate the elder’s face. He plasters a dreamy smile on his lips, eyes half-lidded and staring off into the distance. He even releases a dainty sigh for effect. Donghyuk stares at him. Then, abruptly, Junhoe’s expression morphs back into its usual scowl. “That’s what you look like,” he reiterates.
Crossing his arms over his chest, the smaller omega huffs and sticks his nose up. “I’ll have you know there is nothing wrong with that expression. That is simply my ‘I’m in love’ face, okay?”
“Oh, God.” Junhoe wrinkles his nose and rolls his eyes. “Alright, what ‘amazing’ Alpha did you meet at the bus stop this time?” Donghyuk refuses to even look at him let alone answer. “On the bus? At the mall? In the bakery across the street?” Junhoe keeps listing off guesses until Donghyuk finally slaps him on the wrist. Offended, Junhoe holds his hand close to his chest and scowls at his roommate.
“I didn’t meet an Alpha,” Donghyuk corrects.
Junhoe squints suspiciously at the older omega. “You like a beta?” he then asks skeptically.
“Yes, what’s wrong with that?”
The taller omega scoffs, still cradling his slapped wrist in his free hand. “What’s wrong with that? You, Donghyuk, the Alpha slut, have a crush on an beta? Everything about that statement is wrong.”
“I’m not a slut,” Donghyuk protests with a pout. He doesn’t look very offended though.
“Yes, you are,” Junhoe tuts. “I’ve been your roommate for years, and this is your cycle: you find an Alpha, date him for like six months, and then when you’re on the verge of your next heat, you dump him and then ask me to fuck you through your heat instead. You’re a total slut for Alphas. You think you would have mated by now.” He rolls his eyes again as the elevator comes to a stop on the first floor.
“Well, maybe I want this beta to fuck me through my next heat,” Donghyuk retorts, perhaps a bit too loudly because Junhoe shoots him a glare and places a finger over his lips to indicate the other should quiet his voice.
“Anyway, my point is what beta could even -” Oh. The realization hits Junhoe just as the front door of the apartment building slides open for them. Donghyuk blinks at him innocently, not knowing how the taller omega intends to finish that thought, as they step outside, cutting through the parking lot to reach the main road where they can flag down a taxi. “No,” he says immediately.
“What do you mean no?” Donghyuk complains while Junhoe reaches his hand out to hail an empty taxi.
“No, not Yunhyeong,” Junhoe answers simply as he opens the back door and slides in.
Donghyuk follows after him, that stupid dreamy expression plastered on his face again. “His name is Yunhyeong?” he sighs, shutting the door. Sighing, Junhoe pinches the bridge of the nose before telling the taxi driver the name of the restaurant they’re suppose to meet Jinhwan and Hanbin at.
“Oh, please, please, please, Junhoe. Help me out here. I’ll never ask you for another favor again,” Donghyuk begs as they enter the restaurant. Jinhwan and Hanbin are already waiting for them at the entrance though they both perk up at bit at Donghyuk’s words. “Just think about it. It’s beneficial for both of us. I get a mate, and you won’t have to help me through my heat anymore.”
Thoroughly embarrassed, Junhoe elbows his roommate in the ribcage and tells him to shut up with a tight smile on his lips. “We’re not having this conversation right now, and anyways that’s a moot point. I have a boyfriend now. What makes you think I would have helped you through your next heat anyways?” he hisses. Pouting, Donghyuk massages his bruising ribcage as Jinhwan and Hanbin approach them.
“Glad you could make it,” Jinhwan greets them, pulling Donghyuk into a hug and then Junhoe.
“What were you guys talking about?” Hanbin asks curiously.
“Nothing,” Junhoe answers.
At the same time, Donghyuk says, “June won’t help set me up with his boyfriend’s roommate.”
Groaning, Junhoe hides his face in his hand while Hanbin tenses up, a disapproving frown on his face. Jinhwan only smiles. “Why do you want to be set up with that beta?” the Alpha asks, and, oh great, he’s totally in his Dad-mode.
“He’s perfect,” Donghyuk sighs.
“He’s Bobby’s roommate,” Hanbin points out disapprovingly.
“What’s wrong with Bobby?” Jinhwan interjects.
Junhoe decides it’s time to steer the conversation away from the topic of mates. “Happy Birthday, Hanbin,” he congratulates a bit loudly, effectively drawing the three of them away from their previous conversation. The Alpha slowly relaxes and thanks the omega for the sentiment. Clearing his throat, Junhoe throws a pointed glance at their hostess who has already gathered four menus, and is patiently waiting for them to stop arguing. “I presume we already have a table waiting, so shall we?”
They manage to hold off on their conversation until they reach the table, but as soon as drinks are ordered, they jump right back in. Thanks to Jinhwan, of course.
“So this beta you like, what’s he like?”
Donghyuk opens his mouth to answer, but Junhoe cuts in before the smaller omega can say anything. “He can’t say because he only saw him for, like, two seconds.” He shoots the taller a look of utter betrayal.
Hanbin chokes on his water. “What?” he exclaims, staring at Donghyuk as if the omega had just grown a second head. “Have you even had a conversation with him? Like a proper one.” Grimacing, Donghyuk decides against telling the Alpha that he hasn’t said so much as a word to the beta. And he isn’t sure Yunhyeong freaking out and calling out sorry over and over again counts as a conversation. “No, you can’t mate him. I disapprove.”
“Like he would even mate him,” Junhoe mutters under his breath.
Donghyuk, unsurprisingly, turns to Jinhwan for support. The beta smiles pleasantly. “Hanbin, you’re not his father. You don’t have a say in who he can mate.” The Alpha looks wounded by his mate’s words. Then he turns his gaze to Junhoe. “And what’s wrong with him mating a beta”
“Nothing except for the fact that it’s Donghyuk who wants to,” the omega quips.
Humming thoughtfully, Jinhwan rests his chin in the palm of his hand. “It is rather surprising,” he admits, “that you would want to mate with a beta instead of an Alpha.” Donghyuk pointedly ignores the smug look of victory his roommate sends his way.
“What’s so surprising about that?” Donghyuk whines.
“I’ve only ever chased Alphas away from you before,” Hanbin supplies.
“You usually turn down betas who try to court you,” Jinhwan points out.
“You literally will only sit on an Alpha’s cock,” Junhoe grumbles unhelpfully. Donghyuk smacks him in the arm for that, but Junhoe appears unbothered by the action.
“Okay, so maybe saying I want to mate him right now is going a bit too far,” Donghyuk finally concedes. “But I would like to get to know him to see if I would like to later. In the future. So help me, damnit,” he says to Junhoe.
Junhoe wrinkles his nose in distaste and opens his mouth to probably tell Donghyuk off, but Jinhwan sends one look his way and the taller omega abruptly settles down. “Fine,” he agrees gruffly. “Fine, whatever. I’ll help - just...can we stop talking about this now?” They leave the topic alone for the rest of dinner though Donghyuk clings to his roommate’s arm gratefully.
The first chance to help set Donghyuk up with Yunhyeong comes that very weekend. Bobby is up at their apartment, making a bowl of popcorn because it’s movie night - and sometimes Donghyuk stays while they’re both here and sometimes he goes out somewhere else so he doesn’t have to put up with them. Tonight he feels like staying home, maybe even crashing their date by watching the movie with them, but Junhoe opts that it’s time Donghyuk leave and spend his time productively.
“Leave,” he orders his roommate gruffly, plopping down on the couch beside the smaller omega.
Donghyuk pouts and stubbornly stays put. “I don’t want to go out though.”
Junhoe shoots his roommate a very meaningful glance because this is his chance. Now he has an excuse to saunter down to Bobby’s apartment and strike up a conversation with his beta roommate, and he just wants to lounge on the couch? “Seriously, leave,” he says again.
Sensing a budding argument, Bobby shuffles into the living room, with a bowl of popcorn in hand, to stop the two omegas. “It’s fine, Junhoe,” he assures his boyfriend, “he can stay if he wants.”
“No, he’s leaving, now.”
“Why?” Donghyuk whines. “This is my apartment too!”
Junhoe narrows his eyes at his smaller roommate while he works to come up with some sort of excuse to get Donghyuk to leave. “I’m horny,” he says so seriously that Donghyuk sputters. “I’m really fucking horny so unless you want to stick around to hear me screaming through these thin walls, leave.”
Even Bobby gawks at the omega, but Junhoe holds steadfast to his route. Tentatively, the Alpha takes a couple of sniffs at the air, testing to see if he can smell Junhoe’s sudden arousal, but no luck. His nose is useless.
“That’s...really gross,” Donghyuk eventually says. “Thanks for sharing.”
“You wouldn’t leave.”
“But Hanbin and Jinhwan live so far away! Where do you expect me to go?”
“You can crash at my place for now,” Bobby offers, probably out of pity for the smaller omega. Junhoe smiles. That is exactly what he had been hoping for. Donghyuk’s eyes light up as well because he finally, finally realizes what Junhoe is up to. The Alpha, still oblivious to the omegas’ excitement, rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. “Yunhyeong went out to get some things so I don’t think anyone is home right now. He’ll probably be back soon, though I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if you’re there -”
Donghyuk doesn’t wait another second before he jumps up and rushes out the front door. He does manage to throw a “thank you!” Bobby’s way before he slams the door shut behind him. Bobby blinks at the omega’s abrupt departure before his accusing gaze turns to his boyfriend. “Why do I feel like I’m missing something?” he asks.
Junhoe shrugs his shoulder innocently before motioning him over. “Hurry, the movie’s going to start soon.”
Now Bobby seems confused. “But...you said - I thought -” He scratches his head sheepishly.
“What?” Junhoe asks.
“You said you were horny,” the Alpha reminds him in an almost whiny tone.
The omega raises a brow at his tone and the way the Alpha keeps shifting his weight from foot to foot while tugging down on his hoodie. He can smell hints of arousal radiating from the Alpha. “I only said that to get Donghyuk out of here,” he responds, purposefully ignoring the smell.
“Yeah, but I thought….now I’m horny.”
“I know. I can smell it.” Bobby whines about being ignored until Junhoe finally takes pity on the Alpha. “Alright, come here.” He motions the Alpha over, sliding to his knees on the floor at the same time that Bobby falls down onto the couch. The Alpha’s breath hitches as Junhoe crawls between his legs and reaches out to pop the button of his jeans with one hand as he takes the bowl of popcorn and sets it down on the coffee table with the other. The omega looks up while undoing Bobby’s pants. “You better hope the beginning of this movie sucks,” he warns the Alpha while carefully taking his cock out.
“It sucks. It sucks,” Bobby insists repeatedly, fingers digging into the couch cushions as the omega gently strokes him up and down. A whimper then escapes his lips when Junhoe finally takes him into his mouth.
When Donghyuk enters the apartment he can tell that no one is home. The scent of an Alpha, beta, and a little bit of omega (courtesy of Junhoe) hangs in the air, but nothing potent. Nothing to indicate that anyone is home. He slips his shoes off at the entrance, allowing the door to swing shut behind him as he ventures into the apartment. This is only his second time in here.
So Donghyuk does what any normal person would do and makes a beeline for the room that smells most like a beta. He shoulders the door open gently, peeking inside. A bed sits on the other side of the room, underneath a window with a desk beside it. Random articles of clothing are strewn across the back of the desk chair, but the top of the desk looks neat and organized with a stack of books and papers near the end of it. The bed is half-made; the black, green, and white down blanket partially folded over the side of the bed.
What really catches his attention though is the canvas resting on a canvas stand in the corner of the room over by what appears to be a closet. There’s a small section of tarp paper laid beneath it - likely to protect the floor. The canvas has a little bit of color, some greens and blacks and blues which Donghyuk eyes curiously but can’t quite tell what it’s suppose to be. A small collection of paint bottles lie around the canvas. However, he giddily notes that the beta is, apparently, an artist.
He ducks back out of the room, quietly closing the door behind him. And - just to feel slightly less creepy - he peeks into Bobby’s room as well. The room smells strongly of Alpha with Junhoe’s scent faintly mixed in. It’s considerably more messy and a little darker as well. The Alpha’s colors primarily seem to consist of greys, blacks, and whites.
Satisfied that he has proven to himself that he is considerably less creepy than he feels, Donghyuk wanders back into the living room and makes room for himself on the couch. He sits there, eagerly awaiting the beta’s return.
Yunhyeong is a bit perplexed when he comes home to a stranger on his couch, flipping through one of Bobby’s magazines as if it’s a perfectly normal thing to do. An omega no less. Although he does seem vaguely familiar. The omega jumps up to greet him though.
“Hi!” he says cheerfully while approaching Yunhyeong. The beta awkwardly returns the greeting and nearly flinches back when the omega takes his hand, shaking it excitedly. “I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced yet. I’m Junhoe’s roommate, Donghyuk.” The omega smiles prettily at him, and Yunhyeong swallows thickly.
“Oh. Right. I’m, um, Yunhyeong,” he mimicks the omega before carefully dislodging his hand from the other’s. “So, why are you here?”
Donghyuk tries not to frown when he loses his grip on the beta’s hand, instead focusing on keeping his attention. “Oh! Well, I kind of got kicked out of my apartment,” he admits sheepishly. “Movie night sort of morphed into….something else, if you know what I mean. Bobby said I could stay here until they were finished though. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Ah, I see.” Yunhyeong looks sympathetic to Donghyuk’s plight. His eyes then look over to the living room where Donghyuk had been hanging out earlier, noticing that the TV isn’t on and one of Bobby’s stupid People magazines is open to a random page. Talk about a sad Saturday night. “You can watch the TV if you want,” he offers the omega.
“Oh. You want to watch something together?” Donghyuk asks, a sweet smile on his lips.
“Uh, no. Sorry. I’m sorta busy with something.” The beta motions to the plastic bag in his hands on instinct even though Donghyuk probably has no idea what the action is suppose to mean.
Nonetheless, the omega seems curious, peering down at the bag in the beta’s hands. Bobby had mentioned that his roommate had gone out for something. “What’s in the bag?” he asks curiously.
Yunhyeong sets the bag on the floor beside his feet before he shrugs off his coat. “Oh, nothing exciting,” he says bashfully while opening the front door closet and hanging his coat up. “I just needed to run out to get some new paint colors and a brush. None of the ones I had were giving me the kind of strokes I was looking for and -” he cuts himself off when he takes in the blank - but oddly cute - expression on the omega’s face. Clearly Donghyuk has no idea what he’s going on about. “Sorry,” he apologizes, closing the closet door and picking up his bag again.
Donghyuk grins at him. “Oh, oh, don’t apologize! I’m just - are you painting something?” he says jokingly even though he already knows the answer. He’s seen it.
“Yeah,” Yunhyeong confirms, standing in place for now. “It’s a project for school. I’m an art major. Paint is just my chosen medium, I guess.”
“Wow. That’s so cool. I’m not really good at that kind of thing, but I love going to art museums, which Junhoe hates when I drag him along. He always says they bore him to tears. He has no taste or refinery if you ask me though.” Yunhyeong laughs into the back of his hand at his description of his roommate.
“Bobby’s kind of the same,” the beta admits. “I think he appreciates it as a musician, you know? He has respect for all artists, but art museums put him to sleep. It’s quite cute actually.” Donghyuk smiles, pleased with how their conversation is unfolding so far, but then, as if realizing how off topic they’ve gone, the beta attempts to excuse himself. “Ah, anyways, I have to finish up my project, but feel free to keep yourself entertained however you can. We have Netflix.”
He makes the move by Donghyuk, but the omega skirts around to stand before him again, cutting Yunhyeong off. “You know, speaking of keeping myself entertained, maybe you could show me what you’re working on,” Donghyuk suggests, partly interested but mostly just looking for an excuse to hang off the beta’s arm. “I mean, if you’re okay with it, at least,” he adds quickly because Yunhyeong just stares at him blankly. “I understand if you don’t want to show anyone until it’s finished.”
Yunhyeong finally snaps out of his thoughts. “Oh, no, it’s not that or anything,” he assures the omega with a smile, “I suppose I’m just, well, surprised you would want to. It’s really not all that exciting or anything.”
“Well, then maybe just for a little bit,” the omega suggests coyly.
Smiling a bit nervously in response, Yunhyeong nods his head and leads the way to his bedroom. For a moment, Donghyuk worries that the beta might take note that the position of the door has changed, but Yunhyeong doesn’t appear bothered as he shoves the door open wide and marches into the room. Donghyuk enters a few steps behind him, appraising the room for a second time.
Of course, when he gets to the canvas in the corner of the room, he pretends it is only the first time he’s seen it. “Oh, wow,” he says in awe even though he still doesn’t know what it’s suppose to be. “I see you’ve started something. What is it?” Now that he’s up close though when he peers at the canvas he notices a light tracing of pencil on the thick material.
“Well, when it’s finished it will be a wolf,” Yunhyeong says, digging out the paints and the paintbrush he bought.
“A wolf?” Donghyuk repeats curiously, careful not to touch the painting while he examines it.
“Yeah. It’ll be, like, peering out of the grass. Or shrubbery. Whatever.” He tosses his paint colors rather carelessly onto the tarp and then picks up a white palette from his desk. It’s been cleaned and dry, but Donghyuk can see the smear of colors that once occupied the little crevices in the palette. It looks well used. “I don’t really know how to describe it, but it looks good in my head.”
“Wow, you really use one of those,” he remarks, motioning to the palette.
Yunhyeong looks at him before kneeling down to grab his paint colors. “Yeah. Why, is that strange to you?” he asks while beginning to squeeze out different colors onto the palette.
“I guess it’s not really strange or anything. I just always thought it was something from movies and stuff. Just one of those things that clearly identified someone as an artist, but that no one actually used in real life.” The omega shrugs his shoulder innocently. “Guess I was wrong.”
Yunhyeong smiles as he continues to pick up tubes of paint, uncapping them and then squirting out different amounts in certain areas. The beta seems to have a system of which paint colors go where and how much of each color he needs. Donghyuk thinks it’s adorable. “They’re good for blending colors,” the beta explains simply, happy that he’s gotten all the colors he needs.
Then he picks up the palette and his new brush and stands up. He begins to dab the brush into different green colors, dragging them out further into the palette and blending them together to test the new color. Yunhyeong keeps doing this until he smiles, satisfied with his shade of green. “Perfect,” he says to himself. Then he begins to stroke more green stripes onto the canvas.
“Do you usually work standing up?” Donghyuk asks, watching as the beta carefully chooses where to place this particular shade of green.
“Usually,” Yunhyeong says, carefully stroking his brush in an upwards motion. “I think I work better when I stand.”
“When did you start this?”
“Oh, only a couple days ago, actually.”
“When do you think it will be done?”
Yunhyeong briefly glances down at him, and the omega bashfully turns his head away. “Sorry,” he apologizes. “Is my talking bothering you? I don’t mean to take away from your work or anything.”
“No, it’s fine.” The beta places another, careful green stroke. “I’m just...not used to it, I guess. It’s not really distracting or anything.”
“Oh. Well, when it’s done, do you think I could see? I’d love to see what it looks like.”
Yunhyeong pulls his brush away to dab at some more paint. “Sure,” he agrees readily enough. He almost tells Donghyuk that he could show him some of his completed work that he isn’t going to use for his showcase later this year, but then he remembers that he sends pretty much all his completed art to his family because at least they’ll hang it up and pretend to be proud. Yunhyeong would probably keep them all piled up beneath his bed.
“Cool!”
Donghyuk quiets down after that, sitting down to watch silently as the beta carries on with his work. It’s an oddly soothing sight in all honesty. It’s not anything greatly entertaining, but the omega finds that he is, actually, quite preoccupied. At some point he scoots closer to the bed, leaning his head over to rest against Yunhyeong’s leg. The beta doesn’t even appear to notice as he meticulously carries on with his work.
Closing his eyes momentarily, Donghyuk takes a deep breath in. For the most part all he can smell is the overpowering scent of chemicals from the paint that cause his nose to twitch, but underneath that, especially as he sits right up against the beta he can smell him. Yunhyeong. He smells of roses, and the soil that a rose bush is planted in, and paint. Donghyuk opens his eyes, unable to remember when he started to smile.
Donghyuk gives his roommate and his boyfriend a good, safe two hours before venturing back to his dorm. Yunhyeong compliments him for his good timing because the beta could use a break from his painting right now anyways. He sees the omega off, waving with paint stained hands as Donghyuk trots back over to the stairs to head up two floors.
When he gets home, he throws open the door to the apartment, certain he’ll find his hapless roommate and Alpha boyfriend on the couch eating popcorn while Junhoe complains about all the stupid little things the movie they watched got wrong. Instead, he is greeting with the couple on the couch, but they’re out of breath and Bobby’s zipper and button for his blue jeans are undone.
Junhoe doesn’t look much better though. His hair is a complete mess and his shirt is buttoned up wrong from what Donghyuk can tell, eyeing him draped over the couch with his head resting on Bobby’s lap, boneless. “Oh, my God. You guys seriously had sex,” he remarks. “On the couch no less! How am I suppose to sit there now!”
“There was no penetration I’ll have you know,” Junhoe snaps at him.
“Aw, gross. Still? Did you have to?”
“I said I was horny.”
“And you were lying,” Donghyuk deadpans. “I couldn’t smell even a hint of arousal on you.”
Bobby’s eyes dart between the two omegas, definitely feeling as if he’s out of the loop here. “What are you guys talking about?” he asks. “What do you mean you knew Junhoe was lying?”
“Didn’t you know?” Donghyuk asks him, momentarily forgetting that Bobby doesn’t have to capability to smell whether or not Junhoe’s actually horny. “He only said that so you’d let me stay at your apartment so that I could talk to your hot roommate, duh.”
Junhoe glares at him while Bobby gapes. Finally, the taller omega pulls himself off the couch, tossing one of the couch pillows at his roommate. “Nice going,” he sneers at Donghyuk. “God, and Jinhwan always complains about my brain-to-mouth filter. Do you ever think about what you’re saying?”
Pouting, Donghyuk shrugs his shoulders innocently. “I thought you would have filled him in by now,” he defends himself weakly. Bobby slides off the couch as well, fixing up his jeans and mumbling that he should probably get going now. He pats Donghyuk on the shoulder as he passes however, a sympathetic smile on his face. The omega furrows his brows at the expression on the Alpha’s face. “What is it?”
“Nothing,” Bobby shakes his head. “I wish you the best of luck. I think you’d actually be kind of good for Yunhyeong. He needs someone to pull him out of his shell sometimes, it’s just - he’s always told me that he’d prefer an Alpha or another beta as a mate.”
Hanbin comes over on Monday because the gift Junhoe and Donghyuk had ordered for him had finally come and the omega wanted to hand it over as soon as possible. It was a nice set of couple bracelets from a more upscale store that they had spotted a few weeks ago. Hanbin was a total sucker for those things too. Junhoe still remembers when he and Jinhwan first started going out and Hanbin would meticulously hunt for any sort of couple items.
When the Alpha comes into the apartment to retrieve his gift, however, he is met with the wailing sounds of crying. “What’s going on? What’s wrong with Donghyuk?” he asks.
“He’s been doing this all weekend,” Junhoe sighs. “That beta he likes, well, I guess it turns out that he’s kind of more interested in Alphas and betas. Not omegas. Donghyuk’s been upset since.”
Hanbin’s jaw sets into a hard line before he marches down the hallway to Donghyuk’s room without another word. When he throws the door open, the wailing momentarily stops as Donghyuk shifts on his bed so he can face his guests. As soon as his eyes land on Hanbin and Junhoe, however, he starts crying again, only this time holding his arms out in a silent demand for a hug.
Hanbin - weak as ever towards his friends - immediately rushes forward to engulf the omega into a hug while Junhoe groans and covers his face with his hands. He can’t put up with this much longer. Donghyuk’s lost his mind. “Why doesn’t anyone love me?” Donghyuk wails melodramatically into Hanbin’s collarbone.
Junhoe pinches the bridge of his nose and announces he’s going to Bobby’s apartment because he can’t deal with this anymore. Neither the Alpha or omega pay much attention to him as he leaves.
“Don’t say that,” Hanbin says gently, cooing at the omega and petting his hair pampering the younger as best he can. “Who can not love you? Even Junhoe loves you, and you know how hard it is to extract any kind of affection from him.”
“I don’t mean like that,” Donghyuk whines his displeasure. “I mean love. Like you and Jinhwan. It’s not fair.”
Hanbin frowns and continues to stroke his friend’s hair. “You don’t need a beta like him anyways.”
Donghyuk sniffles and rubs his eyes. “I think he’s better than any of my Alpha boyfriends were though,” he remarks quietly, much to Hanbin’s surprise. “He seems very sweet and timid. He’s an artist too, isn’t that romantic?”
“Depends on what kind of art,” Hanbin grumbles. “But my point still stands. If this beta wants some Alpha or whatever, who needs him, right? Look at you! You’re adorable.” He pinches his friend’s cheek, cooing at him some more. “If someone is too blind to see that, then you don’t need him.”
Laughing faintly, Donghyuk pushes the Alpha away and peers up at him from beneath his bangs. “Am I really adorable though?”
“The cutest. And prettiest too. I don’t think anyone is worthy of you personally. Why do you think I’m always chasing off your other boyfriends?” When Hanbin smiles at him Donghyuk manages to weakly return to expression.
“I think you would have actually liked him though,” Donghyuk sighs. “Because he’s not an Alpha, for one, and he’s Bobby’s roommate. They’re both really chill. It’s nice.”
“I do not like Bobby,” Hanbin quips.
“Aw, come on. Yes, you do. I know you guys had a long conversation that day after Jinhwan made dinner for everyone.”
“I was lecturing him on the dos and don’ts of dating Junhoe. Also I gave him fair warning that it was totally in my right to try and chase him off -”
“He said you guys talked about music and other stuff.”
Hanbin falters. “Just - just because we have one thing in common does not make us best friends,” he insists.
“Well, you don’t have to be best friends,” Donghyuk agrees, “I’m just saying that you like him. You know he’s good for Junhoe at any rate.”
“If only because he’s the only Alpha who Junhoe has not tried to kill yet,” Hanbin murmurs.
Sniffing, Donghyuk presses up against Hanbin again, snuggling his head against his friend’s shoulder. “Did you get the gift Junhoe and I got you?”
Hanbin shakes his head. “I was here to pick it up. I saw it on the table, but I was too distracted by your crying.”
“You’ll like it,” Donghyuk preens.
Hanbin ruffles the omegas hair affectionately. “I’m sure I will. You guys bought it after all.”
Junhoe pauses in the entryway of Bobby’s apartment, eyes zeroing in and staring at the Alpha currently sitting on the couch watching TV in nothing but his underwear. The omega slowly forces his eyes up from said underwear to catch his boyfriend’s gaze. “Seriously?”
Bobby smiles sheepishly. “I’ll go change.” Then he gets up from the couch to find some clothes to put on.
“Oh, I see how it is,” Yunhyeong complains from the kitchen, “when I ask you to change it’s all ‘fuck off, I’m comfortable,’ but when Junhoe asks it’s an immediate ‘I’ll go change.’ Unbelievable.” Junhoe peers into the kitchen to see Yunhyeong standing in front of the stove, cooking what looks to be a pot of ramen. The beta smiles and waves at the omega. “Now you know what I have to deal with on a daily basis.”
“Daily?” Junhoe looks horrified.
“Right? It’s the only downside of rooming with him to be honest. He only ever wears clothes when he expects he’ll go outside. Even when we expect guests, he waits until like half an hour before they show up to actually wear something. Anyways, what brings you down here so suddenly?”
“Oh.” Junhoe shrugs, taking a seat at the kitchen table while he waits for Bobby to come out. “My roommate is just being annoying.”
Yunhyeong frowns. “Donghyuk, right?” he asks. Junhoe nods his head. “Why? What’s wrong?”
“Just, wailing about his love life. Or lack thereof, I suppose.”
“Lack thereof?” Yunhyeong asks. “With a face like that? Doesn’t he have a girlfriend? Or...boyfriend?”
Junhoe opens his mouth to rant about it, ready to spill to Yunhyeong just how much of a whore his roommate is, but manages to stop himself at the last minute because Donghyuk still likes this beta, and he supposes he doesn’t want Yunhyeong to think poorly of his roommate. “You’d think,” he answers vaguely. “He has dated in the past, but never really wanted to mate with anyone. He’s just upset now because he has….sort of a crush on someone.”
“I see. Not going well then?”
“He doesn’t even know him,” Junhoe snorts.
Bobby emerges from his room then, dressed in a black t-shirt with a black and yellow checkered button up shirt thrown over it and a pair of dark, ripped jeans. “Alright, I’m dressed,” he announces proudly. “So, uh, what brings you here then? I wasn’t expecting you.”
“Clearly,” Junhoe shakes his head at the memory of Bobby sitting practically naked on his couch. “Donghyuk’s just giving me a headache. He hasn’t stopped wailing since…” He pointedly eyes Yunhyeong who has returned to cooking his noodles.
Bobby grimaces. “Oh, God. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make him feel like it was hopeless. I just thought he should know….I should apologize to him, shouldn’t I? It’s not like it’s a lost cause, I just -”
“Don’t worry about it,” Junhoe says. “He’s just being a drama queen. It’s his thing.”
“Actually, Junhoe, now that you’re here there is something I wanted to ask you,” Yunhyeong says, jumping back into their conversation. The Alpha and omega both turn their gaze to him curiously. The beta appears oblivious to their previous conversation though, waving his chopsticks around as he explains something almost entirely irrelevant. “See, the thing is, there’s a special Monet exhibit at the art museum downtown, and I won a couple tickets from a raffle my professor had. But there’s two of them, and I thought about asking Bobby because I don’t have anyone else to go with really, but he always falls asleep at those. When Donghyuk was here though he mentioned that he liked art museums. Do you think he’d be willing to go?”
Junhoe stares at the beta for a moment, and he can physically feel his brain-to-mouth filter degrading even more. “Monet?” he whispers to himself before looking up at Bobby. “Who the hell is Monet?”
The Alpha shrugs his shoulder. “Some painter. Yunhyeong really likes him. That’s all I know.”
Then, the dam breaks. “Are you trying to ask him out on a date?” he blurts out.
Yunhyeong looks taken aback although a nice rosy color blooms along his cheeks. “I - well - not really? I mean, I just have an extra ticket, and Donghyuk seemed interested in that sort of thing.”
The omega deflates. “Oh, so you’re not trying to ask him out on a date. This is just a friend thing?”
“Well, you said he had a crush on someone.”
“On you!” Junhoe exclaims before he can stop himself. Bobby makes a strangled noise in protest. “He has a total, creepy crush on you! He’s met you, like, once.”
Yunhyeong blinks. “On me?” he sounds shocked. “But...on me? You said it wasn’t going well?”
“Yeah, because Loose Lips over here,” he jabs his thumb in Bobby’s direction, “told him that you were mostly interested in Alphas and betas.”
“Oh. Well, I mean that is sort of true,” Yunhyeong admits sheepishly. “But your roommate is cute, and I’ve never met anyone so interested in my paintings before. I just wanted to get to know him more.”
“He’ll go with you,” Junhoe declares. “Just ask him. Please, go upstairs and ask. He’s driving me insane with his wailing.”
“Oh, well sure then. After I eat -”
“Nah, don’t worry. We’ll finish it for you,” Bobby says, waving his roommate off.
Yunhyeong sighs, glaring playfully at his roommate. Nonetheless, he turns off the stove and removes the apron from his neck. Junhoe thinks that Donghyuk would find it cute that the beta wears an apron. He disappears into his room to retrieve his tickets before he bids his roommate and his roommate’s boyfriend a brief farewell. Just when the door swings shut, a sudden, horrifying thought strikes Junhoe.
“Oh, shit,” the omega curses, pressing his forehead into the palm of his hand.
“What? What’s wrong?” Bobby asks once he’s retrieved the pot of ramen. He takes a small bite.
“Hanbin’s at our apartment right now. I totally forgot.” Bobby chokes on his food, coughing violently as he tries to dislodge it from his airway. “I just sent him into the lion’s den.”
When the door to Junhoe and Donghyuk’s apartment swings open, Donghyuk greets the beta. “Oh.” Yunhyeong grimaces at his appearance, his eyes red-rimmed and squinting. Junhoe had apparently not been kidding when he said that his roommate had been sobbing over his love life. “Hello! Are you okay?” He lifts an arm to wipe the omega’s eyes, but stops himself at the last minute thinking it would be weird.
“I’m okay,” the omega says, leaning against his door. “What are you doing here though? Oh! Did you finish the painting? You promised to show me, right?”
“Oh. No, I haven’t. I haven’t even started the wolf, actually.” Yunhyeong laughs sheepishly at his own slow pace. “I actually came to give you this.” And he hands over both tickets to Donghyuk.
The omega takes them, frowning as he turns them over to see what they are. “Tickets,” he observes. “Oh, to the art museum?”
“There’s a special Monet exhibit,” Yunhyeong says excitedly. “Do you know him?”
“Sort of. I know some of his work, I guess. Are you giving these to me then?”
Yunhyeong smiles shyly at him. “Oh, well, I wanted to know if you wanted to go with me? Since there are two, and Bobby uses art museums in place of Ambien.”
“Um, sure. That would be fun.”
“And I can buy you lunch or dinner or something afterwards,” the beta suggests.
Donghyuk briefly glances up from the tickets to Yunhyeong before he resolutely stares down at the two slips of paper in his hand again. “Lunch or dinner?” he asks faintly. “Is this….like a date or something?”
“Yes,” Yunhyeong says confidently before shyly adding, “but only if it’s okay with you, I guess. Or we can just do this as a friend thing, you know -”
Donghyuk grins, trying to hide the upturn of his lips behind the ticket. “Oh, my God. We’re going to go on a date?” Yunhyeong returns the smile, nodding his head in answer. “Would you like to come in for a bit?”
The beta opens his mouth to agree even though he is still hungry, and Bobby no doubt has begun to eat his ramen, but a voice booming from the kitchen stops him. “No!” it says firmly and with undertones of anger. Yunhyeong can faintly smell the scent of an Alpha - an angry Alpha at that - and decides against it. He definitely recognizes that scent. The Alpha he swore was going to kill Bobby not too long ago.
“Hanbin!” the omega whines. “Shouldn’t you be getting home to Jinhwan?”
“I said no!”
“It’s okay,” Yunhyeong cuts in then. “I’ll go, but, uh, this Friday? Around one? Is that okay with you?”
“That’s perfect.” Donghyuk waves the beta off as Yunhyeong makes his way back to the staircase, shutting the door only when he’s out of sight. He holds the tickets to his chest, a stupid smile on his face as he practically dances back into the kitchen where Hanbin is making some hot chocolate for him on the stove, except he doesn’t really need the comfort of hot chocolate anymore.
The Alpha is staring at him, unblinkingly, with eyes that look like they're like brimming anger. “I do not approve,” he says simply.
Donghyuk sticks his tongue out at his friend. “Fine, but I’m telling you right now, I’m putting up a front to stop you from chasing this one off. And I’m going to get Jinhwan, and Junhoe, and Bobby to help me.” He places his fist on his hips proudly. Grumbling, Hanbin says nothing in protest, returning to stirring the slowly heating milk in the saucepan. “Oh, I kinda don’t need that anymore too,” the omega adds as an afterthought.
“Well, I do!”