Archive of Our Own ^beta

“Hyungie!” Felix whined, clinging to Chan the moment they took a break from dance practice. The pack alpha chuckled and scooped up the freckled boy for cuddles. Jisung bounced over and latched onto Minho, and the two maknaes huddled into Changbin. Hyunjin watched them fondly as he sipped his water. Then he frowned slightly and felt a pang in his chest. All three alpha hyungs were occupied with stressed packmates. He hadn’t realized it before now, but his omega mates (and younger alpha and beta mates) were incredibly stressed out by the comeback. He knew they were stressed, everyone was stressed, but not this bad.

Hyunjin wished he could help, but he knew that his own stress levels wouldn’t help them. As an omega himself, he knew that alphas provided a certain pheromone that calmed stressed omegas. They needed those pheromones during periods of extreme stress, like during comeback preparations. Like now.

Maybe . . . maybe he couldn’t help them directly. He wasn’t an alpha. But maybe he could step back? If he didn’t go to the alphas for cuddles as much, that would let the other two omegas and the maknaes get more. He would still be helping them, even though he couldn’t do it directly.

Hyunjin nodded to himself, content with his decision. He was the oldest omega, the pack omega. It was his responsibility to care for the younger pack members, even if he suffered more because of it.

“Hey, Jinnie! Ready to go again?” Jisung called. Hyunjin blinked in surprise. He’d spent the last ten minutes lost in thought. 

“Yeah,” he answered. He pushed down the soft whine that wanted to escape because of the lack of cuddles during the break.

Jisung grinned. “Let’s go!”

~

Hyunjin sighed as he leaned back against the wall, knees pulled up to his chest as he sat on his bed. It was harder than he thought, participating in cuddles less. It was definitely worth it, seeing his omegas and maknaes smile more often, though. But . . . he missed it. He missed being out in the living room with everyone, fighting for space on the couch for movie night. He’d begged off tonight, saying he was too tired and just wanted to sleep. He knew his pack was worried, since he usually didn’t miss movie night for anything, even exhaustion. But Hyunjin knew that this was something the other omegas and maknaes needed to recharge for the upcoming busy schedule they had the next day. He could afford to miss it this time around.

Looking across the room he shared with the other two omegas, he spotted Felix’s sweater from that morning and a pair of Jisung’s sleep shorts on the floor. Hyunjin climbed off his bed to go change into them, knowing that their scents at least would help him relax. He turned off the light and slipped under the covers, snuggling down into his pillow.

A knock on the door disturbed him not even half a minute later. Hyunjin frowned and looked over. “Yeah?” he called.

The door opened and Jeongin hesitantly poked his head in. Hyunjin’s chest warmed at the sight of his maknae. “Hey, pup, is everything okay?” he asked.

Jeongin shrugged. “Can I come in?” he asked. It was a rule in their dorms that rooms were free range to all, unless the door was closed. Then you needed to knock to come in.

“Of course, pup.” Hyunjin sat up, worried now. Jeongin slipped inside and closed the door, walking over to stand next to Hyunjin’s bed. The older boy frowned as he studied the maknae standing beside him, looking unsure of himself and terribly small. “Come lay down with hyung, baby,” Hyunjin invited, scooting over to make room. 

Jeongin slid underneath the blanket and huddled into Hyunjin’s side. The omega frowned again, concerned at the maknae’s unusually affectionate behavior. He wrapped his arm around the younger boy’s waist and pulled him closer. 

“I’m sorry, hyung, I don’t mean to worry you,” Jeongin whispered. “I just missed you today.”

“Baby, I was right there with you all day,” Hyunjin said gently, brow creased.

“I know, but you didn’t come cuddle during break,” the baby alpha said sadly. “You kept practicing that turn by yourself the whole time.”

Hyunjin’s chest panged. “I’m sorry, pup, I was frustrated with myself since I couldn’t get it right and I’m one of our main dancers.” And I’m trying to let you and the other pups have the hyungs’ attention .

Jeongin sighed. “I know, hyung. I just . . . I just wish you weren’t so hard on yourself sometimes. It makes me sad to watch you be mean to yourself. It makes me want to make you feel better.”

Hyunjin gave a small smile. “Just being here with me right now makes me feel pretty happy.”

The maknae snuggled a little closer. “Me too, hyungie.”

~

Felix peeked in the door, sighing when he saw that Hyunjin was already asleep, Jeongin curled into his side. “They’re both asleep,” he whispered over his shoulder to Jisung. His fellow sunshine twin nodded.

“Let’s talk in the bathroom while we get ready for bed,” Jisung suggested. “Jinnie sleeps like a rock but Innie doesn’t.”

“Yeah, I don’t want him to wake up and get worried because he heard us,” Felix agreed.

Jisung nodded as he followed Felix to the bathroom. “He was already acting off today.”

“No wonder why. It’s Jinnie’s behavior that set it off,” Felix said, closing the door behind them and locking it just to be safe. He leaned against the counter. “He’s always so in tune with Jinnie, I’m surprised it took him this long to notice.”

“Yeah, and now the hyungs are going to start noticing if they keep this up,” Jisung agreed. Both omegas tensed at a knock on the door.

Seungmin’s voice came through the wood. “I know you’re in there talking about Innie and Hyunjin-hyung, let me in.”

The two omegas shared a look before Jisung reached over and unlocked the door. The beta came in and then locked it again behind him. “I’m surprised the hyungs haven’t noticed yet,” Seungmin said. “It’s honestly a wonder how they’re so oblivious but so caring at the same time.”

Felix and Jisung nodded in silent agreement. “I’m honestly surprised that it took Innie this long to notice and do something,” Jisung said. “Like Lix said, he’s always so in tune with Jinnie. I’m worried about both of them.”

Seungmin tilted his head. “When did you start noticing that Hyunjin-hyung hasn’t been cuddling with any of us much?” he asked.

Felix thought back. “A couple days ago, but I didn’t realize exactly what he was doing. It looked like he wanted to practice more.”

Jisung leaned forward. “Wait a minute. Think about this. Anytime that something happens and Jinnie is upset with one of us or something else is bothering him, what does he do?”

“He throws himself into work,” Felix answered.

“He practices way too much to be considered healthy,” Seungmin answered.

“Exactly.” Jisung nodded. “It’s his way of either blocking out what’s bugging him, or avoiding whoever he’s upset with. The question is, which is it?”

“I think he might be upset with one of us,” Felix answered softly. Seungmin shuffled closer, beta responding to the hurt omega.

“What makes you say that?” Jisung asked, his own chest panging.

Felix took a deep breath. “When something’s bothering him, he’ll usually still cuddle, but only at night when everyone’s asleep already and no one will ask him what’s wrong when he gets in bed next to them. Tonight is the first time in probably a week, now that I’m looking back on it, that he’s even cuddled someone at all. And he didn’t even seek Innie out, Innie went to find him .”

The two other boys were quiet, thinking back over the past week. “You’re right,” Jisung said quietly. “He’s upset with one of us.”

“Who?” Seungmin asked. “That’s what we have to figure out now.”

“I don’t think it’s Innie,” Jisung said. “Since he’s cuddling with him.”

“Maybe,” Felix responded. “But Jinnie’s our head omega, he’d never ignore anyone that’s upset enough to go find him when he said he was too tired for movie night. Especially not one of his pups.”

“Look who’s talking,” Seungmin said. “I don’t think it’s you, Lixie, because no one can ever stay mad at you for longer than ten minutes, but he’s got a soft spot for you and he’d probably look past that.”

“He’s been avoiding hyungs during practice breaks,” Jisung pointed out. “I think it’s probably one of them.”

“Good point,” Felix agreed. “Because when it comes down to it, he’s never mad at us because we’re his pups. He always gets irritated with hyungs quicker, but he barely ever gets upset enough to avoid them like this. Whatever’s bothering him must be bad,” he whispered.

“It’s probably not Binnie-hyung,” Seungmin says. “Those two never fight.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Felix agreed.

“So it’s either Chan-hyung or Minho-hyung,” Jisung summarized. “But why either one of them?”

Seungmin shrugged. “Maybe Chan-hyung did something related to pack dynamics that Jinnie-hyung didn’t like? He’s in charge of that as head omega. Maybe Chan-hyung overstepped by accident.”

“But if he did, then why didn’t Jinnie just come out and say it? He’s always very direct with that stuff to avoid miscommunications,” Felix pointed out.

“Maybe Chan-hyung did something to him specifically,” Jisung said. “That’s the only reason Jinnie wouldn’t say anything. If it was against anyone else, he’d speak right up. It’s only himself that he won’t stand up for.”

“But hyung never really does stuff like that, and if he does, he always notices. Why hasn’t he noticed?” Felix asked.

“What if Minho-hyung did something?” Seungmin suggested. “He and Hyunjinnie-hyung are always teasing each other. Maybe he went too far with a joke and didn’t realize and Hyunjin-hyung won’t tell him because he’s convinced that he shouldn’t be hurt by something not meant to be taken seriously.”

“That makes sense,” Jisung mused. “Those two have always had a cat and dog relationship. But they’ve never overstepped any serious boundaries before.”

“We’re all under so much stress with this album coming out, though,” Felix pointed out. “Tensions are running high. We’re focusing on the hyung line, but let’s be honest. Any one of us could have done something and we don’t realize it because we’re so stressed and Hyunjin took it too hard because he’s also super stressed. We really can’t rule out anything here.”

“Well, then what do we do?” Seungmin asked. “Do we just watch everyone and see if he avoids someone in particular?”

The two omegas shared a glance and then shrugged. “That’s as good a place as any to start,” Jisung said.

“Probably better than just trying to talk to him about it,” Felix said. “He’d get spooked and try to avoid the subject and we really don’t know enough to try and corner him.”

Seungmin nodded. “So for now we just watch and wait?”

“Yeah, let’s do that. Tomorrow let’s meet in here again and talk some more,” Jisung suggested.

“Unless something happens during the day and we have to talk sooner,” Felix injected. The other two boys nodded.

“Seungminnie? Will you stay with Lix and me tonight?” Jisung asked softly.

The beta nodded. “I hate being this worried. I want to go to Jinnie-hyung--”

“--because instincts say go to head omega,” Felix finished. “But you can’t. Because it’s him you’re worried about.”

“We also need to talk to Innie tomorrow and keep an eye on him,” Jisung added. “I’m worried about him. Something must have been wrong for him to go looking for Jinnie after he said he was too tired for movie night.”

Seungmin and Felix nodded in agreement. “Can we go to bed now?” Felix asked softly. “I don’t think I’ll sleep much, but I should at least try.” Jisung and Seungmin nodded, and the three boys quickly brushed their teeth and changed into pajamas.

They slipped quietly into the bedroom, trying to not disturb the sleeping pair in the bed across the room. But they weren’t entirely successful.

“Hyungs?” came a quiet whisper.

“Yeah, baby?” Jisung whispered back.

A pause, and he wondered if Jeongin had fallen back asleep. But then, “I’m worried about Jinnie-hyung.”

The three older boys shared a look between themselves. “So are we,” Felix said softly. “We’ll talk tomorrow, okay, Innie? For now let’s sleep.”

“M’kay,” the maknae said. “But I want forehead kisses first.”

“Well then, who are we to deny such a request?” Seungmin responded with a gentle smile. They each placed a soft kiss on the baby alpha’s forehead before climbing into Felix’s bed since it was the lower bunk. They took a few minutes to situate themselves, ending up with Seungmin squished between the two omegas. They whispered their goodnights, and then slowly drifted off into fitful sleep.

~

The next morning, they were met with something unusual. Hyunjin wasn’t still asleep and in bed with Jeongin, although the maknae was still there. Seungmin frowned, and moved to wake Felix and Jisung when the door cracked open and Hyunjin quietly crept back in. The beta quickly closed his eyes and pretended to still be asleep.

He heard the sheets rustling as Hyunjin carefully got back in bed, along with Jeongin’s sleepy mumble of the omega’s name.

“Jinnie-hyung?”

“I’m here, baby,” Hyunjin whispered, and Seungmin felt himself relax, responding to his pack omega’s soothing tone. “Sorry I left you. Hyung had to pee. But it’s time to get up now, we have a busy schedule today.”

Jeongin muttered a jumbled noise of agreement and the sheets rustled again. Then Seungmin felt gentle hands massaging his shoulders. “Wake up, pups,” Hyunjin called softly. “We have a big day today.” Seungmin couldn’t help but smile as he cracked open his eyes and stretched. It had been a while since Hyunjin had woken them so lovingly, mostly because he was never the first one up. But he had missed it.

Breakfast was mostly nonexistent, what with everyone in a rush to get ready and down to the studio for an interview. But Jisung was watching Hyunjin closely, and noticed that he didn’t grab anything to eat. Unsure if it was because he just forgot or if he wasn’t eating because of whatever was bothering him, Jisung snagged an extra granola bar to give to Hyunjin on the car ride over.

“Jinnie?” he said softly as he slid into the seat next to the other omega. “I grabbed a granola bar for you.”

“Oh.” Hyunjin seemed surprised. But he smiled. “Thanks, Sung. But I’m not hungry right now.”

Jisung frowned slightly. “Jin, you need to eat,” he pushed gently.

Hyunjin sighed and pressed Jisung’s hand away. “I know, I’m just not hungry.”

Jisung pouted. He silently tucked the granola bar into his pocket and leaned against Hyunjin. If he couldn’t take care of his head omega, Jisung would at least show him that he cared. And make sure that he had something to eat before the dance practice scheduled after the interviews

~

“Ugh. I am drained after that interview,” Jisung complained, latching onto Chan as soon as the alpha was close enough. Changbin chuckled as Jeongin pouted at him.

“Yes, Innie, you can sit next to me in the van,” the third-oldest alpha said with a smile. He was rewarded with a bright grin from the maknae, along with bubbly giggles.

The group separated into the cars. Chan sat in the center seat of the first car with Felix and Jisung huddled into his sides. The other five piled into the second van, Changbin with Jeongin and Seungmin with Minho. Hyunjin took the passenger seat next to the driver. It was only after they were well on their way back to the company for dance practice that Seungmin, Jisung, and Felix remembered that they were supposed to be keeping an eye on Hyunjin, and a great way to do so would have been by sitting next to him and clinging to him. Too late for that now . . .

“Sung,” Felix hissed in the other omega’s ear as they entered the practice room. “We have to talk. With Minnie and Innie. Before practice.”

“But I need to make sure Hyunjinnie eats something,” Jisung hissed back. “He hasn’t had anything to eat all day!”

“Okay. I’ll get Minnie and Innie. Meet us in the bathroom down the hall,” Felix instructed. Jisung nodded and made his way over to where Hyunjin was stretching.

“Jinnie?” he asked. 

Hyunjin looked up, tossing his head to get his hair out of his eyes. “Yeah?”

Jisung crouched down next to him and held out the granola bar from before. “I know you said you weren’t hungry earlier, but you really need to eat before we go through a three-hour dance practice,” he said with concern. “Please.”

Hyunjin looked at him with a soft smile and took the bar from his hand. “Thanks, Sungie.”

Jisung smiled back and then stood up, running to meet the others in the bathroom. They were huddled outside waiting for him, and Felix locked the door behind them when he got there.

“Hyungs, what’s going on?” Jeongin asked, looking them over with his eyes narrowed.

The others shared a look. “You’ve noticed how Hyunjinnie’s been acting strange lately, right?” Felix said. Jeongin nodded. “We talked last night about what might be going on . . . and we think he might be mad at one of us.”

The maknae was aghast. “Why? What makes you say that? And why didn’t you talk with me then?” he asked, hurt.

Seungmin moved in closer. “You were already asleep. And we think that because Hyunjin-hyung’s been throwing himself into work so much more recently, and he only does that when he’s upset with one of us or something else is bothering him.”

“He only avoids cuddles completely when he’s upset with one of us, and aside from last night, when was the last time you saw him cuddling with anyone?” Jisung asked.

Jeongin thought back, frowning intensely. “At least a week and a half,” he finally said sadly. “I can’t believe I didn’t notice.”

“What made you go looking for him last night?” Felix asked. “Normally we wouldn’t bother him if he was tired enough to skip out on movie night, but you did anyway. Was something wrong?”

“I’m not sure.” Jeongin frowned deeper. “I think, maybe, I subconsciously noticed he was acting strange? I told him that I missed him during the day since he didn’t come over and cuddle during break.”

“It’s the alpha-omega instincts, then,” Seungmin concluded. “Even though you’re his pup, you’re still looking out for your head omega. You’re right, it was subconscious. You noticed something was off and you went to find out what it was and fix it.”

“Well, what do we do now?” Jeongin asked urgently. “If we take too much longer in here, the others will come looking for us.”

“We need to keep an eye on him and see if there’s anyone in particular that he’s avoiding,” Jisung answered. “If we can figure out who he’s upset with, we can talk to them and maybe figure out what went wrong.”

“That might be hard during dance practice,” Jeongin mused. “But I’ll do anything for Hyunjinnie-hyung.”

~

“Alright! That’s enough for today!” the choreographer called out. “Please go get some tasty lunch as a reward for your improvement!”

The members all cheered, although a certain maknae noticed that a certain omega-hyung of his wasn’t as excited as the rest. Jeongin gently pushed through the other boys to make his way to the head omega’s side.

“Will you eat with me today, hyungie?” he asked, making sure to blink up at Hyunjin with his signature sparkly puppy eyes.

Jeongin could quite literally see the older boy melt, but the answer wasn’t one that he expected. “Not today, sorry, pup. Hyung has a meeting soon. I have to eat on the run today,” Hyunjin answered softly, gently ruffling the maknae’s fluffy hair.

The vocalist pouted, aware that Seungmin, Jisung, and Felix were all most likely paying attention. “Please, hyung? We can eat quickly!”

Hyunjin shook his head, a small smile on his face. “Baby, you know that none of us eat quickly when we’re together. Hyung will see you later this afternoon for our recording session, remember?”

Jeongin nodded, defeated, as Hyunjin gave him a quick hug and then headed out the practice room door. The hyungs didn’t notice, Chan busy discussing something with one of their managers as Changbin shut the computer down and Minho scoured the room for any trash.

“That didn’t go as planned,” Jeongin mumbled, looking down at the floor.

“You can say that again,” Jisung huffed.

“Hyunjin-hyung has never said no to me before,” the maknae said, looking up and blinking back the tears trying to form at his head omega’s rejection. “Something’s wrong.”

“You can--”

“Don’t, Sung, not now,” Seungmin cut the omega off.

Jisung huffed but before he could retort, Minho’s voice yelled his name.

“Yah! Han Jisung! Clean up your trash!” the dance leader bellowed, pointing at a wrapper on the floor near the rapper’s dance bag.

Jisung grumbled but went to retrieve it and throw it away, but he stumbled a little when he realized it wasn’t just an empty wrapper.

It was half of a granola bar, the very same one that Jisung had handed to Hyunjin before practice had started. Jisung threw it in the trash with a heavy heart. Knowing that Hyunjin powered through dance practice on only half of a granola worried him deeply.

~

“ . . . five, six, seven,” Chan mumbled. He scanned the living room, but he was right the first time. Only seven of them were home. “Where’s Hyunjinnie?” he asked loudly over the ruckus that was Minho and Seungmin battling over a bag of chips.

“I think he’s still at the company,” Changbin provided. “He said something about staying to practice vocals for that one song.”

Upon overhearing that, the youngest four of the maknae line shared a look. Felix and Jisung went to the kitchen for snacks, soon followed by Jeongin and Seungmin, who had suddenly decided that he actually didn’t want Minho’s chips.

“He’s still at the company?” Seungmin hissed quietly, but it didn’t matter. They wouldn’t be heard over the three hyungs arguing over the remote.

“How did we not notice that?” Felix growled, pressing his hand to his forehead.

“I don’t know, but have you all noticed that we can’t seem to stay focused on Hyunjin?” Jisung asked.

“What do you mean?” Jeongin asked.

“I mean, every time we say we need to watch him or keep an eye on him, we forget. How ?” Jisung asked incredulously. “We are worried about him, and we’ve discussed his weird behavior several times, so how on god’s green earth are we forgetting that each and every time?”

“Oh my god, you’re right,” Felix realized. “We keep getting distracted. What’s wrong with us?”

“It’s because we’re the youngest members and you’re omegas,” Seungmin answered after a minute of silence only broken by the shouting still coming from the living room.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jisung asked, unsure if he should be offended or not. He knew Seungmin didn’t mean it like that, but he couldn’t help but feel slightly offended.

“Everyone’s under stress from the comeback, right? We talked about that last night,” Seungmin elaborated. Felix and Jisung nodded, Jeongin closely following along. “What is the natural response when an omega is stressed?”

A lightbulb went on above Jeongin’s head. “Alpha pheromones,” he realized. “Omegas seek out the comforting alpha pheromones that calm them when stressed.”

Seungmin nodded. “Exactly.”

“So that explains Felix and I getting distracted,” Jisung said. “After every interview and practice when we plan to check on Jinnie, we’re stressed and we go looking for alphas. It’s biology. But that doesn’t explain you or Innie.”

“We’re the youngest in the pack,” Seungmin pointed out. “The youngest in the pack go to whoever’s currently providing comfort. We follow the older packmates because we learn from them.”

“So because we go to the alphas, you follow us because you know you’ll get comfort from someone who’s already giving it?” Felix asked.

“Yes,” Seungmin clarified. “It’s an old instinct because back when packs had to fight for their land and stuff, the head alpha and head omega had to keep everyone together, and that was easier to do if everyone went to one person for comfort.”

“But that doesn’t explain Jinnie-hyung,” Jeongin pointed out. “According to our line of logic and simple biology, shouldn’t he either be giving comfort or going to the alphas for comfort?”

Jisung frowned. “You’re right, he should. What is going on ?”

~

“Alright, that’s enough of practice for today! You’ve all done well, please go get some rest!” the choreographer announced, clapping his hands. The members all lined up and bowed in thanks, and then moved to collect their things. Jisung bent over to grab his towel and wipe the sweat from his face. As he did so, he watched Hyunjin from the corner of his eye and he frowned in concern when he saw the taller boy pull his hoodie over his head. There was no way that Hyunjin should be cold, not after five hours of sweat-inducing dance practice. One glance over at Felix showed that the other had noticed it as well.

“Hyunjin-ah, why are you wearing your hoodie? You’re going to overheat,” Minho said with concern, beating the entire maknae line to asking first.

Hyunjin smiled, but it wasn’t his usual bright smile. It was dimmer, dull, somehow. “It's a clear night tonight so I was planning to walk home, and I don’t want to carry it. It’s a bit chilly outside, so that way I won’t get cold,” he explained.

“Are you sure, Hyunjinnie?” Minho questioned, eyeing him up and down. “You look tired. You should ride in the car with us.”

Hyunjin brushed Minho off. “I’m sure, hyung, I’ll be fine. It’s been a really long day and I kind of want a little bit of quiet time to myself before movie night.” The other two omegas and the two youngest perked up a little at the mention of movie night. If Hyunjin wanted time to himself before movie night, then surely he was going to be joining them, right?

Minho smiled. “If you’re sure. You better leave now if you want to make it home before we start the movie.”

“Alright, hyung.” Hyunjin took a step back towards the door. “I’ll see you all at home.”

“Be safe and careful, Hyunjin-ah,” Minho called after him. The omega waved with a small smile before ducking out of the room. The maknaes huddled together as the alphas gathered their things.

“We need to talk to the hyungs before movie night when we get home,” Seungmin whispered insistently. The others nodded urgently.

“Yes, it’s taking them too long to notice that something’s wrong,” Felix put in.

“Did you see him put on his hoodie? There’s no way that Jinnie-hyung should be cold,” Jeongin said worriedly.

“Did you see how he smiled?” Jisung asked. “That wasn’t his usual smile.”

“I know,” Seungmin said quietly. “It’s not normal.”

“Yah! Are you guys ready to go home?” Minho called across the room. The maknaes shared a quick look before nodding.

“Yeah, we’re coming.”

~

“You two are awfully quiet,” Chan observed on the car ride home, eyeing Felix and Jisung. The two youngest had gone with Changbin and Minho in the other car. “Are you just that tired or is something wrong?”

Felix and Jisung looked at each other and came to a silent agreement. “We’re not just tired,” Jisung said.

The blond omega nodded. “Yes, and something has been wrong for a while now.”

Chan’s eyes widened in concern as he twisted around in the passenger seat to face them better, regretting his decision to sit up front on the way home. “What’s going on, pups?”

“ We are fine, hyung, before you panic,” Jisung quickly interjected. “We’re worried about Hyunjinnie. He’s been acting weird for the past couple of weeks.”

“What do you mean? Specifically?” Chan asked, in full on leader/protective alpha mode.

“When’s the last time he came to you for cuddles?” Felix asked instead of explaining. Chan frowned as he thought, brows drawn down, and then his face fell into such sadness that the omegas felt their chests get tight.

“It’s been at least two weeks . . . ” Chan said sorrowfully. “ How did I not notice this until now?”

Jisung swallowed hard. “We . . . we think he might be upset with one of us.”

Felix flinched as Chan’s face showed sheer horror at the thought. “What makes you say that?”

“He’s been avoiding cuddles and any intimate time with all of us,” Felix answered quietly. “He only does that when something’s bothering him or he’s upset with one of us and he always avoids us by practicing more and working himself to death.”

“And we let him walk home by himself . . . ” Chan whispered sadly. Jisung couldn’t take it any longer and reached forward to hold his alpha’s hand.

“We were going to bring this up once we got back and discuss it as a pack before Hyunjin got home,” the dark-haired omega said softly.

“That’s a good idea, baby.” Chan smiled weakly, gently rubbing Jisung’s hand with his thumb. “I just can’t believe that none of us ever noticed. Well, aside from you guys.”

“It took us a while to pick up on it too, hyungie,” Felix reassured gently. “We’re all equally at fault here.”

“Yes, but I’m your alpha. I’m supposed to take care of you,” Chan stated sadly.

“We’re all only human,” Jisung said softly. “He’ll never blame you and you know that.”

~

Minho stopped dead in the doorway upon seeing their head alpha seated on the sofa with a serious expression on his face, causing Changbin and the two youngest ones to smack into his back.

“Oof! Hyung, why’d you stop?” Changbin complained.

“Why are you staring at the doorway like that?” Minho asked, ignoring the younger alpha in favor of Chan. The three behind him leaned around to see what he was talking about, his tone of voice signaling that this was something serious.

Chan just motioned to the living room around him. “Take a seat. We all need to talk.” Minho immediately moved forward to do as his hyung said, noticing Felix and Jisung curled up together in the armchair by the end of the couch. He frowned, wondering why they weren’t cuddled up to Chan.

Jeongin and Seungmin also broke off from the group of alphas and settled on the floor by the two omegas. Minho shared a look with Changbin. Did the maknaes plan something?

Changbin and Minho joined Chan on the couch on either side of him, leaving a bit of space between them and their pack alpha. They could sense the unhappiness rolling off of him in waves.

For a few seconds it was quiet, Chan not saying anything, until Seungmin broke the silence. “Did you two tell him?” he asked, tilting his head to look up at Felix and Jisung, who both nodded in unison. “How much did you tell him?”

“Not everything. Just the bare basics. We told him we wanted to talk as a pack,” Felix answered.

“Wait a minute. Hold it right there,” Minho demanded. “Told hyung what? And we’re missing a pack member at the moment, so we can’t discuss that together as a pack anyway.”

“We’re doing it without Hyunjinnie on purpose,” Chan said, finally speaking up. He leveled Minho with a firm look when the younger alpha turned his gaze on him in disbelief.

“Why?” Changbin asked, sounding hurt. Minho knew why. They always discussed pack matters together, even if they had to wait several hours for a member to be there.

“Hyung, when’s the last time Hyunjinnie came and cuddled you? Or even just asked for a hug?” Jisung asked.

Minho thought for a few seconds, preparing to fire off a response, but instead felt his heart drop down to his stomach. “Not . . . not for a couple of weeks,” he realized. His chest hurt as he thought of his precious omega walking home alone in the chilly night.

“He hasn’t come to me either,” Changbin said softly. He raised his head and Minho’s chest clenched tighter at the sparkle of tears in the younger alpha’s eyes. “I didn’t even notice. What kind of hyung am I?”

“None of us noticed, hyungie,” Jeongin said quietly. “Don’t think of it like that.”

“Whatever’s bothering him that he doesn’t want to tell us about, he’s being smart about it,” Seungmin added. “It’s comeback season and he knows we’re all really busy and tired, so it’s easy for him to blame not wanting to see us on him needing to practice or him wanting to sleep.”

“Felix and Jisung think that the reason Hyunjin is avoiding us is because he’s upset with one of us,” Chan said heavily. The others could see the burden that the potential reason had put on their alpha’s shoulders. “Look back on the past few weeks. Is there anything, no matter how small, that someone might have said or done that could have upset him?”

Changbin shook his head after a minute. “No,” he admitted. “Nothing that I haven’t done before, but even then, nothing stands out.”

Minho was slower to shake his head. “I don’t think so,” he finally said. “But I can’t be sure, and I hate that. He’s not one to tell me if I go too far with a joke. What if I did say something?” he asked, looking at Chan with a pained expression. The oldest alpha rested a comforting hand on his knee.

Jisung leaned forward. “Lix and I first noticed Hyunjin behaving strangely about a week ago, but we didn’t actually talk about it until movie night last week when Innie went to find Hyunjin because we had just assumed he was tired and stressed from the comeback.”

Felix nodded. “Yeah, but that’s when we realized it wasn’t just us. If one of us is tired enough to skip movie night, we usually let them sleep. Innie had to have realized something was wrong in order to go looking for Jinnie in spite of that.”

Jeongin sighed. “I don’t really know what made me go looking for him in the first place,” he admitted. “It just felt like something was off somehow.”

“It’s because he wasn’t caring for you like he usually is,” Changbin realized. He explained, “Hyunjinnie is the head omega. He takes care of us and cuddles us, but especially you four. Not only did he stop coming to us, the hyungs, for cuddles, but he stopped giving them to you.”

“But why ?” Felix burst out. He bit his lip, trying to not cry. “I just don’t understand what could have made him distance himself from all of us.” Seungmin wrapped an arm around the omega’s leg and nuzzled against his knee while Jisung continued their story.

“The four of us have been trying to keep an eye on him to see if we could figure out who he might be upset with, but we always get distracted and we finally figured it out,” the dark-haired omega said. “When omegas get stressed, they want the alpha pheromones to destress, so after practices and interviews, that’s why Felix and I always end up with one of the alpha hyungs.”

“Seungmin-hyung and I follow them because as the youngest packmates, instincts say to go to whoever’s currently providing comfort,” Jeongin explained.

“I’m really worried about Hyunjin,” Jisung said, biting his lip. “He’s been avoiding us, he’s been practicing really hard lately, he hasn’t been sleeping well, and he hasn’t been eating much. The other day he didn’t eat breakfast, so I gave him a granola bar before practice, but he must’ve dropped it before he left because when I went to throw away the wrapper, he had only eaten half of it.”

Minho tensed, now worried more than ever. Glancing at the clock, he said, “Jinnie should be home soon, right? The walk isn’t that long.”

Chan nodded. “He should be here any minute.”

The seven of them waited in a painful silence for the next few minutes before they heard soft footsteps in the hall, followed by the beeping of the keypad as the code was typed in. There was a collective sharp inhale when Hyunjin stepped inside. Now, properly looking at him as they hadn’t for the past couple of weeks, they noticed what they had been missing. Hyunjin’s face was pale, and his eyes were dull and rimmed with dark circles. His shoulders slumped forward as if he was carrying the weight of the world, and he had clearly lost weight, the planes of his face much sharper than usual.

“Come sit down, Jinnie,” Chan invited softly as the omega stood there staring like a deer in headlights at all of his packmates gathered together and clearly waiting for him.

Hyunjin slowly nodded after several seconds and closed the door behind him. He leaned forward to set his bag on the floor and swayed suddenly, bracing himself with a hand against the wall. Changbin and Minho shot to their feet as the others went rigid in their seats. “Hyunjin-ah?” Minho called gently as he took a step closer, not wanting to spook the younger boy.

The omega raised his head to look at his alphas and his pups, face whiter than paper, before his eyes fluttered shut and he collapsed to the floor in a crumpled heap.

“JINNIE!”

“HYUNJIN!”

“HYUNG!”

The room filled with a cacophony of shouts as everyone leapt to their feet and rushed over to Hyunjin. Minho got there first and gently turned the younger boy onto his back. He slapped his cheeks lightly, but got no response. Hyunjin was fully unconscious. When Chan carefully slid his hands underneath to pick him up, the omega was completely limp, legs dangling lifelessly as he was cradled bridal style against his alpha’s chest.

“Minho, call one of the managers and give me the phone,” Chan instructed, lifting Hyunjin up and moving him to the couch. Changbin had moved to sit on the couch and the oldest alpha laid Hyunjin down so the omega’s head was resting in Changbin’s lap. The alpha tenderly ran his fingers through Hyunjin’s long blond hair.

“Manager-hyung? It’s Minho. Chan-hyung needs to speak with you,” Minho said into the phone before handing the device to Chan, who was crouching next to the couch. The youngest four attached themselves to Minho the moment the alpha was free, whimpering softly. “It’s okay, babies, he’ll be okay. Jinnie is strong and he’s stubborn. He’ll fight whatever this is,” Minho soothed. Felix sniffled and broke away to snuggle into Changbin from behind, sneaking one hand down to gently rest on Hyunjin’s shoulder.

“Manager-hyung, Hyunjinnie just got home from walking back from practice and he collapsed. He doesn’t have a fever, but he’s completely unresponsive,” Chan said. Their manager said something in return and Chan relaxed slightly. “Yes, please have a doctor come see him as soon as possible. I think it’s most likely he passed out from exhaustion. He hasn’t been sleeping or eating well lately . . . yes, thank you, hyung. We truly appreciate that.”

Jeongin went into the bathroom and came back with a cold, damp washcloth. He silently held it out to Chan who took it with a thank-you and pulled the baby alpha down to sit on his thigh. Jeongin curled into his hyung’s side and tucked his face in his neck. Chan gently folded the washcloth and laid it across Hyunjin’s forehead, and then wrapped both arms around Jeongin and squeezed him tight. “Manager-hyung is sending a doctor over,” the pack alpha said quietly. “I think he probably passed out from exhaustion, but we need to be sure in case it’s something more serious.” Heads nodded around the room, accompanied by hums of acknowledgement. Nobody really felt like talking, so they just clung to each other and waited for the doctor.

Hyunjin didn’t stir once.

A knock on the door came about ten minutes later and Seungmin instantly detached himself from Minho to go open in and let the doctor in. One of their managers accompanied the man, not wanting a stranger unsupervised in their dorm. The doctor asked for space, so their manager herded them into the kitchen, leaving just Chan and Changbin with Hyunjin.

“What’s been going on with you guys?” their manager asked gently. He’d been with them a long time and cared about the members like they were his own pups.

Minho gathered his maknaes close. “We’re not really sure. Stress has been high with the comeback approaching, but we realized he’s been avoiding being close with us, us hyungs especially. We’re the oldest and we’re supposed to take care of them all, but we haven’t been doing a very good job of it the past couple weeks,” the alpha said sadly. “So, we were going to talk about it tonight, but . . . but he passed out before we could talk to him.” Jisung sniffled and Minho shushed him gently, pressing his nose along the omega’s forehead.

The manager frowned sympathetically. “And you don’t think he’s just stressed and wants space?” he asked, wanting to make sure he understood the situation.

Felix shook his head. “No. He’s turning down cuddles and he won’t ask for them like he used to. He sleeps by himself and we’re scared to join him because we don’t want to crowd him.” The omega sniffled. “We think he might be mad at one of us, or upset with us.”

The manager frowned. “Now, I don’t think--”

“What if it’s us he’s upset with?” Jeongin blurted out. “We keep taking the hyungs’ attention for cuddles. What if he’s upset because we’re, like, hogging the hyungs?” The baby alpha was clearly upset.

Minho shushed him firmly. “Innie, you know that isn’t true. We have plenty of love and cuddles for all of you, enough for everyone.”

The manager blinked. “I think I know what might be going on.”

All five of the members whipped their heads to look at him. “Manager-hyung, what do you mean?” Seungmin asked, the beta trying to focus on getting to the root of the situation. He didn’t like seeing Hyunjin pale and tired and . . . and lonely. With no cuddles. He wanted to fix it.

Their manager sighed. “Hyunjin-ah is your head omega. He’s only been avoiding the hyungs, yes?” They all nodded. “He’s seen how you’ve all been stressed. In most packs, the pack alphas and the oldest pack members are the ones that everyone goes to instinctively when they’re stressed. He’s been avoiding the alphas so that you all--” he motioned to the maknaes “--can spend more time with them and be less stressed. He’s your pack omega and he’s putting your wellbeing above his own.”

“That . . . that makes sense,” Seungmin muttered, his voice low. He almost felt stupid for not seeing it before. But his own hurt at not getting pack omega attention had blinded him to Hyunjin’s own emotions.

“That’s just like our Hyunjinnie,” Felix said sadly. “It explains why he isn’t cuddling us either. He doesn’t want us to come to him if we need the alphas more.” Felix cooed softly when he glanced at Seungmin, reaching out to squeeze the beta’s hand. “Don’t blame yourself, Seungminnie, please.”

Seungmin sniffled. “I’m trying not to, but it’s hard.”

Minho straightened his back. “This is none of our faults,” he said, voice gentle but firm. “This is a miscommunication that happened because we are all stressed and exhausted and wanting to help each other more than ourselves. Once Hyunjinnie wakes up, we’ll talk to him and get this sorted out,” the alpha promised.

The doctor stepped into the hall then, and they all turned to look at him. “Will he be okay?” Jisung asked frantically.

The doctor nodded with a small smile. “With plenty of rest and attention, he should be just fine. A word of caution, especially to the alphas,” the man warned them, “omegas instinctively look for alphas when they’re stressed. Hyunjin- ssi has apparently been denying himself of that for at least a couple of weeks, and he could be facing an omega drop.”

“What’s an omega drop?” Jeongin asked, voice worried. Seungmin squeezed his hand.

The doctor smiled calmly at him. “An omega drop is something that can happen for a number of reasons, like being touch-starved, being rejected, feeling unwanted, or in other words, things that can make an omega feel like they can’t or shouldn’t spend time with their alphas. Hyunjin- ssi ’s case is that he’s touch-starved. Drops can differ in severity from omega to omega.”

“What should we look for? Is it dangerous? Like, go-to-the-hospital dangerous?” Felix asked nervously. Minho gently rubbed his back.

“Symptoms can be a range of things and can also vary from case-to-case. Mild symptoms can be a slight headache or a low-grade fever. More severe symptoms can be a more severe headache, the body temperature dropping instead of rising. That’s actually why it’s referred to as omega drop. But he may also experience body chills, and he may feel lethargic. If that lethargy reaches a point where he’s unresponsive and appearing unconscious, call for an ambulance immediately. That’s approaching omega dormancy, which is incredibly severe and it’s best to not let it get to that point. Which I doubt it will,” the doctor quickly added, seeing the pack members’ faces go pale. “Hyunjin- ssi hasn’t fully reached the point of omega drop yet, so dormancy is a very, very long way off. I have faith that you’ll be able to bring him out of omega drop. He’ll need lots of physical affection and emotional reassurance that you need him and want him. The alphas especially will need to emphasize that there’s plenty of attention to go around. Give it two days, and if he hasn’t improved or has gotten worse, call me. If you have any questions, please call me for that, too. Otherwise, I strongly recommend taking at least a week off to help Hyunjin- ssi recover and for you all to bond as a pack. I understand you have a tight and busy schedule, but Hyunjin- ssi ’s health depends on this.”

After giving a few more instructions, and speaking with their manager, the doctor left. Minho gathered his babies close. “Can you all go make a nest in the nest room?” he asked them gently. “Make it nice and comfy for Hyunjinnie. I’m going to go help them get him ready for bed and bring him into the nest room, okay?”

Jisung and Felix nodded eagerly, happy to finally do something for their head omega. They took the youngest two by the hands and dragged them off to the nest room. Minho watched them go with a faint smile, and then sighed, smile fading. He squared his shoulders and turned to the living room.

“He’s doing okay, hyung,” Changbin said softly when Minho entered the room. Hyunjin was still lying with his head in Changbin’s lap as Chan crouched next to the couch. The pack alpha offered him a small smile, standing up to hug him warmly.

“We should get him changed for bed,” Minho said, hugging Chan back.

The older alpha sighed. “You’re right. Comfy clothes are best.” He followed them to the bedroom, telling them about their manager’s theory on the way.

~

“We’re here!” Chan called softly, pushing open the door to the nest room. Blankets and pillows covered the floor, which was padded everywhere with a mattress. The maknaes had carefully arranged plushies throughout the nest and turned on the warm-toned fairy lights that were strung across the walls and ceiling. They’d also turned on the scent diffusers, which released the soothing scent of vanilla throughout the room.

Chan held the door for the alphas behind him. Changbin was gently carrying Hyunjin, cradling the omega to his chest. Minho was behind him with a slightly strained smile.

Hyunjin had been even thinner than they’d feared when they’d taken his clothes off to change him into pajamas. All three hyungs had been stricken by the way his ribs were visible. It was hard to shake that off, but they knew that the pups would feel even worse if they knew how badly Hyunjin had been feeling lately. They were keeping it between just them . . . at least for now .

“You’re here!” Felix cheered quietly, not wanting to disturb the peaceful atmosphere. Minho’s smile relaxed some as he took in the comforting environment. As Chan closed the door behind them and Changbin gently laid Hyunjin into the nest, Minho went and tackled Felix into the fluffy blankets. “Oof! Hyung!” the omega whined. Minho just cackled. He snaked out a hand and yanked Seungmin into the cuddle pile as well, not wanting his beta baby to feel left out. He knew Seungmin was silently blaming himself for not figuring it out sooner. He hoped he could silently convey to the second-youngest that it wasn’t the case.

The eight of them settled in quickly and quietly. It had been a long day even before the disaster of the evening, and they were all exhausted. With Hyunjin snuggled securely in the middle of their cuddle pile, they managed to fall asleep fairly easily.

~

Hyunjin’s head ached. He felt absolutely exhausted, and his entire body felt sore. But he was warm, and lying on a soft surface. He liked the warmth, he’d been chilly . . . when had he been chilly? Right, he’d walked home to give the pups more time with the alphas. But then what had happened?

Suddenly something next to him shifted. Hyunjin was startled until he heard Chan’s voice, low with sleep. “Baby? Are you up?” the alpha asked softly.

“Hyung?” Hyunjin tried to ask. His voice was raspy and his throat was dry.

“Easy,” Chan said, gently reaching out and pulling the omega into his arms. “Here. Come cuddle hyung.”

Hyunjin was too tired to fight. In all honesty, he’d missed cuddling with the alpha hyungs, even though he knew the pups needed them more. He let Chan tug him close, one arm around his waist and the other tenderly cupping the back of his head as he nuzzled his face into Chan’s next. “That’s it, pup. You can go back to sleep.”

“Wha’ happened?” Hyunjin mumbled, still feeling confused and like he was missing something. He felt Chan sigh. 

“We’ll talk later, pup. Go back to sleep.”

Hyunjin sighed and snuggled closer. Pup. He was Chan’s pup. How had he forgotten how much he needed the hyungs, too?

~

“Min,” Chan whispered, nudging the other alpha. Minho’s eyes opened immediately.

“What is it?” he whispered back.

Chan sighed. He didn’t like this. “Jinnie feels like he’s cold to the touch,” he said heavily.

Minho’s eyes widened. “That’s a symptom of omega drop, hyung.”

“I know,” Chan said grimly. “He woke up in the middle of the night for a couple minutes before I got him to fall back to sleep. He was confused but he didn’t fight me when I cuddled him. I told him we’d talk later.”

“That’s good, you did good,” Minho said automatically, knowing Chan needed the reassurance that things were going to be okay. He knew the head alpha was taking this hard, berating himself for not noticing sooner. Minho knew how desperately Chan wanted to fix things. “He’s going to be okay. Do you think he’ll wake up if we try? Or should we let him sleep?”

Chan frowned. “He needs rest, but the doctor said he needs physical reassurance and emotional attention from us. I was going to let him rest longer, but then I noticed his temperature dropping. He’s in omega drop, Min.”

Minho reached over and squeezed Chan’s shoulder. “It’ll be okay. He’ll come out of it. Try to wake him and see if he’s responsive. The doctor said that lethargy is a symptom too, so it’s okay if he’s tired, but if he’s completely unresponsive . . .”

“Call an ambulance, yeah,” Chan said. He tilted his head to look down at Hyunjin, cradling him close. The omega was asleep, strands of blond hair covering his eyes. Chan gently traced along his cheek. “Jinnie? Can you wake up for me?” he called softly. The omega didn’t move for a few seconds, but then he stirred slowly, stretching a bit before burrowing back into Chan’s chest. “Ah, hey, c’mon, pup. Wake up for me,” Chan cooed tenderly, smiling at the grumpy noise that came from the omega in his arms. Sleepy eyes peeked up at him. “Hi there, baby. How are you feeling?”

Hyunjin blinked, trying to clear the sleep from his eyes. He looked tired and disoriented. “Sore. Tired. What happened?” he asked.

Minho squirmed over to cuddle Hyunjin from behind, arms snaking around the omega’s waist. “Are you awake enough for the full story now?”

Hyunjin took a minute to answer. “Yes,” he said softly. Chan and Minho shared a look. Neither one wanted to stress him out while he was still in omega drop, but if Hyunjin didn’t know that he was in omega drop and that they knew what he had been trying to do, would that affect his recovery? They didn’t want to take that chance.

Minho squeezed him gently. Chan nuzzled his forehead before speaking. “You’re in omega drop, pup.”

Hyunjin’s body went stiff, and Minho rubbed a soothing hand along his arm until he started to relax. “I-I’m in omega drop?” he asked, sounding confused. He knew what it was, but he didn’t quite realize how he’d found himself in this situation.

Chan nodded. “Yes,” he said, squeezing Hyunjin closer for a second. “You’ve been avoiding us, and that’s why you’re dropping. Wanna tell us why?” the alpha asked tenderly.

Hyunjin bit his lip, clearly not wanting to answer.

“We’re not mad, pup,” Minho whispered. “I promise. And we’re not sad or angry or disappointed or whatever else you’re worried about.”

The omega sighed. “I-I saw how much the pups were needing you guys, so I backed off since they need you more.”

“Silly Jinnie,” Minho cooed, squeezing his dongsaeng tightly. “We have more than enough love and attention for all of you. We need you, too. And so do the pups. They’ve been worried about their pack omega.”

“Don’t cry, pup,” Chan murmured softly, brushing away a tear that was about to fall. Hyunjin’s eyes were teary with guilt. “No one is upset or mad. The pups were worried that you were mad at one of them.”

“I could never. They’re my babies,” Hyunjin whispered sadly.

Minho cooed again. “We know. And they know. And you know what?”

“Lee Know,” Chan said with a quiet snicker. Minho fixed him with a glare and then continued.

“We have a week or more off to relax and bond as a pack. We’re not letting you drop, baby,” he said tenderly. “You don’t have to apologize for anything. We know what you meant to do, and it’s okay.”

“Min is right,” Chan agreed. “All you need to do is let us all love on you and cuddle you.”

“And feed you. You’ve lost weight, Jinnie-baby. I’m cooking for you once you’re ready to leave the nest and eat. Or, more likely, when the pups are ready to let you leave the nest and eat,” Minho insisted with a playful poke to Hyunjin’s stomach.

 “Yes, the pups especially are going to be clingy,” Chan said as Hyunjin squirmed in his arms from Minho’s prodding finger. “They’re going to want reassurance that you’re not going to do this again. And you aren’t allowed to,” he said firmly. “We all admire how well you care for us and how you’re selfless and you put our needs before your own. But you’re risking your health here. You fainted after you got back from dance practice, and that was one of the scariest moments of my life, watching you collapse. I refuse to do that again. I can't.”

“I won’t do it again. Promise,” Hyunjin whispered tearfully, burying his face in Chan’s neck. The alpha kissed him on the forehead.

“It’s okay, Jinnie. Just let us love you.”

“ . . . okay.”

~

“So you weren’t mad at us? At all?”

“No, pup, of course not.”

“I’m glad. But don’t ever do that again!”

“Yes, never do that again. I was so worried.”

“I already promised the hyungs, don’t worry, babies.”

“That he did. C’mon, Jinnie, lie back down and let me hold you.”

“Okay, Binnie-hyung. You give good hugs.”

“Ah! Did you all hear that? I give the best hugs!”

“Hey, that’s not what I said!”

“Yeah, everyone knows I give the best hugs!”

“No, it’s me!”

“No, me!”

“Alright, that’s enough. Why don’t we let Jinnie-yah decide by all hugging him at once?”

“Great idea!”

“Yeah!”