Chapter Text
~*~
The Aurora College for Magical Arts was quiet during this time of the day. Mostly everyone was either attending an afternoon class or spending some time with friends somewhere out in the city - at least if there wasn’t a mountain of assignments to be dealt with instead.
Hongjoong usually wouldn’t even mind that though. He loved learning new things, always keen to make the best of his education and stay on top of his classes. That was how he’d ended up at the prestigious college in the first place, acing his entrance exam and more than fired up to awaken his magic right after.
Until things had taken a turn for the worse in the most unexpected way.
“Congratulations!” the leading member of the medical council had said with a disarming and friendly smile, proceeding to make an announcement that Hongjoong wished he would’ve kept to himself after all. “You are an omega.”
One sentence. Four words.
That was all it took for Hongjoong’s life to change forever.
It was the fate of any person reaching 21 years of age to undergo a special test to bring forth and ascertain their subgender once they completed their basic education. There wasn’t even much required to get it done, a mere sample of blood and a brief interview being all it took for the medical council to figure out which kind of magic would be shaping someone’s life from then on.
Because that was what it all boiled down to - whichever subgender would reveal itself from the depths of your soul would also influence the supernatural affinities awakening within you.
Hongjoong had been looking forward to his presentation ceremony for years, one-hundred percent convinced that he’d awaken his inner alpha just like the rest of his family had been doing for decades. His older brother Bumjoong had done so as well just one year ago and there wasn’t even a sliver of doubt in Hongjoong’s mind that he’d follow in his footsteps, blessed with strong genes and fire in his heart. Never in a million years would he have thought that he’d present as an omega, the complete opposite of everything he’d ever imagined to be.
He remembered waiting for his results to come out, not even nervous because he knew he had no reason to be, but apparently destiny had a different path in store for him. Hongjoong could do nothing more than sit there in shock upon first hearing which subgender had decided to come to the surface.
Unsurprisingly the rest of his family had been just as upset and confused. No one was as confused as Hongjoong himself though. He did not feel like an omega, having been so ready to present as an alpha his whole life. It was giving him an identity crisis he hadn’t been prepared for at all, yet he would have to learn to somehow deal with it now.
It had always been a given to him that he’d pursue further magical studies, going to an elite college and becoming someone who brought honor to his family’s name. Of course he could still do that without any issue as an omega, but he certainly wouldn’t be studying the kind of magic he’d expected to manifest within himself. Typical omega abilities were vastly different from alpha ones, less fierce and assertive and more focused on a defensive and tempered approach.
Hongjoong wasn’t very motivated to dive into it. He hadn’t attended many classes so far, as the new semester had just begun, but from what he’d seen so far, it would probably be a rather difficult task for him to fit in. At least he’d already become well-acquainted with two of his new classmates, as they’d been put in trios for a small assignment right at the start to get to know each other better.
Yeosang and Wooyoung were childhood friends, having grown up together in a small village far away from the capital and neither of them had been surprised at the revelation of their subgender. At first Hongjoong envied them for being so comfortable in their skin - and to some degree, he couldn’t deny he still did -, but most of all he was glad that they didn’t judge him for being displeased with being an omega. Instead of contempt they showed compassion for his situation, trying to comfort him by assuring him that he’d get used to this new and foreign side of him, accepting it bit by bit.
Hongjoong could only pray to the spirits that they would be right. As of right now, he wasn’t sure if he’d ever actually come to terms with the fact that this would be his reality now. His life had been thrown off its seemingly pre-set course so harshly that he’d certainly be reeling from the after-effects for quite some time, struggling to re-learn being comfortable in his own skin - something that was supposed to come so naturally after presenting, yet he felt like a prisoner in his own body recently.
Will it ever get better? he thought bitterly, releasing a loud sigh as he leaned back against the wall at his back. Here he was once again, sulking in the alpha wing, waiting for his brother to finish his afternoon class. There was just something oddly consoling about this area of the ancient college, the mingling scents of all the alpha students making Hongjoong feel right at home. The problem was that it remained debatable whether that was because he inwardly felt like an alpha himself or if it was simply his omega instincts relishing in being surrounded by them. He told himself it was because of the former, for obvious reasons.
He was getting sick of it regardless though. He lingered in these hallways nearly every single day, craving something he could never have. He was still chasing after the - perhaps foolish - dream he’d been harboring all these years, wanting to become a powerful alpha who wouldn’t shy away from any confrontation. All the glorious things he’d been envisioning again and again were crushed now, shattered into tiny little pieces like the shards of a broken mirror revealing a reflection of himself he didn’t recognize.
Maybe he was being pathetic. Maybe he should just get over it.
But that was much easier said than done.
He came to the decision that he should at least make an attempt to be a bit less pathetic, pushing away from the wall and walking down the empty hallway. He was free for the rest of the afternoon, initially having declined Wooyoung’s and Yeosang’s offer to hang out because he’d wanted to force himself to do some research on omega history and magic. Not that they wouldn’t be learning all about it anyway during their studies, but Hongjoong had been so intensely focused on solely alpha-related content that he found himself embarrassingly clueless now when faced with even the simplest questions he should seriously know the answers to.
But he didn’t. Because this wasn’t who he was meant to be.
A twinge in his chest reminded him yet again that those kinds of thoughts unfortunately wouldn’t do him any good. The more he was rejecting his newfound self, the more he would end up hurting himself in the long run and it was not as if he wasn’t aware of it. And yet, he couldn’t bring himself to reach for the voice of his inner omega, listening to its calls or making even a little attempt to make sense of it. He was weirdly terrified of it, knowing that consciously acknowledging his awakened subgender would make it truly permanent and that would shake the very foundations of everything he’d ever believed in.
He just wasn’t ready for that to happen - yet. Or ever, which was why he had ended up in the alpha wing again instead, lamenting and clinging to an imaginary version of himself that couldn’t exist anymore.
He was so lost in his thoughts, wallowing in his self-pity about being stuck as something - someone - he didn’t really want to be, that he didn’t even notice another person turning around the corner just as he did. He ran right into them, both of them colliding rather unfortunately with Hongjoong actually falling backwards to the polished floor. The mystery stranger remained standing, drawing in a small gasp.
“Oh, I’m so sorry!” he exclaimed, evidently just as startled as Hongjoong at the unforeseen encounter. Hongjoong fluttered his eyes open, trying to gather his wits. He slowly lifted his gaze to the person he’d bumped into, his breath promptly getting stuck in his throat.
The stranger was beautiful, silver-white hair framing his pretty face and complimenting his honey skin. And his scent - clean and soft like a refreshing sea breeze, gentle and soothing, yet strong and pronounced.
This person was obviously an alpha - additionally confirmed by the pristine white uniform he was wearing - and he smelled like everything Hongjoong had ever wanted. Or rather, everything he’d ever wanted to be. At least that was what he told himself.
“Are you alright?” the stranger asked, bending down without hesitation and offering him a hand to stand back up. Hongjoong honestly wasn’t sure if he could, his legs feeling weak. He hurriedly cleared his throat.
“I-I’m fine.” He gingerly took the guy’s outstretched hand, ignoring how his heartbeat picked up at the other’s steady grip and adding a quiet “Thanks.”
“I should’ve paid more attention to where I was going. I guess I was a bit... distracted,” the stranger apologized, looking somewhat troubled for a brief moment before shaking his head and releasing Hongjoong’s hand. He then gifted him a little smile that made it entirely impossible to be mad at him. “I’m Park Seonghwa, a first-year. How about you?”
Hongjoong tried to hide his surprise at the alpha being a newcomer to this place as well. “Kim Hongjoong. Also a first-year.”
“I see. I didn’t get to meet any first-years outside of my classes yet as I missed the opening ceremony last week.”
That sounded very likely indeed, since Hongjoong would’ve remembered someone like him for sure, had he been there. The opening ceremony had been a grand, festive occasion, meant to celebrate the arrival of the new students, but Hongjoong couldn’t enjoy its splendor as much as he would’ve liked, too busy staring daggers at the rows of fresh alpha students, regarding them with unconcealed envy.
He’d wanted to stand among them, not in between a bunch of other omegas, feeling like he was drowning in the lively crowd of black and gold uniforms instead of white and silver ones, surrounded by soft, sweet and flowery scents while the ones he was longing for were far away and out of his reach.
Standing right opposite of one of those alphas now and witnessing his amazing scent first-hand instantly re-ignited that fiercely burning flame of jealousy within Hongjoong, although he could suddenly feel something else beyond it as well - something that was far from envy and disdain and leaning into a much more appreciative direction, encouraging him to get closer.
Is that... my inner omega?
“Why weren’t you there?” he quickly asked, banning the dreadful assumption from his mind just as fast as it had appeared and ignoring how dry his throat felt.
Seonghwa just shrugged. “Family business.”
Hongjoong could tell he wasn’t keen to elaborate on it, keeping silent. He was about to wish him a good rest of the day and run - from what exactly, he couldn’t even say - before he could embarrass himself another time, but apparently Seonghwa wasn’t done with the conversation.
“You’re an omega.”
It wasn’t a question. Anyone would be able to determine Hongjoong’s subgender through his black uniform and his scent. It was impossible for a person to smell their own scent - unless it was shared with a mate -, but he’d been told by his family and newfound friends that it was somewhere between hot coffee and warm cinnamon.
He didn’t know if he liked it. He much rather would’ve preferred smelling like Seonghwa - like an alpha.
“So what?” he gave back, perhaps a tad too defensive in his choice of tone because he could see how it took Seonghwa off-guard.
“I was just wondering what you were doing here. This is the college’s alpha wing, is it not?”
“I... I was waiting for my brother,” Hongjoong admitted rather lamely, averting his eyes.
“You were about to leave alone though,” Seonghwa pointed out with a little frown and Hongjoong didn’t know what possessed him to say his next words, but they spilled out of his mouth before he could stop them.
“Well, maybe I just couldn’t stand being here any longer, knowing I’ll never get to attend one of those classes myself.”
He almost regretted his outburst when he looked back at Seonghwa’s stunned expression, but the alpha didn’t seem to mind all that much.
“You mean... You’re not content with being an omega? You would prefer being an alpha instead?”
Hongjoong couldn’t believe he was out here in this hallway, casually revealing his complicated subgender issues to this beautiful stranger he had literally just met, but it was too late to backtrack now. “That sums it up, yes. I know it probably sounds really strange, but it’s just- I always thought I’d present as an alpha. My whole life feels like a lie now that it didn’t happen.”
He carefully gauged Seonghwa’s reaction, tensing when all at once he saw his own pain reflected right back at him. “I know how that feels. It wasn’t much different for me, except that I was convinced I’d be an omega my entire life. Presenting as an alpha turned my whole world upside down and I-” He paused, lowering his voice. “I feel so lost.”
Hongjoong briefly thought he’d heard that wrong. There was no way this gorgeous alpha was actually experiencing the same dilemma as him, just the other way round. What even were the odds?
“Y-You... You wanted to be an omega?” he asked frailly, just to confirm it once more.
Seonghwa nodded, his shoulders slumping. “My first thought when you bumped into me was how great you smelled and how well your uniform suits you. I used to think I’d be in your spot just a while ago.”
That makes two of us, Hongjoong’s mind supplied, his senses immediately attuning to Seonghwa’s scent again while he refused to become flustered at having his own complimented by the other.
“I’m sorry it got you like this as well. Seems like we both don’t have it easy.”
Seonghwa seemed to cheer up a bit at that, knowing there was someone else who totally understood where he was coming from. “Maybe we should just switch places. Nobody’s going to notice if we’re lucky,” he suggested with a hint of a mischievous and smile and Hongjoong couldn’t help letting out a short laugh, giving expression to his disbelief at the absurdity of their situation. It was way too convenient for it to just be brushed off as a coincidence.
“You’re right. I’d love going to your alpha classes and you can attend my omega ones in turn,” he suggested jokingly, noticing right after that it didn’t have to be a joke at all if they played it right - or rather, came up with a mutually beneficial agreement. Seonghwa had apparently come to the same realization, cocking his head.
“You know what?”
Hongjoong was already getting his hopes up, barely daring to breathe. “What?”
“Why don’t we exchange study materials and tell each other about everything we learn? Secretly, of course.”
That sounded like a dream come true. Hongjoong would have full access to all the alpha-related magic he’d been yearning for through Seonghwa and vice-versa. It was a perfect plan and Hongjoong would be a complete idiot to let this golden opportunity go to waste.
“I’d love that,” he agreed eagerly for that reason, a faint blush rising on his cheeks when it made Seonghwa laugh. He was seriously too pretty for his own good.
“Then it’s settled,” the alpha said, holding out his hand once more. This time Hongjoong definitely didn’t imagine the goosebumps on his skin as he grabbed it. The vicious flame of jealousy tormenting his heart transformed into one of pure and unbridled hope, burning brightly as Seonghwa’s scent enveloped him in a cloud of happy pheromones.
Hongjoong hadn’t felt this elated in ages, re-energized at the prospect of getting to learn something about alpha magic too at last and - hopefully - even gaining a friend through it whom he could help out just as much. The satisfied grin stealing onto his lips was proof of it, genuine and driven by a newly gained purpose.
“Let’s do this.”