Work Text:
A broadcast employee worked to mic up TeSTAR’s Park Moondae. The famous vocalist had recently joined as a mentor for the broadcast station’s new singing reality show.
Faint scents of bonfire and grass drifted into the employee’s nose. As an alpha, she could immediately tell that the scents were pheromones. Distractedly, she noted that they were faint. She likely wouldn’t have picked them up if it wasn’t for her naturally sensitive nose.
When she finished her work and stepped back, another employee immediately hurried Park Moondae away to run through stage directions.
As the broadcast employee moved on to her next task, her mind was still half on Park Moondae. Those scents were quite faint. Maybe the idol was one of those who tried to rein in their pheromones. Though, most people wouldn’t bother.
In an industry where alphas and omegas are particularly common, one simply gets accustomed to frequently encountering pheromones.
Wait.
Wasn’t Park Moondae a beta?
The broadcast employee couldn’t resist glancing into Park Moondae’s dressing room as she passed by. The idol was getting his makeup done.
It was the filming for the second episode of the show.
Since that day, she couldn’t help but be curious. It was a well-known fact that Park Moondae is a beta. When his status as an orphan was exposed online, his secondary gender had also become public knowledge.
So those scents she smelt that day were clearly not the idol’s pheromones.
Was it the pheromone of a member of TeSTAR? Or someone particularly close to Park Moondae?
While it wasn’t common for betas to have scents clinging to them, it wasn’t completely unheard of. It could happen if they were in very close proximity with an alpha or omega for long periods of time.
Later on, when micing up Park Moondae, the employee took deep breaths. Discreetly, of course.
Huh.
The scents were different today. Old books and pine. No hint of bonfire or grass.
Weird.
The broadcast employee was standing-by backstage, in case any cast member or contestant’s mic had issues.
The filming for the third episode of the singing show was underway. The judges were giving comments for the contestant that had just performed.
However, the broadcast employee was only half paying attention to what was happening. She had been thinking.
It wasn’t that weird Park Moondae had different scents clinging to him. After all, all of TeSTAR lived together in one dorm.
And the rest of TeSTAR were alphas.
While most celebrities don’t publicly reveal their secondary gender, it’s difficult to keep it secret within the industry. Industry people often need to take secondary genders into consideration in program planning. Special care has to be taken when handling alpha-omega interactions.
On a side note, TeSTAR’s secondary genders are mostly in line with fan speculation, except Bae Sejin, who is often perceived as a beta or an omega.
So in conclusion, those scents she smelt probably belonged to TeSTAR.
When micing up Park Moondae today, she didn’t even need to take a deep breath to catch the scents of ocean and strawberries. They were stronger than the past two times.
Looks like TeSTAR really are as close as they appear on screen.
The filming for the rest of the episodes of the variety show progressed smoothly.
After a few more times, the broadcast employee noticed that the scents... came in different combinations.
Sometimes, the ocean mixes with the bonfire. Then she smells strawberries and old books together. Grass and strawberries. Ocean and pine. Pine and bonfire and old books. Grass only.
She soon figured out that they were individual pheromones belonging to each member of TeSTAR. It got to the point that she felt a hint of guilt. Was she intruding into Park Moondae’s privacy?
It’s not like she knew which pheromone belonged to which member.
So it’s okay, right?
Well, it doesn’t matter. It’s not like she could have tuned out the scents even if she wanted to.
There was a new scent clinging to Park Moondae.
All the other scents were gone, almost as if wiped clean by the faint new scent of… wood finish? Was it linseed oil?
The broadcast employee’s mind raced as she attached the mic on Park Moondae for the filming of the last episode. Who was it? Who else was Park Moondae close to?
She got her answer shortly after, when VTIC’s Cheongryeo appeared. Upon seeing Park Moondae, he headed straight in their direction.
She caught the strong scent of linseed oil as soon as he got close.
“Sunbae-nim.”
“Hoobae-nim.”
The two idols greeted each other almost formally. Yet, contrary to the distant words exchanged, Cheongryeo naturally reached out to adjust Park Moondae’s collar, betraying their closeness.
Even more intimately, where his hands came into contact with Park Moondae’s clothes, the scent clinging to Park Moondae became stronger.
The broadcast employee couldn’t help gaping.
Noticing her stare, Cheongryeo directed a smile at her. Even though it was a perfectly polite smile, she could feel chills down her back.
Quickly, she finished up and stepped away. She watched as Cheongryeo took Park Moondae by the elbow and guided him away.
That was unexpected.
She knew they were on good terms. Park Moondae wouldn’t have invited Cheongryeo as his partner for his last performance on this show otherwise.
But to think they were close enough for scent-marking? Publicly?
From afar, the broadcast employee watched Park Moondae’s unmoved expression while interacting with Cheongryeo. She recalled his similar lack of reaction when Cheongryeo scent-marked him.
A hair-raising thought crept into her mind. As a beta, was Park Moondae aware that he was getting scent-marked?
Then, the look Cheongryeo directed at her popped into her mind again. The employee shook her head. She was intruding on the idols’ private lives and getting ahead of herself. The two probably just have a really close relationship.
But then, something else occurred to her.
Even after Cheongryeo’s bout of scent-marking earlier, the scent on Park Moondae still wasn’t strong.
In general, pheromones just don’t last on betas. However, the length of time and degree to which pheromones cling to someone varies for different individuals. Park Moondae seemed to fall on one end of the spectrum, where scents just don’t stay on him much.
In hindsight, the employee had never smelt her alpha and omega colleagues’ pheromones on Park Moondae, despite the fact that they must have been in sustained close proximity to the idol during makeup and hair.
So, just how much was TeSTAR scent-marking Park Moondae for their scents to remain, even after he leaves their dorm and interacts with a multitude of industry personnel?
While the employee was lost in her thoughts, Park Moondae and Cheongryeo had gotten into position on stage. As filming began, she watched as the aura around Park Moondae transformed. Whenever he performed, it would become clear how much Park Moondae loved the stage.
Offstage, Park Moondae was a calm and comforting presence. But onstage, Park Moondae shined.
Well. She could hardly blame them.
It’s obvious why people would be attracted to someone like Park Moondae.