Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Being contracted to Sunlight Entertainment is more than Zoey ever dreamed for herself. Doing it with her mate? Younger her would've never even let the thought form in her head. And they got Rumi in the package? Zoey will thank every entity out there and never complain about her luck again; life had just been saving it up for her. Zoey knows that they've been thrown in at the bottom of the hierarchy. Rumi warns them as such; chopsticks anxiously held between her fingers as she does.

"Bobby has some good sway; him endorsing you is a leg up. But Ma won't treat you any differently, even if she wanted to, to avoid conflict amongst the board." Rumi tells them, staring at the lunch Mira had prepared for her. Not eating, just pushing around the rice with the chopsticks adorned with cats (Zoey's choice). Brown eyes glance at them apologetically, cheeks puffed out in a pout. " I don't have much sway."

"Hey, it's okay," Mira reassures as she nudges the omega's shoulder. "You don't need to do anything, but your moral support would be nice. We wouldn't put you in that position- you've never even seen us work."

"Bobby's talks about you," Rumi adds on. "So, you must be good. And I can help! Off the record... if you need someone to give you feedback. I... never debuted, but I definitely have the training for it."

"Wait, you were a trainee?" Zoey squeaks and pushes closer, almost nose to nose with Rumi's quickly flushing face. "Oh, I bet you are wonderful!"

"Why'd you stop?" Mira asks, looping an arm around Zoey to pull her back. The action causes the smaller alpha to fall dramatically into the dancer's lap, Zoey letting out an exaggerated puff of air. It's met with Rumi's slight giggle and Mira's eye roll. The irritation is all for show, but the pink-haired alpha scratches at Zoey's scalp the way she likes anyway.

"The marks... they kept getting worse," Rumi whispers to them like it's a secret that even the sky isn't meant to hear, one hand trailing the patches of white dusting down her arm. "There were already so much around me. Half expected a new gen Sunlight Sister. The other thought I was nothing more than a smear across their legacy. Even the board fought over it, when they thought Ma wasn't looking." Rumi tugs the sleeves of her blouse down, the light fabric obscuring her skin, and shrugs. "It wasn't worth it."

"What did you want?" Mira huffs. The spice of gochujang strengthening in the air, hot and burning. 

"Singing to others, singing for myself," Rumi weighs both options in each hand. "I just wanted to sing, like my moms. I didn't need to debut to do that. And this," Rumi motions to the building towering over them, "This is theirs. I'd never hurt it."

"Corporate bullshit," Mira barks around her mouthful of rice ball, white grains spraying onto the ground as she does. 

"We'd love to hear you sing sometime, Rumi!" Zoey clasps her hands together, eyes wide and cheeks puffed into a deadly cute pout. "Please, please, please, please?"

"You have to dance with me," Mira adds on. "I need to see an idol's muscle memory in action."

"I haven't... I stopped proper training years ago!" the omega stammers as two sets of puppy eyes get turned on her. "I only sometimes work with trainees now." When that doesn't lessen the fierce staring, Rumi throws her head back with a sigh. "Fine. I'll show you sometime." The omega rolls her eyes at the sudden pitching of excited cheers, obviously played up, and swats at the two alphas giddily emoting their excitement. "Yeah, yeah. Alphas. So pushy."

“Delivery for one Ryu Rumi!”

Rumi turns, long braid falling off her shoulder to brush against the brick of the wall the three were perched on. The trio has moved to a small garden on the base floor. A small area with a few trees and an odd bench. Smoothed rocks paneling a raised flowerbed bursting with colorful buds. Rumi showed it to them with an annoyed pout on her face, keycard in hand to get through the door.

“My Ma has forbidden me from the roofs,” the omega had grumbled as she led them into the small garden. “But I managed to convince her to let us use this instead.”

The two alphas stiffen at the voice. Zoey rolls out of Mira’s lap, gathering herself onto her palms and the pads of her feet in a crouch, slanted in front of Rumi like a guard dog. Mira fluidly rises to her feet, stepping in front of the two girls. Their pheromones thicken in the air, salt and spice permeating the area. There’s a stranger in the garden, this garden that Rumi needed a keycard to get in.

It’s a man, tall and broad shoulders. Aesthetically pretty in an annoying kind of way. The kind of guy Mira could imagine her parents trying to pair her up with. His neutral scent meant he had to be a beta. In theory, it should soothe her hind mind, at least a little. Her instincts should view a beta as less of a threat than another alpha. Especially with Zoey with her. A two on one? No competition. Mira still wants to punch this guy…

“How’d you get in here?” Mira growls at the man as he kicks the door closed.

“Woah, Rums,” the stranger goes as he sniffs the air. “You got new guard dogs, or something?”

“Guys, guys, it’s okay,” Rumi reassures as Mira starts forward. Latching onto the dancer’s wrist, the omega gently tugs Mira back a step. Pushes Zoey back onto just her feet so she’s not on all fours like an animal. “I know this one. Jinu! What are you doing here?”

“Do you know what I had to do to find you, Ryu Rumi?” the dark-haired man exclaims. “I had to call your mother. Your mother ! She hates me!”

“She doesn’t hate you,” Rumi denies with an eyeroll, side-stepping around Mira to head toward this Jinu. “She just doesn’t like you.”

“I’m touched, Ru, truly,” Jinu responds sarcastically and shifts the carrier in his arms. “I didn’t even do anything! She hates me on principle.”

Rumi chuckles, arms crossed over her chest as she steps closer, “What are you doing here?”

The dark-haired man lifts the pet carrier up a little higher. There’s a muffled sound that comes from it at the movement.

“I am delivering our son to you. Because someone’s been ignoring her phone.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Rumi apologizes, hand coming up to fiddle with her hair. “Stuff’s happened… I meant to call.”

“Apologize to our son ! He was abandoned by his only mother. What a cruelty.”

Rumi unzips the pet carrier, reaching inside with a coo and heaving out a ball of fur. Mira narrows her gaze onto the thing. It’s a cat… she thinks. A large, blue cat with the most dead-eyed stare and a tongue that seems to refuse to stay in its mouth. Rumi curls the thing to her chest, the feline taking up the length of her torso as it lags bonelessly in her arms. It lets out a warbled purr and knocks its furry head into Rumi’s chin.

“What’s wrong with it?”

“Mira!” Zoey gasps as she zips to standing and immediately bursts over to look at the creature in Rumi’s arms. “Oh my god, so cute! He? She? Pets?”

Rumi laughs, a full belly thing that throws her head back. The cat follows the arch of her head, tipping further back until it drapes over her arm like a towel. 

“Yes, he’s a he and yes, you can pet him.” Rumi readjusts the weight in her arms. “This big fella is Derpy. I share him with Jinu.”

“His. Name. Is. Derpy?” Zoey squeals, the octave only rising as Rumi drops the cat into her arms. The small alpha lets out a puff of air at the unexpected weight and plops herself onto the bench to coddle the cat’s face. “Oh, you are a big boy! Yes, you are!”

“And to answer your question,” Rimu pivots to point at Mira, the alpha still staring at the cat like an unknown stain on the wall. “We don’t know; we found him that way. The vet says it just seems like a lazy eye and that he seems pretty healthy. If you mean the color, Jinu’s friends are little shits. But it's pet safe.”

“Language, Rumi, language,” Jinu tsks and waves a finger in her face. “What would the lawyers say? They’d give me full custody.”

“You realize that my name’s on his paperwork, right?” Rumi asks as she leans down to scratch at Derpy’s ears. She smiles softly at the deep purr that rises up and chuffs at Zoey’s excited gasp. 

A soft timbre murmurs in her ear. “Hey, how you been doing?” Jinu sidles up beside Rumi, lays a hand on her shoulder. Rumi turns toward him, shoulders slack. Gives him a small smile, a soft one. 

Mira narrows her eyes at the movement.

Who the fuck is this guy?

“Good. Really. We’ll catch up, promise.”

“Mmm.” The man straightens, gives Rumi’s shoulder another squeeze. “I got to get back, but meet up soon?”

“Of course. Take care.”

“You too. Derpy, my boy, I’ll have the house ready for your return,” Jinu tells the cat, giving him a pat. “I know the divorce is hard on you.”

“Oh, shut up,” Rumi snarks and shoves at him as Jinu passes to the door. 

The omega huffs in amusement as she settles into the seat next to Zoey, rubbing Derpy under the chin. The cat purrs, blue fluff vibrating with the force. With heavy steps, Derpy pads over to Rumi’s lap and kneads at her legs.

“You have split custody of a cat?” Mira drawls as she slowly approaches, eyeing the cat like it might bite her.

“Jinu and I found him when we were still dating. After the breakup, we agreed to split custody. Every month, he swaps houses. And I miss you so much when you’re with Jinu!”

Mira meets eyes with Zoey, both having stiffened at the words. Rumi, oblivious to the sudden stillness and too preoccupied cooing praises into Derpy’s fur, doesn’t notice the way the smell of spice and salt strengthens. Zoey’s brown eyes stare at her mate’s, wide and flickering between Mira and the omega. Mira just shrugs, her own face slack with disbelief.

That’s her ex?!

Chapter Text

There’s a whiteboard that Zoey keeps in the apartment. She dragged it up the stairs one day when Mira had been at the studio and set it up in the living room. For her brainstorms, she insisted as Mira rubbed her face in exasperation. Mira lets her keep it despite it taking up a good section of the wall behind the couch. It normally has random lyrics, ramblings about parameters and beats per minute. Mira puts little doodles on it in pink: an anime cat, a fire-breathing dragon, a crying ramen bowl, and a heart with their initials in it. 

That’s all erased now (except for the heart, Zoey keeps it even though it’s smack center). Instead- a crime board… investigation board? Evidence board? Evidence board! Mira had stolen the magnets off the fridge, little gummy bears, and cat paws holding up photos that Zoey had printed off her picture printer. It used a good portion of her ink, but it was worth it! Definitely worth it, she’s sure of it as she watches Mira pin a new picture to the board.

Everything they could find on Rumi and her ex-boyfriend.

Foggy pictures from gossip rags in one corner. Luckily, few to be had. Those pesky snoops! Stalking Rumi and drawing slanderous conclusions. Like the one where she’s seen with Jinu exiting a club. They accused her of doing drugs! The girl who is too timid to tell Mira that the amount of gochujang the alpha added to her lunch was indeed too much and instead ate it until her eyes watered (Mira almost knocked over everyone’s lunch to get the omega water).

There isn’t any coverage on the breakup. Which is good! None of those bastards monetized off Rumi’s pain. Also… a tad inconvenient because they don’t have any info on the breakup. Zoey scribbles out a note next to one of the articles and takes a step back to look at what they got.

“So… he’s-”

“Annoyingly clean,” Mira finishes for her. “Look at this! Model from a failed idol group. Picture perfect beta,” the alpha hisses and points at one of the articles titled, ‘Jinu, formerly of boy group Saja Boys, shows respect to staff at charity event’. 

“Hot and respectful?” Zoey whines and drops her head into her hands.

“No- no way,” Mira smacks a hand against the board, right over the headshot Zoey had pilfered off his industry profile. “No one’s this clean. It’s not possible. So what if-”

“He’s hot? Mira, he has abs. Abs! And an adorable cat. And totally has that gentle beta, ‘I understand you’ kind of face. He’s like, the male lead in a k-drama.”

“He’s obviously not smart if he broke up with Rumi. I bet he’s still an ass. They’re broken up, and he just struts into her space like he owns the place. And using her cat to get close to her!”

“How dare he mess with Rumi’s feelings like that!” Zoey hisses. “Total moron.”

“Delinquent,” Mira agrees. “And he thinks that just because Rumi’s too nice to take the cat that he just, what, gets free access to her time?”

“Besides, Celine hates him,” Zoey adds on with a dedicated nod of agreement. “And she loves Rumi so much! So it’s totally justified; her alpha instincts are probably warning her about something.”

“We can’t let him hurt Rumi. She’s still in a fragile state.” Mira’s mind flashes back to rooftops and journal pages and the feeling of gravity pulling her gut down as the two intertwine. “She’s our friend, we've got to protect her. We need more info on this guy.”

“Hmm!” Zoey hums in agreement and glares at the board. There’s a pop as she uncaps a marker. The cap rolls over her teeth as she gnaws at it. A slight squeak as the rapper circles a bullet. “We start here! Failed idol? Let’s find out why.”

“I’m getting my tablet.”

“Oh, grab one of my empty notebooks too!”

The two of them can be a forceful duo. Zoey knows that. And Rumi, at the moment, is a bit fragile. Like a bug that just shed its carapace, all squishy and vulnerable but also so beautiful with her markings so bright. Rumi trusted that to them, even if she didn’t notice at first. They can’t risk accidentally pushing at her yet. Can’t risk meaning to stroke and accidentally squishing. So they can wait. Wait until Rumi’s recovered, help her put the pieces back together, so that the omega can look out at the world and see that they want to explore it with her. They’ll protect her until then.

There’s nothing wrong with a little slow burn after all. What did Mira say about slow cooking? It makes things tender and tasty! 

But they are still alphas. And it's their instinct to take care of omegas! That day on the roof, Zoey had clung to this… Zoey couldn’t even call Rumi a friend at the time. But she could never call her a stranger. Not since that first day they found her on the roof, bundled up like a pup in their first winter and puffed up like a marshmallow. Definitely not when she had stolen glances at a journal not hers. Guilt clogging her brain, but her fingers clinging to something so familiar, heart reaching out to entangle herself to the girl in the pages.  Zoey looked at that omega huddled into herself alone on the roof and wanted to pull her into her arms. She saw her digging into her own skin, heard her voice what the demons whispered in her ear, and knew that the moment Rumi let her cling on that she would never let go. Could tell from how Mira orbited the omega like a planet circling the sun, letting this newcomer light up parts that only Zoey had seen, that Mira would never let go either. Zoey likes the idea of them all spinning around each other, both gravity and a dance.

They got to protect her. Especially from… unknown men who broke her heart!

Mira lets out a yawn next to her. The other alpha’s glasses are sliding down the slope of her nose. Her tablet glows in the surface of the lenses. Zoey pushes into her mate, smiles as Mira grunts at the sudden weight that falls onto her side, and shifts the tablet to the side.

“Any progress?”

“If I have to see this dude’s face again after this, it will be far too soon,” Mira huffs out as she throws her head back. Her pink hair sways with the movement, puffs up like a mushroom cloud by the force. “One viral debut song, a whistleblower for Gwi-Ma Agency’s inhumane practices, now a model. And way too many selfies.”

Zoey cranes her head to look at the screen. It was indeed a lot of selfies. But he’s stupidly pretty so she can’t even be that annoyed. She snags her mate’s hand to pull it closer and scrolls. Ugh, why is he so symmetrical? And why are his bangs so perfectly swoopy? Zoey can never get hers to do that… 

“He is annoyingly perfect.”

“Ugh, look at these videos too. You can tell he went through idol training.” Mira grumbles as she flicks through shorts of gym workouts and tropey slow-mo edits. With an exasperated sigh, she pushes the tablet into her lap, an aggressive sigh slipping out.  

 A ding notification sounds out.

The two look at each other. Zoey lunges to grab the tablet and lets out a pitched whine, like a tea kettle blowing steam.

“You just liked a post.”

“Whatever, he’s got thousands of followers. It won’t matter…” Mira opens an eye when Zoey restarts her whine. “What? Why are you making that sound?”

“The post is from four years ago… and your face is your profile picture.”

Mira closes her eyes again, a crease furrowing itself between her eyes. Zoey watches her shoulders rise with her chest.

“ Fuuccckkkkkk !”

Chapter Text

It starts with an email. Although Rumi supposes a lot of things for her start with emails. She is, after all, the only person with access to her mother’s work email. The final filter between Celine and whatever her PA’s deemed critical enough to forward. Rumi claims it's not difficult work- knowing what her mother will want to see and what to toss to her staff. Celine’s always been consistent, at least with work. Sunlight Entertainment’s PAs would sacrifice their souls to understand the CEO’s thought process like Rumi did.

Sunlight gets sent emails from all sorts of businesses. Other entertainment agencies looking to collab. Smaller companies looking for sponsors. Rumi has seen many in the few years she’s been entrusted with the bursting inbox. The omega has attended many of the succeeding events. Galas, charity balls, brand deals, building openings. She’s used to them. Used to pressing against her Ma in the car and soaking in that last bit of comfort before stepping out into flashing lights. 

This is different, though.

Rumi is the only one allowed unrestricted access to the top floor of the building where her mother resides. Celine insists it's because Rumi is her heir- that this building is theirs. Rumi is pack, the only pack Celine has left, and pack shares. HR will say behind closed doors that it's because Rumi’s the only one who could barge in without her windpipe being removed.

Celine looks up as her whelp bursts out of the elevator. If the alpha focuses, she can catch the slightest hint of umami in the air. Rumi stops before her desk, laptop already open, with wide eyes. 

Puppy eyes. 

“Yes, Rumi?” Celine turns her gaze to her daughter, but doesn’t rotate away from her monitor.

“We got a sponsorship inquiry.”

“What’s your stance on this inquiry?”

Rumi shuffles, nudges the computer closer to her mother. Celine turns fully, lets her daughter’s face fully fill her vision. She glances down at the laptop, skims over the email. Looks back at her whelp. 

“I’ll handle it, I promise! It would be good PR, don’t you think?”

“Rumi…” Celine trails off. Big brown eyes. Her pup’s eyes, round and curious gazing up at her from the crib. Mi-Yeong’s eyes, bright and warm, gazing at her from behind a pamphlet. The alpha sighs, focuses back on her computer. The sound of a typing keyboard fills the air. “Fine.”

“Can I bring some staff with me?”

The clatter of keycaps quiets. Celine takes in a breath, holds it. Rumi stares at the side of her head. Eye’s wide. A small whine, barely audible, slips through the office. The alpha pushes her bangs out of her face, hooks them around her ear.

“Remember that you’re representing the company. Representing me.”

Rumi is around the desk before Celine finishes the sentence, burrowing her face into her mother’s hair. She nudges against the alpha’s temple, noses the scent gland there with a happy purr. There’s a puff of umami in the air. Celine breathes it in, noses at her daughter’s nape. They hold that pose for a moment before Rumi pulls away, gives a thankful bow and skitters out of the room. 

The elevator dings closed, taking her whelp with it to the lower levels. It takes the scent of an omega with her. The collar Rumi wears smothers any lasting scent. Still, Celine swears she can smell an omega. A burst of buttercup, yellow and bright.

“Yes, yes,” Celine mumbles to no one . “I know, I spoil her.”

 Rumi has access to Bobby which means she had access to Mira and Zoey's work schedule, should she desire to ask for it. She considers it briefly. An appointment request over email would be sufficient. It would do the job she needs it to do. It feels too cold, though. Stagnant. Like niceties that aren't genuine. Zoey and Mira are too warm for that. So instead she digs through her drawers for papers that have been waiting for years and grabs her favorite pen from its holder.

Rumi started tottering through the building as a toddler, before she had even mastered walking. Before that point, her parents split who stayed home with their pup- juggling emails in one hand and a wandering Rumi in the other. Staff would occasionally suggest that they find Rumi a nanny. Other parents offered referrals and contact info. Celine would often have to grab Rumi from Mi-Yeong when that happened and distract her pup with little raspberries blown into her cheeks. For the omega always snarled at the idea of someone else getting their hands on their pup.  If the alpha didn’t interfere, Rumi would sniff her Mama’s irritation from where she usually nuzzled herself into the crook of Mi-Yeong’s neck and let out a distressed whine. Only further aggravating her Mama and feeding into a cycle of some poor fool trying to backtrack and further upsetting Mi-Yeong’s until eventually someone dropped tears. Usually, Rumi, sometimes an employee. 

Rumi can hazily recall spending many days gripped onto one of her parents in the rooms of this building. After her schooling finished and she took on proper hours, her Ma had pulled her aside and slipped a small package into her hands. 

“Your mother left these for you, for when you started properly.”

A stack of stationary. Separated into groups of pinks and greens and purples with little suns dotting the edges. Rumi slid them into the safety of her desk drawer. Told herself to make them last. 

Rumi takes two from the neat piles, one pink and one green. To ensure that her favorite purple pen didn’t blend into the colored card stock. Mirrored invitations differing only by the name printed at the top. A little crosseyed cat next to each signature. 

…

“Please tell me this isn’t a joke.”

Rumi's laugh is muffled by Zoey’s hair as she loosely wraps her arms around the alpha to return the hug. Sweet taffy fills the air, layered with the brisk salt of a beachside vacation. The omega resists the urge to bury her nose into her friend’s hair. 

“Not a joke,” Rumi assures as she is released. “Promise. But we will be late if we don’t get going.” She pauses for a moment before her lips quirk, “Which, if you read it when you got here, you would have known.”

“Never letting Zoey get the papers again,” Mira groans as she pulls open the door to the car. 

They pile into the car. Zoey pulls Rumi between them as they all squish onto one row, despite the car being lined with multiple. The omega huffs in amusement as she’s squished between two bodies. She frees herself to knock on the privacy divider, and they all jerk as the car starts forward.

“This is the best job ever.”

Rumi barks out a laugh, scrolling through her phone to bring up the itinerary. 

“Unfortunately, the fun PR events are limited. I managed to convince Ma on this one though.”

“Music of the ocean! What convincing is needed?” Zoey squeals as she thumbs through the packet Rumi had left with the invitations. “An aquarium visit that I get paid for!”

Rumi and Mira meet eyes, both amused. Rumi agrees that the peppy alpha, an immersive exhibit based on animal communication and underwater acoustics, is the perfect connection to Sunlight Entertainment. For the aquarium at least. Rumi’s aware that funneling money for a donation that, at best, pulls in some publicity and can be used as a tax write-off isn’t the most efficient use of funds. However, the omega thinks that her Mama would approve and the money is, officially from Mi-Yeong’s memorial funds. Her girls get to go with her to the aquarium to see the exhibit before it opens to the public, her Mama gets a memorial in the exhibit with the whale songs, and she can check off her PR appearance for the month.

Rumi considers it a win.

A beta greets them at the door, already bowing as the group exits the car. 

“Rumi-nim! It is an honor.”

Rumi returns the bow, the two alphas beside her following her movements. She straightens back up and gives the guide a practiced smile.

“The honor is ours. These are my associates, Mira and Zoey. Thank you for accommodating us.”

“Of course, of course. Come! Let’s show you the exhibit.”

Zoey vibrates beside her as they are led through the aquarium. She whispers facts into her ear as they stop before each tank. Echoing or even beating their guide to the punchline. Mira keeps herself one step behind the two of them, urging Zoey forward when she lags behind to press her nose to the glass.

The alpha’s long hair falls over her shoulder as Mira bends to be level with Rumi. Warmth fills her nose.  She breathes it in subconsciously, lets the pheromones settle in her palate. Spice in her nose, bursting flavor on her tongue. Heat floods under her cheeks as she realizes what she just did.

“I don’t think you could have picked a better place for Zo,” Mira murmurs into her ear, slow and raspy as they watch Zoey zoom over to a touch pool.

Rumi chokes out a sound of agreement. Ignores how her heart seems to jump in her throat and flees to where Zoey is elbow deep and reaching for a stingray. Zoey pivots toward her, causing the stingray that had glided under her hands to flap away at the movement.

“Rumi! Look, look! Aren’t they cute?” Zoey reaches out to graze the wing of a ray as it passes by. “These are cownose sting rays! Officially, they’re venomous, but obviously, they clip their barbs. It doesn’t hurt though!”

Zoey grasps one of Rumi’s hands, and the omega jolts at the cold touch. The alpha entangles their fingers, keeping Rumi’s spread by shoving her own in between. Rumi whines quietly under her breath, feeling the heat beneath her cheeks deepen. Zoey knocks their shoulders together and pushes Rumi’s sleeve up with a wet hand.

“You know, there are stingrays with spots! The yellow stingray kind of has patterns like you. Yours are way prettier though,” Zoey insists as Mira siddles up beside her mate.

“They gave us stingray food,” Mira said as she tipped the mixture of clams and shrimp pieces into Zoey’s awaiting hand.

“Here!” Zoey chirps and pulls their still joined hands out of the water to deposit her bounty into Rumi’s hands. 

She flips their hands over and reaches toward one of the stingrays that is approaching. Its rounded snout nudges against Rumi’s hand before a suction pulls the food out of her head. The omega squeals of the sensation, jerking their combined hands back and causing the stingray to flap water at them in protest. It soaks her cardigan, and Zoey peals out a laugh as she’s dragged away from the pool’s edge. Mira snickers off to the side and steps forward to pull the soaked cardigan off the omega.

“Feels weird, right?”

“You knew!” Rumi gasps out as she shakes the water off her hands. She flings the remaining droplets at Zoey’s laughing face. “Traitors, the both of you.”

“Believe it or not,” Mira drawls out sarcastically as she eyes Zoey, who is back at the touch pool. “This is where we had our first date in Seoul. She got me with the slimy vacuums too.”

“They’re not slimy,” Zoey insists with a pout. “They’re so soft! Come o,n Rumi, I won’t make you feed them again if you don’t want.”

Rumi warily approaches the tank, Mira at her side. She lets Zoey grab her arm again, carefully grazing the wing of a stingray as it passes her to get to the snack in the alpha’s hand. Zoey is right, they are soft. Soft like Zoey’s hand in her own. Mira leans into her side and the content warmth of spice fills Rumi’s nose.

The omega sheepishly smiles at their guide, who waves off her worries about timetables. She’ll pull the duo back on track soon. But for this moment… 

For this moment she lets Zoey grip her hand and savors the taste of spice in the air.

Chapter Text

Derpy curls through Jinu’s legs as he saunters into his condo. Rumi is a step behind the feline, toting along the cat’s items in her arms. The beta pets into Derpy’s neck fluff as the cat paws at his legs, a happy purr deep in his throat. He rubs against Jinu’s leg, back arching and leaving behind blue fur strands, before padding over to the window and curling up on the cushion there. A flower planter lines the window pane with a small water dish. Derpy pushes his snout against the glass, breath fogging the window.

“Your friend’s been looking for ya,” Jinu tells the cat. Derpy rotates his head at the sound, crossed eyes staring off to either side. “He already came by today, bud.”

Derpy chuffs and turns back to the window, uncaring of the man’s advice. 

“Changed the flowers I see,” Rumi muses as she settles onto the couch. 

“Every time something knocked the pot over, he’d claw at the glass. I had to buff the glass out!” Jinu complains as he settles next to his friend. His nose twitches as the AC unit blows through the room. “You smell weird.”

“Rude,” Rumi knocks Jinu with an elbow. “You’re smelling my friend, Mira. She loaned me her sweater today after Zoey spilled sauce on mine.” The omega pauses for a moment. “Oh, you saw them when you dropped off Derpy last month.”

“Those two alphas?” Jinu asks as he sniffs at Rumi’s braid. Smothered in spice and laced with salt, warm like the sand toasting under the sun at the beach. He can barely smell Rumi underneath it, her umami weaving between the two smells. “Did little Ruru make some friends? I’m so proud of you!” the beta cooed and grabbed at one of Rumi’s cheeks in a pinch.

“Get off!”

“You reek of them,” Jinu teases as Rumi bats at his face. “Does your mother know, young lady?”

“It’s- it’s not like that!” Rumi insists with flushed cheeks. “They’re just protective. All alphas are!”

Jinu blinks blankly at her. Tries to see if he can smell the sour edge Rumi gets when she lies. He doesn’t find any, just the strong smell of unknown alphas and Rumi’s wide eyes staring at him. Painfully earnest, the same look he remembers from when he was fifteen and they had met in the dark corridors backstage. He, an upstart trainee preparing to debut, and she, the heiress of an enemy label. Jinu, tangled by the threads of a power bigger than himself, and Rumi, choking under the weight of her own legacy. Twin stars, burning but freezing in the vast expanse of the world.

The beta has watched Rumi collapse in on herself since they met. An omega planted in too dark a shadow to ever have figured out how to grow, never let someone dig up her roots to put them somewhere new. Instead, reaching for whatever warmth the world would throw at her- mistaking the artificial light for the sun she needed to grow. Even when they dated, a push from headlines and held together by familiarity, the girl had been burning out. Freezing over with a frostbite crawling along her skin. They were twin souls made of the same stardust. Not in the way of mates fitting together to make new colors, not pack. But in the way that water clings to other droplets and mirrors reflect what they see.

Jinu knew Rumi. So he shouldn’t be surprised, not really. Still… how can she be this dense?!

“You’re an idiot.”

“Jinu!”

The beta ignores the offended gasp and continues on. “Look, I guess I get that you have like no experience with alphas. But they are totally into you.”

“I live with an alpha!”

“She’s your mother! That obviously doesn’t count,” Jinu huffs out with an exasperated sigh. 

"I work with them too!" Rumi adds, straightening up in irritation. Derpy turns to face both of them, eyes split between the two. Her scent spikes beneath the layers of spice and salt.

"Again, your mother. You know," Jinu crosses his arms as he levels Rumi with an unamused look. "The one known for being a head alpha bitch to those that piss her off? The one that threatened to blacklist me from every modeling agency in Seoul after we broke up?"

Rumi rolls her eyes and stomps off to scratch Derpy at the window, "Ma wouldn't actually do that."

Jinu stares at the back of his best friend's head. He wipes at his face and meets eyes with Derpy. The cat's tongue twitches, but otherwise, he merely blinks at the beta, one eye lagging behind the other. Jinu wishes he could be that carefree. Leave it to Rumi to be as thick as a brick. See, this is why he tried to convince her to go out more when they were teenagers. Rumi is harder to socialize than Derpy had ever been, but almost just as clueless (perhaps pets do take after their owners). How she, as an omega no less, managed to get to her age without recognizing when eyes follow her? Jinu doesn't know... 

"No fucking wonder they looked ready to murder me that day," Jinu mumbles to himself as he depresses into the couch.

Jinu thinks back to how the two had curled around Rumi like angry dragons. The one protectively crouched in front of her, coiled to pounce, and the other was already on the offensive, teeth bared to bite. Guarding from a threat to their claim. And Rumi told them they're exes?! That explains the random notification he got at midnight. Potentially also the crawling itch that ran along his spine the few times he met Rumi after work. Hunters, those two. Scheming predators, foxes in the underbrush, trying to gauge if he was a threat or food. Circling and calculating, organized in their dedication... This is why Jinu didn't bother with alphas, one-track-minded creatures. Especially any that decided to claim Rumi- it seems that she draws the dangerous ones. Leave it to her to attract the attention of two at once, a pair no less.  Polyamorous packs typically consisted of groups of betas and omegas, with potentially one alpha. Trios, usually, one of each for balance. Multiples are uncommon in packs, especially alphas, due to their inclination for infighting. 

Rumi, the poor whelp. No idea what was pursuing her.

"You know," Jinu starts, "Denial isn't going to help the situation."

"I'm not in denial. They don't like me like that... they're just protective."

Rumi quiets, lips pursing and scent souring slightly. Her mind sinking into whatever dark pit had formed in her head. Jinu's face furrows as he watches it happen. He rises to stand beside her, one hand on her forearm as an anchor. She turns to him and presses her forehead against his shoulder. A practiced routine, engraved into muscle memory from years of traveling on parallel orbits.

"Did something happen?" 

"No," Rumi answers too quickly and winces as she outs her own lie. "Well, yes, but I don't wanna talk about it. The point is, they're just protective after what happened. Nothing more." 

Jinu drops it, uninterested in making Rumi sour further. For the moment, at least. Rumi’s got to face the world eventually. It’s his duty as her best friend to make her… even if it means pushing her to the wolves a little. 

The beta has a feeling that they might prey on him instead.

Chapter Text

Zoey goes through a lot of phases. Dolphins through then, she insists, breaching from one hobby to the next and never slowing down. Once, it was crocheting, where disfigured little penguins and turtles flopped over every open surface with crooked smiles and beady eyes. Mira insisted the things looked demonic, but kept one on her nightstand to protect her phone. Another time, it had been Greek mythology after she dug up her childhood books from the abyss of the closet. To which she subjected Mira to an entire Reddit thread arguing over whether Hades would’ve been an alpha or omega. She thinks back to it now, of humanity weaving itself into mythos. The Greeks were known for their tales, after all. Of human folly and triumph and tragedy. 

Zoey thinks that she and Mira have landed themselves in one.

“Ma and I always make dinner. It’s our thing together,” she had told them once with an apologetic smile after turning down their invitation to get ice cream. 

Zoey, in the rational section of her brain, is happy that Rumi still has pack time with her mother. It’s a small reassurance to know the omega has a strong bond with the only pack she had left. That, despite the darkness that tries to root into Rumi’s mind like a festering bug, Rumi had a pack member to look out for her. Rumi had two more begging to protect her, if she’d let them.  Rumi’s relationship with her Ma is a heartwarming one.

Mira insists it's a metaphorical cockblock (a small portion of Zoey agrees). 

It has been difficult getting Rumi’s attention outside of their daily lunches. It seems that being the heiress to one of the largest entertainment labels in the country leads to very little free time. Rumi is constantly bustling around the building or at events in the name of her mother. After work, Rumi had her dinners, and no weekends had opened up in the month they knew her. Today had been their chance! 

Then Jinu had been waiting outside the door with that stupid, easygoing smile. They had managed to wrangle Rumi into getting boba with them after work, but now Jinu is eating into their time. Rare time. Truly, an act against them by some higher force. Punishment, Zoey is sure, for something. 

Rumi’s scent picks up at the sight of him, a burst of flavor in the air. She steps away from where she's sandwiched between the two alphas, ignorant to the kick of spice and salt that grew heavy around her, trying to cling to her skin and seep into her hair. Zoey doesn't release the arm wound in hers, lets it slide its way out so that their wrist rubs together, knowing it would leave a trace. She can feel the heat of Mira's irritation as she closes the gap between them that Rumi's absence leaves. Hear the slight rumbling growl seeping out of the other's ribcage.

That beta is hanging off Rumi again. 

Zoey fingers tap against her arm in an increasing pace- her irritation jacking marks into the skin. The sharp tip of her canines dip into the flesh of her cheek as Jinu swings an arm around Rumi's shoulders. The beta leans in too close, nose to Rumi's hair, to whisper in her ear, and Rumi chokes on her own breath- face turning red. Red like Mira's own. Zoey can see the angry flush starting to bloom under her skin, made only more obvious by the saturation of her hair. Rumi nudges foreheads with the beta, an action they had only seen her do with Celine before. It's playfully more aggressive, a headbutt more than a nuzzle that forces Jinu away from her, but her scent is still pleasantly fragrant.

Zoey wants nothing more than to breathe it in and punch the source in the gut. 

"I wanna punch him so bad," Mira mutters under her breath as she winds an arm around Zoey's waist to ground herself.

"No way," Rumi deadpans, arms crossed and nose raised (beautifully haughty) at the beta as he clasps hands in front of him in a plea. "They're your friends, Jinu, not mine."

"I'm your only friend, Ruru," Jinu immediately responds and dodges the hand trying to slap at his shoulder. "So violent! This is why we broke up."

"I have friends!" Rumi hisses and goes to jab at him again, only for her wrist to get caught mid-swing. "And we broke up because you're a pain in my ass."

"You just couldn't handle my fans," Jinu coolly rebuts as the two jostle each other around. "I understand, the competition was steep."

"Your biggest fans were grandmas! There was no competition, besides, I would've won anyway! I'm a Ryu! We're everyone's type," Rumi snarls out as she kicks at Jinu's shin.

"Definitely," Zoey blurts out. 

Mira jerks slightly beside her, eyes darting to Zoey and raised in question. Zoey doesn't know, though. Couldn't for the life of her explain why she just blurted that out loud. Not that it isn't true. Rumi is everyone's type, ideally, aesthetically perfectly beautiful. With her genetic line? It isn't even a surprise. It's common knowledge, a fact even. A law of nature that even the grimiest of bad lighting couldn't ruin. Ryu Rumi is objectively hot! No one could fault Zoey for agreeing.

The silence wanes between the four of them.

"I mean," Zoey stammers to fill the yawning void. "It's so obvious, right? She's the daughter of a Sunlight Sister. Their visual, no less! And she's like a spitting image of Mi-Yeong at her age. Like you've had to have seen their album art- you could photoshop Rumi's face onto it and not notice!"

Rumi's face furrows, brows curling up adorably between her eyes as she looks at Zoey, "Were you a fan of my Mama?"

"Did you have a crush on Rumi's mom?" Jinu immediately follows up.

"No!" Zoey insists harshly as Rumi's face immediately blanches at the idea. Zoey is lying. She hurriedly rushes over to Rumi, intent on making it obvious that she does not have interest in any of Rumi's parents. Even if both of them are, objectively, hot by society's beauty standards. "I mean, yes, I was a fan, but I didn't have a crush! I just meant you're pretty! Anyone would want to date you!"

"Regardless of your parents," Mira adds in an attempt to rescue her drowning mate. "Like, you obviously won the genetic lottery, but that's not the only reason anyone would be lucky to have you." Mira nudges her chin out to motion at Jinu, "That one is clearly an idiot."

"It seems you're an idiot," Rumi ribs smugly as she disentangles herself from Jinu. She proudly stands in front of the two alphas who took her side, hands confidently placed on her hips, and chin held high. A trace of smugness in the air. Confidence oozes out of her pores and sweetens the air like sugar. 

Zoey could tell Mira was salivating over it. She can't blame the girl; she is too.

"Woo, you got your two groupies to agree with you," Jinu taunts as she fixes his collar and shirt cuffs.

"My friends," Rumi emphasizes the word, "Because I do have friends that aren't you, agree with me."

Zoey preens slightly at Rumi's cocky little smirk. The omega's mouth curled like a cat that got the cream. She holds in her happy rumble that she and Mira had caused that burst of umami in the air. Jinu looks at Rumi with raised brows, glances at the two alphas glowering at him from behind the omega. He crosses eyes with Zoey, who huffs in defiance at the eye contact, before shifting to Mira's glaring squint. The beta gives a lazy smirk, and Zoey can feel Mira vibrate next to her in restrained irritation.

"Sure, friends," Jinu tauntingly hangs the word in front of the alphas. His smirk widens as the smell of heat and summer storms sharpens the air. Mira stiffens, ready to lunge, and Zoey grasps the arm around her waist to tether her. "Well, as your best friend, I have superior hierarchy and think you should reconsider. It's a good business opportunity."

"Make an appointment if you're going to talk work," Mira interjects, fed up with this beta strutting around like a peacock in front of their noses.

"Yeah, we booked this Rumi time!" Zoey puffs out, latching forward to clasp onto the omega's arm. 

Stupid beta with his stupid model smile and his stupid, stupid dummy face! Trying to encroach on their Rumi time like a little thief. Waving his bond to the omega they want right in their faces.  He had his chance!

"You gonna let these alphas boss you around, Ru?" Jinu teases, and Zoey tightens her grip on Mira.

Rumi, oblivious to it all, merely rolls her eyes. She tugs Zoey a step back, bringing Mira, who's still latched around her mate's waist with her, and pivots away with a sway of her braid.

"Goodbye, Jinu."

"Can you at least think on it?" Jinu asks as the group leaves him.

"Goodbye, Jinu."

Zoey can't help herself. She sticks her tongue at the man when Rumi isn't looking.

...

"I think you're overthinking it."

Zoey watches from the side of the dance studio, notebook open but ignored with a pencil in the binding. She watches the arc of Rumi's braid as the omega crosses the smooth paneling. She pulls off her cardigan, or well, Mira's cardigan, to tie it around her waist. It’s the yellow one that the alpha had pressed over her shoulders that day. Its return had been attempted multiple times. The first neatly folded and laundered by Rumi, only for Mira to forget it in the garden when they realized they were running late for a meeting. Rumi steals it back at the aquarium after the stingrays soaked her, and neither of them had remembered to take it back when they parted. Then Zoey spilled sauce on the omega during lunch, and Mira pulled out the cardigan from the depths of her bag like she never actually brought it home. Partly true, Mira brings it home- she just never took it out of her work bag. Regardless of how many times the omega returns it, Mira's decided that it's now Rumi's sweater. 

Zoey can understand why; she looks amazing in it. Especially with it wrapped around her waist, the galaxies on her arms contrasting against the bright color. The omega stretches her limbs, purple braid swaying across its sunny background. Zoey watches it sway with the same entrancement as a Newton’s cradle, the intricate braid following a step behind each movement before settling against the curve the sweater makes with her backside.

God, that cardigan’s a blessing.

“This song is relatively simple. Your choreography is ingenious, but the song itself doesn’t have the beats to keep up,” Rumi critiques as she places a hand on the dancer’s shoulder. “You’re trying to keep a certain movement, right?”

“I want the twirling effect,” Mira confirms as Rumi moves past her to restart the song.

“Remember that the costumes can work with you, not just look pretty. You can stipulate that the performers need certain things to make the routine work. Let’s pretend I’m in a proper flowy outfit and not a cardigan- watch that kick step you had with this instead.”

Rumi sways to the beat, lets the music sink into her. On the downbeat, she jerks into motion- gracefully twirling across the floor to the instrumental. With a sharp turn, she pivots directions as the meter shifts. The sweater lags behind her with her braid, billowing behind her like a small set of wings as she shifts into the next stance. With practiced ease, she brings herself back to center and flashes the two an idol smile.

“A little less cluttered, right?”

“How the fuck did you figure that out?” Mira asks, excitement pitching her tone just slightly. 

“Ma had been lead dancer. She’s very critical about choreography and very vocal about her opinions.” Rumi shrugs her shoulders. “You pick things up.”

“You’re amazing. You picked up a dance you’ve barely seen and simplified the motions. Why are you doing desk work?” Mira presses as she closes the gap between them.

“It was only that small portion,” Rumi rebukes the praise. “Nothing that impressive.”

“You’re bullshiting.”

“Mira!”

“No, no! She’s right,” Zoey adds in. “You’re amazing, Rumi!”

“Well, Mira has good choreography,” Rumi blushes as the song shifts. A familiar rhythm starts to pulse through the speakers. The omega perks at the sound. “Is this a Sunlight Sisters song?”

“Blame Zoey,” Mira immediately throws her mate under the bus and ignores the other alpha’s squawk of indignation. “Her computer.”

“As if you don’t know the dance by heart!” Zoey blurts out as she stands, ready to defend her pride. 

“It was for learning purposes only,” Mira insists and jerks when Rumi grabs at her arm.

“Dance with me?” the omega asks shyly, looking up at the taller girl with a small smile. “This was my Mama’s favorite routine, probably because Ma designed it around her. Zoey, do you know it too?”

The three fall into the beat. Rumi taking Mi-Yeong’s solo part. They watch her turn and spin, orbiting her like she’s a sun. Zoey thinks back to mythology, of flying too close to the sun. 

Zoey meets Rumi’s eyes in the mirror as they center. The glow of happiness bubbling in them makes her falter, miss a step. She burns away in the warmth the omega emits, toppling over her own legs. She crashes into Rumi, who fails to keep them upright, and eventually into Mira as the two snowball to the ground.

“Sorry! Sorry!”

Rumi just laughs. A full belly thing that curls her body and shakes her torso. She lets the two alphas pull her up, each of her hands in one of their own.

“I forgot how fun it can be,” Rumi whispers between them. 

“You should do it more,” Mira rasps out.

Zoey nods in agreement, not trusting her voice not to pulverize whatever thoughts tried to escape. Rumi shrugs, a small smile on her face. There’s the savory smell of a home-cooked meal in the air. An ambrosia of nostalgia that Zoey sucks in. 

Rumi texts them later that evening, excitedly telling them about how she decided to be a guest dancer in a mutual’s video. They learn the next day that Jinu’s request had been that she join him and his old bandmates for said video. The omega smiles at them, grasps their hands as she tells them that she wouldn’t have ever considered it if they hadn’t danced with her. She sheepishly tells them that she won't be free for some lunches in the upcoming weeks.

Zoey smiles, congratulates Rumi on her opportunity, and laments whatever higher being there is for cursing her so.

Chapter Text

Jinu sighs as he tosses his work phone to the side. Derpy perks at the sound, head tilting with unblinking eyes. It makes him look more owl than cat- adorably terrifying as his tongue pokes out between his teeth.

Fucking Baby. Last time he will ever get into that man’s debt. Throwing him into an impromptu modeling gig. Blackmailing him into it, too! That innocent face is such a facade, Jinu’s never getting drunk in front of that convining omega again. He deflates into his couch, face-first into the couch cushion. With a blind hand, he patted around for his personal cell. Stared crosseyed at the text, fading into focus.

Can you take Derpy for the week? I have a shoot out of town. 

The little checkmark appears next to the message, and the little dots showing Rumi’s activity pop onto the screen.

I’m leaving tomorrow and I’m not home until Sat night T-T. W/ my Ma for a thing.

A slight pause, the dots flickering on and off the screen. His phone dings.

I’ll ask if the girls can look after him for a few days. Or Bobbi.

Jinu can only hope she asks Bobbi first.

The girls said yes! I gave them ur number, you can plan drop off w them. Thx <3

The beta sighs. “Fuck you, Baby,” Jinu grumbles as he pushes his hair out of his face. 

…

Rumi tells him to meet them outside one of the dance studios, past what the beta knows are normal hours. He sees them leaning against the wall by the glass doors. The tall one is obviously post-choreo. Her hair is pulled back, but it is sticking to her skin from sweat. Baggy sweatpants lay low on her hips, and that yellow sweater Rumi had been wearing recently is tied around her waist. The shorter one is fiddling with the backpack she’s carrying.

“Late night?” Jinu calls out. A warning for his arrival because the last thing he needs before he leaves is to get his face punched in by two startled mates. 

Sharp eyes pivot to him, narrow in on his approaching figure. As he gets closer, he can vaguely smell Rumi’s scent. Most likely from the sweater tied around her waist, but also lingering on their skin. Even beneath the smell of sweat…

How close has Rumi been getting to these two?

“Stole Rumi’s sweater, I see.”

“It’s Mira’s. Rumi just thinks it's cozy, and who can say no to that face?” the dark-haired one, what did Rumi say her name was… Zoey? Zoey says and parts her lips to show sharp teeth. “Besides, we figured Derpy would like something that smells like her while she’s gone.”

Bullshit… those alphas will be nosing it more than Derpy ever will.

“Heard you’re pulling our Rumi into some dance thing,” Zoey continues as she winds her way around her mate. It causes the other to chuff and push into the crook of her neck.

Jinu looks away politely, uninterested in seeing public affection between mates. He still catches the way the pink-haired one smirks at him. How she presses against Zoey and lets the sweater bunch between their bodies, smothering them both in whatever leftover scent Rumi had left behind. 

Alphas.

“It’s nice to see her out and about again. She rarely lets herself perform.”

“Our Rumi’s amazing, isn’t she?” Zoey chirps as she burrows under her mate's arms. 

Jinu holds in the eyeroll. Alphas. Such possessive things.

“The cat?” God, what was that one’s name again? Mara? Mia? Something with an M... The M one grunts.

Derpy meows in his carrier. Zoey leaps forward to unzip it, pulling out the mass of fur. The cat purrs as she digs her fingers into his ruff and pushes into the touch. His head pivots, and Derpy faceplants into Zoey’s shoulder, body heaving as he breathes.

“Hello, baby boy! Do you smell your mama?” Zoey cooed as she pulled Derpy from her neck, the same one Rumi had nuzzled into when giving a parting hug. “We miss Rumi too, but don't worry, she’ll be home soon! And Mira and I are gonna roll out the red carpet for you.”

“Thanks for the favor.”

“Anything for Rumi,” Mira grunts out as her mate occupies herself with holding Derpy up like the opening scene from The Lion King. The giant cat dangles in her grip, back paws idly paddling the air by Zoey’s hips. “We’re honored she trusts us.”

“Yeah, we’d do anything for Rumi.”

Point taken.

“She’s a special girl, huh?” Jinu adds and watches as Mira straightens from the wall. 

The two of them are nose to nose this way, almost the same height. Mira corners his gaze this way, dark eyes sharp and prodding. Zoey looks their way, slouched over from the weight of Derpy trying to perch on her back. The scent of spice and salt deepens in the air. Jinu feels the hairs on the back of his neck rise and tingle under the weight of them.

“Unlike anyone we’ve ever met,” Zoey agrees and tilts her head slightly, teeth still bared in a facade of a smile.

“Too nice, though,” Mira grunts. “Too giving. People take advantage of that kind of thing.”

Sharp eyes. Sharper teeth. Jinu rubs at his neck, hoping to ease the itching there. 

“Nobody can mess with Rumi as long as we’re there!” Zoey pipes up.

Gods Rumi… how can she not see what a danger these two are to the public when it comes to her?

…

Jinu picks Derpy back up late in the evening after the train takes him back to Seoul. He stands wearily outside her house, overnight bag still thrown over his shoulder. Rumi had told him he could take Derpy back the next day, but the beta wanted nothing more than to burrow his face into the cat’s fluff and suffocate in it.

The door opens with a muted creak of hinges. Celine eyes him from the threshold, and he straightens on instinct. Years later, and she still scares the shit out of him. Although he supposes he shouldn’t feel too bad about the fact. Celine scares the shit out of everyone besides Rumi (the entirety of his old band could attest to that fact).

“… It’s you.”

“Afternoon ma’am,” Jinu sings out with practiced precision. The kind of neutrality ingrained into him from his idol training. “Just here for Derpy.”

“Wonderful, get that thing away from my sofas.” Celine turns back to the expanse of the house. “Pup! The boy is here!”

Jinu holds in his sigh. He’s not sure if Celine ever bothered to remember his name. Or if she purposefully forgot it after the split. Rumi appears from behind her mother, Derpy sprawled over her shoulders like an obnoxiously blue shawl. 

“Hey! How was the shoot?”

“I’m never letting Baby rope me into anything again…” Jinu groans at the inquisitive look. “It was an underwear shoot. Ya ya, laugh it up,” the beta drawls as the omega snickers.

“Oh, I’m sure that one fan page will go wild for that. You know, the one run by a bunch of old wo-”

“Yes! I know the one,” Jinu interrupts and glares as Rumi erupts into louder peels of laughter. He growls lowly before the ice-cold stare of Celine jabs into his throat to sever his voice box. Right… any perceived aggression in Celine’s presence could lead to his castration. “See you next week? Abby and Romance are looking forward to working with you.”

“Yes, text me if any details change. Oh!” Rumi’s grin widens, “I convinced Ma to let me take the girls with me! Mira’s a prodigy at choreo, and Zoey can keep a beat like a metronome.”

Jinu dares a glance at Celine. The alpha’s face is disgruntled, the sharp bite of spearmint subtle in the air. Well, he supposes Rumi’s been wrapping alphas around her fingers since she was a whelp.

Wait… those two alphas are following Rumi to the event? Around his old group?

… They’re all dead.

Chapter Text

If Mira is being honest- they had not been prepared for the workload that Sunlight had tasked them with. Typically, the dancer has time to cherish each choreography she invents. Coddles them like they are her own pups, nurtured to perfection, one by one. Each receives specialized attention. She doesn't have that sort of time at Sunlight. There, she tinkers and patches. Given partially made visions and having to put together puzzle pieces. 

If Mira is being honest... It's more draining than either of them expected. She no longer has the time to pinch her work into proper form. No longer has the freedom to weave a shaving of her soul into each piece. Most of the time, the pieces are not even hers. She's left to polish another's work, just a footnote in its making.

Rumi smiles at them apologetically, eyes aged from the knowledge of the world she had been born into. Her compassion will be one of the only reprieves their industry will ever afford these two greenhorns trying to break into an industry they had no birthright to. Rumi assures Mira that it's to be expected. That she (and Zoey, who is hefting her own workload) are the proverbial runts of the litter at the moment. That others will push and prod at them like an animal in a cage. To find their limits. To temper their weak points. A rigorous training method. To some extent, even a cruel one. One meant to reforge them, as one breaks a bone to reset it. With challenge comes growth and, with growth, comes strength. Sunlight Entertainment would not be a juggernaut without its power. 

If Mira's being honest (she's lying), she's never been the runt before. She is not like Zoey, whose family has no renown. Not like Zoey, who has been a scrappy whelp all her life, clawing and fighting to claim her spot in the world. Mira had been a whelp with a pedigree, with an inheritance. A birthright that placed her above others her age in the world she had been born into. Not a birthright she desired, but a birthright nonetheless. One that stuffed her belly with privileges that most would never have on a silver spoon. Be it due to her dynamic, her pedigree, or her education, she'd been set up to be the largest fish in the pond. 

(If Mira's being honest) She had been placed by her family and tutors into fish bowls that she was far too large for. Forced to bash into wall after wall and circle endlessly because they did not trust her to grow large enough for deeper waters.

(If Mira's being honest) She, as the youngest as the runt of her family, had a label scribbled onto her that she was never expected to molt. They gave her a territory to claim (a pen to contain her) and never could understand why it never satisfied her. 

Mira's been labeled as a runt, nothing but a small fry in the vastness of the ocean. But she'd been labeled as an heiress and a pawn once, and had bucked both titles before. She'll get rid of this one, too. While she may not have been Zoey, who spent her childhood scraping her knees and getting back up, no one would dare say she is not determined. The kind of vertical movement she desires is going to take time, time she barely has if she wants to progress in any sort of timely manner. So she really should not be spending her work hours accompanying Rumi to a music video set that she has no hand in. She should be in the studio, perfecting movements until her ears bleed from hearing the same repeated sound bite. She should be filing her paperwork or studying past choreography or pestering Bobby into giving actual criticism because the man is just too nice. 

Mira (and Zoey) should be doing a lot of things that aren't sitting on the plush seats of an expensive car being driven out of the city, following the omega they both are hopelessly smitten with to an event barely tangential to their job. But then Mira thinks back to how Rumi had excitedly tugged them into the private garden, blabbering about how she had gotten permission from her Ma (and Bobby, but it's not as if he needed convincing) to have them accompany her to her collab event. How she gave them that tiny little grin and swayed on her feet while she waited for their answer. Zoey had immediately shot her gaze to her, leaving Mira under the weight of two pairs of puppy eyes. 

Zoey will sheepishly grin at her on the walk home when Mira laments her upcoming all-nighter. Will do that crooked smile that rounds her face (the one she first ever smiled at Mira) before her eyes crinkle in knowing mischief.

"Could you really have said no?" Zoey will sing-song, cuddle up into Mira’s side, and accidentally knock into the armful of papers the other alpha is carrying.

"Yes," Mira grunts immediately as she hefts the paperwork back into its place under her arm.

Zoey’s eyes will twinkle, and with lips twisted into a grin, she’ll whisper, "Liar."

...

It's Jinu they find first. Which Mira supposes is to be expected, but irritation still crawls along her skin like a persistent itch. He's in some sort of pink sweater that he looks annoyingly good in, talking to two others outside the studio that serves as the designated meet-up spot. Rumi jolts up a little in excitement. Mira can practically see a tail happily flickering around, like how Derpy gets when he sees a potted plant. Like mother, like son, as Zoey would insist.

Its not Jinu who sees them first. Its one of the other two. Both with hair as pink as Mira’s, tall and broad-shouldered, and smelling like alpha. Zoey tenses up next to her, and Mira doesn’t blame her because she knows she’s stiffened too. The one that noticed them, heart-shaped bangs flopping to the side, smiles at them (at Rumi) with the devastating precision of an ex-idol.

“We meet again.”

“Hey, it’s the nepo baby!” The other one barks out.

Mira feels the growl rip out of her throat before she can catch it. Zoey snarls with her, quieter but lingering after the sharpness of Mira’s fades out. How dare they stab at Rumi’s sensitive heart like that! Diminish her to her bloodlines. As if that same birthright hasn’t also pierced her with fangs sharp?

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Rumi immediately grabs at their arms when she notices the two start to lurch forward. “Abby’s just joking, I promise.”

“Jokes are meant to be funny,” Zoey mumbles as she lets Rumi pull her closer to her. 

Mira’s more stubborn about budging from the step in front she had taken. Rumi tugs insistently at her arm, scent coiling and pleading up to her nose. The dancer bares her teeth.

“Excuse him, he’s all brawn,” the accompanying alpha interjects. “You must treat omegas with a more delicate touch than that,” he scolds Abby and shoulders him out of the way. “I’m Romance. Ex-visual of the Saja Boys. Miss. Ryu, we are honored by your participation in our little reunion event.”

“Romance?” Mira mutters under her breath as Rumi returns the polite bow. 

“I was the only one who didn’t use a stage name,” Jinu explains. “But the ones they gave the others were”

“Stupid.”

“Hey, I’ll take mine over Baby’s any day,” Abby calls out. “It is, after all, based on my best trait.” The alpha flexes his arms.

“It’s the only trait you have,” Rumi snarks out as she passes by them. She smiles at Jinu, pushes into his side in an armless hug. “Despite your name, the only lion thing about you is the size of your pride.”

“Beautiful and biting,” Romance purrs and steps closer to the omega.

“If you get me put into the tabloids again, my Ma will demolish this project,” Rumi warns, and the pink-haired alpha raises his hands in surrender.

“Come on, guys. Ru’s doing us a favor here.” Jinu turns to Rumi, “Baby and Mys are right behind us. Let’s get going.”

Rumi walks in step with Jinu, words flying at hyperspeed as they volley details regarding the video back and forth. It leaves Mira and Zoey trailing behind, hackles raised as those two alphas fall into pace beside them.

“Hello, ladies,” Romance drawls. “Ryu does seem to attract such beautiful company.”

“Brings me back to training days,” Abby adds on. “Popular even amongst the rival agencies. Jinu has always been a lucky bastard.”

“To have an omega like that on his arm? Definitely,” Romance turns his gaze back to the two. “Think they are gonna push that today. Those two together always draw engagement.”

“I doubt Celine will let that slide,” Mira grinds out.

Mira’s going to ensure it. She’ll pry the CEO’s number out of Bobby if need be, if that's what will be needed to get these conniving alphas away from Rumi.

“Definitely, Rumi hates those kinds of rumors.”

Romance hums, looks at the two women next to him before glancing back at where Rumi is shoulder to shoulder with Jinu.

“Might not be rumors, apparently,” a new voice pops up behind them.

Zoey twists automatically toward the noise, Mira’s sharp gaze following and landing on two more coming up behind them. The dancer assumes the remaining two of the former Saja Boys. An omega with bright blue hair, clutching… is that Derpy?

“Jinu’s been hanging around with her again.”

“They did remain close even after the breakup,” Abby thinks aloud. 

“Offered to take him out for drinks after he covered a shoot for me, said he had to go to Rumi’s,” Baby adds as he releases Derpy, who immediately pads ahead of them to get to Rumi.

Mira’s jaw clenches. Zoey huffs next to her, pushing into her mate to help soothe her irritation. These damn Saja Boys. No way Rumi’s getting back with that dumb beta. She would've mentioned something surely. 

“Again?!” Rumi screeches as she holds Derpy to her. She pulls a hand away, stained blue. The omega glares at the four snickering males. “You dyed him, again?!”

Mira supposes Derpy does look more blue than he did the last time they saw him.

“Come on, Ryu,” Baby smiles. “It’s his color!”

“He’s fine, Ru,” Jinu reassures as he gives the cat a pet. “I brought him to help ease your nerves. I’ll even let you take him with you after.” The beta lays a hand on the omega’s shoulder. “He’s perfectly safe… I’ll yell at them later.”

“... Fine,” Rumi pouts and lets Derpy settle onto her shoulders. 

Jinu herds them into a studio, glaring at his old bandmates as he does. He gives the two girls a look.

“They’re idiots… Please don’t kill them.”

“I make no promises,” Mira growls as they shove into the room.

…

Jinu flops into the car seat’s cushion, plants face-first into the steering wheel. What… a… disaster. Those idiots are trying to get them killed. 

“What the fuck did you tell them?” Jinu growls to the air as he jerks upward. Skin still prickling from the adrenaline from getting glared at by two dangerous alphas all day. Each brush against Rumi felt like a tick of the clock closer to his demise.

“Just feeding your fans,” Baby redirected after he cornered that damned omega during a water break. “They were all devastated when Rumi dumped you. Give them some hope.”

A rat, Baby is. A lying little rat that just bit the bear. Poking those two after he warned them all to leave them alone. Lighting a match for the media… Celine might kill him first.

The beta sinks into the seat. Jinu’s made up his mind. He’s hiding in his apartment until this is over.