Chapter Text
Jongho doesn’t often go out on his night off, rather preferring to spend his free time at home with his mates, never really all that interested but still engaging in whatever activity was picked for the night but loving to spend time with them regardless (would he play it up like he would rather be anywhere else? Absolutely, he has a reputation to uphold after all. That being said, him and his mates have been together for long enough that Jongho knows that they know his begrudging attitude is mostly a farce. In reality he would do anything for them). It’s even more rare for Jongho to go out on his night off without at least one of his mates with him, especially since they moved into the area just a few weeks prior, yet that is exactly where the (for once, truly) begrudging alpha finds himself.
He had been invited to a new karaoke bar by some of his coworkers at the firm and, for some reason (read as ‘endless encouragements from his pack to make some friends in their new neighbourhood’), he had accepted. He wishes he’d declined.
He’s been waiting outside the karaoke bar for nearly half an hour, reminding himself every other minute that his mates are right, that he should try and have some friends besides the loves of his life, before the group shows up. Jongho smells them before he sees them. Reeking of alcohol already, his four coworkers make their way over to him, one of them barely able to stay on his feet.
“Oi, Choi! We’re here!” Says the one stumbling over his own feet. The stoic alpha grimaces at his volume.
Instead of commenting on it, though, Jongho approaches the group.
“It’s nice to see you guys, I-“ Jongho starts before trailing off, confusion marring his features. Each of them men is someway in a state of undress, missing a shoe here or a shirt there. Jongho even thinks one of them might be just in his boxers but the low lighting in the parking lot makes it hard to tell.
“You what?” Slurs another.
The increasingly annoyed alpha just shakes his head with a strained but polite smile. “Nothing. How about we head in?” He suggests, just wanting to get the night over with at this point. He had payed his portion of the reservation fee, after all. Thankfully for his sanity (Jongho isn’t sure how much patience he has left and the night just started), the quartet nod, the most sober one leading the group into the establishment with Jongho at the rear.
Following the group, he can’t help but take another look at the neon sign he’d spent most of his time waiting in the parking lot staring at. The slanted, stylized letters are illuminated a rich, true red, spelling out ‘Treasure’, a large GRAND OPENING sign hung beneath. Snorting at the name (and taking a couple minutes to convince himself not to ditch the group and drive back home to his boyfriends), Jongho finally takes the final steps into the building.
It’s a little disorienting at first, the dim space illuminated by so many neon lights and signs that it takes Jongho’s eyes a moment to adjust from the darkness outside. Loud music is pouring out of every karaoke room, the voices of singing patrons reverberating distantly off the walls down to the reception area. It’s chaotic, sure, but oddly Jongho doesn’t find that he hates it. He just wishes he had better company.
Looking around for his coworkers, the alpha realizes very quickly that they are nowhere to be seen. Figuring that they’d gone in without him, he walks up to the man at the front desk who is clacking away at the computer, his brows furrowed slightly. Clearing his throat, Jongho makes his presence known and the man’s foxlike features melt into a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.
“I’m sorry about that, sir. How can I help you?” The man asks, still evidently a little embarrassed but determination shines in his doe eyes.
“No problem at all…” Jongho squints at the worker’s name tag, leaning into the desk to be able to read in the dim lighting, “Jeongin. I have a reservation for five under Choi. The other four of my group came in just before me but I don’t see them. Do you know if they were taken to our room?”
As soon as he mentions his colleagues, Jeongin’s smile quickly gives way to a deep frown, almost a scowl. Jongho barely holds back a sigh, preparing for the worst.
“Oh. Your friends are-“ “They aren’t my friends” Jongho cuts the man off, knowing that the worker probably could not care less but already feeling the need to distance himself from the drunk idiots.
Apparently that was a good move as the worker’s eyes light up.
“They’re not?” There isn’t even an attempt to hide the hope in the man’s tone. Jongho thinks when his mates inevitably ask if he made any friends, Jeongin will be the one he talks about. Truly a man after his own judgmental heart. Jongho confirms with a head shake. Tension bleeds from the other man’s shoulders immediately as he sighs. “Thank fuck. The others in your group are being escorted out by my coworker because they started getting in my face when I told them we have a no shirt no service policy.” Jongho can only nod, massaging away an oncoming migraine. Jeongin laughs before meeting Jongho’s eye, his own glowing with amusement.
“We should be friends, Mr. Choi, we get along great.”
Jongho wants to point out that they don’t know each other but oddly enough he finds himself agreeing with the doe eyed ball of energy.
“Jongho,” he introduces himself and Jeongin’s eyes get even brighter (the alpha isn’t sure how that’s possible).
“Well Jongho-ssi,” the fox featured employee drawls as he grabs a sticky note and scrawls his information across it, “I think it’s safe to assume you like karaoke so you should join me one day after my shift! I get an employee discount.” The way Jeongin raises his eyebrows with a purposefully silly smirk makes Jongho chortle but he nods regardless.
He takes the offered sticky note and reading it turns the chortle into a huff of laughter.
‘Choi Jongho-ssi’s mates,
Hi! I’m Yang Jeongin, your mate’s new friend :) I work at Treasure and I knew I had to befriend him, we’re literally twins! Anyways!!! Just writing this to introduce myself and to say that I am happily mated (and Jongho is NOT my type, if you’re reading this Jongho I still want to be your best friend don’t take it personally :((( ). My mission is to gain a new friend so Jongho-ssi is safe with me!
Here is my number! I’ll be stealing Jongho away for employee discounted karaoke at some point, sorry in advance for borrowing him!
Yang Jeongin’
Jongho can’t help but snap a picture of the note in his hand and send it to his pack’s group chat before pocketing it and his phone. The device starts vibrating nearly immediately and Jongho huffs in amusement, planning to wait until the group chat calms down before going back in.
“Discounted karaoke sounds like fun.” Jongho says, “what day-“ the alpha trails off as the thick stench of fear and alcohol fills the reception area. Somewhere beneath it all, Jongho can find the scents of his coworkers. He opens his mouth again to ask Jeongin about it before another scent joins the sickening medley. It is overpowering and heavy and livid
“Fuck” Jeongin and Jongho say at the same time before making eye contact.
“Those are my coworkers” Jongho says first.
“That’s my coworker” Jeongin squeaks and, based on that reaction alone, Jongho knows they need to haul absolute ass to stop whatever fate is awaiting his coworkers. They deserve to be denied service, definitely, but Jeongin’s reaction certainly made it seem like his coworker was capable of much more than that. Jeongin leaps the counter, scrambling around the corner and through a door marked in large letters EMPLOYEES ONLY. Circumstances considered, Jongho figures management might be alright with an exception and follows his new friend in.
The mix of pheromones that greet him knocks the air out of his lungs.
His four idiot coworkers are backed against a wall, most of them cowering in fear but with one standing on his tip toes, eyes glowing and snarling, chest to chest with an absolute giant. Jongho barely gets a look at him before his coworker jabs a finger into the taller man’s chest making him, too, bare his teeth and growl. That finally kicks him and Jeongin into gear, the fox featured man slipping between the engaging parties and pushing on his coworker’s chest as Jongho wraps an arm around his coworker’s shoulders and pulls him back towards the wall. Thankfully Jeongin’s presence calms his coworker significantly and his thick, overpowering angry pheromones lighten slightly and, for a moment, Jongho thinks it’s over.
And then his coworker shoves him aside and stomps back up to the behemoth that is Jeongin’s coworker. That, it turns out, is the worst thing the man could have done.
Seeing the other man approach, the tall employee pulls Jeongin behind him and approaches Jongho’s coworker, the two meeting in the middle. Jongho swears he sees the worker’s fangs begin to elongate and he needs to find a way to deescalate this like, right now.
“First, you and your drunken idiots give my Jeongin a hard time for enforcing company policy and try to lay a hand on him and now you’re here, still causing a disturbance and trying to touch my Jeongin. AGAIN.”
Jongho doesn’t even have time to marvel at how deep the man’s voice is as his coworker’s collar is grabbed. Is Jongho totally on Jeongin and his coworker’s side? Absolutely, his coworkers have gone from classless and annoying to full on harassers. That being said, he doesn’t think his new friend would be too happy with a coworker he clearly cares a lot about going to prison.
Catching Jeongin’s eye from across the room, Jongho lifts his wrist to his own neck and rubs, mimicking the act of scenting, the fox featured employee’s eyes widening before he nods.
“Mingi hyung, I’m alright. They didn’t hurt me, see?” his new friend starts, pumping out calming pheromones, his scent sweet with a spicy tang like cinnamon.
The calming scent of his friend seems to loosen something in the taller worker, the hard lines of his shoulders softening, ever so slightly. He stays baring his teeth at Jongho's coworker for another beat before the fight seems to bleed out of him, the baritone turning his back on the drunk alpha still baring his teeth. Jongho thinks he sees the taller man's body tense as the snarling alpha leaves his field of view but any tenseness once again leaves the taller after giving Jeongin a once over, confirming his wellbeing.
With long hair no longer covering feral eyes, plush lips covering sharp fangs, Jongho almost thinks the man, Mingi he corrects himself, looks cute (he would be on his deathbed before admitting that a burning desire to squish the taller man's face overtakes him in this moment). Mingi shuffles his feet over to where Jeongin is, still rooted to the spot the taller had dragged him to moments prior, and Jongho feels the corner of his lips curl into a small smile. It almost looks like he's waddling.
Finally by his friend's side, Mingi drops his face into the crook of Jeongin's shoulder, hunching over to fit but not seeming to mind as the younger whispers into his ear, the smaller rubbing his wrist down the accessible side of Mingi's neck over his scent gland and suddenly Jongho feels like he's watching something he shouldn’t. Averting his gaze politely, his eye immediately catches his dumbass coworker marching over. With Mingi's back turned and Jeongin's entire focus on him, Jongho doesn't doubt they have no idea what is going on. In a blink, his coworker has a hand raised, about to grab the back of Mingi’s collar and Jongho is marching towards him before his brain can even catch up. Putting himself between his drunk coworker and the boys, he easy catches the idiot's arm midair. Meeting his eye seems to sober the older lawyer up a little and it takes a couple of beats for him to realize why.
Jongho is snarling. He feels the rumble of the growl deep in his chest, feels the warm room air against his gums and his elongated canines poking his bottom lip, he even catches the edges of his vision blurring. He blinks away the oncoming rage but keeps his grip on the other man tight.
"Touch him and see what happens," Jongho snarls, his voice foreign to his own ears.
His coworker falters, taking a step back and attempting to pull his arm from Jongho’s grasp. With a final warning squeeze, Jongho releases him.
“I’ll see you at work on Monday” Jongho growls and the quartet nod, taking the hint and scrambling to their feet before leaving through the employee exit as fast as their drunk state allows. With the idiots gone, Jongho takes a couple of deep, calming breaths before turning to the duo behind him.
Mingi is still hunched over to keep his nose buried in his friend’s shoulder but is now shaking like a leaf and seemingly crying, Jeongin’s cinnamon scent filling the room in an attempt to calm the taller. Jongho has to take a moment to center himself to avoid getting scent drunk and he marvels at how Mingi somehow is not with how close he is to the source. Jeongin continues to rub his free hand up and down the gentle giant’s back, whispering comforting words to him but after this goes on for a few moments and the long haired worker shows no signs of calming, Jongho feels an overwhelming urge to comfort, unable to watch him cry for another second.
He takes a step forward, wanting to comfort the larger man despite having no idea how, but freezes in his tracks as Mingi whimpers, the sound much higher than Jongho would think was possible from him. Worried that he'd further spooked the taller, he makes eye contact with Jeongin who shakes his head with a reassuring smile, so he tries another step, loud enough for the long haired employee to track his movements but not loud enough to scare him. Before long, he's at the two men's side and letting out calming pheromones of his own without realizing.
Despite both Jeongin and Mingi having scent inhibitor patches clearly visible on their shoulders, Jongho can make out both of their scents joining his own in the air. Jeongin's cinnamon has gone syrupy sweet with a sharp undertone of the kind of spice that burns the back of your nose, (a fellow alpha, then), and Mingi's citrus scent soured with an essence that is so quintessentially distressed omega that it almost makes Jongho's knees give way. Ignoring the desire to know what the taller smells like under less upsetting circumstances, Jongho pushes his soft lavender out to join the mix. It is definitely not a nice one, Jeongin's in the moment too sweet, Jongho's with a slight bite of residual anger and Mingi's so sour with distress it smells like rotten lemons, but the omega doesn't seem to care much, shuffling his face away from Jeongin's neck to take in lungfulls of the mix.
After a couple of breaths, Mingi is noticeably calmer but still shaking in his smaller friend's arms and Jongho can't contain the small, worried noise he makes. Slowly, Mingi looks up, tilting his head to keep his long hair out of his teary eyes as he meets Jongho's gaze for the first time and gods Jongho is so fucked.
Tan skin flushed pink with anger and tears, high cheekbones that lead down to soft looking lips and an angular jaw, sharp eyes lightly lined with kohl wide with so much trust Jongho has to look away, clearing his throat.
He can tell the omega is about to say something, taking in a deep breath before seeming to mull over his options, but before he can speak there is the faint sound of a bell being rung at the front desk. Once, then again, and again, and again. Jeongin curses, giving his friend a tight squeeze before pulling back slightly.
"Hyung, I have to go take care of that customer but I'll be right back, okay?" The young alpha says, all joking pretense he had earlier with Jongho replaced with complete sincerity.
Mingi stiffens at that, another whimper ripping its way from his throat and Jongho decides he never wants to hear that sound again.
"I can stay," Jongho offers, a little loud for the moment, "I know it's not the same as having Jeongin stay but at least you won't be alone..." He trails off, not sure if he'd said the right thing but the way the citrus in the air smells the slightest bit sweeter, the alpha considers maybe he did something right after all.
Jeongin's eyebrows rocket up into his hairline but rather than tease as Jongho had been bracing himself for, the other alpha simply looks down at his friend hunched over in his arms.
"Whatdy'a say, hyung? You okay staying here with Jongho-ssi for a couple minutes?" The quiet tone and intense yet soft gaze his new friend is using on the omega makes Jongho wonder for a millisecond if there's something more than friendship there (he pointedly ignores the burning in his chest and the ache in his fangs at the thought).
Jongho can feel the omega's gaze on him and he considers ignoring it but as the silence stretches on and the bell keeps ringing and Jeongin keeps clearly getting more and more anxious, he meets the taller man's eye once again.
He ignores his heart beating in his ears, the fluttering in his stomach and the shakiness of his hands. He just holds the omega's gaze as he would a new client's, polite but firm. That seems to do the trick as the taller is giving a small nod into the foxlike alpha's shoulder within seconds, not seeming happy in the slightest to let his friend go but forcefully extracting himself regardless. Jeongin gives his friend a comforting smile and a squeeze on the shoulder before bolting out of the employee area with a call of "one second!" and suddenly Jongho doesn't know what to do with himself.
He looks over at the omega, hoping to get a hint and boy, does he ever. With his friend gone, the omega is shaking again, harder than before, his breaths turning into shallow pants and, as Jongho's eyes dart up to the other's face, he notices the employee's eyes welling up with tears once again.
“Mingi-ssi” Jongho starts but is cut off, the taller’s voice thin and vulnerable.
“When were you born?”
The alpha pauses for a second, confused, but he answers anyway. “In 2000.”
“I’m your hyung,” the sharp eyed omega says, his lips upturned in the smallest smile despite still shaking and finding it hard to catch his breath. Jongho doesn’t even bother to stop the small, fond smile that forms on his face.
“Mingi hyung,” he corrects himself and he swears he sees a faint flush colour the older’s ears, “what can I do to help you feel better?”
The taller takes in a sharp breath, his eyes darting to stare at his feet.
“Could we- could you scent me?” The omega asks but before Jongho can even fully process the request, the older begins to ramble. “I saw your mating bite so if not that’s totally fine, your mate probably wouldn't want you to, I don't even know why I asked, Jeongin usually scents me to help me through these but-“
“Hyung” Jongho’s brain finally comes back online and he interjects before the omega can keep spiraling. Mingi’s mouth clicks shut. In place of a verbal answer, Jongho raises a wrist in the older’s direction, making it most of the way there before stopping, allowing the omega to close the distance should he choose. Mingi’s mouth opens and closes but can’t seem to find the words he’s looking for. Instead, he gives Jongho the most pleading puppy dog eyes the alpha has ever seen and gods if he didn’t already want to give the omega everything he has ever wanted (that, Jongho decides, is certainly a sentiment he should revisit but he also decides that that is a later him problem). He gives the taller a soft smile as he pumps out more calming pheromones, trying to drown out the nose blinding scent of distressed omega.
“My mates would understand” he reassures. “I’ll scent you.” Jongho can hear how soft his own voice has become.
With one last look of confirmation, Mingi takes the last step, closing the distance and Jongho lets his wrist slide down the side of the taller’s neck, around the front and up the other side, repeating the cycle in a rhythmic motion. The older sighs, the tenseness bleeding from his shoulders as he subconsciously relaxes onto Jongho. Despite supporting the dead weight of a man nearly twice his size that he barely knows, Jongho finds that he doesn’t mind it in the slightest. After a couple of rounds of scenting, Mingi has stopped shaking, his breathing having evened out as he’s fully leaning against the shorter alpha, having Jongho very glad that he sticks to a very strict gym routine (more like San and Yeosang have him on a very strict gym routine, don’t get Jongho wrong, he loves the gym, its just that if he didn't have a set routine he would most definitely get distracted staring at his sweaty, shirtless boyfriends).
When he hears the omega purr, though, Jongho starts to properly assess the situation as his brain clears from the fog he hadn't even noticed accumulating. Mingi’s eyes are slightly glassed over, relaxed purrs vibrating from his chest and his scent now a sweet fruit medley, like sweet lemonade with watermelon and orange slices on a warm summer’s day, looking mildly scent drunk. Jongho realizes that his own breathing has gotten a little heavy, a pleased rumble in his chest as his instincts lead him in covering every inch of the omega’s throat in his own scent. He runs his wrist down over Mingi’s scent gland, making the taller gasp and Jongho’s fangs ache in response making the alpha realize he really really needs to get things under control.
The alpha clears his throat and he feels Mingi tense up. He pumps out more calming pheromones and once the older relaxes, he speaks. “Are you one of Jeongin-ssi’s mates?”
The laugh that erupts from the older makes Jongho jolt in surprise, though surprise quickly makes way for fondness as he sees the absolutely blinding toothy smile the older is giving him.
“That would be so gross” Mingi giggles. Jongho just raises an eyebrow, thoroughly confused.
“Jeongin and his mates are like my brothers, they’re my family”
Jongho will never admit to the relief that washes over him in that moment.
He nods, running his wrist up the taller's neck and across the underside of his jaw, unable to help himself.
"I just thought because you called him yours-"
The omega doesn't let him get close to finishing that thought. "He's my younger brother and strangers don't have the right to treat him that way. If they want to misunderstand our relationship, as long as it gets them to leave Jeonginnie alone I couldn't give less of a flying fuck." The taller's voice, despite being nasally from the crying and shaking from the adrenaline crash, is still hard with conviction.
Jongho simply nods, giving the older a small smile. That is a sentiment he can certainly get behind.
They lapse into a peaceful silence, Jongho continuing to lazily run his wrist across the taller's throat and jaw as the omega continues to purr, his eyes closed contently as he enjoys the attention.
And then the door swings open and Jongho is snarling before he even registers whats going on, his body moving on pure instinct as he whirls around, putting himself between Mingi and the door. The snarl dies quickly on his lips, though, as he’s met with the sight of an amused Jeongin standing in the doorway, leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed, a teasing smirk on his lips.
“Jeongin-ssi-“ He’s cut off by a throat clearing and he looks over his shoulder to meet Mingi’s eye, amusement and mischief sparkling in them.
“You’re his hyung” is the conspiratorial whisper he gets, the omega looking very proud of himself. Jongho can’t help but give him an amused smile of his own.
Looking back at the younger alpha with a raised eyebrow, Jeongin rolls his eyes but hangs his head in dramatic resignation for personal honorifics.
“Jeongin-ah-“ He is again cut off, this time by the other alpha.
“Jongho hyung, I know this is a lot to ask but since your group has already payed for your room would you mind taking Mingi hyung for a few songs to make sure he’s had enough time to calm down? In an ideal world he would take the rest of his shift off but I know there’s no chance of that happening. I just wanna make sure he’s feeling better before he comes back to the counter.”
The youngest is giving Jongho his own puppy dog eyes and, while convincing, Jongho finds that they have nowhere near the same effect on him as Mingi’s do. That being said, as the older alpha looks back over at Mingi, he notices his eyes are still slightly glassed over and that the faintest bitterness of dread has begun to sour the omega’s scent, he decides to go along with it.
“What do you think about some karaoke?” He asks the taller and he catches Jeongin’s grateful smile in his peripheral before the younger leaves again to go back to work. Excitement glints in the older’s eye, the bitterness of dread evaporating immediately as he gives the shorter a soft smile.
Jongho ignores the warmth spreading in his chest.
Before he can blink, his wrist is grabbed and he’s being dragged out of the employee only area and down the hall towards the karaoke rooms.
Even with bass vibrating the floor, loud pop songs and people’s voices leaking from under the doors, tacky neon lights leading the way, when the pretty, long haired omega looks at him over his shoulder and gives him that blinding toothy smile, all Jongho can focus on is the sound of his own elevated pulse in his ears.