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Kim Dokja remembered the first time he bit a peach, how the juices spilled out in rivulets and dribbled down his chin. He savored the sweet flesh and licked its addicting nectar from his fingers before they touched the floor, and his mother laughed at the mess he made before she handed him another to devour. When he stumbled upon an omega in the throes of heat, their true scent evoked that memory. Of all people, the omega happened to be Yoo Joonghyuk.
Peaches, almonds, and floral notes invaded his nostrils, causing the alpha to slightly drool at the spot. Even though he was more sensitive to those potent pheromones, the scent blockers he wore dampened the effects, allowing him to inch closer.
As expected, Yoo Joonghyuk reacted explosively. “Get out!” He snarled with bared teeth.
The omega’s top citrus notes turned sour and bitter, invading Kim Dokja’s nose with rotting fumes. He almost gagged from the onslaught, but he persisted onward and reached for his pocket. Thinking he was about to pull out a weapon, Yoo Joonghyuk looked ready to strike the intruder until a few pills were thrown at his person. Instinctively, the omega caught them before they fell to the floor.
The young man glared at tablets in his hand with confusion. “What is this?”
Not risking a black eye in the middle of a workday, Kim Dokja purposefully prostrated to the ground to prevent the risk of further aggravating him. His inner alpha was unhappy with the submissive posture, but it also acknowledged that the beautiful omega in front of him was in distress. His priority was to not agitate him further. Without the option of releasing his own pheromones to appease Yoo Joonghyuk, Kim Dokja decided this was the quickest, surefire way to calm him.
“Heat suppressants,” he hurriedly answered. “I also have spare scent blockers,” he added.
The flaring bitter scent emitted from the omega finally quelled into a muted peach, and if Dokja truly concentrated, he would have latched onto hints of vanilla and cream. The alpha took a deep inhale without the other noticing and swallowed down the brief burst of lust that emerged from his core.
“Why?” Yoo Joonghyuk regarded him suspiciously, unsure if he can trust this man.
His fears were warranted. Last year, a fellow omega drugged his lunch in hopes of throwing him into a rut even though his secondary gender was never confirmed. Of course, the coworker was fired on the spot, but the incident further heightened his fears. Most people assumed he was an alpha, and Kim Dokja was no different from the masses until now. In a sense, he empathized with Joonghyuk’s plight, too. Most of his coworkers already labeled him as an omega just for his physique and standoffish nature.
“I have nothing to gain from tricking you, Yoo Joonghyuk,” he said. Despite his tempting looks, Kim Dokja was not the sort of trash who would take advantage of an omega in heat. He preferred his potential mate to be sober once they bonded, not that he was going to get a mate since he was the most undesirable alpha imaginable. “I’m not your enemy.” He continued, “And that’s why it’s best for us to help each other out.”
Upon hearing his admission, the omega slowly relaxed his stance. As if a sudden switch turned on, he must have gone through some sort of epiphany and swallowed the heat suppressants without complaint. Kim Dokja was relieved that Yoo Joonghyuk accepted the pills, but after the omega downed them in one go, he extended a hand and demanded, “Give me your jacket.”
His inner alpha was stupefied. An omega in heat asking for an alpha’s personal belongings left dangerous connotations.
“Y-you don’t want it. It’s dirty.”
In reply, Joonghyuk clicked his tongue. “I’m in heat,” he plainly stated the obvious. “I can’t go out in public like this, so your pheromones will cover mine.”
Dokja never met such a bold omega when most would hiss at the thought of a stranger’s pheromones enveloping theirs, but he cannot argue against the facts. The heat suppressants will eventually wear off, so time is of the essence. The alpha quickly peeled off his jacket and warily handed it to the omega. The reaction was instantaneous.
Yoo Joonghyuk was slammed with the first note of library books and marshmallow, followed by the crisp scent of falling autumn leaves. His eyes fluttered once he took a deep inhale, burying his nose right into the collar where it had the most contact with Kim Dokja’s scent glands. The young man was confused. Omegas usually don’t exude earthy tones, but maybe Dokja was the exception.
However, he was unable to dwell upon those thoughts further when Kim Dokja notified him, “The coast is clear. Let’s go!”
From there, Joonghyuk only focused on escaping and reaching a safe haven, but he reached a different predicament once he returned home. See, he was quite unprepared for his heat since it arrived way later than the expected date on his calendar; he blamed the delay on stress. Wallowing in discomfort, he was reminded of Kim Dokja’s jacket and utilized it as a base for his nest. His inner omega purred in delight, reminiscing of the days when he would tuck inside a corner at a library and play his game console in comfortable solitude.
Ever since the incident, Yoo Joonghyuk wedged himself right into Kim Dokja’s life, often waiting near his cubicle to share lunch or sit next to him in comfortable silence during breaks, subconsciously nuzzling against his shoulder as if they were mates. At first, Dokja assumed Joonghyuk’s closeness was a display of gratitude for providing him heat suppressants when he needed them most, but the omega was constantly overstepping boundaries, the kind that would be frowned upon in their society.
For instance, the two went grocery shopping together to meal prep for the upcoming weekend. Then he was dragged to Yoo Joonghyuk's home to cook together ever since he got food poisoning from convenience store sandwiches. The whole ordeal was humiliating, especially when the omega fetched him meds while he was glued to the toilet. Cooking together was an unconventional date, but it was not as disastrous as he thought. They were a harmonious pair, taking care of their respective tasks. Kim Dokja was peeling potatoes in preparation to braise them until he was slammed by his companion's peachy scent.
Instantly, he dashed for the nearest box of tissues to plug his nose and glared at the daring omega. When he asked Joonghyuk why on earth would he carelessly remove his scent patch, the clueless omega replied that he wanted to deepen their bond. Besides family and close friends, people rarely reveal the full extent of their scent. Kim Dokja squinted at him, wondering if he was being tempted or tested for his restraint to jump on him. Since he doesn't have a death wish, he decided to take the gentlemanly route and declined Joonghyuk's offer to remove his own scent patch.
He failed to notice the omega's tinge of disappointment in his fruity scent.
(Yoo Joonghyuk wondered why his new omega friend was so skittish, but he presumed they shared the same loneliness and were inexperienced with friendship.)
The moment Yoo Joonghyuk asked Dokja for a bag of his clothes to add to his nest without a pinch of shame, the alpha began to have an inkling that something was amiss.
“Excuse me?” The alpha asked Joonghyuk with a dumbfounded expression. Surely, he must have misheard him.
Exchanging laundry was an immediate symbol for courting, a footstep right into a proposal. Hell, they barely got acquainted with each other in less than three months.
Yet, the oblivious omega had the gall to look annoyed and replied, “You got wax in your ears? I said give me a couple of your spare clothes. My heat is coming next week.”
The omega thought this was the best opportunity to ask since they were conveniently hanging out at his home, and his nest was two doors down the hallway.
Beet red, Kim Dokja sputtered out, “A-are you sure?” What kind of omega would willingly invite an alpha to their nest this instant? Was this Joonghyuk’s roundabout way to propose with the intention of marriage?
On the other side, Yoo Joonghyuk was perplexed by the other man’s reaction. Sure, he rarely befriended other omegas, but he was hoping to strengthen their relationship and openly welcome Dokja’s clothes into his nest. They were pack, right? The fact that his scent was pleasant was also a bonus. It was common practice to ask other fellow omegas and betas to add their scents, and he was hoping this year would be the first time he would gather clothes belonging to another person besides his sister.
A flash of hurt crossed Yoo Joonghyuk’s face. Maybe he was too enthusiastic to gain another companion and unknowingly drove him away. With a tense jaw, he looked away and said, “You can say no.” The scent of peaches and jasmine slowly turned more rotten and sour. “I don’t want your stuff if you’re going to force yourself.”
The instinct to please the omega overrode Dokja’s senses, and before he realized it, his hand grasped Joonghyuk’s wrist, fingers practically touching the borderline of the scent glands placed there.
Despite his reservations, the truth rang true. “I’m not forcing myself.” After all, he had plenty of opportunities to correct the omega’s abnormal behavior, but instead, he basked under his attention.
Kim Dokja wouldn’t mind an unconventional courting if Yoo Joonghyuk was involved. He knew he made the correct decision when he caught a waft of ripe peaches paired with orange blossoms. Guided by the omega, he felt his chest rumble in delight once the two entered the room, and with explicit invitation, Dokja crawled inside slowly, admiring the carefully crafted organization laid out in front of him. The nest was color coded as if it was a rainbow wheel, but right at the epicenter was an article of clothing he recognized. His inner alpha swelled with pride at the sight of his old jacket while also feeling relieved that one of his favorite jackets was safely nestled within Joonghyuk’s nest.
Without warning, Yoo Joonghyuk playfully pounced on him until they rolled and switched positions. The omega purred in content, feeling safe and happy to be accepted by his companion, whereas the alpha on top of him was enamored by the sight of an omega within his element.
That easygoing smile was slowly wiped off of his handsome face. Dokja was staring at him too long.
“What?”
Dokja's expression remained phlegmatic and composed. “You’re beautiful." The compliment came out unbidden.
A handkerchief was stuffed right into his mouth, which caused him to muffle in shock. The culprit wore tinted, rosy cheeks. “Shut up,” he groused, though his inner omega fluttered to hear any acknowledgment of his looks. He heard thousands of compliments from plenty of people, so why does his heart swoon over another omega's pretty words?
Though there was more bite left in his words, he felt boneless as the weight of Dokja on top of him grew more comfortable. In turn, Kim Dokja took a deep breath and sighed, eventually emitting his own pheromones to mix with the rest. They snuggled together without a care in the world, only enveloped in the rich combined scents of ripe peaches and aged books. Briefly, they sluggishly tangled their limbs and took a nice nap, the kind that left one with indents on their cheek. All was fine in the world until Yoo Joonghyuk accidentally rubbed his cheek too aggressively against the scent gland on Dokja’s neck and accidentally peeled off his scent patch. Like a slap to the face, his scent was robust and increasingly earthy, invading his senses until he drowned in them.
As if waking up from a lovely dream, his breath hitched as the rational part of his brain caught up with the present. The omega stiffened, grabbed the front of Dokja’s shirt, and dragged his nose right to the source of that addicting, but dangerous scent. His inner omega whined upon the discovery, causing Joonghyuk to unintentionally wrap his legs around Dokja’s hips.
Apparently… Kim Dokja was not an omega.
For better or worse, he was an alpha.