Archive of Our Own

Seungmin pushing himself in dance practice wasn’t anything new.

It was normal; everyone did that. Everyone had days when moving their body to the beat of the music, with all the practised details and points and changing formations, seemed a little more difficult than usual. A little more tiring and exhausting than it should be.

Seungmin was having one of those days. He had seemingly been having ‘one of those days’ in just about every area of his job for days, maybe even weeks now. Still, today was a little bit harder than yesterday had been… or the day before.

Maybe everything was catching up to him now, he thought absentmindedly, stepping back and to the left of Hyunjin as the beta took his place in the centre as flawlessly as he always seemed to do.

Not that Seungmin could let it catch up to him, though. He had a job to do.

They were practising for their upcoming end-of-the-year performances. Even though they had been promised more time off after the comeback to deal with, well, everything, the delay had given them less time to prepare than initially scheduled.

Their upcoming MAMA performance was definitely the most anticipated one, and the one they were currently practising for. 3racha still had to mix and rearrange the tracks they were going to use for it, and although the general story and outline of the performance were clear enough for choreography to be worked on and slowly perfected, there was still a lot to do.

Stray Kids had been given a longer performance slot at the award show than they’d ever been given before. Everyone in the pack wanted to use it to their advantage, but the company even more so. The small leaks and rumours that had been happening online during their latest comeback were apparently worrisome enough for company personnel to want fans to “focus on something else,” and so Stray Kids had practically been ordered to pull off one hell of a performance at MAMA.

So much for their promised break, Seungmin couldn’t help but think.

It wasn’t as if he could complain too much, though.

“After the holidays,” they’d been promised, when Chan had tried to argue about their quickly accumulating schedules going against what they’d been told. “You know the end of the year is one of the busiest times for an idol.”

They weren’t wrong, was the thing. That was something you learnt pretty early on in this job, and they were in their fifth year now. That didn’t mean it wasn’t still annoying.

Don’t get him wrong; Seungmin loved performing. He loved that they’d been given even more opportunities than they ever had before, even if it meant that there was more for them to do. If nothing else, it meant that all of their hard work was paying off and, hopefully, that they could continue what they were doing for a long, long time.

So, Seungmin couldn’t complain. He really couldn’t, and he didn’t. But…

He was tired. He was so fucking tired. It had never been this bad before.

It made sense, Seungmin knew that. And he knew that Dr. Myong and Dr. Kwang and even the rest of his pack had said that it was normal, given what he was going through, but the exhaustion still couldn’t help but make him feel… embarrassed.

Their schedules weren’t that hard, all things considered. Their rookie years had been a hundred times harder. Besides, everything was still being done in accordance with the stricter parts of Seungmin’s recovery plan, meaning he got a lot more breaks than the other members did, and even the occasional half-day. He’d more or less gotten that even during the comeback promotions, and it still hadn’t been enough for Stays not to notice that something was up with him.

Seungmin being granted more breaks had been a little harder to make happen during the comeback, of course, so there hadn’t been quite as many of them. It was being “made up for” now, though. Seungmin wasn’t part of the more crucial subunits of the group when it came to stage planning, so it didn’t really delay anything for the company or create scheduling difficulties like it would during promotions.

The new mix was still being worked on, and the performance was still being planned and choreographed, whether Seungmin was there or not. They could allow Seungmin some extra rest without it being too much of a loss.

So… everything should be fine. He was being given the (minimum) number of breaks that various doctors had informed management that he would need, and considering the increased workload the rest of his pack was facing, Seungmin didn’t exactly feel like asking for more. If anything, he felt like asking for less, because he should be able to handle it.

Seungmin knew that he needed the breaks (at least according to the doctors), and he could feel that he did, too, but, well… that didn’t mean that he liked it.

He had been more okay with it at first, since it really was helping with not only the weariness, but also the pain. But then, after a few weeks of leaving early by himself, or taking a break whilst watching all of his boyfriends work themselves to the bone, he started feeling quite guilty about it all.

The others didn’t agree with him on that, of course. He normally wouldn’t have said anything about it, but he hadn’t quite been able to get a hold of his scent yet. There was no hiding the guilt he felt, which he, of course, had been pestered about until he gave them a rundown of his thoughts on everything.

His pack had tried their best to reassure him about it. They had been patient and calm whenever Seungmin tried to push back on rest, and they had even managed to talk him into being a little more okay with it than he actually was.

As the stress grew for all of them, though, patience had begun to wear thin, and Seungmin had mostly learnt to just shut up and take a breather whenever he was told to. It seemed to make the others a little more at ease, even if the guilt persisted for Seungmin.

They still took it a little too far sometimes, in Seungmin’s opinion. He got more than enough rest compared to the others, but even then, they had tried to push back on the company’s decision and give him even more time to rest, which had been ridiculous.

Or, well, it had felt ridiculous. It didn’t feel as ridiculous anymore, though; he was barely keeping up today.

Seungmin shook the thought away as soon as it came. He was doing fine.

Yes, his arms and legs were practically screaming for him to slow down, and he had started feeling more than a little lightheaded with some of the quicker, more powerful moves, but overall, it was still okay.

They were only going to do one more song after this, and then they would all take a short break. Seungmin is going to drink some water then, and maybe get his hands on a protein bar. He will sit down for a few minutes, get some of that precious ‘rest’ everyone kept nagging him about, and then he’ll be good for the rest of the day.

He wasn’t due one of those half-days today—he still had a few more hours to go. He couldn’t afford to think about wanting more rest. It was stupid. He got a ridiculous amount of rest as it was.

They were nearing the end of the song now, maybe thirty seconds left or something like that. Seungmin would know; they’ve done this choreography about a hundred times over the past week. It was more muscle memory than real practice for him at this point, even though he knew he should be paying more attention to how to do it better, how to perfect it. He just didn’t have it in him to do that right now.

Seungmin just had to get through the song. He just had to get through the song, and then Minho would pause for maybe a minute or so with some comments about how they’d all done (no doubt giving Seungmin some sugarcoated constructive feedback about how terrible he’s doing), and then Seungmin could take a little breather until the next song and break.

It was fine.

Twenty-five seconds left; a change in formation. Although Seungmin was used to the gaps from the missing 3racha members enough for it not to bother him, his eyes were still drawn to where they would have been in the mirror, trying to distract his mind with something else to keep his limbs from shaking.

Twenty seconds left; Seungmin was a little late on a step, causing Felix to get a little too close to him for comfort. They didn’t bump into each other, but Seungmin felt Minho’s eyes draw to him like a hawk.

Fifteen seconds left; Seungmin tried to blink away the spots appearing at the edges of his vision, the room growing darker and slower. Was something wrong with the lights? No one else seemed to notice anything was wrong, though.

Ten seconds left; a spin move. Seungmin had been dreading this one, but it was the last difficult move of the choreography for him. He’d pull himself through, get it out of the way even if he did it a little half-heartedly, and… then…

Everything was moving in slow motion. The dark spots in his field of vision were growing. His head was dizzy (nothing new), but he could hear his blood rush through his ears as he twisted and turned his body.

Seungmin lost the final bit of control he felt over himself as the wall of mirrors shot up to the ceiling, his body crashing to the floor.

It was the sharp pain that nestled its way through his skin as he made contact with the polished hardwood that jolted him back to reality. Seungmin tried his best to blink away the slowly retreating black spots obscuring his sight as the worried faces of his members came into focus above him.

…Fuck.

He had been so close!

There had been, what, seven seconds left? If even that?!

God, Seungmin was pathetic.

He had really pushed himself, managing not to flinch at the bone-deep ache of his muscles or the way his head pounded in a way that had threatened his balance, nearly making him sway. He had made it through all of that without anyone noticing, just to end up collapsing from a fucking spin move.

There was no hiding that. The fall had probably looked worse than it was, too, with the way everyone was looking at him. Well… everyone except for—

“Yah!” Minho shouted, loud enough to break through the last few notes of the music and to startle Seungmin, who still hadn’t gotten up from the floor.

Minho marched over to his phone, pausing the music connected to the room’s Bluetooth speakers before it could start the next track. He made his way over to Seungmin, looking down at him from where he was standing with something akin to lightning in his eyes.

God, Seungmin hadn’t seen Minho that angry in a while. The alpha had been pretty good at keeping his composure ever since that day he and Chan had fought about whether to take Seungmin to the doctor or not, but now…

“You’ve looked tired all practice, Seungmin-ah! Don’t think I haven’t noticed. I let it be because I trusted you to know your own limits, but clearly I was wrong. What have we told you?!”

Seungmin knew the alpha was only worrying about him—his dark chocolate note had taken on a particularly bitter shade that all but projected concern and anxiety to the entire room, and it was strong enough to be distinguished between all the others’ similar emotional states even from the slightly longer distance the alpha had from Seungmin’s spot on the floor. Seungmin knew that the high-stress environment made him show these emotions through anger (though Minho definitely felt actual anger, too; the sweetness in his cherry wine scent was noticeably duller).

It wasn’t exactly the first time it had happened—Minho showing his worry in this way. But it hadn’t exactly happened recently.

There was a small, insecure part of Seungmin that was almost relieved to see this part of Minho again. The part that wasn’t reluctant to be harsh with him if he felt it was needed. Seungmin had definitely been coddled recently, and although he didn’t hate it, it was also nice to see that he hadn’t lost the chance to be treated without a filter. That being an omega didn’t suddenly take that away.

It was only a very small part of Seungmin that thought like this, though. The other, bigger part of him was half mortified, half angry.

He didn’t say anything, though, and he couldn’t bear to look at Minho (or any of the others, for that matter). Instead, Seungmin’s gaze was fixed on the alpha’s shoes, and he could feel his face flush as the older continued.

“We said if you feel like you need to take a break, you take one. You don’t push yourself until you collapse!”

“I didn’t think I would,” Seungmin muttered quietly.

“What was that?” Minho asked, clearly even more agitated than he already had been.

“Hyung,” Hyunjin’s voice cut in, his voice placating. “Maybe we should just—”

“No, I want to hear what he said.” Minho’s voice was angry and dismissive, and it irked Seungmin in all the wrong ways. Hyunjin hadn’t done anything wrong. “What did you say, Seungmin-ah?”

Seungmin whipped his head up, a defiant glint in his eyes from the irritated buzz under his skin that just kept growing and growing. He repeated himself much louder than necessary.

“I said I didn’t think I would! I thought I had it under control, okay?!” Annoyance clung to every syllable that left Seungmin’s mouth. He huffed. “It’s not that bad—”

“Well clearly it is that bad.”

Unlike Seungmin, Minho’s voice was more controlled. He wasn’t yelling anymore. Maybe he didn’t feel like he had to.

Seungmin opened his mouth to say something at that, the buzz under his skin shifting from irritation to anger, strong enough to surprise even him. It was warranted, though. Seungmin thought he could do it; what didn’t Minho understand about that?! The song had practically been over, and he was taking enough breaks as it was. He should be able to make it through a fucking dance practice, and if nothing else, he owed it to himself and the others to at least try. It’s not like he wanted to collapse, especially not in front of everyone!

Minho cut him off before he could say anything. “No, I don’t want to hear it. You’re done for today.”

Indignation slammed into Seungmin’s chest, making him scoff and widen his eyes in surprise. “What?”

“You’re done, Seungmin. No more dance practice, no more schedules at all today. I want you to rest.”

‘Rest.’ God, was that the only word his pack knew nowadays?

“And what about what I want?! We’re nowhere even near finished, hyung, I—”

“I don’t care, Seungmin-ah. You’re done, I mean it.”

“And who are you to decide that?!”

Seungmin regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth. His emotions had run high from a mix of shame and anger and embarrassment, but the reality of what was actually happening crashed into him just then, as he saw Minho’s eyebrows rise in what could only be described as disbelief.

God, what the fuck was he doing? He was… He was yelling and talking back at his alpha for being worried about him, and even questioning his authority over him on top of that. It would have been disrespectful even as a beta, but as an omega?

Minho’s expression shifted from disbelief into something darker, and Seungmin shrank back at the look, guilt slamming back into his chest hard enough to choke him. He immediately pulled his eyes away and shifted his gaze back to the floor, his neck craned down and his voice wavering as he tried to stutter out an apology.

“I’m- I’m sorry, I—”

“Don’t.”

The word was short and clipped, but he didn’t sound as angry as Seungmin thought he would. He chanced a look back up at the alpha, wondering what expression he would have.

Minho’s eyes were closed, and he seemed to be taking a deep breath. His whole body was tense.

“We’ll talk about this later, okay?” Minho finally said, meeting his gaze with an unreadable expression. “For now, I need you to go to Chan’s studio. You can rest on the couch there until we’re all done for the day. I don’t want you going back to the dorm by yourself.”

That was all the older said before making his way over to Jeongin and pulling the younger aside, saying something to him that Seungmin couldn’t hear even if he had tried to. He was too busy berating himself for having lost his temper and disrespecting his alpha like that to notice what they were saying, or even to notice Felix and Hyunjin crouching in front of him and coming closer.

He almost startled at Hyunjin reaching out his hand for him before grabbing it, letting the beta help him up off the floor.

“Hey, are you okay?” Hyunjin asked as soon as he got up on his feet. Seungmin had almost forgotten there were other people in the room aside from himself and Minho. “The fall didn’t look too bad, but—”

“I’m okay,” Seungmin said, interrupting the beta before he could say anything that would make him feel even more guilty than he already did. The look of disbelief in both Hyunjin and Felix’s faces was annoying, but he supposed he had set himself up for that. “I mean it. I am. The fall wasn’t that bad, I’m just… tired. And dizzy, I guess. But I swear, I really thought I could do it.”

“Well, hopefully you’ll know better next time,” Jeongin suddenly said, having made his way over to them at some point. Seungmin turned to look at the maknae in slight surprise.

“Hyung asked me to bring you to the studio,” the younger continued, an unreadable expression on his face. “Make sure you don’t wander off.”

Seungmin couldn’t help but sigh. “I don’t need a babysitter.” The words came out harsher than he had meant for them to be.

God, what was wrong with him today?

As expected, Jeongin didn’t look amused. He arched an unimpressed eyebrow before speaking. “I don’t think you want to argue about it with him anymore. He’s still pretty upset with you.”

That made Seungmin’s shoulders sag again.

“Just go,” Hyunjin said, his voice soft as if trying to reassure him, even though Seungmin was definitely the one in the wrong. He knew he was. “You can talk and clear things up with him later, when you’ve both calmed down. Okay?”

Seungmin heaved another sigh at that, although this one was considerably less irritated as he looked over to Minho. The older had kept his scent and pheromones in check during their argument earlier, and Seungmin could almost see the effort it took for the alpha to hold everything back with the way he carried himself. Seungmin knew that Minho could feel his eyes on him, but the older continued to ignore him, looking at something on his phone. He was clearly still very upset, and, well… so was Seungmin.

“...Yeah. Okay.”

Hyunjin tried to give a reassuring smile, but it felt wrong. Even the comforting touch Felix gave him on his shoulder felt wrong.

Jeongin caught his gaze before nodding towards the door. The alpha didn’t even look back at him before walking towards it.

Seungmin followed.

***

The walk from the practice room to Chan’s studio (or 3racha’s studio, really) wasn’t exactly a long one, but it felt like it took forever this time.

They walked in silence. Even if neither of them said anything about what had just happened, Seungmin could tell it was on both of their minds if the subtle, calming pheromones the younger was releasing as he walked beside him were anything to go by. Seungmin appreciated it, but he didn’t say anything out loud. His mind was still too much of a mess.

God, what had he been thinking? Sure, he hadn’t wanted to be selfish and take even more breaks than were already scheduled for him, and he didn’t want to hold any of the others back, and he really had thought he would be able to push through. But all it had done was create an even bigger mess.

And the mess wasn’t even over yet. Not only was Seungmin out of dance practice for the day, but Minho had said all schedules. That probably meant the recording session he was meant to have later, too, which meant that had to be rescheduled somehow. He was keeping Jeongin from dance practice now, too, with having to bring Seungmin to the studio like he was a child or something.

He still wasn’t used to just how many people his recovery had to impact. It wasn’t just himself, or even just his pack. There were so many more people it affected, too, and even though he’d been told not to, he couldn’t help but take on at least some of the blame for it.

Jeongin’s arm suddenly snaked around his waist, and Seungmin didn’t even realise what was happening before the maknae pulled him towards himself and… out of the way of one of the company managers, who was carrying a rather tall stack of folders. Seungmin had been about to walk right into him.

Both Seungmin and Jeongin bowed immediately, in greeting as well as in apology. The manager barely paid them any attention as he waved them off and continued down the corridor.

Jeongin turned to look at Seungmin, inspecting his face as if expecting to find something off about it.

“Are you okay, hyung?” he asked, his arm still wrapped around his waist.

“Yeah, I’m- sorry. I’m fine, just… lost in thought, I guess.”

Jeongin looked at him for another second or two before his lips pulled into a sort of half-smile. “Good thing Minho-hyung sent me along, then, huh? I don’t think you would have appreciated the extra stress of bumping into that guy. I’ve heard Chan-hyung mention he can be pretty moody.”

“Yeah… thank you for that.” Seungmin’s voice was a little quieter than usual, and he didn’t really meet the younger’s eyes. “But, uhm, I’ll pay better attention from now on. You don’t really need to take me all the way there, you know? You can go back to practice, it’s fine.”

“It’s not like it takes long to get there,” Jeongin said, letting go of his waist as he waved a dismissive hand at the notion. Seungmin’s skin prickled where the other’s hand had been, missing the touch immediately. “I’ll be back at practice soon enough. It’s not like I mind the extra break.”

“But I don’t… I don’t need you to bring me. It’s…” Stupid. Embarrassing. “Silly.”

Jeongin gave him a considering look before placing his hand on the small of Seungmin’s back, giving him the slightest push before leading them both down the corridor again.

“You might not need me to, but Minho-hyung would feel better knowing you made it to the studio okay. And so would I, honestly. So you don’t… you don’t have to think about it as being something I’m doing for you, if it makes it easier. It’s just as much for us, anyway.”

That reminded Seungmin of Jisung’s words about alphas’ need to provide care again, not for the first time since that conversation. It made sense, of course, and he already knew it in a way, but it was still hard to actually let himself think like that when it came to himself. He was used to taking care of himself, and he was used to the others letting him do it.

He didn’t need to, though. Not all of the time, anyway. Not anymore.

“Okay,” Seungmin said, a small smile on his lips as he noticed the way Jeongin subtly pulled him in closer to himself whenever anyone passed by the two of them. The hand on his lower back had essentially shifted to settle around his waist.

It reminded Seungmin of when Jeongin was still newly presented. Aside from his unusually high sensitivity to scents, another trait the younger had displayed at the time was an almost annoying degree of possessiveness. It had faded quite a bit with time, of course, both as the overwhelming heightened instincts naturally evened out with time and as the maknae had gotten more than a little scolded for it, mostly for letting it affect their schedules. It wasn’t exactly convenient to have a member growl at the makeup noonas for just doing their jobs, even if that job included “getting too close to his pack.”

Seungmin thought back to how the pack had handled it back then. Despite the company putting pressure on Chan to “deal with it,” they had all given Jeongin enough grace to feel better about it all. It wasn’t as if Jeongin had enjoyed being frustrated and on high alert all day long. It had taken some trial and error, but with a little patience and understanding (and a whole lot of scenting, especially with Seungmin and the omegas), it had eventually worked out.

Seungmin knew he wasn’t the only member of the pack that they’d made adjustments for or had to have patience with. There were examples for all of them. Seungmin’s problem might be a little more encompassing and long-term, and probably more than a little complicated, but when it came down to it, he knew the pack didn’t see a problem in taking care of Seungmin like this, or in him receiving special treatment. Just like Seungmin hadn’t minded when Jeongin had been glued to his side or when he’d pretty much been forced to wear the younger’s scented clothes everywhere he went. Seungmin hadn't minded. Not really.

He finds he doesn’t really mind it now, either. Jeongin looked happy, leading Seungmin to the studio with a possessive (protective?) arm around his waist, not even letting go to knock on the door. And it wasn’t just that he didn’t mind it—he liked it. Seungmin liked being led, and he liked being taken care of like this, even if it was silly.

Maybe it didn’t need to be more than that.

Now, if Seungmin could actually come to terms with that for himself instead of letting it feel like some impossible, fleeting thought, that would be great. But he wasn’t doing it alone, as Chan’s expectant face reminded him of as the leader opened the door for them.

His pack would help him get there.

***

3racha looked like they could use a break. Empty coffee cups littered every available surface that was only semi-close to the expensive, non-coffee-proof production equipment, and Seungmin could even spot crumpled pieces of paper on the floor. He knew Chan must be pretty stressed if he could let a mess like that grow around him in his precious studio.

Despite having clearly been busy, however, none of them looked surprised to see Seungmin. He wasn’t sure whether this was due to some weird, telepathic thing their pack had sometimes where they could sense that something either had gone wrong or was about to, or if this was just the result of one of their many, many group chats.

Minho had been on his phone in the practice room, now that Seungmin thought about it. He had probably given the producer trio a heads-up.

“Hi hyungs,” Jeongin said, interrupting Seungmin’s train of thought. “We have a puppy here that could really use some rest. Mind if I leave him with you?”

At the question, Jeongin gently nudged him a little further into the room, drawing everyone’s attentive eyes to him.

Seungmin kind of wanted to turn around and glare at the maknae for referring to him like he was some sort of unruly pet, but he couldn’t really find it in himself to do that. One look at the studio couch and all its various throw pillows—some of which were piled in the right corner in a way that looked as if someone had sat there and leaned on them not too long ago—looked way too tempting for him to keep any pretences up.

“Yeah, Minho wrote to us and let us know you guys were on your way,” Chan said, looking over them both with a concerned gaze. “He didn’t really tell us what happened, though. Care to fill us in? Or will we have to grill Seungmin on the details?”

Jeongin gave Seungmin a slightly apologetic look before he explained.

“He was looking pretty weak all throughout dance practice, not really keeping up with all of the steps and kind of just… looking really out of it? None of us said anything, because we’ve warned him plenty of times before, but then he just collapsed. Minho-hyung was pissed. Seungmin-hyung talking back to him about it didn’t exactly help.”

“You did what?” Changbin asked, an unimpressed eyebrow raised on his face. Seungmin felt his face grow even redder, his gaze whipping back down onto the floor.

He couldn’t help but feel a little bit betrayed by Jeongin, because did he really have to phrase it like that?

...It was true, though.

“He’s already apologised for it, hyung. But, yeah. Minho-hyung said that Minnie should rest in here until the end of the day. No more schedules.”

Seungmin couldn’t help the little scoff that escaped him at that. It still seemed excessive to him. He knew he needed rest, fine, but there were hours left until they were supposed to go home. What was Seungmin supposed to do for all that time, laze around on the couch?

There was something inside of him that was just so… restless. It was slowly squeezing away at him in an uncomfortable grip, digging its claws in at his most vulnerable points. It was almost similar to how he had felt when he had tried to nest at first. He wanted to rest, but the thought of actually letting himself do that felt nauseating.

Changbin clicked his tongue at something, the annoyed sound cutting through the otherwise silent room. He looked away from Seungmin and over his shoulder to where Jeongin was, and Seungmin could only imagine the silent conversation the two of them were having.

Jisung walked forward then, grabbing hold of Seungmin’s wrist and not-so-subtly dragging him to the couch, away from the alphas who immediately huddled closer. They talked about something in hushed voices, but Jisung didn’t let him pay any attention to that.

“It could be worse, couldn’t it?” Jisung said, fussing with some of the pillows and making sure the seat cushions were completely pushed in. “At least this couch is a very comfy one when it comes to taking naps. I mean, not that you haven’t taken one here before, it’s just that I’ve taken a lot of them—”

“It’s great, Sungie, thank you,” Seungmin said, reaching out a hand to stop the other omega from making what looks to be a very poor, cramped, sofa-nest. “I probably won’t even be able to fall asleep. It’s fine. Maybe I can try to help out with a song here somehow. Or try to write my own? There’s still the one I mentioned last week that I wanted to—”

“Minnie, you’re here to rest,” Jisung said, his eyebrows furrowed in concern. “You’re not gonna help out with anything, or try to write anything of your own. It doesn’t matter if you do it whilst sitting on a couch. It’s still work.”

Seungmin rolled his eyes. “Oh, come on. You can’t really expect me to just sleep for three hours whilst the rest of you work, can you? I can’t do that.”

“Of course you can.” Jisung glanced back at the other three members behind them, who were still talking about something they weren’t supposed to listen in on. “Look, I know our alphas can be annoyingly protective sometimes, but you collapsed, Minnie. You probably scared Minho-hyung and the others half to death, you know? So if hyung told you to rest for the rest of the day and not do any more schedules whatsoever, that’s what you’re gonna do. You’re not getting out of this one.”

Well, it had been worth a shot. He had already expected Chan and Changbin not to let him work on any music, but he hadn’t really expected Jisung to take their side as well. Seungmin supposed that omega solidarity didn't really factor into his particular circumstance, though. He huffed at the inconvenience.

Seungmin sensed Jeongin’s cinnamon cappuccino scent grow a little stronger around him just before the younger tapped him on the shoulder, making him turn around and face the younger. “I’m going back to the practice room now, okay? Make sure to rest as much as you can in here, please.”

“I’ll try my best, Innie. I promise.” Seungmin swallowed the uncomfortable lump in his throat at the thought of it, and at the lingering guilt that wouldn’t seem to go away. “Could you apologise to Minho-hyung again for me? I just… I feel bad.”

“I think it’s best if you do that yourself later.” Seungmin had a feeling the younger would say that. “It’s just three more hours, hyung, and then we’ll go back to the dorm. Okay?”

Seungmin hummed a vaguely agreeing noise at the question, nodding his head before turning his gaze back to the couch. He heard Jeongin say some goodbyes to the rest of the members before the studio door opened and closed again, leaving a thick silence behind it.

Alright, then.

Time to rest.

***

Seungmin had traced the patterns in this ceiling plenty of times before. He was quite familiar with this particular couch, having spent many hours in it over the years with all the recording sessions he’s had, listening to the final products with a held breath and barely contained words of “let me try again. I can do better, I know I can.”

He’s felt the eyes of 3racha on him as he lay on the couch before, too. Feeling them now wasn’t anything new, but it was distracting. How they expected him to fall asleep with them all constantly turning around to check on him, keeping their eyes on him like some sort of human guard dogs, he wasn’t sure.

Seungmin knew they could tell how restless he was. How restless he had been all day, all week, all month, really, when he thought about it. But no matter what he did, he just couldn’t bring himself to relax.

The closest he had come to it was with nesting. Going through the mental turmoil of getting himself to be able to nest might not have been very fun, but once he was able to do it, he never looked back. It was something he really enjoyed doing, and the shame he felt about it grew smaller and smaller every time, but…

The relaxed feeling he gets whilst nesting never really lasts for as long as Seungmin hopes it will. It’s better when some of the pack are in his nest with him, and when he builds his nest together with Jisung or Felix, but it’s still always so… temporary. The process of building it is soothing, and it quiets the thoughts in his head, but they still never really turn off.

Nesting, something that had used to seem so far out of reach and something he could only shamefully dream about during particularly bad days, had started to not feel like enough. As ridiculous as that sounded.

There must be something wrong with him.

It must have been the fifth sigh that Seungmin let out that finally broke the artificial quiet in the room.

“Would you please just try to sleep, Minnie?” Changbin asked, not even trying to hold back the irritation in his voice.

“I’m not tired,” Seungmin replied, his voice flat. He was sick of talking about this.

“You collapsed,” Jisung deadpanned.

“That doesn’t mean I feel like sleeping.”

“Minnie,” Chan said, his voice tired and… wary? “We can all sense how tired you are. Your pheromones are practically begging to be soothed by ours right now. It’s honestly pretty distracting.”

Oh. Ouch.

“It’s not like I want to be here!” Seungmin couldn’t help but snap back. “If you don't want me to be so distracting, then let me do something!”

“Hey,” Chan said, his voice sharp. “Enough with the attitude. You know as well as we do that you need the rest.” His voice turned a little softer again as he continued. “I didn’t mean to call you distracting, Minnie. I’m sorry. But are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?”

The leader had asked him if he wanted to talk about it earlier, when Jeongin had left and there wasn’t much else to distract them from his twisted scent. Seungmin had shaken his head no, and it’s what he did now, too.

“We can tell how stressed you are, puppy,” Changbin said. At least he didn’t sound annoyed anymore. “I’m pretty sure your anxious pheromones can be felt in every corner of the room by now. I mean, it’s no wonder you can’t rest.”

Seungmin couldn’t help but huff at that, his head turning toward his overly concerned mates with an annoyed glare. “Then why am I here? If not even you think I’ll be able to get any rest, I might as well go and do something actually useful.”

Changbin looked like he was about to say something at that, but Chan held up his hand, stopping him. The leader regarded Seungmin with a contemplative look. Seungmin half expected to be told off again; his tone and words no doubt having edged into disrespectful territory. But when Chan went to talk again, it wasn’t to scold him.

“You wanna be useful?” he asked, a glint of something in his eyes that Seungmin wasn't able to read.

Seungmin sat up in sudden anticipation.

Holy shit, would Chan actually let him do something?

Seungmin’s eyes were glued to the pack alpha. He analysed the leader's face as if he could somehow guess what the man was about to suggest.

Would Seungmin get to help them with something? Try writing something of his own? Record some of those guides he’d been scheduled to do right about now?

Seungmin was too focused on Chan to notice the other two members also looking at their leader, their faces somewhat shocked.

“If you wanna be useful for us,” Chan said, dragging the silence and subsequent anticipation out in a way that would have been annoying if only it wasn't so effective, “...then you can rest.”

Before Seungmin could so much as groan, Chan continued. “But, you don't have to do it from the couch, if you can't bring yourself to do that.”

Okay, now Seungmin was just confused.

“What do you mean?”

Chan seemed to think over his words carefully before he said them, his voice gentle. “Like Binnie said, it's understandable that you can't bring yourself to rest right now. We can all tell how you're feeling, and how stuck in your head you seem to be. You don't have to if you don't want to, Minnie, but I wanted to put the option of it out there.”

“...What option, hyung?”

“Well…” Chan scanned his eyes over him, considering his words a little bit more before finally saying them. “How would you feel about kneeling for a bit?”

Seungmin’s mind drew a blank as soon as he processed the words. As soon as he understood what they meant, and what that would mean for him. What it was that Chan was asking him of, exactly.

He’s never been asked that before. Obviously, when they all thought he was a beta, that wasn’t something they asked him. But they hadn’t done it since the reveal, either.

They had taken it slow, having Seungmin settle into being an omega. First due to their own precaution, and then later due to Dr. Myong’s orders. Seungmin was supposed to take on more omega activities and embrace that side of himself slowly. It had started with a lot of scenting, then nesting.

The meeting with Dr. Myong after the comeback had told them pretty much the same: to continue taking things slow. But with the nesting success and the stressful comeback now behind them, Seungmin’s medications had also been taken down a notch, and she’d told them that they should focus on finding more ways to make Seungmin resonate with his omega.

Working out the new pack dynamics—if there were any—had been one of the things she had suggested. So Seungmin could know what to expect, to ensure that that wouldn’t be a source of stress for him.

Another thing she had suggested (or, actually, strongly recommended) was to have Seungmin engage more with his “naturally submissive instincts.” She hadn’t mentioned any specifics, at least not with Seungmin in the room, but Seungmin also knew that Chan had spoken with her separately from him at the end of the meeting.

Seungmin hadn’t known what to think about it at first. Hadn’t allowed himself to, really.

One of the (admittedly few) things about pretending to be a beta that Seungmin missed was the control. He’d been in control of the narrative other people had about him, and he’d been in control of the things he could contribute to the pack. He’d been in control in the sense that he knew what he had to do, and he knew how to do it well to make people proud of him. Or, well, at least not disappointed in him.

All of that control was gone. People knew he was an omega now, and he hadn’t had any say in that being revealed. He wasn’t in control of the medications anymore, couldn’t rely on that familiar structure and sense of discipline that came with his usual morning- and night routines. He had to bother Jeongin about that, and had to do it with a dosage that was changing on other people’s terms (although that had always been the case, to be fair).

Nothing about ‘settling in to his omega’ was in his control. He had no control over what it did to his body, or when milestones like a sweet scent or nesting or even his fucking heat would happen. He just had to wait for his body or for doctors to finally decide it was time.

Seungmin had come to accept all of these things as well as he could already. But giving in to his submissive instincts meant losing even more control, and if he was completely honest… it scared him.

Not quite so much anymore, all things considered. It had been a few weeks now. But at first?

Even if his pack were taking things slow, it was still unfamiliar territory, and Seungmin hadn’t been sure how to deal with it at first. Which, of course, meant that he mostly hadn’t allowed himself to think very much about it, and he hadn’t talked about it with the others, either. It definitely had its pros and cons.

To his pack’s credit, though, they had started slow. Have some requests shift over to gentle commands instead, like making sure he eats breakfast in the morning, or making sure he drinks enough water at dance practice. Telling him to do those things rather than suggesting it. Other things, too, like laying the table for dinner, or taking a break.

Once, Changbin had suggested joining him in the gym to build up some of the stamina he had lost to make his voice more stable for the end-of-the-year performances. Seungmin had of course said “no,” avoiding the gym whenever he could, because going there was boring. The alpha had then changed that to a command, too, which Seungmin had rolled his eyes at and simply repeated “no.”

It was exactly the type of thing he had always done with Changbin, and the alpha’s response of simply grabbing him by the neck (not scruffing him, but almost) and dragging him off to pack his gym bag together without even bothering to argue about it hadn’t necessarily been out of the norm for what their dynamic had used to be, either. But it had felt different.

Seungmin had followed along without talking back, and Changbin’s satisfied smile when Seungmin packed his bag exactly how the older instructed him to made Seungmin happy as well (not to mention how the workout actually did help him with his vocal stability at dance practice the next day).

Seungmin settling into his submissive side wasn’t just about following commands, after all. It was about how he felt when he did, and how the alphas responded to it. They had started to compliment him more when he was being good, when he did what they told him to, or sometimes when he did what he knew they were about to ask him to do. They tried to gently coax the submissive part of his omega designation to the forefront and have Seungmin be okay with it, and have him see that the rest of them also were okay with it. To have him know that he doesn’t need to be in control all the time, that it’s okay to let some of his responsibilities go to others, and that he wasn’t being a burden because of it.

Kneeling was new, though.

It was something that omegas did sometimes—Seungmin knew that. It could help them settle and re-focus. It could even coax them into subspace. He had seen Jisung and Felix kneel plenty of times, and he knew that Jisung especially loved it. There didn’t even have to be a big deal or reason for the other omega to do it, sometimes choosing to watch a movie in the living room whilst kneeling on the floor beside one of the alphas instead of sitting next to them on the couch. Seungmin knew it helped on his more anxious days. It made sense for Chan to want him to try.

Seungmin must have gotten lost in thought and stayed quiet for too long, because Chan spoke again. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but I think it could help your mind settle, yeah? And then you can rest.”

“Um.” God, what did Seungmin even say? “And you’re- you’re sure that that’s… okay? It’s not, like, doing anything too fast, or…”

“We’re not gonna get you scent drunk, and I doubt you’d go into subspace, even if Dr. Myong mentioned it could be good to start doing that some time soon, at your own pace. We can always try it, and then if you don’t like it, we can stop. How does that sound?”

It… sounded okay? The idea of kneeling actually seemed a little appealing to Seungmin, which was surprising. It probably shouldn’t surprise him, given that he was an omega and all, but it did. There was just one other thing that bothered him…

“Minho-hyung ordered me to rest, though,” Seungmin said, the shame from earlier when he thought back to their interaction in the practice room coming back in full. “Would this count? I’m not, like… I’m not doing anything wrong?”

Chan smiled a little at that. It almost looked fond. “No, puppy. You’re not doing anything wrong. Kneeling will help you rest. Trust me.”

“Okay. I- um. I trust you.” Seungmin’s voice sounded nervous even to him, but despite the nerves, he had a good feeling about this. He shoved the guilt and shame to the back of his mind—a familiar thing to him by now. “Thank you, hyung.”

Chan smiled even wider at that, an endearing glint in his eyes as he spoke again. “No need to thank me, puppy. Grab a pillow from the couch for your knees, will you?”

Seungmin stood up from the couch and turned around to inspect all the different pillows. He froze a little bit when he did, though, unsure of which one to pick. Would the grey one be too thick? The red one is thinner, but would that one be too thin?

Jisung came over in the midst of his slight spiral. The omega picked up a dark grey one tucked in one of the corners. “This is my favourite one to kneel on when I’m here,” he said, handing it over for Seungmin to take with an easy smile on his lips.

“You kneel in the studio?” Seungmin couldn’t help but ask. Changbin chuckled behind them at that, making them both turn to look at him.

“Oh, Sungie kneels in the studio, alright. It’s led to quite a few breakthroughs afterwards, when his mind isn’t going a mile a minute anymore. His words, not mine!”

Jisung rolled his eyes, but a smile was still tugging at his lips.

“He looks so cute when he does it, too,” Changbin continued, his voice taking on a lewder tone and his eyebrows wiggling suggestively. “Makes for some really nice inspiratio—”

Jisung quickly walked over to the alpha and smacked him with the thicker cushion, cutting him off. Changbin laughed, batting the pillow away with one of his hands. “What? It’s true! Your kneeling makes a very pretty picture. Minnie does, too.” He smirked at that, which made Jisung try to smack him with the cushion again.

“It’s not like he’s gonna suck your dick!” Jisung yelled, sounding adorably affronted on Seungmin’s behalf.

“I know, I know!” Changbin laughed, trying and failing to grab hold of the pillow still assaulting him.

Seungmin’s face was definitely on fire, and he could see Changbin’s smile turn into a smirk again when he noticed. At least before Chan’s light scolding wiped it off.

“Don’t tease him, Binnie.” The leader’s voice was on the more serious side, but they could all see that he was at least partly amused. “Where do you wanna kneel, Seungmin-ah? Jisungie usually either does it in the corner by the couch or next to one of us.”

Despite seeming somewhat appealing, the thought of kneeling was still nerve-wracking. The idea of doing it next to one of his alphas immediately made it feel a little less daunting, though. Seungmin didn’t have to think about it for long.

“Would it be okay if I did it next to you, hyung?”

Chan’s immediate smile was contrasted with Changbin’s dramatic pout (which was wiped off by another smack from Jisung).

“Of course you can. How about you kneel next to my chair, hm? You don’t have to worry about being in the correct posture or anything like that. You can even rest your head on my thigh whilst I work if you want?”

That… sounded nice. That sounded really nice.

“Yes, hyung,” Seungmin was quick to say, not even wanting the older to have the chance to take it back. He looked at Jisung expectantly, reaching his hand out for the pillow that the other omega gave him with a reassuring smile.

It made something warm settle in his stomach; Jisung had chosen this pillow for him. Chan had told him where to kneel. One look at the pack alpha even showed him having scooched over a little more to the right, leaving Seungmin a little more space to kneel between him and Jisung.

Chan didn’t even say anything to him, just gestured to the floor beside his feet with a shift of his gaze and a jut of his chin. Seungmin quickly took the few steps he needed to take to get there. He immediately crouched down and laid the pillow on the floor with more care than he probably needed to.

Chan carded soothing fingers through the strands of his hair, pushing it out of his face before curling his thumb and index finger gently around Seungmin’s chin. He applied some steady pressure, turning Seungmin’s head up and forcing him to meet his gaze.

“Kneel for us, Minnie.”

Seungmin did as he was told.

***

Believe it or not, the whole ‘being more submissive’ thing still didn’t really come naturally to Seungmin. It was natural to him; his mind and body literally needed it to be able to function, but he still held himself back at times. Those same gnawing feelings of shame or that he was doing something wrong, that he was being weak, would flush his body whenever he gave in to his more submissive instincts.

During these past couple of weeks, though, Seungmin had come to realise that it helped when there were more physical aspects to his submission. Like the kneeling he was doing right now.

The slight but growing discomfort in his knees, and the whole being-physically-lower than all of the other members in the room… well, there was something about that that made it easier for his mind to let go a little bit. To not immediately go into overdrive about what he was doing.

The physical aspect of submitting making it easier for Seungmin’s mind to go along with it wasn’t necessarily new information for him, but he felt a little surprised that something as simple as kneeling was a part of it.

The physical aspects of submission making things easier was true for Seungmin even in the more mundane, everyday type of situations. Seungmin found it easier to listen to instructions and commands when the words came along with something physical. Whether it be Chan grabbing his wrists and holding them together for a little bit to get Seungmin to stop poking him, or Minho giving him a little push to the kitchen to get him to help with dinner or to take a break during schedules, it helped him in not pushing back on it. It was like a weird shortcut to get his mind to shut up and listen in a way that didn’t feel overwhelming or demeaning at all, just… safe.

Seungmin knew that he was doing what he was supposed to do. He didn’t need to worry about it; he just had to do as he was told.

It helped when Jeongin literally dragged him out of the recording booth, refusing to let him stay or go back in to try for another take. It even helped when Changbin cupped his neck the way he always did, dragging him down to be level with the shorter alpha as he told him to knock it off, or to listen, or even just to whisper reminders of minor changes or stage directions.

The neck hold was especially effective, Seungmin had come to realise, which probably made sense. It wasn’t actually scruffing (Changbin would be utterly insane to do that on stage or just about anywhere that wasn’t the dorm), but it was close enough to it to where Seungmin felt all the fight (or ‘brattiness’ as his pack unfortunately tended to call it) leave his body.

The physical aspect helped take the edge off his thoughts. Seungmin knew he could overthink to a harmful degree, but when a command came along with a touch, his mind turned quieter. His focus shifted away from insecurity and shame, instead concentrating on that point of contact between himself and his alpha, the command echoing in his a-little-more-at-peace brain. And then listening to what they said felt easier to do. Seungmin didn’t hesitate whether it was the right thing for him to do or not; he just did it, and he always felt better afterwards.

He felt pretty good right now, too. Kneeling.

Kneeling for them, Chan’s voice from earlier reminded him. It sent a spark of joy from his chest and all the way out to the tips of his fingers, making him curl his hands where he rested them on his thighs.

It made the guilt from how he had acted towards Minho resolve bit by bit, the more his knees started to ache despite the pillow, and the more his back started to feel a little stiff, but nevertheless comfortable as Chan’s fingers weaved through his hair and quiet, murmured compliments filled the air above him.

If Seungmin had a more tethered and clear mind, he might have felt a little guilty over clearly distracting Chan from his work (and definitely the other two members as well, which Seungmin could tell by the proximity of their scents and the vague feeling of eyes on him). As it was, though, his mind couldn’t do anything but simply relish in the steadily spreading feeling of calm spreading throughout his body.

Seungmin didn’t have to think about anything. He didn’t even have to feel anything either, although the ‘calm’ he currently felt wasn’t something he was trying to feel, for once. It was just something that washed over him, little by little, until it became impossible to ignore.

It almost felt like he was going numb, but in a good way. Seungmin became less aware of his mind and less aware of his body, the longer he kneeled there on the floor. Any logic he might have applied to what he was doing or how he was feeling seconds or minutes or hours ago fizzled out into something incomprehensible. Why ascribe thought or logic to all of this when he could just feel?

Seungmin felt himself kneeling for his pack alpha, the ache in his knees a distant thought that didn’t even take shape anymore. The way he revelled in the soft caresses near his scent glands and the steady, confident fingers brushing through his hair wasn’t anything tangible in his mind anymore. It was just something he did.

Seungmin’s mind drifted further and further away from himself. He remained aware of his surroundings, though. The best he could, anyway. He didn’t think he needed to be aware of anything aside from the sound of soft voices in the air, or the rhythmic clacking of the keyboard. The clicking and shifting of a mouse until it stopped. Their scents, so close and comforting. They were lighter than they had been earlier, Seungmin noted somewhere far, far back in his mind. Seungmin hadn’t even realised that he’d noticed it before, but their scents were definitely better now. Less muddled and held back.

His pack was feeling better, and so was Seungmin.

Seungmin felt so, so good.

After a little while, another noise started to fill the quiet air of the studio. It was so quiet that Seungmin barely even registered it at first, but it started to grow louder and more rhythmic soon enough. It started to take over the other noise in the room, even cutting off the stream of soft words that Chan had been mumbling. It was only then, when all the other sounds in the room turned quiet, that Seungmin realised the noise was coming from him.

The realisation just barely managed to break through the fluffy clouds in his mind, and it was then that he registered the new sensation in his throat. It wasn’t anything bad, not even a little bit, but it was new. The noise grew quieter as Seungmin thought about it, but a slight, gentle pull of his hair from Chan’s careful fingers sent a shiver down his back, and it made the noise louder again.

When Seungmin heard the noise again, it was the putting together of him kneeling, his mind drifting, the weird-but-nice noises in the air, and everyone suddenly looking at him with what could only be described as awe that it finally clicked.

He’s purring.

***
***

It hadn’t taken very long for Jisung to understand what it was that Seungmin needed. He’d had his suspicions for a while, but, of course, not wanting to go against the doctor’s recommendations, he hadn’t really said anything about it. But Jisung could recognise himself in a lot of Seungmin’s behaviours lately.

The restlessness. The anxiety. The constant second-guessing. It was all familiar, and Jisung had had his suspicions. It wasn’t until the moodier episodes that Seungmin had been having recently, which were so uncharacteristic of him, that Jisung could fairly confidently come to a conclusion.

Seungmin needed to be settled. He needed to go down, and judging from how Seungmin was acting lately, the other omega could definitely feel that he needed it too. But because Seungmin had never done that before, he didn’t even know that that’s what he was feeling.

Jisung’s heart had ached for his fellow omega for a very long time, and it seemed to be neverending. But… well, he didn’t have to feel like that at this very moment.

Sitting on his chair, head angled down towards the space on the floor between his and Chan’s chair, Jisung saw Seungmin kneel for them for the first time in his life; purring.

Jisung had never seen Seungmin look as blissed out as he did just then.

It was different from when he was sleeping, or nesting, or even the rare glimpses of Seungmin’s thoroughly relaxed face in afterglow. This was a different type of relaxation that Jisung could probably relate to a little too well, if he was being honest. It was hard to be envious of Seungmin’s position when Jisung was so happy for him, though.

Their puppy deserved this. Jisung wasn’t sure just how deep the other actually was in subspace, but he knew that he was definitely there.

God, getting all floaty like this just from kneeling? And having it cause him to purr? Seungmin must have needed this far more than Jisung had even realised.

“Oh my god!” Changbin whisper-shouted from behind him. Jisung didn’t acknowledge him; too busy continuing to stare slack-jawed at the other omega. Oh my god indeed.

“He’s purring,” Chan said, his voice also on the lower end but nevertheless excited. There were other emotions mixed in the leader’s voice (and scent) as well, though. Jisung knew he felt the same.

Happiness, over the fact that this was an omega-aspect that wasn’t locked away from Seungmin anymore. Relief, that this was something Seungmin could actually do now. Regret, that this wasn’t something they’d gotten to hear sooner. That this wasn’t something that Seungmin had gotten to experience sooner.

Three years without subspace. God, Jisung couldn’t even imagine it. He himself could barely even go two weeks without itching to go down again.

It was hard to dwell on the uglier feelings from this whole ordeal, though. Not when Seungmin had finally reached another one of his recovery milestones. Not when their baby omega finally seemed to be getting that rest he’d been needing for who knows how long now.

“I have to tell the others about this,” Chan said, digging out his phone from his pocket with slow, careful movements, probably so as to not startle Seungmin, although Jisung seriously doubted something as insignificant as Chan moving his arm quickly could pull Seungmin from this headspace now that he was finally in it. He kept that comment to himself, though, content to just watch Seungmin for a little more.

The purring omega’s eyes weren’t closed, but his eyelids were slightly lidded, as if they were getting heavier to keep open. Seungmin didn’t seem to be looking at anything in particular, though; simply staring into space with a blissed-out, glassy look. His hands that had kept curling in on themselves and fiddling restlessly with the fabric of his sweats just minutes ago were finally still, resting on his thighs with trusting, open palms.

Jisung wasn’t sure what exactly Chan had written to the others, but it didn’t take long for the rest of the pack to stumble through the studio door—thankfully pretty quietly. Although Chan’s moving arm probably wasn’t enough to disturb Seungmin’s newfound peace, Jisung figured that thundering footsteps, shouts, and the studio door swinging into the wall with a solid bang! just might.

As it was, though, Seungmin kept on purring just like he had been, and it became abundantly clear that this new audience loved it just as much as the three of them had.

“Oh my gosh!” Hyunjin immediately squealed in (fairly quiet) delight, grabbing Felix next to him and hugging him in what appeared to be some sort of emotional support. Although, to be fair to him, Jisung wouldn’t put it past Hyunjin to crash to the floor in cuteness-overload at seeing Seungmin like this, so he and Felix dramatically hugging was probably for the best.

“Oh wow,” Jeongin said, his voice just as in awe as the rest of them, but also teetering on the edge of disbelief. “I guess you were right, hyung.” The maknae looked at Minho as he said this, who seemed to be going through a multitude of emotions to his right.

“I mean, I figured I might’ve been,” Minho said, his voice filled with something akin to quiet wonder, “but I didn’t expect him to purr.” The older couldn’t seem to pull his eyes off the purring omega. None of them could, honestly.

“Wait, what do you mean?” Jisung asked when the older’s words registered a little more.

Minho had ‘been right?’ About what? All the alpha had written in the group chat earlier was that Seungmin had “been an idiot,” “pushed himself too far in dance practice,” and “needed to come to the studio to rest until they went home.” The two of them definitely seemed to be talking about something else, though.

“Hyung told me to tell Channie-hyung that Minnie probably needed settling,” Jeongin said, his voice fond. “It was he who suggested the whole kneeling thing.”

Jisung raised his eyebrows at that, turning his head slightly to look at Chan again. The leader, just like everyone else, smiled adoringly down at Seungmin, and he went to gently pet the scent gland on Seungmin’s neck just as he’d done earlier. The kneeling omega shivered in response, his eyelids growing even heavier.

“Yeah, he did,” Chan said, as if he could feel Jisung’s questioning glance on him even without looking up. “I was a little hesitant at first. I mean, I didn’t want to rush anything, but once I actually got to see Seungmin some more for myself and see how much he struggled trying to rest by himself, I figured it was worth the shot. Poor thing seemed to be really unsettled.”

Huh. So Jisung hadn’t been the only one to notice it, then.

He wasn’t sure why he’d ever thought that he was, to be honest. The older alphas had always been the ones to notice it in Jisung before he ever noticed it in himself, after all, or even in Felix. Of course they knew.

“It was a little hard to watch, to be honest,” Changbin muttered. He didn’t sound too troubled, though, the way his eyes practically glowed with adoration as he looked at the omega in question.

“Be glad you didn’t have to see him earlier,” Hyunjin said. “I almost thought he fainted there for a second. Scariest moment of my life, I swear to god.”

Fainted? Yeah, okay—Jisung was glad he didn’t have to see that.

“It’s definitely good to see him so relaxed here after everything that happened back there,” Felix added, turning his body a little more towards Seungmin, but still letting Hyunjin cling to him to his heart’s content.

Minho’s face did something complicated upon hearing that comment. He took another couple of steps towards Seungmin before crouching down in front of him.

The alpha lifted his hand slowly, before starting to gently pet him on the head. It reminded Jisung slightly of Minho with Soonie-Doongie-Dori, although it was a very familiar sight of pretty much all of them with Seungmin by now.

“I’m sorry for yelling at you, Minnie,” Minho said, an adoring but also somehow sad look on his face as he did. “You just really scared me, that’s all. I don’t like it when you don’t take care of yourself.”

At that, for the first time since going down, Seungmin stirred. He didn’t stop purring, but his head moved a little from where it was leaning on Chan’s thigh, his eyelids opening a little more as his gaze settled on Minho in front of him.

“...Hyung?” he asked, clearly still in subspace, but a little more up than he had been.

“Yeah, pup. It’s me.”

Suddenly, a hint of guilt and shame invaded the otherwise elated room as Seungmin’s scent wavered. The omega gained just a little more of a grounded look in his eyes before he sat up a little bit straighter, but kept his head deferringly lower than Minho's, avoiding his eyes as he went to talk again.

“I'm sorry,” Seungmin mumbled. He was still down, but he was clearly a little more aware than he’d been just a moment ago. "I shouldn't have talked back to you like that.”

"Don't worry about that now,” Minho said, his voice just as adoring as it had been. “Just focus on resting for me, okay? It's okay, I promise.”

“Yeah, puppy,” Chan said, his fingers going back to Seungmin’s scent glands. The omega relaxed into the touch again. “We should’ve realised you needed this earlier, anyway. Maybe it never would have happened, then.”

Jisung thought back to the last few weeks again at the comment.

Could they have avoided Seungmin collapsing at dance practice if they’d just gotten him to settle sooner? They’d been trying to nudge Seungmin into accepting his omega side slowly like they’d been told to, but maybe they’d been doing it too slow.

Maybe it would have helped if they’d done this sooner. Maybe it wouldn’t have. There was no way to know, really. It might have done more harm than good if they’d pushed for this much earlier, after all.

That was okay, though. From now on, they’d all pay better attention (and hopefully communicate with each other a little better about what they thought Seungmin might need). Seungmin wasn’t in this alone, after all. He had Jisung, and he had the entire rest of the pack, too. Everything would be okay. It was honestly hard to think differently, with the adorable sound of Seungmin purring again at the reassuring words.

Yeah, Jisung thought, looking at Seungmin and then at his ridiculously smitten pack crammed into the messy studio.

Everything would be okay.