Archive of Our Own

Seokju jumped up as soon as the office door opened, and by the time Assistant Jinkyong’s head poked out, he was ready to burst into the small room. The petite, elderly omega smiled invitingly at him, tiny crow’s feet gathering around her ageless sky-blue eyes. She opened the door wider and motioned for him to come closer.

“You can come in, dearie.”

Seokju’s heartbeat quickened with excitement. He had to remind himself to politely thank the woman instead of rushing into the small office like a rude fool. The woman just giggled and muttered something under her breath about young love, but honestly, Seokju wasn’t really paying attention.

Ijin sat on the edge of the examination table, patiently waiting for him. He was already clothed, but his beautiful face was still a little rosy, as it usually was when they were at the doctor’s.  Seokju couldn’t help but smile as he walked over to his boyfriend and kissed his cheek. His omega was adorably awkward when it came to talking about his body with the doctor, although Seokju only dared to say it in his head, never out loud. He didn’t think Ijin would mind, but he really didn’t want to accidentally stumble into something painful. Sometimes Ijin reacted very strangely to things related to his secondary gender and he easily became confused or withdrawn. It was endearing, but it was also a huge concern for Seokju. He hoped that Ijin would one day tell him why he was so reserved about his own biology, but until then, they still had a long way to go.

For now, Seokju had to accept that he couldn’t be present at the consultations and had to rely on secondary information about Ijin’s health. It was difficult, especially after the hijacking incident, but he didn’t want to force anything Ijin wasn’t comfortable with. The omega had many secrets, and Seokju decided early on to respect them. So he had to be content with the fact that his omega had at least let him in for the ultrasound.

“Are you okay? Is everything alright?”

“Yes.” Ijin gave him a small smile and gently squeezed his hand.

Seokju stepped around the table to stand at Ijin’s head. Doctor Han sat next to them and adjusted the screen for them to see comfortably.

“Shall we begin?”

Ijin obediently leaned back and with a practiced motion, rolled up his shirt, revealing his still flat stomach. Seokju’s heart skipped a beat with excitement and longing. It was barely visible, but Ijin’s body was already showing some changes; despite his religious training sessions, his toned abs had softened as his body began to change to make room for the growing baby. It was the most beautiful sight Seokju could imagine. He felt his face involuntarily heat up and his ears burn. He couldn’t take his eyes off his omega’s stomach. Has it been ten weeks already? It felt like a dream.

Placing his palm on Ijin’s shoulder, Seokju watched as the doctor began the examination. The screen came to life, showing the familiar, blotchy images. This was their second time, but Seokju still couldn’t get used to the idea of ​​seeing his baby. When the doctor stopped and made a low, satisfied murmur, Seokju’s breath caught.

“There is the little one” the doctor said, pointing to a detail in the picture. “It’s developing nicely.” Doctor Han smiled at Ijin, who was watching the screen with intense focus. “I’m glad you are following the dietary plan we set, Mr. Yu. You are taking good care of them.”

“He is very dedicated.” Seokju added proudly. Assistant Jinkyong giggled in the background, but he ignored the woman’s soft teasing and leaned over to nuzzle Ijin’s messy hair, inhaling his soft scent. “You are the best. Look at them, they are already as beautiful as you!”

“At this point, they may be just as similar to you as they are to me.”

“No, they are nothing like me! They’ll be as beautiful as you, trust me, I can tell!”

Seokju giggled when Ijin just sighed resignedly. There was a hint of embarrassment in his scent; a faint warm buttery note mixed in between the milky sweetness of pregnancy and the usual, sharp scent of Ijin himself.

Most of the time, Ijin didn’t realize how much his scent revealed to those who knew him well enough. At first, Seokju found his reliance on scent masking strange and alarming, but after a while, he learned to accept it as a difference in their upbringing. It was clear that Ijin wasn’t used to his own scent giving away his mood, and he felt uncomfortable when Seokju first pointed it out. After that, he used his blockers even more religiously for a while. Over time, Seokju came to terms with his friend’s desire to hide and muffle his scent from others as much as possible without being labeled rude, and he took every opportunity when Ijin felt comfortable enough to leave the blockers behind.

Sure, it was necessary now because of the checkup and had nothing to do with Ijin’s preferences, but Seokju still enjoyed the rare opportunity to properly smell his omega and read his mood.

Ijin just muttered something under his breath in a language Seokju didn’t know and let him get away with his silly comment.

Yet, Seokju saw his ears turn red and it was enough for him to feel giddy. He kissed the back of Ijin’s head and straightened up. God, how he loved this man! He couldn’t wait to see what their kid would be like. On that note… With a hopeful, pleading smile, he turned to assistant Jinkyong.

“Can we get some of the pictures, right?”

“Already on it, dearie.”

Seokju took the printed pictures from the omega with a grateful grin while Ijin wiped his belly clean and arranged his clothes. Doctor Han nodded politely after handing Ijin back the usual white dossier. Seokju took it from his omega, carefully placed the ultrasound pictures inside, and then hid the entire package in his backpack while the other boy said goodbye.

“I’ll see you in two weeks for the next checkup.”

“Thank you, Doctor Han.”

They walked down from the third-floor hand in hand. Seokju felt the other fidget with his fingers. It was unusual, but Ijin said everything was fine and the doctor seemed satisfied too, so he was sure that whatever was on his boyfriend’s mind wasn’t related to the baby.

“Should we go eat something?” Seokju asked, aiming for a light tone.

Ijin hummed softly, his gaze wandering around, observing the people around them. Seokju felt an unpleasant chill running down his spine, but he pushed the feeling away. It was never a good sign when Ijin acted like this. It usually meant that danger was lurking somewhere nearby.

“Let’s go that way.” Ijin suggested, suddenly changing direction and dragging Seokju with him, away from the main entrance of the hospital. His fingers entwined with Seokju’s, grounding the other boy as he led him back into the building. There was a hint of burnt butter in his scent, but his face gave nothing away.

Seokju on the other hand felt panic creeping into his bones; the familiar chill ran through his entire body as his ears began to ring, drowning out the voices of the people. Bile pooled in his mouth, he had to fight back the fear and the tremors as he slowly raised his hand, pressing his lips against the back of Ijin’s hand to scent him. It helped. A little.

“Do you have a specific place in mind?” He tried to keep his tone light, but even he could hear the tension in his own, trembling voice. “Any sudden cravings?”

“Hm, yes. Let’s put it that way.” Ijin smiled at him, gently squeezing his hand. “Come on, I’m sure there is a buffet here.”

Of course, they didn’t find the buffet, but that was to be expected. Seokju concentrated on the breathing exercise his therapist had taught him as he let Ijin lead him out of the building through a back door reserved for emergencies. The omega’s thumb gently massaged his hand, being a tremendous help, as they walked from street to street, leaving behind the hospital and anything that made Ijin wary.

“Are you feeling better?”

Seokju felt the hysterical laughter almost burst out of him, but he suppressed it.

He took a deep breath.

“Yes, I just… I feel awful.” he admitted, pushing through the shame and frustration.

“PTSD.” Ijin nodded, glancing at him with a gentle smile. “It’s okay, it will pass.”

Seokju stifled a rude snort and gritted his teeth.

“Yeah” he forced out with an angry huff that sounded more like a pathetic whine.

Ijin peeked out at the end of the street before stepping out into the busier mall, pulling Seokju along. The sounds of the mingling crowd surrounded them. Seokju breathed easier as soon as he found himself among teenagers like them, all minding their own business and enjoying their summer vacation. Ijin pulled him aside and turned to face him.

“It really is normal, you know that, right?”

Seokju looked away uncomfortably. It felt stupid, but still… He couldn’t bring himself to look into Ijin’s honey-colored, warm eyes. When the other leaned towards him a moment later, he immediately seized the opportunity, pulling him close to press his face against the slightly taller boy’s collarbone to hide. The calming scent of the omega washed over him, banishing the last chill of his panic.

“This is so stupid!” he muttered miserably, clinging to Ijin before forcing himself to step back with a deep frown. “I should be the one stepping up and taking care of you. I’m the alpha, for goodness’ sake!”

Ijin’s eyebrows shot up in genuine surprise.

“Yes, you do that all the time.”

“No, I don’t!”

“You find me the best doctors, read everything about my diet, and make sure I eat enough for both of us. You send me articles and video essays about omega health, you even jot down all the relevant information from them for me, so I can skip the boring parts if I want.” Ijin calmly listed, taking Seokju’s hand. “You didn’t even ask me to leave my family and live with you, even though I know, you’re always nervous when I’m not around. Doctor Han said it’s against an alpha’s instincts, especially in a situation like ours, but you didn’t try to force me to choose between you, Grandpa, and Dayeon.”

Seokju felt his face burn. He wasn’t aware that Ijin knew how hard it was for him to say goodbye every night and wake up in the morning without knowing that the other was safe and sound next to him.

“You are taking good care of me, Alpha.”

Ijin kissed Seokju’s palm, the gentle brus of his soft lips was faint and sweet, arousing the boy immensely. Seokju shuddered from the sudden claim – Ijin almost never called him by his title, he wasn’t really the type to do such archaic things. But it felt… good.  Seokju was embarrassed as his body came to life and his mouth watered.

The mischievous glint in Ijin’s eyes didn’t help the situation either.

“Really, Seokju. Being traumatized by something that shouldn’t have happened in the first place doesn’t make you weak or a bad alpha.”

For a long moment, Seokju just stared at his boyfriend. There were so many things he wanted to ask and say, but really… He couldn’t even decide where to start, let alone find the right words. He wanted to know why Ijin wasn’t traumatized like the rest of them, how he could be so calm and collected all the time, what the hell he had experienced and hidden in that beautiful mind of his that he was so used to violence that not even a terrorist attack alarmed him anymore.

“You are right, I’m sorry. It’s just… it’s hard not to live up to the expectations in my head.” Seokju forced a faint smile onto his face, letting his never-ending questions go. With a small sigh, he leaned over to kiss Ijin’s cheek. “I can’t help but worry.”

“I know.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you or don’t believe that you can protect yourself just… after what happened… I can’t help but be on edge all the time.”

“I’m pregnant. It’s normal for you to be worried.”

Seokju chuckled soberly.

“I can’t argue with that.” He shook his head, then grabbed Ijin’s hand with a calculating smile and started walking again. “Speaking of which… Shouldn’t you start taking your maternity leave? I’d be a lot less stressed if you didn’t go to training for the time being, you know.”

“I’ve already stopped the fieldwork.” Ijin pushed back, not taking any heat for the nagging. It was expected after all, not the first time they discussed the topic, never reaching an agreement. “Doctor Han said it’s okay for me to participate in the training until the second trimester, or until I start to feel any discomfort. I just have to take it easy.”

“Do you even know what it means to taking it easy?”

Ijin just smirked and said nothing.

“Yeah, right, it is already easy for you.” Seokju huffed before letting the topic drop. “Is there anything specific you want to eat?”

“Samgak-gimbap?”

“I don’t think that counts as a nutritious meal according to your diet plan.”

“Not even if I really crave it?”

Seokju laughed and squeezed the omega’s hand.

“Oh my, then I guess we must make an exception today. Come on.”

~*~*~*~

In the end, Seokju spent the night at Ijin’s. Thank God, Grandpa Yu was a forgiving soul who never blamed Seokju for getting his grandson pregnant and always welcomed him with open arms. Even now, he only looked at him with a gentle smile and arranged for the guest futon to be moved to Ijin’s room.

It was the best night Seokju had had in weeks. Falling asleep beside his omega and basking in his soft, calming scent was a godsent that kept the nightmares at bay. Seokju couldn’t even remember when the last time was that he didn’t wake up in the middle of the night with racing heart and drenched in cold sweat. All that was missing from his arms was Ijin, but the other boy really hated being restricted in his sleep, and they quickly realized that Seokju was like an octopus while sleeping, clinging tightly to his omega whenever he could. So, for their peaceful sleep, they gave up sleeping in the same bed. At least for now. Seokju really hoped that one day, in the distant future, this too might change. It was always a pleasure to cuddle Ijin.

“What’s the plan for today?” asked Grandpa Yu over breakfast. He was adamant that they ate together, even though Ijin just sat with them, fighting through his morning sickness with a huge mug of peppermint tea.

“I have to escort Yeona to a formal lunch with the representative of the Milthon Company.” Seokju answered thinking about his schedule for the day. “After that… maybe we can call the guys and hang out in the game room for a few hours?” he added, looking at Ijin questioningly.

“Sounds good. Do you think Yeona could join us?”

“Yes, I think so.”

“Nice plans, indeed.”

After finishing breakfast, Seokju insisted on helping with the dishes before agreeing with Ijin to call the others to inform them about the afternoon and meet Seokju and Yeona later.

“See you soon.” Seokju promised, kissing his boyfriend.

“Take care.” Ijin asked softly.

A tiny, worried glint glimmered in his eyes, making Seokju feel both shy and ashamed. It was nice that his omega was worried about him, but on the other hand… It wasn’t like Ijin to voice his concerns and fuss over Seokju. It was embarrassing to think that his nervous breakdown yesterday had taken such a toll on the omega and made him so worried about him.

“Sure.”

Seokju shrugged and looked away in discomfort. His hand twitched to reach for his omega to calm him even though Ijin didn’t look worried. But the burned buttery scent lingered between them.

Maybe it was just some normal pregnancy-thing? Seokju needed to read more about omega instincts.

“I’ll be okay.” He smiled at Ijin, then giving in to his own instincts, he pulled the other close for a hug. He nuzzled Ijin’s chin, scenting him gently. “Please don’t worry and have fun with Dayeon. I’ll see you in a few hours, I promise.”

~*~*~*~

It was not okay. It was very, very far from anything that could be called ‘okay’ – even Seokju could have admitted that much, as he struggled to breathe and think despite his half-formed panic attack. Or at least not to vomit. Or simply faint.

He hadn’t even made it into the office to join Yeona when an unmarked white sedan hit him out of nowhere. He was dragged inside the car by a man in record time, still dizzy from the fall and the shock of the whole thing. It was God knew how long ago; blindfolded, with arms twisted back and tied with zip ties, balancing on the edge of a panic attack… Seokju couldn’t keep track of time and concentrate on finding a solution to his situation. Even one of these was damn hard, he had to prioritize. He tried his hardest to find out where he was, but the creeping panic made everything blurry and distant. His whole body ached, he was covered in cold sweat, and he was trembling slightly. He felt blood on his tongue and heard muffled sounds, but he wasn’t sure if they were muffled by the material that covered not only his eyes but also part of his ears, or because his rapidly beating heart echoed in his ears.

At least the blindfold suggested that whoever was behind this wasn’t planning on killing him. Hopefully.

Nevertheless, he almost had a heart attack when someone suddenly grabbed him and pulled him out of the car. He cried out involuntarily, only staying on his feet because he hit a rock-hard chest and two strong hands grabbed his arms to keep him from stumbling.

“I told you to get him here in one piece.”

Seokju froze at the calm, cold voice. Whoever brought him here answered something in a language he didn’t understand, but he sounded very… irritated. There was a short, tense pause broken only by Seokju’s uneven panting as the hands on his arms tensed for a moment before relaxing again.

The cold voice barked short, precise orders on the same language, before the man started to drag Seokju with him. He guided him through the place, squeezing Seokju’s arm with a relentless force. He had no scent at all. Actually… The whole place was strangely scentless, suggesting that it had been abandoned for a long time. It seemed unreal and eerie, like one of his recurring nightmares, but the throbbing pain in his body told Seokju that he was definitely awake. The dissonance made it even more difficult to concentrate and think.

It took all Seokju’s training not to curl up and try to hide like a child as soon as the man firmly pushed him down onto what felt like a very worn-out sofa.

“Now.” Seokju tensed, instinctively turning his head towards the voice and the sound of metal creaking on the hard floor. “Let’s talk about your friend, Yu Ijin.”

Seokju’s heart skipped a beat. Was this about Ijin? Who the hell were these guys targeting his omega?! He felt a small, aggravated growl forming in his chest, but he bit it back. At least his flaring panic attack subsided like a sudden spark striking water, thanks to the shock and raw desire to protect his omega. For the first time since he was kidnapped, his mind felt clear.

“Ijin? What the hell?! He’s just my classmate, why on earth would you want to talk about him with me? Are you crazy or what?!”

He tried to sound as confused and scared as he could. Just a clueless high schooler, you see? His hoarse breathing helped a lot, even if his performance was lacking. Acting really wasn’t his forte, but oh, well, he had to make do with it.

Somewhere behind him, the man who had dragged him here snorted and muttered a few words in the same foreign language as before. Seokju flinched, almost turning towards him, but stopped himself at the last moment. He had to focus on the man in front of him. His instincts told him he was the most dangerous person in the room. Seokju felt his piercing gaze as cold sweat trickled down his back, but other than that… He was like a ghost. No scent, no movement, not even the slightest accidental sound. It was disturbing. Unnatural.

“Fascinating.”

The man sounded anything but fascinated. Rather, he sounded calculating and patient. Not a good combination for Seokju.

“Listen, kid, I really don’t appreciate it when people act like we’re stupid. You work with Yu Ijin. You hang out with him every day, even spend the night at his place. Do you seriously think we don’t know about you two and just grabbed some random guy off the street hoping for a lucky hit?”

Seokju shivered at the cold amusement in the other’s voice, but he gritted his teeth and remained silent.

“Booo~ring!” His heart raced when the other man suddenly grabbed his hair and pulled his head back, pushing a long blade under his chin. Hot breath caressed Seokju’s face; a stark contrast to the cold metal against his neck. “Come on, kid, don’t be a martyr! Why be an other corpse when you can just walk away with a few bruises, eh?”

Seokju’s breath hitched as the knife slid down against his throat. He hadn’t shed any blood yet (Seokju would have been impressed by the guy’s control over the blade if his heart hadn’t wanted to jump out of his chest), but the intent was clear.

As was the sadistic glee in the man’s voice, when he continued.

“You don’t have to give much, we don’t ask you to get your lily-white hands dirty. You give some schedule and routines, names who are important to the kid, places he goes to be alone. When is the next heat of the little bitch… Things like that. Why get hurt over some info when no one will ever know it was you if you just keep your mouth shut?”

The other man didn’t interrupt his subordinate. Seokju wasn’t even sure if he was still sitting in front of him. His ears were ringing, a chill ran through his entire body as he threw his head back more. The asshole’s fingers gripped his hair tighter, but the knife didn’t move an inch. A dull pain shot through Seokju’s scalp, and a drop of blood ran down his throat when he involuntarily pressed himself against the razor-sharp edge.

“Go to hell, dimwit!” Seokju growled through clenched teeth. “You won’t get anything like that from me!” He could barely breathe but his voice was surprisingly biting and even despite his tremors.

He felt the blade press even harder against his neck, and instinctively, he closed his eyes. Fuck, it was so unfair! He wanted to go home, cuddle Ijin, watch him get round with their child. He wanted to see the kid grow up and his omega settle into the role of a daddy…

He was mortified by the tears that got the blindfold wet, but at least he stifled his whimpering.

“That’s enough.”

The cold voice pierced the tense atmosphere, making Seokju flinch. The blade disappeared in an instant.

“Yeah, yeah.” The same hand that had been clutching his hair a moment earlier was now patting his head. “Relax, kid, we are good.”

Seokju took a shuddering breath as his body started to tremble uncontrollably. He felt like the ground had been pulled out from under him, especially when a third, female voice joined in from somewhere the background.

“He is panicking.” It was a calm, emotionless statement. “Ijin will skin you two alive.”

There was slight movement around him and some rude grumbling, before someone touched his face surprisingly gently.

“Follow my voice and breath!”

It was a clear, firm order, but not harsh. It felt safe. Grounding. Seokju tried to concentrate on that voice as the woman began to count slowly and calmly, pulling him along with her. He didn’t even realize he was gasping for air until he started to calm down. His chest was burning.

“There you go. I’ll take this off, then let go of your hands too, okay? Try to stay calm, these two idiots won’t harm you. Anymore.” She added, as if it were an afterthought, while she reached up and, with practiced movements, untied the blindfold. “Alright. Look at me!”

Seokju blinked. His damp face burned with shame as he stared at the woman before him. She was very pretty, with silvery blonde hair and eyes that matched her indifferent, cold voice.

“Take it easy. I’ll let you go in a moment, focus on your breathing for now.”

Seokju forced himself to nod as his gaze wandered around the small, dilapidated room that resembled some kind of abandoned office. Two steps away from them stood a man in his twenties, watching him like a hawk watching its prey.

“Stop coddling him, he is an alpha, for fuck’s sake!”

“Shut up, you cretin.”

Seokju flinched as the man behind him pushed his upper body forward and cut the plastic cable around his wrist with two quick slashes.

“There. Released.”

“You fucking…!”

“Who the hell are you?”

The sudden silence was deafening. Seokju rubbed his wrist and pulled away from the three strangers, pressing into the corner of the sofa. The woman sighed in exasperation and gave a very hostile look at the tattooed man standing behind the couch. Seokju tried to watch them all at the same time. The calm, motionless man seemed the most dangerous in the room, but he didn’t want to let the other one out of his sight either. The jury was still out for the woman.

His head throbbed.

“We are Ijin’s former colleagues,” the woman replied after a few moments of silence, apparently choosing her words very carefully. “Sorry for the inconvenience. These idiots can’t express their concerns in any normal way, not even to save their own skin.”

“It was inevitable to see how he would react,” the man behind her interjected, as if it were the most rational thing in the world. “001 is with child. We needed to see the extend of the potential security risk during...”

“Shut it.” The woman rolled her eyes. “You’re just an overprotective asshole, and that’s it!”

“I don’t remember you jumping in to save his ass until we were sure he was okay.” The tattooed man leaned casually against the back of the couch, a wicked grin on his face. “The good news is that you passed, kid, congrats on not being a dirty little rat.”

“Oh, fuck you!”

The three strangers stared at him in surprise, but Seokju had had enough. He was so tired of all this mess! At any other time, he would have been much more eloquent and much less vulgar, but at that moment? He couldn’t care less. He felt as if he had been dragged through at least two different crises, his heart still pounding, and his entire body felt like one giant bruise. Awful didn’t even come close to describing how he felt.

“You are all completely crazy!”

“From your perspective, maybe.” The dark-haired man shrugged calmly, while the other gave Seokju a very unfriendly glare. The woman just sighed and rubbed her temple. “But that doesn’t change the fact that we are on Ijin’s side.” The name sounded strange coming from the man. He stepped closer, towering over Seokju. “And since you’ve proven your sincerity, we’ll be on your side as well. At least for now.”

Seokju blinked at him in confusion. They wanted to be on his side?

It felt like some kind of threat.

“What the actual hell…”

“First of all, you will get over this useless hysteria. You’ve done well, but you need to be in much better shape to be Ijin’s mate.”

“It’s called trauma, you idiot.” The woman barked in. “And you probably just made the situation worse for him.”

“He will be fine. He is an alpha.”

“Being an alpha is not some magic bullet, y’know.”

“Is Ijin in danger?”

The two turned back toward Seokju, but the tattooed man was the one who answered.

“Constantly.” He snorted. “The little shit is a real danger-magnet.”

Seokju wasn’t thrilled with his style, but he couldn’t really refute the assessment. It was enough just to think about the past few weeks with the hijacking and Ijin’s sudden disappearance for days. Yeah, his boyfriend never really was ordinary.

“He could be in even more danger now that he is pregnant.”

The older man gave Seokju a look that suggested he thought it was all Seokju’s fault. Seokju couldn’t really refute that either.

“He will be on maternity leave in a few weeks, and he won’t participate in fieldwork until then either.” Seokju frowned. “Why on earth would he be in danger?”

The three people looked at each other, talking about something without words. Seokju felt irritated and left out. At the end, after a long moment, the woman sighed.

“Let’s just say it has something to do with his previous work with us” she stated reluctantly.

Seokju stared at her for a long moment. He wanted to ask more. He wanted to know what the hell was going on, because he had never felt so much like he was stumbling in the dark as he did now.

But her eyes told him that it was not something she wanted to tell. It was Ijin’s secret. Something Seokju vowed to respect, and wait until Ijin was ready to tell him.

He let out a frustrated growl.

“Fine!”

The woman looked surprised but pleased.

“You are quite sweet for an alpha. I’m Maya, by the way.”

Seokju gave her an unimpressed glare.

“Seokju.”

“Pleasure.” She smiled at him warmly. “Please stay like this in the future, I would really hate to kill you for hurting Ijin.”

Seokju sighed tiredly. He was so done with these crazy people!

“Sure. I’ll do my best.”

The next moment, a cell phone landed next to him. It was his own. Seokju looked up in surprise.

“I set up an emergency number. If you notice someone stalking Ijin, take a picture of them and send it over! If he disappears for more than three hours without prior notice and you can’t reach him, call us.”

Seokju stared at the dark-haired man for a moment before nodding curtly.

“Do you need a ride to the hospital?” Maya asked.

“I think so…?”

She stood up motioning for him to follow.

“Then let’s go! You two, behave yourselves!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Seokju grabbed his phone and stood up in a daze, already wondering what the hell he was going to say to his boss, his father… and most importantly: Ijin. Somehow, he felt it wouldn’t be easy to explain the situation to his omega without worrying him.

“You can call him from the car.” Maya suggested, as if reading his thoughts. “The guys won’t mind if you tell him what happened. He’ll find out anyway after a while.” She gave him a thoughtful look. “Maybe be careful with the details. No one would want 004 and Ijin going head-to-head in his current state. He would probably win, sure, but… Well, y’know what I mean, right?”

“Right.”

Maya grinned and opened the door for him, allowing Seokju to limp forward.

“I like you kid. You are a good one.”

Seokju hummed wearily. He wasn’t sure if this meant anything good for him, but well… Maya at least hasn’t tried to kill him. Yet.