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this night together - chapter six (j.yh + s.mg)

chapter six: growing pains

chapter summary: finally it's time to move past things, it's just a question of how.

warnings: references to a/b/o dynamics such as heat and knotting and designations, not much else though...

notes: thank you all so much for your patience while i worked on this one! next chapter might take a little time too because work has been insane, but i'm doing my best to keep consistent for you all. i've also really enjoyed all the fun asks i'm getting! it helps keep me writing, so feel free to message me anytime! x

pairings: alpha!yunho x alpha!mingi x omega!reader

genre: smut, a/b/o/omegaverse, angst, fluff, romance, polyamory

word count: 5.8K

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Your body aches from overuse, exhaustion pouring through you, but you need to finish, you have to. The muscles in your thighs are burning, your legs quivering as you try to steady yourself. With a slow exhale you try to center yourself, blinking away the sweat in your eyes. 

San smiles down at you, “That’s good,” 

“I can’t,” You shake your head. 

“You can,” He nods, “I know, you can,”

His hand brushes along your forearm and he gives you the smallest squeeze. 

“San,” You exhale his name in a tired breath. 

“One more set,” He encourages. 

One more set might kill you. You drop your hands from the handles by your shoulders, sinking back against the padded back of the leg press machine and give him one more shake of your head. 

“Do you want to be the best?” San asks this time, a smirk on his face, “Or are you good with being just okay?” 

“Fuck,” You mutter under your breath. 

“Come on,” He taps your thigh as he shifts positions to stand directly at your side and spot you, “set it up,” 

You shift back into position, holding the handles and adjusting your body into proper form. You brace yourself against the plate under your feet and unlock the safety at your side. The weight drops a little more heavily onto your shoulders, but you quickly shift into another headspace and with your teeth tight and your eyes focused on something distant at the other end of the gym you drop into a squat, pushing back up as smoothly as you can to your original position. 

“Nice,” He comments, sliding his hand under the pad that sticks out past your shoulder, hovering his hand here, “Give me two more,” 

You get your breath back, and go for one more. 

“Good,” San says matter of factly. 

Last one. You make it quick, ignoring the burn up your legs and exhaling hard when you make it back to the resting position. 

You’re about to take your hands off the handle and lock the machine back in place but San taps the pad and shakes his head, “You got one more, I didn’t even touch this,” 

“San,” Your chest is heaving. 

“I didn’t touch it,” He tells you, “it’s not failure, come on, one more,” 

You go again. 

“Yep, one more,” He smiles, “let’s go,” 

All you can do is press your eyes tight and sink low into the squat again. You know he won’t let you off the machine until you do. This time, you pause at the bottom, taking a deep breath before you start pushing up again. 

“There you go,” San hypes you up, his hand still hovering under the pad, “don’t quit”

You let out a tight, pained noise at the top, letting your head fall back as the relief floods your legs. 

“One more,” 

There’s no way this isn’t the last one, you can feel it in every ounce of your body, but if failure is what he wants, that’s what he’ll get. You drop down again, but this time you're shaking on the push upwards, and San catches it immediately. He moves his hand up to the pad and shifts so he can catch the extra weight, supporting you as you make it back to the top and lock the safety in place. 

“I got you,” He says, making sure the machine is locked before he moves out from under the pad to back at your side. 

You’re still catching your breath, but with the extra weight no longer on you, you’re able to collapse out and rest against the press plate, “Damn,” 

San pulls the towel off his shoulder and grabs the antibacterial spray from the shelving behind your machine, “You said you wanted to work harder,” 

“Yeah,” You sigh, catching your breath, “I didn’t know you were going to turn into a drill sergeant,” 

“Hey,” He laughs, “I’m very nice, I’m just not going to let you quit.” 

“Mhm,” You reach for your water, gulping it down. 

“You could have quit,” He finishes wiping down the machine and smiles, “but you didn’t. Be proud of yourself,” 

“I am,” You wipe your mouth with the back of your hand and take another breath, “practice is going to be hard,” 

“Oh, yeah,” He tosses you another towel, “your legs are going to feel like jelly for a few days,” 

“Great,” You laugh. 

“It’s fine,” He brushes off your tone, “it’ll get easier, and if you’d use the foam roller like I told you,” 

“Oh my god, okay,” You groan, “whatever you say, Coach Choi.” 

His eyebrow quirks and he crosses his arms, “I like that,” 

“Of course you do,” 

“Wooyoungie!” He calls out across the gym, and you swivel your head to watch Wooyoung pull off one headphone, “If I asked nicely, would you call me Coach Choi?” 

Wooyoung grimaces, “Absolutely not,” 

You fall apart into laughter at his expression, but before you can add anything else another voice enters the mix. 

“Hey, San,” Minseok says from a few feet away as he sets up on a bench, “you have time for a spot?” 

A few more members of the crew trickle in behind Minseok, preparing for their own gym days and they disperse to pick out their machines and start their routines. Minseok doesn’t spare a second glance at you even though you’re hip to hip next to San, but it’s unsurprising, he’s never really taken the time to get to know you. 

“Sure,” San nods and then turns back to you, “you’re just cooling down now, right?” 

“Yeah,” You shake your head, “there’s literally no way I can do anything else,” 

“Cool,” He smiles and heads towards Minseok, “you did so good, okay?” 

“Okay, okay,” You roll your eyes and head for the treadmills, stepping up onto the one next to Wooyoung. 

“Hey,” He says, a little breathless as he starts to slow his pace, having just finished the most intensive part of his run. 

“Hey,” You amp up the incline and get your own machine started to have a cooldown walk. 

“Are you regretting asking San for more training yet?” Wooyoung asks with a smirk. 

“Mm,” You groan, “a little,” 

“He loves it though,” He says and nods towards where San is now preparing to spot Minseok, “I think in another life he was an actual personal trainer,” 

“I don’t know how he does it,” You admit. 

Wooyoung smiles and takes a generous swig of his water as he slows to a walking pace that matches yours. “Has Yujin talked to you yet today?” He asks suddenly. 

You swivel your head to look at him, “No?” 

He smiles wide, “No reason,” 

You lower your voice, “Tell me,” 

“Nope,” He shakes his head, “she wants to be the one to tell you,” 

“Is it bad?” Your stomach sinks, no idea what in the world she would have to tell you. 

You’re suddenly full of sick, nervous knots. For the past few weeks everything has been tense and uncomfortable, Yunho and Mingi still keeping their distance and you always feel a half step behind no matter how close you’ve started to get with San, Wooyoung, and Seonghwa. 

Wooyoung laughs at your expression, “Why would I look so happy if it’s bad news,” he says, “y/n, relax,” 

“Okay, okay,” You breathe, “so it’s good?”

“Definitely,” 

“I’m more confused now,” You confess. 

“Don’t stress,” He repeats the same sentiment, “just go find her when you’re done with your workout,” 

You chew the inside of your lip and flex your hands on the handles of the treadmill, “Okay,” 

You walk silently side by side for another minute, just letting the ambient sounds of the gym pass over you, when Wooyoung hums quietly to himself. 

“What?” You glance over at him and his tight expression. 

His eyes dart right to you, and his voice drops so low you almost miss his words, “You started your new suppressants, right?” 

“Mhm,” You nod, glancing around you to see if anyone’s in earshot. 

“Hmm,” He shrugs, “weird,” 

“You can’t just… what’s weird?” 

“Minseok’s still eyeing you up,” He says, and you physically fight the urge to look over to where he and San are working out. 

“He’s not,” You insist, “I swear to God, you think everyone wants to sleep with everyone,” 

Wooyoung rolls his eyes hard, “Maybe he just likes you,” 

You take the moment to subtly look his way, but despite what Wooyoung said, he’s not staring at you. He’s not even facing you, only San catches your eye and shoots you a friendly smile. 

“Okay, see,” You nod towards them, “you’re definitely making this up,” 

“I swear,” His voice spikes a little and you shake your head to keep him quiet, so he drops his voice low again, “I’m just saying.” 

“Well, say something else,” You roll your eyes, “because that’s ridiculous.” 

Wooyoung grumbles something under his breath, drinking more water and stretching out his arms and you let it lie. It’s taken weeks for things to balance back out to normal with your body. When nineteen days finally come and go, and with your insurance active and suppressants back in hand, you finally feel like you can relax. 

For the three weeks between your heat and your first dose you did everything to dampen your omega scent using natural methods, hoping that some residual alpha pheromones would linger for just long enough to keep any extra attention off, but there’s nothing like the security of a strong suppressant. The difference is palpable, off them you can always feel the lingering stares of alphas, the way they always try to find little ways to get closer to you, the way they look. You’ve always hated it. 

Wooyoung has been sticking to you like glue, and he’s the first person to make a face at an unwelcome advance, throwing an arm around your shoulders and pushing you right back into San and Seonghwa’s proximity. He knows what this feeling is like, the nervous glances over your shoulder and unwillingness to walk alone, and he never, ever lets you feel it for very long. Despite his insistence though, Minseok hasn’t been one of those alphas at all. He’s stayed consistently in his lane of ignoring you with the exception of a polite smile here and there. You’ve been far more aware of other alphas in the crew noticing you, and you’ve been doing your best to keep your distance. 

“Maybe you should ask him out,” Wooyoung presses the button to turn off his machine and his steps slow. 

You turn yours off too, ready to be done, “Woo!” You hiss under your breath. 

“Maybe it would help,” Wooyoung shrugs, “you know, getting over them,” 

“I don’t need to get over anyone,” You press, “you’re making things up again,” 

“Fine,” He sighs, “I’m the crazy one,” 

You curse softly under your breath as he hops off his machine. 

“Hey,” He says, his voice once again at a normal volume and you turn towards him, “don’t forget to talk to Yujin,” 

“Got it,” You move to wipe down your machine. 

“Drinks later?” Wooyoung asks, giving you a smile as if he didn’t just try to dismantle your entire love life during a casual workout chat. 

“Maybe,” 

“Good,” 

He’s gone in a flash, full of energy even after the workout and you’re left alone on the still treadmill, glancing over once more at San and Minseok, both of whom seem engrossed in their workouts. It’s not that he isn’t cute, you’ve definitely had a passing thought or two about his hair and the way he looks when he’s dancing, but you don’t know him. You don’t even really want to know him, at least not like that. 

You shake off those thoughts and move to fill your water bottle up at the fountain in the back and let yourself cool off a bit. Whatever Yujin wants to talk to you about, it’s work related and you’d rather focus there than on anything else. You toss your towel over your shoulder and push open the door as you start to tap out a text message to Wooyoung, confirming drinks for later. A text that he surely already knows is coming. 

You collide hard into a firm, warm chest and stumble back, “Sorry!”

Familiar hands catch your elbows, “No, no, I’m sorry,” 

You take a natural step to the side and Yunho’s hands pull back quickly, another apology on his lips but he clears his throat and glances to the side into the gym. 

This awkwardness has to end, it has to. 

You take a little leap of faith, “Have you seen Yujin today?” 

His eyes meet yours and he softens a little, work a safe topic, “Yeah, she’s in the far studio room,” 

“Cool,” You give him a quick smile and dip your head a little, “sorry, again,” 

He shakes his head, “It’s fine,” 

“Okay,” You take a few steps back down the hall, “well, I’ll see you at practice later,” 

“Yeah,” His voice is soft, but he recovers with ease, “yeah, see you,” 

You want to ask him how he is, but he gives you one more small, polite smile before disappearing behind the gym door that swings shut with a heavy metallic sound. It’s not much, but it’s something. 

You find Yujin stretching in the far practice room just like Yunho said. Dahan, another one of the female choreographers is by her side, looking through something on her phone as they talk casually. You’ve always liked them, both of them a large reason why you wanted to come work here, and though they’ve been kind to you, you still feel like you’re working on proving yourself to them. 

“Hey,” You get their attention, “Wooyoung said you were looking for me?” 

“He’s got the biggest mouth,” Yujin sighs as she knots her long blonde hair up in a twist. 

“Oh,”

“I was just going to talk to Jaemin before talking to you,” She explains, pushing herself up from the floor, “so don’t get too excited,” 

“Um,” You glance between them, “okay?” 

Dahan gets to her feet as well, adjusting the waistband of her sweatpants, “It’s good news,” 

Yujin nods, “You can’t tell anyone outside the family,” she starts off and you nod, “but we’re debuting a girl group next fall.” 

“Really?” Your eyes widen. 

“Mhm,” She nods, “they have their trainees put together, and they have two song guides ready,” 

“That’s exciting,” 

“We got the first guide this week,” Yujin explains, “and we’re getting started with choreography soon, your name came up.” 

“My name?” You trail off. 

“You’re quick,” Dahan jumps in, “and you make strong suggestions. We’d like to include you in some of those conversations.” 

“Choreography conversations,” 

“Yeah,” Yujin smiles, “Seonghwa and Yunho are running point on the choreo along with us, but we wanted to pull you and San into the initial conversations.” 

“That’s amazing,” You manage. 

“I still have to talk to Jaemin,” Yujin points out, “but it shouldn’t be a problem.” 

“I really appreciate it,” You’re fighting the urge to grin like an idiot. 

“Just keep it to yourself for the moment,” She follows up, “and next week when things get going, I’ll pull you in.” 

“Thanks, Yujin,” Your body is swelling with nervous fluttering knots, torn between elated and terrified. A little piece of you had wondered what sharing your heat with Yunho and Mingi would do to your time here, if they would start to look past you entirely for opportunities, but you know now that was just your fear. 

Back in the hall you can’t stop smiling. You feel dizzy, chest bubbling with excitement. 

You want to tell someone so badly it hurts. Not someone, Mingi. You want to tell Mingi. After all the time he’s spent with you, working with you late at night and building your confidence and your skills, he’s the only one you want to call. 

You picture the way he’d grin, wide and a little knowing. He’d play it off like you were being dramatic, but when he hugged you close you know he’d murmur something in your ear. You miss his voice. You thought by now these feelings would have faded away into nothing, but you sometimes still catch yourself sinking into this unfamiliar longing. 

Your phone buzzes in the tight pocket of your leggings and you answer the call smoothly after the first ring, your worries fading the minute you hear his voice. 

“Quick,” Seonghwa hums, “are you just sitting around waiting for my call?”

“Funny,” You smile, leaning back against the wall. 

“You know that I am,” He says, and you can practically see the charming curve of his mouth. 

“Mm,” You huff a small laugh, “did you need something?” 

“That depends,” He says and you can hear the sounds of the streets in the background, “are you at the studio yet?” 

“Yeah, I just finished training with Sannie,” You tell him, “if it’s anything that involves walking up and down stairs, I’m out.” 

He laughs sharply, “No, no, I’m stopping at that coffee place you like,” 

You had mentioned it to him one time two weeks ago, and his attention to detail makes you smile. 

“Can I get you something?” You hear the sound change on his side of the phone and he must be walking into the shop now. 

“Iced americano?”

“Got it,” He replies smoothly, “I’ll see you in a bit,” 

“Thanks, Hwa,” 

“Mhm,” He murmurs, and then the line cuts. 

Growing closer to them these past few weeks has been everything. In the aftermath of what feels like the worst decision, you’ve managed to find three friends who genuinely seem kind and caring, and not at all interested in constantly flirting or trying to get into your pants. You feel like you’re finally slotting into place here, being brought into the fold of a longstanding group dynamic and despite the way you’re still catching up on inside jokes and references, you’re starting to make some of your own with them. 

The tension that’s been lingering between you, Yunho, and Mingi has been smoothly shielded by the three of them, and where you once spent most of your time outside of practice alone, now you’re constantly in the fray. Coffee in the mornings, lunches out, drinks after work, weekend plans, a whirlwind of sudden fast friendship. All the slow steps of getting to know someone were thrown directly out the window when Wooyoung finally got his hands on you and threw open all those emotional doors, and it’s easy to trust them when it’s like this. 

At the studio, you clean up quickly for the team meeting before practice, grabbing a protein bar from your bag for a boost of energy and filling up your water bottle. The day is starting to feel a little lighter, the interaction with Yunho earlier making everything a little less intense, but your steps falter again in the hall, the sight of Mingi at the far end of it by the back office. 

He looks good today, an oversized black t-shirt and dark wash jeans, heavy work boots and a silver chain around his neck. His hair strikes you a little darker, and you don’t know if it’s the lighting or if he dyed it but it suits him and for a brief moment you catch yourself staring. 

He glances at you briefly, catching your eyes for a second before he turns his face away and steps into the office, shutting the door behind him. 

Yunho and I are not going to leave you.

The memory sinks into your stomach, and for the briefest moment you want to follow him, push open the office door and make him look you in the eyes again. Tell him your news, make him your friend again, take a page out of Wooyoung’s book and just force him to get over this sickening space between you all. Your chest aches. 

You're proud of yourself, you couldn’t have done this without him, you want to tell him, you want him to know, need him to know. You take a few steps forwards, ready and bracing yourself and so unsure of what you’re going to say, but you know you need to say something, anything. 

“Hey,” Seonghwa catches your attention, stepping in through the doorway to your right and interrupting your line of sight down the hall. Suddenly the urge to run to Mingi and tell him your good news fades, all you can see now is Seonghwa’s wide smile and kind eyes. He pushes your iced americano into your idle hands and nudges your arm, “what’s got you beaming?” 

“What?” You refocus completely on him. 

“You,” He nods, “you’re smiling like crazy, what’s up?” 

“You probably already know,” You lower your voice a bit, stepping closer to him. 

“Yeah?” He shifts a little, leaning his shoulder on the adjacent wall and looking down at you, taking a long sip of his own coffee, “Tell me anyways,” 

“The new group,” You explain, still keeping your voice a little lower, “I just talked to Yujin,” 

“Ah,” He grins, “it’s good isn’t it,” 

At his knowing expression things click into place and your mouth drops, “Hwa, did you do this? Did you put my name up?” 

He hesitates for just a moment and then shakes his head, “I wish I had, but Yunho got there first.” 

“He did?” 

Seonghwa nods, leaning down a bit more and lowering his voice further, “He talked to Jaemin about it last week,” 

“But I thought,” Your voice trails off, remembering what Yujin said in the practice studio only twenty minutes ago. 

“He told me he wanted you on the project,” Seonghwa shrugs, “maybe things are thawing out,” 

“Finally,” You breathe. 

“Congratulations though,” Seonghwa smiles, “it’s a big step here,” 

Your face hurts from smiling but you grin again and nod. 

“Hey, listen,” He gives your arm a friendly squeeze as he turns the direction of the conversation, “Are you free tomorrow night?” 

“I think so,” 

“You want to come to dinner with me?” He asks. 

“Dinner?” You nod, “Sure, what are you,” 

A body brushes past you both in the hall and you take a step back from Seonghwa, realizing how close in his proximity you were a moment ago and you clear your throat softly, glancing to the side. Mingi’s already four strides past you both down the hall and pushing open the practice room door and your stomach drops. 

“Oh,” You breathe. 

Seonghwa waits, but when you turn back towards him he doesn’t even acknowledge the bristling moment of tension with Mingil, “So, dinner?” 

“Yeah,” You recover, remembering yourself, “yeah, sure,” 

“I want you to meet a friend of mine,” He says. 

“This better not be a set up,” You grimace. 

“Not at all,” He shakes his head with a laugh, “I just thought maybe you’d like to meet one of the producers for the group,” 

“Hwa,” Your eyes widen. 

“It’s nothing crazy,” He assures you, “I’ve mentioned my friend, Hongjoong, haven’t I?” 

“Yes, yeah, the Edenary producer,” 

“We get dinner once a month when our schedules line up,” He explains, “come meet him.” 

“Definitely, Seonghwa, this is great,”  

“Good,” He fishes his phone out of his back pocket, “I’ll text him to update the reservation,” 

You watch as he quickly taps out his message and then tucks his phone away again, smiling. He sighs and pushes off the wall and then taps the bottom of your americano with his finger before moving past you, “Drink your coffee, I’ll see you at practice,” 

“Yeah,” You smile, but he’s already gone. 

But practice is a unique kind of terrible today. Yunho seems tired, frustrated at something but it’s buried so deeply under the surface it’s almost impossible to see, but at least he’s maintaining the recent status quo of ignoring you. Mingi on the other hand is something altogether different. He’s given you three encouraging nods since the start and complimented you once, and you wish that you had a hidden camera pointed at Wooyoung for the way his eyes go wide at Mingi’s sudden attention on you. 

It’s not much, no more time than he spends on anyone else, but compared to the drought it feels intense. It makes your stomach churn with uneasiness. 

Seonghwa catches you once again after practice, trying to confirm dinner for tomorrow, but Wooyoung hangs off your shoulder and whines that you’ll be late for drinks, and he tugs you along until you relent. 

San can’t come tonight, but he gives you a knowing smile about the upcoming choreography project, and by the time you make it through talking with each of them and get out the door cleaned up, you forget all about the feeling of Mingi’s eyes on you. 

It isn’t until tomorrow becomes today and your coat is buttoned, ready to be done with the studio for the day and make it to your dinner reservations that you feel the sensation of his eyes again. 

You know the sound of his steps intimately, having been listening for them around every corner the past few weeks, and something in your chest tightens when Mingi shuffles closer to you. He leans back against the far wall of the practice room with you, the closest you’ve physically been to each other in weeks. 

“Hey,” He says, voice low. 

“Hey,” You glance at him, but his eyes are downcast. Your chest aches again, but you push the feeling away. 

A beat passes between you, but finally he nods and pulls his eyes up to meet yours, “I miss you,” 

“Oh,” Your stomach flutters. 

“I hate this whole thing,” He says, finally breaking this stiff tension that exists between you, “we said it wouldn’t be weird, and we’re making it weird.” 

“Yeah,” 

“I miss working with you,” He sighs. 

“Me too,” You want to touch him, to rest your hand on his arm and soothe him, but you know you shouldn’t. 

“Can we just let it go?” Mingi shifts to face you fully, “start over?” 

“I think we should try,” You manage, “I just want to have my friends back,” 

“Then let’s forget the whole thing,” He brightens now that he knows you miss him too, “we’re being stupid, it was just heat. Being friends, working together, that’s what’s important,” 

“Please,” You sigh, feeling like your shoulders can finally fall after so much time walking on eggshells, “everything’s been so weird between us and all I want is to go back to normal,” 

“Thank God,” He grins, “stay right here,” 

“What?” He’s gone before you can really get the words out, jogging out of the room and leaving you alone to stare at yourself in the mirrored wall. 

“Yunho!” Mingi’s voice is disconnected in the hall, and your stomach drops, “Get over here!”

You push off the wall immediately, moving fast and skidding into the hallway, “Mingi, it’s fine, don’t,” 

“Relax,” He glances back at you and then shouts again, “Yunho!”

“Jesus, I’m coming,” Yunho’s not looking when he comes out of the back office and moves into the hall. He’s looking at something on his phone and he makes it halfway down the hall before he looks up and realizes you’re standing a few feet behind Mingi, “Oh, y/n,” 

“Uh, hey,” You smile, and you can see the sudden confusion in his eyes at your change in tone. 

“Can you help us with something?” Mingi interrupts the moment and gets the attention back on him. 

“What’s up?” Yunho tucks his phone into the pocket of his sweats. 

“We’re working on the new song,” Mingi lies, “can you talk us through it?” 

You weren’t working on the new song, you weren’t even thinking about the new song, but Mingi knows how his best friend is and he knows the way talking about it will just scare him off. To get back to normal, you just have to be back to normal, and dance is what you all know. The rest will surely come.

“Well,” Yunho looks between you, “we haven’t really gotten into it yet,” 

“So, let’s get into it,” Mingi claps his hand on Yunho’s arm, bouncing a little on the balls of his feet, “come on,” 

“y/n,” Yunho looks past him, “you’re staying late tonight?” 

You aren’t supposed to. You’re supposed to meet Seonghwa and Hongjoong for dinner, but this is almost definitely the deciding moment on if you can repair your friendship with these men and put aside all the swirling feelings about them, so you make a choice. 

“Yep,” You nod. 

“You’re wearing your coat?” Yunho points out. 

“Ah,” You shake your head, “I was running to the mart for something to eat real quick,” 

A smooth lie and Mingi smiles. 

“I have some stuff in the back office,” Yunho gestures as if you don’t already know where it is, “you know you can always help yourself to anything there,” 

“Thanks, Yunho,” You haven’t said his name like that in what feels like months. You missed it on your tongue. 

He smiles brightly, and just like that, the tense knot is gone. 

“Let me hook up my phone, I’ll meet you in the studio?” Yunho asks you both. 

“Yep,” Mingi nods, “I’ll grab us waters,” 

Yunho moves through you both into the room behind you and you shrug off your coat and hang it back on the hook in the hall. Alone again, Mingi smiles at you. 

“You’re kind of devious,” You whisper to him as you make your way up the hall with him. 

“Maybe,” He shrugs, “all I know is, I missed you.” 

“Mingi,” You stop short, reaching for him this time and closing your hand around his wrist to stop him too. 

He waits for your words expectantly. 

“I should have said something to you sooner,” You sigh, “and I’m sorry about that. I missed you both too,” 

He turns his hand, taking your wrist and tugging you forward until he can close his arms around you in a hug, “Me too, but it doesn’t matter now, okay? Let’s just be friends again,” 

It takes everything in your body not to take a deep inhale of his rich chocolate scent, and you tighten your first together behind his back to keep your mind of it while his settle arms around you for the first time in weeks. Friends, you assert to yourself quietly, just friends. You need to get a grip.

“Normal,” You agree after a moment, nodding into him. 

His arms tighten for just a moment, and then he pulls back, letting his hands drop away and stepping back to give you space, “I’m not ruining your night, am I?” 

“No!” You’re quick to assure, desperate to not upset the delicately remade balance. 

“You don’t have plans tonight?” He asks, eyes flicking over you. 

You shake your head, “I wasn’t doing anything special,” you lie. 

“Good,” He smiles, “that’s good.”

He turns and opens the door to the back office and you follow him in. He fishes out a few water bottles from the large refrigerator in the corner and tucks them under his arm, grabbing a towel too from the folded stack nearby. You search blindly for something to eat so you don’t feel caught out in your little white lie and select a protein bar at random, something easy, though you’re so nervous to be with them again like this you don’t even know if you can keep it down. 

Your phone feels heavy in your pocket when it buzzes. 

With a quick glance at the clock you note the time. You’re supposed to be meeting Seonghwa and Hongjoong in about ninety minutes, you were going to go home and shower and become a presentable person and then make it across town. Maybe, just maybe, you can have this and make it there too. 

“You coming?” Mingi interrupts your thoughts and jerks his head towards the hall. 

“Uh, yes,” You follow, “let me just drop my stuff back off, I’ll be right there, okay?” 

“Mhm,” He nods, “I’ll see you in there.” 

Alone again you make short work of dropping your bags and tying your hair back up. You pull out your phone and send two texts at lightning speed. 

To Seonghwa you do your best to keep it vague - I’m so sorry to do this but I’m getting caught up with something, I’ll be a little late to dinner, but start without me ok? Tell Hongjoong I’m sorry too, but I’ll hurry. 

To Wooyoung you keep it honest - SOS. Staying late at the studio with Mingi and Yunho… they want to move past everything. Call me in an hour with an excuse, anything, I just need a reason to step away. PLEASE. 

You don’t wait to see either answer. You tuck your phone back into the elastic pocket of your leggings and take a steadying breath, looking over yourself quickly in the small mirror on the back of the office door. You just have to trust that Wooyoung will come through for you, and he hasn’t failed you yet. 

“y/n,” Yunho’s voice echoes from down the hall, “can you grab the CD on my desk?” 

You turn towards his desk and find a stack of them, but the one on top in a clear jewel case hastily labeled seems right, “The top one?” 

“Yeah,” He calls, “and hurry please, Mingi’s already driving me insane,” 

You push open the office door, freshly burned CD in hand and smile wide when you see him hanging out the doorway of the studio, “Is that right?” 

He looks like he’s holding his breath, but when you meet his eyes he exhales heavily and smiles right back, “You know it,” 

Your phone buzzes in your pocket, but you ignore it, focused entirely on the man in front of you and the way that he’s finally looking at you in earnest for the first time in weeks. You’re sure there will be a moment eventually to clear the air, but right now you’re just grateful to see the look on his face, the way his cheeks get rounder when he grins. 

Mingi shouts something from inside the studio and Yunho laughs sharply, his head falling back in delight and your chest tightens up at the sound. 

You crack a joke right back, tension released like the threads of a too-tight knot finally coming free. 

You cross over the threshold of the studio ready to let it all fall away, Mingi smiling again ahead of you and Yunho at your back.

---

sunday mornings (j.yh + p.sh)

summary: one sunday morning yunho and seonghwa decide they want more than just coffee, they want you; a husbands story deleted scene

note: this is not an official installment in the husbands series, more like a deleted scene of just straight smut, no real plot. still... it's feral and i figured you might all enjoy it still. however, please read the warnings, this is one of the most intense dom/sub scenes i've ever written.

warnings: non idol!yunho, non idol!seonghwa, fem!reader, established relationship, established dom/sub dynamics with hard dom seonghwa, hard dom yunho, sub reader. specific content warnings for: slight somno vibes, dub-con vibes though truly there is nothing but boundless consent here, pet play and use of the pet name 'puppy', collars and leashes, ball gags, bdsm, restraints, overstimulation, use of latex gloves, spitting, mean language like slut and whore, taunting and humiliation play, with a lil praise we gotta get our 'good girl's in there, intense fingering, oral (m receiving), throat fucking, rough and i mean rough sex, slapping of all kinds, impact play of all kinds, use of dildos, squirting, multiple orgasms/pussy torture.... basically the husbands fuck the hell out of her and engage in lots of pain play.

pairings: seonghwa x yunho x reader

genre: smut and more smut

word count: 8.2K

my masterlist || read it on AO3

You wake on Sunday morning to kisses along the back of your neck and familiar fingers slipping under the hem of your underwear. The warm weight of your husband’s body behind you in the yellow glow of the late morning sun. For a minute you let him explore you, let his hand part your thighs and the tip of his middle finger gently flick across your clit. He’s breathing softly, your hair shifting with his every exhale against your skin. His teeth pull gently at the necklace around your throat. 

You don’t remember how you made it to bed last night, the last clear thought you have is the movie playing in the background and your head on Seonghwa’s thigh. Someone must have carried you upstairs, and judging by your bare legs and lack of bra, someone must have undressed you before tucking you in. 

Yunho’s arm tightens around you, adjusting his positioning, reaching around as he searches you more, sliding one finger further through your folds and seeking some wetness to spread over your sex. 

“Sweetheart,” He murmurs low, soft like he’s trying to ease you awake. 

You keep your eyes shut, letting your body stay relaxed and pliant. You sigh softly as he pushes the tip of his finger inside you. 

“Come on, my love,” He returns his fingers to your aching bud and circles softly, “it’s time to get up,” 

You’re not sure if he knows you’re awake, normally if he does he teases more than this. He turns the moment into a punishment and holds you down on your front while he takes you rough and quick from behind, but this morning he’s moving slowly. This morning he has plans. 

You stretch a little, your thighs parting. 

“There’s my love,” He kisses down the exposed skin of your upper back, fingers rocking more firmly with every shift of your body into consciousness. 

“Hi, baby,” You sigh, letting your eyes open finally. 

“Morning,” He nips at your shoulder. 

“Where’s Hwa?” You ask through a yawn as you realize he’s not on your other side. 

“Coffee,” Yunho explains, staying focused on touching you. 

You exhale slowly, letting him move you onto your back so he can touch more of you, “Did you just wake up?” 

“Mhm,” He pushes his hand up your shirt and over your stomach, up further to cup your breast, “I had a dream about you,” 

“Yeah?” 

“And I woke up needing you,” He explains, lips traveling across your throat. 

He’s rock hard against your thigh, his hips pushing against you to feel some friction and you slide your hands under the covers to find his bare chest. His teeth catch against your necklace again, tugging softly as he sighs hot across your pulsepoint. 

“What about Hwa?” You tease him. 

“I need him too,” He dismisses, “but that’s not what I want right now,” 

“W-what do you want right now?” You ask, your voice caught when he pulls his hand out from under your shirt and cups your cheek, fingertips dragging down your neck. 

His hand closes over your throat in an instant as he leans back to watch your eyes, “Can we play, sweetheart?” 

A shock of warmth fires through your belly, heat pooling in your core and you wet your lips before nodding, “Please,” 

His fingers squeeze just a little and then his hand releases, and despite the way you can see in his face that he wants to move so much more quickly than this he remembers himself, voice softening, “Are you sure?” 

“Why?” You murmur, your fingertips coasting up his bare ribs. 

“The other night,” He says, nodding, “I know we were rough, you can say no if you’re not feeling up to it,” 

Three nights ago they had been rough. Your body twisted up and locked in place with silk ropes affixed to the hooks behind the headboard, their words had been harsh and demanding, and the way they both took you after what felt like hours of denial made your head spin and your legs numb by the time they released you into the soft sheets. 

You crane up just enough to press a kiss to his lips, “I’m sure, baby, I feel fine,” 

He studies your face for a moment, “You were sore Friday,” 

You smile, “It’s Sunday,” you nudge him, “but if you don’t want to fuck me,” 

He laughs and drags you up to his chest, kissing you soundly and shaking his head as he does, “No, no, I’m just checking,” 

“Thank you,” You squeeze his hand, “but I feel good, and we don’t have any plans today,” 

“True,” He murmurs

“You two do what you want to me,” You grin, pressing another kiss to his lips, “I’m all yours,” 

His hand tightens on your hip and he swallows hard, “You might regret that, I’m in a mood,” 

“I doubt that,” You roll your hips against him, catching his cock between your bodies. 

“Yeah?” He smirks, “You do like my moods, don’t you,” 

You can practically feel his words making you wetter. Downstairs the sound of the cabinets and dishes echo up and Yunho glances over his shoulder at the closed door. 

You kiss his chest, just below his throat and sink into his skin, “I love your moods, Daddy,” 

He groans at your words, his breath caught in his chest. You smile against his skin, knowing you’re giving him the perfect permission. You want him to put you on your knees so badly you could beg for it. 

Yunho presses one more sweet kiss to your lips once he recovers and then pushes you off him and back into the center of the bed, “Take your panties off,” 

“Yes, Daddy,” You respond, anticipation building as you slip them off and kick them beneath the sheets at your feet. 

Yunho crosses to the closet, pulling open the doors and locating the long shelf where all your toys and gadgets are laid out ready for use. He slides it open and selects his favorite collar and leash, and then steps back towards you. His face is starting to even out, gain that smooth, dominant passivity that you love and you’re sure that you’re in for some punishment today. 

In preparation, you gather your hair up high in a ponytail and secure it back and push yourself up on your knees. 

He stands before you, thumb rubbing against the leather of the collar, “Tell me, what are you, baby?” 

“A good puppy,” You respond with practiced ease. 

“Who’s good puppy?”

“Daddy’s,” You answer instantly, “and master’s,” 

“That’s right, pretty girl,” He murmurs, his tone slightly exaggerated like he’s speaking to a child. He unhooks the collar and places it around your neck, securing the black loop of leather around your throat. He slips a finger in between the fabric and your skin to ensure it’s not too tight or too loose, and then he clips on the leash to the front loop. 

He gives it an experimental tug, just enough to ensure it’s latched properly and then he smiles, “How’s that, puppy?” 

“Good,” You promise him, “perfect,” 

“Alright,” He murmurs, “let’s surprise Seonghwa,”

He steps away, stretching as he does and adjusting his black t-shirt, and you watch him carefully, waiting for instructions. It’s so easy to get into this headspace with them after so much time, years spent growing your levels of comfort with each other. In moments like this, every ounce of stress and worry falls away from your mind, and you know they’ll lead you safely into everything you need. Years ago you would be bubbling with nerves, but now you can just feel your skin tingling in anticipation, so you wait patiently. 

Yunho turns back to you and lifts the leash in his hand, beckoning you forwards, “Come,” 

“Yes, Daddy,” You answer with ease and a flicker of a smile passes over his lips before he clears his throat and lets the smooth mask of play fall into place. 

He leads you down in front of the bed with the leash, not pulling but guiding, until you’re squarely at the foot of the bed on your knees with your head bowed in supplication. Yunho settles himself behind you, seated on the bench in front of the bed, and he opens his legs to place one on either side of you. 

The leash pulls softly at your throat and you straighten up with its guidance. 

“Show him how pretty you look, pup,” He instructs until your back is perfectly straight and his hand slides over the front of your neck, dragging up to hold your jaw steady. 

You hear the creak of the stairs from the hall. 

“That’s right,” Yunho’s other hand wraps around the leash to keep it in his grip before he moves his hand hotly over your body through your thin sleep shirt, his fingertips tugging at your nipples. You whimper at the harsh tug, “Shh, shh, I won’t hurt you,” 

A pretty lie from his lips as he pinches your skin, but you lock lips shut and breathe slowly through your nose at the sensation, pleasure bubbling in your core again at his attention. 

Seonghwa’s footfalls are audible now as he crosses the landing to your bedroom, and then the door opens. He’s paying absolutely no attention, three cups of coffee balanced in his hands as he pushes the door open with his hip and keeps his eyes trained on the liquid in the cups to ensure nothing spills over onto the floor. 

“Good morning,” His voice is soft and pleasant, quiet so he doesn’t inadvertently wake you, “I hope you didn’t steal all the covers,” 

Yunho’s fingers tighten on your jaw and you hear him laugh softly, “Not exactly,” 

“So then you’re,” He finally looks up, the words dying in his throat and you watch him struggle not to dip the coffee out at the sight of you and Yunho. 

You’d laugh if you thought you’d get away with it without punishment. 

“Well,” Seonghwa grins, his eyebrows shooting up high, “good morning to me.” 

“That’s the idea,” Yunho smirks. 

Seonghwa laughs softly and spins slowly to place the coffee cups on the dresser, “Did she just get up?” 

A thrill runs through your belly at the way he doesn’t even look in your eyes, picking up immediately on the tone in the room and what Yunho wants to do with you. 

“Mhm,” Yunho lifts the hem of your shirt to expose your bare lower half, “she woke up so wet and wanting, darling,” 

“Is that right?” Seonghwa murmurs, running a hand through his long black hair. 

Yunho’s quiet for a moment, and then he taps your cheek with his index finger, “Seonghwa asked you a question, pup.” 

“Yes, sir,” You jump at the chance to speak now that you’ve been acknowledged. 

His eyes flick down to yours and you see a softness there for the briefest moment before he straightens up and crosses the room to stand in front of you, “I’d like to see for myself,” 

“Yes, sir,” 

He drops to a crouch, only inches away from you now, and his fingers tap your bare thigh, “Open up,” 

Despite the rough drag of the carpet under your knees, you part your legs open. 

“Yeobo,” Seonghwa says to your husband, “has our sweet puppy been touched yet today?” 

“A little,” Yunho confirms, “just a warm up,” 

Without meeting your gaze, Seonghwa’s hand pushes between your legs and his fingers find your wet slit, rocking back and forth to gauge your wetness. You physically fight the urge to roll your hips into his hand or make a sound. 

“Perfect,” He breathes. 

A small sigh makes it through your lips. 

Sometimes you don’t know which of them will take the lead, and given the way Yunho woke you and spoke to you, if you were betting in this moment you would have said him. Seonghwa’s still wearing his sleep pants with a kitschy cute print, he just entered the scene, he hasn’t had more than a minute to adapt and sink into the headspace, and yet when your eyes meet his again you know you’ve never been more wrong. 

His gaze is hard, passive and dismissive, and with ease he addresses Yunho without breaking eye contact with you, “I want her in the chair, and I want you both stripped. Now.” 

Yunho drops your chin and your leash immediately, his hands finding the edge of your shirt to pull it up and over your head before tossing it to the side. When he moves to strip off his own clothes, Seonghwa reaches forward to take your face in his hand. 

“Open,” He says. 

Your lips part obediently. 

“Wider,” He scolds, delivering a tight slap to your cheek.

  You whine, but your mouth drops open wider and you extend your tongue. 

Seonghwa angles your face upwards with his hand, spitting directly into your mouth and delivering another quick slap, “Swallow.” 

You don’t make the same mistake twice, and you clamp your lips shut and swallow, letting him watch the bob of your throat so he knows you’re being honest. 

“Chair,” Seonghwa repeats to Yunho, “Now.” 

The leash grows taut suddenly, and Yunho stands and shifts to your side, stripped bare now with his cock standing hard and aching pink before you. 

Your lips part softly at the sight and Seonghwa laughs. “Such a little slut,” He teases, “one look at his cock and you want a taste?” 

“Yes, sir,” 

“Too bad,” He shrugs. 

He stands a moment later, moving out of your eye line behind you, and though you hear the shift of the bed, the drag of drawers opening and the rustle of fabric, you don’t even think about turning to look. 

“Pup,” Yunho tugs the leash and you lurch forward to follow his hand, bracing yourself on the floor with one hand, “come.” 

“Yes, Daddy,” You manage, finding your balance on your hands and knees, scrambling a little to keep up with how tight the lead is and how quickly he’s pulling you forwards across the bedroom floor. 

He makes a displeased noise with his tongue against his teeth and then suddenly there’s no tightness in the leash at all and his hands are on you, lifting you up off the ground with ease before depositing you into the aforementioned chair. He pushes your legs open wide and you comply quickly to get into position but he shakes his head, “You need to do better than this, puppy.” 

You huff softly as he pulls your body into the position he wants. This chair normally sits in the corner of your bedroom looking nothing but decorative, but it’s a favorite for moments like this. As he locates the silk ropes in the nearby storage ottoman, you realize several things at once. The chair beneath you is covered in plush towels, Seonghwa has shucked off his pajama pants in favor of just boxers, and in his hands he holds a collection of toys. 

Your muscles clench.

  “Stay still, baby,” Yunho murmurs as he drops down in front of you, winding the silks tightly around your skin. 

You’re nervous, desperately so, like you always are before a scene like this. You fell into this morning so quickly it feels especially unpredictable, but that’s always part of the fun. Yunho ties your legs tightly together and affixes you well to each arm of the chair, leaving you spread open, unable to close your legs no matter how hard you try. 

He smooths a hand up your shin once he’s done, and checks his knots, “Color?” 

“Green,” You assure him. 

“Good,” Seonghwa’s voice enters the mix as he steps closer, “now tell us, puppy,” he says with a wry smile, “what do you want?” 

Yunho’s hand slowly shifts down your inner thigh. 

You swallow hard, your hips jerking involuntarily as Yunho’s finger’s coast over the top of your mound, “I want to be good for you, sir,” you confess, your voice breathy and tight. 

“I’m sure you do,” Seonghwa nods and then he reaches out and gives Yunho’s shoulder a squeeze, silently communicating that he should shift away from you. 

“Hwa,” Yunho starts to say, but Seonghwa jumps back in. 

“y/n,” He steps to your side, “open wide again,”

“Yes, sir,” You lean your head back, mouth falling open.

  “That’s a good girl,” He coos.

  “Thank you, sir,” You sigh before returning your mouth to its open position.

  “Yunho,” Seonghwa murmurs, passing him most of the items in his hands. When Seonghwa reaches out to you, you see the ball gag in his hands and he nods, “that’s right, that’s a very good girl.” 

You take a deep breath and exhale slowly, calming your fluttering heart rate and opening yourself up to their desires. He tucks the ball between teeth and watches you carefully as you slide it into the right place and get comfortable with the obstruction. You make sure you can still breathe somewhat around the ball, but mostly make sure that you can freely take steady breaths in and out through the nose. 

When he’s sure you’re ready, and you give him one small nod, he wraps the leader around the back of your head and secures it tightly. 

“Hands?” He asks, and you know he’s giving you the option but you don’t care, you extend them out and press them together. 

“Such a good girl today,” Yunho hums, pressing a kiss to your shin as he leans against you, “maybe we should reward her,” 

“We’ll see,” Seonghwa says, wrapping your wrists tightly together with a familiar silky rope of black fabric. 

“You’re in a mood,” Yunho chuckles. 

“I’m not the one who put our girl on a platter,” He smiles, and he lets your hands drop, “and besides, she likes it.”

“Oh, I know,” 

“Now,” Seonghwa takes a step back, gathering the top section of his hair into a bun and securing it neatly with an elastic from his wrist, “one more thing,” 

You can feel yourself trembling, your hips already starting to ache from their prone position, and you think to yourself that if he brings out a blindfold too you’ll have to stop the scene. Your skin already feels flushed and tingly, your whole body tight on a razor wire and you don’t think you can handle a single thing more. 

But instead of blindfold, Seonghwa snaps up a little cube shaped object from your bedside table and presses it into your hands. You recognize it immediately and without hesitation you press the button on the one curved side, the object strobing a sharp white light in fast flashes. Once you register that it’s on and working you click the button again and extinguish the light. 

“Good,” Seonghwa murmurs, “tell me again darling, what do you do when you want to stop?” 

You press the button once more, the light flashing white. 

“And for an emergency?” He asks, holding your gaze. 

You find the small switch on the side and push it to the right and then click the button again. The light flashes red now, an insistent bright hue where there can be no mistaking of your intentions. 

“Very good,” He nods as you click the light back off and slide the indicator into the safe position. Seonghwa picks up one more item on the table to your side, “Yunho, behind her, please,” 

“Anything you like, yeobo,” Yunho gives you one last squeeze, and then he’s gone from your field of vision. 

Your fingers fiddle with the object in your hands. You’ve only used it once or twice to slow a scene in the whole time you’ve been together, but you’ve never flicked it red. Once when you were dizzy, mouth stuffed full and everything in your brain starting to swim deliriously towards unconsciousness, you had flicked the indicator into the red position, but they had noticed the change in your body in seconds and stopped before you even decided to press stop. 

Behind you, you feel the heat of Yunho’s chest as he settles close and waits for more, the leash sliding over your shoulder and disappearing behind you as he turns your collar around. 

“Hold her steady,” Seonghwa instructs, and then he drops to his knees before you. 

You’re trembling in anticipation, your clit pulsing with need between your legs, and you’re sure that if he doesn’t touch you soon, you might fall apart from anxious need alone. 

With no warning, he lays one hand over your mound and cups you, and you realize he needed the moment to put on a pair of black latex gloves. Your hips jump. 

“She likes it,” Yunho murmurs low, “look at her,” 

“Mm,” Seonghwa nods, applying pressure with his fingers and rocking them in a circle once, “that’s because she’s ours. She always likes what we give her,” 

A sound bubbles up from your throat and Seonghwa chuckles, “Oh, you do don’t you?” 

He taps his hand once, a quick slap against your swollen nub, and your head falls back as you moan. 

“Ah, ah, ah,” Seonghwa slaps your cunt again, “eyes on me,” 

You breathe through the sensation pulsing through your core and lift your heavy head back up. Yunho drags the leash to help direct your head and then steps close to brace you against his body. 

Seonghwa smiles, his hand massaging you a few more times before he lifts it and glances up to Yunho, “Let’s see how quickly our silly puppy will make a mess,” 

His fingers are inside you before you have a chance to take a breath, and your teeth clamp down on the silicone ball as you moan sharply. 

Seonghwa crooks his gloved fingers just right, and then his hand starts to pulse. He starts off shallow at first, knuckles pressed up to your slick folds as he simply pushes his fingers deeper in short little bursts, the sensations in your belly doubling as he strokes his fingertips over your spongy g-spot again and again. 

Your body jerks in the chair, a groan caught somewhere in the back of your throat. 

“You like it that much, pup?” Yunho’s lips against your ear send a shock through you, “You really are such a little whore, aren’t you?” 

“Our whore,” Seonghwa grins, and he delivers a slap to your inner thigh with his free hand as he picks up the pace of his opposite. 

You moan tightly, teeth digging into the ball now, and Seonghwa starts to fuck you in earnest on his fingers, fast and hard and as deep as he can reach at this angle. It doesn’t feel good, not really, it feels tight and humiliating and your chest is broken out in a pink panicked flush, but it only takes a few more moments of that initial discomfort until the bubble inside you starts to build. 

You choke a curse around the ball in your mouth, hands gripping together tightly. 

“Our whore who’s going to make a mess for her masters,” Seonghwa pants, adjusting his angle and driving into you more forcefully, “over and over again.” 

You moan tightly, pressure dropping low in your abdomen. 

“Isn’t that right?” Seonghwa groans, never changing the pace of his hand. 

You moan tightly, nodding as best you can to comply, but the tautness of the leash keeps you stiff. 

“Make a mess,” Seonghwa commands, “come on,” 

The pressure in your belly drops further, a tight, tense feeling that almost brings tears to your eyes. You whine desperately, clamping your eyes shut, sensations washing through you, and your body tries to jerk and respond but you’re incredibly stuck stock still. 

“Come when I say,” Seonghwa directs you and your eyes fly open to watch him. 

You moan, choked against the ball. 

“You come in three,” He begins to count, his fingers crooking inside you and his opposite hand pressing down over your abdomen, “two…” 

Yunho grips you harder and the sound that leaves you is one of muffled desperation. 

“One,” Seonghwa orders you, and your body crumbles, trained perfectly to their commands. 

All at once the pressure snaps open and you feel your cunt pulsing, all but forcing his fingers out of you as you squirt clear liquid in a rush. 

“Good girl,” Seonghwa encourages, his hand flattening over your clit to rub back and forth harshly, your release splattering across your thighs and his bare chest, “oh, what a good girl,” 

Your chest heaves as you breathe deeply through your nose, trying to settle your trembling body, but he doesn’t even give you a moment of reprieve. The sound of a vibrator makes your eyes flash, searching for the source of the noise and then he lifts the wand. 

“Relax,” Yunho soothes you, petting your hair and giving your shoulder a squeeze, “be good,” 

You nod, pressing into his hand and he hums pleasantly. 

“Listen to Daddy, baby,” Seonghwa smiles, a little taunting and you wonder how this is about to go, your conscious thoughts starting to slip back. 

The wand connects hard with your clit a second later and you all but shriek against the gag, shaking your head hard and your hips jutting. 

“Stop squirming,” Seonghwa orders, delivering a harsh slap to the back of your thigh. The position you’re in has you bent in half, almost in a perfect press and at the flash of pain through your backside from his hand you settle, letting your legs sink back. 

He circles the vibrator, rocking it over your clit again and again and your body flushes pink with pleasure and stinging pain. Your hips rock again, just the smallest amount to try and disconnect the powerful vibrations from your aching clit for just a second so you can get your head around the sensations and he hums, displeased. 

He lifts the wand and delivers another harsh slap, his slick glove against your bare skin, stinging and turning your flesh redder and more numb, “You’re being selfish, puppy,” 

You whimper, shaking your head a little. 

“You are.” He insists, “I thought you said you wanted to be good for us.” 

You nod, trembling. 

“Then you’ll sit still,” He lets his hand crack down against your skin again and you tighten your teeth around the ball, moaning against it. 

A hand winds into your hair suddenly and Yunho tugs your head backwards. You yelp in surprise, eyes watering. 

“If you want to touch Daddy’s cock,” He says, with no sympathy in his voice, “you’ll take every bit of what you get, do you understand me?” 

You make a muffled noise. 

“I said, do you understand me, puppy?” His free hand delivers a stinging slap to your cheek, “Answer,” 

You whine a yes and then a yes, Daddy for good measure. You try to nod but his fist in your hair holds you too still and you wait to see if he’s accepted your garbled words. 

“Very good,” He nods, his hand loosening slightly, “now hush,” 

The vibrator lands once again on your pulsing clit and you cry out against your restraints, but this time you don’t move your hips, you take it just like they told you to. Your bound hands have nowhere to go, the cube twisting in your fingers as your arms shake, and Yunho’s hand wraps around your wrists to tug them back up into your chest and keep them out of Seonghwa’s way. 

“Better,” Seonghwa says, pressing down harder with the bulbous head of the vibrator, “there you go,” 

Everything feels sharp, aching and barely pleasurable, but you trust them. 

“A wet little mess,” Seonghwa teases you, rolling the vibrator in a circular pattern, lifting it and spitting once again, this time directly over your sex, “look at that,” 

He shifts his hand now, dragging the vibrator up and over your bud and then off it completely before repeating the motion, a rhythmic teasing of your most sensitive parts that leaves you choking moans against your gag.

“Don’t come,” He presses the vibrator down hard and your eyes tighten shut, a keening sound against the gag now, “hold it.” 

You can’t, there’s no way, the flood of heat through your body and the rush of sudden pleasure between your thighs is so strong you feel like you might crack open in his hands. You whine, your wrists jerking against Yunho’s wide palm, but all you get in return is a tug against the collar that silently communicates everything you need to know - don’t move. 

“Hold it,” Seonghwa repeats, shifting closer on his knees, adjusting the angle of the vibrator, and laying one wet, gloved hand on your tender thigh. 

The sound that leaves you is animal, somewhere between a moan and a sob and if you had any conscious thought left in your body you’d be glad the walls are thick in this apartment so that no one can hear you but them. 

“Now, come now,” Seonghwa commands and your brain blanks, ears ringing hard as your body responds to him, your legs trembling uncontrollably as the waves of pleasure roll through you. 

Your breath is caught, your mind spinning, and you jump with a start when Seonghwa drops the vibrator and pushes something thick inside you. 

“Mm!” Your head snaps up, fighting against the position Yunho has you in, and you feel him give you a little slack so you don’t actually injure your throat straining against the collar. 

“Don’t whine,” Seonghwa scolds, “you can take more than this any day,” 

Your eyes fill with unshed tears, the sudden intrusion of the dildo startling you in a way you really hadn’t expected, and you don’t mean to try and pull away from the toy, but your hips do it anyway. He pulls it free and drops a slap over your core, and you write against them with a tight cry. Your fingers twist the safety indicator in your hands and your thumb finds the curved button, but you don’t press it quite yet, you wait and breathe deep and let your panic settle. 

“Tell her,” Seonghwa directs. 

The toy plunges back inside you, deep in one shockingly quick thrust and you suddenly can barely breathe. The dildo itself is a standard size, no bigger than either of your partners, but with the position you’re twisted into and the relentlessness of Seonghwa’s attention, you can barely take it. You can feel your walls pulsing around it, hot and fluttering. 

Yunho nips at your ear, dragging your head to one side so you can hear his low voice, “We want you to come again,” 

You huff against the gag. 

“All over,” He kisses your throat, dragging his teeth over your pulsepoint, “can you do that for us, baby?” 

You make a noise, just enough to confirm you’re still with them. 

Seonghwa pulls the toy back and thrusts forwards again, only this time he doesn’t pause and let you get accustomed to the feeling, this time he goes faster, harder. You squeal against the gag and pull tight again against the leash, and this time Seonghwa reaches up to take the lead from Yunho and drag it forward between your legs. 

“You like being our filthy little toy?” Seonghwa asks you, tone laced with mocking sympathy, “A doll for us to fuck when we feel like it?” 

Your eyes roll back, a tightening in your gut, the sounds of the room nothing but lewd and wet and careless. 

“Eyes up, pup,” Yunho’s deep voice in your ear makes you moan but he punctuates his words with a firm slap against your breast and you jolt up again. 

“So rude,” Seonghwa tuts, “can’t even answer a simple question,” 

You moan something garbled, but you don’t even know what you were trying to say. 

“Is your head so full of cock you can’t even think straight?” Seonghwa laughs, tugging the leash again until you’re straining forward and moaning at the aching position, “It is, isn’t it?” 

“Dirty girl,” Yunho bites down on your shoulder. 

“Fucking filthy,” Seonghwa curses, letting the leash go suddenly and you fall back hard with a whimper. He slaps your thigh again and you jerk. 

For a moment they let you lay back as reclined as you can be in the chair in this pretzel of a position, but the dildo doesn’t stop, the curve perfectly angled to press up into your g-spot over and over again. You’re going to come, the realization slamming into you like a train and with the gag in your mouth there’s no way to ask for permission. 

You squirm in the chair, blinking hard and whining against the ball, trying to get their attention so they realize. You don’t want to break a rule, you can’t take much more, but it’s going to happen anyways. 

“There we go, there we go,” Seonghwa thrusts the toy as quickly as he can, his fingers digging into your thigh where he holds you steady. He’s talking to himself now, watching his work. 

You moan against the gag, and if your mouth was free you’d be asking - Sir, please may I come?

And he’d say yes. 

And you’d fall into pieces in his palms. 

Instead all you can do is whine, and he drops a hard slap to your thigh, and it’s all over. You release hard, fluid erupting from your abused core yet again as he pulls back the dildo on one of the thrusts, forcing it free. Your bound hands break out of Yunho’s hold and you shove them downwards to try and cover yourself, to try and get him to stop torturing you with the silicone cock. The sounds you make are harsh and wheezing, tears streaming down your temples. 

Seonghwa slaps your hands back and drags the head of the dildo over your clit fast, dragging out the intensity of your orgasm and making a wet mess of you both as he does. In the moments after, as your shaking body comes down from the hardest orgasm yet, you realize the rest of the morning is not going to go like any of you planned. 

“Disappointing,” Seonghwa’s hand connects once again with your thigh and you can already see how red and aching the flesh there is, “you know the rules,” 

You whimper against the gag. 

“If you wanted to come on a cock that badly,” He spanks you again, “you should have waited for us,” 

You squeak, shaking your head, eager to explain yourself. 

“No, no,” Seonghwa hand comes down again, lighting up your skin with pins and needles, “you be quiet,” 

You swallow hard, jaw aching against the gag. 

Seonghwa reaches up, picking up the leash as it lays down your front, and he pulls it just enough that you have to arch your head up to follow it. He licks his lips and sighs, trading a quick look with Yunho, “I was going to let you out after that last one,” he says, “and take you both to bed.” 

“Is that so?” Yunho murmurs, kissing your shoulder. 

The tenderness does little to quell your nerves, you feel the way his hands grip you.

“Mhm,” Seonghwa nods, “I was going to fuck you soft, like you like sometimes in the mornings. Maybe make you come on my tongue,” 

Your breath leaves you in a shudder.

“I would have let you rut your sweet self on Daddy’s thigh until you fell asleep,” His eyes turn soft, apologetic even, “but I can’t do that now.” 

You sob softly against the gag. 

“Now you need a lesson,” He pushes away from you, standing and gesturing for Yunho to follow. 

You watch them as they work, adjusting your binds so that you tip further back into a proper press and they adjust the chair so that they can access you the way they need to. Your legs are open wider now, the ache in your hips deep, but you wait, you wanted this. 

Yunho pulls the binds on your gag unexpectedly, the ball falling loose from your mouth and you groan at the sore state of your jaw. 

“Don’t get too comfortable,” He says, pushing a hand back into your hair. 

“Y-yes, Daddy,” Your throat feels hoarse and tired, but you clear your throat lightly and let his hand against your scalp support the weight of your exhausted neck. 

Yunho adjusts his stance by your side and comes closer, his leaking cock an inch away from your cheek. As Seonghwa moves between your spread thighs, Yunho finds your hands and opens your fingers, checking to see that your safety light is still tucked between your hands. You give him the smallest nod, and he gives your fingers a squeeze. 

“This time,” Seonghwa interrupts your thoughts as he braces himself on the chair and finds the right positioning for him to be able to sink his hard length inside you, “you don’t come until I say.” 

“Yes, sir,” You confirm with a sigh.

“Good girl,” He says, and then he slides home. 

You moan, voice unobstructed this time, your head falling back into Yunho’s wide palm. 

“Come on, pretty,” Yunho shakes you a little as Seonghwa starts to work his hips, “you wanted to suck Daddy’s cock so bad and now you’re too tired?” 

You shake your head, blinking hard and turning your face towards his aching length, letting your mouth fall open and extending your tongue. 

“Good,” He soothes you, and then he dips forwards, sinking his hardness past your lips and down your throat. 

You grip your hands tightly together and steady your breathing through your nose. 

“Taking it all like a good fucking slut,” Seonghwa sighs, jutting his hips up and forcing the rest of himself deep in your cunt, “God, I can feel it, you’re gripping me like a vice, baby,” 

Your head goes fuzzy at the sudden praise. 

Yunho adjusts his position, leaning over you and bracing himself on the edge of the table behind the chair with the hand that isn’t cupping the back of your head. He thrusts once, experimental to test your limits and the position, and you moan against his cock as it connects with the soft back of your throat. 

“Fuck,” Seonghwa curses his fingers gripping your side, “you should feel her,” 

“Mm-mm,” Yunho shakes his head, “I like her choking on my cock,” 

“Of course you do,” Seonghwa laughs, thrusting hard and knocking his hips into yours. 

“Pretty little cockslut,” Seonghwa grunts as he pistons his hips faster, every thrust stretching you wide and sending sparks of pleasure up your spine, “isn’t that right?” 

You moan around Yunho’s thrusting cock, your eyes clamping shut as you try to focus on your breath and let them take what they want from you. 

“Yeah,” Seonghwa huffs, mocking, “that’s right, puppy,” 

Your eyes roll back, body locking up, another orgasm so close you can almost brush right against it. 

“I bet you want me to come inside you,” Seonghwa says hot against your skin, “I know how you beg for it,” 

Your body jerks, your hands scrambling against his chest but he ignores you. 

“You think you deserve that, baby?” Seonghwa presses messy, angry kisses over your chest, teeth catching on your skin. 

You whine, gripping your hands tighter, your head swimming. You’d nod if you could, say yes, say anything if you could. 

“I’m,” Yunho chokes, his hips rolling into you forcefully as he drags your head forwards with every thrust of his cock through your lips, “H-Hwa,”

“Make her swallow,” Seonghwa tells him, ordering him just as much as he’s ordering you. 

Yunho groans, locking your head against his pubic bone as he spills himself down the back of your throat in one final, shaking thrust. You choke against him, spluttering a little and trying to pull back but he holds you steady. Your fingers find the curved side of the safety light once more, but he pulls back before you have to use it. 

You swallow hastily, less in an effort to take his release and more in an effort to take a deep breath of air, but his fingers find your chin to tip your head back so you don’t waste a drop as you sputter and cough. 

“That’s my good girl,” He soothes you, “so sweet for letting me use her mouth,” 

You sigh, swallowing again and leaning your cheek against his palm. 

Yunho takes a deep breath and then reaches past you, reproducing the gag. 

“N-no, wait,” You take a deep breath and scramble to find Seonghwa’s eyes, but he’s intensely focused on the sight of his cock plunging in and out of your aching slit, muttering obscenities through his own sounds of pleasure. 

Yunho gives you a full second to click on the light and stop things, but when you don’t he moves forwards and stuffs the ball back into your mouth, securing the grip behind your head. 

“Shh, shh,” he strokes your hair, “you can do it,” 

You’re not sure that you can, but you nod. 

“Fuck,” Seonghwa pants, collapsing over you further as Yunho shifts away from you, “you feel like heaven,” 

Your walls clench around him, the sudden rush of pleasure building again inside you. 

He tugs your hair, pumping his hips in deep snaps that run sharp pulses of pleasure up your spine, “Come on my cock,” he commands, “Now, baby, come on,” 

You sob against the gag, so close you want to reach out and take it, sweat breaking across your brow, blush across your body. 

“I know you’re close,” Seonghwa taunts, “I know you, baby, I own you,” 

Your head drops back, swimming with an explosion of another orgasm, your vision swimming, but suddenly he’s gone, no longer inside you and stimulating you and dragging you up and over the edge. You cry out, harsh and desperate and needy, your cunt clenching around nothing. 

Your eyes stay shut, you can’t muster the strength to lift your head. 

He says something more, but you can’t quite make it out, and you feel it when he comes hot and wet across your belly. 

The vibrator presses down on your clit once more, and he turns up the intensity, and once again you jolt, a broken, raspy cry from your throat. 

“Now,” Seonghwa commands once more, “now, hard, come on,” 

The pain of your overstimulated clit is almost too much to bear but he rocks the vibrator just right one more time and the orgasm he snatched away from you a moment ago rips you back under tenfold. Every part of you is aching, muscles screaming and joints stiff, but this final wave of ecstatic, orgasmic pleasure loosens the last conscious fibers of your mind, leaving you floating and boneless. You can’t quite feel anything anymore except a dull buzzing through every inch of your skin. The little light in your hands falls free, clattering to the floor. 

It takes a moment for your ears to stop ringing, but when they do the first thing you hear is the soft voices of your husbands. 

“Get her legs,” Seonghwa instructs, and then his fingers are in your hair uncoupling the gag from your mouth, “Jagiya, can you hear me?” 

“Yes, sir,” You breathe as the gag falls away, and soft fingers find your jaw to massage warm circles into your skin. 

“Open your eyes, jagiya,” Seonghwa murmurs, “come on,” 

You blink furiously, fighting with the rush of light and the misty tears that cloud your vision. 

“Come on,” Seonghwa murmurs, his fingers sweeping through your hair, “there we go, give me a deep breath,” 

You take a deep inhale in through the nose, and Yunho finally loosens the ropes around your legs enough so that they unfurl, an ache suddenly ringing up your thighs through your lower back. On your exhale the pain of it makes you cry out softly and you let your legs fall slack. 

“Darling,” Seonghwa cups your cheek, bringing your eyes to his, “this is very important, alright?” 

You nod. 

“Does anything hurt?” He asks calmly, thumb stroking along your cheek. 

“Hips,” You manage, but if you’re being honest your jaw is sore too. 

“Okay,” He nods, “anything else?” 

Your head floods with dizzy confusion, the influx of oxygen too much to handle and you let your eyes droop closed again, your head feeling heavy. 

Seonghwa’s hand cups your head to keep it from lolling backwards and you feel his fingers on the collar, “Yunho, do you,” 

“I’ve got it,” Yunho replies smoothly, and you feel his hands on your skin, strong arms lifting you up as the collar falls away. 

“Mm,” You sigh, blinking again to open your eyes and get your bearings, “where?” 

“Shh,” Yunho soothes you, “we’re just going to bed, sweetheart,” 

You suddenly feel like falling, your brain floating and disconnected, and the next time you open your eyes it’s to both of their faces above you. 

“y/n,” Seonghwa asks, gently tapping your cheek to get your eyes to focus on him, “tell me again, what hurts?” 

This time, your brain seems to start working. You exhale slowly, taking stock of your limbs and stretching against the sheets, “I’m okay,” 

“Are you sure?” He cups your cheek, “Think for a minute,” 

You shake your head, winding your fingers together with his, “I’m good, for a second I was stiff, but I’m good,” 

Yunho’s fingers slide over your bare hips and start to press gentle circles into your skin. He watches your face carefully for any signs of deeper discomfort and murmurs, “You’re supposed to use the light if you feel dizzy,” 

“I know,” You breathe, “it happened quick,” 

His lips close and he nods, focused again on your stiff limbs. 

“Next time you have to tell us,” Seonghwa presses, “alright?” 

“I promise,” You swear, “I just couldn’t think straight there for a minute,” 

Seonghwa sighs, relieved and exhausted, and he drops lower on the bed to kiss you, “You did so beautifully, baby,” 

“Yeah?” 

“You were perfect,” He assures you, voice relaxing now that he knows once again you’re fine and responsive. 

“Can you hold me?” You murmur against his cheek, “please?” 

“Of course, of course, I can,” He peppers kisses over your face, easing down into the covers gathering you close, “how’s this?” 

“Good,” You nod. 

His hand caresses your back, massaging your sore muscles. 

“Yunho, you too,” You sigh with your cheek against Seonghwa’s bare chest, and you reach up blindly for your other husband’s hand. 

“I’m right here,” He murmurs, slipping behind you and snuggling close, “how do you feel?” 

“Warm,” You murmur, “and so sleepy,” 

“You rest,” Yunho kisses your shoulder, “you did so well for us, my love,” 

“You liked it?” You blink, trying to find their hands to hold. 

Yunho’s hand closes over you and Seonghwa’s entwined fingers and brings them to his lips, pressing a kiss to your knuckles to try to ease you, “I loved it, I love you,” 

“I love you too,” You sigh. 

Seonghwa caresses your cheek softly, “He’s right, you did so well, and I know you pushed yourself today,” 

“Yeah,” You feel a little rush of emotions, thankful that he noticed the way you quelled your own panic to trust that they would keep you safe. 

“We’ll always take care of you, my darling,” He kisses your hair, warm hands stroking your skin, “and it means so much to us that you trust us, just don’t push yourself too hard next time,” 

You can’t fight the yawn, but you nod, “I will, I’m sorry,” 

“Hwa,” Yunho murmurs softly. 

“Hmm?” 

There’s a quiet exchange above you, but you’re too tired to make it out. Seonghwa’s hand untangles from yours and his fingers rest along your jaw. Slowly he massages the muscles there, giving you relief you didn’t even know you needed after the aching extension of your mouth for so long around the gag. 

“We’ll talk about everything later,” Yunho murmurs, “she’s exhausted,” 

“You’re right,” Seonghwa murmurs, and then he shifts to soothe you, “y/n, you sleep now, and Yunho and I will be here when you wake up, alright?” 

“Mhm,” Your body starts to go boneless. 

“I love you so much,” He presses a warm kiss to your forehead. 

“I love you,” You breathe, your stiff joints relaxing under their hands. 

“I know, darling,” Seonghwa murmurs, his voice starting to sound far away, “we know,” 

It’s hours before you wake again, but when you do they’re with you, just as he said. Between them you stay held, cherished, never a broken promise between you. 

---

this night together - chapter ten (j.yh + s.mg)

chapter ten: the truth

chapter summary: seonghwa needs a friend and you say goodbye to your friends and goodbye to them as tour begins.

warnings: nothing too explicit except there is a frank discussion about alpha/omega/beta dynamics and pack dynamics that somewhat mirror real life lgbtqia+ issues like family not being accepting, societal pressures, etc.

notes: thank you all for waiting for me, i can't thank you enough honestly. it took a while to push through and get through the middle of this fic, but we're there. today (12.3) is a special update day, i'm posting three chapters - ten, eleven, and twelve. make sure you're reading in order starting here!

pairings: alpha!yunho x alpha!mingi x omega!reader

genre: smut, a/b/o/omegaverse, angst, fluff, romance, polyamory

word count: 5k

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Surprisingly the next few weeks pass with relative ease. It’s not painful like before, the crushing weight of their cold isolation. This time you all know exactly where you stand, and with you asking them for space it feels like you’re a little more in control of when and how the next conversation with them occurs. 

You spend the weeks working, keeping things cordial in the studio, and seeing your friends. Keeping things busy gives you less time to step back into that studio room and wonder what you should have done differently, so you fill your schedule up to the brim. In looking forward to the tour and the impending lack of your social circle, you start to reach out little by little to other members of the BB Tripping group too. 

There’s a gap in your life without them, but for now that has to be okay. For now, you grow your life in every other way you can. 

You’re able to focus on everything else until Seonghwa calls. 

Little cafe meetups aren’t out of the ordinary for you both, but meeting at a new spot halfway across Seoul is. You’re normally so attached to the neighborhoods around the studio, so the idea that you’d actually have to take the subway and follow directions on your phone sends little warning signals up your back. He sounded mostly fine on the phone, but something a little whispered in his tone left you agreeing to meet immediately. 

He said he just wants to see you one more time before the tour, but you feel the strange bubble of pretense around the whole set up. When you finally get there, after thirty minutes and much confusion, he meets you at the door with a clear expression of relief. He buys you a coffee and a fancy tiered pastry, and then shuffles you towards the empty, far end of the cafe. 

“The trip wasn’t too bad?” He checks as he pulls out your chair, “I wanted to try this place,” 

A smooth lie, but you’ll let it go, “It was fine,” you assure him, “this street is cute,” 

“Mm,” He nods. 

You have so, so many questions, but you start small, “Three months,” you sigh, settling into the seat, “it feels kind of weird,” 

“Yeah,” Seonghwa pushes your chair in and takes his own seat, “it’s hard to pack for a tour,” 

“I can’t even imagine,” You grimace. 

“You get really sick of miniature toiletries after about a week,” He says, “and you’d think that all the travel would be great, but you end up sitting in hotel rooms most of the time.” 

“Well,” You shrug, “you can always call me for an update on the studio,” 

“Oh, I will,” He laughs, “the time difference is pretty tough though,” 

“Still,” You insist, “we’ll make it work.” 

Silence lulls between you, he nods at your words but doesn’t say much else, and you watch as he fingers fiddle with the handle of his cup, restless and seemingly on edge. He needs something, you just don’t know what. 

“Seonghwa,” You murmur, “is everything okay?” 

“Yes,” He drops his hand into his lap, “completely fine,” 

You chew the inside of your lip, wondering whether to press him, “Are you sure?” 

He looks down for a moment and then nods, “Everything is fine, but I wanted to talk to you about something,” 

“Okay,” 

“Me and San,” He says in a rush of exhaled breath. 

“Oh,” Your eyes widen, completely blindsided by his words. You thought if he chose to share this with you it would be months, years even. He was so closed off after your heat that you assumed you’d let it lie, just like Wooyoung, but here you are. 

“You said I could talk to you about this,” He continues when he sees your expression, “but if,” 

“Of course you can,” You shake off your expression as fast as you can, “I just didn’t know that’s what you were going to say.” 

“It’s just that I’ve been thinking a lot about it,” He says, “especially considering everything you’ve been dealing with,” 

You nod, but keep quiet. 

“I don’t know, I thought it would be good to get it out there,” He confesses. 

“Then I’m here, I’m listening,” You lean forwards, nodding again in encouragement. 

He takes a moment to get his words together, and it suddenly makes sense why he wanted to try a cafe in a neighborhood neither of you lived or worked near. He reached out to you to talk about this, to finally share with someone, and he wanted to be one hundred percent sure no one from your lives would overhear. 

“Our thing,” Seonghwa nods and you know he means his relationship with San and Wooyoung, “it started off a lot like yours.” He doesn’t need to say their names, you know who he means.  

You smile, “Accidental and stressful?” 

“Definitely accidental,” He nods, “we had been friends for years, and Wooyoung always dealt with his heats outside of work and without us really knowing much about it,” 

“Really?” You find that hard to believe with how much he overshares. 

“Mhm,” Seonghwa turns the cup on his saucer one way and then back the other as he figures out how to start. “Usually anyways, but about two years ago he was out for his heat leave like normal, and he called San in a panic. The alpha he arranged to meet flaked out on him and he was too far gone at some heat hotel in Incheon. He didn’t have anything he needed, the alpha was supposed to bring it all,” 

“God,” You grimace at the thought. 

“Exactly,” Seonghwa nods, “he was in a lot of pain and he was really scared,” 

“Of course,” 

“San called me,” Seonghwa explains, “he was nervous about spending Wooyoung’s heat with him, even though he agreed.” 

You nod, but stay quiet to give him the space to continue. 

His eyes dart down, a little unfocused as he sinks into the memory of it, “He was so concerned about hurting Wooyoung or doing the wrong thing, and he was begging me to give him advice. Advice just turned into me offering to drive him to Incheon and helping him shop for supplies, and before you knew it I was up in the room with them both.” 

“Wooyoung was okay with that?” You ask. 

He nods, “Wooyoung was fine, more interested in making sure neither one of us was uncomfortable between his heat spikes,” 

You nod again. 

Seonghwa looks back up to you then and sighs, “Before Youngie’s heat, I had a bit of a crush on San. It was really nothing, just a bit of a flirtation in my mind. Someone to think about alone at night, you know,” 

“Yeah,” You think of Yunho for a brief, flashing second and the way you used to watch him around the studio. 

“But that heat changed everything,” He smiles, a little sadly, “I think you know what I mean.” 

You fight the urge to reach across the table and take his hand, fearful that you might break his willingness to open up. 

“The funny part,” He says, a fresh crease between his brows, “is that San felt the same way. We both knew alpha pairings were a little unorthodox, but for a while we didn’t care. We carried on for a few months, but we kept it quiet so it didn’t interfere with work or any of our friendships.” 

Your eyes widen. 

“Wooyoung still doesn’t know about that part,” He says quietly, “so I’d appreciate it if you kept that between us,” 

“Of course, Hwa,” 

“Things started to go further though. We were going on dates without calling them dates, sleeping at each other’s places, leaving things behind. We were texting all the time, sneaking kisses in the locker room,” He explains, “we just couldn’t leave each other alone.” 

He goes quiet again, and this time you do reach across the table, resting your hand over his twitching fingers, “What happened?” 

He swallows tightly and he looks away again, but his hand turns under yours to press your palms together, “One morning San asked if I wanted to spend the weekend in Namhae, he missed his family and thought it would be nice if we all spent some time together.” 

“Oh,” You breathe, the pieces of their story falling together in front of you so easily. 

“I couldn’t do it,” He confesses, “and I said some things I shouldn’t have. I told him that I loved him, but that our friendship was what mattered to me, and that we were kidding ourselves by not trying to find omegas of our own.” 

Your cringe, “Seonghwa,” 

“I know,” He breathes, his head dropping, “it was cruel.” 

“Your relationship,” You squeeze his hand, “what you had with San wasn’t wrong, you know that right? It’s perfectly,” 

His head snaps up, “I know it’s not wrong.” 

It feels like all the air has been sucked out of the room at the expression in his eyes, fierce determination as he snaps to defend himself. You stay silent. 

“I’m sorry,” He shakes his head, pulling his hand back, “I do know that, that’s not why I broke it off.” 

“Then,” 

“My family is very traditional,” Seonghwa says, “they believe that alphas and omegas are made as a perfect match. They believe that every alpha has a destined omega and that a bond, a claim, should be between one alpha and one omega only.” 

“That’s so,” You trail off, unable to really form the words. Traditional is a kind, sanitized word for what it is. You would have said bigoted, downright prejudicial, and your chest aches at the idea that he grew up cocooned in that kind of indoctrination. 

“Hypocritical,” His cheek twitches, “considering my parents loathe each other.” 

You smile at that, “I’m sorry,” 

He shrugs, his cool exterior slotting back into place, “It’s a shame that we’re not a scent match, honestly. My parents would be so proud of me if I brought you home,” 

You take his hand again, brushing smoothly past his comment, “Are they so traditional they don’t believe in packs either?” 

“That’s worse,” He crinkles his nose, “to them.” 

Packs have always been a little controversial, especially with the rise in beta designations and the decreasing likelihood that omegas will find a true honest-to-god scent match, but it’s not unheard of. Polyamory and packs have started to crop back up in popular media, and it’s becoming more and more common to see an omega paired with two or more alphas despite the traditionalist view that it’s a return to baser, more primal instincts. You were raised knowing packs were an option, but as you listen to Seonghwa and understand his past, you know everything for him was the opposite. 

“I really am sorry,” You murmur, “it must have been difficult to grow up surrounded by that mindset.” 

He nods, and then takes a long sip of his untouched coffee. 

The threads are coming together more clearly, but there’s still a question lingering in your mind and the words leave you without any real consideration, “If you don’t believe that, then why break it off with San?” 

He grimaces, “My parents are fairly wealthy,” 

Your stomach turns icy. 

“And you know the money in dance isn’t exactly overwhelming,” He explains, “they’ve always offered their financial support to me, but it’s incredibly conditional.” 

“Hwa,” You breathe. 

“San thought I chose the money over him,” Seonghwa leans back in his chair, separating your hands again and resting his wrists on the edge of the table, “I tried to explain the situation to him, I tried to apologize for what I said and ask him for more time… time to figure everything out and to be able to be financially independent from them, but all he heard was that I wasn’t willing to lose the money.” 

You shake your head, but he keeps going. 

“You know how he is, he’s more headstrong than anyone I’ve ever met. Once he has an idea, there’s no telling him differently.” Seonghwa explains. 

“But it’s not true,” You’re suddenly so frustrated with Choi San you could wring his neck. 

“It is what it is, y/n,” 

“But,” You trail off, deflated, “aren’t you still seeing each other?” 

“No,” He says firmly, “only for Wooyoung’s heats.” 

“And that’s what? Working out fine?” Your eyebrows dart up. 

“For now,” He sighs, “and I’m under no big illusion that he’s going to forgive me and we’re going to go riding off into the sunset. He told me he wanted to be friends and he wanted us to continue being there for Wooyoung and we just let it go back to the way it was, and honestly,” his voice softens, “I’ll take some of him, even if I can never have all of him.” 

“Oh, Hwa,” 

His eyes are a little watery, but it clears quickly and he clears his throat, “Anyways, that’s it. That’s the tragic little story.” 

“That’s just not fair,” You shake your head, “you should be together,” 

He shakes his head, “Maybe, but I’m not willing to risk losing what I do have.” 

“If San understood,” You start. 

“Listen,” He cuts you off, “I know it seems like there should be this big movie scene, where we both admit we hurt each other and put it all behind us, and build a little pack together and have lots and lots of babies, but I just don’t think that’s going to happen. I’ve made peace with that.” 

You can see plainly that he hasn’t, but in the same way he doesn’t push you on your relationship with Yunho and Mingi, you take a calculated step back from pressing down on this particular nerve. 

“Okay,” You say, “well then thank you for telling me, and I’m here if you ever need to talk about it.” 

“Thank you,” The air leaves him in a relieved rush. 

“And Woo doesn’t know?” You’re hard pressed to believe that. 

He shrugs lightly, “He knows something, we’ve spent enough heats together for him to see what’s there, but it’s not something we discuss.” 

“Got it,” You murmur. 

“And you?” He turns the conversation back with ease, “Have you thought about what you’re going to do?” 

You nod, “I’m just going to leave it for a while. I’ll apologize when they come back and the air is cleared a little,” 

“Apologize?”

“They’re not the only ones who’ve messed things up,” You tell him honestly, “and if I could take back what I said, I would.”

“Me too,” Seonghwa smiles softly. 

“Besides,” You lean back in your chair, “you’ll all be gone tomorrow, and I’m sure I’ll talk to you and Woo and San, but you’ll be busy and in a completely different timezone. It’ll be for the best,” 

“Maybe a change of scenery will be good for them,” Seonghwa adds. 

“I hope so,” You murmur. 

“I’m honestly surprised they haven’t said anything to me,” He points out, “but it’s been the same as always,” 

“Really?” 

He nods, smiling a little,  “I thought for a second Mingi was being a little cold, but he just had earbuds in and couldn’t hear me,” 

You laugh sharply, “Well,” you shrug, “I really gave it to them. Maybe they realized being jealous isn’t a good look, especially if we’re ever going to get the chance to be friends or try this again with a clean slate.” 

Seonghwa chews at the inside of his lip for a moment and then sighs, “y/n, do you want to know what I really think?” 

You dip your head, gesturing for him to continue. 

“I think they’re idiots, and I think they acted like assholes and you deserve an apology for it,” You can sense that there’s something more and he continues, “but I’ve made those mistakes. I’ve pushed away someone I care about, I’ve said the wrong things, and I’ve had a hell of a time trying to patch it back together.” 

Your stomach twists. 

“I’m not telling you what to do,” He says, “but I’ve known Yunho and Mingi for a long time. I see the way they look at you, the way they talk about you. There’s more than just an attraction there, there’s something real for all of you.” 

“That’s the part that’s terrifying,” 

“Yeah,” He nods, “and you know, maybe don’t take advice from me, the guy whose love life is beyond a mess, but I also don’t want you to regret anything here.” 

You reach for his hand again and take it without hesitation. 

“I just need to think it through,” You say softly, “and then be brave,” 

Seonghwa nods. You think that maybe if you can be brave, he can too, but you both let that thought lie in the space between you untouched. You don’t need to press him, not after everything he just shared with you and how much more you’re sure is there under the surface, but the thought is still understood by you both just the same. 

“I know you’ll do what’s best for you,” Seonghwa adds after a moment, “but until then,” 

“Until then let’s not think about it anymore,” You finish his words for him. 

He takes another deep breath, and you can see the way telling his secret has lifted something away from his shoulders. He takes another long sip of his coffee and then finally he says, “Do you have anything else you’re doing today?” 

You shake your head. 

“Want to wander around and help me buy unnecessary travel accessories?” He grins. 

“Seonghwa,” You squeeze his hand, “I would love nothing more,” 

“Great,” He runs a hand through his hair, “then let’s go back to Hongdae, I don’t know any of the stores over here.”

“You owe me a train ticket,” You nudge him as you start to gather up your things. 

“I bought you a coffee,” He points out, standing with you. 

“You always buy my coffee,” 

“Fine,” He rolls his eyes but you can see that it’s playful, “I’ll buy you a little thank you present for coming all the way out here,” 

“That’s more like it,” You tease, pressing yourself up on your tiptoes and giving him a quick peck on the cheek, “now let’s go home,” 

Despite your long goodbye afternoon with Seonghwa, it’s harder to really say goodbye to them all on the day than you thought it would be. 

When the last practice before their flight is over, everyone dressed in their coats and hats and ready to go for the night, all of the BB Trippin crew lingers in the front entrance hall. Well wishes, talks of food to try, jet lag tips, the weather. You try to ignore the full suitcases by the door. 

It isn’t until the very last moment that the real feeling of it starts to sink in. 

Wooyoung’s arms are banded tightly around you when the realization of just how long three months is barrels over you in full force. You take a hitched little breath hiding in his shoulder and get your emotions in check, but it’s starting to become readily apparent now. You’re going to miss them, not just your friends, but them too. 

There’s a part of you that fantasizes about throwing up your hands and confessing all your conflicting feelings, chasing them down in the airport like an old movie and laying it all on the line, but you’re not going to actually do that. It’s not fair to anyone if you do something like that. You laid out boundaries for the past few weeks, they more than respected them, and you have no doubt they’ll stay silent over the next few months just like you requested. 

“I’m not going to war,” Wooyoung laughs, squeezing you back once as he tries to extricate himself from your arms, “it’s just tour,” 

“No, I know, I know,” You clear your throat softly, “I’m going to miss you though,” 

“Me too,” He smiles, running a hand through his hair as he steps back.

When you step back from him, Mingi and Yunho are closer than they were a few moments ago and they’re keeping their eyes elsewhere but you can’t let them go without a single word. You can’t. If anything happens to them you’d regret it so deeply, and your hand shoots out to brush along Mingi’s arm. 

His eyes flash with recognition for a second, but he remains cool and calm when he turns to you and you watch Yunho follow suit.

“Have safe flight,” You manage, your chest tight at the idea that this is really it. 

“You too,” Mingi says and then he sighs as he realizes his mistake, “not flight, obviously,” 

“Right,” You smile, his awkwardness breaking the tension between you so easily. 

“Be safe here,” Yunho offers, correcting the sentiment, “and good luck with all the debut preparation, I know it’ll go smoothly with you and Dahan handling things,” 

Your chest warms, “Thank you, Yunho,” 

He nods and then takes a step back, and suddenly there’s nothing more to say. 

“Well, we should go,” Yunho clears his throat, “goodbye, y/n,” 

“Bye,” You manage. 

“Bye, y/n,” Mingi nods, turning to take the handle of his suitcase from Yunho. 

They start towards the door, and you offer a final goodbye, and then a hand in the middle of your back draws your eyes to the side at Seonghwa. 

“Safe flight,” Seonghwa murmurs the tease low into your ear as he gives you a fast hug. 

“Shut up,” You shove him as subtly as you can. 

He smiles, a little mischievously, “I’ll text you when we land.” 

“Good,” You nod, “get some sleep on the plane,” 

He salutes as he steps back and drops an arm around Wooyoung’s shoulders, “Yes, ma’am,” 

You roll your eyes more obviously this time, but before they continue their teasing, Wooyoung tugs his friends closer to the door, “Alright, alright, I’m exhausted and our cab’s outside,” 

“Bye, y/n,” Seonghwa calls over his shoulder as Wooyoung shoves him out the door, and you can hear San laughing from just outside, Yunho’s voice echoing beside it. 

Movement from the door draws your eye, and Mingi hitches his duffle bag up over his shoulder. His lips quirk up in the smallest smile, and he waves, just a little. 

You wave back with a nod, and then he’s gone. 

The studio moves forward just the same. Quieter, but the same. 

You and Dahan spend your time focused on the debut, and despite how much you think of them for just a flicker before you drop off into sleep every night, your body is so tired from work that your mind never dwells for too long. 

Weeks pass around you in a busy blur

Three months doesn’t seem so long as it whips by around you, not unless you really let yourself slow down and think about it. You still get updates from your friends as they hop from city to city, photos online of New World where you can see your best friends in the back, and then their Instagram updates of every new strange dish they try. 

Yunho and Mingi stay quiet, just like you needed, until one night they don’t. 

The email sitting unread at the top of your inbox was sent three days ago. You rarely check your inbox, and there’s a real chance you would have missed this message entirely, but you just happened to be looking for an authentication code at the exact right time and there’s no mistaking what this email is when you stumble across it. There’s no subject, but there is a little preview pane of the first line and your breath catches in your throat when you see it. 

y/n - You said don’t text and don’t call, but you never said don’t email. 

Your heart tightens in your chest and you double check the email address. You don’t have it saved, but just know it’s Mingi. You need a drink for this. You step away from your desk and run your hands through your hair, heart beating fast, and you try to decide what to do as you leave your room for a breath and a glass of anything. 

You pour some wine with shaky hands, the quiet of your apartment feeling so loud around you. If you open it, you won’t be able to live in an ignorant little bubble anymore. You could delete it, really put your foot down about no contact and keep moving on. You could do that. 

You’re back at your desk seconds later with your cursor hovering over the email. 

He’s not wrong. You never said don’t email. 

With a gulp of wine for courage, you press down and brace yourself. 

y/n -

You said don’t text and don’t call, but you never said don’t email. I’m not sending this so you’ll reply, I’d prefer if you didn’t, but honestly I’m not always the best at saying something in the moment. Please forgive this. 

I’ve thought a lot about us the past few weeks and I wanted you to know that I understand why you’re confused. It was hard to see it before. Something made me insane when you said you slept with Seonghwa, and I can see how all that alpha shit would make sense, but that wasn’t it. Not all of it anyways. I’ve spent so much time thinking it through and what really upset me wasn’t that you were with somebody else or even that it was him. I was so fucking mad at myself for letting us go back to being friends. Especially now that I know you wanted us too and we wrecked it. I feel like a fucking coward, and I swear to god I’ve never been a coward before. You make me feel things and do things that make no sense. It’s hard to make sense of anything when we’re together except that I like being with you.  

These things are so much easier to say when you’re not here. Yunho’s better at this kind of thing, and you’re so good at it sometimes I can’t keep up. 

I want to say that I’m sorry for all of it. I really didn’t do any of it right. You didn’t choose us that night but you did trust us, you trusted me and I’ve done nothing but hurt you since that weekend ended. I thought you wanted to go back to being friends, but when I saw you at the studio the day after I couldn’t do it. I thought if I talked to you I would just cross too many lines, I didn’t realize how much more I wanted from you until you left. But I thought about how much it would hurt you if I pushed it too far at work, and then I thought about how much it would hurt Yunho if you wanted me and not him. Or how much it would hurt me if it were the other way around. Or what would happen if you didn’t want us at all? 

I think I should tell you that Yunho and I didn’t talk for a few weeks either, not really. I think we were all just waiting for the other person to say something, but the whole time we were hurting you. I’m so sorry for that. 

I feel bad about the kiss too. I just panicked, I didn’t know what to do to make you stay. I know it wasn’t the right time, so I’m sorry for that too. 

Yunho is sorry too by the way. Someday if we ever talk about this, he’ll tell you himself, but he’s my best friend and I just have to tell you that he hates himself for how he treated you. He’d be so pissed if he knew I was sending this to you, but you have to know it.

I feel like there’s so much more I could say… things that I want the chance to explain to you, things about how I felt before we ever got together, but you said we missed our chance and I have to learn how to respect that. That’s why I don’t want you to respond to this letter. I wanted to send this because I don’t think I can do this face to face right now, I tried to be honest in the studio that night and all I did was make it worse. I hope you at least read this and can understand that, and I promise I won’t write to you again. 

I want you to know that Yunho and I talked, and we agreed on what to do. We won’t reach out, we won’t push you. When we come home, we’d like the chance to be friends again like we were. We want you to feel comfortable with us again and to trust us again. I know we missed our chance, but being friends with you is always going to be better than nothing. 

We care a lot about you. I hope through all the noise you can still feel that. 

While we’re away please be safe and be happy. 

Please don’t respond. Mingi

You read it again, and again for good measure. After the fourth time you close your laptop tight and leave it far away from you. You want to tell him that you’re sorry too, that they’re not alone in making mistakes after your heat and that you all fucked it up together. A perfect mix of insecurity and biology and doubt and fear boiling over to make sure none of you opened up to each other and just said what you wanted. But you don’t say any of that. 

You’ll tell them when they’re home. 

For once you think the right thing to do is to listen. 

You don’t respond.

a/n: reminder, i am no longer doing taglists as they became too unruly to properly maintain. please turn on post notifs, check my blog regularly, or subscribe on ao3 to get immediate updates.

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this night together - chapter eleven (j.yh + s.mg)

chapter eleven: a new love song

chapter summary: time, and a well worded letter, heals all wounds. finally, it's time to let go.

warnings: nothing really, social drinking, etc.

notes: reminder that if you're reading this on or around 12.3.23 when it's posted, i'm uploading three chapters at once! if you haven't read chapter ten, go do that before you skip ahead!!

pairings: alpha!yunho x alpha!mingi x omega!reader

genre: smut, a/b/o/omegaverse, angst, fluff, romance, polyamory

word count: 5.2k

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The party is bright, bursting with light and color and art. You can feel Hongjoong’s presence everywhere from the moment you step through the doors and you almost feel underdressed. You selected your outfit for him, something a little bolder than you’d normally do, but something that truly suits the occasion and the honored guest. You adjust the top of your black trousers and glance down to ensure the cream white blouse that is parted open is still firmly secured with the hidden tape you painstakingly applied.  You hope your lipstick is staying put. 

The listening party for New World’s new mini album is in full swing, but the night is about more than just that. Their tour has ended, everyone back on Korean soil, and it will be the first time anyone will hear the album from start to finish and the first time you’ll be face to face with them again.

Three months of nothing, no contact except the letter. The letter you’ve read about a hundred times. 

You texted Wooyoung, San, and Seonghwa of course, and they mentioned Yunho and Mingi occasionally, but always in the broader context of what they were doing on tour. You saw them in pictures, travel shots on Instagram or Snapchat stories of their nights out, but otherwise nothing. For three months you let it marinate, and your feelings haven’t changed in the slightest. All you have to do now is find them in this crowd and clear the air. 

It’s no surprise you’re as late as you are, your stomach was in knots getting ready and leaving your apartment had you practically coming apart at the seams. The idea of talking to them is simple, but you’ve rehearsed what you want to say over and over and you can’t imagine how they’ll respond. You take a glass of sparkling wine from one of the caterers and realize there are far more people here than you thought there would be. When you pictured a listening party you expected an intimate crowd, but the gallery space KQ rented is full of faces, some you know and some you don’t. You’re pretty sure you’ve missed the album playthrough at this point, you just hope no one’s noticed your absence. 

“You look so good!” A voice from behind you makes you turn, and you smile when you see Dahan in her sparkly wrap dress. 

“So do you,” You give her a quick, friendly hug. 

“This is your first one, right?” She asks, looking past you to find a drink tray. 

“Listening party?” You clarify, “Yeah,” 

“This is definitely the nicest one so far,” She all but whispers to you, “New World is pulling in that tour money now,” 

“Ah,” You nod. 

“Usually it’s at a nice restaurant or something, not quite so many people,” She explains, snagging a drink, “not that I’m complaining, dressing up is fun,” 

“Do you see Hongjoong at all?” You crane your neck and look through some of the bodies, but you can’t really see anyone else you know closely. 

“Mm,” She joins you, “no, but Yujin and some of the others are over there,” 

You follow her gaze, “Perfect,” 

She starts weaving through and you follow, keeping close to her and protecting your drink as you side step around and behind people. 

When you make it to the little circle of BB Trippin dancers, you slot right in alongside Dahan and give everyone a smile, “Hey,” 

Everyone greets you warmly, but you wonder absently where your little pocket of close friends are hiding. Yujin draws your attention though when she says, “Jaemin’s here,” 

“He is?” Your eyes widen. You barely ever see him, but it does make sense that he would attend an opportunity to bump elbows with people in the industry. 

“Mhm,” She nods, “I saw him talking to Yunho earlier.” 

Butterflies curl in your stomach, “Yunho’s here?” 

“Mhm,” She takes a sip of her drink, “somewhere,” 

“You look really nice,” Minseok interrupts, stepping a little closer so you can hear him better, “I like the whole, you know,” he gestures up and down to indicate he means your outfit and you nod. 

“Thanks,” You nod, “you clean up nice too,” 

“Oh yeah?” He shrugs, “Thanks,” 

You start to turn back to Yujin who looks like she has something more to say, but Minseok keeps going, “Have you met Hongjoong?” 

“Oh,” You start. 

“He’s a nice guy,” He continues, “you’d like his vibe, or at least, I think you would,” 

“Actually,” 

“I’m not sure if you know this or not, but it’s his voice that’s on a lot of the initial guide tracks we get,”

You do know that, but you nod and take a long sip of your drink, ice slipping down and connecting with your lip as you tip it back a little further. 

“He’s a bit eccentric,” Minseok continues. 

“Who’s a bit eccentric?” Seonghwa cuts in, stepping into the circle and cutting smoothly between you and Minseok, another drink for you ready in his hands. 

Minseok’s lips close. 

“Hi, Hwa,” You smile, “that for me?” 

“Of course,” He trades your nearly empty glass for the full one and leans in to press a fast kiss on your cheek, “you look beautiful,” 

“Stop,” You resist the urge to actually nudge him in front of too many people and give off the wrong idea about how close the two of you are, but you give him the best withering look you can. 

He ignores you though, “Who’s eccentric?” 

“Oh,” You do your best to keep the smile off your lips, “Minseok was just telling me about Hongjoong,” 

“Mm,” Seonghwa glances to the side at him, “is he?” 

“Artistic might be the right word,” Minseok corrects himself. 

“Well, that’s true,” You nod. 

“Oh,” Minseok blinks, “so you know him?” 

“Well, yes, I,” You start to say but Seonghwa cuts you off. 

“Speak of the devil,” He nods and when you turn you catch sight of Hongjoong heading right for you both. He’s dressed in the most decadent dark blue velvet suit you’ve ever seen, and the combination of that and his freshly dyed blue hair makes him look like more of an idol, not a producer. 

“My ears were burning,” Hongjoong says wryly, and then his eyes flick over you, “I love this,” 

“I thought you might,” You grin, moving forwards to greet him with a hug, “congratulations, Hongjoong, this is all beautiful,” 

“Thank you so much for coming,” He gives you a squeeze, “we keep missing each other for dinner,” 

“I know, I’ve been so busy lately,” You tell him, “but let’s plan something soon,” 

He nods and smiles and then turns his attention to the group, “Thank you all so much for coming,” he says. 

Minseok looks a little put out next to Seonghwa, and you hope you didn’t embarrass him, but he and everyone else greets Hongjoong and they loop through the congratulations on the finished album. Once pleasantries are done, he focuses his attention back on you, “I have someone I want you to meet,” he says. 

“Oh?” 

“Mhm,” His hand settles on your back as he turns to the group, “can I steal these two for a bit?” He nods his head towards you and Seonghwa. 

He doesn’t really wait for permission, he’s just being polite, and he steers you out of the circle and starts walking you back through the crowd closer to the stage area. 

“When did you get in?” Hongjoong asks Seonghwa as you walk. 

“This morning,” He says, “we were supposed to land last night but our flight was so delayed leaving LA,” 

“Thank you for coming anyways,” Hongjoong smiles, “I’m sure you’re exhausted,” 

“It’s fine,” He shrugs it off, “we’ll get back on timezone soon, I’m sure,” 

“Flight was okay otherwise?” You ask, but Seonghwa catches your eye and gives you a knowing smile. 

“Mhm,” He nods, “We’re all home safe and sound, I’m sure everyone else is here somewhere,” 

“Good,” Your throat feels tight, the idea that around one of these corners you’ll find Yunho and Mingi, “that’s good,” 

After three months without any contact, you’re going to have to physically restrain yourself from blurting out how you feel the second you see them. The last time they saw you was awkward at best, and considering the way you left things after the fight, the quickest way to confuse them would be to tell them you want them back with no apology, no preamble. But either way the words still form on your tongue in your imagination, and you’re mid internal monologue when Hongjoong stops walking and brings you back to reality. 

“y/n,” He says, gesturing to the couple across from you, “Seonghwa, I’d like you to meet Choi Jongho and his fiance Kim Eunji,” 

“Oh!” You can’t help the surprised sound that leaves you, “You’re the vocalist Hongjoong has told me so much about!”

Choi Jongho smiles politely, eyes flicking to Hongjoong, but then he nods, “That’s me,” 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you both,” You dip your head in quick acknowledgement. 

“So, you’re y/n?” Eunji says before Jongho can finish out the polite greetings and confusion runs through you. 

She’s looking at you with warmth and kindness, and it’s not often that omegas meeting each other for the first time are quite so positive and open. You’re used to a little hesitation, especially when alphas are around, everyone becoming a little territorial in mixed company, but Eunji seems unphased. 

“I am,” You nod as your brain starts to catch up. 

“Hongjoong mentioned you,” She explains at your confused expression, “I was hoping I’d get a chance to say hello,” 

“He did?” 

“Sorry, let me explain,” She smiles, “my little sister is debuting with your company soon,” 

“Oh!” Your brows shoot up and you run through the girls you’ve worked with to realize the common surname, “you’re Jiwoo’s sister?” 

“Yes!” She nods excitedly, “We’re very proud of her,” 

“That’s so nice,” You smile, relaxed now that you understand her abrupt familiarity, “she’s a very good dancer,” 

Eunji beams. 

“She’ll be debuting as main dancer,” Seonghwa nods, “for good reason,” 

Jongho smiles, his hand sweeping a warm line up and down his wife’s back, “Jiwoo says you and the others have been very kind during their preparations,” 

“Well,” You nod, “they’re working very hard, and I’m sure debut must be scary enough, there’s no need to add extra pressure,” 

“It is,” Jongho hums knowingly, and you recall Hongjoong mentioning he was from another idol group that had disbanded. You wonder idly in the back of your mind how difficult it really was for him judging by the brief expression on his face. 

“Exactly,” Hongjoong offers, “I thought you’d all like to meet considering the mutual acquaintance,” 

“Absolutely,” You say, “it’s been lovely,” 

Eunji is about to say something more, but Seonghwa’s hand brushes your upper arm and he leans into your ear, “At the bar,” 

“What?” You glance up at him and he nods past Jongho and Eunji. Your eyes follow his.  

The air leaves your lungs, but you feel Seonghwa’s thumb brush a comforting line over your skin, “Go,” 

“Hwa,”

“If you’ll excuse us,” Seonghwa interrupts you and gives a dazzling smile to your party, “her partners just arrived and it’s been a few months with the tour,” 

You’ll have to have a word with him about his word choice later, you notice the way Hongjoong’s eyes widen, but Jongho and Eunji just nod with understanding. The bond between alphas and their omega isn’t something to be taken lightly, and they take a step back to clear your path. 

You recover just enough to leave with normal pleasantries, “Thank you, sorry to run,” 

“No, no, of course,” Jongho nods, “it was nice to meet you.” 

“If I ever drop by the studio to see Jiwoo,” Eunji adds, “I’ll make sure to say hello,” 

“That would be nice, I look forward to it,” Your body is all but screaming at you to move now. 

“Well,” Seonghwa pushes you forwards, “I’m sure we’ll see each other later on in the evening,” 

Hongjoong says something more but you don’t quite hear it, and suddenly you’re being propelled forwards. Seonghwa dips his head towards you ear, “Good luck, be braver than I would be,” 

And then you’re alone, surrounded by bodies but alone nevertheless. 

You’re not exactly prepared for how you’re going to feel when you see them again. It’s been months, and the first thought that strikes you is how much they’ve changed in such a short time. Mingi looks broader somehow, but his face looks a little thinner and more angular, like he’s lost weight from all the performances and training and travel. Yunho’s hair is a little longer, the back a shaggier against his neck, but intentionally so, and the cut of his jacket makes his shoulders look wider. You want to barrel into their chests and tug them as close to you as you can, but instead you take a steadying breath and just give yourself a second to drink them in. 

You can’t stop yourself from smiling at the way they stand side by side as they wait for their drinks at the bar, and butterflies ripple through you, but despite everything you felt while they were gone there’s no fear. You just missed them, really and truly missed them. 

You’re moving before you consciously think it through and you watch their eyes widen when they see you coming, but it only spurns you on faster until you’re all but crashing into their sides at the bar. 

“Hey,” You’re just so happy to see them you can’t get the grin off your face, “you’re back,” 

“We’re back,” Mingi nods, and you can see the hesitation in his face. 

“I’m,” A million words run through your mind, but you settle on the truth, “so happy to see you,” 

“You are?” Yunho’s brows go high. 

“Yeah,” You step a little closer, letting the words you’ve been holding finally roll off your tongue, “this isn’t the place to talk, but yes, I’m happy to see you, I missed you both.”

Mingi exhales heavily and his lips quirk up. 

Lowering your voice a little more, you hold Mingi’s gaze, “I got your letter,” 

Yunho’s head twists to the side, confusion all over his face as he looks to Mingi for clarity. 

“We should talk,” You want to reach out so badly, but you hold it back for now, “but I wanted you both to know I’m sorry too, and I’m really glad you’re home now,” 

“Me too,” Mingi nods. 

“Good,” You sigh, “that’s good,”

“Are we okay?” Mingi glances between both of you. 

“Yes,” You nod, “I still think we should talk, we left things badly before, but I thought a lot about everything and I don’t want things to be uncomfortable anymore.” 

In the background you hear the speakers cut off the ambient music, and someone taps on a microphone to check that it’s connected. You glance towards the stage and see someone preparing to introduce Hongjoong. 

“Should we go somewhere?” Yunho asks, “Now?” 

The man on stage clears his throat into the microphone. 

You shake your head, “Not tonight, I want to be here for Hongjoong,” 

“Of course,” He backtracks. 

You reach for him this time, resting your hand on his forearm, “But maybe later this week when you’re settled we can just clear the air. I have some things I want to tell you,” 

He swallows tightly, and you can feel that he’s a little nervous but he nods, “Sure,” 

“I just,” You step back and look between them both, “I didn’t want you to stress about coming back to the studio,” 

The relief is palpable between all three of you as Hongjoong takes the stage, and Mingi says, “For a second I was worried you weren’t going to be here,” 

“No, I was just running so late,” You admit. 

“You’ve been okay?” He asks. 

“I am,” You nod, “you both are?”

“Good,” Mingi says. 

“Tired,” Yunho shrugs, and you suppose you can see a little of that in his eyes. 

“Seonghwa said your flights were delayed,” 

“Something like ten hours,” He sighs. 

“Are you sure you’re okay to come back tomorrow already?” You press them, “You’ll be jet lagged,” 

“We’ll be fine,” Yunho smiles a little at your concern, “don’t worry,” 

There’s a pause, a bubbling lull between you, but you can’t keep yourself from saying it, “I really am so glad to see you,” 

“Me too,” Yunho says. 

Mingi nods, but then his eyes flick up and he gestures behind you, “Someone’s looking for you,” 

You check over your shoulder and see Wooyoung lingering nearby and when he catches your eyes he points to his glass and then to you, checking to see if you need another and giving you a smooth out if you need one. You shake your head and turn back to Yunho and Mingi, “I should go,” 

“Okay,” Mingi says. 

You think suddenly if you walk away without making a plan you’ll think of nothing else all night until you can’t sleep, “Saturday,” you blurt out, “are you free?” 

“Yeah,” Yunho says and Mingi nods. 

“Let’s get dinner,” You say it before you can panic and take it back, “you can tell me about tour and I can… I have things I want to tell you,” 

“Just say when and where,” Mingi says, “we’re there.” 

“Okay,” You sigh, “good, perfect,”

You can practically feel Wooyoung hovering at your back and you take a deep breath as you step away, but part of you wishes you could just take Yunho up on his offer to get out of here. 

“y/n,” Yunho smiles a little, stopping you in your tracks, “you look happy,” 

“I am happy,” You tell him honestly. 

“That’s good,” He breathes. 

“Saturday,” You nod, “I’ll catch you both up on Saturday,” 

You see a flicker of something in Mingi’s expression, but then he smiles, “Wouldn’t miss it,” 

You turn before you lose your nerve and run straight into Wooyoung carrying two full glasses of champagne. 

“Everything okay?” He asks, pushing a glass into your hands, some of the bubbling liquid spilling over the sides and over your fingers. 

“Good,” You assure him, tugging him away from the bar and towards the back wall where you can talk to him unobserved. 

“I wasn’t sure if you needed rescuing,” 

“I didn’t,” You tell him, “I was doing fine,” 

“Shit,” He grimaces, “did I fuck up your moment?” 

“No, no,” You shake your head, “we’re meeting on Saturday, I’m going to talk to them then,” 

Something’s a little hurried in his face though, his eyes glancing past you again and again, and you can feel that he’s not exactly present. 

“Woo,” You start but he locks his eyes with yours and cuts you off. 

“I think I just met the love of my life,” He stammers, “I might fucking faint,” 

“What?” You hush him, pressing him back into the wall behind you, “Are you serious?” 

“I’m not going to faint for real,” He swats your hands away, “but I don’t know, y/n, I can’t breathe. My fucking chest is tight,” 

“Holy shit,” You manage. 

“I know,” He nods, “I know,” 

“You’re not close to your heat are you?” You probe him, wondering if you need to make a break for San and Seonghwa. 

“No,” He shakes his head, laying a cool hand on his flushed cheeks, “it’s nothing like that,” 

You nod relieved, “Well, then what happened?” 

“Okay,” He takes a long steadying breath, “you see that guy on stage? The one to the left of Hongjoong?” 

“Choi Jongho?” Your voice spikes up and he shushes you frantically. 

“No, oh my god,” He waves his hand to get your volume down, “he’s engaged, y/n, no, the other one,” 

You look to the left of Jongho and take in the third man on stage. He’s the one who introduced Hongjoong, his voice low and velvety soft. He has long blonde hair that brushes his collar bones, the top half gathered into a messy but chic bun. You can tell from here he’s handsome, devastatingly so, with a cool expression and his lips parted just enough to make you wonder how he kisses. 

“Oh,” You nod, “got it,” 

“Exactly,” He runs a panicked hand through his own hair. 

“He’s an alpha?” You surmise, “Did you catch his scent or,” 

Wooyoung’s shaking his head frantically before he can finish his words, “He’s a beta,” 

You can’t control the surprise in your expression, Wooyoung’s only ever really gone for alphas. It makes sense, most omegas do, considering the hindbrain of it all, but Wooyoung’s looking about as wrecked as you’ve ever seen someone. 

On stage, Hongjoong gestures towards the two men on his left and you switch your focus from Wooyoung’s whining panic to the man addressing the crowd, “I have one more announcement to make tonight,” he says, “something that would not have been possible to announce without Choi Jongho. I don’t think I need to tell you what a talent he is and how lucky we are at KQ to have brought him on. We have a preview of something we’d like to share, once again, something I felt very creatively supported in by Kang Yeosang,”

“That’s him,” Wooyoung hisses next to your ear and you refocus, “Kang Yeosang,” 

“Shh!” You hush him, but by the time you can hear Hongjoong again, he’s moved on to announcing that he’s going to preview Jongho’s new single, and you roll your eyes to refocus on Wooyoung, “So who’s this guy?” 

“Creative director,” He explains quickly, “album art, concepts, the works.” 

“Damn,” You manage. 

“He’s so fucking smart, y/n, you have no idea,” He breathes. 

“So you actually talked to him?”

“Talked to him?” He laughs, “I had his cock down my throat like thirty minutes ago,” 

“Jesus Christ, Wooyoung, that’s too much information,” You smack his arm. 

He rolls his eyes and continues, “We bumped into each other in the hall, like physically bumped into each other. I spilled my drink all down his nice white shirt,” 

The shirt Yeosang is wearing is still crisp white, so you assume there’s more to this story before he even keeps going. 

“I felt like an idiot,” He admits, “pulled him into the bathroom and told him I could fix it right up with a little club soda,” 

“Okay,” 

“He barely said anything at first,” Wooyoung continues, “I was just rinsing his shirt out while he stood there half naked looking like Michalangelo or something,” 

“I don’t think Michaelangelo was very cut,” You smirk. 

“The statute,” He swats you, “you know the one, don’t fuck with me,” 

“Okay, fine, go on,” 

“Anyway,” He sighs, “I was just talking, keeping the conversation going, fucking babbling while I washed out his shirt and then before I knew it he had me pressed up against the mirror with his tongue down my throat,” 

“Wow,” 

“One thing led to another,” He blushes again, “and then we just talked while I finished drying his button down,” 

“Wow, again,” You breathe. 

“I know,” He breathes, “I’ve never felt like this,” 

“Okay,” You squeeze his hand, “but, Woo, this is a good thing,” 

“I know, but I’m kind of fucking terrified,” He admits, “is this how you felt?”

“Pretty much,” 

“It’s awful,” He admits. 

“Tell me about it,” 

The crowd around you starts clapping, the speeches are over, and the men on stage start to head down the side steps to rejoin the crowd as the single begins to play. Everyone in the room is listening attentively to the music except you and Wooyoung. 

“What are you going to do?” You ask him, your voice low. 

“Go home with him,” Wooyoung checks his watch and then presses his untouched glass of champagne into your hands, “I’ve got to go,”

“Whoa,” You shake your head, “are you sure that’s a good idea?” 

“I’m a big boy,” He rolls his eyes again. 

“Text me his number, and his address,” You insist, “and check in with me tomorrow. If you don’t, I’m calling Seonghwa and San.” 

“Oh my god, please don’t do that.” He grimaces, texting you Yeosang’s contact information anyways. 

“Don’t make me,” You tell him. 

“Fine,” 

“Have fun, please be safe,” You’d take his hand, but yours are full of champagne. You hope the genuineness of your expression gets your point across to him. 

“I will,” he promises, “and I’ll call you. We’ll talk all about Saturday too, I just,” 

“I get it,” You nod, “honestly, I do,” 

“Thank you,” His eyes soften, “and please, don’t tell San and Seonghwa. Not yet,” 

“I won’t,” You assure him, “just go, be happy,” 

“You too, okay?” He smiles, “Whatever it is, you do it. You deserve it after all this,” 

Your stomach warms at that, and you know he’s right, you just want to do this the right way for once. Over Wooyoung’s shoulder you see the blonde man in question smoothly cutting his way through the crowd, and you nod towards him, “Get out of here, I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” 

He’s gone without another word, just a rushed smile as he weaves his way towards Yeosang, a bright and beaming grin now on his face. He’s a goner, you can see it clear as day. A brief flickering question passes through your mind of how this might affect his dynamic with Seonghwa and San, but given the way your best friend is lit up from the inside it doesn’t even matter. If you deserve to be happy like that, so does he, however it happens. 

With Wooyoung gone, you take a moment to survey the room, but you can’t find your group anymore. You see people from KQ you recognize, but your normal BB Trippin group is nowhere in sight and Yunho and Mingi are no longer towering over everyone at the end of the bar. You listen to the rest of the new single, something soulful and rooted in R&B just like Hongjoong had described to you all those months ago. 

As you listen to the crooning love song, your mind loops through the encounter with Yunho and Mingi, of every microexpression and you get lost in your plans for Saturday yet again. How you’ll tell them you’re sorry, how you’re ready to move on and to be honest with one another. How much you still want them, that you might love them. 

You don’t know how long you’re standing there by the back wall, thoughts tumbling over what-ifs when you’re brought back to reality. 

“Tough night?” A voice makes you jump, a little more champagne dipping out of your glasses as you turn to the side. 

“Hey, Minseok,” You laugh a little, “you scared me,” 

“Sorry,” He smiles, begging off, “I just meant the two drinks, and you know, hiding in the corner,” 

“Oh,” You shake your head, “no, Wooyoung ran off and stuck me with his glass. Do you want?” You offer it to him. 

“Sure,” He nods, smoothly taking the glass from your hands. 

You take a quick sip from yours and clear your throat softly, “So, enjoying the party?” 

He nods, “It’s nice, but honestly I was just about to get out of here and call it a night,” 

“Me too,” You nod. You’d try to say goodbye to Hongjoong, but he’s been tied up all evening mingling, and without any of your friends in sight it seems as good a time as any to slip out. 

“Let me walk you out,” He offers, plucking the champagne from your fingertips and placing both glasses on one of the nearby side service tables. 

You probably would have finished it, and a flicker of annoyance passes through you, but you let it pass and nod, “Sure,” 

You’re not far from the door, and he organizes grabbing both of your checked jackets as he makes small talk, “Are you taking the train or,” 

“I’ll probably order a car,” You usually do when it’s late like this and you’ve had a few drinks despite the extra cost. 

“Me too,” He nods, passing your jacket over. 

You shrug it on and search for something to say, but Minseok isn’t as forthcoming and chatty as some of the other dancers, “Do you live closeby?” 

“More towards Itaewon,” He zips his jacket and gestures towards the exit doors that will lead you out onto the street. 

“Mm,” You nod, pushing through the doors. 

“You know, we could,” Minseok starts to say, but the minute you step aside you finally see some familiar faces. 

“There you are!” You smile, and your familiar group of dancers turns at your voice. 

Minseok says something else, but you don’t quite catch it and you spin to apologize quickly over your shoulder before rejoining your friends. 

“I thought you left,” San ushers you over to their group. 

“Good timing,” Seonghwa adds, “my car’s not far, you want a ride?” 

“Sure,” You nod, you’ll never turn down a less expensive rideshare. 

Yunho and Mingi are talking with Jaemin at the edge of the group, but you catch Mingi’s glancing eye and give him a smile. It’s impossible to just smooth over your last real conversation with them, but you’re trying to signal in every little way that you want to move past it, that his letter meant something. You’ll lay out the rest for them as soon as you get them alone. 

He smiles back, quickly catching that you’re about to leave and you can see that he wants to step away from the conversation he’s having about some missteps from the tour. 

“Have you seen Wooyoung?” San asks, bringing your attention back. 

“For a second,” You nod, but look away from quickly as you try to tell a vague white lie, “I think he already split,” 

He hums, but then Seonghwa gently taps your back, “Car,” 

“Oh, perfect,” You step with him and turn to the group, “goodnight everyone, see you in the morning!” 

Dahan and San both give quick, small waves. 

“Goodnight,” Mingi says, his conversation stuttering to a pause so he can address you, “see you,” 

“See you tomorrow,” Yunho adds, nodding. 

Your stomach feels like it might flutter right out of your body. 

“I’ll have him drop you first,” Seonghwa says as he helps you into the car, jogging to the opposite side to get in himself. 

As the car pulls away you feel lighter than you have in months, and seeing them again makes everything feel so much more sure. They’re real, they’re back, and they want to see you too. Everything else falls to the side, for once the path forwards is crystal clear. 

---

this night together - chapter twelve (j.yh + s.mg)

chapter twelve: home is always home

chapter summary: you were planning to tell them how you felt on saturday, but when things go sideways at the studio you find yourself running home as fast as you can.

warnings: this is the chapter i've been warning about for a long, long time. please read responsibly if you're easily triggered by any of the following topics - guy who can't take no for an answer, aggressive/sexist language, physical and verbal assault, panic/ptsd, physical injury/blood, hospitals, police interaction (mentioned), nightmares/night terrors, self harm (sort of?)

notes: please note, if you're reading this on or around 12.3.23 when i'm posting, i've put up three chapters at once. make sure you don't skip chapter ten and eleven! additional notes under the cut~!

pairings: alpha!yunho x alpha!mingi x omega!reader

genre: smut, a/b/o/omegaverse, angst, fluff, romance, polyamory

word count: 11.6k

previous chapter | next chapter | AO3

for my readers who aren't that familiar with a/b/o, i'm introducing something in this chapter that you may not have seen before. i wanted to add some context! if you're new to a/b/o, there is something that alphas have often called "alpha tone", "alpha voice", or just "tone". alphas in many depictions have the ability to lower their voice in a particular way that is seen as a strict command to an omega, and it triggers/activates their submission. this is something that can be used negatively or positively, but in this scene will be negative. there's also something called headspace/subspace that you will see referenced, and an omega can be put into headspace/subspace via alpha tone. it is a bit of a dissociative state where the omega can only really hear and understand commands. this can be used negatively or positively as well, but again, definitely not good in this scene. i hope that helps.... and happy/responsible reading!!

You really, really wish today was Saturday and not Thursday. Thursday just means you still have to get through Friday and then all of Saturday morning before your scheduled dinner with Yunho and Mingi and all the things you want to say are practically eating you up inside. But there’s a right way and a wrong way to tell someone you’ve been an idiot and you’re in love with them, and blurting it out in the middle of dance practice isn’t really going to help make this easier. 

God, you hope they still want you. 

On the plus side, this week has been insane. With the full crew back things are moving at a million miles per hour, and you’ve been in more meetings about what’s coming up next in the past week than the entire time you’ve worked for BB Trippin and KQ.

Your schedule for the next six months is frankly intense. Between preparing for year-end stages and working on the choreography for the newly debuting girl group, you’re juggling conversations about New World’s next comeback and the next round of touring. With the money coming in now there’s an opportunity to take more dancers, and that just means more late nights and early mornings getting everything right. 

It’s after your third concept planning meeting of the week that you find two minutes to talk to Wooyoung, his bag already slung over his shoulder as he refills his water bottle. 

“So, you’re going?” You ask him vaguely, trying not to tip off anyone else in the vicinity that he’s got a date. 

“Yeah,” He nods, eyes flicking over your shoulder to see if San and Seonghwa are nearby, “I think I’m going to throw up,” 

“No, you’re not,” You assure him. 

“I might,” He whines, running a hand through his mop of long black hair, “I never know what to say to him,” 

“Woo,” 

“I know what to say to everyone, y/n,” He lowers his voice, panic evident in his eyes, “but every time Sangie smiles I go fucking blank,” 

“Sangie?” Your eyebrow quirks, “Is that what we’re calling him now,” 

“Shut up,” Wooyoung blushes. 

“Wow,” You prod him softly, “you’re down so bad, it’s been like three days,” 

“It’s so bad,” He grimaces, “this is embarrassing,” 

“Now you see how I feel,” You smirk, “it’s kind of fun being on this end of things,” 

“Please,” He rolls his eyes, “are you telling me you’re not panicking?” 

“Oh, no,” You laugh, “I definitely am. It’s just nice to know I’m not alone here,” 

“I was never this mean to you,”

You hold his gaze, just blinking, there’s nothing to say to that he doesn’t already know. 

“Okay, fine,” He sighs, “but still, feeling like this,” 

“Feeling like what?” Seonghwa’s voice shocks you both out of your quiet conversation and you both jump back from each other. 

“Jesus,” You breathe, “you scared me,” 

Seonghwa smiles, “Sorry,” he shrugs, “everything okay?” 

“Perfect,” Wooyoung takes a step back and shakes his head, “totally good,” 

Seonghwa’s brows come together in the middle, “You seem like something’s wrong, can I help?” 

Wooyoung almost blanches, and you know he’s dreading telling San and Seonghwa about Yeosang, so you jump in to help. “Woo was just helping me figure out Saturday,” You cover and draw Seonghwa’s attention back to you, “you know, figuring out what to say to them,”

“Oh,” Seonghwa nods, but you can see that he doesn’t really buy it, “right,” 

“Anyways,” Wooyoung starts walking backwards towards the exterior door, “I have to go, but you know, y/n, call me if you need to talk more later,” 

“I will,” You nod, “I definitely will.” 

Wooyoung knows that what you mean is that you want detailed date updates, and he almost looks mortified at the idea. He disappears fast, leaving you and Seonghwa relatively alone in the hallway. 

“What is up with him this week?” Seonghwa asks, confusion on his face. 

“He has a date,” You tell him quietly, “he’s kind of freaking out about it.” 

“Oh,” Seonghwa glances towards the door where Wooyoung just disappeared, “that’s not that weird for him,” 

“It is if he’s this interested after only a few days,” You say, “but don’t tease him. He’s kind of worked up about the whole thing,” 

“Who’s he seeing?” Seonghwa asks. 

“He should tell you that,” You beg off the gossip immediately, “just do me a favor and give him a little space to talk to you and San about it,” 

“Okay,” He draws out the word, not sure exactly where you’re going. 

“He’s nervous about upsetting the delicate balance,” You gesture towards him, referring to the carefully constructed relationship that is Wooyoung, San, and Seonghwa. 

“He’s seeing another alpha?” Seonghwa jumps to that conclusion with ease, and you can see how he would get there. 

You’re shaking your head before you can stop yourself, “It’s not that,” 

That does surprise him, and Seonghwa’s eyes widen a bit, “Oh,” 

“Right,” You nod, leading him to the conclusion as close as you can without spelling it out, “my point is, he’s nervous and he’s got a pretty serious crush, and he hasn’t said so but I think he’s scared you and San won’t approve.” 

“I would never,” He stumbles over his words, “out of anyone, we would never judge him, he has to know that,” 

“Hey,” You reach for Seonghwa, stepping a little closer so your voices stay low in the entryway as you brush your hand down his forearm, “he knows, he’s just panicking a little.” 

“Should I talk to him?” Seonghwa asks, his eyes earnest. 

“Not yet,” You shake your head, “he’ll figure it out, just don’t push him right now. I’ve never seen him this anxious,” 

“I won’t,” He promises, “thank you for telling me,” 

“Mhm,” 

Seonghwa chews over your words a second and then decides to let it drop. With a sigh he refocuses on work, “Are you staying late?” 

“Yeah,” You shrug, “I have some things to catch up on. You?” 

“I need to track down San,” He says, “but then after that I’m probably heading out a little early,” 

“Nice,” You nod, “still shaking off the jetlag?” 

He nods, “Unfortunately,” 

Down the hall you watch a few of the dancers gathering up their belongings, and then the door to the back office opens to reveal Yunho and Mingi, sitting close together and studying a computer screen as Jaemin leaves for the day. 

“Well,” Your feet are already moving, “then I’ll see you later,” 

“Sounds good,” He says, and then he gives you a knowing look, seeing exactly where you’re headed. 

Before you know it, you’re moving through the people in the hall and trying desperately to come up with a reason for crashing their tete-a-tete. 

“Hey,” You knock softly on the open door, “am I interrupting?” 

“No, no,” Yunho smiles when he sees you and your stomach bubbles. 

“We’re just watching back practice,” Mingi leans back in his chair, rubbing his tired eyes. 

“Oh, nice,” You say, and your empty words do little to fill the empty space. 

“Do you… need something?” Yunho tries. 

“Ah, yeah, sorry,” You scramble internally for something to say, “I’m staying late, but I’m kind of starving, I just didn’t know if you still had stuff stashed?” 

“Sure,” He gestures towards the cabinets on the side wall, “whatever you want, help yourself,” 

“Great,” You dash towards the cabinets, and you can’t even imagine eating right now with how fluttery your insides have been, but you snag a couple of protein bars anyways. 

The silence is brutal. Not like before, not like the tense and uncomfortable angry silences of the past, but it’s still sitting there between you. Part of you wants to shut the door right now and just get it all out there, but again, you know you shouldn’t. 

Mingi’s warm, chocolatey scent is richer in here, evident after a hard practice of working up a sweat and being given a chance to permeate with the door closed. You feel your body naturally relaxing at it, so comforting and familiar, and then you get the first pang of Yunho’s warm, summer rain. 

You can hardly believe how you convinced yourself that this wasn’t scent sympathy when right here and now it’s so obvious they belong to you. You wonder if they feel it too. 

“Are you okay?” Mingi’s voice snaps you out of your sudden daydream staring at the cabinet full of snacks. 

“Yeah, yes,” You shut them and step back, “I’m fine, just a little tired.” 

“Not sleeping well?” Yunho says, concern all over his features. 

“I’m fine,” You wave him off, “just a busy week,” 

“You don’t have to stay late,” Mingi offers, “I’m sure whatever you’re working on will still be fine tomorrow,” 

“I know,” You nod, “but if I don’t get it out of my system I’ll just be thinking about it all night, you know how it is,” 

Mingi nods, “Still, take it easy later,” 

“I will,” You promise, and you start to turn towards the door when the words just bubble up out of your throat, “you’re both still free Saturday, right?” 

“Yeah,” Mingi answers for them both, “are you?” 

“Definitely,” You nod, “I just wanted to make sure, I’m looking forward to it,” 

“We could do tomorrow instead,” Yunho offers, “after practice?” 

“As long as you don’t have other plans,” Mingi cuts in, “for a Friday night,” 

“Tomorrow works,” You jump at the chance, “I’d actually love that, I just didn’t want to crowd you when you’re adjusting to the timezone again,” 

“It’s fine,” Mingi brushes that thought off, “I’d rather see you,” 

“Yeah,” Yunho nods, “it’ll be good to catch up,” 

You smile, “I want to hear all about the trip,” 

“The trip,” Mingi says, just repeating your words like he’s weighing them out on his own tongue. 

Something about his voice sends a sharp zing up the back of your spine. 

Your body feels a little soft, relaxing bit by bit. 

Yunho’s eyes flick over you, “Are you sure you need to stay late?” 

Something your primal little brain cannot handle right now is the thought of your alphas being protective, not when you’re standing in this room encased by their scents that feel a little too right. Your stomach tightens and you pray that you’re not blushing pink at the flickering thought in your mind of them taking you home. 

You need to get out of this room before they realize it. 

“I’m good,” You tell him, stepping backwards towards the door, “but thank you, and dinner tomorrow is perfect,” 

Mingi says something, you think he’s agreeing, but you’re giving another excuse over your shoulder about how you need to get back to it so you can make it out of this room. 

Your heart is practically beating out of your chest as you leave the office and make it down the hall, heading for the studio room you’ve booked for the afternoon. You nearly run into Dahan and Minseok as you cut around the corner, but you apologize quickly and barely give them a second glance as you hide yourself away in one of the dance studios alone. 

With the door firmly shut you lean back against the closed door and take a deep breath. These feelings are going to work you into a frenzy if you don’t get them under control. Scent sympathy is rare, an almost perfect match between an alpha and omega that makes every part of a relationship heightened, especially once that initial sympathetic bond is fulfilled with a claim. While they were gone you came to that conclusion slowly, the steady ache in your chest so clearly informed by the lack of them, but now that they’re back and here the realization of it collides into you full-force. 

You love them, that’s true. But what’s more is how much you need them, and how much you hope they need you. You can’t let them realize it before you have the chance to say everything you need to say, and if you had stayed in that room a few minutes more they might have felt themselves. With the dinner moved to Friday you just have one more night to get through. One more night, and one more day of work. And then the chips will fall where they may. 

With a deep breath you let the hammering of your heart slow and then you focus back on the work ahead. The more you pour yourself into work the faster these 24 hours will go, so you put your head down and get to it. 

You work for a long time, probably too long, until your muscles are positively aching and any thoughts of Yunho and Mingi are drowned out by lyrics to the chorus of this song that just keeps looping in your mind as you try different patterns of footwork. Here in this bubble you don’t know who’s still at work, who’s left for the day, what time it is, or if the sun has set yet. You just know your own body and every which way that it moves to this one singular song. 

Your hair is hot around your face, sweat clinging to your brow as you finish out the latter half of the choreography that you’re confident with. It’s fast, and includes so much up and down floor work you’re pretty sure you’d be passing out if you weren’t hydrating properly. Focused on your reflection in the mirror you gather your hair up and away and into a knot and then move to find your towel and water bottle. 

The door to the studio opens behind you, and you glance back without really seeing who’s popping in, “Hey,” 

For a split second it occurs to you that it might be Yunho or Mingi and your stomach flips as you start to turn. 

“Hey, y/n,” Minseok’s voice is a bit of a surprise. 

“Oh, hey,” 

He looks like he’s just stopping by to grab something from the far desk in the corner. You’re honestly surprised that he’s still here, he had looked on his way out earlier when you bumped into him in the hall.  

“Are you heading out for the night?” You take a drink of water and catch your breath, leaning against the mirrored wall behind you. 

“Soon,” He nods, running a hand through his dark hair and snagging a sweatshirt hanging over the back of the office chair. 

“Well,” You smile, “have a good night,” 

“You too,” He says as he walks past you, but then his steps slow and you hear him sigh before he turns on his heel, “listen, can I ask you something?” 

“Sure,” 

“I hope you don’t think this is weird,” He takes a few more steps back towards you, “but I’ve actually been meaning to ask you something for a while now,” 

“Oh,” Your eyebrows raise, and suddenly you can see everything in his expression. You know this look. You know the way men get when they finally rip off the bandage and change the equilibrium of a room, the moment they decide they can’t see you as just a friend. What absolutely terrible timing he has.

“I was thinking,” He says, a little pause before the rest and you hope you’re keeping your face nice and neutral, “do you think I could take you out some time?” 

“Out?” The word leaves you. 

He smiles, “Yeah, out, like a date.” 

“I appreciate that,” You shake your head a little, trying to smile and keep things light, “but I don’t think so,” 

His lip quirks and his nose scrunches and you suppose that if you were interested you might find this part of him charming, but you’re not, so it isn’t. “Are you seeing someone?” He asks. 

“No,” You tell him honestly, “not right now.”

“So, I can’t get you to give me one chance?” He takes a step forwards, gesturing between you both and keeping his gaze hopeful. 

“I really don’t think that’s a good idea,” You shake your head, “we work together.” 

“Oh, it’s fine,” He assures you, brushing past the boundary you tried to set with casual indifference, “don’t worry about that.” 

“Still,” You shake your head, “but thank you for asking.” 

You’re not at all thankful for him asking, but he’s nice enough, and it feels like the polite way to keep the status quo. 

“That’s a shame,” He admits, his smile dropping almost entirely, “are you sure I can’t convince you to give me just one chance? I really do like you, y/n,” 

“I’m sure,” That should be firm enough. 

“I thought we were getting along well,” He cuts off the end of your words, “becoming friends.” 

“I thought so too,” You straighten up off the wall behind you, tossing your towel over your shoulder and setting up to walk right out of the studio room if that’s what it would take to end this interaction, “I thought we were friends,” 

You can’t help but emphasize the word friends, and you watch the moment his expression drops more, annoyance flicking through his jaw. 

“I didn’t think you had such a problem seeing people you worked with,” He says pointedly. 

“Excuse me?” 

“It’s just that,” He shrugs, nodding towards you, “I didn’t think it bothered you. Considering.”

“Listen,” You lock eyes with him, “let it go. I’m trying to be nice about this, but I can be clearer. I am not interested in going out with you.” 

“You don’t have to be rude,” 

“Goodnight, Minseok,” You’re not staying for this. 

“I’m a good guy,” He says as you start towards the door, “don’t, come on just stay a second,” 

You keep walking. 

“y/n,” He says, his voice startlingly close behind you, “stay.” 

It’s like your legs stop working, an echoing strike of nerves down your spine and you stumble slightly as his hand closes around your wrist. 

“Let go of me.” You start to turn towards him, pulling your arm back as you do, but he speaks again. 

“Stop.” His voice is so low suddenly, situated smack in the center of his chest, a tenor you’ve never heard from him before. Your legs stop working all together, suddenly feeling like lead.

“Take your hands off me.” You blink hard, your head feeling a little full suddenly. 

“I just don’t understand,” He bites, “we’ve been flirting for weeks.” 

You can’t find the words to tell him that you being nice isn't flirting, but you’re stunned into silence. You can barely even think of a time when you had a sustained conversation with him where someone else wasn’t present. How could interactions that felt so routine to you feel so significant for him? 

“And you’re just… not interested?” He scoffs, “You’re what, twenty-six? Twenty-seven? You’re going to start running out of good offers.” 

So many things about Seo Minseok fall into place with just those words. The way that just a few weeks ago he barely looked at you, barely spoke to you. Always spending his attention on the alphas in the room around you, but never you. How when that tide shifted you thought, maybe naively, that he was just shy. But he’s not shy, not in the least. He’s just another alpha in a long line of alphas who look down their noses at omegas until there’s something they want from them. 

“That’s really none of your concern,” You shake your head, “now get the fuck off me.” 

“Be quiet.” His jaw sets hard. 

So does yours. 

A thousand thoughts run through your brain like a wildfire eating up a hillside of dry bark but nothing can make it past your lips. The tone of his voice has you rooted to the spot, his instructions not suggestions but strict commands. It’s been a long time since you’ve heard an alpha use tone, but it’s certainly the first time it’s been directed at you. You’ve heard stories, the way the primal omega brain surfaces even when you don’t want it to. You thought it was a bit of an overstatement, but now on the receiving end you can’t control your response to him and fear floods you. 

“You talk a lot for an unmated omega,” He looks disappointed. 

Something shrinks inside you. 

His fingers tighten, his body suddenly closer, “But we can fix that.” 

In a breath his hands push you backwards, your back suddenly cold against the mirrored wall of the practice room. Later, much later, you’ll discover that the reason your memory of this moment is patchy is a combination of your omega’s response to alpha tone and full dissociation. You’ll remember little pieces, quick sensations here and there. The same song still looping through the stereo, the sound of his deep inhale with his face pressed against your throat, the sharp pin pricks of his teeth as he seeks out the soft juncture of your neck and shoulder. The way your mind in one heaving breath both screams in rebellion and folds open in acceptance when he successfully locates your gland. 

You suddenly can’t hear right, can’t think right. All you know is his teeth. The hot feeling of breath. He smells like burnt, bitter oranges. He’s talking again, saying something that your conscious mind can’t register, but your omega does, and you stretch your neck long to give him the access he needs. 

And then you’re under. 

You’re dropping before you consciously register your brain entering a new, hazy middle space. It feels like being at the bottom of a deep pool, the sudden, immersive quiet. You understand that someone is talking to you, or around you, but all you can hear is the echoing tenor of an alpha, the words unclear, all cocooned in the water around you. 

There’s a bang somewhere but it feels far away, and you feel pin pricks against your throat. 

Minseok’s overwhelming acrid scent and heavy pressure against you is gone, the sudden loss of his weight leaving you off balance. You think you’re falling, or maybe you’ve already fallen. The world feels tilted, something hard and cold under your back. You smell something sharp and tangy, and there’s something loud in the room but you can’t understand it. Everything is white, bright and intrusive. 

Mingi’s face swims into your vision, and you feel his hands on your cheeks. It takes you a minute to understand anything, but he looks upset, stricken and his cheeks are tinged pink with panicked anger. You want to reach up, soothe his brow and see what’s wrong, but you can’t lift your hand. Don’t move an inch. 

“Jesus,” Mingi glances to his side, “he put her in subspace,” 

Someone responds, but it’s muffled to your ears. 

Mingi’s face darkens entirely, his hands leave you, “I’ll fucking kill him,” 

He’s gone. There’s a scuffle to your side, but you can’t turn your head, you want to, you just can’t. Tears bubble in your eyes, emotion pulsing through you and your breath is tight and thready in your throat. A sharp, whining sob bubbles from your lips. 

Warm rain swims through you, and Yunho’s there, sliding right into the spot Mingi left. His eyes dart over your face and then he looks to his side, his voice firm, “Calm down or get out of here, do you understand me? You’re scaring her,” 

There’s a long beat, noises to your side again but you can’t understand it. Your stomach flips nervously, the place you’re stuck in your head throbbing a sharp spike through your brain. 

Yunho’s warm, brown eyes settle back on yours, his face calm and easy, “Can you hear me, y/n?” 

You can, but you can’t make your mouth work. Don’t move an inch. 

“Can you hear me? y/n?” He asks again, his thumb brushing your cheek, “You’re safe, he’s not going to touch you again,” 

The hard feeling of Minseok’s hands on your hips pushing you into the practice room mirror snaps inside you and you release a soft sound. 

“You can hear me,” Yunho nods, “come on, wake up,” 

“Yunho,” Mingi’s voice is close again, hard and steady, “that’s not going to work,” 

“Why?” Yunho looks up to his friend, “she can hear me, she’s okay,” 

“She’s in subspace,” Mingi pushes his friend to the side, coming into your eye line, “she’s dropped so far under it’s going to take more than that,” 

“W-what do we do?” Yunho’s voice is shaky. 

“Let me try something,” Mingi murmurs, and then his eyes lock squarely on yours. 

Yunho slips his hand into yours, holding you tightly, but you can’t squeeze him back. 

“Omega,” Mingi’s voice is firm, and it’s the clearest thing you’ve heard since sinking under the water, “Come up now.” 

Don’t move an inch.

“You need to come up now,” His fingers tighten on your cheek, “listen to me.” 

Don’t move an inch. 

“Why isn’t this working?” Yunho asks, squeezing your fingers. 

“I’m not sure,” Mingi’s voice is low, and then he shifts closer to your face, “y/n. Omega. Listen to me now,” 

All you can do is manage to make a quiet, tight noise, and even to your muddled brain you can hear the tenor of distress. 

“Come up now,” Mingi repeats, “right now. Listen to me, omega.” 

You’re being torn in two, your primal brain fighting you every step of the way. 

He swallows hard, his voice dropping low in his chest, “Don’t disobey your alpha,”

Suddenly nothing but his voice exists. 

Mingi’s expression is cold, tight and ruthless, his rich tone cuts straight to your core, “When you’re given a directive, you follow it. Now,” He locks his hands on either side of your face and his next words are a pointed and perfectly clear command, “Come. Up.”  

The room is so much louder than you thought a moment ago. There’s shouting outside and you vaguely register San’s voice amongst the mix. The music from practice is still on low. Yunho’s leg is bouncing nervously, the athletic fabric making a rhythmic swish with every bob of his knee. You can hear your blood rushing in your ears. 

“I’m sorry,” You choke out, the first feeling that floods back into your body is intense shame.

“Oh my god,” Mingi’s expression crumbles and he pulls your limp body into his arms “you’re here? You’re with us?”

“M-Mingi,” Your vision clouds with tears again and every feeling that tried to course through your body while you were in subdrop crashes into you sideways.

“Shh,” He rocks you in his arms, “we’ve got you, we’re right here, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,”

A dull throb radiates through your skull and Yunho takes a sharp inhale, “She’s bleeding,”

“What?” Mingi pulls back, his hand searching your body.

“Here,” Yunho brushes the back of your hair, his fingers coming away with a small line of blood, “it’s not too bad,”

“What happened?” You reach for the cut at the back of your head, nervous tears coming up as you try to understand.

“You don’t remember?” Yunho asks.

“I’m,” You swallow hard, “it was practice? Or I was practicing? I had the room booked.”

“Yeah,” Yunho nods and squeezes your hand, “what else?”

The date. The hard set of Minseok’s jaw when you said no. His hands on your hips, his lips on your neck, the soft drag of his teeth and the flat of his tongue over your gland. Your shirt tearing when he hauled you up against the mirrors. Hands everywhere. Hands nowhere. The white ceiling. His voice, harsh and direct in your ears, the alpha tone unmistakable. Submit. Heel. Don’t move an inch. 

Your mouth is suddenly hot and watery, and your hands are shaking, “I’m… I’m going to be sick,”

“Shit,” Yunho moves fast, sliding across the floor to grab the wastebasket that sits under the desk, pushing it into your hands. 

You wretch instantly, shaking and heaving, losing the contents of your stomach into the plastic bin. 

“Okay,” Mingi soothes, gathering up your hair into one hand and holding it away from your face, “you’re okay,”

“He touched me,” Your hands won’t stop shaking, his voice flooding back, and you heave again, “the things he said,”

“Shh,” Yunho shifts closer, rubbing a hand up and down your back, “you’re safe. None of that is true,” 

“He talked to me like a dog,” You sob, “and I couldn’t move, he told me not to move and I just let him,”

“No.” Mingi’s voice is harsh and you twitch under his hands, “He used alpha tone on you, he wanted you to stop fighting and he said it in tone until you couldn’t hear anything else. You didn’t let him do anything,” 

“I’ve never,” You wretch again, a dry heave with nothing to give and it makes your eyes watery. 

“We’re right here,” Yunho murmurs, “you’re safe.”

When you’re sure your stomach will hold, you push the wastebasket away and drop back to the floor, your head throbbing, “I’ve never been in subspace,”

“You’re not there now,” Mingi soothes.

“I don’t remember,” You manage, looking down at your mussed clothes, “it’s so muddled I can’t remember,”

“What can’t you remember?” Yunho asks softly.

You’re pretty sure you’d register it if his attempt at claiming had been successful, if the word attempt should even be in consideration at all, but the end is so fuzzy you just have to know. “Did he… did we?”

“No.” Yunho’s firm, sliding in front of you so he can make you look into his eyes, “absolutely not,”

Your mouth tastes terrible, but it’s the overwhelming bitter smell of him on you that doubles it and makes you want to throw up again even though your stomach is empty. 

“All I can smell is him,” You scrub your hands under your eyes to wipe away tears, “I can’t even breathe,”

“Take her,” Mingi says, “I’m getting water,”

Yunho pulls you into his arms, sitting back against the mirrored wall for some support and cradling you to his chest, “Come here, is this okay?” 

“Make it go away,” You hold onto his shirt and sigh into his neck, “please, Yunho, please,”

“Just breathe,” He soothes you, “I have you,” 

He smooths his thumbs over the glands in your wrists, easing the initial panic inside you, and then gently draws your head back with his hand, “It’s only me,” He murmurs, “you know I’d never hurt you,” 

Yunho licks a long stripe up your neck, and instantly your body starts to release, tense muscles unlocking and your fingers falling slack. His scent washes over you, enveloping you tenderly. 

“Y-Yunho,” you shudder as he licks another long stripe, moving to suck softly on the fleshy part of your neck that narrowly avoided teeth marks.

“Yes?” He kisses your neck softly, and licks again. 

“Thank you for coming for me,” You exhale slowly.

He stills, sinking closer and resting his closed lips on your shoulder. When he breathes in you hear the catch of emotion, “I thought we were too late,”

“I’m okay,” You murmur, and it’s starting to feel true now that he’s washing away Minseok’s scent.

“God,” He sighs into your skin, “when I heard you scream… I’ve never heard anything that terrifying in my life, I’ve never run so fast,”

“Did I scream?” You don’t remember it.

“Bloody murder,” He nods, pulling back to look at your eyes.

“Yunho,” Your eyes flick up towards the open door of the practice studio, “where is he?”

His hands tighten on you, “Probably nursing his broken ribs. The guys have him,”

Your eyes widen, and the realization that he’s still under the same roof has you trembling in his arms, “He’s still here,”

“Not for long,” He murmurs, “we called the police,”

“But,” Your mind is spinning and you feel the weight of him on your chest once more, “what if he comes back?”

“y/n,” Yunho draws your eyes away from the door, “San and Seonghwa have him, and he’s in rough shape. He’s probably focused on trying to breathe, not thinking about you anymore. And even if none of that were true and he did come back,” he says, “I’d put him on the floor faster than you could blink. Mingi and I both would.”

Your muscles start to relax again, “Okay,”

“You are completely safe,”

Mingi reappears a few moments later, bottles of water in hand, and he smiles warmly, “Hey, you,”

“Hey,”

“Feeling a little better?” He asks, settling on the hard practice room floor and passing you an open bottle.

“I don’t know,” You murmur honestly, shifting in Yunho’s arms so that you’re resting on his lap with your back against his chest. You take a long drink of water and sigh. 

“Listen,” Mingi smooths a hand across your thigh, “the police are going to want to talk to you. They’ll be here within the hour and then we’ll go to the hospital.”

“Why?” You tense.

“Your head,” He nods.

“It’s stopped bleeding,” Yunho assures you, “but he’s right, you could have a concussion.”

“I don’t have a concussion,”

“I didn’t realize you had a medical degree,” Mingi says, a little edge to his voice.

Hot tears well in your eyes at his tone, and you shrink back into Yunho’s arms. You know rationally he didn’t mean to scare you, he’s just worried about you, but after the day you’ve had you can’t help but shrink back in fear.  

“Hey,” Yunho presses his lips to your neck, “it’s alright, Mingi didn’t mean it like that”

Mingi’s eyes blow wide, “Fuck, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything,”

“I know,” You tip your head to the side to offer more of your throat to Yunho’s soothing touches, “I’m just not myself,”

“It’s okay,” Yunho says again, returning to your neck and peppering kisses across your gland, and something about this should feel intimate and awkward when you haven’t talked to them yet, but all you can feel is safe.

“Really,” Mingi reaches for you, but doesn’t touch you, “I just want you to let us help, and I’m so angry with Minseok I could kill him, but I didn’t mean to put that on you,”

“Mingi,” You take his outstretched hand, “I’m okay, you just startled me, and you’re right anyways. I’ll come to the hospital,”

He sighs in relief.

“After,” Yunho murmurs, “would you - I mean, will you please come home with us tonight?”

It’s strange how much you feel like it is home, despite only spending your heat there, months ago, so long ago now you shouldn’t still feel this preternatural pull. 

“I don’t know,” You say, even though your body is begging you to agree, to stay with them and only them. 

“I know it’s been different between us,” He murmurs, arms tightening around you, “but you know how I feel. I just don’t want you to be alone tonight, someone should be with you,” 

“Someone you feel safe with,” Mingi adds, “if that’s us,” 

“It is,” You lock your hand down on Mingi’s, “I’m sorry, this is… of course you’re safe, of course you are. I’m just,” 

“Let’s talk about this later,” Mingi smiles, shooting a look at Yunho you can’t quite make sense of, but brushing your fears to the side all the same, “for now, let’s just get you taken care of.” 

You shudder out a breath, letting the warmth and safety of their bodies sink into you. You turn into Yunho, resting your cheek on his chest and matching your breath in time to his. Your thoughts spin, bubbling over as threads of the incident come back to your mind and you press your eyes closed before the question slips out, “Why did he do it?” 

Yunho wraps his arms around you a little tighter, dropping his lips to your hair, “I don’t know,” 

Mingi clears his throat, “He’s about to hit his rut,” he says, “that’s what his excuse was. He said he’s… he kept saying how sorry he was, but,” 

Your eyes snap open, “Sorry? He’s sorry?” 

“Sorry someone interrupted him, maybe,” Mingi’s voice is hard, his eyes firm and unrelenting, “a rut doesn’t make you do that. Not like that.” 

Yunho shakes his head in agreement, “Definitely not,” 

You know that, of course you know it, but after seeing Minseok’s black eyes you’re not so sure. You had never felt completely comfortable with him, but in the past you would have chalked that up to personality differences, and in the past few weeks that had all started to change. He was the kind of guy you wouldn’t date, but you wouldn’t worry about bothering you. 

You sigh softly, “He didn’t seem like himself,” 

“Mm,” Mingi hums, non-committal. 

“A rut doesn’t make it impossible to hear the word no,” Yunho says firmly, “you don’t become some mindless animal. What he tried to do… that’s… a rut’s an easy excuse.” 

You tense up in his arms, a brief flicker of what could have been. His teeth in your neck, your mind spinning into submission. 

“Yunho,” Mingi shakes his head at his best friend, glancing down at you to indicate that it’s not something you can hear right now. 

“I’m sorry,” Yunho soothes, holding you closer if it’s at all possible. 

Your chest tightens, “Can I… I need to get up,” 

His arms relax immediately, hands shifting under your elbows to help support you while Mingi jumps up and offers you his hands to pull you up. Back on your own two feet you waver a minute, but you shake off the dizzy spell and try to get your bearings again. They're waiting on a razor’s edge, hands out and ready to intervene, but you’ve made it clear that for the moment you don’t want to be touched. 

A shout from the hall leaves you jumping, but you register Wooyoung’s voice a moment later, “Where is she?” 

“The studio,” San’s voice replies, “slow down,” 

“Is he in the back office? Give me a fucking minute alone with him,” Wooyoung’s voice is murderous and you smile at how ready your best friend sounds to do battle on your behalf, “I’ll show him what an omega can fucking do,” 

“Youngie,” San’s voice is even and warm, keeping things soft, “you need to calm down,” 

“Calm down,” He scoffs, his voice getting closer as he travels down the hall and you know he’s almost at the door. 

“I hardly think y/n needs,” San starts to say, but then they round the corner. 

Wooyoung’s eyes are wild, searching and terrified, and something inside you shatters. San’s words die on his lips when he sees you, and in a startling moment of clarity you rush forwards and into Wooyoung’s arms. 

“Shh, shh,” He wraps you up tight, one hand at the back of your head as he rocks you back and forth, “you’re safe, you’re in one piece,” 

“Woo,” Tears come fast, and you bury your face in his chest. 

“Stupid fucking alphas,” He curses into your shoulder and you can hear his breath hitched and clouded with tears of his own, “acting like they can take whatever they want,” 

You’re sure the rest of the room is bristling at that comment but you couldn’t care less. 

“You want me to break the rest of his ribs?” He kisses your head, “I’ll make it look like a fucking accident, I swear to God,” 

“Woo,” You laugh into his chest, vision blurry with unshed tears, “stop, that’s insane,” 

“I am nothing if not a little insane,” Wooyoung squeezes you, “and you and me? We protect each other, right?” 

“Always,” You grip the back of his shirt like a lifeline. 

The bond between omegas can’t be understood by a single other person in the room, maybe even in the building. You cling to each other in the middle of the studio floor, encased in this moment of shared grief. Of what you are and what that means. He shifts you in his arms so he can look at your face, cupping your tear stained cheeks. 

The sight of his own tears makes yours come faster, “What did I do?” 

His expression hardens and he shakes his head, sucking in a harsh breath, “Nothing, not a single fucking thing. Do you hear me?” 

“Woo,” You want him to let you go. You want him to tug you close again. 

He shakes your shoulders hard, and in your periphery you see Mingi take a half step forward as Wooyoung pushes back on your words, “You didn’t do anything. You’re existing, and he tried to take advantage of that. This isn’t your fault, there’s nothing you could have or should have done.” 

You open your mouth to say something but he plows forward. 

“Alphas take, alright?” He shakes you again, more gently this time, “We’re lucky. You and me, we found good ones, but alphas are programmed to take, and we’re programmed to give. He used it against you. Nothing else.”

Your breath hitches, and you launch yourself at him, wrapping your arms around his neck and letting him cradle you again. 

“Shh, shh,” He rubs your back, soothing you again. 

“I hate this,” You manage, your face buried in his shoulder. 

“I know,” He eases you, “I fucking hate it too,” 

You hold each other a little longer until both of your tears start to subside. You stay steady in his grip, his fresh salt and cotton scent lulling you into safety. The buzzing of your brain starts to release, and the fear is still there under your skin but at least for now it’s low and letting you breathe. 

Nuzzling into his shoulder you sigh, “What are you doing back here anyways?” 

“San called,” He kisses your hair, “I broke several laws getting here,” 

You laugh against his collarbone where his oversized t-shirt is pulled down, no doubt from the way your hands grip whatever part of him you can. 

He rubs a warm hand up and down your back and when he speaks again it’s not to you, this time he addresses the alphas in the room. He clears his throat softly, head lifting up and away from yours, “So, who busted his nose?” 

“Uh,” Yunho makes a small sound behind you, “that would be me,” 

“Good,” Wooyoung says, “when she stops crying I’m giving you a handshake,” 

You smile against his damp skin and shake your head, “I’m not crying, I’m fine,” 

“Sure,” Wooyoung murmurs, but he doesn’t let you go, just strokes your back more until you settle further into him. 

“The police will be here soon,” San murmurs, his voice staying relaxed and steady to make sure everything stays level in the room. 

“Right,” Wooyoung sighs, “y/n, can I let you go? I don't have to if you’re not ready,” 

You nod immediately though, unwinding your arms from him and taking a ginger step back. He gives you a soft smile, and you scrub the last of the tears from your face with the sleeves of your sweatshirt. He gives you a minute to stand steady and then turns to Yunho and Mingi who both look frozen and unsure of what to do or what to say. 

“You both got him off her?” He says, matter of fact. 

“Yeah,” Mingi’s voice is tight, like he had been choking back tears of his own, and Yunho simply nods. 

“Thank you,” Wooyoung tugs Mingi into a hug and squeezes him tight before shifting to Yunho to hug him too, “seriously,” 

Once they break apart, you’re left all in a haphazard circle, and you can feel all the eyes on you. It makes you so tired, dizzy, ready to be done and just crawl under a blanket for the rest of the week. In the back of your throat you still taste bitter orange. 

“Um,” Your voice comes out a little more scratchy than you want, and you clear your throat, letting everything fade. 

“What is it?” Yunho asks gently. 

You don’t know how to ask this, how to beg them to keep holding you together so you can just get through existing in this room. You sigh, the deep exhale making you dizzy again, and step towards him, “C-can I,” 

He opens his arms immediately, letting you close the space so he doesn’t assume your needs, but as you collide with him again he responds perfectly, scooping you up into his arms and letting you wrap your legs around his waist. He supports you with ease, an arm under your thighs and another situated high on your back. 

“Better?” He murmurs, smiling a little as you bury your head in his neck. 

You nod into his neck, and then you allow yourself one tiny moment of weakness, listening to your body and what it needs for once over your anxiety. You mumble it into his neck, but he hears you when you say, “Yunho?” 

“Yeah, baby?” His voice is so soft, quiet like he’s afraid of what you might say. 

You don’t miss the way Wooyoung’s eyebrows go high at the endearment, but you ignore him and focus instead on the man holding you up, together, in one solid piece. You lift your head so he hears you clearly, “Will you please take me home?” 

He goes still and turns his head just a little, “Your apartment or,” 

“Take me home with you,” You repeat, “I want to go home,” 

This will surely just make everything more muddled and foggy between the three of you tomorrow in the cold light of day, but you don’t care. Right now you just want to be home, in whatever form that means. 

He exhales low and shaky, “Alright,” he murmurs, kissing your throat softly to help calm your trembling, “I’ve got you, let’s go home,” 

A warm wide palm rests on the center of your back, and Mingi leans in close to catch your eyes, “y/n, can you look at me a second?” 

You pull your head up from the crook of Yunho’s neck where you’ve just been taking deep steady inhales of wet earth and meet his eyes. 

“Hey,” He smiles. 

Your eyes dart between him and Wooyoung, who seems suddenly ancy. “What?” You straighten up a little more in Yunho’s arms. 

“You can go wherever you want,” He starts off, “but do you want us to take you home, or would you feel more comfortable with Wooyoung? Or… Seonghwa, if… if that would be better for how you’re feeling,” 

Yunho tenses a little, his fingers tightening where he holds you, and you can feel him physically holding himself back from saying a single word, from begging you to come with them. 

You’ve made up your mind though, and within a second you’re shaking your head, “No, I want you,” 

Yunho relaxes, his lips returning to your throat and you sigh. 

“Then you have us,” Mingi assures you. 

The sound of the elevators in the hall stop you all cold though, and San holds up his hands, “I’ll go see, it’s probably the police,” 

The idea of talking to them suddenly makes you sick, and you’re sure it shows all over your face. 

“It’s going to be fine,” Wooyoung jumps back in, “don’t worry, we’ll be there the whole time.” 

You need this to be done. You grip down on Yunho’s shoulders, “I want to go home,” 

“I know,” Mingi nods. 

“Y-Yunho,” You’re scrambling a little in his arms, sudden panic swirling in your gut, and you twist to find his eyes, “please, get me out of here, please take me home,” 

You feel it the minute he chooses you over anything else, “Okay, alright,” 

“You need to talk to the cops,” Wooyoung shakes his head, trying to reason with you. 

You’re trembling in Yunho’s arms and he shakes his head, “She needs to go,” 

Mingi senses your heightened emotions too and you feel it when he moves closer, both of them shifting to protect you, “She can do this later,” 

“I don’t know that that’s such a good idea,” Wooyoung insists. 

“I couldn’t give a fuck,” Yunho grips you tighter, “we’re taking our girl home,” 

“Your-” Wooyoung scoffs when he hears the words, “fucking alphas,” 

“Who she wants to take her home,” Mingi points out, a distinct edge to his voice. 

“Stop arguing,” You beg them, hanging onto Yunho’s shoulders, “please, please,” 

“Fuck,” Yunho relaxes, stroking your back, “I’m sorry, of course we won’t, I’m sorry,” 

Mingi brushes his hand over the back of your head and Wooyoung gives you an apologetic face, his defensiveness over you is understandable, but he also knows how you feel about these men and you watch him choose to hold his tongue. 

A knock on the door brings you all back to the present, San handling the situation with more grace than any of you combined, “The police said that they can speak with you at the hospital and make it brief.” 

You exhale heavily and nod against Yunho, “Okay, fine,” 

“Are you sure?” Mingi strokes your cheek. 

“I just want to be done,” 

“Should we stay with you?” Yunho murmurs. 

“Please,” You grip his shoulders. 

“Alright,” He sighs, “Woo, could you… I’m sorry, can you grab her things? Let’s just try to make this quick for her,” 

Wooyoung clears his throat, his eyes never leaving yours, “Yeah, I got it,” 

“Uh,” San interrupts as you all try to gather your things, “Yunho, they want to talk to you first, they’re waiting in the back office,” 

“Oh,” 

“They have some questions,” San explains quietly, “but she she doesn’t need to be there for that,” 

“Right,” Yunho nods and then presses a kiss to your hair, “can I put you down, sweetheart?” 

Your chest warms. 

“No, here,” Mingi cuts in, his hand sweeping over your back and you feel them shift you from Yunho’s arms to his, “come here,” 

He settles you against his chest and you wrap around him just the same, soaking in the warm scent of cocoa and cinnamon. You let your eyes drift shut as you rest on his shoulder, “Hey, Mingi,” 

“Hey,” He says softly. 

“Thank you,” You sigh. 

“Mhm,” He rocks you a little as he takes your bags from Wooyoung and slings them over his shoulder, the combined weight of it and you not fazing him at all, “I told you once I’ll always be here, I meant it,” 

“I believe you,” You murmur into his throat. 

You rest here, Mingi’s thumb rubbing a comforting line over the back of your neck. 

“Time to go,” Wooyoung’s voice pipes back in, “there’s a car ready, Yunho will be there in a a few minutes,” 

“Alright,” Mingi presses a soft kiss to your hair, “here we go,” 

He carries you with ease, and you sink into the steady thump of his heart under your palm that’s keeping you grounded. Over his shoulder you watch Wooyoung walking with you and you see police officers down the hall. The door to the back office swings open and Yunho is leaning against the desk as he speaks with an officer. Seonghwa sits in a chair next to him, his head in his hands, blood coating his knuckles and the sleeves of his shirt. Something pulls in your gut, begging you to go to him, but then you’re outside and all you can feel is Mingi holding you as he ferries you into the car. 

“Do you need anything?” He asks as he settles you into the passenger seat 

“I don’t know,” You tell him honestly, letting your head drop back against the seat and taking a deep breath, eyes slipping closed. 

“Don’t fall asleep,” Wooyoung jumps forward, “keep your eyes open,” 

“I’m fine,” You tell him, but you still do what he asks. 

“Just in case,” Wooyoung presses, “you shouldn’t fuck with head injuries,” 

“He’s right,” Mingi murmurs, crouching next to you just outside the car, “and I’m sure you’re fine, but let’s just be sure, okay?” 

“Okay,” 

  A noise just past the two of them makes you jump. 

“It’s just Sannie,” Wooyoung assures you. 

You nod and Mingi takes your hand in his, lacing your fingers together. 

“Yunho’s almost done,” San announces, but he hurries to the car and leans in to check you, “doing okay?” 

“Yeah,” 

“Can you do something for me?” He cups your cheek to bring your eyes up to his. 

“Mhm,” You nod again. 

“I need you to just focus on us for a minute,” He moves to crouch next to Mingi, and then Wooyoung steps closer too, blocking out some of your peripheral vision. 

“Why?” You fight the urge to turn around. 

Red and blue lights flash in the car mirrors and you reflexively glance up at the rear view mirror, catching sight of an ambulance, and tension fills your stomach. 

San reaches up and catches your face again, “Hey, look at me,” 

You pull your eyes away, “Are they here for him?” 

“Yes,” San nods.

“Is he badly hurt?” Your mouth feels dry. 

There’s a pause and then Wooyoung sighs, “Don’t lie to her,” 

Mingi clears his throat softly, “He’s pretty busted up,” 

“Good,” You breathe. 

San smiles, taking your other hand in his and smoothing his thumb over your knuckles. The sound of the doors catches your attention again, and you resist the urge to turn around once again. San shakes his head a little, “Just keep looking at us,” 

“He really picked the wrong person to fuck with,” Wooyoung says, his hand resting warmly on your shoulder. 

An image of Seonghwa and his bloody knuckles flashes through your mind and your breath quickens, “Is Hwa okay?” 

Mingi’s brows draw together. 

“He’s fine,” San assures you immediately. 

“I saw blood,” You can’t articulate it exactly, the image is just static in your mind. 

“It’s not his blood,” San promises, “we’re all fine, Seonghwa is fine,” 

The sound of the ambulance doors swinging shut makes you jump. 

“Shh,” Mingi squeezes your hand, “you’re safe, you’re with me,” 

Everything in your body feels tense and stretched thin, but Mingi’s hand is solid in yours and you grip down on it, letting it tether you. 

You listen as the ambulance pulls away, your muscles unclenching one by one as the sound of the vehicle fades. 

“Woo,” You manage, “can you check on Hwa for me? And text me?” 

“Yeah,” He assures you, “I got you,” 

“Take a deep breath,” Mingi instructs you, “please, for me,” 

You take a long inhale and meet his eyes and he nods as you let the breath out low and slow through your nose. 

“Again, please,” He nods. 

You breathe again, the same steady pace, “I’m tired,” 

“It’s the adrenaline wearing off,” Mingi tells you, “but as soon as a doctor says you can sleep, you can rest,” 

“Okay,” You nod. 

San’s hand disconnects from yours and he starts to stand, “Yunho’s done,” 

You twist in your seat to see him, Wooyoung stepping out of the way, and you can see Yunho jogging towards the car, “Everything okay?” 

“Mhm,” Mingi keeps himself calm for you. 

“That took forever,” He says, “I’m sorry,” 

“It didn’t,” You shake your head, “don’t be sorry,” 

“You should go,” Wooyoung interrupts, “get her looked at,” 

You find your best friend’s eyes, “You’ll text me?” 

“Of course I will,” He nods, “but right now just focus on yourself. We’re all okay,” 

You nod, and your eyes feel heavy again already. You know they’ll be trying to keep you awake in the car at this rate. 

“Let’s go,” Mingi nods, “can I have my hand back for a minute?” He smiles at you. 

“Sorry,” You drop his hand, almost embarrassed at the way you’re clinging to him. 

“Go,” San ushers Yunho towards the driver’s side, “if you need anything, we’re here,” 

Before you know it everyone’s moving and your car door is shut. Yunho slides into the driver’s seat to your left and Mingi moves into the backseat behind you. 

You meet Wooyoung’s eyes through the window and he rests a hand over his chest. He mouths a simple message - I love you, okay?

You nod and the car starts to move, but you know he knows you love him too. 

Mingi shifts forwards in his seat as Yunho starts to drive, and his long arm reaches around to find your hand again. He laces your fingers together once and this time he doesn’t let go. 

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Later that night, the warm, rich scent of their apartment almost takes you out at the knees when you finally cross the threshold, so overwhelmingly comforting and enveloping that you want nothing more than to bury yourself inside the feeling for days. Mingi nearly runs into your back when you stop short in the entryway and Yunho’s watching you carefully as he hangs up your jackets. 

“What?” Mingi nudges you gently. 

There’s a million things to say. Things left unsaid after your last conversation, that fight you wish you could forget. The letter. All the things you were planning on confessing Saturday. The way you want so badly to erase today and just be with them. Every ounce of their soothing physicality after Minseok brings all your emotions up tenfold. Their tenderness almost chokes you. All the things you want to say are stuck in your throat. You need to get your head on straight. You need sleep. 

“Hey,” Yunho waves a hand in front of your dazed expression, “are you alright?” 

Not really. The hospital was long and awkward, seeing a glimpse of Minseok’s name on a hospital room door even worse, and the police had so many questions that all sounded fairly judgemental. Not to mention the probing questions from the hospital staff about your cycle and if you’re close to pre-heat. As if that matters at all. You settle for something a little less dire though, “I’m fine, sorry, it’s just been a while,” 

Yunho’s ears darken to a deep shade of pink and he nods. 

“You can sleep in my room,” Mingi offers, “like before. We can stay or not stay, it’s up to you.” 

“I’d like to be alone,” You tell them, “if that’s alright,” 

“Of course,” Mingi smooths a hand down your arm, “whatever you want.” 

“Um,” You sigh heavily, “honestly I’m exhausted. I think I might just shower and sleep as long as you don’t mind,” 

Yunho shakes his head, gesturing towards the hall, “Not at all, just… call if you need anything,” 

You start back towards the bathroom, your eyes down and away from them, but Mingi calls out, “You remember where everything is?” 

There’s no way you could forget, and you call back that you’re fine. You got it. You just need to be alone, alone is good, alone feels safe. 

In the shower you scrub your skin raw, spending extra time and attention on your glands even though it makes your skin there puffy and red, pinpricks of blood at the surface of your skin and lilac bruises surrounding every edge. It doesn’t matter how comforting their scents are, nothing is taking away the deep intent of Minseok’s mouth on your neck - and the bitter, burnt citrus smell takes ages to wash away. By the time you finish, you’re about ready to collapse. 

Mingi leaves you clothes again, folded neatly on his bed and ready for you. They’re nowhere to be seen, taking your plea for time alone seriously. He’s laid out a clean pair of sleep pants and a t-shirt, both fresh from the wash. The hoodie you had stolen during your heat lies next to it, and it’s a kind gesture, but suddenly you don’t want it. You want nothing. 

You toss the hoodie to the side and start to climb into the bed, but that smells so heavily of cinnamon spice that you can’t think straight. You had just gotten used to blissfully smelling nothing after your shower, and so you strip the bed entirely, discarding all of the pillows and blankets and sheets into the farthest corner of the room. 

The mattress is bare now, but once you turn the circulating fan off you fix the issue of the cold and his scent washing over you every time you try to close your eyes. You can still sense him, sense them, somewhere in the background, but here on the stripped bed in sterilized clothes with your skin rubbed raw, you can rest. 

You drift into sleep this way, your head clear. 

It doesn’t stay that way for long. 

You’re not sure how long you’re asleep before you wake in abject terror, but it must be at least a couple of hours with the sky outside pitch dark and the apartment completely quiet around you. It’s obvious you’re the only one awake, but your brain can’t quite process it right. All you feel is shaking fear and the echo of hands pressing you into the wall, fingers in your hair yanking your head to the side, teeth grazing against your throat. 

You scramble back, only to find the edge of the bed and you collapse off of it, ending up on the wood floor with your head spinning, Mingi’s bedside table lamp crashing down after you, a harsh flash of light pulsing through the room as the bulb breaks and gives one final dying flicker. 

The pleading whine that’s caught in your throat sounds like a trapped animal to your ears, the pounding of your heart threatening to break your chest, blood rushing through your ears like a train. You can’t grasp reality, everything feels hazy and disconnected. 

The door to your right bangs open, Yunho bleary and confused, but responding to your heightened state of fear within a moment. “Mingi!” He calls over his shoulder, “Mingi, get up right now,” 

There’s a faraway faint noise from the other room. 

Yunho skids to your side, careful not to touch you as he tries to meet your eyes in the dark, “Sweetheart, it’s just a nightmare.” 

Part of you knows that you’re awake, safe and home, and not trapped in subspace with a threatening hand in your hair, but you can’t quite grip back to reality. You stutter out a reply, “I-I can’t breathe,” 

“Mingi,” Yunho calls back over his shoulder again, “right now!”

“Please,” you whimper, part of your brain still lodged in the nightmare, “I can’t breathe,” Your hands cling onto the edge of the rug.

Mingi stumbles into the room now, half asleep but forced into consciousness and he’s shaking himself, catching up quickly, “What’s going on?” 

You hear him, but your body is stuck remembering and you feel like there’s a weight on your chest, pressing you down harder, “I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe,” you stutter. 

“Sweetheart,” Yunho comes closer now, his body curling around you carefully with his face directly at your side, “it’s a nightmare, you’re safe.” His arms loop around you gently, but stay open in case you need to move.

“I can’t,” you shake your head, images swimming before you. 

“You’re not there,” he tells you, “we’re home, you’re with us, me and Mingi,” 

You wheeze, trying to regulate your breath. 

“Get a light,” Yunho pleads suddenly to the dark room, and you can hear scrambling, “she can’t see where she is, get a light on.” 

Mingi trips over the discarded lamp on the floor, and fumbles back to the lightswitch on the wall near the door, searching for it with his hands but reluctant to tear his eyes away from you. Suddenly the room floods with the overhead light, a stark fluorescent glow, and the black spots across your vision start to clear.

“I have you, I have you,” Yunho repeats, holding you to him. 

Your hand searches blindly for Mingi on the other side of you and he collapses next to you both, taking your hand and moving in to cradle you from the opposite side, “Baby,” he murmurs, “look around, look where you are,” 

Yunho’s hand on your thigh grounds you, and then Mingi softly touches your jaw to draw your gaze to him, “Look at me,” 

Your eyes flick up. He looks tired, exhausted even, his hair a wayward haystack. You blink hard, “What happened to you?” 

“To me?” Mingi’s brow furrows and he glances up past you to Yunho. 

“You need sleep,” You manage. 

Mingi laughs sharply and cups your cheeks, “I’ll sleep later. Can you tell me where you are?” 

“Your place,” You manage, and you feel the nightmare receding back into your mind inch by precious inch, your breath steadying out. 

“Yeah,” He sighs, “Yeah, that’s right,” 

“I’m home with you,” You repeat, your fingers sinking into the plush rug beneath you. 

Yunho swallows hard, fixated on the way you’ve called their apartment home, not their home, for the third time tonight. You watch the flicker of recognition in his eyes, but he lets it pass and so do you. 

Tears well up in your eyes again and you sigh, “I’m sorry about your lamp,” 

“What?” Mingi’s brow furrows, “Who cares about that?” 

“Still,” You manage, “I’m such a mess right now,” 

“If you weren’t a mess I’d be more worried,” Yunho takes your hand in his, squeezing your fingers, “and you can take all the time you need to be a mess, we’re here.” 

You slump forwards onto his shoulder, “I’m… so tired,” 

“Let’s get you back to bed,” Yunho soothes, his voice soft. 

You nod, letting them both ease you up to your feet, but when they turn to the bed Mingi makes a soft, confused noise, “Where?” 

“Oh,” You gesture towards the corner where all his bedding is wrapped up in a ball, “I’m sorry I was just… it was too much,” 

Mingi’s jaw tightens, the muscles in his neck jumping as he swallows hard, and you know he’s holding down so much anger, that someone could have scared you enough that any alpha’s scent became overwhelming, that your fear might extend even to them. 

“Okay,” Yunho cuts in easily, “whatever you want,” 

He eases you back onto the mattress, but the idea that they might be gone again strikes a deep lance of panic through your stomach and you grasp his arm, “Don’t go,” 

“Are you sure?” He murmurs. 

“Please,” You insist, tugging his arm again. 

He eases down beside you, and Mingi crosses to the opposite side of the bed so he can follow suit, sidling up to your back but careful not to touch you until you make it clear that you want him to. You fold your arm underneath your head and rest yourself down, and when your hair shifts off your neck you hear Yunho’s sharp intake of breath at the sight of your tender gland. 

“Baby, what,” He reaches for you, fingertips hovering, “sweetheart, what did you do?” 

“I’m fine,” You murmur but when you feel fingers gently coast over the raw skin you hiss sharply in pain and both their hands pull back. 

“y/n,” Mingi’s voice is low, shaky, and he scoops up your arm to check your wrists, finding them as swollen and bruised, “oh my god,” 

“I know,” You murmur, letting your eyes drift shut. 

“This is not okay,” Mingi sounds pained, “you can’t hurt yourself like this,” 

“I’m okay, I promise,” 

“We could have helped,” Yunho insists, “we could have scented you again, both of us, or called Seonghwa, or something, anything,” 

“Seonghwa?” You start, but Mingi cuts you off as he pushes your hair further to the side to see more of your neck. 

He makes a tight noise with his tongue against his teeth, “These look tender, Yunho’s right,” 

“You scented me plenty,” You shake your head, letting your hair fall back into place, “but I promise, I’m okay,” 

Mingi wraps his arms around you from behind, tucking you close to his chest and dropping his head onto yours, “You’re scaring me,” he confesses into your hair. 

“I know,” You murmur, “but I wasn’t trying to hurt myself,” 

“And now?” Yunho asks softly. 

“I’m a little better,” You pull him closer, “I was overwhelmed earlier and… even you both I didn’t want, but now? I feel safer, clearer,” 

Yunho kisses your forehead, letting his lips linger as you all get your emotions back in check, “Okay,”  

“Can we stay just like this?” You nuzzle into him, pulling Mingi in closer behind you until you’re snuggled up so tight you might overheat . 

“I’ll be wherever you want,” Mingi wraps his hand around yours and tucks them into your chest.

Yunho murmurs his agreement softly and you nod, letting their heat soak into your body and releasing your tense muscles bit by bit. You were supposed to tell them how you felt already, you need to get it out in the open before things get too blurry again, but right now you have to let it go. 

Silence stretches between the three of you, their breathing even and low, and you’re not sure if they’re asleep or awake when you make your quiet plea in the dark but in a whisper you beg them to never, ever let you go again. At least for tonight, they hold you fast.

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This pics screams stalker yunho especially the one where he's holding Camera!!

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