Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“The embers of our pyre are still alight, and I'm the only one left burning”

☾

Baek-Jin noticed. He was awake again. The same cruel loop - of a soft, prayer-like breath and tired bones, played out once more. Wide awake at the cusp of the sunrise, he sat up straight on his bed. The picture of him and his Alpha still hung by the bedframe. His Alpha, because who else could he belong to if not him? Who else could hear the quiet between Baku’s breaths, know when he drew air a second too early or a heartbeat too late?

Never mind that.

Baek-Jin stood up from his bed, breathing in air. But what he inhaled made him question himself in disdain 'What air?' he asked. He wasn’t sure if the ache in his chest had reached his head, or if he simply couldn’t smell anything except the Alpha. The room reeked of Baku, the scent of cedarwood and petrichor, clinging to the air like fog. Maybe he’d gone mad. Maybe he needed a medic. Or a shaman.

Why, you might ask? Because the last time Baek-jin spoke to the Alpha must have been ages ago. And yet, his room still smelled like Baku had been there that very morning. It didn’t make sense, not entirely, though the feeling of someone always watching him made him think it was the alpha but he was too scared to let that thought linger in his head for too long.

They’d known each other since childhood. Baek-Jin was betrothed to the alpha. He bore the mark of the Alpha’s sword on his neck. Everything had been arranged. Everything was as it should be, until Baku found out the truth about him.

Now, the Alpha only smiled politely at clan meetings, slipping away before Baek-Jin could even catch his eye, let alone speak to him alone.

Baek-Jin didn’t linger on these melancholic thoughts for too long. He rose from his bed and went about his day, bathing in silence and getting dressed in the quiet, the scent still lingering in the air, sharp enough to summon a headache, soft enough to stir a heartache.

He descended down the staircase of his small manor and made his way to the kitchen, where his usual staff stood in patiently. The ingredients for making the breakfast had already been laid out, and Aunt Yoona, the steady heart of his home, watched him with quiet concern. Beside her was her apparently adopted son, Choi Hyo-Man, a Beta and Baek-Jin’s personal attendant, dutifully folding the garments Baek-Jin would need after bathing.

Without a word, Baek-Jin moved like a ghost through his kitchen, calmly beginning his breakfast preparations.

It was the one rule he kept in his household - he had to make his own breakfast. Aunt Yoona handled the rest of the meals, but this one task was his. A ritual passed down from his mother, along with the only thing he’d inherited from her, a collection of recipes, handwritten with care for the child she wouldn’t live to raise.

Once he was done making his breakfast, he sat down on the breakfast table and ate alone, as he always did. Then after finishing his breakfast in the lonely silence, he went to bath and dressed with Hyo-Man’s even quieter help, before he set out for the Seowon - the learning hall. The omega walked ahead and the beta followed in his footsteps as if a shadow. Baek-Jin, for all his wanton behaviour, took his studies seriously, in truth, he even enjoyed them. He was, after all, the only noble heir of Yeongdeungpo, and Alpha or not, he intended to build a legacy of his own.

The path to the Seowon was familiar, a brief and steady climb up the Yangdong mountain followed by a sharp turn to the right, and there stood the doors of the Seowon.

Tucked into a quiet corner of the mountainside, the Seowon looked like a secret kept hidden. Its earthen stone walls were worn, and its roofs sloping low, beneath the pine trees that were just starting to blush red with the coming autumn. The weather is still a bit misty, but Baek-Jin thinks it’s almost because the other side of the Seowon is the valley of the mountain, a steep slope veiled in lush trees and with a waterfall that never seems to cease its descent, so constant it feels unreal.

Baek-Jin drew in a slow breath, as if sighing inwardly, and pushed the doors open. Inside, he found his reserved seat and settled in, opening his scrolls and quietly repeating verses in his mind, determined to tune out the noise around him.

But of course, the universe, ever unwilling to let him breathe in peace, intervened. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and the hair along the back of his neck stood on end.

He didn’t want to turn. The scent of cedarwood had already flooded the air around him and it frightened him to even lift his head, lest he finds the alpha standing behind him. But something was off. It wasn’t the familiar scent of cedarwood and summer's first rain; this was a sharper, a bit saltier scent as if the deepest pits of the ocean were breathing down his neck.

His head turned before he could stop it, snapping towards the scent like lightning, only to find that it was not his Alpha, but a stranger.

Someone who smelled almost like him.

The stranger might have said something, but Baek-Jin didn’t catch a word. He just sat there, staring. Watching his lips move with no meaning behind them. He was about to tell the man to step back, when he felt it.

That shift in the air. That rushed scent of a storm before the rain, the calm before the relentless pour down the mountainside, the pull of something powerful, moving straight for him.

Baku was here.

He didn’t speak. Because he didn’t have to. His gaze dropped to the stranger’s hand on Baek-Jin’s shoulder. His expression looked like he barely held back from committing a heinous crime .

“Move your hand,” Baku said in a low voice.

The stranger stepped away, but not before meeting Baku’s stare with one just as bold. They held each other’s gaze, the tension thick, the air between them drawn tight. One wrong move and the whole room would break.

But just as the storm threatened to rise, something softer crept in.

The scent of the shore.

The end of the sea.

And perhaps, the end of Baek-Jin, too.

Chapter Text

 “If unrequited love was a church, I'd be building us a cathedral of what could have been” 

☾

There are four noble clans in Yangdong.

Beginning with, The Eunjang, who wear robes as deep as blood, dyed crimson, and carry the scent of earth and graves. Then, the Kanghak, who are draped in golden robes, their presence warm and vivid like a child’s midsummer dream. After that, there's Yeongdeungpo, cloaked in the black robes of a darkness so intense, even shadows would gleam a moonlit hue against them. They leave behind the scent of pyres and sacred smoke, of endings, fire, and all that remains after.

The Byuksan, dressed in ocean blue robes, however, are known for their seasalt-laced scent, one that seeps into the rawest parts of you, nestling there like a balm that soothes everything that stings. That’s exactly what Yeon Si-Eun smells like: like the breath of the sea at dawn, like floating weightless in still waters and drifting across a calm sea and letting it wash away all the hurt that plagues your mind.

But Baek-Jin is drowning.

What should feel like a comforting scent has become something that burns his nostrils. That balm has left a sting to his heart, and there is no remedy known to mankind that might soothe his bleeding wound.

He stands still at the edge of the hall, watching as Si-Eun enters, graceful as a tide coming in. He walks with purpose, with softness, his eyes fixed on the unfamiliar Alpha as though no one else exists. There’s something in that gaze, something like the wonder of a maiden meeting her fated love, soft, unsure, faintly amused… and tinged with something else Baek-Jin can’t quite name.

You see, every Omega born to a noble clan in Yangdong bears the mark of a sword on the side of their neck, drawn as finely as breath. These marks usually match their destined Alpha’s blade, but the irony is that there are many swords in this world that look the same. It’s not uncommon for coincidences to happen. And in one such co-incidence, both the omega's - Si-Eun and Baek-Jin seem to bear nearly identical marks. Same sword, yet slightly different. Only fate can say who they truly belong to.

But with the way Yeon Si-Eun was looking at the strange alpha, it felt as if he’d just met the very blade etched into his skin since birth. Or maybe, it was Baek Jin who met his match. And in that moment, it felt as though the whole room held its breath.

Instinctively, Baek Jin’s eyes followed the trail of his Alpha’s heavy glare on him and took a step back. Baku, who hadn’t as much as looked at him in years, was now staring at him with such intensity that it made Baek-Jin take an involuntary step back.

What makes it complicated is this - though their marks may look the same, almost as if they were bound to the same soul, Baek-Jin could feel the truth in his bones. He could feel the contrast in their marks. Subtle & indescribable, but undeniably there. And Baek-Jin knows exactly whose sword is traced on his skin.

It’s Baku’s and Only his.

He has held that blade in his palms, has memorised its weight and curve, just as he has memorised the quiet between Baku’s exhales. Nothing else could leave that kind of trace. No one else could have carved something so devastating and tender into him.

And Baek-Jin is certain Baku knows this too. He knows that the sword mark on Baek Jin's neck belongs to him and only him, and yet.

Yet, the Alpha chose to walk past the ruin of Baek-Jin’s ashes and fall headfirst into the ocean, into Yeon Si-Eun arms, whose sea-scented presence now seemed to be Baku’s new comfort.

That’s what unsettles Baek-Jin most. Not the mark. Not even the resemblance. But the fact that Baku knows all of this, and yet, chose to stand closer to Si-Eun.

Just like the pair themselves, everyone in the village knows of Baek-Jin and Baku’s quiet war. They pretend not to notice, but no one’s blind. Baek-Jin has long since learned not to provoke the Alpha, and Baku treats Baek-Jin like air, unseen but always present. And Baek-Jin, for his part, made peace with that years ago. He chose silence, chose not to chase a flame that burned him.

But now, this stranger’s arrival threatens to change everything. 

Whether by accident or fate, everyone in the hall, including Baek Jin & Baku themselves, can feel the pull the stranger has toward both Omegas. And perhaps that’s why Baku had rushed through the corridors of the Seowon straight to Baek-Jin for the first time in years. 

But this wasn't because he suddenly fell in love with baek jin or anything. It's just that these alpha's are territorial and conceited in nature and whether they feel the same affection towards you or not, they cannot bare to see an omega who had once wanted them so earnestly, give that same attention to someone else.

The stranger turns now, toward Baek-Jin, and looks at him like he’s something sacred. It sends a chill down Baek-Jin’s spine. No one has looked at him like that in years now. For the first time in so long, he felt himself more than plain air. He feels like flesh, like blood, like something broken to pieces was slowly reassembling itself after being turned to ash.

He bowed to the alpha, and Choi Hyo-Man immediately introduced them.

This time, when the Alpha spoke his name, Baek-Jin listened with stark curiosity. “Ahn Su-Ho,” he said, and Baek-Jin’s breath caught at the deep rumble of syllables that fell from the Alpha’s lips. He swallowed hard and looked away, but did not miss the glint of adoration in the Alpha’s eyes before he hurried to his reserved place

Moments later, to the omega's surprise, or maybe not, Baku forces his way into the seat to Baek-Jin’s left, while Ahn Su-Ho takes the seat to his right, and Yeon Si-Eun settles at the far right corner, next to Su-ho. 

It seemed as if the wildfire of the lovers’ quarrel is spreading as though the deep forests of the south have caught hold of a mischievous ember, setting flame alight and burning through the trees.

But to Baek-Jin, whose scent is that of the temple pyres, this fire feels like the beginning of something, maybe even of a happy ending. Something new growing from charred remains.

The lessons ended routinely, throughout which Baku kept shooting daggers to his right, towards Ahn Su-ho, but refused to even glance at Baek-Jin. And yet, the calm presence of the Alpha beside him, like gentle water after drought, was enough for the parched omega and Baek-Jin feels full, like a farmer under the cool spring rain.

Satisfied with this small, quiet victory, Baek-Jin concluded that it was a great day to visit the secret haven he and Baku once shared. It was an intimate garden alcove with a swing tied to the tallest tree in Yangdong, beside a gentle stream of water flowing from the waterfall on the mountain.

When they reached the swing, Baek Jin turned towards the beta. Hyo-Man was staring into nothingness again, and Baek-Jin was annoyed. He had a plan to execute, and it needed to be done right now.

“Hyo-Manna. Yaa... you pig-headed servant, come here,” he snapped.

Hyo-Man immediately scrambled to his feet and approached his master.

“Yes, Young Master. What is it?” he whispered

“Hyo-Manna, are you certain you saw Young Master Baku walk toward the gardens after me? Because I don’t see him anywhere.” Baek-Jin was anxious now. He knew that if he made his way toward the outskirts of the village, the strange Alpha would follow. He counted on Baku’s possessive jealousy to lure him into following both, him and the strange alpha, to the gardens. It was a predictable flaw, but now, as he looked around, neither of the two Alpha's was in sight.

“They were both a few feet behind you. I suggest you sit on the swing and let me give you a push. One or two should be enough, you’ll fall right into your Alpha’s arms. The rope’s loose. I made sure of that myself.”

As Hyo-Man finished, a noise rustled from the bushes, and they both hurried into position. Baek-Jin took his seat on the swing with Hyo-Man’s help. While the beta returned to his usual post under the tree, staring into space once more, as though everything were perfectly ordinary.

Baek-Jin ignored him and continued reading. He hadn’t made it halfway through the page when a sharp cracking sound split the air, setting his nerves on edge.

The swing he sat on hung between the stream and the thick bushes, getting off it always required help. And that coward Hyo-Man had already run, tail tucked, disappearing behind the nearest bush the moment he heard the sound, not caring to check if the alpha's were even here to help the omega.

Baek-Jin was stuck. Still searching for the Alpha who was nowhere to be found.

For a long breath, nothing moved. He sat frozen on the swing, the seconds stretching endlessly, though only moments had passed. 

And then, came the sound of something ripping off of a surface. Baek jin's head snapped up, towards the source of the sound, just in time to see the rope of the swing tearing away from the wooden branch. It now dangled by a single thread. One tug and he’d be hurled straight into the stream.

Cursing under his breath, Baek-Jin closed his eyes. He braced for the fall, for the cold rush of water to flood his lungs and crush his windpipe.

But the fall never came.

When he opened his eyes again, dazed and lightheaded as he looked up, expecting the worst, he was met instead with the gaze of an Alpha's deep brown eyes staring down at him with focus and alarm.

It was Ahn Su-Ho.

The Alpha was hanging from the tree above him, gripping the rope with one hand. His inhuman strength was clearly visible in the veins that strained on his trembling arm as  his fingers dug into bark, but he held on. He was shouting something, but his voice was distorted by the rush of wind and panic.

Still dizzy, Baek-Jin squinted to read the stranger's lips.

“Jump!” the Alpha was yelling. “Jump!”

Baek-Jin blinked and gave the faintest nod. But before moving, he grumbled under his breath, bitterly - “What are you doing here instead of him?!”

The one he’d been waiting for still hadn’t come. And now a stranger was more than eager to save him instead.

Still, a jump was better than falling face first into the stream. So, he pushed himself up from the swing and leapt lightly, aiming toward the ground in front of him.

But his feet never touched the earth.

He landed against a firm chest, rock-solid and warm. Strong arms had caught him mid-air, wrapping around his waist and slipping beneath his knees, holding him too close to be considered anything but gentlemanly affection between an unmated alpha and omega. He was being carried, bridal style.

Baek-Jin froze.

Pressed against that chest like this, Baek-Jin could hear the Alpha’s heartbeat. He clung to those arms with quiet desperation, eyes cast low. He couldn’t look up. The Alpha’s scent surrounded him in raw, stormy waves, thick with emotion he couldn’t bear to acknowledge.

And it wasn’t Ahn Su-Ho.

It was Baku.

Baek-Jin had succeeded.

The Alpha who had ignored him, avoided him, restrained every instinct around him, was now holding him close like something precious. And this... this was the result of the little trap Baek-Jin had set, with Hyo-Man’s help.

But he couldn’t look at him. If he did, his eyes might betray too much.

So he clung to the Alpha silently, heart racing in a rhythm too loud for comfort. He could feel Baku’s chest rise and fall, could sense the tension in his grip, the desperation he refused to voice.

And Baku... Even Baku didn’t let go.

He was waiting. Hoping. Willing Baek-Jin to look at him.

But Baek-Jin, stubborn as ever, wouldn’t. He simply couldn’t.

So they stayed like that. Suspended in silence, as the Alpha drank in the form of Baek-Jin, his eyes trailed every lash, every mole, and every curve of the omega's face as if searching for a secret buried deep in those lines. His hands were as gentle as the touch of a feather to a child, his eyes somehow racing with the rays of light to reach him first.

⛈

Baku followed Baek-Jin into the gardens out of instinct more than intention. He told himself it was to ensure the Omega’s safety, because Baek-Jin was from Yangdong village, and there was a strange Alpha roaming nearby who might want to harm an Omega belonging to this very Village. If something were to happen to Baek-Jin, it would become a threat to all the Omegas in the village.

But that was a lie.

He followed because he couldn’t not follow Baek Jin. His alpha instincts were screaming at him to follow the omega.

When he arrived at the garden alcoves in hushed steps, he saw Baek-Jin on the swing, reading - beautiful and unbothered, and something about the sight made his chest ache. There was a kind of haunting solitude in Baek-Jin’s figure. He was always alone, always just a little too far out of reach, even when close.

Baku wanted to go to him. He wanted to speak. But he hesitated.

Because Baek-Jin didn’t want him.

He wanted Ahn Su-Ho.

The look Baek-Jin had given the stranger Alpha when he touched him, that was a look only a long-lost, lonely Omega who had finally found his mate would give.

Baku didn’t yet understand how deep his feelings ran, but he was already beginning to choke on them.

When the rope began to fray, his heart lurched. Time collapsed. The image of Baek-Jin falling sliced through him like a blade. He didn’t think. He just moved, faster than reason.

But by the time he reached him, Su-Ho was already there and that should have been a relief.

But it wasn’t.

Because it was Ahn Su-Ho, in his place. Ahn Su-Ho was catching Baek-Jin, and not him.

That annoyed him.

But Baek-Jin still wasn’t safe. He was still hanging mid-air on the swing, teetering above the water, just seconds from falling in. Seeing the Omega on the verge of jumping, Baku reacted before he even registered what he was doing.

He catches the omega mid-jump. Holding him tight.

Finally, finally, Baek-Jin was in his arms. And he couldn’t let go. Not yet. Because in this one impossible moment, For Baku, Baek-Jin was right where he belonged, in the alpha's arms. His scent, his breath, the way he didn’t look up, it was all devastatingly perfect. And it gutted Baku that it had taken danger for this closeness to happen.

He wanted to say something. Anything.

But the words wouldn’t come.

The Alpha had been waiting. His patience had worn thin, stretched taut with every passing moment as he hungered for a signal from the Omega. A single hint. A stolen glance. A whisper of lingering affection. Any crumb Baek-Jin might cast his way that said, 'I still care for you, Baku. I’m willing to give you a chance.' That would be enough.

He had made a terrible mistake in the past, and he needed to correct it, but his hands were tied. He couldn’t do anything that might cross a line with the Omega. And Baek-Jin remained an unyielding wall, giving the Alpha not even the smallest chance to make things right.

Ahn Su-Ho finally climbed down from the tree and approached them, but neither of the pair moved.

It was only when Yeon Si-Eun stepped into view behind Su-Ho that the moment shattered.

The omega's scent had turned sour. In an instant, Baku dropped Baek-Jin immediately and stepped away.

His composure returned in an instant, as if someone had flipped a switch. The scent of petrichor turned sour, foul and gravely, like a freshly dug corpse, washing over the little butterflies that were just beginning to rise in the alpha's stomach, replacing them with a suffocating, nauseating feeling. Whatever moment had just passed between the pair vanished into the air like a fading echo.

He still did not understand the animosity between the two omegas, but it seemed to run so deep that Baek Jin even hated Si-eun's existence.

☾

Swimming deep in the depth of his ocean of jealousy, Baek Jin didn't notice the sour scent he was exuding and instead thought, that the alpha dropped him the moment he saw Si-eun.

A disease without remedy, without defense; such was the nature of envy and possessiveness. Baek-Jin had suffered both sides of it: the dark thrill of the alpha's possessiveness when it was directed towards him and the sting of envy when that attention shifted to Si-Eun instead.

In this case, he was experiencing envy in it's true form. To him, Si-eun's arrival was what shattered the moment between the pair and thus he let his thoughts run.

This was exactly what he meant when he said that Alphas were simply territorial in nature. They don’t want you, but they don’t want anyone else to have you either.

The sudden change in Baku's demeanor when Si-Eun arrived wasn’t surprising. But even a knife that pierces a wound that already existed still hurts. Baek-Jin didn't react. He simply lowered his gaze, gathered his books, then bowed politely to the two Alphas, thanking them for saving him, before making a swift exit.

He could feel Baku’s eyes boring holes into his back, but the ache in Baek-Jin’s chest had already turned to ash.

If yearning had a form, it would be him.

A boy made of prayers, no god had time to hear. He was a lost soul, quietly hoping to be found. In his pyre of prayers unsaid, resided a heartbeat that never met the breath of honour. 

All he had ever wanted was to be seen. For someone to look at him and not look away. But even that, just that, seemed forever out of reach.

Eyes cast down, he ran along the path still seeped in his Alpha’s scent. The rain began to fall, mocking his misery, and spreading the scent of petrichor through the air like a cruel echo of what he’d lost. And he made his way back to his house filled with hollow humans, Hyo-Man in tow.

Baek-Jin wondered if this was really fate. And if it was, why shouldn’t he choose how it ends?

If he was meant to live separated from the other half of his soul in this lifetime, then let it be on his own terms. Why must the gods parade his sorrow like a theatre act, forcing him to live half-alive?

At this point, even a shaman can’t save him from his haunting.

He stumbled back into the house, barely making it to his bed before collapsing. Limp and breathless. He let the pain hidden in the deepest pits of his heart rise like flames. He let it hollow him out.

He cried - ugly, raw, wordless sobs. Wails that tore through the quiet halls and scraped against the walls like wind in mourning.

He cried until his stomach convulsed and his throat went dry. Until there was nothing left to cry with.

This was his moment to fall apart. And he did, with all the grace of a grieving bride who died before seeing her groom.

He screamed.

And then he went still.

Because after this, he would not be the one to cry.

If he was to live like an unmated widow, then let it be in sin. And let the name of his sin be Park Hu-Min.

The vow slipped from his lips like a lullaby, soft as a child’s breath. Let the heavens hear it. Let them bend, if they must.

And so, for the first time in a lifetime, the Omega closed his eyes, not to the haunting ghost of an Alpha who didn't want him, but to the hush of merciful silence.

The silence, at last, that did not ache.

Chapter Text

“You - my beloved wanton, my fallen deity; You are my God and I your devotee. Don’t you ever forget who I belong to…”

☾

Baek-Jin woke with a quiet sense of peace, calm like the sea beneath a cloudy sky. For once, he matched the serenity usually seen on Si-Eun’s face. The room still carried the faint scent of his Alpha, clinging to the air like a ghost, like he’d just left, leaving behind his pheromones soaked into the walls, trying to soothe the Omega he once loved. As if he’d only just been here, holding and comforting the weeping Omega in his sleep, leaving behind traces of affection.

But Baek-Jin paid no mind to such empty illusions.

He knew what he wanted now. And this time, he was going to get it. The Alpha had left him behind, and Baek-Jin was no fragile thing, wasting away in the shadow of lost love. Let the world think what it wants, he knew better. He wasn’t made to break.

It takes two to play this game. And if Park Hu-Min wanted to play, then Baek-Jin would gladly meet him on the battlefield.

He was born a victor anyway.

And in this cruel little tug-of-war, he would make victory his name.

Keeping that thought in mind, Baek-Jin rose up from his bed and walked toward the kitchen, slipping into the routine of an ordinary day. But something in the air felt different this morning. He paused at the doorway and looked at Hyo-Man.

“I’ll be wearing the dark robes today,” he said.

Hyo-Man nearly dropped the bowl he was holding. “What?” His eyes widened like they might fall right out of his head.

Baek-Jin only gave him a quiet, knowing smile before turning and walking toward the bathhouse. Hyo-Man, still frozen in shock, turned to his adopted mother, who was already watching with a smug little smile.

“Na family’s blood, after all,” she said, sounding proud.

Hyo-Man just sighed and went to fetch the dark silk robes.

His thoughts spun as he moved.

The thing about being a Yeongdeungpo noble is that your robes speak before you ever do.

White meant mourning, grief worn  like a second skin.

Grey was for those who had taken a vow of purity sworn off the world, untouched and unclaimed ascetics.

But dark robes… dark robes on a Yeongdeungpo Omega meant something else entirely.

It was a quiet, unmistakable declaration - a maiden in search of a suitor.

And of all people, Na Baek-Jin, stoic, devoted, the ghost yearning for an old love, long buried in its grave, was choosing to wear them.

Not that Baek-Jin lacked admirers. He and Yeon Si-Eun were Yangdong’s most sought-after Omegas. In truth, Baek-Jin had more suitors than Si-Eun and had ruthlessly turned them all away without a second thought. Even Alphas from the highest noble clans had tried and failed to win his favor.

But Baek-Jin wasn’t just any Omega. He was heir to a noble house, a scholar with vast knowledge, who had a knack for the theatrics, and was gifted with a voice said to be blessed by the moon goddess herself. Even in combat, he stood among the fiercest warriors in the land.

Not even his secondary gender had never held him back. Every obstacle he crushed beneath his feet. No Alpha, not even Baku, his former combat trainer, had ever beaten him in a duel. Though, of course, it had been years since they last fought.

For an omega with the stature like Baek-Jin, only an Alpha strong enough to shake the mountains could ever stand a chance. So this sudden choice to wear the robes of a suitor-seeking Omega was completely unlike him, and naturally, Hyo-Man was left confused.

His thoughts were cut off when Baek-Jin stepped out of the bath, steam curling around him like silk. Hyo-Man rushed over silently, helping him dry and dress in the dark robes.

Clad in his own colors again, hair falling to his waist, his eyes lined in the same crimson as Baku’s robes, lips painted to match the red, Baek-Jin looked every bit the sovereign he was born to be. Regal.

Hyo-Man had always known Baek-Jin was beautiful, but seeing him like this, dressed in his full glory, like a long-lost prince returning from war, was a jarring reminder - this was the most desired Omega in the kingdom.

And if Hyo-Man had been an Alpha, he’d be on his knees.

As for Baku… the man’s heart was about to suffer the greatest disease of love known to mankind.

“You look regal, my lord. If I were Baku, I’d be on my knees begging for forgiveness. My god, what a vision you are. I’d forgotten you’re quite literally everything an Alpha could ever dream of. Honestly, you made the right decision. Baku doesn’t deserve you anyway.”

Hyo-Man’s stream of compliments came to a stop when Baek-Jin pinned him with a sharp, displeased look at those last words.

The poor thing dropped to his knees in an instant, groveling like his life depended on it. Baek-Jin found the whole scene too amusing to stop him and let him squirm a little longer.

"Baku is indeed wrong. He doesn't know what he wants. That one incident has messed with his head and he now thinks that Si-eun is his omega and not me. I am going to correct that mistake Hyo-mana. The seed of love that the alpha has planted for Si-eun will bare him no fruit. Si-eun doesn't want him back and that is all that we need to know for now."

Then without even glancing back at the trembling Beta, Baek-Jin turned and walked toward the Seowon.

Yeon Si-Eun had had his moment.

Now, Baek-Jin was coming to take back what was his.

☽

If the moon had ever risen from the east, it must be today, because Baku was about to sin.

He had lived like a saint all his life. A good Alpha. A decent wolf who loved, protected, and stood steadfast for his pack. But today... today he was ready to throw all of that out of the window, today was the day when this saint of a heart was about to offer his soul to the devil if it meant to have this poetry on feet rest his eyes on him even for a moment, if it meant Baek-Jin would look at him, just once.

Baek-Jin looked like he’d drunk the moonlight and bathed in the pond of twilight.

His eyes shimmered with the deep brown colour of cedarwood painted on his lids, like he wore Baku’s scent on them. The rims of his eyes were were painted to match Baku's scarlet robes, as though he'd been crying all night. He moved with a quiet defiance, the kind that warned: do not test me.

His nose, sharp and proud, reminded Baku of the curve of the secret waterfall near the valley they once trained in. The crimson flush in his cheeks matched the bruise in Baku’s wounded heart.

If Baku were honest, he regretted stepping foot in the Na manor that night. He regretted seeing his beautiful Baek-Jin smile like that, content, as if nothing in the world could touch him. That smile had haunted him ever since.

He had been too young to understand any of it, and in his panicked confusion, he ran. He ran all the way home and never looked back. He couldn’t bear to face Baek-Jin after that, too afraid of what he might learn, too afraid of the truth behind that smile.

Time passed, slow and steady, as it always does, and they drifted apart until all that remained between them was the silence of strangers.

Baku regrets that too.

Baek-Jin was walking toward him now, and that pulled Baku out of his thoughts. He parted his lips to speak, to say something, anything, but the words caught in his throat.

The omega walked right past him, as if he were made mist and air. As if he were nothing but memory. And Baku’s heart felt like something split clean in half.

Baek-Jin smiled at Ahn Su-Ho.

And Baku thought -  “a sin committed for a saint’s god must not be a sin at all.”

☾

A grin, a glance, and Baek-Jin is already a mess. Ahn Su-Ho grins back, easy and bold, and for mountains to move and lands to yield, that grin could well traverse the threads of time and earth alike, moving them with merely his charm. 

'Handsome', Baek Jin thought

Ever so gentle, Su-Ho bows and greets him, “Greetings, Young master.”

Baek-Jin returns the gesture with an equally sweet smile. “And greetings to the master of the seas.”

They nod at each other like young lovers in courtly settings. Their banter feels like something out of an old play. Baek-Jin turns and begins his slow, practiced walk toward his reserved seat when he feels a hand holding his wrist and stopping him mid-walk.

“I was wondering why the sun’s hiding behind the clouds today. Now I see why.” He ran his gaze over Baek jin from his head to tow.

Baek-Jin pauses. “Hm?”

Su-Ho flashes a grin. “You must’ve bathed in twilight and drank the moonlight this morning. The sun seems to be jealous of your beauty.”

Even Baek-Jin falters for a second. Compliments, he’s used to. But this? his was something else entirely. This was beyond the realm of flattery, it was poetry weaponized.

He smiles, soft and unguarded as he thanks Su-ho for the compliment, then gestures toward the lesson. “Come join me, if you’d like.”

From the corner of his eye, Baek-Jin senses a shift, like a tremor in the air. There was a storm of jealousy surging in Baku's eyes and Baek Jin was satisfied.

Carefully, Baek-Jin leads Su-Ho away from where Baku’s gaze might reach them. He knows the kind of chaos a clash between them could bring.

They settle into their seats, and the lesson begins.

Su-Ho throws him small, mischievous glances, and Baek-Jin answers with the occasional tilt of his head, a slight twitch of a smile.

Behind them, Baku does not think of the lesson. He’s thinking of ripping that grin off Su-Ho’s face.

☁

“Might this foolish servant request the honor of walking the young master home?” Su-Ho asked, voice velvet-soft and so earnest, it made Baek-Jin blink at him in disbelief.

He stared at the alpha, wide-eyed. “Servant?”
 
This foolish fox, he was sly as a snake. A breath of laughter escaped him, light and melodic. “Servant?” he repeated. “Oh no, you’re not my servant, Young Master Su-ho. Don’t embarrass me like that.”

Su-Ho tilts his head. “A friend would be too bold, wouldn’t it?”

“Mm,” Baek-Jin hummed with an amused nod.. “An acquaintance could be a good start, don’t you think?

Su-Ho smiles. “Then an acquaintance I shall be.”

“I’m not going back yet,” Baek-Jin says, brushing a strand of hair aside. “I thought I might visit the garden and read for a while before heading home. A dear friend, and troublesome classmate in your case, is returning tomorrow, and I’d like some peace before then.”

“Then allow me to accompany you in your peace, Young master,” Su-Ho offered without hesitation.

Baek-Jin smiled - a soft, rare thing. “Very well, then,” he said, turning with a graceful flutter of his sleeve. “I shall grant this acquaintance the honour of sharing in my quiet solitude.” he said with a grin.

They began walking toward the garden in an unhurried pace and light, untroubled conversation. Still, Baek-Jin couldn't shake the faint presence he could constantly feel around him, was Baku following them? he thought but he paid it no mind, choosing instead to keep his pace with Su-ho, whose presence remained warm and steady beside him.

Between stray remarks and soft laughter, Baek-Jin asked the Alpha about his whereabouts and what brought him to Yangdong. Su-ho answered with gentle candour, “I come from Maui Island,” he said. “And I am here for one reason alone - to find my mate.”

His voice was now a soft murmur under his breath “It is said that an omega in this village bears the mark of my sword.”

As he spoke, his gaze lingered, just barely, on the curve of Baek-Jin’s neck.

A crack of thunder cuts through the sky like a warning, as if Baku was right behind them and was fuming with anger.

Baek-Jin gave it no reaction, choosing instead to keep his eyes ahead, composed and aloof. But Su-ho noticed the way the Omega’s shoulders tensed, just slightly.

Smoothly, he changed the subject to ease the omega. “So, this friend of yours who’s returning tomorrow... who is he?” 

The tension drained from Baek-Jin's shoulder at once. They had reached the gardens now, where the wind carried the scent of pine and wet earth alike. With a graceful motion, Baek-Jin gestured for Su-ho to join him beneath the broad canopy of a towering pine tree.

“Keum Seong-Je is his name,” he said, settling onto the stone bench with a soft rustle of robes. “He’s from the Kanghak clan. His omega went into heat last week, so he’s been... preoccupied.”

He spoke the words with such practiced indifference, as though describing the weather or the price of tea. Su-ho only smiled. He wasn’t surprised by Baek-Jin’s casual tone, this was, after all, the most favoured omega in the province. The one who never quite gave himself away.

He tilted his head slightly, amusement twinkling in his eyes. “And how, may I ask, does one become a ‘troublesome classmate’?”

Baek-Jin was more than happy to indulge the Alpha in the malevolent tales of his troublesome friend. A faint smile curved his lips as he leaned back against the pine’s bark, the breeze catching in his sleeve.

“Oh, you’ll see soon enough,” he said, voice tinged with playful menace. “All I’ll tell you for now is this, Keum Seong-Je only cares for one person on this entire earth, and that person is his omega, Seo Jun-Tae.”

His eyes glittered as he recalled it.

“They’re both Kanghak-born. Seong-Je imprinted on him when they were barely ten. Jun-Tae was having his hair braided by his mother when Seong-Je stormed into their family home and looked him dead in the eye before announcing, ‘You are my Omega.’ Just like that.”

Baek-Jin gave a soft, nostalgic laugh, shaking his head.

“Since that day, no one, not even the elders, have dared question it. As long as Jun-Tae permits it, nothing and no one can come between Seong-Je and what he has claimed. He is as relentless as the sun in midsummer and twice as blinding when provoked.”

Su-Ho let out a hearty laugh. “So all I have to do is stay away from his omega. How hard could that be?”

Before Baek-Jin could respond, a voice cut through the air behind them, low and unmistakably annoyed. 

“I wonder.” Baku muttered.

And Baek-Jin stiffens. So he has been following all along?.

The voice was far too close. He didn’t need to look to know whose eyes were boring holes into the back of his and Su-Ho’s head. The storm he had carefully sidestepped all morning had finally caught up to him.

Neither Alpha had the chance to exchange more than a look before Baek-Jin made a dramatic show of rising to his feet.

“Well, I suppose that’s enough leisure for one day,” Baek-Jin declared a little too loudly, brushing imaginary dust off the silk folds of his robe. “I’ve an anniversary to arrange, after all. The world doesn't charm itself, you know.”

At that, both Alphas turned toward him, voices oddly in sync.

“An anniversary?”

“Yes, yes,” Baek-Jin replied airily, eyes glinting with innocence. “It’s Hyo-Man’s parents’ anniversary. Since both my own parents left this world far too early, Aunt Yoona and Uncle Jun-Ho were the ones who raised me. It's only right I give them their due, a celebration worthy of the most beloved couple in Yangdong, wouldn’t you agree?”

He blinked up at the two Alphas with wide doe eyes, daring either to challenge such innocent sincerity.

Both men were silent.

Behind them, stood a frozen Hyo-man, his mouth parted slightly in disbelief. Unknown to the Omega's cunning plans, the potato headed beta thought that the omega really cared for him. That he thought of Hyo-man, as not just a servant, but also an older brother. 

He hadn’t expected this, hadn’t known Baek-Jin felt so deeply about his family. A warmth bloomed in his chest. 'Does this mean... Baek-Jin sees me as his hyung?' he thought 'Gods, you have truly been kind. This insufferably rick omega sees me as his Hyung? I can have all his money?' 

Tears welled up in Hyo-Man’s eyes and, moved beyond reason, he rushed forward to throw his arms around the omega. Not even having the slightest clue that the Omega was only looking for a way out, and couldn’t care less about anyone.

But before he could touch Baek-Jin, Baku’s cane slammed against the ground between them. "What do you think you are doing, you pig head?" he screamed at the Beta.

And Hyo-Man froze. Baku said nothing, only inclined his head toward the omega with a possessive gaze. "Come here" he said to the omega.

But Baek Jin didn't hear him, with a graceful turn of his heel, he swept away from the gathering, sleeves flying in the air like a silk made bird. 

And pig-headed Hyo-Man followed him with stars in his eyes and a chanting of 'I am the Hyung' on his lips, completely unaware that Baek-Jin was just looking for an excuse to leave. He's a;ready accomplished another one of his goal in trapping the alpha.

☾

Back at the manor, Baek-Jin let the weight of it all settle. He replayed every glance, every word, every look Baku gave him. Baku had seen right through him. Of that, he was certain.

But Baek-Jin won’t admit defeat. He was many things - a performer, a noble and a warrior, but a liar?  A liar, he is not, Never. Perhaps he might lie for a small feeble moment here and there, but a lie said for a good cause, could not be considered a lie at all.

Everything he said was true, mostly. Aunt Yoona and Uncle Jun-Ho had raised him with more love than the world had owed him. He did want to honour them, to give them the thanks they never asked for but always deserved. And yes, their anniversary was approaching. The only untruth was the celebration.

There were no plans. Not yet. But there would be. Now, there had to be.

Their love was rare. Aunt Yoona and Uncle Jun-ho had been in love since the days when they were both too young to form proper thoughts. Theirs was the kind of love one might read about in old books left forgotten in temple libraries. Uncle Jun-ho had fallen for her the moment their eyes met, a boy of humble birth hopelessly enthralled by the girl who would one day become his world.

And when Baek-Jin was orphaned, she took him in. No obligation. Just love.

But unlike the nobles, low-born omegas were not born with marks. There was no divine seal to guide their fate, no celestial sign to confirm that they were meant to be. 

Yet Aunt Yoona had seen something in Uncle Jun-ho that not even the stars could deny. She had chosen him deliberately. So fiercely, in fact, that she once stood before Baek-Jin’s noble grandfather and threatened to turn the manor upside down if he dared deny her the right to marry him.

Now, Uncle Jun-ho is a veteran commander of the royal army, his name spoken with respect across the southern provinces. And Aunt Yoona - formidable & beloved at the same time, never once needed to take in a grieving child like Baek Jin.

She owed the omega nothing. Yet she became his anchor, his quiet protector, the unshakable matriarch of a home that had lost its pillars too soon. A woman of such strength and grace that even nobles bow their heads for her.

When Baek-Jin once asked Aunt Yoona why she had chosen Uncle Jun-ho, she had smiled faintly and only answered with a, “He never let me hold an umbrella.” Baek-Jin had not understood the weight of those words then, but something tells him he will, someday.

And perhaps that’s reason enough to honour them. A quiet celebration of love, after all, can’t be such a sin. Love is all he has ever longed for - genuine, unwavering, unspoken in its depth. Why not begin by celebrating the love that raised him?

Of course, a noble throwing a party for commoners will raise eyebrows. But Baek-Jin has never cared for rules he did not write. And today feels as fine a day as any to remind them of that.

Without a word to Hyo-Man’s excited chatter behind him, Baek-Jin turns on his heel and strides towards the Clan House, his silks caught the wind like a flag, announcing that big changes were coming.

☾

He arrived at the Clan House after a walk of less than a mile. But by the time he stepped through the main gates and into the courtyard, it felt like the whole mountain had stopped just to watch him.

Only moments ago, the space was full of the usual noise, servants talking, attendants moving about, clan warriors training. Now it had gone quiet. Every eye turned toward the black-robed omega. In the Yeongdeungpo clan, wearing black like this meant one of two things: either he had found a mate, or he was preparing for something likely dangerous.

And with Na Baek-Jin, it was always safer to assume the latter.

Without saying a word, he walked through the quiet stares and whispered guesses, each step smooth and graceful, like the edge of a blade. He approached the raised platform where his grandfather sat, Lord Na, the patriarch of the house, and bowed respectfully.

At his side, Hyo-Man stepped forward to announce his arrival properly, his voice cutting through the silence with the practiced calm of someone used to walking in Baek-Jin’s shadow.

Lord Na didn’t smile widely, but Baek-Jin still caught the look in his eyes. That quiet gleam in them said everything - he was proud, even relieved. This was a man who had spent years fearing that his grandson might never rise again. And now, here he was, standing tall, full of fire, and preparing for a war of his own.

He’d rather see his grandson stirring up storms than wasting away in silence.

Whispers among the clan and speculation among the nobles held no weight. What truly mattered was Na Baek-Jin's reappearance. He was back and he marched purposefully into his grandfather's court, his mind already brimming with schemes, to announce his return. This was a Na, taking his rightful position in the eye of the storm, precisely where he belonged.

But Baek-Jin smiled back at his grandfather. A real and honest smile; the kind only reserved for the one person in the world who had ever loved him without question, without condition. For all the sharpness he wielded in court and the battlefield alike, this old man had only ever held Baek-Jin with kindness.

Then, keeping his posture perfect, the omega bowed once more, this time to the group of noble advisors gathered around the court. Each bow was exact - dignified, respectful, and just distant enough to remind them all that he was not here as anyone’s subordinate. He bowed to no one but himself and his GrandFather.

When he saw the figure seated at his grandfather’s left, just a little below the platform, he gave a slightly deeper bow. Lady Tiffany. The First-Rank Noble Advisor. Her face, calm and clever, was turned toward him with a faint, amused smile.

Baek-Jin’s own expression softened with real affection.

She wasn’t just one of the most brilliant minds in the country, a strategist who could win wars with a few words, she was also Aunt Yoona’s closest friend. A woman who could dismantle an entire council with a flick of her fan, and then turn around to feed a child with the tenderness of a mother.

If there was anyone he needed on his side today, it was her.

And if there was one person smart enough to already guess that he was plotting something, and was about to do it with her very own silent approval, it was definitely her. Baek-Jin let his eyes meet hers just a moment longer, sharing the spark of a secret plan and winked at her.

Then he straightened, poised and ready as he began...

Baek-Jin turned fully to face his grandfather, chin raised, voice smooth and demeanor calm. “Grandfather,” he said, “I have come to ask for a wish to be granted.”

There was a pause, then the old man gave a deep, amused chuckle. “Well, that’s a surprise,” he said, leaning slightly on his cane. “My grandson, who only knows how to take what he wants, however and whenever he pleases, is now asking?”

Baek-Jin winced, just a little. Of course his grandfather would use this moment to tease him. That was his right as the head of the clan. And clearly, he intended to enjoy every second of it.

Because what Baek-Jin was about to ask for wasn’t money, or power, or command, it was something softer, something fragile. Something that needed love and care to exist. In this room, where ambition often mattered more than affection, a request like that would seem strange.

But Baek-Jin was not a stranger to irony. Let the courts speculate. In his journey of bringing justice to his mother and getting his alpha back, this was but a small step. 

He knew himself better than any of them did. He wasn’t just a cold blooded noble, or a calculated and skilled fighter, or a mysterious heir. He felt things, deeply. He simply hadn’t lived long enough, or dared enough, to understand what those feelings meant.

Until now.

however, he is older. Wiser. And, presumably, a worse person, yes worse; because he's a little dumb and can't imagine himself as a good person. But that was the thing about people like him, they always get what they want. Whether by charm, by force, or by pure stubbornness.

With that thought, he looked back at his grandfather, eyes steady like polished stone. He placed his hands together, straightened his back, and prepared to say the last thing anyone expected.

“You’re right, Grandfather,” he said smoothly. “I’m not the type to ask. So if I am, then it must be something very important to me. And I trust I won’t be… disappointed.”

He let the words hang in the air, waiting.

Then, slowly, Baek-Jin looked around the room. One by one, the nobles lowered their eyes. None of them dared meet his eyes. Even the most clever and talkative among them knew better than to challenge the Yeongdeungpo heir when he looked like this.

Silence filled the space like a held breath.

And in that silence, Baek-Jin stood - calm, still, and completely in control.

His grandfather looked like he was enjoying every moment.

“Well then, grandson,” the old man said, his voice a low rumble of curiosity, “tell us what it is you want.”

Baek-Jin lifted his chin slightly, pride shining in his face. “I want to throw a celebration for Aunt Yoona and Uncle Jun-Ho’s wedding anniversary.”

There was a pause. Then his grandfather laughed again, this time with fondness. Not mocking, just amused, like someone who had raised a wild storm and now watched it dance.

“He wants, not asks,” the old man said, shaking his head. “This grandson of mine has already made up his mind. We’re only here to witness it.”

The court stirred. Some smiled softly. Others watched with interest.

Lady Tiffany’s lips curved just slightly.

“And why now, of all times?” his grandfather asked, folding his hands together.

Baek-Jin had many answers.

He could say he was trying to avoid a certain alpha, and in doing so, stumbled into this idea by accident, and honestly, fate was probably right. What better way to win back his alpha than a little jealousy here, a little "save me" there?

He could confess that he still wanted that same alpha, maybe always would, but knew that desire alone wasn’t enough. That to truly be chosen, he had to first let go. Leave just long enough for the loss to matter. To become the absence that reminded the alpha of what he once had.

But none of that could be said in court.

So instead, Baek-Jin said simply:

“Aunt Yoona is the only person, besides you, Grandfather, who has truly cared for me since I lost my parents,” he said, his voice soft but steady. “I was too young to understand what she gave me then. But now, I do. I see her. I see her love. And this is the least I can do for her.”

The court stayed silent. Baek-Jin stood there in black robes, his words hanging in the air like incense smoke.

“Besides,” he added, tone smooth but firm, “the Yeongdeungpo clan could use a celebration. With all the arguments between noble families lately, a gathering for love and unity might ease tensions, and bring the right people closer.”

He paused, then turned to the advisor beside his grandfather.

“What do you think, First Noble lady Tiffany?”

Lady Tiffany, always calm and in control, gave the smallest nod. But that was enough. As if her quiet agreement broken a spell, voices began to rise around the room.

“Of course,” said Second Noble Advisor Lady Jessica, her voice sweet as honey. “Leave it to our heir to find the perfect way to unite us. No one is more suited to lead than you, my lord.”

Others agreed too. A bit too quickly, perhaps. But Baek-Jin didn’t gloat. He just smiled his calm, distant smile, the smile of someone who always knew he would win.

His grandfather, watching with pride and quiet amusement, finally raised a hand.

“Well then,” he said, his voice steady and final. “If everyone agrees, it’s decided.”

Then he paused, thinking. And said, “But I have one condition, grandson.”

Baek-Jin tilted his head. The old man’s eyes twinkled with mischief.

“You’re wearing your black robes, and you’re the state’s most eligible omega. If you’re hosting a celebration of love, I expect to see you dancing, with at least one alpha.”

The court buzzed with quiet shock. Some were delighted. Others were scandalized. Many were clearly thrilled.

“There’s no need to rush,” his grandfather added. “But if a mere dance could create enough distraction and gossip to ease the clan conflicts, even for a short while, and secure a temporary peace truce, wouldn't that be worth it? Don't you agree?"

Baek-Jin blinked slowly. He thought of Su-Ho’s golden smile. Of Baku’s quiet, stormy gaze.

Then he lowered his eyes, hiding the tight feeling in his chest. “As my lord commands,” he said gently, but with strength. “Let them gossip, then.”

He did love dancing. He had been trained well when he was a kid. But only with one alpha, the very same alpha who has been ignoring him. One who smelled like petrichor and cedarwood and seemed way out of the omega's reach for now.

The idea of dancing with strangers, with alphas who only saw him as a prize to win, made his skin crawl. Still, he nodded.

Endurance had always been his greatest strength. And besides, he knew very well that if you could stir gossip, you could stir hearts. And this would only help his Grand plan.

“Very well,” his grandfather said, turning to Lady Tiffany with a smile. “Lady Tiffany, I trust you’ll choose the right date.”

Baek-Jin’s eyes flicked to her, hopeful that the date would not coincide with his heat. That would be far too much to bear. 

Noble lady Tiffany stepped forward, Her voice rang clear through the quiet court.

“In two weeks, under the last half-moon, the Yeongdeungpo clan will host a celebration of love and unity, arranged and led by our heir, Young Master Na Baek-Jin.”

Baek-Jin swallowed.

Arranged by him?

He kept his face still and calm, but inside, one annoyed thought took root:

'So now I’m supposed to throw a ball for all the lovers in this cursed land… while being paraded like a jewel on auction? All because I was scared that a certain alpha would see right through my plans of luring him into my trap of love, scared that he would see how I was scheming behind his back and lurking around with a stranger who had just arrived in the village, all because I wanted to make the alpha jealous? Ughhhhh' he groaned in his mind. 

Lovely.

Chapter Text

“They say to be religious is to be haunted, and I'm bewitched… possessed by the sound of my name on your lips”

☾

A brief pause in between Baek Jin's deep thoughts of "what if's and "how-to's", walked in, in the form of golden robes wrapped around a menace.

Keum Seong-Je had arrived.

And his first instinct, True to his nature, was to run straight at Baek-Jin and tackle him in a dramatic hug, sending them both to the floor in a mess of tangled limbs and silk.

“You’re heavier than I remember,” Baek-Jin groaned just as dramatically as he had been tackled. “Did you eat a pig on the way here?”

“Not a pig, my lord” Seong-Je grinned. “But I certainly devoured a beautiful deer.”

His mischievous gaze flicked behind Baek-Jin, landing on Jun-Tae, who was just arriving, hair messy from travel, eyes warm and fond.

Baek-Jin rolled his eyes. “Dear gods, Spare me the poetry.”

Seong-Je only grinned harder and squeezed him tighter like a big over-excited dog.

He might be an omega, but Baek-Jin wasn’t a fragile thing and Seong-Je had spent years making sure no one forgets that. His affections are loud, unapologetic, and entirely lacking in etiquette.

But a particular alpha in the room didn’t find this display of affection, amusing at all.

From behind them, Baku cleared his throat in quiet disagreement. He was ready to voice his disapproval, perhaps launch into another drawn-out scolding match with Seong-Je, when someone else crashed into him from the side.

Jun-Tae, radiantly beaming, wrapped Baku in a hug like a cat forcing its way into someone’s lap. Go Hyeon-Tak followed behind, clapping Baku on the shoulder before hugging him, too.

“Did you miss us?” Jun-Tae asked brightly, as if they hadn’t just turned the courtyard into a disaster.

Baku looked divinely annoyed, but also secretly amused. Baek-Jin, still trapped under Seong-Je, laughed. “The circus has returned,” he said.

And for the briefest moment, it felt like the whole world was lighter again.

But the peace didn’t last long for the omega.

The weight of the world came crashing on to Baek Jin as Yeon Si-Eun, who had been quietly standing aside, was suddenly yanked into the chaos by Hyeon-Tak. The beta grabbed his wrist and pulled him forward with a laugh.

Si-Eun stumbled, barely managing a protest before he landed face-first into Baku’s chest with a loud thud. 

Baek-Jin winced at the sight, and then, promptly turned away.

Seong-Je, still beside him, raised a hand to shield Baek-Jin’s eyes as if to block out a crime scene.

“Brotherly love, be damned,” he muttered, just as protective as he was dramatic.

It was all too much - the tangled limbs, the laughter, the way Baku’s hand settled for just a second too long on Si-Eun’s shoulder steadying him.

Baek-Jin told himself he wasn’t jealous.

He just didn’t understand why Baku acted all cold and possessive when any othe alpha even glanced at him, but didn’t seem to mind being affectionate with other omegas of the village like Si-Eun.

Baek-Jin could accept Jun-Tae. He could understand that kind of platonic love. He could even admire it, in some strange way. But Si-Eun?

Si-Eun was different.

It wasn’t just the closeness between the two but the silence. The ease. The way Baku’s expression softened around him, like a man finding shade after lifetimes beneath the sun. That was the part Baek-Jin could never bear. It made him feel like something old and burnt out. Like something forgotten and left behind. How was he supposed to watch his Alpha so tenderly near someone else?

If Si-Eun was the peaceful water under the moonlight, then Baek-Jin was the smoke left behind after a temple's fire.

Even his scent spoke of it, dry parchment and burned wood, like incense that had been lit for too long. There was no sweetness in it. He wasn’t soft or easy. He was a reminder of something lost.

And that is exactly why he envies the omega so much. Si-eun is everything Baku wants, everything that Baek-jin could never be. 

That’s why Baek-Jin hated the way Baku’s hand now rested on Si-Eun’s waist. Not because he was jealous, but because he knew he could never be what Si-Eun was.

Seong-Je must have felt it, too. He slipped a comforting hand over Baek-Jin’s shoulder, grounding him.

As Baku embraced Si-Eun and the others, holding them close. Seong-Je’s hand moved to Baek-Jin’s lower back, drawing slow, soothing circles.

Everyone settled down, laughing and telling stories from their time apart, and Baek-Jin sat quietly in the corner, invisible to the lot of them, just like an old letter folded in between the pages of a book from a library no one visits anymore. 

But Seong-Je noticed. He always did. He caught Baek-Jin’s gaze and held it. Seong je pulled him closer in his embrace and no words were needed.

In that moment, Baek-Jin leaned into it. Into the comfort of someone who expects nothing from him. Into the quiet presence of a friend who never asked him to change.

He had no time to dwell on it though. He had things to do, places to be and people to run into. So he tucks the ache away for now and embraces his own dear friend in an attempt to soothe the ache out, before pulling himself together.

As soon as his lessons ended, Baek-Jin rushed to the Clan House, knowing he would run straight into Noble Lady Taeyeon, another one of Aunt Yoona’s closest friends.

She held the title of Third Noble Advisor of Yeongdongpu, only because she’d chosen it herself. It was the only role that gave her the right to organize the ceremonies and grand balls she adored so much. At this point, she might as well be a goddess of arranging ceremonies, no one knows that art better than she does.

“What a happy coincidence this is,” Baek-Jin said as his sweet little arrangement that he carefully and secretly arranged, went perfectly. Lady Taeyeon was walking right toward him.

He bowed deeply, making sure to deliberately keep eye contact the entire time.

“My humble greetings to the Third Noble Advisor, Lady Taeyeon,” he said.

“Young master Baek Jin,” Lady Taeyeon replied, dipping her head gracefully. “what a pleasure it is to see you. You’ve been hard to find lately.”

“Ah... I’ve simply been busy with something, dare I say, you’ll find quite interesting,” Baek-Jin replied confidently. “Tell me, Lady Taeyeon, why weren’t you at court the other day?”

“I had other matters to attend to, my lord,” she answered calmly. “I just returned, actually. I was on my way to the court at this very moment.”

“Then allow me to stop you,” Baek-Jin said, resting one hand on the golden edge of the corridor. “Court can wait. I have something far more exciting in mind.”

Lady Taeyeon raised a perfectly shaped brow, but didn’t object. She was no stranger to the Na family heir, or his dramatic sense of what counted as ‘exciting.’ But, you didn’t just say no to a Na lord. Not without consequences, thus she waited and listened.

“I see,” she said, though she clearly understand where this was going. “Is this the kind of ‘exciting’ that leaves one’s hands rough with the amount of labor they had to do but their reputation sparkling?”

Baek-Jin smiled wider. “Only the sparkling part, I promise.”

She sighed, the kind of long, tired sigh meant for clever young lords who were always up to something, probably only good for their own selves. Still, she followed the omega as he pulled her towards the opposite direction of the court, though she could already feel something suspicious brewing.

It didn’t take long for her to realize where he was leading her. The celebration hall.

Of course.

She paused briefly, just long enough for Baek-Jin to take full advantage. Before she could say anything, he had already led her inside.

With all the flair of a performer, Baek-Jin gestured to the hall. “Tell me, Lady Taeyeon,” he said smoothly, “have you ever arranged a gathering, knowing that the 'love' celebrated was just a palatable mask for something far more calculating?”

She looked around the grand, echoing hall, and then back at the young heir.

“Only every week,” she replied smugly.

“But, my lord,” she added, “what kind of celebration needs the heir to plan it himself?”

“One that he proposes himself,” Baek-Jin replied flatly.

Her brows were still furrowed in confusion, so Baek-Jin gave her the full story of what had happened while she was away.

Once she understood, she was swept into the chaos of the room, where stewards and servants rushed around frantically. Questions came at her fast, questions only she could answer, and Baek-Jin gave them all the urgency of someone who had planned only half of what he was attempting.

The hall was a mess. Servants ran around. Retainers wandered in confusion. Guards argued over who was who and who was even allowed in the room.

And Baek-Jin, that clever little creature, had dropped her right into the middle of the chaos, knowing full well how much she hated disorder. She wasn’t about to just stand there in the middle of the madness.  As the clan’s ceremonial head, She had a reputation to maintain.

Her eyes found Baek-Jin’s. They narrowed with pointed silence, the kind that demanded answers without speaking a word. In return, he only gave her a wide-eyed, pitiful look, like a stray cat begging for scraps.

Taeyeon sighed. She couldn’t stand and watch her beloved Yoona’s little kitten drowning in such a chaotic mess.

Thus, she agreed to help, but only after understanding exactly what was going on.

Once she had a full grasp of the situation, she quickly laid out what needed to be done and how. She agreed to oversee all the arrangements, but made it clear she wouldn’t take charge. It was Lord Na’s wish that the omega lead, and she wasn’t about to steal his role and disregard the Noble Lord's order.

Baek-Jin was more than happy. Lady Taeyeon had basically handed him a treasure map, complete with rules and instructions. All he had to do was follow them. And this time, he would do so gladly..

The celebration was just two days away, and even though Baek-Jin wasn’t thrilled about skipping his studies, he told himself he’d catch up later. Still, the part of him that loved books missed them deeply.

But this was more important. It was the first celebration the Yeongdeungpo Clan had held in years, and it was being arranged entirely by their only heir.

Baek-Jin had planned everything himself, from the flowers to the invitations. He had even gone to each noble clan house in person to hand them out.

But beneath the chaos, Baek-Jin hadn’t forgotten why he was doing this. Tomorrow night, during the celebration, he would need to find an alpha. Maybe Ahn Su-Ho would do for now. One way or another, he needed to dance with someone. At least once.

Of course, the one he felt most comfortable with wasn’t invited at all.

Baek-Jin had left Baku off the guest list on purpose.

Not just because he wasn’t ready to be seen dancing with another alpha in front of him, but also because he couldn’t stand the thought of watching Baku offer his hand to someone else. Especially not Yeon Si-Eun.

He’d rather be haunted by Baku’s absence than endure the pain of seeing him with someone else.

⛈

“Your name’s not on the guest list,” said Go Hyeon-Tak, Baku’s dearest friend and the one who always filled the silence after Baku left Baek Jin and had no one by his side too.

They were from the same clan, and their friendship had always come easily. Hyeon-Tak was an alpha, training to become the First Noble once Baku became clan head. He was strong, but also soft-hearted, a mix Baku had always found strange but oddly charming.

Hyeon-Tak was the son of Noble Lady Soo-Young, an alpha and the First Noble of the Eunjang clan, and Lady Taeyeon, an omega from Yeongdeungpo who served under the same banner. Their son, Go Hyeon-Tak, was a scandalous, shameless creature, holding the reputation of shoving his member in any and every hole that opened up for him. 

They were sitting beneath the same pine tree where Ahn Su-Ho and Baek-Jin had lingered days ago. Baku sat in silence, turning over the possibilities of why he hadn’t been invited. But the answer was painfully clear -

Baek-Jin had grown tired of waiting.

And he had chosen to move on.

Baku didn’t know exactly what he wanted, but he knew for sure that he couldn’t stand to see Baek-Jin celebrate a night of love with another alpha. The thought alone left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Just imagining Baek-Jin near another alpha made something dark rise inside him.

One alpha in particular had already made it to the top of his 'Alphas to kill for fun' list. A list Baku hadn’t even realized he was keeping.

That Baek-Jin had invited even that unknown alpha, and not him, sat like a heavy weight in Baku’s chest.

So he made up his mind.

There was no world in which he didn’t go to that celebration. He had to be there. And he had to be the alpha Baek-Jin danced with. There was no other way he could picture this.

The only problem was that Baek-Jin clearly didn’t want him there. And Baek-Jin himself had arranged the entire celebration.

He had even gone so far as to deliver the invitations by hand.

Baku knew the omega too well. Baek-Jin didn’t show love through grand gestures. His affection was quiet, hidden in glances and small, thoughtful acts. And yet here he was, creating an entire celebration in the name of love and unity.

It didn’t feel right.

None of it did.

Had he really drifted so far from Baek-Jin that they no longer understood each other?

“No… that’s just not possible,” Baku exhaled. “I’ve been here the whole time. Watching him. Keeping an eye on him. There’s no way I wouldn’t have noticed if something had changed. I even make sure he sleeps cradled in my scent so he doesn’t wake from those nightmares.”

“Are you sure you do that just so he doesn’t have nightmares?” Hyeon-Tak asked. 

“Yes,” Baku replied, too quickly.

"And not because you want to keep him for yourself and you hate the idea of him smelling like anyone else but you?" he asked again and Baku flicked him in the back of his head. 

Hyeon-Tak didn’t say anything but his eyebrows kept moving up and down in a suggestive manner. Seeing that Baku was paying no attention to him, he only shook his head and let the silence stretch.

“What are you planning?” he asked after a pause.

Baku didn’t answer right away. He leaned on his cane, eyes narrowing as he looked up at Hyeon-Tak, who stood above him, hiding his concern with a smirk.

“I think it’s time we paid Aunt Taeyeon a visit,” Baku said at last, voice calm.

Hyeon-Tak let out a dry scoff, crossing his arms.

“Of course it is. Are you planning to steal the invite from my mother?” hyeon-tak was having too much fun playing with Baku tonight.

"No dumbass, if aunt Taeyeon escorts us to the ball, we won't even need an invitation." Baku got up from where he was sitting and began walking towards Hyeon-tak's house.

"Yes, yes. Let us go make sure no one is sliding their hands down your omega's waist but you." Hyeon-tak teased as he began walking right behind Baku. 

☾

Baek-Jin stood near the raised dais of the ceremony hall, dressed in silk as dark as dusk. His robes shimmered faintly in the candlelight. Tokens from every noble clan adorned him - a blue hairpin in his half bun, a golden ring resting against his pale skin, and a scarlet collar around his neck. The collar revealed just enough to show the sword mark on his throat.

He looked calm, but restlessness stirred in his chest. He knew Baku would come, even without an invitation. And that knowledge unsettled him.

Trying to distract himself, he looked toward the center of the hall.

Aunt Yoona stood in red, glowing with joy, while Uncle Jun-Ho couldn’t take his eyes off her. The sunset outside turned the sky pink, violet, and gold, as if it, too, was blushing for them.

The ballroom was a sea of color, nobles dressed in every shade, each one showing off their clan pride. The chandelier above sparkled like a second sun.

Baek-Jin took in the scene, his eyes sweeping across the gathering of those who have come to celebrate love. But a cloud of ashen smoke and a tight, aching weight pressed against his chest. The happiness around him only reminded him of how empty he felt.

He lifted his head, not allowing a single tear to fall, and composes himself just in time for the ceremony to begin.

Joy rippled through the room, and everyone seemed ecstatic and unashamed, at the display of affection between two old lovers whose hearts once planted the quiet seed of love, and through many autumns and winters, shedding leaves and bearing fruit, have grown a tree vast enough to cast shade even over the likes of Baek-Jin and Hyo-Man, who have long been burning in the sun.

That image gave Baek-Jin hope. A small breeze of comfort stirred inside him, and for a moment, he believed things might be okay.

The ceremony was short and gentle, like spring rain. Aunt Yoona drank the moon water from the leaf-shaped cup first as the priest murmurs his prayer. Uncle Jun-Ho followed, but instead of drinking from a different cup, he took hold of the cup in aunt Yoona's hand and maneuvered his face towards her palm, drinking from the same cup. The blessing was sealed, and the hall filled with cheers at the flirtatious display by Uncle Jun-ho.

The ceremony ended in a chorus of congratulations from everyone. The sun was now cascading away as the moon cast shades of blue and violet upon the world. Beneath the pull of low tides and silver light, Baek-Jin’s truth quietly rose to the surface.

He's expected to dance tonight, to exchange pleasantries and partake in the dull rituals of courtship. To take the hand of a stranger, to let their bodies draw close as he smiles on cue and moves to the rhythm, feigning delight he does not feel.

“Hyo-Man,” he whispered at the stark reminder. “Do you see Ahn Su-Ho anywhere?”

Hyo-Man scanned the crowd. “No, my lord. He hasn’t arrived.”

Baek-Jin’s expression faltered. He felt the disappointment like a quiet wound.

If Ahn Su-Ho doesn’t show up tonight, he knows what awaits him - a forced smile, a stiff dance, and the unwanted touch of some overeager alpha whose only interest lies in winning Baek Jin as if he was some sort of a contest and not a normal person.

He turns away, swallowing down the bitterness rising in his throat, when a voice, warm and pleased, breaks through the fog of his despair.

“Looking for someone, Young Master Baek-Jin?”

☽◯☾

Baek Jin turned slowly, afraid the voice might vanish if he moved too quickly, and found himself caught in the eye of a storm.

A silence, a beat and their eyes meet.

There stood Park Hu-Min, gaze fixed on the omega as if he too was scared that Baek Jin might disappear.

At a mere glance in Baek-Jin's eyes, Baku melts. The anger he had carried with him faded in an instant. What remained was longing.

Baek-Jin saw a hint of pride in the alpha's eyes. He saw the way Baku's gaze lingered on his throat and the way the feeling of pride turned into lust.

The collar! Baek-jin's eyes widened at the realisation.

The alpha's eyes are burning through the scarlet and ceremonial collar, resting against his throat like a brand.

Butterflies stirred in his stomach and he was almost embarrassed at the way his cheeks instantly turned warm.

Baku caught the slight blush, and smiled. His first smile, directed at Baek-Jin, in what feels like a lifetime.

“Evening, Young Master Hu-Min,” Baek-Jin said softly as he bowed down to greet the alpha.

Baku nearly melted at the sound. The sound of his name had never felt any closer to God than it did at this moment as it left Baek Jin's lips, he needed the omega to say it often.

He opens his mouth to admire this starry night standing so still in front of him "You look..." he starts 

“...like a night sky filled with stars and moonlight,” Ahn Su-Ho finished, stepping forward from behind. “Good evening, Young Master Hu-Min.”

The sound of his name, had never felt as close to an annoying child screeching as it did right now.

The silence between Baek-Jin and Baku shattered at the sound of Su-ho, and the air between them changed.

“Good evening, Young Master Su-Ho,” Baek-Jin replied, a polite warmth in his voice. But his eyes stayed on Baku, as the alpha promptly ignored the greeting.

The tension between the three of them was thick. But Su-Ho seemed to notice none of it. He stepped forward and offered his hand.

“May I have this dance, my lord?”

Baek-Jin didn’t answer right away. His gaze dropped to the floor, quietly waiting, hoping, for the Alpha beside him to interrupt. He wanted so badly for Baku to step in and sweep him away, to wrap an arm around his waist and pull him onto the center of the dance floor. To reach for the collar around his neck and tug it down in front of everyone, marking him then and there.

But Baku said nothing.

And neither did he.

The silence stretched between the three of them like a thread pulled too tight. Eventually, Baek-Jin decided that if the Alpha wouldn’t take offense to Su-Ho’s request, then neither should the Omega.

He was just about to accept the stranger’s invitation when...

“There you are.”

Seong-Je walked over with none of the caution the moment demanded.

“You promised me the first dance.” he said, as though that alone settles the matter. He had of course noticed the hesitation in the omega's downcast eyes and came to his rescue.

Both alphas turned to him, confused.

“You already have an omega,” Baku said coldly.

Seong-Je shrugged. “And?” he fized the alpha with a cold, unimpressed stare.

Hu-Min held his glare, unbothered. But Jun-Tae came up behind Seong-Je and placed a gentle hand on his arm.

“Seong-Je,” he murmured softly, a quiet plea rather than a warning.

But Seong-Je wasn’t finished. “It’s not like you haven’t danced with my omega,” he muttered. “And you don’t even deserve Baek-Jin, if you wanted him so bad, you should have taken his hand before anyone else had a chance” he finished loud enough for everyone to hear.

Then, without waiting, he grabbed Baek-Jin’s hand and pulled him onto the dance floor.

Baek-Jin didn’t resist. But he did look back.

Twice.

Under the chandelier, Seong-Je danced with exaggerated grace, swinging Baek-Jin as if trying to prove a point.

“Do you even know how to dance?” Baek-Jin asked, clearly unimpressed by the alpha's 'dance'.

“Better than your two brooding, dumb Alphas,” Seong-Je replied.

“They’re not my alphas,” Baek-Jin muttered.

“One of them is.”

That shut Baek Jin up. Seong-Je grinned like a fox, devilish and pleased with himself.

The omega frowned. “What twisted idea is running in your head now?”

“Nothing,” Seong-Je said with fake innocence.

But before Baek-Jin could respond, a hand curls around his wrist, gentle, almost idle, and then, with unbearable boldness, he's drawn forward against Seong-Je’s chest, breath catching somewhere between protest and surrender.

“Seong-Je-ya, what are you doing? You have an Omega.” Baek-Jin was scandalized.

If it had been him in Jun-Tae’s place and Baku in Seong-Je’s, Baku’s head would already be served on a platter. But here was Seong-Je, openly flirting, tugging a random Omega close while his own betrothed stood to the side.

“You think I’m enjoying this?” The smile on Seong-Je’s face didn’t waver for a moment. “This was Jun-Tae’s idea. If I do this right, I get to give him a new courting gift, so brace yourself, Na Baek-Jin.”

Baek Jin was confused, what kind of a courting gift was it that Seong Je was willing to go so far? He opened his mouth to ask but his breath was caught.

Seong-Je's palm that had been resting on Baek-Jin’s shoulder began to move, slow as melting snow, inching downward in a deliberate, agonizing pace, from Baek Jin's should blades to the dip of his waist, as if each second was meant to be felt, not escaped.

Just as his fingers neared the small of Baek-Jin’s back, right where those two sweet back dimples rested, and just as his thumbs poised to press into them with a wicked gleam in his eyes...

...they were interrupted.

Baku had appeared right behind them out of thin air.

Without a word, he pulled Baek-Jin away from Seong je's grip and into his arms.

Baek-Jin swayed in his heavy robes, clinging tightly to the Alpha’s shoulders, holding on to steady himself. Baku’s hands had found his waist without hesitation, drawing him in so close, Baek-Jin could count the Alpha’s lashes.

His grip tightened around Baek-Jin’s waist, pressing their bodies flush together. Baek-Jin could feel the heat of him, the safety in his arms.

Wrapped in the Alpha's broad frame, Baek-Jin who was nearly as tall as the Alpha, felt unexpectedly small. The Alpha's touch was surprisingly gentle, his fingers brushing along Baek-Jin's cheek, from the blush on his cheekbone and resting on the soft curve of his chin.

Fingers hooked under the Omega’s chin, Baku drew his face closer, their lips only a hair's breadth away "You are not for sharing, little omega, you are mine" Baku whispered, and Baek-Jin lost his footing.

Baku caught the omega, holding him even tighter in his grip. His hand moved to Baek-Jin’s throat, thumb brushing over his mark.

“I claimed you before we were even born,” Baku said, looking at omega's mark with possessiveness seeping through his eyes.

“It could be Ahn Su-Ho’s mark,” Baek-Jin replied softly, though he was sure he was shivering.

Baku froze. His thumb stopped brushing against the omega's throat and he looked into his eyes, an unspoken challenge written in those eyes for the alpha; 'are you sure you're the one who I belong to?'

Baku’s face twisted into a grimace. He had no answer for the question, no way to accept or reject the challenge, because deep down, he believed that mark belonged to him. But did that truly mean he could have the Omega all to himself?

A shiver crept down his spine at the thought of Baek-Jin with someone else. Could he really bear to see it? The image alone annoyed him so deeply, he wanted nothing more than to pull Baek-Jin away from the countless Alphas watching him.

Without another word, he pulled Baek-Jin away.

The celebration faded behind them, the murmurs of the crowd growing distant.

And they stepped into the night.

Chapter Text

There are lovers who live in love,
and lovers who die, 

There are lovers who sin in love,
and lovers who lie

but strange must be this love,
held in the heart of mine;  

for even in this distance,
we’re closer than the sky”

☽

Standing under the clear moonlit sky by the edge of the Hyeongsan River, Baek-Jin turned at the sound of approaching footsteps. From the street above, Si-Eun was hurrying down the slope. Behind him, Baku’s companions and Ahn Su-Ho followed, the distance between them closing fast.

“Baku!” Su-Ho’s voice rang out from the top of the street, loud and urgent, slicing through the stillness like a pebble dropped into still water.

An infuriating snicker sounded from behind them. Seong-Je was strolling down the path at a leisurely pace, arms swinging carelessly, and grin obnoxiously wide.

‘This brat,’ Baek-Jin thought, already annoyed. ‘Couldn’t he at least pretend to care?’

The truth was, Baek-Jin didn’t need help. He was more than capable of handling himself and holding his ground against Baku if he ever needed to. But he let Baku pull him anyway. The board was set. All the puzzle pieces exactly where he wanted them.

Except Seong-Je.

That insufferable brat was grinning and that wretched grin said it all, he knew. He had seen right through Baek-Jin's sly little move when he said 'It could belong to Ahn Su-ho', and now his petty little mind was probably spinning a dozen ways to ruin it. If Baku hesitated even a moment longer, all of his plan will be ruined.

But Baek-Jin didn’t have much time to glare at his dear friend, because Baku was already scooping him up with disarming ease. As though he were something both precious and inconvenient, something Baku would gladly carry forever.

Still half-draped over Baku’s shoulder, Baek-Jin caught Si-Eun’s eyes across the dock and smirked. A silent, triumphant smirk. Then he slid his gaze to Seong-Je, who scoffed dramatically and stormed off with Jun-Tae behind, sulking like a child denied his favourite toy.

When Baku finally set him down on the deck, he did so with an almost ridiculous gentleness. His hands lingered on the omega’s waist, grounding him. Baek-Jin, still staring at Si-Eun and smiling, barely registered the command “Eyes on me.” The omega's attention being elsewhere while his alpha sat right before him annoyed Baku and thus he demanded his full attention on him.

The omega’s gaze flicked to the alpha, his lips already forming his best damsel-in-distress pout. He looked down, partly for effect, partly because looking at Baku right now might make this too real.

“I know you better than Seong-Je ever will,” Baku stated at the omega's obvious false display of helplessness.

“No, you don’t,” Baek-Jin replied, the words quiet but not soft.

Baku’s smile faltered at that, slipping into something darker, heavier. Baek-Jin looked away quickly, the weight of that truth, of indeed being known by Baku better than anyone else, coiling in his stomach like a secret thrill.

The boat began to drift, rowed by a boatman Baek-Jin hadn’t even noticed. Across from him, Baku sat, back to the shore, one hand extended in front of him wordlessly, a hopeful 'If I were to extend my love for you, would you take it?' resting in his eyes.

Baek-Jin stared at it.

To this abandoned Omega, that hand wasn’t an offer of affection, it was a declaration. To him, what Baku extended wasn’t the honour of his love, but the grip of possessiveness. In Baek-Jin’s mind, that hand didn’t say I am in love with you. It said, You are mine.

His throat tightened.

He wanted to take it. Desperately.

Every part of him screamed for it, to belong with him, to stand beside the Alpha as his equal, not as something he pitied and accepted out of guilt. He didn’t want to be claimed like an old favorite toy, rescued from dust only to be displayed again.

In Baek-Jin’s head, that hand was only outstretched now because the Alpha feared losing him. And once the threat passed, once they returned to shore, that hand would drift right back around Si-Eun’s waist.

He didn’t want to be Baku’s plaything. Every effort he had made, every glance he’d stolen, every moment spent near the Alpha, it had all been for love. He wanted to be the love, not a consolation. Not a second wife shadowed by a first beloved.

If he were to have the Alpha, it would be his heart and his soul, not just his jealousy.

So, he didn’t take the hand.

Instead, with the same calm he wore like armour, he rose and sat beside Baku, graceful and unbothered, as if the invitation hadn’t been extended at all.

He didn’t want to be owned. He wanted to belong. If Baku wanted him, he would have to fight for him. Because Baek-Jin knew both the alpha and himself very well, and that very knowing feeling told him that if the tables were turned, he would cross oceans and tear down empires just to reach Baku.

So yes, he didn't simply want to be possessed, he wanted to be worshipped.

And he wanted to be worshipped by Baku and Baku only.

That moment under the chandelier, when Baku had pulled him close and traced the line of his jaw, whispering sweet nothing's across his skin, he had felt it. Like a prayer whispered in the dark, the sword on his neck had caught fire. The words 'this is where you belong, among the worship of a devotee and his holy touch, in the hands of someone who sees your fury and worships it.' chanting in his ears at the alpha's touch.

It was the closest he’d come to being worshipped, and Baek-Jin hasn’t stopped craving it since. Just one more touch. One more moment of that devotion and he'd be satisfied for a lifetime, he prayed.

The gods must’ve been listening.

Because Baku’s hand found his waist again, pulling him in, grounding him like he always does. Baku might not know the right words meant for Baek Jin's ear, but his hands always spoke fluently, pulling and tugging the omega every chance they got.

Baek-Jin didn’t respond. He simply stayed there, still and quiet beside him like a ghost Baku once dreamed of and never quite let go.

“Do you truly believe Ahn Su-Ho has a claim on you?” Baku asked, voice low and laced with contempt.

“It doesn’t matter,” Baek-Jin replied, eyes fixed on the magnificent scenery of mountain paths and starry night in front of him.

“This mark merely means I have a valuable womb. It's a simple mark that says 'I am Fertile and good enough to bear healthy children for an alpha, excessively so for one of them. Nothing more.” his eyes now admiring the crescent moon hanging low in the sky over them.

He exhaled, steadily “I have lived my life in the constant remembrance of absences. The absence of a parent, replaced by a nanny. The absence of a friend, replaced by someone who mirrors the same emptiness I posses."

He turned to the alpha. “Tell me, how hard could it be to replace love with pleasure?”

“I’m the only heir of the Na bloodline,” he continued, “It wouldn’t be hard to find an alpha just tolerable enough. One who doesn’t treat me like a possession. I could live with that, Baku”

A pause.

“I don’t belong to you,” he said.

“I can marry anyone I choose. Bed alpha I want. There’s nothing stopping me. No mark. No vow.”

A breath.

“Unless…” he trails off, but when he looked up, the hurt in Baku’s eyes stopped him and he had to look away.

Baku watched him, voice breaking as he tried to say. 'Even your lies sound like prayers.' but nothing left his mouth.

He leaned in, resting his head lightly on Baek-Jin’s shoulder and thought of all the words he wanted to say to the omega.

He want to tell him that 'I have lived my entire life believing that there is one heart in this world, that beats for me and only me. I’ve built a rose garden for you in my heart, thorned, but drenched with the scarlet maroon of my love. I keep your fury between my ribs and I feel your sorrow lodged somewhere deep in my lungs. Even the sound of your pain leaves me breathless..'

He buried his face deep in the curve of the omega's neck as he let his thoughts continue

'You’re the scent of old books and the warmth of home on a stormy night. You’re the fire that even my thunder cannot extinguish. Our scents mingled together are the comfort of a cozy home in a thunderstorm outside and you speak of trading this for convenience? As if what we are could be undone by convenience?'

Finally, when Baku looked up to meet the Omega’s eyes, all that left his lips was:

“You belong to me. And I will have you. Run, as fast as you want. Let’s see how far you get.”

Something tore inside Baek-Jin, and it was not pain he felt. It was something worse.

Want.

The word landed like a blow to his ribs; his gut twisted, recoiled, and rewound, all at once but he could do nothing but breathe through it.

Baku had let his thoughts wander, but not a single part of what truly mattered had been spoken aloud. No apology. No confession. No softness.

All he gave the Omega was a possessive 'You are mine' and that was what pushed them further apart.

To Baek-Jin’s already splintered heart, it was clear. Baku still didn’t understand him.

He didn’t need him.

He just wanted to own him.

And Baek-Jin’s body heard it.

His Omega stirred in defiance, wanting to push the Alpha away. But Baku pulled him closer instead, his mouth near the omega's ear.

“Buckle up, my heart,” he whispered.

“There’s a storm knocking on your door. Let’s see how long you can hide.”

Baek-Jin flinched. My heart. His mother used to call him that. Her voice flickered through his memory, threading a tear to the corner of his eye, but he held on. To himself. And to Baku, for now.

A wave of practicality washed over Baek-Jin, he understood that more than a mere flicker of jealousy was required to truly bring the Alpha back to his side. He sighed, deliberately pushing away the threat of tears, choosing instead to bask in the fleeting comfort of the alpha's embrace for now.

They stay like that, holding each other in silence. Baku’s breath ghosted over Baek-Jin’s neck, scenting him deeply, marking him in a way no other Alpha dared.

When the boat reached the dock, Baku hopped down and lifted the omega by the waist to help him get off the boat, but even when the omega hopped down, Baku's hands did not leave his waist. They stood there, eyes locked in each other's, faces inches apart, foreheads nearly touching, and caught in something neither wanted to escape.

At least not until Su-Ho’s voice rang out again.

Baek-Jin pulled back, forcing Baku’s hands away from his waist and the Alpha groaned low under his breath, as he had to let go.

Su-Ho and the others approached, but none of them dared come closer than a polite two steps.

Baek-Jin blinked. Why were they all hesitating?

He turned and saw Baku’s smug grin.

“Really,” he muttered.

Baku had scented him. Deeply. And worse, arousingly.

The scent on Baek-Jin was unmistakable. Thick with Baku’s claim. It screamed mine, buzzing under his skin, drawing glares from Alphas and queasy looks from the nearby Omegas.

Baku really scented him with his own arousal's smell and the fact that Baek jin is not annoyed by it is a clear indication of what it means. Baek jin's omega has long since accepted Baku as his alpha and it's only a matter of time until they're together and Baek Jin's fertile womb is filled with Baku's litter, giving him a cluster of pups!

Baek Jin's cheeks flushed.

“Let me walk you home,” Baku said casually.

Baek-Jin nodded, and they left together.

The walk home was short. Baku didn't touch him and Baek-Jin, restless and burning, said nothing either. When they reach the gates of his manor, Baek-Jin bowed to the alpha quietly and they parted ways with no words spoken or glances exchanged.

And for once, Baek-Jin didn't mind. Atleast he had the alpha's attention for now. He'd soon turn that attention into affection. All he had to do was stay patient and play along with the alpha.

That night he went to sleep, reeking of the alpha's aroused pheromones. 

☽

A siren was singing.

The melody drifted in, eerily familiar, like his mother’s voice, softened by time. Baek-Jin stood in the courtyard of his manor, though something felt off. The walls looked washed out, the colors dulled as if the world itself had lost interest.

The voice grew closer, whispering at the edge of his ear, luring him with notes that tugged at something old and aching in his chest. He followed.

He pulled open the front door and found her, his mother, seated on the couch, knitting a sweater like she used to. Wordless, he walked over and collapsed into her arms. She welcomed him with a tenderness only memory can carry, pulling him onto her lap and singing that lullaby he hadn't heard since he was a child.

He sobbed, quietly, the way only someone who has long forgotten comfort can.

“They talk about a memory so sweet that it tastes almost bitter when passed. I was wondering the other day, if the sweetness of my memory was washed away by the blood on my hands or the sutures of my hatred had fastened them away.” Baek jin muttered through sobs.

“I now see it though. That memory can be crueller than a blade if voiced in the sweet melody of one's childhood dream.” He finishes. “This is a dream isn’t it, a nightmare perhaps?”

The sweet relief of the illusion of his mind shatters like a broken mirror at his question, his mother's voice cracks.

The tune falters and turns brittle. 

“You’ve memorised my wound by heart. Even in my passing, you remember how to hurt, for me. But you ache not just for me, but for yourself too. The absences have become the memories that make up your life. You need to hold onto him, my heart. Make him your anchor, he will help you reach the shore.” his mother rasped.

And then, a jagged sound tore from her throat. Baek-Jin looked up.

Her throat was slit. Blood pooled along her collar, and her eyes... they were filled with confusion, pain, betrayal, and were staring straight into his. Her trembling hand pointed at his own.

And Baek-Jin looked down.

His hands were stained red, wet with something still warm. 

He screamed.

☀

Baek-Jin jolted awake and immediately regretted it. If there had been a basin of holy water nearby, he would have gladly dunked his face in it.

Sitting at the foot of his bedding, like a nightmare made flesh, was Seong Je, face buried bluntly in Jun-Tae’s open chest. Jun-Tae, for his part, looked seconds away from combusting as he tried to wriggle out of Seong Je’s grasp, flushed and disheveled.

Baek-Jin let out a scream, louder than the one from his actual nightmare. It was enough to bring the entire household charging into the room.

Jun-Tae all but dived for cover, fumbling with his robes and ducking behind Seong Je like a child caught stealing sweets. Seong Je, ever the menace, just smirked down at Baek-Jin and licked his lips, as if this were all part of a morning ritual.

With a noise of pure outrage, Baek-Jin started hurling anything within reach at Seong Je - pillows, scrolls, maybe even a candlestick, and had to be physically restrained by Hyo-Man.

“What was wrong with you?” he snapped, voice half-choked with fury. “What in the name of gods did you think you were doing in my chambers?”

Seong Je laughed, utterly unbothered, while Jun-Tae peeked out from behind him like a child caught in the middle of a brawl.

“My apologies, Baek Jin-na,” Jun-Tae said, tone sheepish. “You went into heat the morning after the celebration. With Aunt Yoona off vacationing with Uncle Jun-Ho, there was no other omega available to tend to you. Baku…” he hesitated, visibly uncomfortable, “…Baku didn’t want Seong Je to be the one helping you, so he asked me instead. I have been here for the past three days. It is over now, so you don't need to worry. Seong Je just came to check on you.”

“I don’t know, Jun-Tae-ya,” Baek-Jin said coolly. “Are you sure he came for me? Because last I remembered, he was checking you just fine a moment ago.”

Jun-Tae’s cheeks flushed the same red as the rims of Baek-Jin’s eyes, and despite himself, Baek-Jin felt embarrassed too and let the subject drop.

And before anyone could say anything more, Hyo-Man’s voice sliced through the awkward silence. “Young master Park Hu-Min is waiting for you in the reception room, my lord.”

Baek-Jin glanced at Seong Je, and just like that, the warmth drained from his face. The irritation returned in full force.

“Wait in the reception room,” he said tightly, already turning away. “Both of you.”

Baek-Jin made a beeline for the bathhouse. He didn’t even pause to think, just stripped down, stepped into the stone bath, and let the cold water take the heat off his skin. Minutes later, he walked out dripping, barely towel-dried, and Hyo-Man was already there with his robes folded neatly in his arms.

“What happened?” he asked, slipping his arms into the sleeves.

“Ahn Su-Ho was spotted sneaking into the King’s court late at night, the day before yesterday,” Seong Je answered, lounging far too comfortably against the doorframe.

Baek-Jin hummed, unfazed. “That is old news, isn't it?” He tossed Hyo-Man a glance, eyes narrowing. “What about Baku?”

Hyo-Man hesitated. Seong Je, on the other hand, was already staring him down with a suggestive wiggle of his brows and a look that needed no translation.

Baek-Jin froze. Then, very slowly, he yanked the robe tighter around himself. “You insolent bastard. What exactly are you implying?” His voice was clipped, brittle with embarrassment.

“Young master Hu-Min’s rut was triggered,” Hyo-Man answered delicately, eyes trained on the floor. “Apparently after he came to drop off his tunic… for you.” Baek-Jin blinked. And then groaned.

Of course. That explained the twitch in Seong Je’s eyebrow, the smirk, the theatrics. Shameless.

Utterly shameless.

Seong Je shrugged and then asked, “What if your stupidly obsessed alpha found out?”

“He already knows,” Baek-Jin replied, calm as ever.

He didn’t have to look to know Seong Je was blinking at him like a frog hit with a riddle. He could practically hear the gears grinding in that chaotic little head.

“Yes, he is the witness. The only one there is,” Baek-Jin continued. “But we haven’t spoken about it yet, so you’d do well to keep your mouth shut.”

“Sure. Why wouldn’t I?” Seong Je shrugged. “But if he did figure out who exactly is after you, will he really stand by your side? That’s assuming he even accepts you for what had already happened.”

Baek-Jin didn’t flinch. “That's a mountain we’ll climb when we reach its foot.” He adjusted the sleeves of his robe, then added, “For now, I needed your help with something else.”

Seong Je raised a brow. Predictable.

“I am being followed,” Baek-Jin said, voice dropping a note. “I have always felt a few eyes on me, steps too quiet to name, but most times I just ignore it because they are the guards sent by my Grand father for my protection. But, that night on the boat... I felt more than a few pair of eyes on both me and Baku. As if someone was waiting for the right moment to end this.”

The hint of worry on Seong Je's face confirmed his suspicions.

“They aren't trying to catch the culprit anymore,” Baek-Jin finished. “They are trying to silence me. The Queen must be restless.”

Seong Je's eyebrows drew together in a slight frown, but his lips were pressed into a thin, determined line.

“I need you to walk me home for a few days,” Baek-Jin said, tone casual, eyes anything but. “At least until I figured out exactly who’s following me.”

He turned to leave, then looked back, smirking faintly. “And maybe send the Queen a sweet little hello from her grandnephew while we’re at it.”

Seong Je nodded, turning to the bathhouse window to send a quiet message of his own to the clan.

Baek-Jin slipped out, robes clinging to damp skin, and made his way to the reception room, where, supposedly, Baku was waiting.

Supposedly…

Because what greeted him instead looked less like a personal visit and more like the beginnings of a military coup. Baku was seated inside, perfectly composed, while his three ever-loyal minions stood at the door like ceremonial guards. And in their midst right next to Si-eun, stood Ahn Su-Ho, polished and smug, like he belonged there.

Baek-Jin let out a quiet scoff. “What a pleasant surprise,” he muttered.

"Well, well, if it isn't Young Master Park Hu-min," Seong Je drawled, his voice thick with annoyance as he emerged from behind Baek Jin. Then, his tone shifted, becoming noticeably warmer as he spoke to the surrounding group, "And a pleasant morning to you all."

Seong Je’s voice carried just enough bite to turn Baku’s head, toward the direction he had just walked out of. Did he just walk out of the same bathhouse as his Omega?. His gaze darkened but Seong Je didn’t even blink.

“A Very Good morning, Young master Seong je,” Ahn Su-Ho, ever the polished gentleman, said.

“Good morning, everyone,” echoed the three minions, in perfect unison.

Baek-Jin sighed. “Well. Shall we begin whatever this is, or is someone still waiting on a fourth horseman?”

“Morning, my heart,” said Baku and the entire room went still, including Baek-Jin.

Of course he’d say something like that. Baek-Jin had always known it would take just a nudge, a little push, for Baku to finally step over that threshold. He just hadn’t prepared himself for what it would feel like when he did.

“Morning, Baku,” Baek-Jin replied. The first name with no titles left his lips even before he could think, and a boyish grin, bordering on smug, spread across Baku’s face.
"Now, now, since when are you two on a first name basis?" Seong je's question was answered with a slap on the back of his head by Jun tae.

Baek-Jin cleared his throat, pretending his heart wasn’t doing somersaults. “Breakfast, anyone?” he offered, like this was just going to erase what happened just a moment ago.

“No, thank you,” Jun-Tae mumbled.

“We’ve already eaten,” Si-Eun added.

Baek-Jin raised an eyebrow. “Then may I ask what brings the entire royal militia to my doorstep before sunrise?”

“I was already here,” Jun-Tae offered, almost apologetically.

“I came with Baku,” said Hyeon-Tak.

“I happened to run into Su-Ho on the way and thought I’d tag along,” Si-Eun said, far too casually for someone who never “happened” anywhere.

Baek-Jin turned to Baku. “And you?”

Seong Je didn’t wait for an answer. “Yes, Baku, do tell. What brings you here, beyond the obvious need to look dramatic in doorways?”

Baku didn’t blink. “Must I need a reason to see my future mate?” His eyes narrowed slightly.

Seong Je raised both brows but wisely said nothing.

“I didn’t see you for three days,” Baku continued, eyes returning to Baek-Jin. “It was only right I came the moment I was allowed.”

He paused, his tone lightening. “And it wouldn’t hurt to walk you to the Seowon every morning, would it?”

Baek-Jin tried not to combust on the spot. He almost succeeded. “Of course, my lord,” he said, too quickly, and Baku’s grin returned like he’d already won.

And perhaps, for once, he had.

With the meeting adjourned, the retinue made its way to the Seowon. Seong Je and Baku’s loyal band of misfits led the front, discussing gods know what. Baek-Jin was flanked, of course, by not one but two Alphas, as if fate had decided he needed constant supervision. Hyo-Man and the handmaids brought up the rear, the picture of restraint and propriety.

“How are you feeling, young master Baek Jin?” Su-Ho asked, voice gentle.

“I feel quite well, thank you for asking,” Baek-Jin replied in a light tone.

Baku, as expected, remained silent. His presence, however, spoke volumes, quietly but insistently guiding Baek-Jin by the elbow when they reached the gates, a gesture that somehow kept Su-Ho from walking too close.

Their idle chatter faded as they began removing their shoes at the entrance. One by one, they moved to their reserved spots.

Baek-Jin was about to do the same when a hand closed firmly around his wrist.

“Did you forget his socks again?” Baku’s voice was low, directed at Hyo-Man. The beta visibly winced and dropped to his knees in apology.

“My deepest regrets, my lord, please forgive me.”

Baku let out a quiet sound of irritation. He didn’t berate him further. Instead, he turned to his own manservant, who stepped forward with practiced timing and produced a pair of clean socks, soft and still scented faintly with cedarwood, the same cedarwood that wafted from all of Baek-Jin’s socks, and his brows furrowed.

He said nothing. But he was thinking about many things. About what it meant for someone to notice not just the absence of socks, but the exact scent they should carry. And about what it must have taken to prepare for a moment like this, just in case.

“What does this mean, Hyo-Man?” Baek-Jin’s voice was calm, too calm.

“My lord, please forgive me,” Hyo-Man said, still bowing, so low he was practically part of the floor. “I… I forgot your socks again. I swear I put them out with the rest of your things, but somehow, they keep going missing. I don’t know how it keeps happening...”

Baek-Jin narrowed his eyes. “Every time?”

Hyo-Man didn’t look up. He didn’t even move. Just sank deeper into the earth, as if it might swallow him whole and spare him the shame.

Baek Jin’s shoulders stiffened “Are you telling me… I’ve been walking around in Young Master Hu-Min’s socks, every day, without realising it?” Still nothing from Hyo-Man except a broken murmur and a barely-there tremble in his shoulders.

Baek-Jin stared down at him, then at the socks neatly folded in Baku's hands, socks that, in hindsight, did smell vaguely like wood and possessiveness.

After a moment that hung heavy in the air, his eyes widened slightly, and his voice colored with disbelief. “Did you put him up to this?”

Baku’s expression didn’t change, but the faintest glimmer of a smile tugged at the edge of his lips. “No,” he said, far too quickly.

Baek-Jin kept staring at him.

“...Maybe,” Baku added, and Baek-Jin exhaled a deep breath. “Gods help me, I’ve been scented without consent.”

Seong Je, from somewhere near the back of the room, burst into laughter.

Baek-Jin shot him a look that could send armies to war.

And Hyo-Man, wisely, stayed bowed, offering a quiet: “I’ll make sure it never happens again, my lord.”

“Oh no,” Baek-Jin muttered.

But Baek-Jin had no time to scold Hyo-Man because Baku was already guiding him, hand firm on the small of his back, towards a corner seat right beside his own. He didn’t protest. Just quietly sat down with his eyelids lowered, trying to piece together how exactly this morning had spiraled out of his control so quickly.

He was about to mutter an apology, some brittle attempt at saving face, when Baku sat beside him and, without a word, pulled Baek-Jin’s feet onto his lap.

The entire class gasped.

And Baek Jin looked up.

He felt it as eyes darted away in a hurry, the entire room scandalised after witnessing what was surely the boldest display of affection since the founding of the Seowon.

Baek-Jin felt a hand on his chin, guiding his face toward the Alpha's.

Baku's eyes seemed like they were saying 'Eyes on me. Only me.' and Baek-Jin understood their language without even a word leaving the alpha's mouth.

And with a touch that barely grazed his skin, Baku slid the socks over Baek-Jin’s feet like he was crowning him emperor of the world.

Baek-Jin was gaping. Not in horror, or protest, just in sheer disbelief. What… just happened?

A husky voice meant only for Baek Jin's ears escaped from Baku's lips, “Your handmaid is a foolish man. But luckily for me, a fool’s mistake is a lover’s opportunity.” He paused, smirking faintly. “Is it not, My maiden?”

Baek-Jin nearly combusted.

Without another word, he yanked his feet back and stood, his dignity flickering like a dying flame, and retreated to his proper seat. Only once he was gone did the room collectively exhale, as if someone had lifted a curse.

The rest of the lesson passed in silence for Baek Jin, but the crimson tide that crept up his neck and blossomed across his face betrayed the calm he tried to project.

☆

“My humble greetings to the revered King.” “My humble greetings to the Queen.” Greets the young master.

“What news do you bring?” the Queen asks, her voice clipped.

“Nothing of substance yet, Your Majesty,” the man replies smoothly. “But I’ve managed to befriend the young Lord of the Na family. I’ve stayed close, closer than most. I’ve even earned the trust of those around him. Sooner or later, a pin will drop, and we’ll have what we need.”

The Queen doesn’t blink. “It’s been ten years since my nephew’s death. That boy has outwitted every investigator I’ve sent his way. What makes you think you’ll succeed where the best have failed?”

The man smiles faintly. “Because that boy is in love this time. Utterly so. He’s drunk on it, floating somewhere above sense and reason. And love,” he says, “has a way of turning even the cleverest into fools. I only need to stir a little jealousy, and I promise, they’ll give themselves away.”

The Queen considers him. “We’ll see about that,” she says finally. “Don’t let your butterflies fly too close to the fire, young master.”

⛈

“Were you the one singing today?” Baek-Jin asked, glancing at Jun-Tae.

“Yea, it was me” came the quiet reply.

“You’ve got the voice of a siren, Jun-tae-ya. Seong Je is a lucky bastard, I must say.”

Jun-Tae flushed, murmuring, “Thank you, Baek Jin-na, but Seong Je possesses a good enough voice too, I assure you.”

“Is that so? Then we must hear him singing too,” declared Baek-Jin, a glint of mischief in his eyes.

They had finished their lessons for the day and were walking back now, though walking might’ve been a stretch, with Baku staying attached to Baek-Jin’s side like some overgrown shadow and all of his minions following suit, it rather looked like they were a bunch of lousy youngsters wasting away their youth.

Apparently, the alpha had taken it upon himself to escort the omega to and from the Seowon every day now. Naturally, Baek-Jin was given no say in the matter. There was no need for him to do such things. Baku had already made the decision.

Just behind them, Seong-Je looked moments away from committing murder. The arrows in his eyes were trained solely on Baku’s back, and Baek-Jin could practically hear the insult forming in that devil’s mind.

“Thank you, my lord, but really, you don't have to walk me home every day,” Baek-Jin had requested the alpha but his words fell on deaf ears.

Polite on the surface, his words masked the quiet calculation behind his eyes. He had planned to catch the Queen's men with Seong Je's help today but it seemed unlikely for that plan to work as he intended it to, with the alpha's presence around him.

Because the truth was, if the Queen’s dogs had even a shred of sense, they wouldn’t be showing themselves while Baku is around. Which meant Baek-Jin won't be able to catch them at all. They would be waiting, for a moment when he was alone. And Baek-Jin’s best bet was that they would attack him in his own manor.

There was something fitting about it, bringing down a murderer like Baek Jin, in the same house he committed his crime. Ending everything right where it began. The Queen surely had a good plan set up to take him down.

But all thoughts of the Queen's plan vanished from his head as a soft and eerie melody began playing in his mind instead. He could feel the change in the air, he could hear the sound of feet rushing towards him and of swords being unsheathed. ‘It will rain soon’ he thought. The cool air from the top of the mountain was making way for the rain. And the Queen's dogs were making their way towards Baek Jin, they weren't going to wait for him to be alone.

His quiet pondering came to a halt as they turned a corner and found themselves face-to-face with six men, their swords glinting low in the evening light. Faces covered, stances rigid. A performance, not a slaughter. They weren’t there to kill, at least, not yet. They were simply here to scare him.

‘A bone-tickling joke this must be’ thought Baek Jin. ‘Does the queen really believe a little bit of gore and blood will scare her beloved Grand nephew?’

Baek-Jin let out a scoff.

He had scanned the scene once, then looked over at where Seong Je was standing. The look had been brief, but enough. The menace would understand.

In the next breath, both of them went from two simple young lords to two predators, calculating how fast could they slaughter the six men.

If the Queen’s dogs had been dumb enough to corner him in an empty alley, then let her learn the hard way why her pretty little grand-nephew was the most formidable creature in the court.

Let them come. He had been tired of waiting anyway.

Bracing themselves for the attack, both Baek-Jin and Seong Je took a defensive position, ready to defend themselves but before they could even lift a finger, the scene shifted.

In the blink of an eye, all six men in black lay on the ground, their swords tossed aside, and their feet cut clean off. Cries of pain filled the air, and blood had already begun to stain the stone.

The assassins in black were gone.

Now, the group stood surrounded by a sea of guards clad in deep crimson robes. Baku’s noble guards had appeared out of nowhere, striking down the assassins in swift and quiet attacks. They now stood waiting for their lord’s command.

Who stood at the center of all the chaos.

A picture that would be painted on the walls of Baek-Jin’s eyes forever.

Baku's robes were flowing in the air like smoke, face impassive as a calm sea, hands folded neatly behind his back like he hadn’t just maimed six men without so much as a blink. One of the attackers was still upright, but barely. The sword he held in his hand now in the hands of the alpha as he slashes the attacker's right hand off his shoulder in a swift motion.

“Tell the Queen,” Baku said, as if he was bored out of his mind, “her grand-nephew’s mate sends his regards.”

Baek-Jin felt his spine lock. Seong Je looked at him, eyes wide with the same questions rattling in his own head.

Did he know?

Had he always known?

Was that why he had insisted on walking him home every day?

What in the gods’ name was going on?

Baku turned to Baek-Jin, then to Seong-Je. A silent exchange seemed to pass between the two alphas, and Seong-Je didn’t even wait for Baek-Jin to say a word. He gave a quick bow to the both of them and walked off with an easy grin, dragging Jun-Tae with him, shameless to the very end. It was as if he trusted Baku more than anyone when it came to Baek-Jin now.

Baku offered no explanation. Just extended his hand and said, “Come, let us get you home, my lord.”

Baek-Jin followed. Quietly. Because what was there to say?

Apparently, Baku hadn’t just been watching.

He’d been preparing.

Chapter Text

“If God is the sweet relief of faith, then I’ll carry your poetry as the sin in my veins.”

⁕

A warm cup of tea. A rainy evening. And the longing. The longing of a maiden awaiting her lover’s return, the kind that clings to the ribs like a second skin. That’s how Su-Ho finds Yeon Si-Eun. Perched on the porch of their treehouse tucked away in a secluded corner near the stream. 

Si-Eun sits still, hands curled around the cup of tea. A gentle steam is wafting from the tea cup toward his eyelids, but Su-Ho knows better. He knows the dampness in his orbs and the redness in those rims are for another reason altogether. 

If grief had a form it could be seen in the eyes of the man sitting in front of him. The sorrow they hold seem to have aged with melancholy and nostalgia, worn like an old coat. Su-Ho thinks Si-Eun’s eyes resemble the depth of the ocean and he is more than willing to drown in them. 

If it were up to him, he’d carve those eyes on the highest of the mountains and stain the skies with the shade of his lids. He’s never seen eyes as tragically hollow as Si-Eun's, and the urge to pour every inch of his love into that hollowness is almost unbearable. 

Si-Eun, on the other hand, seemed to be lost in a realm of his own. His gaze was fixed on the rain dropping leisurely outside. To some, these droplets might seem like tiny kisses from the ocean raining down on the earth, but in Si-Eun’s mind, they were merely a mirror. A mirror of the salt-laced tears that threatened to flow from his own eyes, yet never seemed to meet the earth. He couldn’t cry for himself, and thus, the rain took it upon herself to do it for him.

Su-Ho watched him, a bit at a loss himself. ‘What thoughts could possibly be weighing on him so heavily, that Si-Eun hadn’t even noticed his presence?’ 

“Su-ho-ya, do you think we’re doing the right thing?” That answers Su-ho’s question 
“I don’t know. What do you think is worse, breaking a mother’s heart or breaking two lovers apart?” 

The question leaves Si-Eun tangled. As if caught in the cobwebs of some nameless spider, creeping over him slowly, claiming him inch by inch, making him their home. Su-Ho moves toward the omega’s chair, he lifts the dazed omega ever so lightly and settles him onto his lap, face tucked into his chest.

One hand cradles the back of Si-Eun’s head, the other stroking slow patterns as he begins to hum. Quietly. Steadily. As if trying to lull away the weight on the omega's chest, the weight of choices too heavy for a mortal soul.
 
“If you think about it,” Si-Eun begins, voice quiet against the storm outside, “a mother will always stay a mother. That bond, forged by blood, isn’t so easy to break. Especially not when it's a maternal figure. But a lover?” He pauses, sighing softly into Su-Ho’s chest. “A lover lost in time is left behind to mingle with the dust, to take the form of memories in the guise of 'what could have been.'
 
A lover shows up on your door when it's raining havoc outside, he coddles you, warms you with his burning passion and his gentle hands caress the pain away and slowly put you to sleep. All for nothing but a look from their beloved, that says ‘I see you.’ I think that is what love is, seeing.” 

Si-Eun lets his weight sink further into Su-Ho’s arms, relishing the quiet embrace.

“I’ve seen you before, Si-Eun,” Su-Ho murmurs, fingers combing gently through his hair. “I see you now, and I always will. But for me, your eyes are a beautiful pair of longing and melancholy in form, I would love to be seen by them too.” Su-ho says, still caressing his hair.

Si-Eun scoffs quietly, though the sound is almost fond, almost broken. His breath evens out as he slowly begins to drift into that half-sleep that only ever comes in the arms of someone who knows how to hold you.

A faint whisper brushes his ear, soft as a prayer spoken into the night:

'I will stand on the pyre of death for you, my love. A kingdom? I will make it come undone in my bare hands if that means I could have you look at me just once. I see you too. And I see how much this push and pull breaks you. Rest now, my baby. I’ll take care of everything.”

And just like that, Si-Eun lets go, trusting finally, that someone might just mean it.

⛈

Do you ever think about hands?
Because Baek Jin does. All the time.

He’s thinking about them right now, as they walk the familiar path down to his manor, the same one they’ve taken every day since this strange tug of war began. He thinks about hands the way one thinks about ghosts: quietly, with hope and unease all disarranged together.

He thinks of his mother’s hands and the way they used to twitch, just barely, at the mention of the Queen’s name. He thinks of his grandfather’s hands, wide and weathered, and how his own tiny fingers once curled around them. It must have been ages since he last held them.

He thinks of his father’s hands, and the way they wrapped around his mother’s throat while she gasped for life. He shudders at that memory.

Baek Jin was eight years old when he saw it for the first time. How those hands that were made to protect and love, were choking the life out of his own mother in search of power. That moment never left him. It lingers in the twitch of his own fingers now, in the cold he feels even under warm light.

Today, however, he’s thinking about his alpha’s hands.

Besides him, Baku’s hand brushes his own lightly, neither holding nor claiming, but still there. 

He thinks about how Baku's palm was large enough to engulf the whole of his hand. Baek Jin wonders what it would feel like to hold that hand and share an eternity with those fingers clasped around his.

He thinks about that day he lit an incense stick at the temple perched high atop the mountain, how he whispered a prayer into the smoke, hoping that one day he’d return to that temple, hand in hand with his husband, and light those same sticks together. Two hearts, one beat, side by side.

He thinks about this alpha’s hands, the only ones that have cupped ever so gently around his ribs and kept his heart beating. And then, almost shamefully, he thinks about every moment he’s yearned for those hands to move higher, to wrap around his throat, not out of violence, but out of devotion. To surrender to them completely. To end the torment, or to belong, utterly, to their mercy.

He smiles at the contradiction in himself. The beauty in his pain, the relief in his ache. The tenderness in his ruin. Without a word, he sprints ahead, just enough to glance back with a tilt of his shoulder, and slips his hand into Baku’s.

The alpha flinches. Just briefly. But he doesn’t let go. Instead, he smiles. A knowing smile that lives somewhere between joy and adoration, like he’s witnessing a small miracle unfold right there in Baek Jin’s endearing antics. 

They walk home hand in hand. Their strides perfectly matching but not a word is spoken between them. Holding the alpha's hand like this as walk, a deep satisfaction washes over Baek Jin. The contradictions of the alpha's behavior confuses him. On one hand, his actions are gentler than a river stream on the other, his words are like the current cutting through that stream. Baek Jin is not sure what to make of it. How could this man be so gentle with him but his words cut him so deep? And would this man ever truly care for Baek Jin the way he wants him to or will he end of losing this tug of war and become nothing but a prized possession the alpha kept by his side? 

His thoughts wondered long enough that by the time they reached the gates of Baek Jin’s manor, the sun had already begun to sink in the west, draping the world in a soft purple glow. The sky was blushing, casting its shyness over the valley, painting the earth in hues that only seemed to deepen the crimson of the alpha’s robes.

Their eyes glowed with the reflection of the sun setting behind them in the deep valley, the soft hush of the tides brushing past the shore echoing in their ears. And there they were, Na Baek-Jin and Park Hu-Min, the two brightest flames in the mountain village, stood facing each other, hands still intertwined with the other.

“We’ve reached the manor, my lord,” a soft murmur leaves Baek Jin’s lips, eyes still unwilling to leave the alpha’s.

“Mn,” Baku is all but lost in the omega like he’s memorising every line of his face. His hand gently raises and brushes a strand of hair aside from Baek Jin’s temple. Neither of them willing to wake up from this dream.

The alpha’s fingers linger near the omega’s temple, sliding past the shell of his ear to the nape of his neck. There’s heat between them now, and the air is thick with the burning embers of their closeness.

The alpha slowly pulls the omega’s head closer to his and rests their forehead together. Not a word is said and the world is holding its breath as the both of them stay like that until the moon is pinned to the sky again.

Then, in a gesture more intimate than any, Baku tilts the omega’s head and presses a chaste kiss to Baek Jin’s temple. He stays there a moment too long, enough to brand it into memory.

And then he slowly steps back.

Baek Jin blinks, caught in the haze of it all, still feeling the ghost of that kiss on his skin.

Baku looks at the omega still lost in the blur of what just happened and bows deeply with a smile in his eyes. “I will see you tomorrow, my love.” He says and with that, he walks away.

Baek Jin stands there a moment longer, still fuddled in the maze of what just happened and stumbles into his chambers absentmindedly, Hyo-man nowhere in sight.

☾

The room carried an air of a quietness too low to be natural. Still flushed from the high of the kiss, Baek Jin was too deep in his daydream to notice the unusual silence. He walked straight to his chambers and pulled open the drawer where he kept the midnight-shaded robes he had worn at Aunt Yoona’s anniversary. The fabric still carried the alpha’s thick, territorial scent, intoxicating enough for the omega to want to sleep cradled in them every night. It made the silence feel less alone.

Baek Jin brought the robes closer to his nose and inhaled deeply, letting the scent settle in his lungs. He was mid-inhale, when a flicker caught his eye, a sliver of movement, just past the edge of his vision. A shadow, darker than the room should allow, passed by him. Baek Jin froze.

The high from his daydream immediately wafting off, leaving him sober again. He didn’t have to turn around to know. He could feel it, the watchful presence sticking out like a sore thumb in the room.

There were eyes on him now. Too many. The Queen's hounds had finally stepped out of the shadows and into his home. 

Baek Jin braced himself, eyes narrowing in the dark and turning to instead glow in a clear moonlight shade with his pupils nowhere to be seen. He could very well see in the dark, perhaps more clearly than he could in the day. His nostrils flared instinctively. Nothing, he could smell nothing but the faint scent of his robes. The dogs were playing smart tonight, using suppressants to mask their scent. Cowards.

With smell out of the question, he paced slowly around the chamber, treading towards the nightstand as his fingers reach for the book he keeps there. He wrapped his hand around the spine of his book and waited. The room was quiet for a long while. Even the dogs were scared to breathe lest they gave away their location. But Baek Jin was no coward. They were scared because they were against the kingdom's most favoured omega who also happens to be one of their best warrior. They were more at a risk of losing than he was and they knew that. 

Sensing that the dogs won't make a move first, Baek Jin took the labour of doing so on his own. He took a slow and deliberate step to his left, waiting for the dogs to attack and they very dumbly took the bait. The hair on his neck rose. Something moved behind him and he dodged just in time.

A sandbag came crashing into the space where his head had been, thudding dully against the floor. Baek Jin scoffed. "Sandbags? Really? What happened to the grace of ruthlessness in assassination?"

Just in time as he turned around to face his attacker, another one of the dogs launched a bigger sandbag at him, this one completely soaked in water. They were trying to knock him out cold.

But Baek Jin was done playing. The moment the heavy shape rushed toward him, he ducked low, pivoted on his right foot, and hurled the book in his hand at the barely visible silhouette in the corner of the room. The spine of the book met the flesh of the hound with a sickening crack. The dog screamed, loud and pathetic, enough to wake the entire manor.

Baek Jin lunged forward, ready to restrain him, but before he could, the room erupted in light. Dozens of lanterns flared to life outside, surrounding his manor in a golden ring. Light footsteps could be heard over the roof of his manor. A faint figure walked toward them, lunging through the window of his corridor, and the dogs collapsed one by one, wailing for mercy now that they saw who was coming.

Baek Jin did not have to guess. He just knew.

He was surrounded again, in a sea of crimson robes. Baku.

The alpha must’ve placed guards around him, shadowing his every step like silent sentinels. That explained the stillness. The quiet that didn’t feel like safety but surveillance.

Crimson-clad men filled the chamber now, appearing like blood seeping into a battlefield. Their blades were already drawn, polished steel glinting cold against the necks of the dogs cloaked in black. Not a single breath was wasted on threats. The message was clear.

Baek Jin does not flinch. He watched one of the black-clad men tremble under the sword pressing into his skin, and for a second, he pitied him, not for trying to kill him, but for not knowing who they were up against.

His eyes flicked to the doorway. Baku had not even entered yet. And still, the room already belonged to him.

The faint figure in the distance slowly came into the picture and Baek Jin exhaled a dry scoff. “Are you stalking me, my lord?”

Baku said nothing. He just strode forward, brushing past the guards like they don’t exist. His hands reached for Baek Jin immediately, checking his arms, his jaw, his ribs, searching for any sign of harm.

There was a frown carved between the alpha’s brows, worry written in the crease lines of his forehead as he made sure the omega is fine

“I’m not hurt,” Baek Jin murmured, voice rough from the adrenaline. “Remember? I’m the best warrior the state has. It’d be pitiful if I was taken down by a few sandbags and the Queen’s dogs.”

As if on cue, a disdainful scoff sliced through the tension from behind and they both turned around. Seong Je, dressed in obnoxious gold like a sore tooth, stood in front of them with arms crossed and judgment painted all over his face.

“You too?” Baek Jin muttered. “What is this now, a family gathering? Should I prepare tea?”

He doesn’t have to wait long for the answer, silhouettes shift behind both alphas, their minions materialis from the shadows like characters in a badly choreographed play.

Go Hyeon-Tak and Su-Ho step out from behind Baku. Jun Tae and Si-Eun emerge in turn behind Seong Je. Baek Jin sighs. Of course. This couldn’t have been any more dramatic if they’d rehearsed it. “Fantastic. All I need now is a violin and a dramatic monologue, and this circus is complete.”

His eyes landed on Su-Ho first. He inclined his head slightly.

“Young master Su-ho?,” Baek Jin said, tone polite but puzzled, “I understand the presence of the other minions, territorial nonsense and all, but if I may ask, what are you doing with Baku?”

Su-Ho cleared his throat, visibly flustered. “I… saw Baku running toward your manor and followed. I was worried something had happened. And indeed it did, but, I’m relieved to see that you’re safe.”

Baku didn't even look at the alpha. Didn' look at anyone. He simply reached out, grabed Baek Jin by the wrist, and started pulling him away.

Baek Jin barely had a chance to blink before Seong Je was in front of them, sword planted firmly on the ground.

“Let him go.” The words were calm. The warning underlining them, was not.

There's a moment of silence as both the alphas engage in a staring contest.

And then a violent crack echoed through the courtyard. Seong Je had hit the ground, his sword skidding across the stone tiles but Baku didn't even spare him a glance.

“Stop getting in my way,” he said, voice low and furious.

Baek Jin stared at Seong Je’s crumpled figure, startled, then turned to Jun Tae with a silent look that was part apology and part request.

Jun Tae noded at once, already at his alpha’s side. He bowed before leaving, but not without a final cold look thrown at Baku. The alpha didn't notice that either. Or he simply did not care at the moment.

Baek Jin was ushered through the quiet halls like a doll in silk. He said nothing until Baku sat him gently on the velvet-lined divan in the main hall and placed a glass of water in his hands.

Only then did Baek Jin speak, eyes flicking up to meet the alpha’s.

“You threw Seong Je aside, literally,” he said baffled.

“I did,” Baku replied plainly.

“And would you like to explain why before I start throwing things too?”

But Baku ignored the remark. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked again, more softly this time.

“I am,” Baek Jin reassured, voice even.

“Alright then. I’m staying here tonight.”

That earned a few raised eyebrows. The entire household, along with Baku’s remaining minions, were now staring at him.

Baek Jin lets out a half-laugh, half-sigh, deciding it would be better to speak with the alpha about Seong Je once he calmed down. “Suit yourself, my lord.” he said instead.

At that, everyone instinctively fell in line behind Baku, as if awaiting orders. Baek Jin watched with vague amusement as the alpha turned around, his posture straight, his voice suddenly thick with authority.

“Is everyone from the manor present here?”

The way he said it, like he was commanding a battalion, sent a quiet thrill down Baek Jin’s spine. The man sounded like war personified.

“I want every window, door, and corner of this manor checked and secured. Thoroughly.” His tone brook no argument. “Once you're done, go back to your quarters, but not without a weapon under your pillow. If what happened tonight happens again, I won’t be able to protect everyone. And I’m sure we all know that this master of yours does not care for any of you.”

Someone snickered at that and Baek Jin’s smile turned into a full puffed pout.

“Yahh... what?” he said, sulking. “Are you trying to turn my own household against me?”

The room broke into a low laughter. It was rare for anyone to see their young master pout like this. Baku turned back towards the diwan, where Baek Jin still sat, arms loosely folded.

With the flick of a finger, the alpha taped lightly at the omega’s lower lip. “Am I lying, love?” he asked, eyebrows raised.

Baek Jin did not answer. He didn't even blink. Instead, he just stared ahead, as if he didn’t hear the question at all.

“Of course you’re lying. My Baek Jin has been nothing but kind to all of us, hasn’t he, people?” Aunt Yoona cut in before anyone else could speak. She strode up to Baek Jin’s side and pulled him into a comforting hug.

“Besides, you just got here. Who do you think has been taking care of us this whole time, hmm?” she said with a teasing glance at Baku.

The omega buried himself into the hug, pouting like a child, arms slung around his aunt in a babyish embrace.

Baku snickered at the display but quickly turned back to the room. “Everybody heard me loud and clear?” he called out, voice slicing through the air.

“Yes, sir,” came the chorus in response.

“My guards will be stationed at every nook and corner of this manor. You lots need not worry. Now scram.”

The crowd took the hint and began dispersing, hushed murmurs trailing under their breaths.

“Young master Ahn Su-Ho.”

Both Baek Jin and Si-eun raised their brows. Did Baku just call Su-ho Young master? Young master Su-ho? With respect?

“Please take Si-eun home. Make sure he gets there safely. Stay by his side tonight, if you will.”

Baek Jin practically glowed. 'Yes, yes, my sweet smart alpha. Shoo the flies away', he thought with a smug satisfaction.

Su-ho, for once, didn't argue. He just noded and pulled a visibly annoyed Si-eun along with him. Baek Jin was ecstatic.

“I’m going to get your blanket,” Baku said now, turning his attention back to the omega who was not willing to let go of a very sleepy aunt Yoona. “Stay put. Do not go anywhere without me.”

“Yes, Alpha,” Baek Jin teased, as he finally let go of aunt Yoona, who scrambled back to her own bed with her alpha. He sliped right back into his favorite persona of 'a helpless damsel in need of saving'. One who was just saved by a big bad alpha, whom he’s fairly certain he could very much take singlehandedly. (in a battle he means…)

There was a hum of peace in the air. A melody too sweet on Baek Jin’s tongue as he lay on his stomach, legs lazily lifted in the air, watching the alpha take over the crisis as if it were the easiest thing in the world. Hair loose and tousled from the frenzy, lips humming a soft tune, clad in his usual silk robe, the omega was having the best day of his life.

The soft tune that curled in his mouth sang of contentment as Baku approached, the omega's anticipation reaching the peak as he waited to be drenched in the alpha's sweet scent. Baku draped the blanket over him with the kind of quiet tenderness that could almost pass for love.

Almost.

Because the blanket didn’t smell like him.

It smelled like the sea, like it had been freshly torn from the arms of an ocean-drenched omega named Yeon Si-Eun.

Without pause or ceremony, Baek Jin tossed the quilt straight into the fireplace at the corner of the room, flames devoured the fabric as quickly as his fury rose. He turned back to the alpha, a glare blazing in his eyes hotter than the fire now licking at the offending quilt.

“How dare you bring another omega’s scented blanket to me?”

His voice trembled, not with fear, but with rage so raw it nearly cracked the air. His heart stung, splintering into pieces he wasn’t sure could be pieced back together again.

Was this all a game to Baku? A performance? Did the alpha even like him, or was he just a breathing set piece for him to set on display?

“It was in your chambers, my love, I...” Baku’s voice broke like glass underfoot. His eyes, wide and wounded, looked as though he’d swallowed a hot iron. “I thought it belonged to Ahn Su-Ho. I thought it was his scent that lulled you to sleep.”

Ah. So that explained the crushed expression on Baku’s face.

Baek Jin shot up from the diwan, fury giving him wings.

“Did you forget to fuse the nerves in your brain together, you cabbage brained man?” he snapped. “I sleep buried under the same robes you scented the night of Aunt Yoona’s anniversary. My chambers stink of your stubborn scent like a bone wedged between my teeth. How in all the gods’ names did you think I would ever sleep wrapped in some strange alpha’s scent?”

His cheeks puffed up with anger. And those flushed cheeks resembled a steaming hot mandu that Baku wanted a bite of, right now.

The alpha laughed, a hearty, full-bodied laugh, the kind that only escapes when joy is too loud to hold inside.

“Is that so?” he asked, voice laced with the smug amusement of a fisherman watching a slippery little fish feign bravery. His hook was already lodged in the soft curve of Baek Jin’s cheek, and no amount of flailing under water could unhook him now. Baku intended to reel him in, to have just a small little bite.

“Ahh… I mean, they just, uhh...” Baek Jin fumbled on his own words, lips twitching and cheeks flushed as Baku’s laughter came again, just as deep and delighted.

“Ahhh, I get it,” Baku offered, merciful. “You sleep better in the scent of petrichor. That’s what you meant, isn’t it?”

“Yes, yes! Exactly that!” Baek Jin latched onto the lifeline with both hands. “It’s very refreshing. Calming. Relaxing. Yes.” He bit his lower lip the moment he finished, clearly aware he’d oversold it.

Baku arched an eyebrow, still grinning. “So how about this, I'll sit next to the diwan, on the floor. That’ll keep my scent close. You’ll feel safe.”

“No.” Baek Jin said it a little too fast. A beat passed, and then his performance began.

“I’m so scared, Alpha,” he whined, wide eyes filled with innocence and false fear. “Don’t go far. What if they come back for me?”

He blinked at the Alpha, all theatrical as he stared at him with doe eyes.

“We can sleep next to each other. This way, you can scent me properly and I can feel safe. Besides, I can't let a guest sleep on the floor now, can I?”

Even Baku looked mildly impressed. The omega was a seasoned actor.

Still, all he did was chuckle and started shrugging off his outer robe. “Aunt Taeyon always says, ‘Never say no to an opportunity handed to you on a plater.’”

He settled beside the omega, resting his head on Baek Jin’s lap without hesitation. The omega leaned back against the wall, fingers threading instinctively through the alpha’s hair. Their eyes met and they both broke into soft, giddy smiles.

Baek Jin tilted his head, observing the ease in Baku’s expression. There was something so unguarded about the way he smiled tonight; so honest, so disarming. Baek Jin's heart itched, for once the alpha seemed wear the same expression of ease around Baek jin, that he did naturally around Si-eun.

“What are you thinking?” he asked quietly.

Baku smiled. An eye smile, all crinkle and warmth, and answered Baek Jin’s question with one of his own. “Do you know the story of the Alpha Prince and his rebel Omega?”

“Nuh-uh, never heard of that,” Baek Jin replied

“There was a prince named Jang-Hyun of the Yoo Kingdom,” Baku began. “He was betrothed to the Omega princess of Lee. They were to marry under the first full moon of her eighteenth year.”

He paused to move his head that was still on the omega's lap, turning on his side to face Baek Jin more directly now. One hand playing with the hem of the omega's outer robes.

“Both the prince and princess were dearly in love with each other and were happy about the arrangement too. They grew up side by side, saw each other at every stage of life. Held each other through war and death. The Princess was the only person who could get the prince to even swallow a mouthful of bite after his mother passed away due to a tragic disease. There wasn’t a soul in the court or the kingdom, who didn’t believe theirs was a fated bond.”

Baek Jin was watching him now, wide-eyed.

“But…” Baku continued, voice dropping, “on the night of their wedding, on the very altar, as the prince leaned in to mark his omega, the Lee Kingdom had turned against the Yo. Soldiers stormed in the wedding hall. The king of Lee kingdom unsheathed his sword and aimed directly for the King of Yoo, who obviously was not expecting the tides to turn this drastically on him, was killed on the spot.”

“What?” Baek Jin’s brows knitted.

“The whole marriage was a ploy. The Princess's father believed his queen had once lain with the Yoo king and was reeling with anger because of that. He devised the entire plot just to get his revenge on the Yoo King. The bond between the prince and princess was just collateral in his rage.”

Baek Jin’s lips parted, something like understanding and sorrow slipping through the crack.

Baku wrapped his arms around the omega's waist, gently pulling him in close and burying his face in the omega's soft tummy.
 
“The prince was taken hostage,” Baku continued, “locked behind iron bars as the Yoo Kingdom was burned to the ground. Men slaughtered, women shamed, and children turned to ash. In the midst of all this ruin, the prince and princess were merely two love bird, caged in a war they didn’t start.”

Baek Jin’s chest tightened. He could already see where this story was going.

“At night, when the palace slept, the princess would sneak to the dungeons with warm food and medicine. She’d kneel before his cell and whisper lullabies through the bars. The prince, he was beaten daily by her father, humiliated and maimed, all for a suspicion that was never true.”

Baek Jin clutched Baku’s sleeve. “There’s no way out of that.”

“There wasn’t,” Baku nodded. “So the princess made one. She devised a plan too, just like her father and risked everything.”

“They escaped?” Baek Jin asked, hopeful.

“They did. But before they fled, the princess made a promise to the prince, one she whispered into his bloodied hands. She said, ‘When we are free, I’ll take you to the flower pits of the Jang clan. That’s where we’ll begin again.’”

Baek Jin’s lips parted. “Did they go?”

“They did. First thing. They ran through the forests barefoot, breathing like they’d never tasted air before. When they arrived, it was the height of spring. The hills were flooded with flowers, bursting with colors neither of them had ever seen in courts.”

Baku nuzzled into the omega’s stomach, inhaling softly like he was grounding himself in the scent.

Baek Jin smiled faintly, tears pricking his lashes. “It sounds beautiful.”

“It was.” He paused.

“But, of course, that is also where they died.”

Baek Jin froze. “The king found them?”

“Yes, he did” Baku said. “But it wasn’t the king who killed them.”

The room stilled.

“It was the princess,” Baku whispered. “She killed him. Then herself.”

Baek Jin could hardly breathe. “Why?”

“Because,” Baku’s voice was quiet now, almost as if he were sharing a secret, “she discovered that the prince knew all along. About the affair. About her mother and his father. He had planned to break off the engagement and went to speak to the Lee king, but the Lee king pictured his daughter's face and refused to let the prince break their engagement and asked him to keep quiet about the matter. Still that moment of doubt, that hesitation from the prince's side, led to a full outburst of hatred to make a home in the King's heart instead. His inability to let go the feeling of being betrayed by his own wife, one he loved so much and cared for so dearly, turned him into a ruthless monster. That was what led the Yoo King to devise the coup and that’s how the bloodshed began. Countless lives were lost because of that single moment of doubt and the princess, even if she loved the prince dearly, could not sit down and witness her father become any more cruel, she still remembered the king's soft eyes when he used to play with her when she was but a babe in a cradle. Thus she decided to end the prince and with that, her father's cruelty too.”

Baek Jin sat there stunned, the story settling over him like cold ash.

Baku lifted his face from Baek Jin’s stomach and looked up at him. “Do you know what the prince's last words were?”

The tears in Baek Jin’s eyes trembled, refusing to fall.

Baku reached up, head slowly lifting from the omega's lap, as his thumb grazed the underside of baek jin's breasts and his lips settled on his ribs, planting soft kisses there, like it would keep him from falling apart.

“Beyond this realm of rights and wrongs,” he murmured, “there is a field of honest flowers planted by me. I will meet you there, my dearest.” "In the end, it was those words which pushed the princess to take her own life."

A tear slipped down Baek Jin’s cheek. 

He lifted his lashes ever so gently, gaze meeting Baku’s and for a moment, neither of them spoke. There was only the hush between them, the firelight on their skin, the story pressed between their bodies like a bruise.

“Don’t hide your tears from me, my love. No one but me should bear witness to this tenderness.”

Baku cupped the omega’s face, his thumb brushing the soft curve of Baek Jin’s cheek before pressing a kiss to a tear as it slid down.

“If one day, life takes a turn for the worst and happens to be crueler than it has ever dared to be,” he whispered, “remember, beyond this realm of truth and deceit, there’s a garden of scarlet roses planted by me, for you. I will meet you there, my heart.”

Baek Jin broke.

The tears he’d buried deep beneath practiced smiles and brittle pride spilled from him, flowing from every quiet wound, from every nook and crany of his weary bones and from every rib once held together by his alpha’s hands. His bones shuddered with grief, his body giving way under the weight of what he had carried alone. 

This man was utterly beyond Baek-Jin's comprehension. Deep within his heart, he could sense the alpha's sincerity. Yet, he was simply too afraid to face the truth. He was scared of being abandoned again and, because of that fear, couldn't believe the alpha wanted him for more than just a convenience or a display.

But then, the alpha's words, so potent and tender, truly melted the ice around Baek-Jin's heart. He set aside the worry clouding his mind, choosing to address it another day. For now, he allowed the tears to stream down his face, and this time, they were not shed in vain.

Warm fingers smoothed them away with tenderness. A firm hold on his nape guided him gently down into the nest of cushions and another hand, cradled his cheek, pulling him closer, until Baek Jin could hear nothing but the beat of the alpha’s heart beside his own.

And for the first time in what felt like forever, he allowed himself to be held with no resistance, letting his mind finally slip into sleep.

Chapter Text

“The sonnets of grief came knocking at my door,
They sounded like you and I let them make a home.”

☾

Stars fell on the eyelids of the crescent moon as it slowly dimmed its lashes, giving way to the molten honey of the sun’s irises as they shine down upon the earth. The alpha sleeping beside him slowly inched closer, pulling Baek Jin into the warmth of his body and burying his nose in the omega’s neck. A sigh of contentment escapes his lips with sleep still heavy on his closed eyes.

All tangled in the alpha’s hold, Baek Jin gently slipped one hand free from the alpha's grasp. His fingers found their way to the alpha’s hair, stroking it with feather-light touches as the alpha sighed again, incessantly. Baku’s hand slid to Baek Jin’s waist, tugging him closer still, as if trying to entwine their very souls. Beneath the quilt, his lips maneuvered to the sweet spot on the omega’s unmarked throat, brushing softly, as he left traces of dainty kisses along the curve of Baek Jin’s neck, delicate as a newborn’s touch.

“Good morning, my lord,” came a tender voice from the very throat Baku had been trailing kisses along.

“Shh… not yet, my love. I’m not ready to let go of you just yet.”

Baku's voice was hoarse, rasped with sleep, and it sent shivers down Baek Jin’s spine, straight from the throat the alpha’s lips were still brushing against.

Baku continued his lazy morning exploration, pressing kisses along Baek Jin’s neck. But when he reached a little too close to the omega’s scent glands, Baek Jin froze. Still as stone, he realised that if he didn’t stop the alpha now, he might not be able to stop him, or his own self for that matter, at all.

With reluctance hidden under a stern voice, Baek Jin pushed the alpha away.

“No touching me there unless I’m marked by you,” he warned.

In one swift motion, Baku found himself tumbling off the diwan and landing on the cold floor of the main hall with a loud thud. The sound reverberated across the manor, setting the entire household into a quiet frenzy of panic.

Baku groaned as he landed on the cold floor, clutching his poor tailbone.

“Baek Jin-na, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he whined dramatically, limping off toward the bath house with wounded pride and a slightly more wounded derrière.

As Baku made his way towards the Bathhouse, Baek Jin began folding the quilt that reeked of the alpha, whispering commands at Hyo-man and telling him to hide the quilt in Baek Jin's closet instead.

A soft chuckle sounded from behind, and Baek Jin turned around to find Seong Je, snickering disdainfully at Baek Jin. The omega was on his feet in an instant, rushing to his best friend.

“Seong Je-ya, are you okay? Did he hurt you too much last night?” he asked, eyes scanning the golden-clad alpha for signs of injury.

“Would you look at that?” Seong Je raised a brow, voice laced with smug amusement. “The almighty heir of the Na clan of Yeongdongpu is… worried?”

“Who’s worried about you?” Baek Jin scoffed, rolling his eyes. “I just don’t want Jun Tae and Baku to end up fighting.”

“That’s bound to happen,” came Jun Tae’s voice from the corridor, his steps heavy with purpose as he strode into the main hall. “How dare he touch my alpha? All Seong Je was doing was trying to protect you, how could Baku just throw him like that?”

“Jun Tae-ya.”

Baku was walking straight toward them from the bath house, hair damp and robes loose, striding in all his morning glory. Baek Jin had to look away before his body betrayed him, these morning shenanigans of being in such close proximity to his alpha were beginning to stir reactions too humiliating to conceal.

“Baku-ya.”

Jun Tae, on the other hand, remained utterly unfazed by the alpha’s imposing presence and met him head-on.

“You need to apologize to Seong Je for last night.”

Baku grimaced at the memory of his outburst. He tilted his head just enough to glance at the omega beside him. Baek Jin’s eyes mirrored the same quiet insistence as Jun Tae’s. The alpha sighed and, defeated, turned to Seong Je.

“I… I’m sorry,” he muttered.

“Huh? What was that?”

Seong Je raised a brow, clearly unwilling to let the moment pass so easily. He had held himself back the previous night, out of concern for both Baek Jin and Jun Tae, but this? This was payback, and he was going to collect all four seasons’ worth of disrespect.

“I said, I’m sorry,” Baku repeated, his voice hoarse, like the words were tearing their way out of his throat.

But Seong Je wasn’t satisfied. He furrowed his brow, arms crossing, voice rising:

“Did you say something? I swear, I can’t hear anything except the pained wheezing of a man choking on his own guilt. One more time?”

“I said I’m sorry for last night!” Baku finally shouted, the words resounding through the entire manor like a war cry of surrender.

Finally, sensing both Baku’s simmering annoyance and Seong Je’s escalating game of push and pull, Jun Tae stepped forward and gently pulled the alpha aside, placing himself in front of him like a calm and resolute shield.

Meeting Baku’s eyes with unwavering clarity, Jun Tae spoke with an even voice

“Baku-ya, you are my best friend, and I love you. But if you ever lay a hand on my alpha again, you’ll have to face me.”

His words hung heavy in the air, not as a threat, but as a promise.

This time, Baku bowed deeply and offered his apology to Jun Tae without hesitation or falter.

With the tension now diffused, Baek Jin cleared his throat, “Since we’re all still alive,” he quipped lightly, “you three should join me for breakfast, please, as a thank-you from me for last night.”

Jun Tae hesitated for a moment, torn between pride and hunger, but looking at the way both alphas visibly perked up at the mention of Baek Jin's handmade food, he softened his stance.

Once everyone had freshened up, Baek Jin got to work in the kitchen. In just a few incense worth of time, the dinning hall filled with the mouth-watering aroma of a warm, homely breakfast. The smell teased their senses, making the wait feel longer than it was.

Soon, the four of them were seated at the table, steam rising from the dishes, the tension from earlier melted into hunger and camaraderie. Baek Jin moved gracefully between them, setting the food down with the casual ease of someone who’d done this all his life, and Baku couldn't help but admire the omega serving him food, made by his own hands, for the first time.

A string of praises rose from all three guests with the very first bite of food, and the room rang with laughter and warmth.

“Baek Jin-na, I must be the luckiest man alive. I can’t believe this. Where are your hands, give me your hands.”

At that, Baku took the omega’s palms in his own and began planting kisses all over them, one after another, like he was blessing them.

Baek Jin’s eyes grew misty. He had always known his food tasted good, but there was something different about hearing praises from the alpha, who was about to be full and content from a meal he made with his own hands. It filled him with a joy so tender he didn’t know how to stay quiet.

Every bone in his body wanted, no.. needed, to feed his alpha, to smother him in affection, to walk hand in hand with him during the good days and shoulder to shoulder with him during the worst. At the very core of his being, he was still an omega which made him naturally nurturing. And Baku, that mutt, awakened every nurturing instinct he had. He wanted to feed him full with all his favorite dishes, wanted to see him sated and smiling at the table they shared.

So Baek Jin quietly wiped at his eyes and basked in the warmth of the praise he was receiving.

“Mhm, Jun Tae-ya, didn't I tell you?,” Seong Je said between bites, “you just had to try Baek Jin’s food. Isn’t it the best thing you’ve ever tasted?”

Jun Tae’s expression softened into one of sheer delight. “Baek Jin-na, Seong Je has always spoken about your cooking, but I didn’t expect it to be this good. Guess I’ll be dropping by more often, just for your breakfast.” He spoke and went back to eating.

Baek Jin glanced around the table, eyes landing on each of them in turn. All three were now lost in the comfort of the meal, the warmth of full bellies, and the content silence that settled between them like an old friend.

But beneath that peace, Baek Jin’s chest remained heavy. The room was quiet in its calm, yet the weight pressing on his heart was heavier than the mountain they lived on. A gnawing anxiety curled within him, one that refused to be soothed.

Time itself felt out of rhythm, as if the hands on the clock were ticking backwards. Outside, the north wind howled like a lost spirit in the dark, slipping through the cracks in the walls and gripping his bones with cold fingers. The silhouettes of the old pines, once a shelter from the raging sun, now creaked and swayed under that same bitter wind, their joints groaning with a warning: something was coming.

The autumn wind had shifted and winter was approaching.

Baek Jin could feel it, heavy and breathless like a blindfold around his eyes as he wandered the dusky alleys of fate, unsure of what lay ahead. A snowstorm was on its way, and it would sweep away all the laughter with it.

A nudge from the alpha sitting beside him snapped Baek Jin out of his thoughts, pulling him back into the warmth of the home before him. Seong Je was watching him with puzzled eyes, worry and confusion evident in them. Baek Jin simply shook his head at the unspoken question and offered the alpha a quiet smile, dismissing his worry for now.

Not now, he thought. He would worry about the cold when it came knocking. For now, the warmth surrounding him was enough.

He turned his attention back to the table, to the familiar silence that now felt strangely comforting. He wasn’t used to sharing his mornings with anyone, let alone three. The silence that once haunted him had softened, becoming a quiet lull he hadn’t known he craved and the warmth spreading from his stomach to his chest felt like an answer to a question he had carried far too long.

Once the meal was done and their bellies full, the group headed to the seowon together. Jun Tae and Seong Je walked ahead, fingers tightly entwined together as they talked. Behind them, Baek Jin and Baku followed at a slower pace, their fingers brushing, their conversation soft and scattered between footsteps on the mountain path.

“Baek Jin-na, are you going home after class?”

Hearing his name fall from the alpha’s mouth with such informal ease made Baek Jin feel at home again.

“Uh-huh. Nope. I have to go to the library pavilion,” Baek Jin replied.

“Library? Are you out of books already? Did the queen attack your manor’s library too?” A frown appeared on the alpha’s face as he asked.

“No, you potato head. I’m going there to study,” Baek Jin answered, smoothing the frown between Baku’s brows with his fingers. “With the queen’s dogs sniffing around my manor, I won’t get a single ounce of studying done there. So I’ll stay back and prepare at the pavilion instead. Midterms are approaching soon, I might as well prepare for it ahead of time”

“Ohhh… midterms?” The alpha’s mouth formed a small ‘o’ as he blinked in delayed understanding.

“Then I shall accompany you,” Baku declared, his voice turning serious. “Lest a very specific dog tries sniffing around you again.”

A chuckle escaped Baek Jin’s lips. “Are you talking about Young master Su-Ho?”

“We’ve reached the Seowon,” Baku replied flatly, effortlessly dodging the question.

Baek Jin just shook his head in amusement as they stepped into the classroom and took their usual seats. Throughout the lesson, a pair of soft eyes followed Baek Jin’s every movement, while a gentle smile tugged at the omega’s lips.

Just weeks ago, Baek Jin had carried a heart heavy with sorrow, hurt by the alpha who would not even look at him. But now, he was wrapped in the full attention of that very same alpha, whose eyes refused to leave him.

Baek Jin had a lot of questions. Sure, he knew the alpha only needed a little push to walk right over to him, but still, he wondered. 'Was that really all it took?'

He’d been prepared to fight tooth and nail with Si-eun to win his alpha back. Prepared for a war cold as snow and biting as frost. Yet all it took was a single glance in another alpha’s direction, and suddenly Baku was walking right over to him? Somehow, that bothered him.

Then there was the matter of the guards. Baku’s guards had always been around, hovering and watching. Had they been stationed there to protect him? Or to keep an eye on him?

A gazillion questions floated in Baek Jin’s mind as he thought about this weird situation. He could feel a couple pairs of eyes on him and was constantly aware of their presence that was close enough to notice yet far enough to avoid suspicion.

He pushed his thoughts away and focused on the task in front of him. He would think about Baku’s sudden interest later, when he had the time. Maybe his plan had really worked, and Baku had just been waiting for a sign that he still cared before coming right back to Baek Jin.

The lessons ended as usual, and the group quickly surrounded Baku as he walked with Baek Jin toward the library pavilion. When they arrived, Baek Jin went straight to a corner, wanting to stay out of the noise that followed them. He focused on his studies, ignoring the noisy students scattered around the library, and especially the alpha sitting beside him.

Across from them sat Su-ho and Si-eun, who had grown quite fond of each other in such a short time. Si-eun, much like Baek Jin, took out his parchments and began studying, while Su-ho simply rested his head on the low table and fell asleep

Jun Tae and Seong Je were huddled in a corner. To a commoner, it might seem like they were simply sitting close together while Jun Tae read a book, but Baek Jin had caught a glimpse of the hand movements under the omega’s outer robes and immediately averted his gaze.

Hyeontak, meanwhile, refused to even enter the pavilion. He was outside on the grounds, practicing his sword skills while his best friend wasted his time away inside.

Baku was sitting to Baek Jin’s right, turned fully toward the omega, head propped on one hand as he openly stared. And, not just stared, but gawked like a hawk. The omega tried to ignore him, keeping his focus on the parchment in front of him, but he couldn’t help sneaking glances from the corner of his eye every now and then.

At last, after about an hour of Baku’s unblinking stare, the omega gave in and finally turned to look at the alpha.

“What is it, Baku?” he asked. “Is there something on my face?”

“Yes. The beauty of a thousand splendid stars in the galaxy.” the alpha replied matter-of-factly.

A blush crept up Baek Jin’s cheeks as he cringed at the alpha's words and the entire room burst into laughter. Even Si-eun couldn’t help the slight glint of amusement in his eyes, he really did smile with those eyes, and they were annoyingly beautiful, Baek Jin had to admit reluctantly. 

Baek Jin wanted to dig a hole, bury the alpha in it, and follow him right after, but he restrained himself, at least for now.

“Baku-ya, do you not want to study?” The moment the question left his lips, Baek Jin realized how ridiculous it sounded. Baku and study? Ha ha. He must have lost his mind.

“No, no... how about you try not to stare at me?” he said instead.

“No,” the word left Baku’s lips even before he could think, but Baek Jin expected as much. 

He sighed. “Alright then. What would it take for you to stop staring at me?”

“Baek Jin-na, why do you study so hard?” The alpha had completely ignored his question, choosing instead to ask one of his own.

“You’re already a noble, born with all the comfort life has to offer with no real need to work. And yet, all I see you do is study and practice, mastering every form of art. Why burden yourself like that?” Baku asked, his voice so full of childlike wonder that even Seong-Je had to smile.

“Baku-ya,” Baek Jin said, lifting his eyes from the parchment, “these comforts aren’t things I was born with, they’re things I was born into. They won’t last forever if I waste them. And noble pursuits aren’t passed down through blood. They’re earned, through our own deeds. Haven’t you heard? Not every noble becomes a god, but every god is a doer of his own deeds.”

Baku grew quiet, as if chewing on the thought for too long. Baek Jin went back to his studies, leaving the alpha alone with his pondering.

After a silence long enough for the ink on Baek Jin’s brush to start drying, Baku suddenly seemed to reach a conclusion.

He let out a startled cry before blurting, “Ya… does this mean you won’t marry until you achieve everything you’re pursuing and become a noble? Are you saying you’ll stay unwed until you turn into a sorcerer like your grandmother? But doesn’t that take decades?”

A soft smile tugged at Baek Jin’s lips at the alpha’s odd conclusion, and at the casual mention of marriage. Strange, wasn’t it? This alpha, who hadn’t spared him a glance only days ago, was now speaking of marriage as if he remembered that they had been promised to each other since childhood, as if he, too, wished to marry Baek Jin.

“No, you foolish cabbage,” Baek Jin teased. “I don’t need to become a sorcerer. That art runs in my bloodline. Unlike noble wealth, sorcery is something I was truly born with, just like my mother, her mother, and the sorcerers before her.”

He turned to face the alpha more directly.

“But it’s true. It does take decades, sometimes even a lifetime, to master the art of sorcery and I have already started practicing.”

Baku looked like a lost child, as though none of Baek Jin’s words made any sense to him.

“But it has nothing to do with me being wedded. I will simply find an alpha willing to walk this path with me, someone who understands that I must become a noble, someone with a standing strong enough to rival the wealthiest and most respected, even the Royal family. I need an alpha who carries public trust and has earned the people’s faith. That is essential if I want to bring justice to my mother… and if I wish to accomplish a few other goals as well.”

He offered no further explanation, his meaning cloaked in deliberate vagueness.

Just as Baku was about to demand what Baek-Jin meant by 'I will simply find an alpha', as though Baku were not sitting right in front of him, Si-Eun interrupted.

The omega called out to Baku and asked him to follow him outside the library pavilion. And Baku, without hesitation, stood up from where he sat. All thoughts of Baek-Jin vanishing from his mind as he followed after Si-Eun without so much as a glance back.

A pang of jealousy sparked through Baek-Jin as he watched the alpha forget him so easily, leaving him behind for another. He could no longer bear to remain seated in the pavilion. Instead, he rose and quietly excused himself to go for a walk, allowing Hyo-Man to follow behind him without a word.

He deliberately chose to walk in the opposite direction from where Si-Eun had taken Baku. But just as the cold air began to settle into his bones, he heard Hyo-Man’s voice behind him.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go see what the important matter is, something that Si-Eun couldn’t speak of in front of you?”

Baek-Jin stilled.

He didn’t want to seem like the kind of person who chased after things, like a desperate fool. That’s why he had chosen to walk away. But Hyo-Man’s words caught him off-guard.

“What are you talking about?” he asked resentfully, turning to scold him.

But the beta simply shrugged. “You’re putting so much effort into getting Baku back, but I saw him leaving Si-Eun’s house the night you were attacked. That’s why Si-Eun came there, because he’d been with Young Master Hu-Min that night when he received the news of the attack on you. And I’m guessing that’s probably how he ended up with Si-Eun’s quilt… not because he thought it was Su-Ho’s.”

Baek-Jin’s brows furrowed. A slow burn of fury lit in his chest.

If what Hyo-Man was saying was true, then had Baku lied to him? Why go through all this effort, the words, the gestures, only to be hiding something so cruel? What about the things he’d said to him just last night or even this morning?

A dozen questions clawed at his mind, but he said nothing. Instead, he turned on his heel and changed direction.

He knew he was letting himself be swayed by the words of a servant, but this wasn’t just any servant, it was his own handmaid. Why would Hyo-Man lie to him? And besides, if what he said was true, it would be proven here and now. In a matter of seconds, he and Hyo-Man were standing behind a tree, hidden just well enough to hear the conversation happening ahead of them. 

What Baek-Jin saw next shattered every doubt he had tried to suppress. And with that doubt, it shattered him too.

There stood Baku, arms wrapped around Si-Eun.

“I will always be here for you, Si-Eun-na,” the alpha was saying softly. “You know how much I care about you, right? No matter what happens after this, I’ll be by your side. Don’t worry about what Baek-Jin says. I’m right here.”

His hand was gently caressing the back of Si-Eun’s head.

Baek-Jin couldn’t breathe.

His heart seemed to crumble inward, every jagged piece driving deep into his ribs, cracking with each pulse of pain. He couldn't even form a word.

He turned, preparing to flee. He could not bear even a second more of the alpha's tenderness, that was never meant for him.

But just then, a loud gong sounded across the Seowon, ringing out across the still air from outside.

Everyone present in the library pavilion, even those who were just secretly embracing each other and those who were hidden as they watched the secret open in front of them from behind the tree, immediately rushed outside to see what the commotion was about and their eyes fell on the Royal messenger.

A royal decree.

Every one of them knelt and fell in formation to receive it.

The royal messenger stood atop an elevated dais, his voice ringing out clear and piercing, slicing through the thick air and, possibly, through Baku and Su-ho's heart as well.

“The Royal Prince is seeking a bride. There's a ball arranged in the Royal halls and all unmarked and unbetrothed omegas must attend tomorrow’s ball, hosted by Her Majesty the Queen.”

He paused, letting the message settle like dust in the silence. But before stepping down, the messenger spotted and turned toward Baek Jin.

“Young Master Na Baek Jin, the Queen has sent a personal message for you.” He bowed low and began reciting the message.

‘My dear grand-nephew, as you’ve heard, my grandson is now of age to be wedded. And what better omega for him than one from my own bloodline? I look forward to seeing you at the ball. I shall personally introduce you both. The Queen awaits your arrival.’

The courtyard fell deathly quiet. Graveyard-at-dawn quiet.

All eyes turned to Baek Jin. Then to Baku, who looked as though someone had shoved a live insect in his ear.

Nobody said a word.

Then suddenly, Baek Jin bolted. He began running frantically in one direction.
From nowhere, Hyo-Man appeared and began running behind him without question.
Baku wasted no time either, sprinting right behind the omega. And of course, Hyeon-Tak followed.

And that, is how the entire horde reached the Noble Courtyard of Yeongdeungpo.

Chapter Text

“My prayers are from you and your divinity from me. My ribs are from you and your sins for me.” 
⛈

ARCH 1 -

The honey-dew rays felt like borrowed specks of light as they reflected in the eyes fixed on Si-eun. The library pavilion bathed in a soft golden warmth, and Su-ho sat beside him, head propped on one hand on the table, gaze glued to the omega.

Si-eun met the alpha’s eyes for the briefest moment, then quickly looked away, suppressing the urge to run a hand through his hair. Instead, he lowered his head and began writing on his parchment.

‘Without the honey-dew light of your molten eyes,
I’d fade beneath these empty skies.
They rest their gaze on my ribs long missed,
And I remember; I still exist.

So come, share your breaths with me,
Lend me your life and make mine steady.
For in your oceans, I am finally free,
And something in me still clings to the living sea.’

He wrote something down, and then, as if suddenly remembering something important, glanced at Su-Ho, then at Baku. A moment later, he called out to Baku, asking if they could speak outside for a moment.

Su-Ho, who had caught a glimpse of the omega writing quietly moments earlier, rose from his place without a word. He walked over to Si-Eun’s seat, pulled open the book, tore out the parchment the omega had written on, and silently slipped it into the inner pocket of his sleeve.

Just as he scrambled back to his place, a loud gong sounded from the outside. The loud sound sent the entire group rushing toward the Seowon’s practice ground.

‘The Royal Prince is seeking a bride. A ball has been arranged in the Royal Halls, and all unmarked and unbetrothed omegas are commanded to attend. It shall be hosted by Her Majesty, the Queen.’

Su-ho’s heart dropped.

The earth might as well have cracked beneath his feet. His eyes darted to the omega’s, locking in that single, gut-wrenching moment.

'Is this the end?' he thought 'Is he coming back to get you?'

The wistful melancholy in Si-eun’s eyes was palpable, bleeding through the corners. He, the ever-stubborn thing, wouldn’t let a single tear fall, but the red of his rims said enough.

Su-ho clenched his fists tighter, the folded parchment that he tucked under his sleeve quietly, crumpling under his grip, nearly tearing apart.

The royal messenger moved to Baek jin to deliver a personal message.

‘My dear grand-nephew, as you’ve heard, my grandson is now of age to be wed. And what better omega for him than one of my own bloodline? I look forward to seeing you at the ball. I shall personally introduce you both. The Queen awaits your arrival.’

A ploy. The Queen's ploy? 

The alpha’s eyes widened. Slowly, his fists uncurled. The glimmer returned to the omega’s eyes, a hint of a knowing smile in them.

Their eyes met again, almost by habit now. They both stood their, staring at each other, eyes filled with a gazillion words left unsaid and a silent language passed between them, thick with what remained unsaid.

There was much to say. Much to plan.

They both seemed to arrive at the same decision as they nodded together.

And then, suddenly, both their eyes flew to the person the queen had sent a personal message for and realised belatedly that he was running, like a streak of lightning across the rooftops, sprinting toward his fate. 

The strings of their fated love now rested in the hands of a wicked prince, and all they could do was pull them apart, one by one.

It was either Baek Jin or Si-eun.

And Su-ho. Su-ho is not willing to lose this fight. Not willing to lose either of the omega's to the hands of the prince.

They ran behind Baek Jin with a pang of guilt lodged in their throats.

☁

That night, when the alpha finally withdrew to his chambers and let the door fall shut behind him, something slipped quietly from the sleeve of his robe, a folded piece of parchment, fragile at the edges.

It fluttered to the floor with no ceremony, but the words inked upon it struck Su-ho like thunder.

He picked it up.
Read it once.
Twice.

Then again, slower.

And there, beneath the silver hush of moonlight streaming through the lattice windows, Su-ho stood frozen, stupefied, before a wide, uncontrollable grin crept across his face.

The kind of smile that blooms when hope dares to knock.

The parchment had spoken. And the Si-eun's words had been meant for him. So he sat on his bedding and began writing too. 

‘You speak of fading, but don’t you see?
The stars would go blind if you left me.
My ribs remember your sleeping weight,
The shape of longing I dared not sate.

So come, let my breath steady your own,
No storm can shake what we have grown.
For if I am the tide, then you are the moon,
And I will rise for you, night after noon.’ 

☾

The sky was painfully clear today, an expanse of undisturbed blue that seemed determined to mock Baek Jin in his despair. It hung above his head like a cruel reminder that the rain had passed, that the hazy comfort of his peaceful dreams was lifting, leaving only the gloomy reality behind.

Baku was not in love with him. He probably didn’t even like him. All his affections were reserved for Si-Eun. But somewhere, perhaps, a prince was waiting for him in a distant castle. A prince who would choose him over anyone and everyone. There would be no need for Baek Jin to chase after any alpha. He would live a sweet life, dull but safe, bearing as many heirs as the prince desired.

He wasn’t even wearing shoes.

The heir of a noble clan, running barefoot through the mountain village, was a rare sight. One the nosy villagers couldn't ignore. Whispers ambled behind him as he shoved through the streets, his feet slicing through gravel and mud without hesitation, headed straight for the noble courtyard.

Unlike the first time he had arrived here clad in black robes, the courtyard today was anything but quiet. The murmurs had grown into open astonishment, servants gasping at the spectacle. But Baek Jin didn’t spare them a glance. Just like before, he stormed straight into the council court.

This time though, the court was in chaos. The nobles were tumultuous, their arguments crashing over one another. Even outside the chamber doors, the uproar had been unmissable.

Baek Jin didn’t wait. He walked straight up to his grandfather, making no show of protocol, pleasantries, and all forms of feigned civility.

“I assume you’ve heard the news, Grandpa.”

“Yes, indeed I have,” the elder said, his voice taut with outrage. “What does the Queen think she’s doing? Marrying you to your cousin? How low...”

His words trailed off. In a room full of nobles, caution was currency. One wrong word in the wrong ear could unravel dynasties. He knew better than to finish his sentence.

“Yes, it’s certainly unusual,” Baek Jin said, cutting in, “but not unheard of.”

He looked his grandfather square in the eyes.

The room, which had been storming with chaos only moments before, fell into a stunned silence.

What is he even thinking?
Has he lost his mind?
Marrying his own cousin?

The murmurs were no longer hushed. But Baek Jin was unmoved. It wasn’t the first time he’d been subjected to scrutiny, by strangers wrapped in silks, pretending to be righteous while sitting on thrones carved by cruelty while hiding the demons of uncivility right under their own buttocks. He ignored them all.

His gaze never left his grandfather. His voice rang out, clear and calm.

He had something to say, and no intention of being interrupted.

“I am a sorcerer, Grandpa. The Queen’s bloodline is full of warriors, beasts of battle who’ve always needed a sorcerer by their side. In the cruel depths of war, when lives weigh less than dust, it is the sorcerers who are required the most. We hold not just the power to heal and destroy, but to plot, to command, to foresee the future. Isn’t that why my mother, your daughter, was forced to marry the Queen’s nephew? My father was chosen because he was born of war. She, because she was born of power.”

There was a hush, like the air before a storm.

“Lord Baek Jin is not wrong, my lord,” came Lady Tiffany’s steady voice from the far end of the court. She stepped forward, crimson robes flowing, her scent of crushed peppercorn and ink sharp as her words. “Who better to become the future queen than an heir of the Queen’s own bloodline, the most favoured combat heritage in the realm, an omega who bears a sword mark upon his neck, indicating that he can bare the prince as many heir as he wanted?”

Her words struck like thunder.

Baek Jin’s grandfather looked at him long and hard. The wheels behind his aging eyes were turning, considering the weight of Baek Jin’s declaration.

“Baek Jin-na…” he said slowly, “Are you suggesting that you intend to attend the ball? That you’re willing to marry the prince?”

“Yes,” Baek Jin answered “I am.”

The stunned silence seem to grow heavier every moment.

“No. You are not.”

The words came like an arrow piercing through the air in the court.

Baku.

He was striding in, rage rippling from every step, crimson robes flaring behind him like flames. His eyes were fire, fixed on the omega across the room. He stood tall, tense, and deadly still, like a thunderstorm gathering in human form.

He leveled his gaze at Baek Jin, daring him to say another word.

And the room held its breath.

Everyone in the mountain valley knew the history between the two. Their arguments were nothing new, old flames flaring, long shadows stretching, but today, it wasn’t the disagreement that startled the court. It was the reversal.

The omega who once yearned for the alpha’s attention like a starving thing begging for crumbs now stood proud, declaring his intent to marry another. And the alpha, once cold and unreachable, now stood shaking with fury at the mere idea of Baek Jin belonging to someone else.

The shift in tides was almost too ironic to believe, and every noble, every servant, every pair of eyes in the room was drinking it in like theatre.

Baek Jin, of course, was no frightened kitten. His unyielding and icy gaze met Baku’s fire with stillness. “You are no one to have a say in this, Young master Park Hu-min.”

The sudden use of formal titles made the alpha uncomfortable and the rage in his strides reached up his head, the fire in his footsteps now climbed up his throat. “What are you talking about, Baek Jin? You, you’re willing to marry another alpha? Have you lost your mind?”

“It’s none of your business who I choose to bed or be bred by, Young master,” Baek Jin's words were laced with venom. “You had your chance. It’s too late now. Only a fool would turn down an invitation like this, personally extended by the Queen herself.”

There was no room left for protest in his voice. Only steel.

“The letter was addressed to me. I am the only one with the right to accept or reject it. And clearly, I have accepted.”

He turned then, locking eyes with his grandfather.

“I will attend the Queen’s ball. I will meet the prince. I am willing. Let’s see who dares to stop me.”

And with that, Baek Jin turned on his heel and walked right out of the court. His strides were no longer as hurried as they were when he came running to the clan house.

Meanwhile the court was a picture of a house engulfed with fire and people paralyzed by its poison, the fire that Baek Jin walked in with, had engulfed the entirety of the court, and not a soul moved. The air had been drained from the room, and even the fire in the hearth dared not crackle.

Baku remained frozen, right where he had stopped when he first entered, his eyes fixed on the door Baek Jin had vanished through. Behind him, his friends stood equally stunned, as if the floor beneath them had vanished.

No one had imagined that the omega who once yearned for Baku’s attention would one day reject him, publicly and before the nobles of the court, at that.

Baku was the first to break.

He turned and left.

And only then, as the doors swung shut behind him, did the room finally dare to breathe. Yet the shock of what had just transpired right in front of their eyes still lingered, refusing to dissipate.

The group of youngsters startled the moment Baku left. Dishevelled and uncertain, they broke apart running frantically behind Baku.

But Seong-Je stood still. He was stunningly stupefied by the omega’s behavior. He’d wasted no time in taking the matter into his own hands, after shoving Jun-Tae to follow Baku, he had broken into a run, rushing behind Baek-Jin to see which of the Omega’s brain wires had, quite evidently, short-circuited.

He followed quietly, a few paces behind Baek-Jin and a very silent Hyo man shadowing him.

Baek-Jin’s steps began to slow as they neared the gates of his manor. He must have sensed no shadow of Baku or his guards behind him, at least, none that mattered, and relaxed a fraction. Still, his shoulders remained hunched, as though he were carrying the weight of some solemn ruin. As though he had survived the worst of calamities, but only barely.

The moment they reached the threshold, Baek-Jin turned and glared at Seong-Je.

“What?” he asked with exasperation.

“Let’s go inside first,” Seong-Je said, voice low but careful. He wasn’t foolish enough to provoke the Omega in the open. Something was clearly wrong, but whatever it was didn’t belong to the street and its nosy shadows. He stood firm and was adamant about going inside the manor. 

Baek-Jin’s eyes narrowed.

“And who do you think you are, telling me to go inside my own manor?” he snapped. “If you came here to talk sense into me, let me save you the trouble, I’m not interested. Nor do I owe you, or anyone else, an explanation.”

“Baek-Jin-na, seriously, what’s going on?” Seong-Je asked, stepping forward. “And don’t lie to me. You know you can’t hide behind that stone face with me. I’m not one of those pigs you detest.”

“It’s none of your business, Seong-Je.” Baek-Jin’s tone turned brittle. “I don’t know what gave you the impression that you could follow me home like some overeager dog, or that I would humour you with conversation. We’re not that close. You should leave.”

His words were deliberate and precise, each one dipped in the same venom he used to protect himself.

But Seong-Je didn’t flinch.

“And what if I said I won’t leave?” he countered, unbothered. “You’ll have to do better than that, Baek-Jin-na. I’m not so easy to get rid of.”

Stubborn, relentless, insufferably loyal moron. That idiot.

Baek-Jin exhaled, the sound smug and tired all at once. A blade sliding back out of its sheath.

“Alright then,” he said, in a low and cold voice. “If that’s what you want.”

Before Baek-Jin even finished the sentence, a light, cold and radiant as the midnight moon, bloomed through his hands.

In the span of a heartbeat, the Omega summoned his sword from thin air, and Seong-Je stilled.

He had known Baek-Jin was a sorcerer, of course. Everyone did. But no one had ever seen him use it. Sorcery was rare enough in these shadowed valleys, and in Omegas? That was close to a miracle.

Seong-Je felt a glint of something between fear and pride crawl up his spine. The Omega really was one of a kind. And gods, wasn’t that thrilling?

For once, he would be fighting someone worthy.

With a breathless grin, Seong-Je unsheathed his own sword, stepping forward to face the Omega head-on. If violence was the only language Baek-Jin understood today, then Seong-Je would speak it fluently.

Maybe, if he pressed hard enough, the Omega would finally open that maddening mouth and spill whatever secrets brewed in the cauldron of his mind. 

There was a satisfactory shimmer in Seong-Je’s eyes as he locked gazes with the Omega, and then, without warning charged ahead. His sword lifted in one fluid motion, aimed with confidence.

He was certain he could beat Baek-Jin. Sure he could leave the omega bruised and defeated enough for him to open his mouth and finally tell him what was wrong. 

But that thought only lasted for a short moment. It vanished the moment their blades met.

The second steel collided with steel, a shiver surged through Seong-Je’s body. His breath caught; the hair on his arms stood like frost-bitten grass.

What kind of strength was this?
And how in the gods' names was an Omega wielding it so easily?

Before he could recover from the hit, Baek-Jin moved. In a flash of graceful mercilessness, he struck.

Seong-Je flew backward, his body slammed against the outer wall. The impact forced the air from his lungs, and blood spilled from his lips.

Still, when he looked up, there was no anger in his eyes. Only pride. And something like fascination.

No wonder the omega refused to fight others, Seong-Je thought in between his coughing fit. He’d obliterate them in a wink.

But giving up? That wasn’t in Seong-Je’s nature.

He dragged himself up, steady and wanton altogether, fingers curling tighter around the hilt of his sword. The blood on his mouth painting a picture of ruined beauty with a smirk on it. If Jun tae were here, that face would send him straight into heat. 

This time though, when he lunged, he met the Omega’s blade head-on, no holding back, no hesitation.

He had underestimated Baek-Jin once. He wouldn't make that mistake again.

Their swords clashed with a resounding 'pang', the screech of metal on metal tearing through the quiet like a raw shriek. The courtyard shuddered with the noise.

Within moments, nearly everyone in the manor had gathered; maids, guards, and retainers spilling into the open yard, eyes wide with disbelief.

None had ever seen the full measure of their master's strength before.

And now, here stood one of the strongest Alphas in the state, struggling against that very master of theirs.

It was not a comforting sight.
But, It was surely a glorious one.

Their eyes glimmered like polished mirrors, reflecting back the firelight and the figure of Na Baek-Jin, poised and unbothered in the centre of it all.

Baek-Jin, for his part, hadn’t broken a sweat.

He’d known the Alpha was stubborn, but not to this extent. That Seong-Je, had the inkling to fight him, his so called 'dearest friend' was… irritating. Predictable, but irritating to the very last bone.

Still, he had no desire to injure him, especially not after flinging him over the courtyard wall like a paper doll. The Alpha clearly hadn’t anticipated his strength.

Not that Baek-Jin blamed him. There were things Seong-Je didn’t know, things he was never meant to know.

And Baek-Jin had no interest in explaining himself. 

The fight dragged on for hours, as dusk bled into twilight.

The lamps had been lit, brighter than usual, the courtyard bathed in amber and gold. A spectacle. A private quarrel, made myth beneath an open sky and everyone was clearly amused at the sight in front of them 

Baek-Jin was growing tired of this now. Not physically, his stance remained flawless, but weary in the soul.

If they kept fighting like this nothing would come off it. This would lead them nowhere. Even if he defeated the Alpha, gods, even if he killed him, it wouldn’t be over. Seong-Je would haunt him in death, nagging for answers and clawing for truths Baek-Jin didn’t want to name.

There was no outrunning him.

He exhaled soundlessly, as their swords met again and they stood eye to eye.

“What in the hells do you want from me?” Baek-Jin snapped, voice fraying at the edges. “Leave me alone, Seong-Je-ya.”

But the Alpha answered not with words.

His blade sang against Baek-Jin’s, pulling back with a stinging motion, and in a flash, he twisted and appeared behind the omega, aiming to strike from there.

Baek-Jin turned just in time. The blade came down, and he blocked it effortlessly, his eyes cold and unimpressed.

“Absolutely not,” Seong-Je huffed, his grin infuriating. “All you have to do is tell me what’s rattling around in that pig-sized brain of yours, and you’re free to go. Simple terms.”

He was clearly enjoying himself. There was a glow in his expression, battle-born amusement and genuine thrill at having found a worthy match.

“Answer me, and I’ll stop.”
“Avoid me,” he added, voice lowering into a taunt, “and we’ll be here till morning. And the next. And the next.”

The smugness in his tone nearly made Baek-Jin choke on his own restraint. He groaned aloud, his patience slipping.

“Fine. Ask. And make it quick.”

Seong-Je’s expression shifted, just a fraction.

“Are you really willing to marry the prince?”
Baek-Jin blinked.

For a moment, he was stunned into silence.

Hadn’t he already said it? Hadn’t he made it clear, publicly, with venom in his voice and glass in his gaze?

His answer came low and clipped.
“Yes. I am.” “Did your ears fall off when I said it back in the court?”

Seong-Je smirked, drawing back his blade, only to launch into another strike without warning.

“So you’re not in love with that stupid dog of yours?” he taunted.
“Changed your mind, or changed your heart?”

Baek-Jin knew he was treading dangerously close to the edge. The simpler the question, the deeper the grave.

“I was never in love with that Alpha.” He replied in a careful tone.

But the lie was paper-thin.

The blade that came next slashed right across his arm. Not a mortal wound, but enough to sting. Enough to make a point.

“Don’t you fucking lie to me, Omega,” Seong-Je growled.
“I know when you shit your bowels and stuff your face, so don’t play coy with me. Why the fuck did you change your mind?”

The cut burned. Baek-Jin’s arm throbbed with pain and shame and the lie he refused to name.

Seong-Je was no longer playing. There was no smugness left in his voice, only fury, laced with heartbreak.

And Baek-Jin had had enough.

He snapped.

Without a word, he raised his sword, and the night seemed to bend with him. The air cracked, and a strand of moonlight split along the blade’s edge, coiling like silver fire until it bloomed into a glowing sphere in his palm.

It was as though the Omega held the moon itself. 

He held the sphere on the top of his sword and lunged.

“I am going to marry the prince,” Baek-Jin shouted, voice shaking with rage. “If that is what fate has written for me, then so be it. But no one,” he spat, eyes locked on the Alpha’s, “no one shall stand in my way.”

His sword slashed forward, the magic bursting like shattered starlight.

When it struck, Seong-Je keeled over.

He stumbled, coughing up blood that splattered on the dirt like spilled wine. His chest rose and fell in harsh, ragged breaths, but he stayed on his feet.

Seong Je had not given up. Not yet.

Chapter Text

There was venom in your heel, so you cleaved yourself in half.
There was a cut in your neck, so you’ve bled yourself apart.

☾

The sun had already vanished beyond the horizon by the time Baek-Jin disappeared through the gates. Seong-Je stood beneath the courtyard wall, bleeding and breathless with a grin.

His heart pounded erratically beneath bruised ribs, and yet, all he could do was watch the fading silhouette of the Omega slip into darkness.

In the distance, the shapes of a dozen servants began to come into view, running toward him in alarm. Not a single one ran after Baek-Jin.

Seong-Je exhaled exasperatedly, and closed his eyes. The realisation of how not a single soul cared enough to go inquire about him unearthed the alpha with more weight than the wound in his chest.

How lonely Baek-Jin must have been. How long had it been this way, this quiet kind of abandonment dressed in fear and fidelity?

Baek-Jin on the other hand, had expected him to collapse, and truthfully, he should have. The force of that strike, gods, it was enough to wipe out two dozen trained fighters. Maybe even more.

And Seong-Je was no sorcerer. He didn’t command moonlight or storms, neither was he as skilled a weilder of any elemental powers like Su-ho or Baku. 

But he hadn’t fallen. And that left Baek-Jin thoroughly surprised.

In truth, Seong-Je had surprised himself too. He knew that he wasn’t like Su-Ho, with his sea-born blade and tidal force or like Baku, whose strikes cracked stone with effortless precision.

But if he’d learned to harness his power sooner, if he’d been raised with the discipline he now fought with, perhaps he would have stood among them all as their equal or even better. 

But that clearly wasn't the truth. 

In truth every noble heir was born with elemental energy, an inheritance, both sacred and cruel. This energy wasn’t merely magic; it was the core of a person, the quiet heartbeat beneath sword and skin.

Su-Ho bore water in his bones, his sword sang with the voice of the deepest pits of the sea. Si-Eun, too, carried water, but he wielded it differently: his power wielded with the rage of sandstorms and seashores. Seong-Je and Jun-Tae, born of the same clan, carried fire & Baku and Hyeon-Tak were rain and earth alike. 

Baek-Jin, however, was quite an anomaly.

His lineage alone should have made him formidable. His father bore the power of earth; his paternal grandmother wielded fire, while his grandfather had water coursing through his veins. But it was his mother’s side that marked him irreversibly. Her blood carried the rare and dangerous gift of sorcery.

And Baek-Jin did not just inherit one element. He inherited all.

Darkness, moonlight, fire, sea, earth, he had tasted each one. But his strongest suit, the one that answered when his soul cried out, was the night itself.

The dark and The moon were his strongest elements. The things no one could hold and elements no one had heard of. 

What made him truly dangerous, however, wasn’t just the power, but the fact that no one knew.

Not the court. Not the clan heads. Not his Grand Father. Not even the Queen.

If she were ever to find out, he wouldn’t live to see the next dawn. The Queen believed in eliminating her greatest threats before they rose, and Baek-Jin might just be the most dangerous one still breathing.

Seong Je, in contrast, had been a late bloomer. He never showed signs of elemental energy until well into his youth, and as a result, his control over it lagged far behind others like Su-Ho or Baku. He wasn’t a sorcerer. He didn’t possess the raw refinement in wielding fire as compared to someone like Jun-Tae. And yet… he survived.

He survived Baek-Jin's blow, not with sorcery or flame, but through sheer, infuriating, stubborn will and it was maddening.

Scared of what he might see, Baek-Jin didn’t even glance back. He strode past the courtyard in silence with blood drying on his sleeve, and disappeared into his chambers. The heavy doors slammed shut behind him and not even Hyo-Man was permitted entry now.

Inside, in the dark and quiet, he collapsed beside the edge of his bed frame. Head bowed lower than the lamp that flickered above him. Only after he had listened, really listened, and confirmed that there were no guards, no spies, and no whispers behind the doors, did he exhale. 

Then, with fingers steadier than they felt, he loosened the bindings of his robe and healed his wound.

Only then, finally… he breathed.

Baek-Jin heaved harsh, ragged breaths like he’d been holding them in for far too long. The wound on his arm, now almost healed, still stung. His head remained bowed, hung beneath the flickering lamp, and he reached forward to tug off his socks. The faint scent clinging to the fabric, hit him like a lash across the ribs. He stilled, as though struck. 

What had he done? Why had he gone ahead and accepted the Queen’s invitation? Why had he said those things, not to enemies or strangers, but to the only people who had ever stood by his side?

Two birds he’d killed with one stone. With a few words, and a clean stroke of his sword, he had managed to betray both Seong je and Baku. The thought made the blood rush to his head, shame blooming hot and fiery across his cheeks.

And then he screamed.

It was the kind of scream that cracked at the edges, too raw to be prideful, too human to be hidden. A sound torn from somewhere deep and feral, the kind that would put even a child lost in a crowded festival to shame. 

He had everything he had once whispered to the gods for in the dead of night. But was that really enough? The Alpha he had loved from the shadows was finally within reach. Baku had been ready to choose him, to stand beside him, to marry him right then and there if Baek-Jin had only said the word. And what had he done?

He’d cut him off. Left him there. Denied him in front of the world with the same tongue that had once longed to call him his.

But what else was he supposed to do after what he had witnessed in the quiet backyard of the library pavilion? How was he expected to trust an alpha who stood there, embracing someone else, whispering reassurances not to worry about the very omega he claimed to want to marry? How could Baku say that to Si-eun? That he didn’t have to worry about Baek Jin? What was he planning to do? What did he even mean by that?

The questions came running back to him but the only answer he could find in his mind was that 'They say that when you don’t get things served on a platter, you learn to lick it off of a knife, but who knew that sometimes you are so lost in holding onto that knife that you end up swallowing the blade itself?'  Baek-Jin had already swallowed that blade. And tonight, it lodged somewhere between his ribs unforgivingly.

He didn’t stop crying. Not even when the oil in the lamp guttered low. Not even when dawn crept in through the paper screens and turned the floor to silver. His body finally gave out just as the sky began to lighten, and he collapsed where he sat with limp limbs and his face buried in his arms. He wasn't really awake, but even in sleep, his face remained twisted in something that wasn’t peace. The image of Baku embracing Si-eun and Seong je keeling over with glassy eyes lingered like a curse beneath his closed lids.

Tomorrow, he would have to rise. He would have to sit in the great hall beside the very nobles he had disappointed, the friends he had hurt, the Alpha he had forsaken. He would need to carry himself with the same cool detachment they had come to expect from him, as though nothing had changed. As though he hadn’t undone every bond he had ever carefully stitched together.

He would hold his head high, his expression composed, his hair perfectly tied. But it would be a mask stretched over cracked porcelain.

Because no one must see the ruin he’d become beneath it.

⁠♪⁠♪

The one left bloody and battered by Baek-Jin was escorted home not by mere servants, but by Aunt Yoona and Uncle Junho themselves. “He’d be even more hurt if he knew none of his servants helped his dearest friend,” Aunt Yoona said softly, her hand gentle as spring water as she helped Seong-Je to his feet. She supported him without question, one arm around his shoulders as they made the slow walk toward Kanghak territory.

They had barely reached the gates of the Keum manor when a panicked cry reverberated down the corridor. Seong-Je didn’t even flinch; Instead, his lips pulled into a bloodstained grin. “Who else could it be?” he muttered, just as the silhouette of a fuming and frantic Jun-Tae burst into view.

“Who did this to you?” Jun-Tae demanded, voice tight with more fear than Seong-Je had expected. Was he really looking that bad?

In the twenty years of his life, Jun-Tae had never seen his Alpha this hurt. No one even dared to smudge the sleeve of Seong-Je’s robes, let alone lay a hand on him, and now, in the span of mere weeks, he’d been wounded twice, both times grievously. Rage coiled in Jun-Tae’s blood, his fists clenched so tight his knuckles whitened. Before he could even call for help, Uncle Junho was already stepping through the threshold with the family physician, their strides equally urgent.

Jun-Tae helped Seong-Je inside, guiding him carefully to the low diwan in the reception room. He stepped aside for the physician, but one hand remained on Seong-Je’s back, rubbing slow circles. His other hand, still curled into a fist, trembled slightly.

“You must’ve fought someone strong,” the physician remarked without needing to ask. “But it looks like they held back. Seems they didn’t want to hurt you.”

Seong-Je's already wide grin turned into a full smile but the pull of his muscles unleashed a shooting stab of pain through his ribs, and he coughed hard. Jun-Tae was already moving, catching the blood in a small jar before it stained his robes. He reached up with his sleeve, dabbing softly at Seong-Je’s mouth with quiet precision.

“Did you fight with Baku again?” Jun-Tae asked, in a voice that sounded worn out.

Seong-Je merely shrugged, refusing to say anything.

The physician clicked his tongue. “He needs rest. Plenty of it. No sword practice, no exertion, no running around, and definitely no more fights for two weeks at least,” he added, with a pointed glance at both of them. “And a lot of leafy food, he needs something that is easily digestible.”

Jun-Tae bowed politely to the physician, gratitude clear in his expression as he handed the herbal concoctions to his handmaid, instructing her to pay the doctor and see him out. Without another word to anyone, he turned back to Seong-Je and gently helped him to his feet, guiding the Alpha down the corridor in silence.

Once inside the private chambers, Jun-Tae wordlessly undid the Alpha’s outer robes and slid the inner layer off his shoulders, letting the silk pool at his waist as Seong-Je sat on the edge of the bed. There were no questions and no accusations. Jun-Tae knew better than to expect answers from Seong-Je right now, but he didn’t need them. The ones who brought him home had said enough.

The handmaid had already prepared two bowls of warm water and left a clean cloth folded on a tray nearby. Jun-Tae sat before the Alpha and dipped the cloth in the water, wringing it out in slow, practiced movements. He leaned in and began gently cleaning the wound that carved across Seong-Je’s chest.

Moonlight bathed the room in silver and under its pale wash, Jun-Tae's shoulders quivered. Silent tears slipped down his cheeks, darkening the fabric of his robes. His eyes were red-rimmed, swollen with unshed grief and a fury he didn’t know how to name. He refused to look at Seong-Je.

“Jun-Tae-ya,” Seong-Je called softly.
No response.

“Love,” he tried again, voice a little lower.
Still nothing.

“Honey?” he whispered, almost sheepishly.
Still no reply.

Growing afraid the Omega might never look at him again, Seong-Je reached forward and caught the hand that was tending to his wound. He held it firmly and leaned back, denying Jun-Tae the chance to keep cleaning any further.

That finally earned him a glare. Jun-Tae lifted his eyes slowly, and they were burning through the dim light in the chambers, wet and glassy with hurt, rimmed red with sleeplessness and frustration. And still, still so beautiful. Still filled with the kind of love reserved only and only for him. 

Seong-Je grinned again. He was grinning a little too much tonight and it eventually earned him a crisp slap across the face.

The sound cracked through the chamber. And just like that, Seong-Je’s expression shifted, guilt and annoyance crashing in uneven waves across his face.

“What is wrong with you? Why are you always so stubborn? Did you really have to fight Baek-Jin?” Jun-Tae was bawling now, snot and everything, his voice cracked and his hands shaking. “Can’t you see? There are people in this world whose only reason to even breathe is you!”

His voice broke again. “Don’t you see how helpless I am without you? You’ve never let me so much as lift a heavy bucket, so what would I do if something happened to you? How am I supposed to survive without my husband?” His tone pitched up as his shoulders curled in on themselves. “You’re so selfish, Seong-Je-ya.”

The Alpha didn’t interrupt. He just listened, eyes softening as the Omega shattered in front of him.

“Me?” Seong-Je murmured, reaching out to cradle Jun-Tae’s palm against his bare chest, where his heart beat slow beneath bruised skin. “Husband?”

He let out a breath and smiled faintly. “Aren’t you being the selfish one, love?”

He brought Jun-Tae’s trembling hand to his lips and kissed the center of his palm.

“I don’t want to be merely your husband. I want to be your handmaid. To wake you at the crack of dawn, to help you bathe in the hot springs behind our manor. To hold your umbrella when it rains too hard, and rub your feet after a long day.”

He opened the Omega’s palm again, placing a slow, reverent kiss against the underside of his wrist.

“I want to be your cook too, make you everything sweet and savoury, exactly how you like it. I want to be your guard and stand between you and whatever tries to harm you.”

He tugged gently at the hem of Jun-Tae’s robes, and the Omega, already trembling, moved closer and unfastened them wordlessly, careful not to make Seong-Je bend.

The Alpha, still tired and bruised but unable to stop himself, pressed open-mouthed kisses to the curve of Jun-Tae’s neck, right against his sweet spot, the one he always lingered on whenever he wanted. The Omega gasped, teeth gritted, trying to hold in a moan.

“But most importantly…” Seong-Je whispered, his fangs grazing the damp skin there, moist with the alpha’s wet mouth, “I want to be the one to sink my teeth into you and mark you.”

Jun-Tae couldn't help but moan at that, his whole body leaning into the Alpha’s mouth. And Seong-Je wasn't planning on leaving the omega's neck alone anyway. His kisses were wet and slow and deliberate, leaving Jun-Tae breathless with butterflies fluttering in his stomach.

“Se… Seong… Je…” he tried to form words through the heat.

“Mmh?” the Alpha rasped against his throat, tongue now teasing the skin he’d just threatened to claim.

Jun-Tae’s restraint was hanging by a thread thin as a small finger and he couldn't help but give in.

If his Alpha wanted to mark him, then who was he to stop him? Cautiously, he tilted his head to the side, offering Seong-Je better access. He leaned in, chest brushing against the Alpha’s.

But the moment their bodies met, Seong-Je groaned heavily and unlatched his mouth from Jun-Tae’s neck.

“Nghhh… that hurt.”

In an instant, all the heat drained from the Omega’s expression. He reached out, concerned, and gently removed Seong-Je’s hands from his wound. Shaking his head to get it out of the gutter, he internally scolded himself for letting the alpha play him like that. Then, following the physician’s instructions, he examined and began rubbing around the gash with carefully practiced pressure.

Bit by bit, Seong-Je’s breath evened out, the tension in his body easing.

“This isn’t a very good time to be marked,” Jun-Tae declared curtly, voice clipped as he reached again for the salve.

But before he could resume, his hands were clasped, again.

“What now?” he asked, sighing. “I’m not mad anymore.”

“I don’t trust you,” Seong-Je said, utterly sincere. “What if you patch me up and then go back to being mad?”

Jun-Tae stared at him. The man was impossible.

There was no way out of this, not through logic, not through reason, so the Omega did what any long-suffering spouse would, he hit him where it hurt.

Jun-Tae pulled his hand back. Seong-Je blinked in confusion.

“What are you do-”

The words caught in his throat. They never made it out.

Jun-Tae had pulled his robes further down, exposing the curve of his lean shoulders and the upper swell of his soft chest. Seong-Je stared, gulping, and heartbeat skipping. Any remaining thoughts of Jun-Tae being angry later, or ever, fled his mind.

Sensing exactly what kind of trick the Omega had pulled, Seong-Je reached out, expecting to be swatted away. But the reprimand never came. Instead, Jun-Tae caught his palm in his own and tugged him gently forward, guiding the Alpha to rest his head on a pillow nestled in his lap.

Seong-Je followed, dazed, the back of his neck damp with sweat. His eyes darted everywhere and nowhere at once, too wide to be reasonable.

If this was the reward for getting wounded, he thought faintly, he might not mind getting stabbed again.

Jun-Tae, for all his chastity and biting words, had always known what made his mate weak in the knees. He was still a man, and his chest was modest, a soft swell, not the ample kind found on a female Omega. But Seong-Je had always been oddly obsessed with it, cradling it with an almost reverent kind of awe. And if there was any way to distract the Alpha from reopening his wounds, this was probably the most effective.

“It’s your birth day this fortnight,” Jun-Tae muttered, avoiding his gaze. “Consider this my gift. It’s not going to happen often. Not unless I wear your mark. So be cautious.”

Seong-Je swallowed hard, eyes fixated on the delicate slope of skin so casually offered to him.

“Can I really touch you?” His voice was thick with disbelief. “Are you really comfortable with this? Don’t do it just to put me at ease, I mean it. If you give me your word, I’ll stop-”

“Seong-Je,” Jun-Tae cut in flatly.

“Yes?”

“You’re talking too much.”

Before the Alpha could spiral further, Jun-Tae took Seong-Je’s hand and placed it firmly over his chest. His own palm pressed over it, holding it in place. Warm and steady.

The Alpha almost stopped breathing.

“I want you to have this,” was all the Omega said.

Seong-Je wasted no time. The moment the words left Jun-Tae’s lips, the Alpha leaned in and latched on, his mouth closing over one of the soft buds with urgent, reverent hunger.

“Take all the time you need,” he murmured, lips still wrapped around the omega.

Jun-Tae shuddered.

The Alpha’s tongue moved with maddening precision, one moment soft and featherlight, the next full of reckless abandon. The sensation was unbearable, too much and not enough. Jun-Tae’s grip on his restraint, already threadbare, was slipping fast.

Seong je was painstakingly precise in his explorations. As his tongue sucked on the exposed breast of one side, his hand found its way to the breast of the side still covered under the robes. His touch there was no gentler, fingers teasing, then pinching. His palm cupped around and massaged them tenderly before finding the soft bud and scratching it harshly, again and again. It was as if he wanted to mark the memory of his touch into every inch of the omega's skin.

The Alpha’s mouth showed no mercy either. His tongue traced feeble but intentional circles around the sensitive bud, only to follow with a scrape of his fangs, grazing harshly enough to sting. Then, without warning, he'd bit down on them piercingly. The slurping sounds were relentless, wet and obscene, as if he had no intention of coming up for air. He alternated between lapping with reverence and biting with a hunger that bordered on savage.

Jun-Tae clenched his jaw. His breasts would be sore for days. He could already imagine the smug look on Seong-Je’s face as he teased him for it later.

Still, he forced himself to focus. The Alpha’s wounds weren’t going to tend themselves.

With shaky hands, he reached again for the water bowl and began carefully cleaning the wound. He bit into his lower lip, trying to suppress every sound, but a few soft moans slipped out anyway, betraying him.

“Ngh…”

Each one seemed to spur the Alpha on, fueling his already tormenting hunger.

By the time the incense stick burned down, Jun-Tae had finally finished. His chest was tender, tingling with overstimulation. Even the brush of his robes made him tremble. Seong-Je had taken his time, lavishing equal attention with both tongue and hand, and Jun-Tae had to physically push him away in the end.

“You’ve had enough,” he muttered, red-faced and breathless. “Go to sleep.”

Only after seeing the Alpha settled with a satisfied grin did Jun-Tae retreat to his own chambers.

There, under the quiet flicker of the oil lamp, he took care of what the Alpha hadn’t been allowed to.

⛈

Morning came with an eerie quiet, the kind that breaks across the sky long before the world is ready. But this time, there was no golden hue, no soft blush of purple spreading across the earth. The skies were veiled in a grey quilt, heavy with the promise of winter’s snow. 

Baek-Jin woke up with a start. The earthy and warm scent of petrichor was gone. In its place lingered the biting chill of frost, scattering faintly across the grounds outside like ash. The events from yesterday still looming over him, drowning him in the snowstorm of memory, this time tainted by his own hands. 

He rose on wobbly feet and headed for the bath chamber. Hyo-Man was already back at his side and Baek-Jin informed him that he’d be skipping breakfast today.

Dressed in his usual robes, he made his way toward the Seowon. But just as he reached the doors of the reception hall, he halted. There, standing in the courtyard, was Grandfather Jang-Ho, waiting.

“Grandpa…” The innocence in Baek-Jin's voice made him sound younger than his years. “What are you doing here?”

“Aren’t you having breakfast today? I was hoping to get a taste of your cooking,” Lord Jang-Ho, Grandpa for Baek Jin, dodged the question with a faint smile. “Come on, make me a quick plate. I came all the way here just for your breakfast.”

Baek-Jin had no choice but to oblige.

They walked back into the manor and toward the dining room. Baek-Jin moved swiftly through the kitchen, preparing Grandpa’s favourite, beef radish soup and kimchi stew. The scent wafted through the air, so rich and comforting that Lord Jang-Ho wandered into the kitchen, impatient to wait anymore. 

But Baek-Jin raised an eyebrow. “Go sit at the table. No mingling in my kitchen, I’ll bring it out for you.”

Grandpa grumbled but obeyed, taking his seat like a scolded and sulking child. Baek-Jin returned soon after, fixing his plate with practiced care. They both settled in and began to eat.

A few bites in, Baek-Jin finally asked, “Will you tell me now? Why are you really here?”

His grandfather didn’t answer. Instead, he scooped another spoonful into his mouth and turned away, stubbornly silent. Baek-Jin didn’t push, it was clear whatever brought him here was heavy enough to dull the omega's appetite and grand pa was clearly avoiding that.

They ate in near silence, save for the occasional clink of chopsticks. Only after Lord Jang-Ho had emptied the entire bowl of stew did he finally speak, his voice gravelly and punctuated with a faint burp and a hand on his full stomach.

“Let’s walk in the backyard.”

Baek-Jin followed without a word.

“Not you,” Grandpa added, glancing back at Hyo-Man. “You stay by the door.”

They walked through the back gardens of the manor, the crunch of frost-muted gravel beneath their feet the only sound between them. When they reached the old stone bench by the small pond, they sat without speaking for a moment.

Then Grandpa Jang-Ho spoke.

“Baek-Jin-ah,” he said fondly, “is there something you want to tell me? Something weighing on you?”

Baek-Jin’s furrowed brows eased, and a faint smile touched his lips. He understood that his Grandpa wasn’t here to interrogate him. He was just worried. But his worries were for no reason. Baek Jin's heart indeed was broken, but not by some prince, instead about a simple alpha. He would rather walk down the path of his own despair then watch Baku hold someone else in embrace ever again. 

“Grandpa,” Baek-Jin said softly, “I think it’s time. We’ve been dancing around this for too long now. I need to meet the Queen myself.”

He paused, then added with a dry twist to his voice, “You know, how they say that you should keep your friends close, but your enemies closer?”

“I’m not doing this because someone’s forcing my hand, and no one’s holding anything over me,” he continued. “I just think it’s better to clear the dust from the inside than try to sweep it out from the courtyard. If I become part of the royal family, I’ll finally have the support I’ve always needed. I’ll have access to the records, the decisions, the truths. I can protect you... and I can bring justice to Mother.”

Grandpa didn’t respond right away. Instead, he reached out and gently patted Baek-Jin’s head, fingers lingering in his hair with unspoken affection.

“My sweet child. You’ve grown. But do you think it’s worth losing what you already hold in your hands?” he asked. “The bird you’re trying to avenge has already lost its wings, Baek-Jin.”

His fingers swept lightly through the Omega’s hair.

“But there’s still one left who flies. Still has a heartbeat that beats for you. Do you really think the cold winds ahead will be kinder than the heart you’re abandoning for them?”

His words sounded like a creaking door swinging open to reveal a forgotten, dust-covered room filled with bitter memories. Memories of an alpha and a future he'd willingly abandoned. To him doing that was better than to be abandoned by the alpha again.

Baek-Jin only nodded. “I’ve made my decision, Grandpa. There’s nothing that will stop me now.”

Lord Jang-Ho nodded back, though something in his expression soured. Younglings, he thought. Formidable when they’re right, utterly idiotic when they’re not.

He stood up abruptly, brushing the frost from his sleeves.

There was no point in talking sense into a fool who thought himself a visionary. If Baek-Jin wouldn’t stop, then Lord Jang-Ho would simply have to find another way to protect his grandson.

No use throwing seeds on frozen soil, he thought as he took his leave. Let the boy chase his storm. The rest of us will have to keep the roof from caving in.

With Grandpa’s departure, Baek-Jin also made his way toward the seowon.

His heart was lodged somewhere in his throat as he walked with laborious resolve, each step heavy with purpose. Even if the winds turned against him, he had to keep climbing. He had to go and attend his lessons with his head held high no matter how difficult that was. He kept thinking about his mother throughout the way, about how her name was still sullied even in her death. He thought about how he had to avenge her, clear her name, and all of that would be so easy if he just married the prince. The mark on his neck would only help him in doing so, he could have the prince wrapped around his finger. He could make the prince work against his own mother, now that would be the best kind of revenge he could take. Even if it meant losing the only thing he loved so dearly in this life, then so be it, it's not like the alpha was so in love with him either, he'd already chosen Si-eun over Baek Jin, so why must Baek Jin not do the same? He would bring justice, to himself and to his mother, even if it meant bleeding for it.

But Grandpa’s words rang in his head, like a war cry that refused to fade.

Do you truly believe the storms ahead are worth abandoning the heart you still hold?

The line beat through his mind like the screech of a forgotten god, wrathful and full of grief, as if he was mourning his last true devotee, who was about to fall.

Baek-Jin shook the thought away, he told himself that there was no heart he was holding, it already belonged to someone else, and forced himself to walk faster.

He reached the Seowon and pushed the doors open with both hands. Inside, the clamor of students was thicker than usual and his footsteps softened, cautious now, as if he was trying to make himself invisible. He was nervous and his palms were sweating. Just ahead, the doors to his classroom chamber waited. Just two more steps.

His heart thundered, fast and wild like a horse at full gallop. He was about to step ahead but just as he reached for the door, someone pulled him in from the side, a hand tightly shutting his mouth and the other pulling at his waist.

In a blink, Baek-Jin was dragged into the chamber next to his class. The door slammed shut behind him.

The grey light of winter barely touched the windows. Inside, the room was swallowed in deep shadow. But darkness had always been Baek-Jin’s domain.

He was about to open his pitch-black eyes, those strange, moon-touched things that helped him see in the dark corners where no one else could, when the hand around his waist slid up.

In the next breath, he was pinned to the wall.

The figure was close. Too close. So close that their lips nearly brushed.

“Did you really think you could get rid of me?”

The voice was biting and rough with amusement and then came the thick and sudden scent of petrichor, hitting Baek-Jin like a drug.

Before he could stop himself, he half panted and half moaned at the closeness between them. “Baku…”

He could feel the Alpha’s smirk through the lips brushing dangerously close to his own.

“Shhh…” came the whisper, just as Baku’s head dipped and his lips settled against the side of Baek-Jin’s neck, right over the omega’s scent gland. Those lips and nose moved along the dip of the omega's neck like a hungry wolf scenting its prey, pressing in deeper into the curve of his neck as if trying to dig a puddle there. Then came a long, indulgent inhale, slow and sweet and sensual, followed by a string of gentle, open mouthed kisses.

Baek-Jin shivered. He bit down on his bottom lip hard enough to stifle the sound rising in his throat. 

But Baku had just begun. He was not even an inch closer to a stop.

The lips that had been pressing gentle, ghost-like kisses against his neck now hovered above his scent glands. His mouth formed a loose "O," and his tongue peaked out, flattening on the omega's scent gland. In the next breath, a wet slurp rang out as he latched onto the gland.

Baek-Jin’s knees faltered.

One of Baku’s hands gripped both of the omega’s wrists tightly, pinning them against the wall. The other moved with purpose, roaming from the folds of Baek-Jin’s outer robe and slipping beneath those layers, trailing over skin like fire through dry leaves.

The Alpha’s mouth paused on his gland. The hand under the robes found the curve of his waist, and caressed it with swift up and down motion. Then, without warning, his tongue dragged across the omega’s glands in long, eager strokes.

Baek-Jin’s breath hitched.

The wandering hand stilled for a moment, then slid lower. It brushed the two dimples on the small of his back, and Baku let out a pleased sigh, like he’d uncovered something sacred.

He pressed himself fully against Baek-Jin now, and the omega felt it, the heat between the Alpha’s legs, not yet desperate, but undeniably present.

Then everything stopped.

The sucking ceased. The hand around his waist went rigid. For a second, Baek-Jin thought Baku would pull away.

But instead, he felt fangs.

Baku's fangs peeked out from his mouth and grazed at his scent gland lightly, the hand that was resting on his waist slivered lower ever so slightly and a full palm groped his bottom, squeezing it tightly. Baek-Jin’s legs buckled completely, and he crumpled into the Alpha’s arms, gasping for breath.

Baku’s lips moved again, this time traveling toward his mouth.

Baek-Jin froze, he could feel it. The closeness. The certainty of what was coming.

Their lips brushed.

He knew Baku wasn’t a soft kisser. The whispered stories, about the alpha's rut partners not being able to walk straight for days, and resigning to bed rest with bruises and marks were not new. But he’d never experienced it himself.

Until now. 

He was about to know just how good it felt and Baek-Jin parted his lips in anticipation, offering everything. Willing and Open to be devoured.

The Alpha leaned in closer and parted his lips too. Heat between them thrumming.

And then...

BANG. BANG. BANG.

Three loud knocks rattled the door from the outside.

“Baku-ya…!”

The voice came loud and hoarse, like someone gasping through their last breath.

Baku turned, visibly annoyed, his jaw clenched, but he was still unwilling to yield. He ignored the call and dipped back down, mouth latching onto Baek-Jin’s neck again, sucking as if trying to brand him.

Baek-Jin startled, he knew Baku liked being indulged, he was the kind to take as much as he want, whenever and wherever he wanted. But the urgency of the voice outside, the Alpha’s persistence inside, and the rush of heat muddled Baek Jin's thoughts. What was Baku trying to do? He needed to stop right now.

Before he could make sense of it, the doors slammed open and Seong-Je barged in.

Baek-Jin instinctively pushed against Baku, but the Alpha was latched onto him like a leech. Closer now, Baek-Jin could hear the sound of multiple footsteps, Seong-Je and the other person were storming in.

Humiliation crawled up the omega's spine. The prospect of being caught in action like this unnerved the omega and he tried again, mildly this time. “Baku-ya… please… stop.”

At the soft plea, Baku stopped immediately.

He lifted his head and locked eyes with Baek-Jin. The heat was still there in the alpha's eyes, possessiveness rolling off him like red flames, but Baek-Jin could also feel another heat approaching: Seong-Je’s heavy and bitter fury, rushing toward them.

Baku sighed and pressed a kiss to Baek-Jin’s temple, his usual mark of claim, and finally released him.

He turned to face the oncoming storm, ready to start a fight, but Baek-Jin caught his hand and held it tightly.

Not again. Not after yesterday.

Baku looked at him. His gaze softened, just for a moment.

Then Seong-Je skidded to a stop in front of them, He was stunned. An "Oh?" left his lips at the scene before him, the Omega was the one holding the Alpha’s hand, Baek-Jin was the one reaching for Baku, not the other way around. 'What the fuck?' he thought

“What are you doing?” Seong-Je’s voice cracked. “Didn’t you say you wanted to bed the prince just yesterday?”

The words cut like a blade polished on years of resentment, slicing through Baek Jin's very bone.

Baek-Jin flinched at his friends words. But beside him, Baku only let out a low, mocking laugh.

“Do you now, Princess?” he said in the same mocking tone of his laugh to Baek Jin, before freeing his hand from the omega's grasp and walking away from his side.

He smirked again when he reached Seong je and leaned in just enough to make him take a step back, his eyes narrowed at the alpha's pale face and it seemed like he was about to question him, but then turned and walked out, shouldering Seong-Je roughly on his way past.

At the door, he shouted back, voice curling with venom and smugness:

“Make sure to drop my Omega right next to me, dogshit.” He screamed at the alpha.

Baek-Jin didn’t look at Baku, but he didn’t quite know what to say to the Alpha in front of him either. He simply lowered his head, waiting for Seong-Je to speak.

“Are you going to apologize for yesterday or not?”

Baek-Jin winced. His throat felt too tight to form a proper ‘yes,’ so he only gave a small nod.

The Alpha smirked. “Good. Now, can you show me how you did it, I mean... can you hurt me like that again? but this time, maybe, with less force? Just enough to create the illusion that you’ve hurt me, but not actually ruin my bones?”

“…What?” Baek-Jin blinked. “Have you completely lost your mind? Did I accidentally stop the blood from reaching your brain?”

“Yah! Seong-Je-ya! What the hell are you saying? Did you really think you will get what you got yesterday again if you were hurt? Have you no shame?” A familiar voice came from behind them, fuming, flustered, and very much done.

Jun-Tae stormed into the room, his steps a mix of fury and mortification. One moment, Baek-Jin was worried about Seong-Je’s mental state, the next, he was laughing like a madman. Jun-Tae had grabbed the big Alpha by the ear, tugging hard enough to turn it red and was hitting him on the back of his head, all while giving him a thorough scolding.

No one but Jun-Tae could do this to him. A proud, broad-shouldered Alpha reduced to a scolded schoolboy by his much smaller and wholly adorable Omega. It was so absurd that Baek-Jin couldn’t stop the giggles from bubbling up.

To his dismay, the sound drew Jun-Tae’s attention.

Baek-Jin braced for impact. He expected rage. Nagging. Something. Instead, Jun-Tae turned to him with eerie calm, the kind that chilled more than comforted.

He stared at Baek-Jin for a long moment, then said, with the serenity of a monk:

“I will make sure you marry Baku.”

And with that, he spun around and dragged Seong-Je out of the room by the ear.

Baek-Jin stood speechless.

His knees felt like water, and for a moment, he couldn’t move. He didn’t know if he was dizzy from the emotional whiplash or from Jun-Tae’s words reverberating like a curse in his ears.

Only a minute passed, but it felt like eternity.

Finally, pulling together what little strength he had left, he forced his feet to move. He still had class, and if nothing else, he could not afford to be late.

As he walked, he felt the sticky slick rubbing between his thighs, left from the earlier shenanigans with the alpha. He tried not to think about it. Tried not to feel it. And tried not to wonder if anyone else could smell it, too.

He hoped they could and he hoped they couldn’t at the same time. His mind was a puddle of mess and he decided not to dig up any more mess for now as he walked towards his class. 

Little did the omega know, Baku had already engulfed him in his aroused scent so thoroughly that the entire class stilled when he walked in.

Oblivious to the subtle glances thrown his way, Baek-Jin made his way to his seat, the thick scent of slick and petrichor clinging to him like second skin. Every Alpha in the room could smell it. The discomfort was palpable, each one inching away from him as if the proximity might spark something improper.

But Baek-Jin didn’t notice. He was so used to the Alpha’s scent wrapped around him that it would’ve felt stranger if it wasn’t there. Assuming it was just the usual smell from the scented socks Baku kept slyly slipping onto his feet, Baek-Jin dismissed the attention and calmly sat down at his table and folded his legs.

The moment he did, he was surrounded, flanked by Baku and his minions, plus Seong-Je.

To his left were Jun-Tae and Seong-Je.
To his right, Si-Eun and Su-Ho.
Behind him was Go Hyun-Tak.
And directly next to him was Baku, sharing his table like it belonged to him.

Baek-Jin blinked. “What?”

“There are no tables left,” Baku replied, as casually as if he were announcing the weather. “So I’m sharing yours.”

“You didn’t even ask,” Baek-Jin retorted. “Besides, Hyeon-Tak’s sitting alone. When has he ever paid attention in class? Can’t you share with him instead?”

“No. He doesn’t want to,” Baku replied without blinking. “And since when do I need to ask before sharing something that’s already mine ?”

Baek-Jin’s retort caught in his throat as the teacher entered. He didn’t want to cause a scene, he’d done enough of that lately. He huffed, pulled out his scroll, and began jotting down notes as if nothing had happened.

Every now and then, he glanced at Baku. But seeing no particular malice in his eyes, Baek-Jin let it go and returned to his studies.

Still, the Alpha didn’t move.

Baku sat beside him, arms spread wide behind Baek-Jin, as if forming some unseen barrier around him, half a cage, half a hug. Baek-Jin should’ve known better.

Because not long after, the same hand resting behind him crept down to the small of his back. And then the other, quiet and deliberate, rested on his thigh.

Baek-Jin stiffened.

Not here. Not now.

The hand on his thigh began moving slowly upward, and he felt a jolt, slick pooling where the fingers grazed. Panic shot through him like lightning.

In a flurry of movement, he shoved the Alpha off and fled the room without a word.

If Baku kept this up, it wouldn’t be long before Baek-Jin spread his legs in the middle of the lecture hall and begged the Alpha to take him. He really needed to get himself together if he wanted to marry the prince.

Back home, he plunged into the freezing bathwater, breath trembling with restraint. And just like that, he decided he wouldn’t be leaving his manor for the rest of the day.

While the omega locked himself away in the four walls of his chambers, the Alpha was already on his way to the Yeongdeungpo Clan House.

To meet the very omega’s grandfather.

Chapter Text

To name my heart would be tainting its beating.
To name my god would be corrupting my seeking.

☽

Baku stood just outside the doors of the Yeongdeungpo Clan House, listening to the hum of life within; servants tending to their duties, nobles murmuring with no honest purpose. Despite his usual composure, nerves prickled at his spine. He didn’t know why Lord Jang-Ho had summoned him, and that alone was unsettling.

His mind drifted back to the scene in the courtroom the day before, and his brows knit together. If the old man intended to warn him off his grandson and ask him to stay away, he’d be wasting his breath. Baku had no intention of walking away. Not again. This time, he would fight tooth and nail for his Omega. He wasn’t about to lose him a second time. He was done running.

The memory of an eleven-year-old Baek-Jin, smeared with blood and smiling like it meant nothing, still haunted him. They had been only children, but what Baku had seen that day had shaken him to the core.

And he had left him behind.

There had been no anger in his departure, no confrontation. Only fear. He’d been so afraid, so ashamed, that he fled rather than face the truth. He hadn’t meant to abandon Baek-Jin, but his actions proved otherwise. And now, he was paying the price.

To this blissfully unaware alpha, who had no idea what Baek-Jin had seen while standing behind that tree, watching him embrace another, Baek-Jin’s rejection didn’t seem like rejection at all. To Baku, it was just fear. A deep fear of being abandoned again. And while he wasn’t completely right, he wasn’t entirely wrong either. Baek-Jin was afraid. But he had also been ready to fight for the alpha. He had worked hard to bring down the walls around his heart, but that small moment under the tree brought all his fears flooding back, trapping him once more in the same old cage.

Baku was truly a dumb dog, but he believed he understood Baek-Jin well enough not to mistake the fear in his eyes for something else. To him, this wasn’t about pride. It was about the wounds Baku had left behind with his cowardice. When things got difficult, he had disappeared, running away and leaving the omega to fend for himself. Thus, the part of Baek-Jin, the omega inside him who longed to feel safe, had taken that moment and built walls so high no one could reach him again.

Baku was sure Baek-Jin wasn’t trying to hurt him. He was only trying to protect himself. And that was true. But Baku had no idea just how much Baek-Jin had longed for him, or how deeply his actions had hurt. Every time Baku pulled away when other omegas were around, he confirmed Baek-Jin’s oldest fear, that Alphas couldn’t be trusted. That even if Baku said he wanted him, it was only instinct. Because Alphas were prideful, territorial, selfish. And in the end, people like that only loved themselves.

Yesterday’s moment under the tree had proven that fear right.

And by doing that, Baku had carved those wounds deeper. So deep that Baek-Jin had stopped expecting kindness from anyone, even those who claimed to care. Vulnerability had become too dangerous. So he had locked it away for good. He had built his walls back up, stronger than ever. And now, even Baku, who had once stood so close to him, could no longer reach him.

Now, Baku would have to undo all of that, whether he knew about it or not, he would have to clear the misunderstanding.

He had to make Baek-Jin believe that this time, he wouldn’t leave. That the Omega within him could rest without fear. That Baek-Jin, both in his strength and in his aching softness, would be safe with him. And most important, the only omega he truly cared for was him and only him. That this had never been about marking him, or taming him, or claiming something that didn’t belong to him. It wasn’t about proving a point. It was about love in its truest form, about staying, even when it hurt. About choosing him again and again, without pride or condition.

Still, even without knowing what he had done wrong, Baku was willing to do anything to win the omega back. If it meant kneeling until Baek-Jin believed him, if it meant lowering himself until he was nothing more than a shadow behind the omega’s light, then so be it. Baku had decided he would wait for as long as it took.

This love between them, strange and stubborn as it was, had drifted too far for too long. He would be the one to bring it home.

And when Baek-Jin chose him again, truly accepted him, Baku would never let go. He would stand with him, fight beside him, and follow every path the omega dared to walk. He would face down kings and rewrite the world, if only to see his beloved’s lips twitch in a real smile.

Because in the end, Baku truly didn’t care about only being his Alpha.

He wanted to be the place Baek-Jin came home to.

Holding that thought tightly in the grasp of his mind, Baku finally pushed open the doors of the Yeongdeungpo Clan House. He strode inside, heading towards the courts in the hope of seeing the old man, but instead, he was greeted by the sight of Su-Ho, Si-Eun, Seong-Je, and Jun-Tae already seated.

The surprise on Baku’s face was mirrored by none of them. Their features, previously tightened by worry and unease, relaxed into palpable relief at Baku's arrival. 

At once, all of Baku’s brows furrowed in confusion. He had no idea what was going on. And, as if on cue, he turned to see Hyeon-Tak and Hyo-Man walking in behind him. All the couples are sitting here… are they a couple too? His eyes widened.

The nerves in the pig-headed alpha’s brain twisted into knots, conjuring all sorts of absurd conclusions about the two men approaching. No one seemed to notice the confusion written plainly across his face, except, of course, the ever-annoying Seong-Je.

Who snorted loud enough to make sure everyone heard just how smug he was.

“What are you thinking about, you empty sack of potatoes for brains?” Seong-Je drawled. “They must’ve run into each other on the way here. Not everything’s as scandalous as your gutter mind would like it to be.”

The colour drained and returned to Baku’s face in waves of red, to blue, to a mortified black, and then back to red again. Embarrassed beyond measure, he dropped into the nearest chair and buried his face under a random binding of parchments he snatched from the table before him. Completely ignoring a very pleased Seong je, who apparently could not stop laughing at him. 

An incense stick’s worth of time passed, as Baku ignored Seong Je's attempts at vexing him; and everyone waited until Lord Jang-Ho finally arrived.

Even at his age, he looked as regal as ever. The lines creasing his skin only served to accentuate the imposing presence he possessed, and Baku could easily imagine how devastatingly handsome he must have been in his youth. A strange, but tender thought followed, that Baek-Jin would likely grow into that same quiet, imperious beauty one day.

It was only when the lord crossed the courtroom, seated himself at the head, and cleared his throat, that Baku realised he had been openly staring at his omega’s grandfather.

What in the gods’ names was wrong with him today?

He hastily dropped his gaze and offered a proper bow, greeting the head of the Yeongdeungpo Clan this time, not the man he’d just been shamelessly ogling in his head.

Lord Jang-Ho scoffed.

And the first words out of his mouth smacked Baku clean across the face.

“Yes, yes, your Omega will look even more beautiful than I did in my prime. He has my wife’s genes too, after all.”

Baku was stunned, and scared, at the same time. Was this old man a sorcerer too? Could he read people’s minds?

“No, you mud-brain, I’m not a sorcerer, and I can’t read your mind. You’ve just been saying all those words aloud, not in your head,” Lord Jang-Ho scolded flatly.

The mud in Baku’s brain genuinely cleared at the glare he received. The old man shook his head but said nothing more. And that was how everyone who sat around the court's premises gathered in front of the Clan Lord, bowing and greeting. 

Once everyone was done with their greetings the old man began “As you may know,” his voice too low and tired for a lord, “that this grandchild of mine has turned into a sponge, soaking up all the wrong ideas and walking a path that will only lead to his own destruction. But you see, that child has lived his entire life in grief and ruin, and a child born of disease knows nothing of cure. So how would he even recognize what home or happiness feels like?”

His head remained bowed as he spoke, heavy with a sorrow carried for too long.

“Thus, I have gathered you all here today to help me stop him from digging his own grave. As his grandfather, and possibly the only person who even slightly cares for him, I am deeply ashamed of my failure to protect that child from walking down a path of loneliness and death. But my old and worn bones refuse to sit back and accept that he is beyond saving. So, I am going to make one last attempt to bring him home.”

He slowly raised his head, meeting their eyes one by one.

“The reason behind calling only you all here is that, on the day Baek-Jin barged in here and declared his intentions to accept the Queen’s invitation, I saw a flicker of disbelief and concern, in all your eyes. None of you looked willing to accept that boy’s reckless attempt at self-sabotage. None of you looked happy. So, I decided it was best to gather everyone and speak of it plainly. Especially after my own attempt to cajole him out of it… failed.”

A flurry of gasps escaped the hall at his words.

“He didn’t even let you reason with him?” Jun-Tae asked, stunned.

“No. He did not,” Lord Jang-Ho said grimly. “He seems determined to marry the prince.”

“Now that is not going to happen.”

Baku’s voice rang with the same unshakable determination that Grandfather Jang-Ho had seen in Baek-Jin before, but this time, it wasn’t the foolish kind. It was the protective kind, the right kind.

“You might be an old and worn-out man, but I am not,” Baku continued in a steady tone. “I plan to follow your grandchild wherever he goes. And if that means following him as he walks on the path of his own destruction, then so be it. I might as well pick up a sword, or two, because he’s going to have a very hard time destroying himself when he has me following.”

He took a breath.

“Your bones may be weary, but mine are not. And what is a heart without its beat? I plan to follow that beat of mine until my very last breath. I will wait for him, until the very end of my time.”

Looking up, he spoke his words with an unfaltering will.

“And you’re wrong, old man. You are not the only person who cares about him. I care too. Enough to be standing here in front of you. Enough to take this vow, right here, right now.”

Baku drew his shoulders back.

“Grandfather Jang-Ho,” he said, eyes shining with honor and esteem, as if preparing to make a sacred vow.

“I take this oath before all four elements, of heaven and earth alike. Let the water, the soil, the fire, and the air bear witness. Even if your grandchild were to come knocking at my door, marked and heavy with another man’s seed growing inside him, I would still open it. Even if he were drenched in the scent of another, I would still shelter him.

I would still care for him.”

There was no pride in his eyes, only the truth.

“My love is not bound by desire. I don’t need to name what we are, no word like ‘husband’ or ‘mate’ could ever be enough.”

A wave of emotion caught him mid-sentence. His voice trembled for a moment, and his eyes filled with tears he refused to let fall.

“He is my religion. And I, his only believer. Like a believer clings to faith, I cling to him. The way a mother loves her child, through right and wrong… the way a child loves his mother without even knowing why, I will love him like that. No matter what.”

He drew a breath. His voice softened, but it did not falter.

“Old man... the only thing we share, besides our love for Baek-Jin, is the guilt. I left him too, when he needed me the most.”

He bowed his head. His final words rang as both vow and verdict.

“So unlike you, I will not stop. I will keep trying to bring him back. And even if it costs me everything, even if it kills me, I’ll have no regrets.”

Have you ever smelled the scent of an ending? Or perhaps heard the sound of a beginning?

The room was filled with that very scent. It smelled like the end of a war and the beginning of a religion.

The relentless pour of grey frost outside had finally stopped. As if the snow had frozen mid-air. As if time itself had paused.

So had Grandfather Jang-Ho.

He stood still, not saying a word. His eyes were empty, his feet rooted to the ground, like his soul had stepped out of his body and was watching everything from far away.

Inside, the cold lingered. It had crept past the walls and settled in the room, making everything feel frozen. No one moved. No one breathed. No one even blinked.

And in that cold silence, Baku was kneeling. One knee on the floor, the other folded right in front of him, his arms joined together in a gesture of deep respect.

Grandfather Jang-Ho had known this young Alpha liked his grandchild. But no one had realised just how deep his feelings ran.

Grandfather Jang-Ho’s soul was just about to return to his body, when Jun-Tae stepped forward and knelt beside Baku.

“I’ve vowed that I’ll make sure Baku and Baek-Jin marry each other too,” he said, with a confident certainty.

Even Baku was stupified at that. "What.....?" he asked but only received a simple smile in return.

And then it was as if a dam had broken, one by one, the members of their little pack dropped to their knees.

“He’s my best friend,” Seong-Je said, kneeling beside Jun-Tae. “I vowed long ago to walk by his side through his loneliest days. I’ve been keeping that oath for a while now.”

“I’m his handmaid,” said Hyo-Man. “I’ve already sworn to follow him until the end of my life.”

“I’m the future heir of the Go family,” said Hyeon-Tak, stepping forward with his hands clasped behind his back. “Which makes me the future First Noble of the Eunjang clan. By default, that means I go wherever Baku goes. Stand for whatever he stands for, as long as it feels right to me and this seems more than just a right decision at the moment.”

But what followed next was like the sound of a snowstorm crashing over a frozen river.

“I’ve vowed to protect him from the Queen,” said Si-Eun.

“And I,” Su-Ho added, stepping forward, “have vowed to follow Si-Eun wherever he leads.”

The silence that followed was almost violent. Hyo-man's eyeballs were about to burst out of his head. He had not expected this.

What did these two mean by that vow?

“Yes,” Si-Eun said at last, addressing the room with poise. “It’s true.”

And then, registering the baffled expression on everyone's face, he began to explain.

“It was the summer of my sixteenth year,” Si-Eun began . “My mother and I had gone to Maui Island for a distant cousin’s wedding. That’s where I met Su-Ho.”

His voice was so calm it sounded almost wistful. “The moment I saw him, I knew I belonged with him and I could see it in his eyes that he felt it too. That night, after the wedding ended, I met him behind the hall, and somehow, his scent ended up triggering my very first heat, and thus, we had no choice but to stay hidden under the bushes.”

There was a quiet hush in the room as he continued.

“We were alone in the backyard, hidden in the deep forests. If Su-Ho had wanted to, he could’ve taken me right there, and no one would’ve known or stopped it. But he didn’t even touch me. He ran off to find help instead. And while doing so, he ran into Baek-Jin.”

He paused, his voice softening.

“Fate really tied us together that night, I think. Baek-Jin, that omega who couldn’t even stand me, was the one who helped. He didn’t ask me any questions, but he didn’t hesitate either. He simply clasped our fingers together and began walking towards my chambers.  I don't know what kind of sorcery he used but I knew that none of the alpha's around me could even smell my heat laden scent. We walked right through the crowd like nothing was wrong... until I bumped into someone.”

He swallowed hard. “At that time I thought it wasn’t serious. I hoped whoever it was couldn’t smell me. But clearly fate had different plans. That bump... it changed everything.”

He looked up. “It was the prince. And for some reason, my scent triggered his rut too.”

The silence thickened.

“Our parents, mine and Su-ho's, were more than thrilled when they found out about the incident and how the alpha had been such a gentleman. Plans for our engagement were made right away. On the seventh night of the celebrations, under the Moon Goddess’s blessing, I was supposed to be betrothed to Su-Ho.”

His face darkened.

“But the prince whose rut was triggered... he wasn’t happy. When he heard about the betrothal, he was furious and ended up causing such a scene that the whole island gathered under the koa tree where the ceremony was meant to take place.”

“Baek-Jin was there too, of course,” Si-Eun added.

“What?” Jun-Tae interrupted. “Why was Baek-Jin still there? And how did you convince the prince you weren’t his omega? What about the sword mark on your neck? Didn’t the mark help clear things up?”

Si-Eun let out a bitter breath. “That mark… You see, this mark, on me… or rather, us, because Baek-Jin bears a similar one, was precisely why the prince was so set on marrying me.” Si-Eun's tone was strained, his voice cracking with a desperate, furious edge that bordered on a fearful sob. 

Unfortunately, the sword and element on our necks are eerily similar to the prince’s own. That mark will be the most difficult hurdle in your way, Baku-ya. And that’s why I’m telling you this, because the only person the prince ever listened to that night… was Baek-Jin.”

Baku stiffened, his expression shifting.

Si-Eun’s next words were like a drop of ice in a quiet pond.

“The prince is in love with Baek-Jin.”

“Back then, Baek-Jin didn’t even notice Su-Ho. But he noticed the prince just fine. The prince was so determined to marry me that not even the Queen could calm him down. That is... until Baek-Jin quietly stepped forward, smiled, and said, ‘Your Highness, would you like to take a walk with me in the garden?’”

Si-Eun exhaled slowly.

“It was like a spell broke. The prince’s rage vanished. He didn’t say a word, just followed Baek-Jin into the trees. He didn't even glance back at me as he followed Baek Jin in to the bushes.”

He shook his head.

“I don’t know what kind of relationship Baek-Jin has with him, or what happened in those gardens but I do know that, he is the reason I’m not already married to the prince. Because when they came back, the prince stood silently and watched as I was betrothed to Su-Ho. He didn’t protest. He didn’t even blink. Though it was more than clear in the prince's eyes that he was smitten and it was even clearer in the queen's for she was not at all amused by that display.

Si-Eun looked up at last, voice soft but full of truth.

“I owe Baek-Jin everything. I’m only free because of him.”

“But there’s a reason why there’s been such tension between me and him. Before the betrothal, while I was in heat, there were several attempts of hurting Su-Ho, even killing him. I was so distressed, that I took matters into my own hands. I deployed spies across the island. And eventually, one of them caught an assassin.”

Si-Eun’s voice dropped.

“After days of interrogation, the assassin finally opened his mouth. But before he could utter a single name, he began coughing blood and died on the spot.”

A shiver passed through the room.

“That death… the way his eye sockets bulged, the way blood poured from all of his orifices, it still haunts my nightmares. It was clearly an act of sorcery. I knew it instantly, but that wasn't how I figured who the attacker was.”

He paused, then said quietly, “The only reason I realised it was Baek-Jin behind the attacks... was because the assassin had the same ribbon tied around his wrist, that I’d seen Baku slip under Hyo-Man’s pouch.”

His fingers clenched slightly.

“The moment I saw that ribbon, I ran to Baek-Jin’s chamber. He was seated by the window, writing on his parchment, calm as ever. He didn’t even look up when I burst through the doors. Just said, ‘Was it the ribbon?’”

Si-Eun swallowed.

“That look in his eyes still haunts me.”

A sharp breath escaped him. On the other hand, Hyo-man's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“That night, under the dead moonlight, I threatened someone for the first time in my life. ‘Leave Su-Ho alone,’ I said. ‘You don’t want to see the consequences of hurting him.’”

“And he looked at me,” Si-Eun said, quivering with anger and fear alike, “with those dead eyes of his. Then said, ‘Leave Baku alone. I will not lay a finger on your beloved Alpha.’”

“We made a pact that night. I would stay away from Baek-Jin’s Alpha, and he would stay away from mine.”

He looked around the room, expression unreadable.

“Back then, I didn’t understand why Baek-Jin would attack Su-Ho. He had nothing to do with him. And if Su-Ho was in the picture, I wouldn’t have gone near Baku anyway. So why the aggression?”

A pause.

“Regardless, a pact is a pact. That’s why I tried to keep my distance when I returned. But I couldn’t exactly do much, not with how persistent you all were.”

There was the barest trace of a smile in his eyes.

“Perhaps he understood my situation. Or maybe he saw how happy Baku was around me. Either way, he never hurt Su-Ho again.”

Si-Eun finally looked at Baku.

“Instead... he’s been shielding me from the prince this entire time.”

“Your Omega might be more formidable than you imagine, Baku-ya,” Si-Eun said calmly. “And he’s going to meet the prince because he knows precisely what he’s doing. The prince is a fool, and Baek-Jin knows he’ll fall for all his whims. There’s no denying that.”

He glanced around the quiet courtroom before continuing.

“He’s so set on marrying the prince because he knows he can have him wrapped around his fingers.”

There was a pause. Then Si-Eun added, with some reluctance, “And the reason Su-Ho is here… is also because Baek-Jin wanted him to be.”

Baku blinked. “What?”

“Su-Ho received a message in his dream,” Si-Eun rushed to explain before the alpha's fury rose even more than it already has. “Yes, a dream. That Omega of yours can also appear in people's dreams at his will, how annoying.”

A soft scoff from Seong je broke the tension, but Baku didn’t smile.

“The sole purpose of Su-Ho being here was to make you jealous,” he went on, “and it was working quite well until today. The time he ‘saved’ Baek-Jin. The stroll through the gardens. The compliments on his black robes. The anniversary ball. All of it was his idea.”

Baku stiffened, and behind him, Seong-Je muttered something under his breath.

“But, I don't understand why he suddenly changed his mind yesterday” Si-Eun continued, “And then, Su-Ho was also invited by the Queen to the castle the other day. She believes we both hate Baek-Jin for what happened on Maui Island. She assumes we’re her spies. That we’re here to help her bring him down.”

A silence settled over the room.

“She wants to end Baek-Jin,” Si-Eun said plainly. “She knows who he is. She knows he’s a sorcerer. But she doesn’t know his element. And that lack of knowledge… makes her restless.”

He turned to Baku then. “Do you know what his element is?”

Baku hesitated. “Sadly… I’ve never seen him use any,” he admitted.

“I have,” Seong-Je spoke up, folding his arms. “I’ve felt it too. It seemed both… frosty and fiery at once. I couldn’t make sense of it.”

Lord Jang Ho exhaled deeply, his expression troubled. “All of this,” he murmured, “is overwhelming.”

“Is that why I always saw you two near Baek-Jin whenever the Queen’s dogs were lurking around?” Baku asked.

“Yes,” Su-Ho said quietly. “It’s not me you need to worry about, young master. The real threat is the prince.”

Baku nodded gravely, eyes distant as he let the information sink in, his heart weighted and mind spinning. Everything felt heavier now.

The courtroom remained quiet, but it no longer felt awkward. A shared understanding had settled into the air.

After a long pause, Lord Jang Ho finally gave a nod and looked at Baku. “I take your oath in good faith, young master. You have my blessing.”

There was a glint in his eyes, like something old had finally been set to rest. Like a strayed ruler had found his heir.

Baku met the elder’s gaze and understood what he meant.

Now that even Grandfather Jang Ho had given his blessing, there was no force in this world that could make him let Baek-Jin go. Not even Baek Jin himself could stop him. 

But the question remained. Why had Baek-Jin suddenly agreed to marry the prince?

“What could’ve triggered him so deeply that he’s now willing to go through with the marriage?” Hyeon-Tak finally voiced the thought that had been looming over them all.

Beside him, Hyo-Man startled, but quickly masked his reaction, lowering his head as if in deep thought.

“We don’t know yet,” Baku said, pacing restlessly now. “But the only way to find out is to stop Baek-Jin from going to the ball. If that doesn’t happen, we might still have some time to figure this out.”

“So then,” the old lord said, straightening in his seat, “do we already have a strategy in place… or must we form one now?”

“I know how we can stop Baek-Jin from even entering the ball,” Su-Ho said, drawing everyone's attention. “But it’s going to cost us an arm and a leg.”

“There’s nothing in this world that the Lords of Gold and Fire cannot afford, my lord,” Jun-Tae replied smoothly. “Let me and Seong je worry about that.”

“There’s also a bit of risk a involved. We’d be committing a crime,” Su-Ho added.

“No worries,” Baku said plainly. “I can kill for him.”

Hyo-man was flabbergasted, his palms began sweating at the alpha's words. But really, what else could one expect from a man who had just sworn to follow his Omega through life and death?

“Fortunately for us, we don’t have to go that far. Not yet,” Si-Eun said calmly.

“For now, we need to keep a close watch on the boy. We need to tail him and track his whereabouts. If we can catch wind of his private plans, even better. Only then can we act,” he continued. “Hyo-Man, I assume you can help us with this?”

Hyo-Man immediately looked up and gave a small nod, scared of his cover blowing up. “I can. However, I’m often excluded from his private discussions, and I won’t be able to retrieve that information. Even though I’ve been tailing the Master day in and day out, there are times when he disappears, and no one can track him. There’s no finding him when he doesn’t wish to be found.”

“Understood.” Si-Eun folded his arms. “Then we need two things: ears that can report his plans, and eyes that can follow him at all times.”

“That doesn’t sound expensive at all, Young Master,” Seong-Je remarked dryly.

“Indeed,” Su-Ho said, lips twitching. “Because that’s not the real expense. But let’s sort out the eyes and ears first, shall we?”

“I have both,” Baku said.

The entire room turned to him with accusing, suspicious looks, as though he were some perverted old noble who lurked in the corridors spying on young omegas as they bathed and dressed.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Baku said flatly. “I’ve only ever been trying to protect him. I haven’t used them - Him actually. At least, not until now, because I’m not as twisted as you lot assume. And I didn’t think he’d be of any use. But now that we need him, I suppose he is quite valuable after all.”

“And what exactly are these ‘eyes and ears’ of yours? Or shall I say 'Who is he?'” Seong-Je asked, his voice thick with suspicion.

Baku met his gaze evenly, not bothered by his accusing eyes at all. “Do you remember that Baek-Jin’s grandmother used to keep a cat?”

Lord Jang-Ho groaned, pressing his fingers to his temple. “That damned Familiar. It was everywhere, rooftops, tea rooms, court halls… how can i forget”

No one else in the room knew about the familiar except lord Jang ho, so Baku scoffed and continued.

“Then listen,” Baku said. “Baek-Jin’s grandmother and Baek-Jin were far more alike than Baek-Jin and his mother ever were. That grandmother of his wasn’t just a skilled fighter, she was also a revered witch. Her fear was such that even the greatest warriors of her time dared not cross her. But every wise soul must, at least once in their life, face the accusing finger of a fool.”

He glanced, pointedly, at Seong-Je as he said this.

“Lady, or witch Nan-Yang, as she was often called, once had to deal with a fool like that too. One day, a potato-headed man showed up at her gates and challenged her to a duel. He had an hourglass curse placed over his head, obviously not by accident or because it looked good of course, but because he had forced another witch to curse him on purpose, just so he could fight Nan-Yang.”

“He wanted to be cursed?” Hyeon-Tak asked, his face scrunched in confusion.

Baku scoffed, letting the sheer absurdity of the story settle over the group before speaking again.

“It was a dangerous spell,” he said. “One that marked his soul with an hourglass. The rules were cruelly simple - once the duel was declared, the hourglass would flip, and it would start draining spiritual energy from the foolish man. If he won the duel, the curse would break and the draining would stop. If the hourglass ended up sucking all his energy before the fight ended, he’d obviously die. But if he lost the duel, then the hourglass would shatter, and thousands of tiny needles would pierce into his skull. The only way to stop the hourglass was either by defeating your opponent... or by dying. In that case, it’d stop on its own.”

“Why would he even do that?” Su-Ho muttered.

“Because he was obsessed,” Baku replied in a deadpan voice. “Obsessed with Lady Nan-Yang. As I said, she was a powerful Omega witch. And alphas are dumb dogs by nature. This particular dumb dog thought the only way to impress an Omega was by proving he was the stronger between the two of them, someone who could protect the omega.”

“He was beyond foolish,” Jun-Tae said, fuming. “Who even thinks like that? And worse, how could he excuse it by saying he was just ‘so in love’ with her that he’d do anything to get her to fight him? That’s not love, it’s pride. A selfish, clueless alpha who clearly knows nothing about Omegas.”

“You’re absolutely right,” Baku nodded. “Lady Nan-Yang thought the same. That alpha had no idea that even if he won, he’d lose her completely. She hated prideful and reckless alphas. And honestly, I was fascinated when I first heard this story.”

“Either way,” he continued, “the only chance that love-struck fool had to survive was by winning the duel. But according to the story… Lady Nan-Yang, for all her strength, had a soft heart. She didn’t want to kill someone who was already half-dead with love, no matter how foolish he was. So she decided that she will instead lose the duel and let the hourglass disappear first and then take care of him later.”

“Though Lady Nan-Yang soon realised something else. As she fought the man, it became clear that he was indeed the stronger one. He was faster, better, and more skilled. In fact, he might have been the best fighter in the entire state. They fought long enough for her to accept that she was going to lose and she didn't even have to pretend, but the prospect of losing to a prideful alpha annoyed her.”

“So… she lost the duel and married him?” Hyo-Man asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

That earned him a sharp smack on the back of his head.

“She’s the wife of Lord Jang-Ho, you cabbage! How could she marry him?” Seong-Je scolded.

“Hyo-Man is actually asking the right question,” Baku said calmly.

The room fell quiet, like a group of sheep startled by thunder.

“What do you mean by that?” Jun-Tae asked, frowning.

“Lady Nan-Yang did fight the fool, and yes, she lost. But just as the man was about to swing his sword for the final strike, a fat, arrogant cat wandered into the battlefield. It was just a stray, the kind that only showed up at the fool’s door when it wanted food or affection.

But this time, the cat walked right in front of Lady Nan-Yang and refused to move.

The fool now had a choice: if he didn’t strike, he’d lose. But if he did, he might kill his cat. He froze.

He didn’t want to die. But more than that, he didn’t want his cat to die.

So he stood there, caught between two terrible options. Time seemed to stretch endlessly. And then, with a heavy sigh, he gave up. He lowered his sword, picked up the cat, and held her in his arms. She licked his face with more affection than he expected. Thinking he was about to die, he smiled, patting her gently, and bowed to Lady Nan-Yang to accept defeat. Then he set the cat down again, afraid a needle might strike her too.

But nothing happened.

As it turned out, the witch he’d threatened before had only been a beginner sorcerer who didn’t even know how to cast a proper curse. Instead of placing a real death spell on him, she created a fake hourglass using an illusion spell.

Lady Nan-Yang and the cat had already sensed it was a trick. They were just messing with the fool. In fact, Lady Nan-Yang had been planning to break every bone in his body before finishing him off, but she obviously was over powered and was annoyed, until she saw him choose the cat’s safety over his own life.

That moment melted her heart.

When she asked him why he’d done all that, he told her how much he admired her, how he wanted to marry her, and how he thought he had to beat her in battle to win her heart. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. So instead, she married him. And the two of them became parents to their little saviour cat.

Yes, that fool was none other than Lord Jang-Ho,” Baku finished.

It seemed like it was a day of being left speechless because one after the other, the blows never stopped coming. 

“The apple indeed doesn’t fall far from the tree,” someone whispered into the dead silence of the room.

And just like that, the entire group collapsed into a chaotic mess of laughter.

“Wait, so how is that cat going to help us now?” Si-Eun asked, once he’d caught his breath.

“Of course it is,” Baku replied. “Because what even is a witch without a familiar?”

Chapter Text

You - my fever in the cold, my ruin in the quiet;
You are my thunder and I, your willing fire.
☾

Outside, the sun had begun to set and cast a radiant glow as it reflected on the snow white surface of the mountain. Inside the council had moved to lord Jang ho’s personal manor behind the Court house, still immersed in their conversation.

“A familiar to a witch is like the roots to a tree; neither can truly thrive without the other. Baek-Jin’s grandmother passed away years ago, but before she said her goodbyes to this life, she left a few things behind for her grandson. The cat, of course, was one of them. The other was a moonstone, but that’s a story for another time.

As for the cat, he is by blood bound to serve Baek Jin’s lineage of sorcerers. For reasons unknown to me, Lady Nan-yang had shown up on the gates of the Park manor when I was only a babe in the cradle and handed a little kitten to me ‘Baku-ya, her name is ‘Dal-ae’. She will be the path that will bind you two together’ she’d said, at least that’s what my father told me.

But I was too young to understand her words. And I simply refused to call her ‘Dal-ae’ because it sounded too similar to the nickname she used to call Baek Jin with.”

“Dal-Bit” Lord Jang ho chirped in. “It's been so long since I have heard someone call him that.” he sighed with defeat.

Sensing the rush of nostalgia and melancholy washing over the old man, Jun-tae nudged Baku with his elbows to continue “Ah! Yes…so instead of calling her ‘Dal-ae’ I just named her ‘little mao’. Only now do I understand the meaning behind Grandmother Nan-yang’s words.“

Si-eun was now leaning his head on Su-ho’s shoulder and Jun tae sat with Seong Je’s head plopped on his lap in the middle of lord na’s reception room. Only Lord Jang-Ho remained sitting on a chair, everyone had taken to sprawl on the ground as conversation flowed.

“Baek Jin knows nothing about the kitten, but my ‘little mao’ as I call her, knows him far better than I do.” Baku continued “One might wonder how a cat could help me or how she could know my mate better than I do, then let me tell you this, that little mao of mine is no ordinary kitten, she comes from a long lineage of kittens with spirit, meaning she carries the spiritual essence passed down by every Na witch to their familiar. This little “mao” is the child spirit of the moon itself and thus she will light not just mine, but baek Jin’s way too.

“To put it simply, she’s the one who’s been helping me protect Baek-Jin before any harm comes to him. Every time Baek-Jin is in danger, Little Mao senses it, and the moonstone lights up. That’s how I always know he might be in trouble, even before it actually happens. Though, of course, it would be far more effective if Baek-Jin kept them with him at all times. If he does, we won’t just know where he is; we’ll also be able to know his personal plans, thanks to Little Mao.

Oh, did I mention? She can communicate directly with humans. I mean, she speaks to a human’s inner voice using her own inner voice.”

“Your cat is a mind reader?” Hyo-Man exclaimed.

No, silly. She can’t read minds, she just speaks directly into yours. If you ask a Little Mao, “What’s your name?” and she answers “meow” out loud, you’ll hear the meaning in your head instead. So even though she says “meow,” what you’ll hear is: “Dal-ae.”

“Ohhh,” the group collectively nodded.

“Which means,” Baku continued, “whatever Little Mao hears, she can come and inform us about it, acting like our ears. And as for the moonstone, it’s a half-moon. One half stays with Baek-Jin, and the other stays with me.” Baku pushed up his sleeve, revealing the bracelet on his wrist.

“This half-moon will always glow in the direction of its other half, pointing me toward Baek-Jin’s location at all times. It acts as our eyes.

“So, all we need to do is make sure Baek-Jin comes across the cat, sees the moon spirit on her, and wears the moonstone. The rest will take care of itself.”

The sun’s glow lit the way for the moon to finally break apart, yet the discussion within the walls did not cease.

“Are you going to challenge Baek Jin for a duel now?” That was our foolish and concerned elderly gentleman, Lord Jang ho.

“Of course not, my lord. I’m not that dumb,” Baku said pointedly, and Hyo-man cleared his throat.

“I know Baek Jin is like his grandmother and has a heart just as tender. But there are ways to melt that tender heart for this kitten without harming anyone. And don’t worry, this kitten of mine loves Baek Jin. Every time I talk about him at home, that fatty shows up out of nowhere and starts meowing loudly. He’ll surely do anything if it means being with Baek Jin. And since he has spiritual energy, he’s no frail cat, he can take down a human and stand his ground against several. This fatty will be a great help to us.”

“Alright then, that’s settled. What else, Young Master? What do we need to spare a lot of expenses for?” Seong-je asked.

“The prince is illiterate,” Si-eun said.

“Si-eun-ah, I know you hate the prince, but I don’t think this is the time to curse him. Let’s focus on the plan for now, okay?. So, Su-ho, you were saying?”

“Yaa!” Su-ho snapped, his face scrunching up in disdain. “You should be calling me Young Master Su-ho. And Si-eun isn’t cursing him, the prince really is illiterate.” He turned to Si-eun for confirmation.

“Oh,” said Baku.
“Oh,” said Seong-je.
“Oh,” said Jun-tae.

“Yes,” Su-ho continued. “Now, let me explain before you start asking questions.”

All three nodded.

“The prince is illiterate, and so are the King and Queen. The reason is simple - the King has no talent for reading or writing, and he’s always been jealous of people more educated than him. When he was crowned, he banned anyone more literate than himself from the court. Not even his own child was spared. The prince loved reading, but his father, the biggest fool of all, burned down the entire library pavilion so his son wouldn’t surpass him.

“Our kingdom’s court is now full of illiterate fools. That might be a danger to the state, but for us, it’s a blessing. If Baek Jin is more literate than the King, he won’t be allowed into the ball at all, he’ll be sent back from the castle gates. All we have to do is make sure Baek Jin takes the civil exam and passes with high grades.”

“That doesn’t sound so hard. Baek Jin’s already buried in his books, he can pass any civil exam easily,” Baku said.

“Like I said, your omega may be more stubborn than you think. Baek Jin knows about this rule too. That’s why, the night after the ball, he plans to withdraw from the Seowon. We need to make sure that doesn’t happen. To do that, we must make sure he never attends the ball at all, and instead takes the civil exam.”

“How are we going to do that?” Jun-tae asked.

“Didn’t Baku say Baek Jin’s bloodline is full of tender hearts? This might sound bad, but we just need to take advantage of that tender heart to achieve our goal.”

Thus the evening passed with the group of predators plotting and planning in the courtrooms of the Yeongdeungpo Clan, Lord Na seated among them. 

Meanwhile, the prey of that very same scheme was wasting away his hours on the roof gardens of his manor. 

Soon, Hyo-Man would return from that little scheming party and deliver a full account of their plans. Until then, Baek-Jin sat on a plain stone bench on the roof of the manor, where the air was thin and crisp, and the world seemed far away

He let his gaze wander over the snowy expanse. The sun was setting, yet it made no attempt to paint the white ground with warmth or colour. He sighed, the sound almost swallowed by the cold, and closed his eyes to dispel the restless heat building in his stomach. Instead, his vision betrayed him, flooding with images of Baku pressing him hard against a wall.

He could still feel the phantom touch of the alpha’s hand travelling up his thigh. He thought of how he, Na Baek-Jin, the strongest of warriors, had come undone so completely in those hands. 

A single thought slid into his mind like a blade and left his entire body jolting: “That thing between that alpha’s legs should be considered a weapon. He should never bother with a sword. He could simply fuck his enemies to their deaths.”

Those were not his words, but the shameless murmur of the omega who had once helped Baku through his first rut. Baku had been only sixteen at the time. Baek-Jin found himself wondering - if a sixteen-year-old Baku’s body had been capable of such ruin, then what was it like now, at twenty-one?

Baku was a young man, and young men burned with strength and heat. Their bodies were made for hunger. For taking. For spending themselves again and again until they collapsed in the satisfaction of it. Baek-Jin knew that such fire was not easily quenched. 

To keep an alpha like Baku truly content, he would have to surrender again and again, each time letting the man indulge every whim, every fancy, until neither of them could breathe. The thought was dizzying. He imagined his legs spread wide, again and again, always open for the young alpha’s demands. The image made him swallow, as though it were not the winter air that left his throat so dry but the sheer weight of what such a life would mean.

That thought alone had Baek-Jin groaning, the sound low and helpless, because his pants were already soaked through with slick. The winter air nipped at his skin, but it did nothing to cool the heat crawling under it. His fingers tore impatiently at his outer robes, the fabric falling in careless heaps beside him. Settling back on the wood, he cupped his own breast, kneading it, fingers curling in as though testing how much he could take.

Reality clung to him in the bite of the cold, in the rough grain of the bench beneath his thighs. But in his mind, the cold was gone, replaced by the heat of a strong, warm Alpha’s body pressing close.

He could see it - Baku’s lean, athletic frame; the sweep of his chest muscles, broad enough to engulf Baek-Jin completely; the veins along those hands, thick and raised, carrying the kind of power that could move mountains… or could wrap around his throat until the world turned black and sweet as he fucked Baek Jin raw, mindlessly.

The fantasy made him shift, his hand dragging lower from his chest. In his head, Baku was right there on the manor’s rooftop kneeling over Baek jin's sleeping frame. His skin, a warm honey-gold against the cold dark. Baek-Jin’s fingers worked at the knot of his own inner robes but he imagined it was Baku’s hands that were undoing them, baring him to the winter air. His own touch slid between his legs, but in his mind it was the Alpha’s.

In the real world, Baek Jin's breath caught as the fingertips of one of his hands reached his slick and burning cunt, while the other hand rose to his breasts. In the world behind his eyes, Baku leaned in, sealing their lips together. Baek-Jin’s teeth caught his own lower lip, sucking at it, tasting the kiss as if the Alpha were there, as if the weight and heat pressing into him were more than just a fever dream.

That warm mouth of the alpha closed around his lower lip, sucking with slow intent. Baek-Jin’s finger, which had been idly tracing circles around his entrance, hovered there - hesitating, teasing himself with the image forming in his mind.

He imagined himself surrendering to the alpha, his body bending to fulfil the alpha’s wants. His chest swelled with warmth and milk for the alpha, aching to be touched and drank from. He saw, felt, Baku’s hands roam with complete freedom, lips still nibbling the omega’s mouth, until those hands found the curve of his bare rump and stilled, kneading as if they had every right to. The grip was bruising and a red mark with the alpha's palm formed on his rump.

In the fantasy, Baku was no longer kneeling over him. Instead, Baku moved, sitting on the bench first, and dragging Baek-Jin onto his lap in a careless display of possession. One of his hands went back to toy with his rump, the other cupping his chest as warm milk poured out of it. The alpha’s mouth, once stealing kisses from his lips, moved to his throat, kissing and probing until Baek-Jin could feel every exhale against his scent glands.

The Baek jin in the fantasy opened his eyes, only to be caught off guard by the subtle swell of the alpha’s Adam’s apple. His fingers reached for it, lightly brushing over the skin, and in that fever dream, Baku smiled. Baek-Jin could feel that smile pressed against his neck.

In the present, sprawled across the bench with one finger buried deep, Baek-Jin’s breath caught. The phantom touch of Baku’s Adam's apple burned in his mind, and he slid a second finger inside himself, moving with slow, deliberate strokes as he moaned Baku’s name in the sweetest sound ever.

The Baku in the imagination slowly parted Baek-Jin’s legs and began running his hands all over them, pinching the inner thighs as he kneaded his bottom. The omega on his lap could feel the alpha's protruding length pressing against his thigh. He couldn't help but whimper. 

The hand that was just groping the omega’s rump picked him up and positioned him on one of the alpha’s thighs. Both the omega’s legs parted open to give the alpha a full view of the omega's pussy and his small bouncing breasts. Baku’s hands came up and tied the omega's wrists behind his back with his robe’s belt. His hands then settled on the omega's waist, and he began to move him back and forth on his lap, making the omega's cunt rub against his own thigh.

Baek-Jin, not in the imagination, sat up in the same position and began grinding against the bench’s edge as if he were straddling the alpha’s lap. The contrast of rubbing his cunt on the hard bench sent a raw, jarring pleasure through him.

In the imagined world, Baek-Jin was already out of breath when the alpha’s thumb found his pussy's folds and began running circles on them. 

Baku’s mouth, warm and wet, found his flushed chest and swollen breast. The alpha bit down on the bud, using it like a chew toy, before pressing his palm hard against it. A sharp groan left the omega’s throat as milk sprayed in sudden bursts, hot and sweet, straight into the alpha’s open mouth. Baku tilted his head back just enough to let it spill onto his tongue, drinking greedily before latching on again. His hands never stopped toying with the omega’s leaking hole, each press and curl dragging him closer to collapse.

Baek-Jin in real life, sat on the winter-bitten bench, his inner robes spilling from his shoulders, the cold gnawing at his bared chest. His nipples ached, hardened by the wind, and each shiver only deepened the hollow ache inside him. He needed to be groped, pinned, and taken by the Alpha, right now.

Baku had always had a taste for omegas with rumptious buttocks. Every one who had spent a rut with him had wide, fuller hips, and Baek-Jin knew his own body was molded the same way.

He could picture it so easily: if the Alpha were given permission, he would never waste an opportunity to claim him, to palm the swell of his backside in any hall or garden he pleased. And Baek-Jin needed that, needed it enough to ache.

In the world behind his eyes, Baku gripped his rump hard enough to leave bruises and then spanked it hard enough for all the five fingers to leave a mark. Baek-Jin wondered how it would feel to walk around with those handprints burning into his skin the next morning after the alpha was done with him the previous night. 

In his imagination, Baek-Jin had begun to straddle the Alpha’s lap, only for Baku to halt him with a firm hand. Instead, the Alpha pulled him closer, positioning him so his folds were spread wide under his gaze, laid bare for his inspection. Baku's fingers traced slow, deliberate circles over the slick skin before sliding deep inside. Then, with a commanding tug, the Alpha placed him back over his thigh and began moving him.

Now, every backward grind drove those fingers in deeper, forcing a breathless arch from the omega’s spine, while every forward press drew them out slick and flushed red, glistening for the Alpha’s eyes alone.

He could almost feel the hot mouth enclosing his breast, the teeth grazing and catching on the swollen bud, again and again until it was raw and aching. Red marks bloomed wherever the Alpha’s fangs pressed down.

In reality, his thighs were pressed tight to the bench, but his hips still moved. The grain of the wood grew damp beneath him, heat bleeding through the layers of fabric. By the time his fantasy had reached its peak, the side of the bench beneath him was soaked.

Abruptly, in his imagination, Baku stopped the grinding with a grip so firm it made Baek-Jin gasp. The Alpha’s fingers slipped from his hole, leaving him empty and aching. He moaned in protest, but his sound was cut short when the Alpha manhandled him into his lap again, bridal style, as if he weighed nothing. 

Thick, warm hands parted his thighs wide, exposing every inch of him, and without warning, those fingers were inside again - three at once, stretching him with brutal ease. Baek-Jin shuddered so hard his head tipped back, a choked cry spilling from his lips.

Baku gave him no time to gather himself. His mouth descended onto Baek-Jin’s scent gland, sucking with wet, messy hunger, teeth grazing the sensitive spot again and again, while his fingers hammered the sweet place deep inside without mercy. 

Baek-Jin’s voice broke as he begged the Alpha to slow down, but the only answer he received was a crueler push. Those long fingers parted inside him, twisting into a V-shape to spread his hole wide, and then, with a deep, wet pop like a jar being opened, the Alpha pulled his fingers out, dragging his nails against the sensitive flesh on the way out.

Baek-Jin’s entire body shuddered on the Alpha’s lap, but there was no mercy. Baku’s mouth found his other breast now, closing over the taut bud in a hot, greedy bite. He sucked deep and hard, the suction so strong that Baek-Jin felt the milk gather and spill. When Baku’s lips drew back, a thick stream sprayed against his tongue, and he opened his mouth wider, drinking with low, satisfied groans that vibrated against Baek-Jin’s skin. Every pull sent a ripple through his body, blurring pain and pleasure into a single feverish high.

The fingers inside him continued moving relentlessly. “Do you want your alpha to stop, my darling?” Baku asked against his skin. Baek-Jin’s plea came ragged and breathless. “Please, please, my lord, please…” “Please what, little kitten? Please stop… or please don’t?” The question sounded almost idle, but his eyes burned with possession. The thrusts didn’t slow for an instant. Baek-Jin’s voice cracked, the words spilling from his lips in surrender. “Please fuck me. Let me come undone under your fingers. Do as you please with me, my lord.”

That was all the Alpha needed. His pace turned punishing. One of Baek-Jin’s thighs was lifted high, his body bent open as the Alpha’s teeth sank into the soft flesh beneath, marking him again. He was like a feral creature - chewing, biting, drinking from him, his mouth roaming from thigh to navel, from navel to the underside of his swollen breasts, until he found the bud again. His lips locked tight, his fangs grazed, and then he bit down again, drinking more and more milk.

The sharp pain turned into blinding ecstasy. Baek-Jin cried out as another surge of milk sprayed into the Alpha’s mouth, mixing with his own cries. The fingers inside him twisted and pounded, stretching and filling him until, with a final thrust, he shattered, body clenching, slick flooding over the Alpha’s hand.

On the bench in reality, Baek-Jin jerked violently from the climax in his mind. Slick had soaked the stone beneath him, running down the insides of his thighs. He slumped forward, robes fallen open, breasts bare and still tingling, the cold air licking over his flushed skin. Sticky, messy, and sated only for the moment, he sat there panting, knowing the ache for the Alpha would return again but the guilt would take over first. 

And it did. As the rush of his climax faded, the guilt came crashing in on him.

Baek Jin wanted that alpha more than anything, yet in the dark corners of his mind, he was certain Baku’s heart already belonged to Si-Eun.

What right did he have to touch himself while thinking of someone who would never be his? What right did he have to imagine a future that didn’t exist? And yet here he was, trembling from release, undone by the thought of Baku’s hands.

The shame burned deeper than the cold air and a single tear broke loose, sliding down his cheek and catching the moonlight like a drop of snow. His eyes brimmed not with hope, but with remorse, regret so deep it hollowed him out. But most of all, there was that aching melancholy, the quiet kind that had been with him his whole life.

So what if he couldn’t have Baku? Hadn’t that always been the case?

The thought hadn’t even fully formed before Baek-Jin raised his hand, a dagger conjuring into existence against his palm. Without hesitation, he pressed the blade to his right wrist and drew a clean cut. The biting pain bloomed instantly and blood began flowing from his wrist in place of the tears that refused to fall from his eyes.

Then, he turned the dagger to his left wrist and drew a cut there too. The blade cut deep, but no blood came out; it was just an empty wound, waiting.

Instead, the blood from his right wrist slowed, turning into small droplets. The drops floated in front of Baek Jin who was lying on the stone bench and flew into the cut on his left wrist. One by one, those droplets of crimson blood sank back into his left wrist, disappearing as if they had never been spilled.

It was a cruel trick Baek Jin had mastered. Never enough to kill him, but always enough to feel the weight of a slowing heartbeat.

It was how he coped when the pain in his chest became unbearable, when his eyes refused to cry. If his heart bled, then so would his body.

He knew it was wrong. He knew it was a misuse of his power. But what did it matter? No one would stop him. No one would bleed in his place. And if he died tonight, would it change anything? His grandfather might care, but the old man had already survived the death of his wife. Losing a grandson would only be another sorrow added to a life already full of them.

The cruel and undeniable truth pressed in on him, until his eyes began to bleed, this time with real blood. He gave a bitter laugh. How stubborn were his tears that they would rather have his eyes bleed than actually just fall like normal tears.

There under the dead weight of the winter night, Baek Jin curled into himself on the bench. The scent of iron clung thick in the air. Crimson pooled and smeared over his skin, and there, wrapped in the blood of his bleeding heart, he finally drifted into a restless sleep.

Chapter Text

I have torn my chest open, and let your blood seep in
On this mountain of darkness, its your soul I am seeking
☽

Have you ever surrendered to a beautiful dream, only to realize it was a nightmare?

Because that is exactly what was happening with Baek Jin. The ecstasy of his sweet dream was fading and Baek Jin woke up with a start. He was no longer on the rooftop of his manor, but somewhere deep in a forest, under the heavy shade of a willow tree. It was still night time but the night around him was not merely dark; it was an empty and endless black, with no moon or stars visible in the sky. Even the heavens seemed abandoned, as though not a single god remained. 

Baek-Jin closed his eyes for a moment. He knew something was wrong, that this place was neither real nor safe, but he also knew that it would take him some time to piece everything together. The willow tree he was lying under was bent low above him, its branches curled around him like arms, as though shielding him from some greater terror. The forest itself looked like an old painting on a yellowed parchment; not a single leaf stirred, and even the air seemed to hold its breath. The unnatural silence of the forest unsettled him.

He remained lying under the tree with his eyes closed for a while longer before finally opening them again. But when his eyelids lifted, the pupils under them were gone, replaced by a pale expanse of silver that let him see clearly through the darkness.

The only sound that disturbed the silence around him was the gentle sound of a stream flowing about in front of the willow tree. Baek-Jin was now becoming certain that this was not an ordinary dream. And to confirm that, Baek Jin pulled the long sleeves of his robes up and found that the cut on his wrist was still open, but no blood flowed from it. It was as if his body was no longer flesh at all, instead he was only the ghost of himself.

He stood up from where he had been lying under the willow tree and walked towards the stream. The sky was empty, but the stream glowed with a silver light. Baek-Jin bent down to run his palm in the water, but stilled at the sound of a branch cracking behind him. He could feel a cold and empty stare on his back and dared not turn around.

He stood there with his hand hovering just above the stream and his back bent low. He was so still that one could not tell the difference between him and his surroundings, and whatever had been watching him seemed to lose interest and walk deeper into the forest. Only when he finally felt the eyes of this stranger leave his back and heard the sound of footsteps fading, did he turn around.

The forest behind him was empty again, but for some reason, Baek-Jin was tempted to follow the thing that had just been there. A thin sheen of sweat coated his back, but Baek-Jin stilled himself and decided to walk further, following the thing deeper into the woods. 

These woods surrounded him from all sides and it felt like there were eyes watching him all the time. The deeper he walked, the more he felt like something was wrong, like he was not supposed to be here but there was a sweet voice humming in his head, telling him to walk further and he did. 

He walked a few paces ahead in the dark before he finally found his prey. “The thing” as he was calling it, was simply a woman in deep red wedding garbs. Her footsteps were heavy and her back ramrod straight, but her head was completely veiled in the red garb. 

Baek Jin, on the other hand, walked with footsteps lighter than the wind. He followed the red-robed bride as she climbed the forested mountain, moving so silently that not even the sound of his breath could be heard.

The bride kept climbing higher on the mountain, but the closer they got to the peak, the more aware he became of the disturbing silence around him.  It felt less like a living forest and more like the empty shell of one. The trees seemed tall but felt lighter than paper, their branches bare of any living birds and the bushes were untouched by any animal.  Not even a rustle of fur, or a cry of insects could be heard around him. 

The only sound that followed Baek-Jin was the soft murmur of the stream, as it appeared and disappeared from his sight, the low humming sound of a woman in his head; and the heavy footsteps of the bride before him.

The bride’s veil looked suffocating. It was pulled so tightly over her head that not a hint of her face could be seen. But what unsettled Baek Jin the most was the way she moved. Each time she turned, she did not tilt her head only, but rotated her whole body, as if her neck were fixed and could not move at all.

She walked up the steep path with an unnatural ease. Her shoulders never strained, her breath never quickened, and Baek-Jin had a feeling that she did not need to breathe at all. Her heavy crimson robes never tangled or slowed her down. It was as if the climb itself did not bother her.

With that uneasy feeling, he began to wonder why had he been led here, into this deserted, lifeless forest?

But the only way to find all the answers was by following this bride and thus, with his mind huddled with numerous thoughts, Baek jin kept following the bride.

As they climbed higher, the path grew thinner until it disappeared completely. They had to push through bushes and their crunching noise would have been a problem for Baek Jin, but strangely, not a single sound came from them, not even when Baek-Jin had to jump on the grass. His stomach twisted with fear as he realized they were getting dangerously close to the edge of the mountain.

The night was still heavy with darkness, the missing moon leaving the forest empty of any light. The bride walked straight to the cliff’s edge and stopped there. Quickly, Baek-Jin ducked behind a tree so she would not see him.

Before them, the mountain split in two by the stream, and a deep valley stretched between the cliffs. Across the water stood a dark cave, its entrance wide open like a mouth. The bride kept staring at the opening without moving an inch. Baek Jin was irked by this and crept closer, hiding behind another tree near the edge to see what she was looking at. 

When he finally followed her gaze to see what was there in the cave, terror ripped through him. His hair stood on end, his bones felt as if they were breaking under some unseen force, and his body shook all over, yet he could not look away from the cave’s black opening.

Blood rushed to his head at the sight before him, and he sprang up from where he had been crouching, ready to step toward the cave. But just as he moved away from the tree, the sudden sound of footsteps behind him froze him in place. Both he and the bride turned at once toward the noise, only to find nothing but the empty bushes.

Annoyed, Baek-Jin shifted to retreat to his hiding place, but then he winced, realising that in his moment of anger, he had already revealed himself. The bride had seen him. He felt the same eyes that had watched him near the stream fixed on his back once more. Sweat dampened the nape of his neck, and every bone in his body begged him not to turn. Yet he knew he had no choice but to turn around. And so, he turned

His shoulders relaxed when he realised that the bride, who had been standing before him only moments ago, was gone. Still, the chilling sense of being watched lingered. He searched the darkness for a while, but found nothing to confirm his suspicions, and so he turned toward the cave ahead. The sight that awaited him in the cave made him flinch.

The figure before him was the man he loved so dearly. Baku knelt at the entrance, his hands bound to either side of the rock. His face was ghastly pale, and at the center of his chest split a deep wound, from which blood spilled without end.

Baek-Jin’s mind was crowded with all thoughts of how he could reach Baku, each thought colliding against the next, but the sound of footsteps behind him cut through his spiraling again. He turned, only to be greeted by nothing but the oppressive darkness pressing in from the forest, once again. Disappointment settled in his chest as he looked back toward Baku, only to find himself staring straight into the eyes of the bride.

There she was. The bride, who stood directly before him, her veil lifted just enough to reveal what should never be seen. In place of her eyes were empty sockets that stared straight into Baek Jin's eyes. Those black hollows were flowing with blood that slipped down her cheeks and disappeared into the red of her robes. Baek Jin was standing so close to the bride that could not look away. Every part of him screamed to flee, yet his gaze remained locked upon those bleeding voids where eyes should have been.

An eternity seemed to pass as he stood face to face with the bride, when suddenly he felt rough palms graze his waist. Another hand slid up to cover his eyes, coaxing Baek Jin to close them. And a low hum fluttered in Baek-Jin’s mind, as warm lips brushed against his ear.

‘Hi there, my love. Did you miss me?’

☽

The fat cat, who should have been fast asleep, was meowing loudly at the head of his bed. Outside, the weather was unusually gloomy, rain was hammering against the shutters, but Baku remained buried in slumber; lost in a dream that made his chest ache with sweetness and his robes damp with precum.

In that dream, Baek-Jin was right there in his bed, draped in his sheets like he belonged there, his robes loose, his lips flushed from Baku’s kisses and Baku's mouth wandering across the omega's sweet neck. They had been tangled together with Baku pressing hard between the omega's legs, while the Omega moaned his name, begging for more. Baku was just done edging the omega to his limits and was just about to sink himself deeper into the omega when -

A loud slap across his face pulled him out of his heaven.

That fatty had climbed onto his pillow and slapped him with its little paws. Baku groaned, burying his face in the sheets. He was so hard he thought he might spill right there in his pants, but that fat menace had ruined everything.

“What the fuck is your problem?” he jutted “I was just having a good dream” 

“I can clearly see what kind of a dream you were having, but if you don’t move right now, that dream of yours will never come true.” The fatty scolded him, though there was urgency in his voice.

“You need to run to Baek-Jin’s rooftop, now!” The cat threw Baku’s outer robes at him as he made a beeline for the door. “I’ll meet you on the way to his house. Run!”

“Where is Go-Tak?” Baku was confused but he was already used to the cat alerting him when Baek Jin was in danger. So he had thrown on his clothes and was sprinting towards Baek-Jin’s house.

“He’s already there, holding off the ghosts and reapers. Now move!”

Baku rushed through the streets towards Baek-Jin’s manor. Along the way, he met Si-Eun, Su-Ho, Seong-Je, and Jun-Tae. Each of them was walking with an identical cat, and when they all gathered together, the cats merged into one.

“Baek-Jin is dead,” the cat said.

Baku stopped in his tracks, and thunder cracked across the sky.

“Not literally,” the cat quickly added before Baku could do anything reckless. “His soul is still alive. He probably harmed himself. What matters right now is this - Baek-Jin’s mortal body is simply deprived of its soul. His soul is lost between the realms of death and life. To bring him back, you must tie his soul to yourself, Baku.”

“And how am I supposed to do that?” Baku demanded.

“Listen to me carefully...”

The cat explained to Baku what he was supposed to do on their way and the group arrived at Baek-Jin’s rooftop. What they saw left all of their jaws hanging. The rooftop was swarming with shrieking ghosts, pale hands clawing toward Baek-Jin’s body, jaws open wide. Beyond them, grim reapers closed in, their scythes glinting like crescents of blackened moonlight.

Yet, in the very heart of the storm, stood Hyeon-Tak with his sword. His stance was steady, his movements fluid, and his strikes precise. The blade moved like a flame in the wind, cutting through ghosts that dissolved into mist with every swing. Even the heavy arcs of the reapers’ scythes met the steel and shattered away. 

He neither strayed too far, nor stepped too close. His back was Baek-Jin’s shield, his sword the only barrier between him and the endless army of dead. The weight of battle pressed on him, his breath grew ragged, but his grip did not falter. Not while Baek-Jin lay behind him, lifeless.

Every single person stood frozen, stunned by the alpha’s strength and resolve. It was the cat who finally broke the silence.

“What are you all staring at? Go help him, now!”

Su-ho and Seong-Je rushed into the battle while Si-eun and Jun-tae hurried to Baek-Jin’s side, as instructed by the Cat earlier.

“Quick, form an array around him! We need the four elements - water, fire, earth, and wind!”

Si-eun and Jun-tae knelt by Baek-Jin’s body, joining hands to steady their power.

“Me and Jun-tae have water and fire, Baku is earth, but what about wind? Who in our village carries wind?” Si-eun shouted over the roar of clashing spirits and steel.

A cold voice answered, so devoid of warmth it chilled Si-eun to the bone.

“I’m disappointed that you, my dear friend, have forgotten about me.”

Si-eun stiffened and Su-ho, who had been fighting beside Go-Tak and Seong-Je, immediately broke away and planted himself in front of Si-eun, shielding him.

“What are you doing here?” Su-ho’s voice was full of fury.

“Your Majesty Beom-Seok, I’m so glad you came! I wasn’t sure you would,” Dal-ae, the cat exclaimed.

“Of course I would. This is about my princess’s life, I would do anything for him, you know that right?” Prince Beom-Seok said calmly, stepping forward. “I also brought soldiers with me to fight at your side. I hope that will be enough.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Dal-ae replied, bowing his head. “It’s more than enough. Thank you for doing this. Now, let us quickly finish the array.”

At the little cat’s command, Baku lowered himself beside Baek-Jin, placing his body under the Omega’s bleeding hand. The wound was deep and blood was flowing from it without stopping. 

Normally, Baku would have been irritated at the prince’s presence, but at this moment he had no space in his mind for anger. His entire being was consumed by the desperate need of keeping Baek Jin alive.

The others moved into position, forming a circle around them with linked hands. Si-Eun hesitated before taking the prince’s hand, his chest heavy with resentment. But if Baek-Jin’s life depended on it, he would not hold back.

Su-Ho returned to the fight, blades flashing as he tore through the spirits. Yet again and again, his gaze wandered to where Si-Eun’s fingers were linked with the prince’s. Each glance burned a fire in him, feeding a fury he could not voice.

The array was set. With a grunt, the small cat climbed onto Baku’s chest and said “You do remember that there’s a possibility that Baek Jin would not remember any of this happening when he comes back?” 

Baku nodded. 

“You still want to do this? Even though you know he wants to marry me?” asked Beom Seok and Baku nodded again, this time a little more irritated. 

Sensing Baku’s irritation, the cat jumped on his chest and asked him to close his eyes. The fatty then dragged the blade it held in his mouth across the alpha's skin. A deep cut opened across Baku’s chest. Jun-Tae flinched, bracing himself for blood to gush out, but nothing came. Instead, Baek-Jin’s blood, still dripping from his wrist, began to move. Like red threads, it slid and seeped into Baku’s chest, as if called home.

Baek-Jin was lying upon the stone bench, Baku beside him on the cold ground, and the circle of elements aka Jun tae, Si-eun and the prince, surrounded them both. The ritual had begun. The array began thrumming with power and soon, Baku’s breath grew shallow, and his body heavy. He surrendered to the spell and slipped into a deep sleep.

When his eyes opened again, he was standing directly behind Baek-Jin. The Omega stood still, staring at the hollow sockets of the ghostly bride. Without a word, Baku stepped forward, gently covering Baek-Jin’s eyes with one hand. With his other hand, he pulled the omega closer by his waist, leaning in to speak, his voice low and tender against Baek-Jin’s ear

‘Hi there, my love. Did you miss me?’ 

⛈

Baek Jin flinched at the alpha’s voice. ‘What is Baku doing here? Wasn’t he just kneeling on the other side of the cave?’ he thought to himself and was about to ask the alpha when a finger rested on his lips. 

“The bride is blind, but she can hear loud voices. Don’t make a sound and keep your eyes shut. Avoid looking in her eyes.” Baku whispered in his ear. 

Baek Jin nodded to let the alpha know that he was listening. And Baku wasted no time once Baek Jin nodded. He immediately picked the omega up and manoeuvred his head near his own neck. Baek Jin instinctively buried his face deeper in the alpha’s neck, feeling safer than ever. 

Once Baek-Jin was settled, Baku began walking. He could sense the bride following close behind. So near that he knew if Baek-Jin lifted his head, he would be staring straight into her eyes again.

"Do not look back. No matter what happens, you must keep your eyes closed until we reach our destination." Baku instructed. Baek-Jin nodded.

He had no idea what was happening around him, but he knew that no matter what it was, he would be safe as long as his alpha was there.

He couldn’t even feel the alpha moving, but he knew they were no longer in the same spot. Baku was surely running with him in his arms.

Baek-Jin pressed his cheek faintly against the alpha’s chest, but there was no quickened heartbeat, no ragged breath, no sign of weariness. A smile tugged at his lips. Baku had probably run miles right now but of course he did not tire easily. Of course his alpha could carry him for hours without faltering.

Baku was a young man with unyielding stamina. He has the kind of strength that allowed him to pin Baek-Jin to the ground right now if he wished to do so, and take him how so ever he wanted. The thought alone should have filled Baek-Jin’s belly with butterflies, but in this ghostly form, he only felt a tingling of sorts. 

Yet what made his chest ache more was not that strength, but the way Baku never used it against him. He had the power to crush him, to force him into submission, yet he never did and was always respectful, always careful, as if Baek-Jin were something precious.

'Why, then, did he have to look at Si-Eun like that and not him? Why did that gentle patience, that quiet tenderness, go wasted on someone else while Baek-Jin stood here burning?' Baek Jin thought.

They must have reached their destination, for Baku came to a halt. Baek-Jin's thoughts were interrupted and he clenched his eyes shut, unsure if he was allowed to look yet. At last, when they stepped into some kind of closed space, Baku set him gently down.

“Open your eyes, baby. You’re safe, for now.”

Chapter Text

The veil of red has slipped away,
Her stained tears have birthed my ghost today.

When Baek Jin opened his eyes, he found himself standing on the porch of a house. He looked around and realised where he was, and his eyes widened with disbelief.

“How did you find this place?” there was an edge to Baek Jin’s voice now. He was shocked. His surprise was visible through his shaking body. 

“I don’t really know?” Baku said and a frown appeared on Baek Jin's forehead.

“What do you mean by I don’t know?”

“It means that it’s not me who has brought you here, instead it is you who has brought me here. Do you still not realise Baek Jin-na? It is you who wants me here.” Baku continued “I was told to simply look for a safe place and that’s exactly what I did. It is your own subconscious that has brought me here”

Baek Jin was still very confused but he knew it was dangerous to stand outside on the porch and thus took a deep breath and decided to invite Baku inside. “You can come, but you are not allowed to touch anything or move anywhere on your own. Just follow me”

“As you say, princess,” Baku teased and Baek Jin immediately rolled his eyes ‘princess? Really? Is he mocking me with the prince’s name?’ he thought as he guided Baku inside.

The house sat peacefully on a corner of the mountain, tucked deep within the forest. It was an old wooden home, with heavy beams darkened by time and sliding paper doors that glowed faintly in the soft light. The walls and roof were all in earthy tones, blending so naturally with the trees that it almost seemed like the mountain had grown it there.

At the back was a small yard, though it felt more like a secret passage than an open garden. Stones and tall trees closed it in completely, leaving no clear way in or out. And yet, a clear hot spring ran straight through it. Nobody could tell where the water came from, nor where it went once it left. It simply appeared, as though it had always belonged to the place, trickling softly over the rocks and filling the silence with its gentle song.

This was the house Baek Jin’s grandmother had built with her own hands. A peaceful mountain retreat, hidden away from the village, where only those who were invited by either Baek Jin or his Grandmother herself, could ever enter. It was a safe place, a warm home that she had made for her grandson so he could escape his parents’ fighting and feel comforted. That was why Baek Jin didn’t want to accept that his subconscious had brought Baku here. If that were true, it would mean that he already saw Baku as his safe place, and Baek Jin wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

But he knew Baku must be telling the truth, because if Baek Jin himself had not wanted Baku here, he would never have been able to find this place.

Nonetheless they were here and something about it was very wrong. Even if the house felt real, this mountain didn’t feel like the one his grandmother had created. It felt like a weak copy, a hollow version of the real thing. That worried Baek Jin, because he wasn’t sure where they truly were.

Still, he beckoned Baku to follow him inside. “You can sit here,” He gestured towards a low bed and both Baek Jin and Baku settled on it. “Now tell me exactly what is going on. Where are we? Is this really my house?”

Baku cleared his throat before speaking, his voice carrying the same confusion he felt. “I’m not completely sure where we are, and I don’t know if this is really your house. All I know is that I was asleep in my own chambers when something suddenly woke me up  and told me to find you, so I did. When I arrived at your manor to look for you, I was told by your servants  to go to the rooftop, and when I did, I found you… passed out and bleeding.”

Baku moved closer to Baek Jin and took his hand in his own palms. He began to caress the open wound on the omega’s wrist as he continued “You cut your wrist open on a New moon my love. Don’t you know sorcerers are the weakest on the new moons and their magic often fails on that night?” 

The omega’s eyes flew open at what he had just heard. “Am… Am I dead?” he asked, his voice trembling with fear and anxiousness.

“Technically, yes. You are dead.” The words left Baku’s mouth, and Baek Jin couldn’t help but wince. 

“I must be the dumbest sorcerer to ever exist…” he grumbled, shaking his head. 

Seeing the omega’s pitiful state, Baku moved his hand gently over Baek Jin’s head and began caressing it; while Baek Jin cringed at his own stupidity and leaned onto Baku’s shoulder. 

The moment Baek Jin’s head touched the alpha’s shoulders, he couldn’t help but smile. This was the first time ever that the omega was initiating any form of touch and he wasn’t simply leaning to touch, but instead, he was seeking comfort and Baku had never felt more protective than now as he held Baek Jin in his arms and caressed him. 

Not wanting to let the omega lift his head, Baku continued the conversation, “What were you even doing on the rooftop this late at night, love?” 

If Baek Jin had still been human, his ears would have burned crimson at the question.
“I just needed fresh air” he said. 

“Hmm… Do you wanna tell me what happened after that? How did you end up hurting yourself?” Baku kept on caressing the back of the omega’s head, worried the question might trigger him. 

But Baek Jin just shook his head; not willing to answer or look up at the alpha. 

“Alright then, you don’t have to talk about it.” “But first, will you please stop worrying? I am here now, right? I will make sure to take you back home with me, don’t worry.” 

Baek Jin only nodded. If Baku said he would bring him home, then he would. How he intended to do that, though, was what piqued Baek Jin’s curiosity. He couldn’t even begin to understand how Baku had managed to enter this realm in the first place, so he asked “How did you come here though? How did you find me?” 

“I took help from a baby kitten” said Baku and Baek Jin’s brows furrowed
“A baby kitten?” 

“Yes, a baby kitten. But that’s not important right now. Let us first get ready.” Baku changed the subject before Baek Jin could pry any further. “The Bride is still out there and she could find us at any moment so we need to hurry up.”

“Get ready for what?” Baek Jin questioned. 

“Well, I was told that you have your bridal robes here.”  

☽

“No, I will not marry you.” The scowl on Baek Jin’s face deepened. “Is there no other way?”

Baku tried to calm the omega down “Baek Jin-na, it’s not like we are marrying for real, it's just a soul tie which will fade away once you are back in your mortal body.” 

“You’re telling me that I have to tie my soul to yours if I want to go back to the mortal realm, and the only way to do that is by marrying you; that too in my real bridal robes that my grandma gave me as a family heirloom? Have you lost your mind Baku?” The omega was furious “And what the hell do you mean by ‘its just a Soul tie’? Do you even understand what soul ties are?”

“I understand what soul ties are very well, love. But will you please listen to me just once? Those bridal robes you have here are not real; they are simply a replica. Don’t you feel it too? That something is off about this place?”

That sentence drew a line of confusion between Baek Jin’s eyebrows. He had felt that something was off about this place from the very start, but now that even Baku was saying it, his instincts were suddenly on fire, as if the danger was far closer to them than they imagined.

“I do feel that. But our souls are real, Baku. If we marry each other’s souls, how would it matter if we are wearing real robes or not? As long as it’s our souls binding together, wouldn’t the connection stay that way forever?” Baek Jin was skeptical because he didn’t want to be tied to an alpha who was in love with another omega, especially not this one. He had seen his mother suffer enough, and he was not willing to go through that too.

“If that is truly the case, then your grandmother had us drink the moon water under the koi tree when we were simply five years old. If we follow your logic, then our souls are already bound together; And we are already betrothed to marry. But you’re going to marry the prince anyway, so what difference does it make if our souls end up tied together forever? Once again?”

There was a long pause after the alpha said those words. Nobody spoke for a while before the alpha sighed and continued.

“Besides, you will forget all about what happened here once you are back in your mortal body. So it doesn’t really matter if we get married here, because this is simply a lie that your mind has made up.” They were both standing face to face now.

“To put it plainly for you, the bride you saw outside is called the ‘Yearning Bride’. She appears when someone dies while yearning to be a bride and marry the love of their life. I don’t know what happened on the rooftop, but I am assuming you were probably thinking about marrying the prince at the time before you hurt yourself. However, since that wish wasn’t fulfilled and you died before you could marry him, your soul was pulled into this false realm of the ‘Yearning Bride’.”

Baku’s face was full of contempt and annoyance as he said this.

“The only way I can take you back home is if that last wish of yours is fulfilled. Which is why we need to get married so that your soul is free from the bride’s pull and you can return to your body. If we don’t do that, the bride will end up consuming your soul, and because of you, mine too. So please, listen to me just once.” 

Baek Jin wanted to argue with the alpha, to tell him that the one he truly wished to marry was not the prince but Baku himself. 

Yet… the look in the alpha’s eyes stopped him. To Baek Jin, it felt as though Baku was mocking him, like he was tired of being here and didn’t want to marry the omega either, but was forced to do it.

The thought made Baek Jin scoff. He lowered his head, hiding his expression, and turned away without another word. With a deep breath, he left for his chambers to fetch the bridal robes.

☾ 

A slow, rhythmic pattern of footsteps was making its way eagerly toward the house, and Baku could already feel it. When he left his body to enter this realm, he had also shed every restraint that bound him. The beast that had been caged within him since birth was now free, and it moved with him as he made his way toward the gates.

‘5 miles now’ he thought. ‘The bride is coming and she’s not alone.’

“Five miles is too far, you’ll have to hurry if you want to save him, madam,” Baku says with a smirk, before pacing around the house as if marking his territory.

“Bold of an alpha to mark his territory on someone else’s land,” Baek Jin says dryly. He was standing on the porch of the house, dressed in his bridal robes now, and the beast inside Baku thrummed with pride. The alpha walked over, tucking a loose strand of the omega’s hair behind his ear as he murmured, “The bride will mistake you for the moon, my love.” 

“She doesn’t even have eyes to appreciate the moon’s beauty,” Baek Jin retorts in an amused tone and tries to look away from the alpha.

But Baku stops him “The moon’s beauty cannot be dimmed by the lack of sight, love,” he murmurs and curls his fingers under Baek Jin’s chin. His touch was gentle, but his intent was not. He tilted Baek Jin’s face back until their eyes met. The alpha’s smile curved and his thumb began tracing along the Omega’s jaw as if coaxing him to look in his eyes.

“I’d rather you keep those eyes on me.” His grin deepened when Baek Jin’s lashes fluttered, caught somewhere between irritation and a reluctant blush.

Baek Jin couldn’t stand the closeness, they were too near, and Baku wouldn't even let him look away. Any moment now, the bride would come to take him. He couldn’t afford to get lost in the Alpha’s eyes like that. He couldn’t let the Alpha toy with him, so he forced himself to turn away, a hint of shyness breaking through his sarcasm.

“Comparing me to the moon when I’m wearing red robes doesn’t sound much like a compliment, Alpha. Let’s go, aren’t we supposed to get married?”

A frown creased Baku’s forehead. “What are you talking about? Your wedding robes are silver, not red.”

Baek Jin turned around at lightning speed. “My wedding robes look silver to you?”

“Yes...? Is that a problem?” Baku stammered with uncertainty.

However, Baek Jin only smiled, turning his back once more. “Let’s go get married, alpha,” is all he says 

Baku hesitated for a moment with the change in Baek Jin’s attitude towards this whole marriage thing. He knew there was a reason the robes appeared silver to him, that Baek Jin was hiding something, but he said nothing. For now, he simply followed the omega.

But right before they left the porch, Baku turned around and locked his gaze onto something in the darkness behind them. He was staring straight in one direction and the unseen presence faltered, shrinking back into the woods, as if terrified of the alpha.

After a moment, Baku turned back toward Baek Jin and took the omega’s hand while leading him to the back garden of the house. They stopped under a tall pine tree, beside the narrow stream that ran through the yard. The water moved gently, yet no one knew where it came from or where it went, it simply existed, like everything else in this strange, lifeless place.

“Do you even know what we have to do?” Baek Jin asked in a sweet teasing tone.

Baku nodded. “Since we don’t have a relative to commence the ceremony, I’ll chant the incantation. The moment I finish, I’ll mark you.” They stood right in front of each other as Baku continued, still holding Baek Jin’s palm in his hand “Don’t worry, the mark won’t take a form since this is your soul, not your body.”

He spoke as if preparing Baek Jin for something that might hurt. But the omega looked calm, though not entirely present. His eyes had a distant look, as though he were caught in thought, trying to recall something that he just can’t seem to remember. He knew he was forgetting something, but what it was, he couldn’t say.

“No matter what happens, don’t let go of me, alright?” Baku said.

A loud thud interrupted Baek Jin’s nod and both of them turned toward the sound.

“They’re here,” Baku whispered

“They?” Baek Jin repeated, confused. The strange sense that he was missing something only grew stronger, clawing at his mind.

“Remember,” Baku said instead, in a firmer tone this time, “no matter what happens, don’t let go of my hand.”

The pounding outside grew louder and it wasn’t just one set of hands, it sounded like hundreds of ghosts were all slamming against something unseen.

“What are they even banging on?” Baek Jin asked, frowning. “The door isn’t even that strong or big for that matter.”

“They’re not banging the door,” Baku said. “They’re banging the barrier I made around the house. They can’t cross it, because I’ve marked this place as my territory. But that won’t stop the bride. She’s the owner of this land, so we have to hurry up.”

He tightened his grip around Baek Jin’s hand. “Do not let go”

Baek Jin’s frown deepened further ‘Since when did you learn how to form a barrier?’ He wanted to ask but couldn’t get a chance as Baku began the incantation.

Baek Jin’s unease deepened with every word. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something important was missing. He was forgetting something vital. The words Baku chanted filled the air with thick pressure; while outside, the banging grew more violent, and cracks began spreading through the invisible barrier that kept them safe.

Soon, Baek Jin heard the sound of dragging footsteps and saw the approaching figures. The bride was walking towards them, and behind her, an army of ghosts crawling through the cracks in the barrier, their faces fading in and out like smoke. But hers did not shift. Her face was clear. So familiar that Baek Jin could draw it with his eyes closed.

The barrier couldn’t withstand the onslaught of innumerable ghosts and finally, it broke.

At the same time, Baku pulled Baek Jin close, and whispered in a low voice. “You’re mine forever now, love,” he said, biting into Baek Jin’s soul and sealing the mark.

But Baek Jin’s eyes were locked on the figure of the bride standing in front of him.

“He is not what you think he is, my heart,” the bride said grimly with red stains streaming down her hollow eyes. 

Baek Jin’s breath caught in his mouth as he whispered. “Mother?”