Chapter Text
The tickling of soft, breathy moans bouncing off his eardrums as he lay in the dark, the illumination from his laptop as he covered his mouth to muffle his own moans. The omega streaming had his legs spread, riding out his heat with a toy fit snugly in his soaking orifice, writhing and thanking his 2k current viewers for sending him money in a wobbly voice...
Tracking and a mosaic covered his face and hair. Jihoon wanted so badly for the tracking to slip up and unblur so he could see the omega’s beautiful face. His heaving pants and moans as he was soaked with his own sweat dripping down his flushed neck. His small body curled in a way that he could see every centimeter of him. The setup was so ultra HD and beautiful, he understood how this omega had so many viewers. It was irritating how attracted he was. He wanted to match the omega’s pace as he mewled. His voice was distorted and pitched slightly by a voice changer. A bit silly, but the site required it for privacy purposes.
This was the best way to get through a rut. Technology has come such a long way. He almost felt bad he couldn’t donate money…almost, but being a poor dancer who only made commissions based on performance made it difficult for him to make any unnecessary payments for anything.
The omega arched and his body trembled as he gasped. Jihoon gasped too, feeling his knot swell and then deflate just as quickly in his hand as he came. He growled, frustrated, but was satiated for the meantime.
“-I appreciate all my viewers…” The omega sighed in the middle of speaking. Jihoon didn’t catch the first half. “I’m a little sleepy now…” He mumbled cutely. The other alphas in the chat hardcore simping flooded the comments, agreeing with his sentiment.
“I’m on day four of my heat.. So I will be back tomorrow… hmm Oh! I almost forgot! Remember when I’m off my heats, I still stream weekly because I care about you all going through your ruts alone.. I understand.. It’s lonely, right?”
It was lonely, but Jihoon didn’t have the desire for a mate. The loneliness was temporary.
“I wish I could mate with all of you… I wish it were possible...”
Saying anything to keep the money flowing. Jihoon wasn’t dumb. This omega was clever and scary.
He felt numb once reality hit him. Jihoon did truly despise having to use the visuals of an omega in heat to get him through his rut, but he wanted it over with and fast so he could get back to work. He calmed down quite a lot after a day of watching this omega.
He was phony, but he was nice to look at.
He went to bed soon after his shower, feeling sore all over from being so tense all day long.
Jihoon had to lock in tomorrow.
♡
Jihoon gave himself a pat on the back, proud of himself for not being late two days after his rut. He could have just skipped class and indulged in just staying at home eating the whole roasted hen he had in his fridge…
Junkyu, his enigma roommate, called him a wild animal for eating like that, but he needed plenty of protein or he’d go crazy. He greeted the other handful of alphas and betas with a smile and chatter as they stretched. He joined in on the stretching when the omegas started to trickle in, too.
He tried not to let it sour his mood once he was bombarded with their sickeningly sweet scents colliding. He made the dumb decision to become a professional dancer, a field dominated by omegas where the environment was loudly inclusive, where he kind of couldn’t stand them. Scent blockers gave him headaches, and the scent of omega also gave him headaches. There was no escape from it.
Jihoon especially hated the scent of the omega coolly strolling into the practice room that all three second gendered groups whispered about under their breath. ‘Mr. Popular Prodigy’ himself.
“Sup’ Hyunsuk-ah!” He was greeted boisterously by another omega. They were annoying and lame. He rolled his eyes.
“I wondered why it stunk so much in here,” Jihoon said while fixing his shoelaces. Loud enough for the omega to hear.
“Sure you aren’t smelling your own ass, Park Jihoon?” His voice was grating, too. He stood up and got closer to size up the omega who decided to approach with fighting instincts clearly. Stupidly wanting to go toe to toe with the strongest alpha in their crew.
“Guys, seriously, don't fight… You both have been gone for days, and it was peaceful.” Doyoung spoke up and got between them.
“I’ll spare you for now..” Jihoon backed off with a glare.
“Sure.. mateless loser…”
Yoshi was quick to loop his arms around Jihoon when he heard a low rumble from his chest and lunged at the omega who cackled happily as he got a rise out of his ‘century’ long rival.
“Fucker..” He growled.
“Hey, hey! Everyone in position!” Both the choreographers came in clapping, breaking the spell of the two wanting to kill each other.
“You, Hyunsuk, Jihoon, step forward!” Jihoon tried his best to fix his irritable energy quickly as he stepped forward on his marker and Hyunsuk beside him.
“You two need to get it together quickly!” They were being scolded again.. Hyunsuk really was the only omega to ever get under his skin.. He truly hated him. They were to be back up for an American female alpha rapper who was doing a short stint in Korea during her tour. Three shows were held while she was in the country, and their studio was chosen. The payout was huge, and Jihoon was hungry for it.
He just had to get through it while ignoring Choi Hyunsuk.
The scolding felt like an hour, and while Hyunsuk seemed embarrassed, Jihoon just dissociated. Tuned it out. Nauseous from the omega’s scent beside him.
That was the other thing. He’d been let go two years ago from the studio due to aggressive behavior, mainly toward the omegas.. He was ultra competitive, and when people in the crew messed up, he’d lash out.. The omegas were sensitive, and some even quit. He was told to take a break and get his act together.
He came back remorseful and reflective of his actions. He explained himself, trying not to make excuses, but his hormones had been so unregulated due to being twenty-two and mateless. It was recently so bad that the scent of a mated omega specifically made him ill. Hyunsuk’s scent was the worst…
His primary physician told him it was crucial that he find a mate and quickly.. It’s been a year since that appointment, and he simply refused. His track record with finding a mate had been miserable and heartbreaking. Jihoon grew to resent them because of it.
“We’re getting our stage outfits in this evening..” The choreographer passed out prop whistles to everyone. The choreo required it. Jihoon hated prop work. It took longer when the other dancers made mistakes by dropping the prop, or if things didn’t have perfect symmetry, or if things weren’t synchronized due to a delayed moving prop. Hyunsuk bumped him when he got into position, and the music started. He closed his eyes to calm his rage and focused it on dancing fiercely.
Practice went on for two hours before a break, where he snatched up his water bottle and towel, stepping outside into the frigid air, not caring he was without a jacket and covered in sweat. He thought the nausea would cease with a little water, but it made things worse as he dropped his towel and bottle on the melting snow of the entrance walkway, gagged, and forced the liquid out of his stomach into the nearby flowerbed.
“Jihoonie hyung? Are you okay?” The deeper, thick voice of Junghwan, the youngest alpha in the crew, asked with his voice and scent, expressing his worry.
“Fucking gross..” He heard Hyunsuk dramatically gag as he went back inside with other omegas around him, groaning in disgust. Junghwan sighed as he rubbed his back while he continued to vomit.
“Hyung, if you're sick, you should go home…” He mumbled.
He eventually caught his breath. “I’m not sick or anything.. I’m fine just.. I can’t afford to miss out. I might not get the opportunity to perform..” He took a deep breath, stilling his shaky stomach the best he could.
“I just needed fresh air…”
“Does the scent of mated omega really bother you that much?” Junghwan asked curiously.
“It’s really bad.. I don’t know. I looked into olfactory surgery to fix it..”
“Hyung, something like that can leave you permanently damaged! I know it’s not my place since we aren’t in the same family or clan, but please don’t do something dangerous… Just find a mate..”
Jihoon sighed. “You’re just still a kid… Not everyone can be so lucky to find ‘the one’.“ He didn’t give Junghwan a chance to rebut as he walked back inside the building.
Right away, in an instant, the strong scent of omega overwhelmed him, and he hurried to the wastebin to empty more of his stomach.
“Jeez.. Jihoon, hey..” The choreographer spoke up.
“I’m fine!” He growled in between heaves. He felt a sudden wave of dizziness before collapsing to the floor.
“Ya! Park Jihoon!” Hyunsuk’s voice pierced his ears from across the room. He heard several footfalls as he was shaken. Before he fully passed out, he heard him yelling for someone to call for an emergency.
Waking up in a hospital was the last thing he ever wanted. He hated needles, and he hated bad news, and if you end up in the hospital, it's usually bad news. When he woke up, he received, of course, terrible news.
“Park Jihoon-nim… You’ve gone on for quite a long time without seeking your proper needs.”
The quacks were going to tell him to find a mate. He just knew it.
“You’re going to have to be put on medication for your ‘over-rut.’” All Jihoon could do was sit in the hospital bed in silence. He’d never heard of anything like it.
“Huh? Over-rut? I just finished my rut two days ago. What’s an over-rut?”
The doctor sighed, flipping through a pink notepad pad scribbling something.
“It's a condition that unmated alphas get when prolonged exposure to unmated omegas in heightened or stressful situations. You were practicing for something, correct? I’m not sure how anxious you were before collapsing, but your body should have given you plenty of warning signs. You are still technically in a rut, and straining yourself will cause you more harm than good.”
Jihoon leaned forward, trying not to blow up. Trying his best not to have an outburst, but this news literally was terrible. He was going to miss out on work, possibly again.
“Am I supposed to just go home and wait out my rut some more? I can’t do that! I’m a dancer!”
“Then I suggest you find a mate and fast, or this will be the rest of your life, 15% of alphas that fight against nature to the extent you have. I know it's hard for young alphas to find proper mates who have this condition.. Now, because of how things are changing in society but there are resources to help. You can have a contractual mate. Have you looked into that, Jihoon-nim? It’s brief and reversible. With your health problems, if you ask to be on a contracted list, you will be bumped up.” The doctor tore the slip and handed it to him along with a brochure on contractual mating.
“Consider it. I’ll go get your discharge papers set up.” The doctor left with Jihoon, feeling like the world really was against any free will he had. He was being forced into mating by his stupid body, and he couldn’t fight it any longer.
Once Yoshi dropped him off at home into the arms of Junkyu, they both hovered over him with worry. It wasn’t helping since he was agitated.
“Guys, go away.”
“But Jihoon-” Yoshi tried.
“Go..” His tone was a warning.
He waved his hand, wanting to be alone. The Over-rut still in spikes gave him the urge to mount, and the last people he needed in there were his two best friends, who were mated together already.
Once the door was closed behind him, he grabbed his laptop with hesitation. He seriously hated masturbating…
He felt numb and ridiculous afterward every time. He opened the ‘Omega Cocktail’ app to find the Omega streams he had bookmarked. He might just skip it and ignore the throbbing in his underwear and force himself to sleep, but he saw ‘Purple Imp” was online and live… It must have been time for his weekly stream.
Jihoon chose his cam show, leaning back at the head of his bed. The omega was in the middle of the throes of his self-pleasuring. His skin flushed so prettily. His chest heaving and his moaning so soft.. Even with the voice distorter, he could tell that he sounded so cute.
The tip of his cock was wrapped with a purple ribbon, and he had a bullet toy vibrating inside himself as his legs trembled. He gripped a large, stiff-looking pillow as he thrusted in the air, lost, dripping, and almost finished.
Jihoon squeezed the painful bulge in his boxer briefs, releasing a shaky breath. Then Jihoon froze. His sharp eye caught something. Something the omega grabbed and brought to his face to smell and inhale the aroma of an alpha. He’s seen this streamer do it before, but the item this time… but.
Jihoon brought the laptop closer to his face as the omega dragged the short, deep red towel down his body.
Jihoon’s initials sewn in the corner. That was his. His towel, his clan gifted to him along with other household items, printed and embroidered with his initials.. Handmade and the only expensive items he owned. A parting gift, once he was pushed from the nest to create his own clan, which he never did.
The initials were hand-sewn by his omega mother, a male omega who passed down his features to his stubborn alpha son, making him pretty enough to be a dancer for celebrities.
Who was this omega?!
He had to be a dancer at the studio, ...or a custodian? The custodians were both betas, he thought.. So the plethora of omegas in their crew.. One of the unmated ones. That narrowed it down to two unmated omegas who had partners, and both were female, and were to be mated soon… Something wasn’t right then.
Someone was lying in their crew. A male omega wasn’t really mated. To be doing this? With a nest like that? Using his towel, knowing the scent was more potent since he was unmated. Jihoon blushed. He screen-recorded a couple of seconds. Extracted the moaning and mumbling and ran it through Audacity to pitch down the voice…
He could recognize a voice right away. He played it back. The familiar voice made him cover his mouth. He furrowed his eyebrows, angry, but felt the swell of his knot in the confines of his underwear engorge suddenly as he heard the voice. He shook his head in disbelief. His body trembled with arousal and rage wrapped into one.
He went back to the stream, and now that he knew the face of the omega, he imagined it over the mosaic. How he looked, pleading and moaning like a needy slut. The complete opposite of how he acted around him. His fingers with dark purple polish.. He should have paid closer attention, but who could fault Jihoon? He didn’t expect this to be an omega he knew. Then he remembered the scent that made him feel ill and frowned. The idiot was using an artificial scent. So stupid.
Jihoon knew omegas were the worst, but this one. Terrible. Jihoon hated that his body responded. The alpha closed his laptop and curled on his side not caring he soiled his underwear.
He was going to kick Choi Hyunsuk’s ass.
♡
Dance practice wasn’t until the evening, and despite everything and feeling like a zombie, Jihoon got up, tried to eat breakfast, and kept it down. When he weighed himself, he had lost a significant amount of weight in the past three days. Jihoon sighed, brushing his teeth after eating and getting ready to leave. He grabbed a new towel to put in his messenger bag since he knew he wouldn’t have one when he got to the studio.
The dancer rode the bus, feeling sheepish about being the only alpha using the public transit. Most alphas had their shit together and got their driver’s licence and a car. Jihoon got his license, but he couldn’t afford a car on his commission currently. He felt great shame for it, too. This upcoming show was his first big break. Being back up extras for idol acts at award shows could only sustain him for a little bit, and he was running out of money to survive. He’d picked up odd jobs given to alphas here and there, but dance occupied the majority of his time.
He got off at his stop and hesitated as he stood in front of the building he needed to go into. Jihoon sucked it up and told his feet to move, yanking open the door and going inside. Even the receptionist had a look of pity in her eyes once she probably picked up his scent.
“Appointment for Park Jihoon at eleven.” He spoke up confidently. Not letting the sad eyes get to him. She told him to take a seat and wait in the lobby after handing him a clipboard to fill out a questionnaire. All personalized personality and questions about his living arrangements.
Did he live in a flat? A house? Vagabond? What was a vagabond?
List his hobbies…. Jihoon didn’t have much except that he danced. He used to sing, thinking he’d possibly make it as an idol, but changed his mind last minute when trainees with better connections were passing and leaving him behind. His true passion was dance first. Sometimes he would lose himself and go on long bike rides, nowhere.
He once got lost during his pre-rut. Jihoon hopped on his bike and just went wherever, and realized he was far from home four cities away once he realized he was hungry. His hormones and his high energy make him zone out and go.
He played first-person shooter games and practiced traditional calligraphy. Hobbies were expensive to have, so he didn't delve into much.
Has he ever had intercourse with an omega before? …. Yes. Only one time. Someone Jihoon made the mistake of trusting with his heart and body. Lucky for him, he didn’t mark the omega. It wasn’t during their heat.
He didn’t want to answer more questions, set down the clipboard, and waited for his name to be called.
Jihoon stood and walked right into the office with older furniture, cozy like an old lady had decorated the place.
“Ah- let’s see what you wrote down.” The mating pair consultant read over what he answered, frowning.
“Half of these aren’t filled out..”
Jihoon shook his head, never breaking eye contact with the consultant. “I don’t think it matters.. Who cares about, like… matching.. It isn’t permanent.”
“It may not be, but it could be if the compatibility is there.”
“Well, that’s not what I want.. If it were what I wanted, I would go woo an Omega off the street.. That’s not my issue! I just need someone so I won’t be sick any longer.”
The consultant sighed, taking off his glasses.
“This process isn’t going to work if you don’t actually want to make changes in your life, Park-nim..”
Jihoon scoffed. This whole thing was a mistake. He didn’t want match-making, and that is what this felt like, and ever since he walked in he felt judged for being a mateless Alpha. He stood up without a word, ignoring the calls from the consultant. He slapped down his co-pay money and left. There went his money for lunch. The alpha would have to rely on the pills he was prescribed to maintain the illness he felt around omegas.
♡
Jihoon was one of the first to arrive at the studio, twisting his water bottle in his hand as he was lost in thought. He didn’t hear the gaggle of omegas entering. The familiar laughter from a single noisy omega broke him from his deep thinking as he looked up, glaring at him.
Hyunsuk stopped mid-conversation and glared back.
“What, Park, do you have a staring problem?”
His nose was bombarded with the syntheticness of the omega’s scent… now that he knew he could pinpoint exactly why it made him nauseous. Jihoon stood up without a word and grabbed his wrist and pulled him out to the hall. His other omega friends gasped in worry and tried to stop Jihoon.
“I need to talk to him in private.” Hyunsuk looked scared. Maybe it was the ferocious scent he was emitting from his pores, but he wasn’t in the mood for shenanigans.
The alpha pulled him down the hallway once his friends backed off, knowing there was no way to go against him. Once he felt the area was private enough, he crossed his arms, looking Hyunsuk up and down. The flush that rose on Jihoon’s face was involuntary when he remembered the little streaming show the omega put on the night before. Where should he start?
“Stop wearing that fake mated scent.. I know you’re mateless.”
There it was.. The real underlying scent of fear from the omega.
“I-”
“Also, I want my towel you stole back. Don’t be a thief. If you need something for your stream, go ask your boyfriend or something.. The one who won’t mate with you for whatever reason. It’s none of my business.”
Bright blue contacts stared unblinking at him. His eyes looked like they were welling up with tears, but the scent of anger and shame made the air sour. The medicine helped Jihoon as he covered his nose and turned to leave, but was grabbed by Hyunsuk. He yanked his arm away from the omega. Pinning him with his piercing eyes.
“How do you know?! Who told you?!”
Jihoon growled lowly, “Don’t fucking touch me!”
Hyunsuk was brave enough to block him from going back to the practice room.
“Jihoon, look! Okay, I don't know how you know but…D-don’t tell anyone! .. Don’t .. Just…Keep my streaming a secret, please! I can be kicked out of the crew! I’ll do anything, Jihoon!”
Jihoon frowned, backing up. The alpha wasn’t stupid. He knew that if he told, it could possibly ruin everything for the omega. He had that in his back pocket.
“Remember to wash my towel and bring it to next practice. It’s important to me..” He quickly hurried back to the studio’s main practice room, pushing past him. All eyes were on him as he went over to the alphas and betas to stretch.
Hyunsuk was strangely quiet the whole practice. No whooping and yelling when they got into the dance, no cackling, no high-fiving everyone between setup changes. Not a word or a peep. After practice, he grabbed his things to leave, but was blocked by Hyunsuk again.
“I’ll bring you your towel.. But let me figure some things out… and we really seriously need to talk.”
Jihoon ignored his words, brushing past him, but the omega stopped him.
“Seriously, Jihoon, I can’t take it knowing you might tell!” His words jumbled together quickly.
“Good.” Jihoon simply said with a smirk before leaving the omega standing there as he went home.
♡
It was some more of the mundane as he showered and made breakfast once Junkyu left for work. Gyeran mari, rice, soup with no banchan because who had any patients after dance practice to prepare any. He missed his mother’s cooking..
The doorbell rang, and he froze. He wasn’t expecting anyone or a package. Maybe Junkyu ordered something.
“Thank you, just leave it at the door!”
Maybe he would have to sign…
“It’s me! Choi Hyunsuk!”
Jihoon held his breath. What the hell.
The alpha noisily put down his bowl of rice as he hurried to the door, looking through the peephole.
He hesitated before opening the door, taking a deep breath before speaking.. Noticing right away, the omega had a different scent. Beckoning and unmated, inviting. Panic rose in Jihoon as he pulled the omega into his home.
“Are you stupid?! This is an alpha-only complex! How did you even find out where I live?!”
Hyunsuk’s smaller fingers fiddled with the ring in his lower pouting lip as he stared at the ground.
“The emergency contact paper for the crew..” He watched as Hyunsuk’s dark lashes fluttered as he looked around where he lived. The furniture was all thrifted, minimalist, with not a single picture or decoration. Beige, sad, and cold. Junkyu’s room was cozy and personalized, but Jihoon didn’t have the energy for his own room which whose door was wide open. Hyunsuk could see it too. He walked over self-consciously, closing the door and running a hand through his hair.
“Why did you come all this way?” Jihoon went back to the table to eat.
Hyunsuk was quiet, not saying anything as the alpha chewed slowly, watching the omega’s body language.
“I took off the essence of mated omega..”
That couldn’t have been all.
“That’s nice of you to do…”
It was awkward.
“I’ll escort you back down the stairs once I’m done eating, okay? I just took medicine, and I have to take it with food.. You caught me at a bad time.”
“Wait! Jihoon.. I- The reason I came here… shit I don’t know why dude.. I couldn’t sleep all night! It’s driving me crazy that you know about my camming and… Now you know I’m mateless and..”
“That you’re a little liar liar pants on fire?” Jihoon quirked an eyebrow up, unamused.
“I’m sorry.. I pick with you and,.. We clash so much. You have every right to want revenge.”
“Uh-huh,” Jhoon said plainly.
“You’re a really good dancer… scary good.”
It was strange hearing a compliment leave the omega’s lips. Usually, he spun insults and vulgarities to him like yarn in a sweater, intricately woven together into pure nastiness. His being mateless made a whole lot of sense now. It wasn't like Hyunsuk wasn’t a looker, he was pretty.. Just an idiot and obnoxious.
Jihoon softened up a bit. “Well, thanks, hyung… and I accept your apology too.”
Hyunsuk’s head whipped up, and he stared at him again. For an omega, Jihoon was amazed at how he held such strong eye contact. He was so weird.
“What?”
“...You’ve never called me hyung before..”
He realized he hadn’t. It slipped out when he talked to him like a normal person for once. Jihoon was polite when others were polite back.
“Hmm.” Jihoon shrugged before finishing up his meal.
“You haven’t slept all night, you said? Well, welcome to the club. Look, I can walk you home so you’re safe, and you should rest before practice. If you fall on your ass from being tired at practice, it’s gonna piss me off.” He warned.
“Jihoon, I came to ask you a favor too.. Not just to apologize.” Hyunsuk cut him off.
“Favor?” Of course, he wanted something. The apology was probably not genuine. Well, he had nothing to give or offer. His scent began to sour.
“No, no, no, Jihoon, wait! Don’t get upset, it's nothing like..” He sighed. “I want you to scent me..” He blushed.
Jihoon pressed his lips together tightly in a fine line as he was given the surprise of his life.
“Huh?”
♡