Chapter Text
The tension in the air is almost a living, breathing thing. It’s so thick that Jungkook can feel it suffocating him, clogging his airway and making him dizzy. He wishes they hadn’t chosen to do this discussion in the kitchen. The balcony would have allowed for more room to breathe but then, the paparazzis are another matter to think of. Speaking of which, the paparazzis are one of the things that led to this discussion.
“So? Are they really going with it?”
Hoseok’s question drags Jungkook out of his reverie and he watches as Namjoon heaves a sigh and nods sombrely. In times like these, they are always thankful to have Namjoon to lead them. As the head alpha of their small pack, he can be a real pain in the ass when it comes to household chores but he’s a genius in the industry and a force to be reckoned with when it comes to their wellbeing.
“Sejin hyung said it would help. He said other groups had done this too, with good response from both the fans and the press. He’s basically got everything ready, all he needs is our agreement.” Namjoon explains as he gazes at each of them in turn.
They’re all seated around the circular table in their shared apartment. It reminds Namjoon of their debut days where the six of them would often stay up late into the night together and share industry gossip over a pot of Jin’s ramen. They still do that now but there’s something about tonight that’s different, perhaps it’s each members’ puzzled look mirroring his own that’s reminding him of a time when they were still considered as rookies and had much to learn.
“Why are you all being such a pain about this? I say we just try it out first.” Taehyung offers and it’s met with scoffs of disapproval from both Yoongi and Jin.
“Yah Tae-ah, this is not something you can just try and then get rid of when you don’t want it anymore. This is probably for life.” Jin protests.
“Yeah, this is a real person we’re talking about here. And we know nothing about them.” Yoongi adds, the frown on his brow deepening as he does so.
“Well, Sejin hyung gave me some pictures and the personal file of the,” Namjoon clears his throat, “The omega.”
“Yeah Joon, but a relief omega? Come on,” Yoongi huffs in exasperation, “This isn’t the sixties anymore.”
“I heard it’s different now, relief omegas aren’t what they used to be. I mean, they have control over which pack they go to and can even terminate the contract if they want. They’re not obligated to bond with us either if they don’t want to.” Namjoon says.
Yoongi’s voice is quiet but it rings out clear in the small kitchen, “I had a friend once who had to resort to being a relief omega just to get enough food to eat. Sure, they might not be as oppressed now but most of them choose this path because they had no other option. It’s disgusting how we take advantage of the poor like this.”
Silence greets Yoongi’s proclamation as guilt seeps into them.
It’s something they’ve never talked about in the open but all six of them have felt guilt at some point in regards to their wealth and what they’re doing with it. Those who came from poor backgrounds, like Yoongi and Taehyung especially, always wonder if they’re doing enough to give back what they’ve earned to those who truly need it.
“But hyung,” Jungkook hesitantly breaks the silence, “Don’t you think we are helping them? I mean, if they did come from a poor background, we can help them if we choose to do this.”
“I don’t think Yoongi means it like that, Kookie.” Namjoon smiles at their youngest alpha, “It’s not just this particular omega that he’s troubled about, it’s the whole system.”
“Oh.”
“Maybe Jungkook has a point though,” Taehyung chimes in, “Fixing an established system would take years hyung. We might as well help those we can first.”
“You two just like the idea of having your own omega.” Hoseok teases and he’s proven right as both the maknaes start to turn a light shade of pink, making everyone else laugh and just like that, the tension is dissipated a little bit.
“Yah! It’s not just us!” Taehyung shouts as he starts to get redder and redder from embarrassment, “I heard Jin hyung telling Joon hyung last night that he’s always wanted to bond with an omega.”
Laughter roars around the kitchen again, this time directed at their eldest hyung.
“You little shit,” Jin mumbles as his ears starts getting red, “I didn’t mean it like that...I just mean, well, having someone to love and care for and having us being loved and cared for in return sounds really nice. I just wish it’s under more normal circumstances and not forced on us like this.”
“That does sound nice,” Hoseok says as he takes a sip of his drink, “I can’t say I like the past five years of spending my rut alone or with one of you disgusting alphas.” He shudders then and each of them stares at their lap morosely as the thought of the past years flits into their minds.
Being a Idol group of six alphas has not been easy. They are lucky that none of them is too caught up in the ideals of what an alpha male is really like and thus, not too much violence or show of dominance has been apparent. However, every now and then tensions would get too high as a result of their long hours and their endless practice sessions which would eventually culminate in a fight. Nothing too serious but they always regret it after it happens and wishes they have an omega to calm them down.
Ruts were a whole other issue as their agency strictly forbids them from engaging in any sexual relations with those not in their pack. That would mean they could either spend their rut alone or with the help of one of the alphas in their pack (it’s usually Taehyung or Jungkook who they would go to since the youngest two show less alpha-like behaviour and are more soft-natured despite their alpha status).
Despite that, none of them would have chosen to spend their rut with an alpha if they have their own omega. Finding an omega that would join their pack of six alphas have been unsuccessful though, and even their Idol status didn’t help much. Most omegas that they have ventured to ask were too scared of the huge responsibility of being the sole omega in the pack and of having to deal with all the extra agreements and contracts that comes with being an omega for the Bangtan Sonyeondan pack. Not to mention the scrutiny they would inevitably face from the public. All in all, nothing had shown they would get their own omega, until now.
“I think we all would love to have an omega in our pack. Just not quite like this.” Namjoon says and it’s met with a nod from Yoongi, “Yes. But I will go with it if the rest of you want to. I just don’t think it’s a good idea but I’m willing to put my own feelings aside for you guys.”
“Awh Yoongi hyung, you do love us.” Taehyung smiles sweetly at Yoongi and the older man just looks back at him, unamused, “Don’t push it.”
“Shall we vote on it? We can- Oh,” Namjoon is interrupted with the ring of his own phone, “It’s Sejin hyung.” He claims as he glances at the caller ID before picking up.
“Hello?”
Angry rants are heard from the other end by all six men around the quiet kitchen and they all raise their eyebrows questioningly at Namjoon whose brows are furrowed and eyes betraying what they could only interpret as anger.
“Hyung, I don’t understand. When was this?”
More angry remarks follow Namjoon’s question but it’s unintelligible by the rest of them, thus they wait for a while until Namjoon hangs up and stares them down.
“Sejin hyung’s coming over. He’s bringing the omega with him.”
“What?”
“Why?”
“But we haven’t decided.”
Namjoon holds his hand up to quiet them down and he sighs tiredly before turning to the maknaes who start to get nervous under his angry stare.
“Do you want to tell us why the hell you were fighting each other in public last week?” Namjoon asks with a furious tremor in his voice.
“W-What? But we,” Jungkook turns to Taehyung who looks like his whole life is flashing before his eyes, “It wasn’t a fight.” He finally lets out and Namjoon scoffs in disbelief which makes Taehyung back Jungkook up.
“It’s true, we weren’t fighting. At least, not like, a bad fight. And there was nobody around too so-”
“They’ve got pictures of the both of you holding each other by the collar and also you,” Namjoon points to Jungkook who looks close to tears, “They’ve got a short clip of you pushing Tae up against the wall. And from what Sejin hyung said, it’s not some sort of friendly banter so you can stop bullshitting us. We all know Sejin hyung never gets pissed over small things so for him to be this angry,” Namjoon doesn’t bother to finish and resorts to just rubbing his face wearily.
“What did you guys do?” Yoongi asks the two youngest alphas and Taehyung gulps as he looks over at Jungkook who gives him a small nod, telling him to talk.
“It was nothing, honest. I know it probably looked bad but you know how Jungkook and I can get sometimes,” Taehyung starts, “Jungkook said something about how I wasn’t keeping on time with the beat when we were dancing and well, it got worse. It’s my fault too, I wouldn’t listen to him and we decided to talk outside cause we were both getting angry and the staff were all there.”
“For God’s sake,” Hoseok groans, “You know damn well it’s a thousand times better to fight in front of our own staff than to let other people see us.”
“I know, I know hyung but it was really stupid and I didn’t expect we would even start to get physical.”
“My rut was nearing so I got a bit emotional.” Jungkook says quietly.
“Please tell me you didn’t actually hit each other?” Jin asks.
“No, but I think the clip would be pretty bad. We did rough each other up but...we didn’t hit each other or anything. I could tell Jungkook was losing it so I just ran inside the studio when it got too much.” Taehyung divulges and he gives Jungkook a pitiful look, “He already apologised so it’s all good now. I apologised too. It was really nothing, hyung. I don’t know why Sejin hyung’s being like this.”
“Because the public don’t know us, Tae. They don’t know that it was just a dumb misunderstanding and nothing more. They’re going to think it’s a serious issue and that you both hate each other’s guts.” Namjoon clarifies and the weight of the situation finally dawns on both Taehyung and Jungkook.
“What does the omega have to do with this though?” Jin asks.
“Yeah, why is Sejin bringing him? Also, what’s his name? I don’t want to refer to him as the omega anymore.” Yoongi says as he leans back against his chair.
“He’s bringing Jimin, that’s the omega’s name, for us. He won’t be waiting for our agreement anymore, we’ll be going through with the agency’s plan for us to have a relief omega. He thinks it’ll be good damage control.” Namjoon says.
“Hey, don’t beat yourself up too much,” Hoseok consoles the two maknaes who are currently sitting slumped in their seats, “It would have happened anyway what with all the other stuff that happened to us.”
“That’s true.” Namjoon sighs as he thinks of all the events that had led up to their agency demanding they take a relief omega as a part of their pack.
First, it was the undeniable stress that all six of them are facing with their careers as idols. Initially, it was difficult but their increased fame and popularity have made it harder for them too, requiring them to work harder and produce more music to make their fans happy. Tensions would rise in the group, as in the case of Taehyung and Jungkook, it is usually over trivial matters that would flare up into something more due to their alpha pheromones that craves dominance and the need for others to submit. The agency had suggested having an omega around would help to calm them a bit and provide a much needed stress relief.
Then, it was the insufferable dating rumours that have gotten worse and worse. Dispatch would follow them around excessively and a few nonsensical rumours have been sprouted up by them, resulting in a lot of confusion and hurt on the fans’ part who demand to know whether or not their beloved Bangtan Sonyeondan pack really does have their own omega. The agency had once more suggested they carry on with the relief omega plan to end the rumours once and for all.
“What if we don’t like the ome-, I mean, Jimin. What if we don’t like him? Or he doesn’t like us?” Jungkook asks fearfully.
“Well, then I guess the agency will find us another one though it won’t be a good look for us to change omegas too frequently.” Namjoon answers.
Just then, his phone rings and Namjoon immediately answers. It only takes a few seconds before he hangs up and stands from his seat, “Sejin hyung wants us all to wait in the living room while he brings Jimin up.”
They all move to the much larger living room and sit, each with worry and slight trepidation in their hearts.
The tension is back now and it’s even mixed with anger, none of them likes being told what to do by the agency, especially the older pack members who would’ve liked to choose their own packmates without the agency meddling.
There’s the sound of keys jangling outside their front door before the unmistakable click of it being inserted in their keyhole. As their manager, Sejin has their keys and it has never bothered them before since they respect the man a lot but with everything that had happened recently, Sejin opening the door to their house on his own just makes them angrier.
The door opens a while later and they are greeted by the sight of their huge manager towering in the door frame before walking in and promptly shutting the door. He stares in annoyance at them with his arms crossed and Hoseok just can’t take it anymore.
“What?” He says, a bit too aggressively and Sejin raises an eyebrow at him, “This whole place stinks of alpha. You might want to curb your anger since you brought this all upon yourself. You’re scaring Jimin too. I told him to wait outside for a while until you’ve all calmed yourselves down.”
“We are calm.” Taehyung mutters stubbornly and Sejin walks closer to him before pulling on his ear.
“Ow! Hyung what the hell! Stop it!”
“Don’t be a brat and be nice to Jimin.” Sejin says as he gives one final twist to Taehyung’s ear which makes the young man gasp and smack him on the arm.
“Hyung, aren’t you going to give us a chance? We don’t even know him, it’s not fair for him either to be with us so suddenly.” Namjoon says.
“He’s a relief omega who has been trained for situations just like this. He’ll be fine but you need to pull yourselves together. I’ve had it up to here today,” Sejin brings his hands up on par with his head, “With your issues. I’ll come back tomorrow with the full plan and how we’re going about this whole thing but for now, just get acquainted with Jimin first.”
He gives them one last withering look before turning back to open the door again and they can hear him calling softly to another person. Sejin stands aside and holds the door open and they lay their eyes on the sight of their omega. Jimin .