Chapter Text
It's too hot.
Maybe Jay should've turned on the AC. The soft summer breeze coming through the open window does little to fight the suffocating heat in the stuffy room, grazing Jay’s heated skin only by chance and never enough to cool him down. He's moving around too much, it's unbearable. It's been only a few hours and he's already sweating enough to fill a bathtub.
“And don't be sad when you can't make a lot of friends, my love, okay?” his mother asks him for the up tenth time, her voice crackling through the speakers of his phone as he folds up the last of his moving boxes, “The school’s old. A lot of people won't think the same way you will.”
“I’ll be fine, mom,” Jay laughs, carefree. Transferring to a new school just two weeks before the new semester begins isn't that much of a big deal. Jay’s glad that he doesn't have to sit with private tutors in an one-on-one video call anymore and actually gets to socialise now. While he loves his parents dearly, other omegas his age are usually starting to find their own pack or have already found one away from their parents. Jay knows exactly one person outside of his family and staff. “Sunghoon will be there!”
“Just,” his mother sighs, and Jay can already see her running her hands through her hair anxiously, “don't be too upset when he's not like at home, yeah? Social standing is important and his family has a certain image…”
“Sunghoon isn't like that, mom,” Jay waves her off and looks around his new room. It’s a bit cramped, with having a roommate occupying one half of the space, and he's sure his poor roommate wasn't all too happy going from having a double room to themselves to having to share it with a stranger. But, all in all, Jay has tried to be as minimalistic as possible in his dorm room.
“I’m scared we might've sheltered you too much, pup,” his mom admits quietly and sighs again. “But whatever, this is your first day. Maybe, I just have to get used to you being away from us.”
“I think we all have to get used to it,” Jay agrees softly and smiles to himself. How lucky he is to have such a fussy mom.
“Chin up, and call me lots okay?” his mom asks him and takes a deep breath to calm herself down, already sounding energetic again when she continues, “If anything happens, definitely call me. We’ll come over right away.”
“I don't think that'll be necessary,” Jay reassures her, and himself as well. It’s just a school with other students, peers and teachers. Jay doesn't think he’ll struggle as much with the socialisation as with his studies, and his parents can't help him with those. “But I’ll call you lots. Love you.”
“Love you, too.” She sniffles quietly into the speaker. “Have a fun day, yeah?”
“Will do, bye!”
He hates to admit but when he reaches for his phone on the wooden desk at the foot of his bed to end the call, his finger hovers over the button for a few moments. It's weird, hanging up on his mom and knowing that she didn't call him to let him know she'd be home in thirty minutes. Jay will definitely have to get used to this kind of separation if he wants to be an independent omega that his parents can be proud of. He can't be a clingy pup forever.
Kicking his last folded up box under his bed frame, Jay finishes unpacking and collapses into his bed with a sigh. The sheets are soft and smell like home, a mix of lavender and his mother's comforting scent, and Jay already misses it.
His roommate's lingering scent isn't flowery like his mother's, already faded from when he left this morning probably. It's more fruity, almost sickeningly sweet. Jay sniffs around the room a bit. Just like any omega’s smell, his roommate’s is comforting, almost lulling. Jay’s eyes start to flutter shut the deeper he breathes in to calm himself.
It's only noon but he already feels like taking a nap. The excitement of moving in and the anxiety of meeting new people in an unfamiliar environment have exhausted him. And there's only one weekend left before the classes of the semester start. Jay has to settle in quickly if he doesn't want to fall behind.
—
Jay is rudely awoken by someone jabbing at his shoulder aggressively. Ah. This must be his roommate.
Or a robber.
Fuck—!
The short boy yelps when Jay throws himself out of bed, jumping back and into the bed frame opposite of Jay’s with his arms held high.
“Oh thank goodness you're alive,” he sighs deeply in relief and sags to the ground, leaning against his bed and looking up at Jay through half-lidded eyes. He grins dumbly at him. “I thought you were dead. You sleep with your eyes open.”
Embarrassment flushes his cheeks immediately. Jay does sleep with his eyes open, his mom always teases him for it when he falls asleep on the couch. However, that won't stop him from stammering a quick, “I—Uh—No, I don't!” even though he totally does. Every single time.
“It's fine, nothing to be embarrassed of,” the boy waves lamely and pulls one of his legs to his chest, resting his arms on them casually, “I’ll have you know, I’ve been told I snore. Not very omega-like either.”
Jay blinks the sleep out of his eyes and gives his brain some time to boot up. It takes him a few seconds before he can register in his brain what the boy just said, but the moment it does, it clicks. The fruity scent has grown stronger in the room, mixing with his own honey scent. Strawberries. This must be the omega he shares his dorm room with.
“I’m Jay, by the way,” he introduces himself and sits down on the floor to be on the same level as his roommate, just because he doesn't know when else would be an appropriate time. Oh God. He's already failing at socialisation, isn't he? “Grade 11.”
“Yang Jungwon,” the boy introduces himself, fiddling with the collar of his short-sleeved white button up shirt. It's some luxury brand, one that Jay doesn't know. “I’m in grade 10. Gardening club.”
“Oh, there's a gardening club?” Jay perks up. A club sounds perfect to find a bunch of people he shares interests with.
“After-school activities are mandatory,” Jungwon shrugs again, “They make us network. If you want, I can show you to the blackboard and you can pick one? Some of them meet on the weekends, too.”
Jay happily accepts the offer of a guide around here, letting Jungwon lead him out of their dorm building. He didn't want to admit it to his mom earlier on call but he actually got lost on his way to the dorms. The campus is just too big. He could swear that, in his August heat induced delirium, he saw some students use a golf cart to get around when he dragged his stuff up the hill where his dorm building is…
Jungwon tells him their walk to the blackboard in the main building of the school takes about five minutes. Jay will have to keep that in mind when he goes to class if he doesn't want to arrive in the classroom too late.
“So,” Jungwon starts, “How come you’re transferring?”
“Ah, my dad's business transferred their headquarters somewhere close by,” he replies, already slipping into the role of the socialite pup that his parents have raised. “I was homeschooled most of my life, so my parents thought it would be better to send me to school alongside peers for my last year and a half.”
This is the real reason all of the students here have enrolled at Decelis Boarding School. The connections. The networking. The fancy after-school and extracurricular events offered by alumni and specialists in their field to make even more connections. Jay knows this, and since Jungwon only nods in understanding, he supposes it's a more or less obvious secret on campus.
“Homeschooling sounds interesting,” Jungwon says and blinks at him, curiosity sparkling in his big eyes. “I’ve attended every school with the same people for ten years. It gets boring after a while.”
“Well, it's probably not as boring as being alone,” Jay jokes and almost wants to turn around and walk away from the conversation again because why on earth would he say that to a stranger but Jungwon, sweet, socialised Jungwon, laughs along with his nervous chuckles.
“That's true,” he quickly smooths over Jay's little social mishap, “My friend Sunoo for example overheard some old situationship details from another classmate, and the rumour forum has been on fire since last week. I guess that’s the downside when everyone knows everyone. People never stop talking. Word of advice? Keep your inner circle small.”
Jay has only ever heard of the term ‘inner circle’ while watching mafia movies. It’s a little intimidating, hearing the words come out of the mouth of a seemingly harmless omega instead of some shady alpha mob boss.
Soon enough, while Jungwon tells him all about the situationship rumour involving people Jay has never heard of, they finally arrive at the blackboard in the extravagant school entrance hall (Jungwon called it the atrium).
Or rather: blackboards.
Two large blackboards hang on the tall walls right when they step inside, cluttered and overflowing with colourful club posters and announcement flyers and pin needles. Jay already expected the school to offer a plethora of different after-school activities but this is excessive.
For efficiency, he thinks he should look through them starting from the top left of the left blackboard to the bottom right or the right blackboard. That's the plan, at least. However, his attention is immediately drawn toward the flyer for the swim club, placed right in the middle of the left blackboard. It’s not out of interest—Jay is a horrible swimmer, he knows that much—but its sheer size and bright blue colour are hard to ignore.
Well, that. And the poster shows a very realistic drawing of a basically naked guy in a wine red speedo.
He's just an omega after all…
“Oh, no.” Jungwon quickly grabs his arm and pulls him away from the poster and the left blackboard altogether. “The right one. We can't join the clubs on the left.”
“I’m sure I’ll just need some practice to get better at swimming,” Jay insists but Jungwon shakes his head vehemently.
“The omega clubs are on the right,” he explains firmly, but immediately softens his gaze when he sees confusion showing on Jay's face.
“Like,” Jay questions, although he doubts Jungwon will be able to come up with a good explanation for him, “clubs where all the members are omegas? And then, clubs where all the members are alphas?”
“Some clubs just aren't for us,” Jungwon mumbles softly and stares past Jay’s face at the left blackboard. There's something sad, longing in his gaze. “Alphas get all the typical alpha stuff. Robotics, coding. Sports. Swimming, fencing, martial arts, golf, hockey. Us omegas… we get gardening. Book clubs and calligraphy. Extra home eco.. If you want a sport, we’ve got figure skating or gymnastics. Ballet, too.”
With every activity that Jungwon lists, Jay feels increasingly more upset.
“And if I want to swim?” he asks, holding back a scoff.
“In a speedo?” Jungwon gasps, incredulous. He looks scandalised. “That's too much skin for an omega. Not a chance. They won't let you join in the first place.”
“Why not?” Jay counters. He's confident in his body. He doesn't look too bad, and he’d rock a speedo.
“They don't mix alphas and omegas here,” Jungwon says, “None of the omega clubs have any alphas in them. Only betas are free to choose. Less chance for conflict.”
“But…” The gears in Jay’s head start turning. Omega sports. Figure skating.
With the sober face that Jungwon looks at him, Jay decides to keep his mouth shut. He can always ask his friend personally later.
For now, he has his own clubs to choose from. The offers for omegas are a little… bland. Boring. Jay isn't flexible enough for gymnastics or ballet and he can't skate to save his life. He's never ridden a horse before, so now he's left with no sports. While he likes cooking, he wants to watch his weight. Extra home eco sounds like a waste of time if they have regular home eco classes, and gardening has never interested him.
When he glances at the board on the left and sees a band poster, he has to swallow something bitter. Dancing. Golf. Acting. A club that calls itself the “Alpha Support Club”.
The omega board doesn't have a club like that.
“Hey,” he speaks up slowly, making Jungwon look away from the board, “Can I start my own club?”
“You’d have to submit your proposal to the student council and they take it to the school board for approval,” Jungwon blinks curiously at him. “With a minimum of three members. Why?”
“Just…” Jay stares at the blackboard for the omega clubs, eyes flitting from one poster to another. “Most companies have an Omega Rights committee, right? We don't have a club for that here.”
“Oh, you're right,” Jungwon murmurs, slowly looking at the posters. “So you wanna start an Omega Rights club?”
“I’ll sleep on it tonight,” Jay says, deflating at the sight of the omega clubs’ posters, “I need a proper proposal plan and the members.”
“And the approval of the student body reps and the school board,” Jungwon adds, squashing Jay’s little flicker of hope under his shoe like a pesky insect, “Good luck with that. The principal isn't big on progress.”
So much for Jay's club.
—
To: princess pork
are you on campus already
can we meet up :(
i have so many questions and i dont wanna annoy my roommate
From: princess pork
ofc we can!
meet me at the gate in twenty?
i can call my driver and show you the best steak restaurant in town
To: princess pork
yay!!
—
The restaurant Sunghoon takes him to is a fifteen minute ride from the school grounds. It’s a comfortable ride in Sunghoon’s family car, the backseats separated from the front by a window for more privacy. They catch up and chat a little about nothing, saving the school talk for when they're seated in a private room in the restaurant that Sunghoon wants to show him.
Jay can barely wait for Sunghoon to sit down across from him before he blurts out, “How did you join an omega club?”
Sunghoon freezes, his ass hovering midair above his chair, and glances at Jay nervously.
“What do you mean?” he asks him cautiously, slowly taking his seat.
“My roommate showed me the club boards,” Jay explains, rambling on at a talking speed that only Sunghoon knows how to keep up with, “and he said figure skating is an omega club. But you're an alpha and you figure skate! You love figure skating! So how did you do it? Are you lying about your secondary gender? Did you bribe someone at school? How did you get around the gender separation? It's so unfair that alphas get all the sports and I’m stuck with gardening!”
“I’m not lying about my secondary gender,” Sunghoon starts, checking off every point that Jay made chronologically. He fidgets in his seat and averts his gaze from Jay, looking at the wall in embarrassment. “I just… do it in my free time. At the rink here in town. I joined the hockey team at school.”
“But you hate hockey,” Jay interrupts him, worried, “You said you don't like how brutal it is with alphas on the ice.”
“I’m just on the bench most of the time,” Sunghoon admits sheepishly and scratches his cheek, “Didn't make the line up but I still get to be on ice, do the drills and stuff.”
“That’s so dumb,” he interrupts him again, “If you're already on ice, you should get to do stuff that’s fun for you.”
“Not much I can change about it.” Sunghoon deflates sadly, picking at his napkin listlessly. “The school’s strict about gender separation. And the student council is more focused on running things smoothly instead of picking a fight with the school board.”
It pains Jay to see his dear friend so hopeless about his chance to skate at school. Jay knows from Sunghoon’s stories that his parents make him attend a bunch of classes, stuffing his schedule with every subject possible. Adding hockey training to it, and a healthy sleep schedule, his free time has been reduced to maybe two hours at most during weekdays. And that’s without time for dinner!
All of this, just because he can't join an omega club.
It's stupid. It's infuriating. It makes no sense!
Sunghoon as an alpha should get to join the same clubs as Jay, the same way Jay should get to join the same clubs as Sunghoon. The superiority of alphas is outdated and old-fashioned. Why should their clubs be decided by their secondary genders when the rest of their lives isn't?
“That’s it,” Jay grumbles, determination burning through his body, “I'm making a club. You're joining me. We're gonna fight for equal rights.”
Sunghoon slowly raises his head, looking at Jay with big eyes. His surprise is quickly replaced by a blinding grin that flashes his pearly white fangs to Jay.
“Okay,” he agrees, “Sounds good to me!”
—
Club proposal form
Club name:
Equal Rights Club
Activity:
discussions about equal rights for omegas and alphas alike and activities to raise awareness about it
Members: (please include grade and secondary gender)
1: Park Jay, grade 11, omega
2: Yang Jungwon, grade 10, omega
3: Park Sunghoon, grade 11, alpha
—
“Denied.”
Jay’s mouth falls open in shock. Jungwon and Sunghoon had accompanied him to the student council's office where they met one of the members. The alpha took one look at the form that Jay had filled out in the morning during breakfast before sliding it over the table, back to Jay.
“You're not even going to take it to the board?” he asks, incredulous.
“Not a chance,” the alpha clips, “Internal agreement. Your club has two omegas and one alpha, it’ll get rejected anyway. We’re just saving everyone’s time.”
“But—!” Jay sputters. He's at a loss for words. Jungwon and Sunghoon had already warned him about getting his hopes up, but getting rejected right at the first stepping stone is ridiculous. “It's an equal rights club! How can we do that without alphas representing themselves?”
“Uhm, you don't?” the alpha suggests, very much the opposite of helpfully.
“What the—” Jay cuts himself off, feeling the alarmed looks from Jungwon and Sunghoon behind him boring into his back. “So the student council decides which club proposals they take to the board?”
“Yes,” he confirms, sounding bored out of his mind. To him, Jay must probably be just like every other omega throwing a little tantrum.
“Then how do I join the student council?” Jay demands to know, earning himself a surprised look from the alpha in front of him and two gasps from his friends behind him, “What?”
“You don't,” the alpha replies, schooling his face back into neutrality. “The student council leads. We're alphas only.”
This is bullshit !
Jay wants to tear out his hair and scream his frustration away but he doesn't think that making a scene in the student council office will change anything. Change their internal agreement, change their opinion on omegas not getting to lead and represent , change the school rules.
Petulantly, Jay snatches his proposal form off the table and scoffs.
“Fine,” he relents and whirls around on his heels, “Then I’ll do it anyway!”
He storms out, Jungwon and Sunghoon scrambling to follow him. They only manage to catch up when Jay has already made it out of the main building, standing in front of the blackboards and glaring daggers at it.
“I’m really sorry it didn't work out,” Sunghoon mumbles and puts hand on his shoulder to rub it in an attempt at giving him comfort.
“I’m sorry, too.” Jay turns to Sunghoon with a sigh. “You should get to join the club you want and do what you love if the school already offers it anyway. But the stupid student council—!”
Jay doesn't even want to finish his sentence. He knows it would just be a string of insults and profanities anyway, and they're still in public. His mother taught him better.
“Now what?” Jungwon wonders, sounding just as defeated as Jay feels. He didn't think his roommate was just as hopeful as he was about this whole ordeal. “We need to change the student council from the inside if we want things to change for everyone. Sunghoon?”
“I know what you're implying but sorry,” Sunghoon immediately declines and dips his head in shame, “The fastest way would be becoming student body representative but I can't do public speaking…”
“Any other ways we can get the club proposal to the board?” Jay asks. God, maybe he should've read the school’s rule pamphlet after all. But the pamphlet was a twenty-paged book and there's a reason why Jay didn't want to join the book club.
“We can start a petition,” Sunghoon remembers, “If we collect at least two hundred signatures, the student council has to take it to the board.”
“Then we gotta go all out,” Jay decides. He looks at Jungwon and Sunghoon and the boards behind him. The bold posters for the alpha clubs and the subdued colours for the omega clubs. Determination fills his body. “We can't waste our effort on a measly club that might change nothing. If we're collecting signatures, it’ll be to change the student council itself and continue from there.”