Chapter Text
⋆♱✮♱⋆ ｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡
After a loud beeping sound Yeonjun pushed the doorknob down, the entrance to his apartment welcoming him with a familiar yellowish gleam coming off the pendant light, hanging off the ceiling above his head. He took a second to think, head lost somewhere in the dark clouds of the night sky he was looking at until now, completely drained of energy and the ability to form a coherent thought, lost somewhere between the stars, then stepped inside, pushing the door closed with the sole of his feet. Shoes were discarded soon after, his tired, hurting feet wrapped in the comfort of the fluffy Kuromi slippers his cousin had gifted him for his birthday two years ago.
When he opened the purple gift box, his eyes set on the pair of plush eyeing him from the inside, he tried to appear reluctant to wear them at first. ‘Oh my God, this is too childish.’, he had stated after taking them out of the box, even if his heart had bursted in a minor cuteness aggression when he had laid his eyes upon them. They were a soft violet color, wrapping around his whole feet, up to the middle of the vamp where the toe box was of black fleece, with Kuromi’s face sewn in and her signature ears and bow attached to the seam in the middle of the vamp - they were so soft, comfortable and fluffy, and Yeonjun really did try his hardest to suppress the squeal, punching the back of his throat when he had laid his eyes upon them. He didn’t want to give his cousin the pleasure of knowing he loved the slippers, even though his obsession with them was clearly visible from the way he took them off only to wash them once a week (by hand, in lukewarm water, so the fabric and the fluff doesn’t get ruined) and then sunbathe them on his balcony, as he had read it was the perfect natural way for ‘preserving color, texture and killing germs’ (he was impressed with the knowledge users on Naver had about everything he had troubles with). But they had become the most treasured asset in his house.
Was it weird for a grown adult to be obsessed with a pair of Sanrio slippers and think of them as his stress relief, comfort piece of footwear he sometimes even wore to his sleep? Or would always fiddle the ears with his fingers as a comfort, while watching horror movies on his couch with his cousin, who was giggling at how stupid all the characters were for dying so early and pathetically? Maybe a little. But Yeonjun couldn’t care less. He had always been obsessed with cute, pretty things ever since he was a child. Be it soft, pastel colors, laces, bows, plushies, cute plastic rings with decoration of some Sanrio or ‘Strawberry Shortcake’ character, pretty clothes, floral prints and patterns, keychains, small animals, plants, even some ‘relatively’ unpleasant designs appeared cute in his ways. He was even fond of babies.
Yeonjun liked make-up and had tried on himself so many different looks and styles to the point that he was able to recreate a look just by giving it a single glance. He was so fascinated by the way he could enhance or completely change one’s appearance just by applying a few products over their skin, that he had taken various courses in Makeup and Cosmetology, turning his hobby and passion into a highly earning job, even if his mother was quite against it.
He also liked fashion, dressing up himself and other people, namely his cousin. There was a period in his childhood when Yeonjun was obsessed with putting his cousin, Beomgyu, in dresses, smearing sparkly eyeshadow on his eyelids and soft pink on his lips and cheeks and who could’ve blamed him? Beomgyu was pretty. And looked like a princess, dressed up like that and also liked it when Yeonjun made him ‘pretty’. And it had nothing to do with Yeonjun practically brainwashing him, that if he got dolled up, he would attract his kindergarten crush at the playground. Nothing at all.
Beomgyu was so pretty that he was always picked by his classmates for wearing women’s clothes during school festivals and somehow always snatched up all ‘dress-up awards’. So pretty that he was confused for a girl and asked out on multiple occasions by straight boys in their school up until his graduation. So pretty that even years later, all bulked up and with a fairly stronger build than before, due to his frequent gym visits, his face was radiating with unmatched beauty that only seemed to become stronger with each year passing.
It couldn’t be paired with Yeonjun’s though.
His mother had always said it was due to their ‘superior omega traits’, they were able to possess these extraordinary, captivating features. Yeonjun couldn’t buy any of that and called it bullshit. Sure, secondary gender played some role in forming the visual aspects of people, but it was minor interference and the line was getting blurred with each year passing. Yeonjun was well educated in biology enough to know his appearance wasn’t due to his ‘superior omega traits’, but rather because he had won the genes lottery.
It wasn’t something Miss Choi agreed to, though. His and Beomgyu’s mother were a bit of a… ‘traditionalists’, old-fashioned if you must. It’s been ages since subgenders were almost nothing, but a simple additional letter on a person’s identification papers. The society had greatly advanced into integrating subgenders in every aspect of life normally, without labeling them. The forcing of ‘traditional’ dynamics was far in the past, as people were more open to accept all types of pairings and dynamics, without prejudice and scrutiny; omegas and betas dominated all fields, and had highly regarded positions in all areas, alongside alphas; medicine had evolved so much that heats and ruts posed little to no issue to the daily lives, and it was only a rumor floating around certain circles, but Yeonjun had heard of a recently developed procedure, allowing alphas and betas to become pregnant. He didn’t know if the rumors were true, however, just the thought of something like that being invented made him both impressed and terrified of the world of Science.
Nonetheless, the world was moving with a high speed towards the future, but his mom and aunt were still stuck in the past.
When he was younger, Yeonjun’s mother pinned his obsession with everything cute on him being an omega child. ‘Omegas are like that, it’s natural to be drawn to cute things!’, ‘ My pretty Omega baby, why don’t you play with the dolls mom bought you? Are they not pretty enough?’ , ‘What do you need these crude car toys for? You’re an Omega baby, Omegas don’t play with ugly things like that.’ , it was all Yeonjun was hearing throughout his entire childhood, to the point he had gotten completely sick of it. It was always ‘Omegas this, Omegas that..’, it was completely infuriating for small Yeonjun, who just wanted to be seen by his mother not as omega, but as Yeonjun, as himself. But he couldn’t shake off the excitement and joy everything cute brought to him. His heart was jumping with elation, seeing the pretty keychains and gorgeous dolls, arranged neatly on the shelves in the toy store his mother used to take him to, he kept cooing at small animals and little babies he saw at the playground, he had the desire of owning everything his heart deemed as cute. But he suppressed all that. At some point Yeonjun was completely done with his mother pinning every hobby and passion of his to him being omega. He was omega, yes, but before omega he was her son. And before her son, he was a human of his own. So having every aspect of his life being reduced to simply being ‘Omega’ instead of his own person before anything… It was heartbreaking for the young boy, who felt invisible to the world of his own family.
So he had decided to rebel. He had thrown out every toy, cute notebook, almost all of his clothes, even the bedsheets, stamped with small, pretty, pink colored foxes, his attitude had completely changed, masking his usual shyness with an act of bold confidence, shifting the way he was speaking, the way he was dressing and presenting himself. Even if all of it was a facade, even if that wasn’t the real him, even if it was so hard to act every single day of his life, he had to. Because he was tired. His shift was welcomed by his mother with expected displeasure. And even if she tried to gently bring him back to his old self, trying to speak with him every chance she got or even sending him off to therapy, because she thought there was something wrong with him, Yeonjun didn’t budge. Everything his mother was doing was hurting him, being labeled as ‘broken’ was shattering him, denying his own nature and desires had him at the lowest point in his life, but Yeonjun couldn’t give up, he couldn’t leave either. He secretly hoped his mother could finally see him for who he really was, not just as ‘pure omega of the esteemed Choi clan’.
Yeonjun wasn’t pure though, and neither was Beomgyu, who was in quite a similar situation and had been inspired by Yeonjun’s act or rebel to also take parallel actions. And their mothers had grown absolutely displeased by their actions, but trying to keep their ‘calm, gentle Omega demeanor’ they have been trying to ‘fix’ them, using more sophisticated methods than grounding and reprimanding.
Their most recent being.. arranging, no, forcing them on blind dates.
“Did a truck run you over or something?” The sudden voice snapped Yeonjun out of his inner monologue as a small high-pitched yelp tore off his lips. He took a step back, clutched fist to his chest as he tried to assess the situation, slanted eyes widened twice their size in pure terror. From the couch peeked the face of his cousin (who wasn’t supposed to be there), looking at him with his big glassy eyes and unfairly gorgeous face, eyebrows furrowed in a critiquing grimace as he munched on some snack, probably belonging to Yeonjun’s snack shelf.
Yeonjun’s gaze softened instantly, he clicked his tongue in annoyance, visibly more relaxed, dots completely connected. His fingers pulled the cap he was wearing off his head and threw it at Beomgyu, who swiftly dodged, though, sticking his tongue out in a mocking manner. He then let out a dramatic gasp as Yeonjun raised his middle finger, striding to the kitchen, making the sound of his slippers echo in the walls of the relatively big living room space, in an attempt to show his displeasure.
“What are you even doing here, Gyu?” The question came as soon as Yeonjun took a few sips of water, the cold liquid streaming down his throat, his clouded senses being pulled out of the fog of exhaustion, however only briefly. He put the glass down on the counter, eyes focused on his cousin, who took a handful of crackers, shoving them in his mouth with a loud crunch. “I remember changing the password just two days ago.”
“Yeah, because putting Gia's adoption day as a code will totally work on me.” Beomgyu replied with a tease in his voice, his free hand petting the head of the orange ball of fluff, laying comfortably on his lap. “Isn’t that right princess? Your Yeonjunie papa is just one big dummy, isn’t he?” The ball rolled from one side to the other, small paws clutching the fabric of Beomgyu’s sweater, making him squeal quietly, suppressing the urge to knead her little body with unrestrained affection.
Yeonjun rolled his eyes, defeated sigh escaping his lips as he slumped his body onto the sofa, feeling it melt under the already showing signs of fatigue. His head was throbbing just how it did after a crazy night out, thorns and needles puncturing his skull until his brain felt like slipping out through his ear canals. He felt his lips especially dry and chapped, despite the amount of lip balm coated on them, his mouth dry despite just drinking water, the contents in his stomach so heavy and uncomfortable, threatening to climb up his throat and spill any second. Beomgyu’s hand laid on his scalp, fingers instinctively playing with the threads of inky black hair and Yeonjun found himself instinctively nuzzling into the touch, feeling his tensed nerves just a tad bit relaxed.
He and Beomgyu had always been together, growing up under the same roof in their grandparents mansion like house, attending the same kindergarten, the same school up until graduation, even the same university. And even if they were two years apart and different majors they were still joined by the hip, fighting through the never ending pressure their mothers tried to insert into their lives in any way possible. Beomgyu understood Yeonjun the best, they had similar views and values, both of them absolutely hated the idea of their parents forcing things onto them and trying to control their lives.
For instance, Yeonjun had once presented his mother the alpha he was dating back in high school. His mother had nearly passed out from happiness back then, dramatically pointing out that her son was finally coming to his senses and becoming a ‘proper Omega’, whatever that meant. He had felt a bit more mischievous then, proudly claiming that he was the one leading in bed in their relationship (which was the truth), watching as his mother’s face twist in absolute horror, the color on it fading until it was paler than the powder, dabbed onto it above three layers of cakey make-up. She really did faint then, but not out of happiness.
Beomgyu on the other hand had given his mother a complete near-death experience with disappearing from home for almost an entire month after overhearing her talk about a potential Alpha son of some higher-up in their company she wanted to arrange him with. She went into crisis after realizing he hadn't come home from the afterschool lessons yet and the sun had already set, called the police, her husband, Yeonjun’s family, searching for him around the entirety of Seoul for weeks, without finding a trace of him. He hadn’t gone anywhere far, Yeonjun knew, he was temporarily crashing in his childhood friend's house, whose family had hid him in without a single question. Beomgyu had come home on his own after a while and after that his mother didn’t mention either dating or arrangements for almost half a year. It was a small victory, but a victory nonetheless.
Yeonjun loved his parents, he really did. His mother used to baby him, praised him for his good grades, and even occasionally asked the chief to bake him his favourite sweets. His father, on the other hand, was always nose buried deep in work, but he always used to sit little Yeonjun on his lap and talk and explain adult stuff, impossible for his little brain to grasp, but he was happy to spend time with him. His aunt and uncle were gentle and caring too, and it was clear they loved Beomgyu endlessly.
But their love was suffocating, especially his mother’s who was as loving, as she was controlling, like a dark clutch around his neck, sharp needles-like nails digging into his skin and pouring poison inside his bloodstream. And her stupid obsession with controlling her kid’s future, arranging dates and marriages with complete strangers, obviously thinking she was doing something good and worthy of praise was something he couldn’t stand behind. He didn’t want to be tied to someone he didn’t love for the rest of his life. Moreover, an Alpha his mother had picked for him. For an Omega.
See, it wasn’t that he hated alphas or dating them. On the contrary, Yeonjun didn’t exactly have a preference about the subgender of his partner. He had a history of dating and hooking up with alphas, betas and omegas, so that definitely wasn’t an issue. The issue was his preference of dynamics . His mother had always arranged him dates with overly dominant Alphas, who loved to assess control over their partners, and act according to their subgender just how things were in the past. She had always picked for him proud, arrogant, cynical control freak guys, who didn’t know the world stretched further than the lengths of their dicks, and moreover thought they had the full authority over his life as alphas. Yeonjun absolutely despised that. He was typically the one who liked to take the lead in a relationship. He couldn’t really care less about the hook-ups as they never repeated, but when it came to actual dating, he liked to be the one to ‘drag’ his partner around, to have a certain dominance in the relationship.
Not a suffocating one like these insane men his mom was arranging him to, of course, but one both sides were comfortable with and enjoyed thoroughly.
But his mother couldn’t understand that, so all his blind matches were… disastrous. So much so, that he had started accepting them just to entertain himself on days when he felt bored to death, but at some point it had even stopped being entertaining and just… exhausting. He couldn’t bring himself to explain why he kept accepting them, though.
Yeonjun peeled off his eyes, feeling a weight pressing his chest, only to be met with big emerald green pearls staring at him. A fond smile crept on his face, his fingers immediately reaching forward, gently brushing the soft fur behind Gia’s ears. The cat’s soft purrs vibrated pleasantly against his palm as she pressed her head against it further, closing her eyes lazily, her body easing on top of Yeonjun’s chest where his heart was hidden behind the ribcage. Ever since she had gotten comfortable with him, she would always lay on top of him like that, pressing her head on his chest as if wanting to feel his heartbeat and Yeonjun at first would turn into a complete statue, barely even breathing so she could feel comfortable. But after a while he had found out she especially enjoyed the movements of his ribcage with every inhale and exhale. It was a precious moment between them, Gia’s expression of trust in Yeonjun, and he was overflowing with happiness over that fact.
“So how did it go?” Yeonjun extended his neck a bit so he could gaze at Beomgyu, his cousin still playing with his hair between his fingers, his other hand scrolling something on his phone absent-mindedly. Yeonjun squinted eyebrows, forehead furrowing in displeasure.
“Like hell.” The older admitted finally, fingers still caressing his baby behind the ears, treating her like a free therapy session. Beomgyu scoffed at his answer, which was the most obvious thing ever. “He took me to that super fancy restaurant, wearing a 3 piece Kiton suit paired with fucking espadrilles, can imagine my pure shock? The suit was this navy blue and the shoes were orange? Not to mention he barely had any hair above one centimeter peeking out of his head and when I asked him about it he said it made him look ‘chique’? And the way the total was 269K won, but he paid exactly 270K and told the server to ‘keep the change’? What change are we talking about here, the price of a single piece of gum? Not to mention he hadn’t changed his patch, so the space around him literally smelled like burnt rubber, soaked in gas.” Beomgyu stopped brushing his locks, then erupted in loud laughter, his body folding in two, shaking frantically. Yeonjun extended his arm, hitting Beomgyu on the thigh lightly.
“Hey…” Beomgyu started after calming down, a big grin still sitting on his face, “At least it’s better than…What was his name.. The hands guy!” Yeonjun shuddered at the mention, his brain replaying the memory of that date like a black and white horror film.
It was one of the first guys his mom had introduced him to and the memory of his name and his face was blurred out already, but the date itself had turned into core memory for Yeonjun’s villain origin story. The man… ‘hands guy’ had taken him to a certain shop where you could make your own juice after Yeonjun suggested his desire to visit it. The man… ‘hands guy’ had licked all of his nasty fingers before squeezing the juice with his own bare hands and had kissed and scented the glass before handing it to Yeonjun who just… threw it all in his face and never returned to the shop again. And avoided looking at it every time he passed that street. There were times when seeing an orange juice made him jolt. It was definitely an unforgettable experience. One that managed to bring tears to his eyes.
“Tell me why do I keep agreeing to these?” Yeonjun replied after shaking off the unpleasant memory, earning himself a shrug from his younger cousin. He probably wanted to know as much as Yeonjun did. “It was all fun and games at first, but now I'm seriously starting to contemplate my life decisions.”
Beomgyu stopped caressing his hair again and when Yeonjun looked up he was met with his cousin’s index finger flicking his forehead lightly. The older Omega hissed with a pained voice, hands wrapping around his forehead in defense. He wanted to get up and kick Beomgyu, but he didn’t want to disturb Gia’s precious slumber on his chest. “I keep wondering the same. You’re way too nice to aunt. You gotta start saying ‘no’ to her, like I do with mine.”
Ah, yes. Beomgyu’s situation. Yeonjun suddenly thought of something, his lips curving in a teasing smirk. He wasn’t going to let himself be the only teased one. “Well, how did your date go, beloved cousin?”
Beomgyu looked at him wide eyed, jumping out of the sofa, hands spread comically in the air. “Date? Me.. and Taehyun? Date? Don’t… Don’t be ridiculous, hyung! We were just hanging out! Someone like Taehyun can’t possibly-”
“So, at the end, you didn’t confess.” Yeonjun cut him off calmly, hand cradling Gia’s body carefully, as if touching something fragile. “Again.”
“Look. I.. Tried to, okay? I did try.” Beomgyu sat on the ground, crossing his legs and Yeonjun could see the instant shift in his mood, the reason for his cousin’s sudden visit finally falling into place. Beomgyu was the type to always intrude Yeonjun’s personal space whenever he wished. Be it for a few minutes, for sleepover, with or without reason, just to simply spend time together. But there were some instances of him visiting his cousin to seek comfort, knowing Yeonjun was the only person who could understand him and his concerns. And now was one of these instances. Yeonjun’s expression immediately shifted, his whole attention turned to Beomgyu, no sight of tease in his gaze. “We were watching this really sweet, romantic movie and the dinner after was so atmospheric, it was the perfect time to confess, everything was just perfect? Then he laughed at something we were talking about and I felt my legs melting under the table and my tongue twisted like a rope, and I wasn’t able to even think, let alone confess? Because, who laughs prettily like that? Whose eyes just have all the stars in the universe, contained in their irises? Because certainly, whenever Tae looks at me with that huge tapioca pearl pair of irises, I literally see them shine and NOT because of the lighting! Like, why do I feel like I got a heart attack when I just glance at him? Isn’t this mental murder? Isn’t this a crime?”
And that ended the Yeonjun’s concerns. For a second he really did think that his dear cousin wanted some real love advice or serious conversation, but no. The omega only wanted a little bit of screen time to freely crash out over his life-long crush. Yeonjun couldn’t help but feel sad though, he couldn’t imagine the feeling of being in love with someone his entire life and basically doing almost nothing about it.
“Woah…” Yeonjun asked with a genuine fascination in his voice. “It’s like your crush is getting worse with each day passing, Gyu. Just… confess once for all and save us both from the misery of your childhood crush.”
Beomgyu let out a pathetic sigh in response, head slumping against the edge of the table.
Kang Taehyun was no other than the childhood friend that was present in their world since their kindergarten days. And the one, whose family had hid Beomgyu during his rebellion against his mother. Beomgyu had met him at the playground on a random day and had dragged him all the way to their house, screaming how he had found ‘a moving doll with prettiest big eyes ever and everyone should gather’ to see his discovery. Yeonjun was in his room at that time, memorizing the alphabet and had run out of his room almost immediately upon hearing the words ‘pretty and doll’ in the same sentence, only to be met with few realizations upon arriving downstairs. First, it wasn't a doll, but an actual human kid that had willingly followed Beomgyu all giggly in his slightly bigger plain shirt and jeans, and palms stained with dirt. And second, he was indeed one of the cutest little creatures Yeonjun had ever met, no matter that he was a human, not a doll. So naturally, even if their parents were completely furious over them basically kidnapping a child from the playground, Taehyun had become an irreplaceable part of their lives, especially Beomgyu’s.
For Beomgyu, however, it wasn’t just a childhood friendship, but a childhood crush. He was impossibly whipped for his best friend ever since meeting him. And that was a problem, also rising up for a few reasons. First, Taehyun was a beta and as such, he was totally out of the dating market his aunt had planned for Beomgyu. Not that it stopped the younger omega, but it was certainly a thorn in his way. And secondly, which probably was the biggest out of these issues - Choi Beomgyu sucked at flirting. Or rather, he was so whipped for Taehyun that he couldn’t properly speak without fumbling, let alone flirt.
Yeonjun shook head lightly at the memories of all failed attempts of confession of his cousin, mourning his own disastrous dates as well. Life… wasn’t the kindest to them, he concluded in his mind after a while, even faces like theirs couldn’t grant them the sympathy of the merciless life.
“Why are our love lives so pathetic, hyung? I’m here fighting for my life so Taehyun can notice me, and you haven't met a single guy, good enough to date properly. ”
Now, that was what Yeonjun wanted to know too. Technically speaking, he was a good partner, was good looking, financially stable, had a well paying job, his own apartment, a car, and even a cat. And his standards weren’t even that high, he just wanted his partner to be a good person inside out, a normal person and someone who could accept his preferences. So why was it so impossible for him to meet a good match for himself? It wasn’t that Yeonjun was desperate for a relationship and it wasn’t that he couldn’t live by himself, or that he wasn’t satisfied with being by himself. It was just that sometimes, while watching these romance movies or listening to Beomgyu rambling on and on about every cell of Taehyun’s body, he thought how nice it would be to have someone like that, whom he could unconditionally love, and someone who could give him the same. He imagined how lovely it would be to spend his days with someone, whom he loved and deeply cared for, to come back home, exhausted from work and just wrap himself in the calming presence of someone who filled his existence with pure joy..
‘Love’ was a word with a special place in Yeonjun’s dictionary, it contained all the emotions he held for people, dear to him and had always made sure to express it in any way he could. It was also a sacred one. One he never used for anyone, outside of his family. One he could never bring himself to say, no matter how well he matched with some previous partners (picked by himself, definitely not his mother’s, her picks weren’t even fit as one night stands) . It felt wrong, insincere, like an empty promise, devoid of actual emotion behind, when it was supposed to convey sincerity and Yeonjun just couldn’t bring himself to understand how it was possible for people to throw it around so easily and mindlessly. It never felt right no matter who was standing in front of him, so he wanted at least once to have someone by his side whom he could shower with that word.
Yeonjun just had way too much love in his heart and not many people whom he could offer it to. At some point he really did try agreeing to his mother’s whims and accepted the dates she was arranging him to with a positive mindset. Maybe not all of them were terrible. Maybe he could find a match for himself within all these stoic, rich alphas, maybe some of them would fit at least one of his criteria for a relationship, maybe they can fit each other’s vibe and work things together. But it was futile. Every single one of these men was somehow worse than the previous one and Yeonjun had seriously started wondering why life was so unfair to him. Was he that broken to the point of not being able to enter a single serious relationship with someone compatible? Was it possible that such a person didn’t exist and he was only hoping for something out of his reach? Was getting in a relationship even worth it at this point?
Maybe it was better to give up, move out of Korea far away from his mother and spend the rest of his days with Gia. Maybe Taehyun and Beomgyu could follow him too. Yes, he didn’t mind third-wheeling in their lovey-dovey not yet relationship. Maybe he was one of these people who didn’t have a soulmate or a future partner and was destined to be alone. He also didn’t mind if that were the case. He just wished there was some kind of a sign, so he could at least stop hoping for the impossible.
“Haaa..” Beomgyu sighed again, bringing Yeonjun’s attention to himself. Even Gia who was sleeping peacefully peeled off her eyelids to take a peek before closing them again. “My love life can be beyond salvation, but at least let me be a good cousin and save you from your misery, hyung.”
Yeonjun raised an eyebrow with curiosity. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“You know… Me and Taehyun were actually talking about it. About aunt, I mean.” Yeonjun nodded slowly. Taehyun was well aware of their situation, not only because of his insanely good wit, but also because he was witness to almost everything both cousins have gone through. There weren't any secrets kept between the three of them, as far as Yeonjun was aware. Beomgyu continued. “He actually suggested something so smart and close to the mind that it made me wonder ‘Why me and Yeonjun hyung haven’t thought of that? Are we actually this clueless? Or it’s just that my baby’s brain is just this smart and bright?’. I mean, if you look at him with this pair of huge tapioca pearl eyes you’d think that there’s nothing in that pretty head of his, but actually his mind is so attractively genius? I mean, every time he hits me with some scientific fact i feel my dick practically-”
“Beomgyu!” Yeonjun cut him off quickly, covering Gia’s ears gently. How could he talk like that in front of his precious, innocent girl? “The point Gyu, get to the point! And watch your tongue around my babygirl?”
Beomgyu rolled his eyes pretending annoyance and coughed performatively as to clear his throat.
“If it was someone else they would let you rot in misery, hyung. But here I am, nice and sweet, sharing with you wisdom and you can’t even let me praise the love of my life?” Yeonjun raised a brow, the reply sitting on top of his tongue, but Beomgyu was quick to speak over him, probably already guessing what Yeonjun was about to say. “Fake dating. Taehyun suggested you fake date someone.”
Yeonjun carefully wrapped Gia in a firm hold and raised his upped body, switching from laying to sitting position with the cat gently laid on his lap. The little creature let out an unpleasant purr, then curled in the space Yeonjun had created by crossing his legs and drifted off once again. She was probably tired from doing nothing all day, was what Yeonjun thought at first, but quickly shoved unnecessary thought away, focusing on Beomgyu’s words. Dating someone? No. Fake dating someone? As in a contractual relationship? Yeonjun honestly had never thought of something like that. And when the gears in his brain started shifting and rotating, he realized that it wasn’t a bad idea. It was actually a genius idea. If he managed to find someone convincing enough to fool his mother, he could finally escape her stupid blind date arrangements. He could finally be left alone and free himself from her clutch. Because all his mother wanted from him was to become ‘proper Omega’, right? And what was more ‘Omega’ than dating an alpha?
But.
Where was Yeonjun supposed to find that alpha?
He knew a lot of Alphas. Clients and coworkers, ex classmates and colleagues from university, close friends, some idols he had worked with, his hook-ups, heck even some of his professors - the list stretched long and wide filled with names and faces, some of which he could barely even remember. But Yeonjun didn’t think any of them suited that role at all. Clients were out of the question, he didn’t want to disrupt the peace between him and his coworkers, he hated the idea of asking such things from his classmates and colleagues, he couldn’t think of himself even pretending to date his friends, he didn’t repeat hook-ups and the professors? They were all over the acceptable, for his standards, age and happily married with kids almost his age. And also not his type.
Asking a stranger was his best option. But where would he find that stranger? And what could he offer that stranger in return? Money? Like a paid actor? Maybe he could ask some of his celebrity clients if they knew some young alpha actor, willing to help him and earn a little cash. An actor should’ve been convincing enough. And they were handsome too, they showed their face on the cameras after all. But would an actor agree to help him?
Why not?
If Yeonjun paid them like it was a proper job?
The Omega threw his head back, a tiny growl of annoyance rolling down his tongue. He could feel the slightly subdued headache returning with full power, the sides of his temples burning painfully. Taehyun’s idea was genius, but Yeonjun had no idea how to execute it. And his inner monologue and Beomgyu’s useless typing on his phone, clearly ignorant to Yeonjun’s distress wasn’t helping at all. He cleared his throat, trying to gain his cousin’s attention, who looked at him under his lashes with an innocent smile on his face.
And fuck that gorgeous face too. Yeonjun couldn’t even get mad at him because of it.
“Taehyun has an idea.” Beomgyu said finally after what felt like eternity with Yeonjun’s patience reaching almost all of its limits. The dark haired blinked at him, indicating to continue while his hand was nervously brushing Gia’s back. Of course Taehyun had an idea. It was Taehyun after all, that crazy stunning mastermind.
Yeonjun agreed with Beomgyu to some capacity. Taehyun clearly had sparks in his eyes. However they weren’t stars or something romantic like his whipped cousin on the floor over there was describing him. They were clearly burning sparks of mischievousness, a result of his genius brain brimming with all kinds of ideas. It was fascinating, but also extremely scary.
“Apparently one of Kai’s friends is in dire need of a place to stay for a while.”
Yeonjun furrowed a brow, lips pursed in a slight pout. “A place to stay?” He repeated, to which Beomgyu offered a quick nod.
“Yeah, his apartment building is to be destroyed, since the land was bought by some rich master who wanted to build a business centre, and all tenants were given pretty short notice. And Taehyun says the guy isn’t really in the position to find a new place this quickly. So what if…”
“No, wait.” The older Omega was quick to say, eyes narrowing with bewilderment. “Gyu, are you suggesting I live with some stranger in exchange for having him fake date me?” Yeonjun asked, pure confusion lacing his voice. His hand even stopped petting Gia’s back, mind trying to approach the conversation rationally, despite the hammering headache spreading from his temples to his forehead.
How could he just live with someone he didn’t even know? Yeonjun had lived in a dorm before. But living in a dorm was completely different from giving part of his very own living space to a stranger. And someone whom he had never met at that? Beomgyu was just talking nonsense at that point.
“But think about it, hyung!” The younger omega protested, pointing his phone at him. “Having him as a roommate would be even more convincing, don’t you think? Aunt will have no other chance but to accept it. Plus, the boy is an Alpha. And Taehyun says he’s crazy handsome and kind too! What’s there to lose? It's a fair exchange. And if Taehyunie is vouching for him…”
Yeonjun sighed, defeated. As crazy as it sounded, maybe Beomgyu wasn’t talking complete nonsense.
One, Taehyun was never wrong.
Two, Yeonjun had nothing to lose.
Three, if the other person agreed, it could benefit them both.
Four, if he didn’t agree, Yeonjun could just search for someone else.
The conclusion of his thought process was as clear as a bright summer day.
“Call Taehyunie. And tell him to bring a few cans of beer.” A high pitched scream tore off Beomgyu’s throat as he clapped his hands victoriously before typing furiously on his phone.
Yeonjun definitely needed a third, way smarter head for this. Him and Beomgyu weren’t doing a very good job.