Chapter Text
Cohabiting? More like cobitching.
Jinwoo can't even remember why they were living together, for two whole months. He could almost understand why Liu Zhigang was an option, the man was from another Asian country. It was Thomas Andre that had confused Jinwoo. Though now, he decided it was due to the man's possessive personality. Thomas was possessive of his things, and somehow Jinwoo had been added to that list.
Shame that the man had to work for it. Jinwoo was no one's property, and he sure as hell wasn't going to bow down to someone he barely knew who thought he was.
At least Zhigang was more professional about it. He didn't try to throw his weight around or crowd Jinwoo like Thomas tended to, something the Korean greatly appreciated. Zhigang was even a great conversationalist, Jinwoo enjoyed their talks. Thomas was okay too when he wasn't boasting.
It was a good thing it was just the three of them, Jinwoo was positive that multiple fights would have broken out if any of the other national ranks had stayed. The only good thing about that was Jinwoo wouldn't have been involved in any of the fighting between the lot since he didn't know them well and he liked to think he was above being goaded into a fight with a fellow hunter unless the situation turned into life or death.
Either way, he was just glad it was just them. Especially since Beru had started to act territorial of all things. It was a new side of the ant, one that Jinwoo didn't understand. Even now, as Jinwoo cooked an easy lunch for the three of them, Beru stood facing out of the kitchen, eyes locked on the two alphas in the living room. It wasn't just Beru either. Igris had taken to standing guard at his door every evening, his presence was comforting but confusing.
A few days ago, Jinwoo had tried to get them to stop and go back but they had gotten so agitated that he had dismissed the command and let them do what they wanted.
They knew something Jinwoo didn't. And Beru wasn't saying what it could be. Hopefully whatever it was would go away soon.
It did not go away.
In fact, whatever seemed to have caught his shadows attention was making itself known to Jinwoo now.
Stepping into the house, Jinwoo swiped the sweat off his forehead, pushing his hair back in the process. Gross, he doesn't recall sweating this much just going for a run in months. There was a faint ache throughout his body, one that Jinwoo was ignoring as if it was just another set of injuries he's gained from dungeon runs. Grabbing a water bottle from the kitchen, Jinwoo downed it in a few large gulps before heading off to shower.
It was a few hours later that Zhigang and Thomas found Jinwoo spread out on the couch, an arm thrown over his eyes and sweat beading on his skin. Thomas grinned as he leaned on the back of the couch, leaning over to poke Jinwoo. He didn't get a chance as Jinwoo spoke, "Touch me and I'll stab you."
The two national hunters shared a look, an eyebrow raised on both their faces. It had become a bit normal for Jinwoo to threaten them with a stabbing if they tried to touch him without permission, but this time the Korean had a growl to his voice.
Zhigang crouched down in front of the couch, careful to keep a safe distance even as he leaned forward to give the younger man a sniff. His other eyebrow shot up as he took note of a very slight scent coming from Jinwoo. Both of them had gotten used to the fact that Jinwoo didn't smell like anything except for the occasional sweat smell. Considering they were both alphas and they couldn't smell anything coming from the younger had their instincts confused.
Even betas had their combos of scents, something that Jinwoo didn't have. It had become obvious a week into their stay there. At first, they had assumed Jinwoo had a strange mix of scents but as they started wearing off, they came to realize he had been scented by his family before coming there.
Now though, it was obvious how much the blood and sweat that Zhigang had caught was Jinwoo's actual scent. It made him wonder what had caused the younger man to gain such a scent.
"Jinwoo, can you sit up and look at me?"
Jinwoo shifted his arm off his eyes to give Zhigang a glare. Zhigang raised an eyebrow, waiting for Jinwoo to make a move. It took a few long minutes before Jinwoo sat up to stare at Zhigang. Thomas took that chance to sit in the now empty spot of the couch, throwing an arm over the back but being careful not to brush his fingers against Jinwoo as much as he wanted to.
Silence passed between them, waiting for someone to speak up.
Zhigang broke the silence, "Do you have a designation, Jinwoo?"
More silence. Jinwoo didn't answer, instead frowning with a tilt of his head and a raised eyebrow. It made Zhigang realize that Jinwoo's pale face had a pink tint to it, no doubt from how warm his body was starting to feel. He asked a different question.
"Have you never had a heat or rut before?" Zhigang stared into Jinwoo's softly glowing eyes.
"No, I assumed I ended up being a beta since I didn't present as anything."
A noise left Thomas, but Zhigang ignored him as he kept his eyes on the younger. "Even if you were to be a beta, you'd have some way of knowing. Are you saying you didn't have any signs?" That was concerning.
Jinwoo just blinked at him, raising a hand to wipe away the sweat collecting on his forehead before deciding to answer. "I thought betas didn't have any signs of presenting? I was too busy to focus on what my body wasn't doing."
Zhigang almost didn't want to ask where that focus was, but he wanted to figure this out. The more he knew, the better he could figure out a way for them to help.
Those softly glowing eyes narrowed at him, Jinwoo's lips pressing into a thin line of his pink tinted face. "Taking care of my sister."
Zhigang blinked, that wasn't the answer he was expecting. He had to think about what little he knew about Jinwoo's personal life. The young man was in his early twenties, and if he remembered correctly, had been taking care of his sister for years with no parents around. A quick calculation had Zhigang winching. It had been an invasion of privacy, but the Chinese hunter had dug up that Jinwoo's mother had been affected by Eternal Sleep, and he knew how those symptoms just get worse before they do fall into the Sleep.
If Jinwoo had been taking care of his sister months, even years before that as his mother suffered the symptoms, then it was no wonder his body hadn't let him present. But now was a different story. With Jinwoo's mother awake and being such a high rank and all that that entails, the Korean was able to stop his excessive worrying.
It didn't pass Zhigang that they were in a secluded area, an island that was uninhabited for their two month cohabitation. Jinwoo's shadow army had been milling about the entire island, keeping it safe and just being allowed the freedom out with no one but them around. Even with him and Thomas there, Zhigang wouldn't be surprised if Jinwoo's body had decided he was finally safe and healthy enough to finally present.
Unfortunately, it meant there were at least five years worth of untouched instincts and cycles that was going to slam into Jinwoo with a force that would no doubt leave him completely incoherent of his surroundings.
The shifting of shadows beside them had Zhigang barely glancing over to see that the two commanders of Jinwoo's army was now standing there. The ant's wings were twitching, eyes narrowed at them. Zhigang sent a glare to the ant, he wasn't done talking and like hell would he allow a possessive shadow stop him from trying to get this through Jinwoo's head before he wasn't able to do anything.
Beru growled, stepping behind the couch to be behind Jinwoo while Igris stayed beside his King.
Jinwoo didn't even blink at their appearance.
Zhigang clicked his tongue, grateful that Thomas had been keeping his mouth shut. Then again, he had no idea how much the American knew concerning dynamics and the issues that could arise. Noticing a haze start to go over Jinwoo's eyes, Zhigang raised a hand and snapped his fingers close to the young man's face. It startled him enough to clear his eyes.
"Stay with us Jinwoo. You're scent is different from how most smell, but I'm positive you're presenting as an omega."
Jinwoo's nose scrunched up. It was almost cute.
"This causes problems though," Zhigang pushed on, "If you haven't had a cycle before, it's going to hit you hard. You're not going to be coherent at all in the beginning and probably not until it's over." He heaved a sigh, making sure Jinwoo was still focused on him and actually taking in his words. "We can't let you go through it alone. You will have to have sex to get you out of it without any issues."
There was the smallest twitch of Jinwoo's shoulders, a low growl escaping Beru as he almost curled over his King from behind the couch. "I don't have a choice on this do I?"
That had Zhigang grimacing. He may be an asshole, but at least he cared about consent when it came to sexual partners. Not everyone could handle his power or how rough he could be during intimacy. It was no doubt the same with Thomas and all the other S and national ranks.
"Not in the having sex part. But you have a choice on who helps you through it." Zhigang gave a small smile, "I won't force you, if you didn't break my arm, your shadows would gladly kill me."
Jinwoo blinked, turning his attention to Igris who gave a small nod, and tilting his head back to Beru. The ant just stared at him. Jinwoo huffed a laugh. "Beru would probably eat you too." The ant let out a sound in agreement. Jinwoo turned his attention to Thomas, the American still not having said a word even if his eyes hadn't once left the Korean.
"And you?"
Thomas grinned, "You've gained my respect, I won't touch you if you don't want me to." Thomas made sure Jinwoo saw him track his eyes down his body, "Though I would very much like to."
Ugh, of course he would. Zhigang wasn't surprised. Thomas had been eyeing Jinwoo since he got his ass beat and sent to the hospital. At least the other hunter hadn't tried to make a move. Yet.
Jinwoo was biting his lip, eyes flicking around the room.
"How bad is it actually going to be? Besides me not knowing anything that's happening?"
Zhigang hummed, tilting his head side to side as he thought. "Well, considering your strength, you'll be causing a lot of damage to whoever you fuck. And being incoherent is going to make you unable to hold back."
There was a noise from Beru, the ant leaning over to look at Jinwoo. Zhigang and Thomas weren't able to understand what the ant was saying, the monster language beyond them even though they've both been making some attempt to try to understand the ant.
They both got to witness as Jinwoo's face darkened and his features twitched as embarrassment rushed through him.
Zhigang had to take a breath, he was not going to get horny because of how cute the younger hunter was looking damn it.
Jinwoo swallowed, eyes flicking between his shadows before turning back to Zhigang. "Beru says him and Igris are willing to help. If you're right about me hurting someone, Beru would be able to withstand it."
Zhigang nodded, "He's your strongest, correct?" A nod. "Most heats go through stages. You might have the same situation where the heat is worse at first but starts tampering off. I'm sure your minions have the ability to help you through it all, but if you'd allow it, I offer my assistance as well."
Jinwoo's eyebrow raised again. Zhigang just smiled. "More than sex is required to break a heat. You'll need to be knotted to fully end it."
There was a few confused blinks before Jinwoo's face bloomed red, his mouth dropping open in shock. Zhigang kept his eyes on Jinwoo's wide eyes, doing his best to ignore the soft looking lips and red mouth parted in a way that could be taken as an invitation.
"Ah," Jinwoo swallowed, "I don't think they have that."
Huh, the flush went down to Jinwoo's chest, disappearing under his shirt.
There was more silence.
Jinwoo lifted his eyes from where he had locked them on the floor, meeting Zhigang's eyes and turning to meet Thomas's. He rolled his jaw a few times before speaking, his voice low and quiet as if he was afraid of speaking up. "I'd appreciate if you both could assist toward the end."
Thomas's face broke into a wide, teeth filled grin. Zhigang smiled, his own teeth flashing.