Chapter Text
It only took one click of the alarm turning over for Jungkook to immediately wake up. Reaching over, he quickly turned it off. He had a lot to do today. It was the first day of classes, and he was going to start the semester off right. Hopping out of bed, he immediately got dressed in his running clothes and silently left the apartment. He had purposefully timed it so that he could burn off some energy before class and still have enough time to come back and make breakfast for his two roommates, before he would need to head to class.
It would be the perfect start to the perfect day.
Along his run, he nodded to a few ajummas who smiled at him, stopped at a local vegetable stall, and picked up some things needed to cook breakfast before running up the stairs and making it in time to hear Hoseok complaining about Taehyung sleeping through his damn alarm again.
Smiling, he set the vegetables down, washed his hands and rice before heading to the bathroom to take a quick shower before everyone woke up. By the time breakfast was done, he was dressed, the others had eaten, and the dishes had been washed. They were all slightly rushing to make it to school on time, except for Hoseok.
“Don’t panic, Seokjin said he would meet us at the gate and make sure that you two found the right buildings. Relax.”
“Easy for you to say, Hyung, this isn’t your first year.” Jungkook tried to relax as Hoseok rubbed his head as he shoved Taehyung forward to get them actually out the front door.
“Thanks for cooking a meal this morning, Kook-ah. I hope you know we don’t expect that every day?”
Before he could respond, Taehyung turned and grinned, “But we would sure appreciate it.” Taehyung was already running away with Hoseok chasing him before Jungkook could either confirm or deny that he would continue. He was happy they enjoyed it, and it was something he was good at. Thankfully, his mother made sure he knew how to cook before she “let him leave” for college all on his own.
As he passed by a group of girls, he heard them giggling and tried to keep his back straight. It was a new year, and he wasn’t going to be shy or quiet like he was in high school. He had promised his parents he was going to try to make friends.
“Oh, he’s an Alpha for sure.”
“Too bad his scent is so faint.”
“Well, maybe he’s being polite and not forcing us all to smell it?”
“If that’s the case, I wish he would push it more out; it’s almost as if it doesn’t exist. He smells more like a beta with good laundry detergent.” The whispers continued behind him as Jungkook tightened his grip on his bag.
“Oh, maybe he is just a beta.” Then he heard them sigh and click their tongues before passing by him and apologizing as they screamed and joined another group of very smelly people.
He tried not to let it get to him as he breathed through his mouth and walked away, knowing that everyone thought that about him and his scent. His whole life, he had heard it was too light, too clean, too faint, not at all Alpha enough.
Dropping his shoulders, he hunched down and looked at his feet as he pushed forward, knowing that he would eventually run into Hoseok and Taehyung as he could hear them talking up ahead. He needed to clear his thoughts. Just because some girls he didn’t know said those things didn’t mean he needed to ruin his whole day.
“Jungkook-ah! Over here!” He glanced up and nearly choked, and the person standing next to Hoseok was. He had seen Seokjin before, so he knew that wasn’t him, but the man was tall and nicely built, and those legs. Swallowing hard, Jungkook picked up his pace and walked over. “There you are. I was wondering what happened. Anyway, Namjoon-ah, this is our little Kookie. Jungkook-ah, this is Namjoon-ah. He’s a grad student and TA here in philosophy. And of course, you know Seokjin Hyung, and this other cutie next to him, Jimin-ah, who is in the same major as you and Seokjin. Oh, and here comes Yoongi Hyung.”
It was all a bit overwhelming, and with so many people being introduced, Jungkook assumed no one would notice that he hadn’t responded. Between Jimin hanging on Taehyung and Seokjin while laughing and talking, and Hoseok's immediate switch in attention to Yoongi, well, he just wasn’t sure what to do.
“So you are the golden Alpha roommate that Hobi hasn’t been able to stop talking about?” He looked at Namjoon and nodded. That seemed to cause the other to just tilt his head in response before smiling. A smile that brought out a set of deep dimples and suck all the oxygen out of the space. Feeling slightly dizzy, Jungkook glanced around to see if he should find a bench, only to be tugged at by a tiny hand. When he looked to see who it was attached to, he was surprised at the beautiful Omega that was smiling at him.
“Hello, Jungkook, I’m Jimin. I think I am your senior, but Seokjin Hyung and I are heading over to our building. Are you ready to go?” He gave a nod. “Don’t worry, we are all going to meet up for lunch.”
He wasn’t sure why that was important, but he felt that another nod was needed, then felt he should say something, as all he had done since arriving was bow and nod. Taking a breath, he turned to the group, “It was nice meeting you all.”
“Oh my God, I just want to eat you up.” He swirled his head around and blushed at the wink Seokjin gave him. “But don’t worry, I won’t. I am in a very committed relationship and don’t have time to adopt another Alpha at this moment.”
That’s when it clicked in his brain. Seokjin and Namjoon must be in a committed relationship. That would make sense. They were the perfect pair after all. Jungkook didn’t have time to think about anything else as he was pulled away and taken to his building. From there, all he had time to think about was classes, class schedules, books he still needed to buy, and a grinding homework and reading schedule he would need to plan out. By the time lunch rolled around, he was dead tired and starving.
Thankfully, the cafeteria was easy to find, and the group he was supposed to meet up with was already there. Unfortunately, the only seat available was next to Namjoon and his beautiful dimples. “There you are!”
He sighed as he sat down, a deep chuckle next to him sinking into his weary bones. “Overwhelming day?”
A soft whine came out of him as he nodded. “So much to do and organize, and I still need to get books, and I didn’t realize how much reading I was supposed to do before school even started.”
Hoseok leaned over and patted his arm. “Not to mention you have your swim team practices and you need to attend those starting tomorrow morning and every afternoon to maintain your scholarship.”
“Hyung, you didn’t have to remind him right now.” Jungkook nodded along with Jimin’s words, grateful that someone else had said it. Shoveling food in his mouth, he glanced at his watch. He had planned to go to the bookstore before his next class, but he would need to be there in 15 minutes in order to have enough time to get the books he needed and make it to class on time.
“Easy there. Don’t choke.” That almost made him do the very opposite of what Namjoon had wanted. Swallowing, he stared at Namjoon, who reached over with a napkin and wiped the corner of his mouth. “What’s the rush? Classes don’t start for half an hour?”
Ducking his head, he pushed some food around, “I wanted to get to the bookstore to pick up these last three books I needed before they sold out. I won’t have time between my next class and swim practice, and I need to read a chapter in them tonight for classes this week.”
Namjoon took the list and grunted at him. “Okay, I will grab them after class.”
That made him look up. “Don’t panic, Namjoon Hyung is always at the bookstore. Everyone jokes that’s why he smells like an expensive bookstore and old paper.”
“I would be offended, but I do smell like-”
“Wood, spice, and leather.” Namjoon paused to turn and look at Jungkook, who knew his face was absolutely red. Dropping his head again, he started eating until he heard a soft sigh next to him.
“Yeah, not very comforting for an Omega, right? Or at least that is what people like to tell me.” Jungkook felt his world tilt. Namjoon wasn’t an Alpha, and he wasn’t Seokjin’s. Before his mouth could catch up with his brain, he blurted out.
“I think it is nice. Very comforting.” The whole table went silent, and everyone stared at him, making him feel even worse, as if he had definitely said the wrong thing. Bowing, he quickly got up and emptied his tray. Books forgotten, he raced to his next class in hopes he could completely melt into the chair and forget every embarrassing thing he had done and said that day in front of the prettiest Omega he had ever seen.
Lucky for him, between class and a very intense swim practice that ended in a tryout, Jungkook had nearly forgotten his words to Namjoon as he walked home, stopping at the stall near their apartment, picking up the ingredients he needed to make some comfort food. Once inside, he showered quickly and got to work on dinner, lost in his head, he didn’t hear Hoseok or Taehyung until he turned around to plate the food.
“Damn, that looks and smells delicious.”
“Hey, I heard you made the team.”
"Not just the team. Our Junkookie made the team captain as a freshman." The round of wows and "holy crap that's amazing." He ducked his head and didn't let the words go to his head. He knew he had to be number one in order to maintain his scholarship and keep his place on the team. It was the only way he could remain here; his parents couldn't afford it any other way.
"Yeah, he's the youngest captain ever at our school."
"You must be an amazing swimmer." He gave a nod and continued to set the table, only stopping when a deep voice cut through the rest of the noise.
“You are really good at everything, aren’t you?” Eyes wide as he looked up to see the most beautiful face and sincere smile. Jungkook smiled back in a daze as he thanked the group, shocked that everyone had come to eat. Turning back, he dished up more bowls of rice and went to sit. Realizing Namjoon was sitting next to him again.
“Did you cook all of this on your own?”
Clearing his throat, “yeah. I enjoy cooking; it kind of helps with stress relief.” He watched as Namjoon took a bite, and pleasure slowly took over his face, which of course made his inner Alpha purr in response, nearly prancing that he made the Omega so happy.
“It’s really good.” Finally relaxing, Jungkook hoped he had made up for whatever he had said earlier. Once dinner was done, Jungkook realized that all of them lived in the same building.
Taehyung tried to explain everyone's living situation as he helped with dishes while the rest were cleaning the table and offering to help with groceries or cooking later. “Oh yeah, Seokjin Hyung lives above us by himself. Jimin and Yoongi live together one floor down, and Namjoon lives on the top floor with roof access because he likes to grow plants. We sometimes go up there to just get some air when we need it.” He nodded at Hoseok and wiped his hands on the towel, and then he saw a package on the table.
“What’s this?”
Hoseok glanced over at him after he walked everyone out and arranged who was cooking dinner tomorrow. When he saw Jungkook's frown, he smiled. “Namjoon picked up your books.” They looked at each other, and Hoseok shrugged. “I hope you didn’t already buy them.”
“No,” he reached over slowly and pulled out the three books he needed and extra study guides as well. Hoseok was resting his chin on Jungkook’s shoulder.
“Oh, looks like he got extra stuff and threw in some of his old study guides. That’s nice of him. I didn’t keep anything from previous years, or I would’ve given you some as well.” Jungkook stared at the material, the scent of leather reaching his nose. “Well, I’m off to study.”
Taehyung rubbed his head and dashed off, yelling, “Same,” as he disappeared into his room.
Holding the books to his chest, Jungkook headed to his room and gently placed them on his desk. Wondering what he could do to thank Namjoon for the gifts desperately trying to ignore how hard his heart was beating in his chest as he continued to take deep breaths, letting the scent of leather soothe him.